WHY?

Maddux has finally started to say a lot of words, that is if you speak Madduxese! He has two favorite words, NO and WHY? He will ask you a question and then after your reply he says "Why?" If you answer that question his reply is "Why?" I thought they weren't suppose to get into the Why? phase until later. Its not like he talks a ton and does he really understand what the heck my reason why is? I guess I figure it is because Maddux can do and will do everything that Jacie does, so since she asks why all the time he thinks that is just what you say after mom says something! His No's are pretty funny. Most of the time they are said with a little grumble in his voice "NOOOO." Maddux has also gotten to the stage when a camera is brought out he totally cheeses it, as you can see! I seriously love this age.

Final Port

Our last port was Puerto Vallarta. We had an awesome excursion booked for this one. We went on a canopy zip line adventure. It was SO much fun. First we took about a 45 min drive through the city and surrounding towns to get to our destination in the middle of the jungle. This was cool because we got to see what real Mexico is like, not just the tourist spots. The ride was an adventure of its own, we were with 6 other people and we all thought that it was better that the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland! I thought that I was totally going to freak out but when I got up there it was so easy and not scary at all. OK I take that back, after about 10 different zip lines, landing on single tree platforms 75 - 90 feet in the air, we had to rappel to solid ground. I was totally freaked out to do this but turns out it wasn't that bad or that hard! Notice the picture of the cattle herd. I thought this was hilarious. Everyone jumped up with their cameras (including Tim) to get a picture. After I asked Tim why he took a picture, he said "because it was a real cattle herd, you don't see that everyday." I said "Yes you do, they are out all the time in Manti!" Besides the mosquito bites I got all over my legs, this was a GREAT tour!

Allison didn't do the canopy tour because she is pregnant so when we got back, the two of us went to play on the beach and do some shopping. We definitely learned some valuable lessons for our next cruise. Number one, get away from the dock to find the best deals on Taxi's!

We had an absolutely AMAZING week and it was sad to see it end, although we all missed our kids. Tim and I were also sad to leave the beautiful sun and come home to cold, wet snow. Cruises are the best, total relaxation, no commitments, 24 hour food, endless amounts of food, entertainment, more food, and sleep! When can we go again?!

Second Port

Mazatlan was our second port. Here we boarded an "air conditioned" (not really!) trolley for a tour of the city. It is so crazy how they totally trap you to do things. First they took us to this look out to see the lighthouse and an iguana, they practically put the iguana in your arms and then it is after that when you notice that the guys shirt says tips for picture. You don't even have a choice! Then our tour guide takes us to this one jewelry shop that we have to spend like 20 minutes there for a "free drink" (again with a huge tip jar on the counter). After the "free drink" they take us to see the cliff divers. These crazy guys jump from the cliff right into rocks, I am surprised that we did not witness a death. We were then dropped off to shop. Mazatlan had awesome shopping, I got some great deals! Our next stop was lunch, again we had no choice, the driver stopped at a restaurant, the only restaurant around, and that is where we ate. At least the food was good! I do think that this was my favorite port because we got to see so much of the city and of course because of the shopping!!

First Port

Our first port was Cabo San Lucas. Here we ate some awesome nachos and went Snuba diving. Snuba is a mix between snorkeling and scuba diving. Your oxygen tanks are on a little raft then you are able to dive down about 20 feet. It is a lot of fun. There wasn't really any coral but there was colorful fish, a puffer fish and parts of a sunken ship. It is so cool to dive down to the bottom of the ocean and see whats down there. Maybe for our next cruise we will be scuba certified!

Cabo San Lucas

Tim and I after Snuba diving

We were also able to snorkel after we went snuba diving, not as cool but still fun!

Dinner that night at Ginza. Tim and Cameron ate here twice, all you can eat sushi!!

Vacay!

Tim and I finally got to go on a vacation without children! It was SO much fun and so RELAXING! We went on a Mexican Riviera cruise with one of Tim's old mission companions, Cameron and his wife Allison. Did I mention how much fun it was? This was the first time that we had ever been away from Maddux and the first time that we had been away from Jacie for more than a weekend. I was kind of stressed leaving them but it was a great trip. Thanks to Grandma Esther and Grandma Holly for taking our kids so we could spend a week in the sun!

