Katelyn's 1st Haircut!!!

Katelyn had her first haircut yesterday at a salon in Layton. Jordan's beautiful friend Melissa did it for me...she does such a good job and is so sweet. And Katelyn loves her! I spent the day before the hair cut building it up...how cool the salon is, how fancy she would be in her own princess hair cutting chair and cape. By the time we got there, she was rearin' to go!

A couple before pictures:

When Katelyn first started getting hair, it kind of grew in the back/bottom first and the top eventually caught on. It was kind of mullet-ish when she was little, but as it grew out, it just looked layered!


As soon as Melissa started cutting, Katelyn got very still and serious. She wasn't upset, just concentrating REALLY hard.


I caught her yawning half way through


What a sweet face. Melissa washed Katelyn's hair after it was cut, which I was nervous for cause lately she freaks out when I wash her hair in the tub. She was perfectly fine for Melissa though. huh.


Another really intense concentration face.


Brookie was very good for the whole thing.


The finished product! Melissa asked Katelyn if she wanted her hair straight or curly. Of course she chose curly. This is Katelyn we're talking about. She spent the rest of the day telling everyone that would listen about her hair cut at the salon by Uncle Jo's friend Melissa.



Katelyn is such a beautiful girl and so much fun! I can't wait to do more fun girly things with her and Brookie as they get older.

Far Too Many Goodbyes

This last week, we were lucky enough to get to spend a lot of time with Steve's side of the family. Jeff and Denise arranged an awesome early Thanksgiving dinner and family photo session because, for the last time in who knows how long, we were all in the same place at the same time. Paul, Katie, and Lily came in for a visit from California where they are stationed because Paul is in the Navy. Travis was about to leave for the reserves, so we definitely needed to get together before everyone left. It was so nice to have everyone together. The next day was my nephew Matthew's blessing. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of that...Brooklyn and I had to miss out because she got sick. It was really cool though because Tiffany got to have all of her brothers in the circle to bless Matthew. What a neat miracle! Travis, Stacie, Kayla and Miles were up at our house the night before Travis left. It was so good to see him one more time before he left for boot camp. When it came time to leave, Steve and Paul gave Travis a blessing. It was so sad to say good bye to Travis, and I feel so bad for the family he's leaving behind! We also had to say good bye to Paul and Katie and Lily. I am so, so sad that they had to leave! I had such a great time getting to know Katie better and becoming friends with her. She is such a sweet and funny girl...I wish so bad we lived closer so we could hang out all the time! And then there's Lily. Oh. My. Goodness. That little girl is so amazingly sweet. I am so taken with her. It's always so much fun to have Paul around. He is freakin hilarious and such good friends with Steve. The only consolation I have about them moving is that they will be back for Christmas! I can't wait.



Travis, Steve, and Paul goofing off a few minutes before Travis had to leave.


Cute Katie and her beautiful Lily.


Paul and Steve freaking out about a football game. These two are hilarious.


Paul and Katie are so cute together. I am so glad they found each other and gave me my beautiful niece! lol


Brookie and Lily had so much fun playing together. They chased this balloon around for a while. It was so fun to watch them together!



These two cuties did a lot of kissing while they were together...it was so sweet. However, Brooklyn weighs about three times as much as Lily does, so poor Lily got knocked over a few times. She's just so dainty! Brooklyn, on the other hand, is the brute squad!


Such beautiful girls


Me and my sweet Lily. I couldn't get enough of her while they were here and I can't wait to see them again!

Kate's 3 Year Pictures

Oh Beautiful for Spacious Skies

Anyone that knows me knows how much I love the sky. Steve called me the other day and told me to hurry outside and look at the sky. When I got to my front yard, this is what I found. Thank you hubby!

Halloween

On our way to the ward Halloween party! I got to hang out with one of my favorite ladies from the ward. She is so sweet and always wants to hold Brooklyn. What a sweetheart!

For the ward party, Katelyn was a princess. All the kids got to take turns on the stage to show off their costumes. When it was Kate's turn, she would hardly look at anyone. Wouldn't curtsy, nothing. One lady in the audience finally got her to wave, but I think she might be traumatized from the whole thing. Poor girl.

This was taken outside my parent's house on Halloween. By then, Kate had decided to be Tinker Bell (thanks anyways, Denise!). Brookie got to use Aunt Nana's dumbo costume this year. She looked adorable, but she hated it, as you can probably tell in every one of the pictures!

All the cousins on my side from left to right: Kate as Tinker Bell, Ben being grabbed by a ghoul, Matty is Stitch, Lucas was Buzz Lightyear and stayed in character all night, Josh was a ghoul or something, and Brooke is on the end, I think she'd finally given up at that point! All in all it was a fun night, we kept it simple and got home early, which is fine with me for so many reasons: one, I'm exhausted. two, Halloween is the number one holiday for drunk driving. As grandma Homer would say, "everyone's started their holiday drinking!"

Sisters

Steve and I have the opportunity to speak in sacrament meeting in November. The bishop asked us to speak on gratitude, so that has been on my mind a lot lately. The next few posts will be about some of the things in life that I am most grateful for.

My sisters and I didn't like each other much growing up. Rather, I liked Erin and wanted to be just like her, but I was the annoying little sister. I imagine it was about the same for Becky. We've grown up and worked out most of the kinks, and thank goodness, because these amazing women are my sanity. I have the best sisters in the world. They are always there for me. Always. Both of them have, on several occasions, dropped what they were doing to help me in one way or another. They are both beautiful, loyal, and life savers. I am so glad that they have stuck by me through so much and forgiven me for things of the past. I always have so much fun whenever I'm with them. We are all so different, and have so much to learn from each other.

Erin is an amazing wife and mother. She is a very hard worker and gets so much done, it's astonishing. She is creative and is always working to improve herself. She is always helping me see things in a new way, and is so uplifting. I laugh so hard when I'm with her. The mundane, every day things cease to become a chore when I'm with her. Erin, thank you so much for being such a good friend and sister. You are such a beautiful daughter of God and such a good example for me. What would I do without you? You have forgiven much, and are one of the biggest blessings in my life. Thank you for all that you do and for the beautiful person you are. I love you, sis!

Becky and I have traveled a completely different road. We have been through some really hard times and spent years not knowing who the other person was. Through patience, forgiveness, and a strong desire to know each other better, we have become so close. Becky is the least judgmental person I know. She is so kind and understanding, and would do anything for those she loves. What a beautiful spirit she is. Spending time with Becky is refreshing and calming. She is such a sweet mother and has an amazing amount of patience. I am so grateful for Becky's forgiveness. The best word to describe Becky is sweet. Something that amazes and baffles me about her is that she has no idea how beautiful she is. She is so humble. Becky, I'm so glad we've become friends. Thank you for all you do, I love you!

I know my mom is in this picture too, but I'm going to write about my parents on a different post. (love you!)

Our Beautiful Day

We finally got our pictures of our sealing day! Here is a little taste, more to come later!