Shelby's a Monster

Shelby started growling the other day and she said she was a monster. As you'll see in the video - she is quite a little 2-year old monster.

Thanksgiving 2011

This year for Thanksgiving we went to Alec and Brecka's house in Mesa. My parents came down for the weekend and we also had Jera and Chelsea over. The food was wonderful and so was the company. We painted Christmas ornaments after and played games. Unfortunately I didn't take many pictures, but here are a few:

Kala and Dad peeling potatoes - we had the best mashed potatoes!

One of my favorite pictures - Kora was sad and Mom was so sympathetic

Painting ornaments

Breaking Dawn and Black Friday

I've had two exciting nights with my sisters over the past week. Last Saturday night we saw the new Twilight movie - Breaking Dawn. We aren't huge fans of the movies, but the books were awesome so we continue to see them. Then last night we went to Target for Black Friday shopping. We went last year and had a blast. We had a great time and I'm so happy we all live close and can get together so often.

Burned

One night after Dustin had driven the motorcycle Shelby was walking in before us and touched the exhaust pipe. It burned all her fingers and she was pretty upset (to put it mildly). Now whenever she walks by the motorcycle in the garage she says "don't touch the motorcycle". Lesson learned the hard way...

Potty Training

Shelby is potty trained! The trick - candy (specifically Starburst). We transitioned to "big girl panties" this week. I'm so proud of her! By the way, she likes the pink ones, if you ever need to bribe her.

Halloween 2011

This year the girls dressed up as cupcakes (or according to Shelby - Cupcake Princesses). We went to our ward's Trunk or Treat on Saturday and Dustin was able to come (he traded to have the night off). Then I took the kids Trick or Treating around the neighborhood on 10/31 with our next door neighbors, the Perrys. A few funny moments:

The first house Shelby went to she walked into the living room. She got some smarties candy at the third house and decided that is really all she wanted. So she stopped going and just sat in the stroller eating her smarties while the other kids went to each house. When she was done eating she started going again. At one house the man handing out the candy had a mask on and Shelby wouldn't go up to him, she just froze. I don't blame her, he was a little scary. Kora slept most of the time in the stroller, but when she woke up she just smiled. I couldn't find a bag or Halloween bucket, so Shelby got an Easter bucket. Oh well, she doesn't know the difference.

Here are a few pictures:

Pumpkin Patch

On October 8th I went to Snowflake and while we were there we went to the Pumpkin Patch. Here are some pictures :)

Playing catch up

Wow. I have so much to catch up on. During the past few months here are some of the highlights:

September 1 - My first day back to work. It was extremely difficult. I don't think it will ever be easy - I miss the girls so much. But if I must work I have a great job and I am thankful for it.

September 17 - Kora rolls over for the 1st time!

September 24 - Kora laughs for the 1st time. She is such a happy baby and has such a cute laugh.

October 7 - Sushi dinner with Dustin, Jera, Chelsea and Kolette (and Shelby and Kora of course). Yum! Happy Birthday Chelsea!

October 8-9 - Weekend at home for Carrie's baby shower. Pictures of the Pumpkin patch will follow.

October 14 - Dustin and I have our 5-year wedding anniversary! We celebrate with a massage at the Thai Foot Massage then a night at the Raddison (the hotel we stayed in when we first got married).

October 22 - Dustin is on TV. His fire academy class volunteers for "Make a Difference" Day and they get on TV. That's twice now (the first being in the Circle K commercial) - he's so famous.

October 29 and 31 - Halloween...more pictures to follow.

August through December - Dustin is in the MCC Fire Academy. He loves it.

San Diego

In August Dustin's cousin, Lauren, got married in the San Diego temple. We were so happy to be a part of it and enjoyed spending time with his family. Here are a few pictures from our wonderful weekend!

Road trip - Shelby's loving it. We drove with Jera, Cami, and Chelsea and had a blast.

San Diego Zoo. Dustin and his sister Chelsea. Me and Dustin

Shelby and her Dad enjoying a churro and soda (only $13 :)). A little family picture.

Cami and Jera lifting Shelby to see the animals at the zoo. Kora loved it too!

A wonderful day at the temple. Jera and Dustin having a deep conversation (actually I have no idea what they were talking about, but the picture is funny). Shelby pointing to the temple (cool picture). Chelsea and Shelby blowing bubbles.

Shelby was so tired she just fell asleep in my arms.

Dustin making Kora laugh.

The beautiful bride and groom.

One of Dustin's favorite parts of the trip - Sushi! Yum.

Pennington Family Visit

In mid-July Dustin's brother and sister, Gavyn and Ariona, came to Arizona and stayed with us for a few weeks. We has so much fun doing things like watching movies, Go-Kart racing, Jump Street, playing Risk and Clue, eating at Two Hippies, making cookies, and just hanging out.

The rest of Dustin's family (his Mom and Dad, and brother and sister Levi and Makenzie) drove from Arkansas to visit us and be here for Kora's blessing during the first weekend in August. We appreciated them coming so far. We were sad to see them leave and hope they visit again soon.

Kora's Blessing

On Sunday, August 7th, Dustin gave Kora a beautiful baby blessing at church. It was wonderful to have so many family there and enjoy her special day together. Thank you to everyone who came!

Flagstaff Trip

My sisters and I took a trip to Flagstaff on July 27th. We just wanted to get out of the heat and visit our old stomping grounds. We drove through campus, went downtown, and of course went shopping. The weather was perfect and we had a wonderful day.