Tim and I on the deck just after boarding

Allison and I even talked the boys into taking Cha Cha lessons with us!

This is the four of us on formal night. Allison is my hero, she does everything. She MADE her dress. I don't even own a sewing machine!

Trick or Treat!

I finally got around to posting pictures of the kids for Halloween. Jacie only wants to be princess', last year was Cinderella, this year Ariel. At least it isn't hard to get it put together! Maddux got to be Stitch, Jacie was also Stitch for her second Halloween. When we originally bought the costume we thought it was Eeyore but after we put Jacie in it people told us that it was Stitch. That was before we had seen ALL the Disney movies! The kids had a great time trick or treating and we still have way too much candy!

Tag

Thanks Kori for the tag. At least this one doesn't take much effort! Here is what you do.... pick the 6th folder in your pictures then pick your 6th picture in that folder, post that picture and give some details.

This is my sweet little Jacie. We were on our way to Manti to watch the 2007 Super Bowl at my parents, hence Jacie's Mike Vick jersey! Jacie as you can see fell asleep reading before we even got out of West Jordan. She looked too precious not to take a picture! I tag Marianne, Loni, and Brittany

Afternoon of FUN

Last Friday a few friends and I decided to take a trip to Gardner Village for their Halloween festivities. It was really fun. They have the place decked out with witches and all sorts of Halloween stuff. There were tons of people there but we still managed to take some cute pictures and have a good time. The weather was perfect, in fact it was on the hot side. All the kids were pretty well behaved, despite it being nap time. The only shop that we actually went in was the candy store (the most important one) there were just too many people and with that many kids, it is just asking for disaster. One of these days though I want to go back and actually do some shopping, they have some fun stores. Jacie was sad about one thing, the ducks were gone. I told her the witches probably scared them away, but that they would be back!

First Day of School

Jacie FINALLY started school. Her preschool is at the high school and for some reason she didn't start until October. I am so excited that she has started. It means that twice a week she is gone for 2 1/2 hours!! It was actually kind of sad because I realized that from now on she will always be gone during the day. My little girl is getting so grown up, and so TALL! Jacie loves school. She is learning her ABC's and all sorts of things. She goes to school with 3 other kids from our neighborhood which makes carpooling nice. She also has friends from last year in her class. I am slightly worried though. She is only 4 and she is already kissing boys! When she came home from school the first day I asked her what she did and she informed me that she kissed Rowdy! She is WAY too young! Luckily though, she said she kissed him on the cheek. The second week of school when I drove, one of the other girls was in back with Jacie and they wanted Rowdy to sit in back with them. When I told them they were just going to be in back the other little girl said that she wanted Taz to sit in back with her. I had to inform them that Taz didn't ride with us! I asked Jacie who she played with at school and she said "Taz, he's cute." Then I asked her what she liked about him, she said "his spiky hair." Way too funny. I seriously didn't think crushes started this early. But wait, what am I thinking, Jacie has always loved her "married guy" Devin as long as I can remember!

Pumpkin Pickin

These are pictures of Jacie, Maddux and their cousins Seth and Mia at grandma Holly's picking their pumpkins. Every year she grows pumpkins and then the grand kids get to pick the one they want. I am so grateful for this tradition because it means that I don't have to worry about getting a pumpkin for Halloween! Look how big they are. Grandma Holly has an awesome garden!

Conference Weekend

I finally made it to visit my parents new house in Price over conference weekend. It was a great weekend. We spent most of our time scrap booking. I enjoy scrap booking but it takes me so long to do a page that I rarely do it. Also my mom has all the cute supplies so I feel I have to do it with her! It was me, my sister, my sister-in-law and all the grand kids. All of the husbands had already made other plans so we thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to have a girls weekend. We also celebrated Cayden's second birthday. Its crazy how fast our kids are growing up. Jacie's favorite part of my parents house was their tub. That is all she wanted to do was take a bath! We tried to get the boys in but they didn't like the bubbles. Maddux would try and climb out screaming as soon as we put him in! Luckily Juliana loved it too so Jacie had a partner. Jacie also went to the Dinosaur Museum with my dad but I didn't send a camera. I thought him trying to chase Jacie was enough to worry about!

