Monday, August 29, 2016

mama appreciation.

One MAJOR perk (because let's be real, there's one million perks) to having my mom work with me is the fact that whenever I have a headache I can just let her know and she'll be over at my desk with a diet coke and some ibuprofen in the next few minutes.
Two weeks ago I was at work feeling as awful as ever and my mom shows up at my desk with Coke Zero (brain fart. Who does she think I am?! We all know Diet Coke is my go to, not Coke Zero) little tears started to form in my eyes because I was needing a DC and was stuck with Coke Zero instead. HAHA am I an ungrateful diva or what?!  My awesome mom dumped out the Coke Zero she had JUST purchased and she goes to buy me a Diet Coke instead. Can you believe that?! What did I do to deserve her? I may never know, but i'm sure glad I have her.
Sometimes I wish my mom was a boy so I could marry her. She takes such good care of me.

Forever grateful for a patient mother who loves her *sometimes* (wink wink) high maintenance diva of a daughter. I'm a lucky one.

p.s. Not only is she the sweetest and most loving, but how cute is she?! The most stylish MOM out there.

Friday, August 26, 2016

Round 2.

I'm going to miss summer and taking pais to get "princess snow cones". She's obsessed. I'm just obsessed with her.


She starts preschool next week, can you believe it?! Baby girl is all grown up.

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

swimming + snow cones.

The other afternoon while Maycie took a nap I took Paisley over to the pool to swim.

We played "swimming lessons" she'd pretend to be my daughter, and I her mom. She'd splash around in the pool then get out and come over to where I was sitting, I had to greet her with "you did so good honey!" every time. I couldn't say "honey buns" or "sweetie" or "that was awesome!" If I said anything besides "you did so good honey" she was very quick to correct me.
We switched roles and she'd pretend to be my mom and I was her daughter at swim lessons, this time I'd have to cry for my teacher and she'd come over to give me a tissue and tell me I needed to be good and stop crying haha. We played these two scenes over and over again for probably an hour. Kids crack me up! I love that imagination of hers. 

Once we played a few more games the sun began to make me tired, so i suggested we go get snow cones, she was obviously all over that. What 3 year old could turn down a free snow cone?!
Paisley had originally requested "strawberry," but as I looked at their list of flavors and saw they had a flavor titled "princess" (Blue Cotton Candy and Pink Bubblegum) I knew her mind would be changed. When I asked her if she wanted the "princess" flavor instead her face lit up and the biggest smile came across her face. It was a definite yes. 
Check out that pretty purple and pink snow cone. What else could a girl want?
I love spending one on one time with my nieces, and I love the friendship I have with each of them. It was such a perfect afternoon! 

Saturday, August 13, 2016

wheeler ridin' + the shooting range.

One of our favorite activities at the family cabin is riding 4-wheeler's. After lunch on Saturday a bunch of us headed out on a long ride while Lex and our Granny Bird stayed behind to read and nap.


Pais was sandwiched between my mom and I on the back of one four-wheeler, silly girl fell asleep within 5 minutes of our ride; I held her in my arms as she flopped around like a rag doll. This girl is known for falling asleep on every car ride and every four-wheeler ride.
Once we rode out long and far we arrived at a little meadow, we woke up Pais and hopped off of our "vehicles" so we could walk around/explore for a bit.






The mountains are so dang pretty. This is why Utah has my heart!


On our ride back we got caught in a storm. It has begun to thunder and soon enough there was lightening and rain too. Once we were a minute or two away from the cabin the rain turned into a down pour, we got soaked as we sped back to the cabin. Once we were back to the safety of our little cabin we got into dry clothes, made hot coacoa, and began to prepare dinner.
The next day we went on another super long ride, this time it was just my mamma and I + Ty and Chels. We rode our four wheeler's through this river crossing (which was way deeper then we expected it to be, I thought we might swamp out; but that just made it even more fun!) on the other side of the river crossing we went up a giant hill and found ourselves the PRETTIEST look out. I had left my camera at the cabin this time but I was definitely wishing I had brought it with me to cabin the view. Then again, some things are nice to have only in your mind. The fact I didn't have my phone or camera made that little wheeler trip a little more special and intimate!

Another thing that makes time at the cabin extra fun is bringing the guns and going down to the shooting range.
Shooting clay pigeons is my kryptonite. I've got the worst aim and eye... ever. BUT, look at the blue blue sky. Alllll the heart eyes.

Tyler brought his Assault Rifle (which was my favorite) Check out this 90 year old with the AR-15. HAHA, ever seen something more amusing? 

I'll admit. I felt pretty dang cool shooting that bad boy. Until I looked at this picture and realized how uncoordinated and uncool I look hahaha.

Little Paisley has her own 22 (It's a Savage Rascal) and she knows how to load it all by herself. She shoots it with the help of her papa. They're starting her out young and I love it! Can't wait for the day when she gets her first deer.

I love hearing her talk about shooting "her rascal" she loves it and it's so dang cute!

Sure love this family of mine.

Friday, August 5, 2016

cabin weekend.

Late Friday afternoon my family and I headed up to our beloved family cabin.


We were lucky enough to have my cute granny bird with us this time. Her husband built this place a long time ago, we always love when she's able to join us!




Friday night we didn't have much time after arriving before we all headed to bed, but some of my family put on a movie while the rest of us went out for a little night walk under the clear pretty sky.

As we made our way back to the cabin I had to stop for a minute to just let it all soak in. There were lots of stars above us and you could see our cabin just down the dirt path. The cabin's porch lights were all on and the light from the kitchen was shining out of the open front door. Knowing that inside that open door my family sat all cuddling together on the couch brought such a peaceful feeling.



There's nothing quite like quiet nights up in the mountain, bright stars, clear skies, and family! 


That night I stayed up way too late, cuddled up in my sleeping back with a flashlight in hand as I read "Girl on the Train." The next morning I woke up with the sun and to the faint sound of my nieces playing in the background. Half of us slept out on the deck under the stars while everyone else was stuck inside (suckers.) Sleeping out on the deck is one of my favorite things about the cabin, It's always a contest to see who can claim their spot on the deck first, and we're always cramming as many people's sleeping bags out there as we possibly can.


 

Ty and Chels were busy making breakfast burritos for everyone while everyone else ran around playing. After breakfast most everyone went out for four-wheeler rides, but I sat on the porch with my grandma as we both read. I finished my book "The Girl on The Train" and oh my gosh I'm obsessed! I was hooked, I couldn't put it down until  I had it finished!



Later that afternoon Lex and I went out back with little Pais. There's a tee-pee behind our cabin that me and Lex use to play "house" or "Indians" in when we were younger; now we're playing house out there with our niece! Paisley used a tree stump as her stove and pretended to make us eggs, pancakes, and sausage with her "stick" spatula. She had the greatest time pretending we were sisters and that Lexi was our mom. 






I love her imagination! She's always playing and pretending. 3 is such a fun age! 

We also spent time on the cute swing that's out back. This swing is another thing that Lex and I were crazy obsessed with when we were younger. I'm so glad that all these things are still standing.