Happy one year Violet rose!

Happy Birthday to my dear sweet baby! Here are just a few things I LOVE about you:

I love how you have the biggest smile on your face every morning when you wake up.

I love how you hug me and pat me on the back when you are feeling snuggly.

I love how you giggle at your brother.

I love your chubby little feet.

I love how you say hi!, thank-you, and cheese when your picture is being taken.

I love your wet slobbery baby kisses.

I love how excited you get over bananas.

I love how there are so many things to love about you!

I am so blessed to have such a sweet little angel of a daughter like you in my life!

Violet's one year pictures.

My Mom took these beautiful pictures of my baby girl and a couple of Ryker too. I think that Violet looks like snow white. I love them and she did an amazing job.

Autumn adventures

So picking up where I left off, Violet can crawl now! She is everywhere I was so happy for her when she got the hang of it. I caught her splashing in the toilet one day. So we keep the bathroom door shut now. She also grew 2 teeth on the bottom, she says hi and uh-oh all of the time. It never ceases to amaze me how much progress babies make in that first year. I am just loving every minute of her. Ryker started preschool and he can ride a bike without training wheels! I didn't even have to teach him he just decided one day he was going to do it and he didn't need any help. He has always been so independent. He is so funny and charismatic. He has lots of friends coming over all of the time to play. We are blessed to live on a street where there are lots of kids to play with around his age. Gary and I had our 1 year anniversary of being sealed as a family in the temple. It's amazing how much progress we have made. We are loving our new outlook on life. Halloween came and went very quickly. Ryker was a swamp monster and Violet was a bumblebee. Gary was a scientist and I was a skeleton woman. We always get so excited for Halloween. We have watched The NightMare Before Christmas countless times. I don't think Gary and I will ever stop dressing up with our kids it's so much fun!

Summer so far.......

I just love the summertime, it's the best! So far this summer, we have been able to go to Las Vegas and visit the Mirage's Dolphins, and the Mandalay Bay's aquarium. It was pretty fun. Ryker thought we were at Chucky Cheese's which was pretty funny. Gary had his two weeks in Wendover with the Air National Guard, while the kids and I went to Lake Powell for a week with my family. It was wonderful even though I wish Gary could have come too. My favorite part of that trip was watching Ryker have so much fun with all of his cousins. I also loved our extreme tubing adventures and our very own survivor challenges. The food was amazing. My aunt Jill can cook like a gourmet chef. For the 4th of July my mom and got a condo in Huntsville right on the lake. It was beautiful. My sister-in-law Annie started sliding down the stairs with the kids in her sleeping bag it was awesome. Baby Violet started sitting up on her own and she is getting up on her hands and knees ready to crawl. She just needs to go forward, she's almost there. Ryker still cracks me up on a daily basis, and changes costumes 10 times a day. Yesterday he had one glove on one hand, a sock on the other, one snow boot, and one rain boot. Keep in mind it's July and he insisted on going out like that. The best news of all our prayers were answered after 3 months of being laid off Gary got a job at L-3 Communications things couldn't have turned out better he is really loving it, and I am so happy for him. This summer, so far, has brought lots of blessings and good times. Things are going good.