I don't need a nap!

Jacie is getting to the point that she doesn't take a nap everyday (this is very sad for me because that means I don't get a nap either!). I will ask her if she is tired and if she wants to take a nap. Most of the time the answer to that question is NO! The other day, after I had asked her if she wanted to take a nap and she told me no, this is how I found her. She had been coloring and when I realized that she was being way too quiet I went to investigate.

Dip Dip

I have been posting a lot about Jacie so I thought I should mention what Maddux is up to. Maddux' new favorite thing to do while eating is dip it!! He dips or I should say saturated everything in the sauce and then sucks the dip off and goes back for more. Good thing baby spit is cute, right?! He has also FINALLY started so say a few things. His favorite is Bye Bye with a cute little wave. He also says nigh nigh (night night) momma, dadda, and sometimes Jacie, but most of the time it sounds like dadda. He says "mine" which means more and sometimes I think I can make out "I want some" not bad for an 18 month old! He still doesn't have all his animal sounds down but he does have the cutest roar! He also says "Razy" that is Grandma and Grandpa's dog.
He will be 18 months old in a couple of weeks. Man how time flies. The best thing about being 18 months .... Nursery!! I have actually taken him to nursery the last two Sundays and he has done really well. I am a little worried because he is, well, kind of a mean little boy. I told the people in nursery to watch out for him because he bites, pinches, hits, and pushes. I don't know why he is such a little bully but he is!
His little personality is really starting to show. He pulls the cutes faces and does the funniest things. I love him so much and am so grateful that he is mine!

Shuffle, Shuffle, Step

Yeah, Jacie finally started dance again! Unfortunately I didn't realize that it was observation day so I didn't bring my camera. I stole this picture from Brynn, thanks Brynn! It is so fun to see her dancing. I think all but 2 of the kids in her class are from our neighborhood so they are all friends which will make it even more fun. It is especially good since they just split our ward and all the other girls are in the other ward. Now she will still see all her friends every week. Now if only preschool would start! For some reason her preschool doesn't start until October. I can NOT wait until she starts. We have loved summer but it is time for school to start and for Jacie to get back into a routine, no more TV!!

To the Dentist

I decided that I should finally take the kids to the dentist. I did take Jacie when she was about 2 but she hasn't been back. Jacie did great. I thought that she might be scared but she wasn't, she sat in the chair and opened her mouth when she was suppose to! I brought my camera so I could take pictures and what did I do? I took a picture of them in the waiting room but forgot when they were in the chair! So turns out we should have invested in a dental plan instead of a college fund! Jacie doesn't have any cavities but she does have one messed up grill!! She is missing a tooth, well she doesn't have a baby tooth and it is still unsure if her permanent tooth is there. She also has a cross bite. The dentist said that we should put in an expander to help correct her bite now while her bones are still soft instead of waiting till she older and it takes longer with more pain. Needless to say she is going to have one expensive mouth! Tim and I both had braces, I had them twice, so it is no surprise that our children are going to need them but I didn't think that she would need intervention so early.
Maddux did great also. He wants to do everything that Jacie does so if she can sit in the chair so can he! The dentist did say that he bit him though. That also isn't a shocker. You should see the welts that kid leaves on my arms!

Fair and Fest

The Utah State Fair is in town so my friend Loni and I decided to take our kids to the festivities. The kids had a great time riding the rides and seeing the animals. Oh, and don't forget the food!


First stop, the Merry-go round!

Maddux has loved this ride so I took him on it.

Turns out he didn't like it this time. He cried almost the entire ride!

On to the race cars.

This ride flips them around the corner. As you can see they absolutely had a blast!!

Next, the hot air balloons

Then the helicopters

Last, but not least, the train!

Where is Tim you ask? He is at home hosting his works "Halo Fest." I should have taken more pictures so you could capture the whole atmosphere but I didn't want them to think I was crazy. Let me give you some specs: Lights out; 1 game; 2 teams; 3 rooms; 14 men; 12 TVs (might I add that they are not small tvs, that would cut off some of the screen!); 12 XBOX 360's; and lots of food, yelling, killing and dying!!! Need I say more?!!!