Memorial Day Weekend 2013

For Memorial Day this year, we went to St. George for the Crump Family Reunion.  We had a blast!

We drove down on Friday night and spent Saturday morning/ afternoon at Sandhollow Reservoir outside of Hurricane, UT.  None of us had been there before, and while the campground wasn't very nice, and it was a long walk to the water, the lake was lots of fun! The girls thought that the red sand was SO COOL! We rode on Jen and Brian's boat, we built sandcastles, and visited with family and cousins.

Sabrina (white), and Fiona (red):

After we left the lake on Saturday, we went up Snow Canyon to camp there.  The girls were SO excited to sleep in a tent, and they did great! They were so exhausted from the lake and exploring the campground that they fell asleep in about ONE minute that night.

On Sunday, after sacrament meeting, we took the girls over to the St. George temple.  We had a picnic in the shade of a tree, walked around the visitors' center, and walked up the steps so that the girls could TOUCH the temple. They were so excited! They really really love all temples and they were so excited to be so close to one.  It was really tender to see how happy the temple made them.

After we got back to the campground that day, some of the cousins set up a zip line for everyone to use.  Fiona was a little nervous to go, but the slope wasn't very inclined, so she didn't go very fast.  She really loved it! We made a big deal about how proud of her we were, and so when it was Sabrina's turn, she hopped in the harness with no hesitation and she loved it as well.  It was a proud mama moment for me to see how big and brave my girls are getting!

Each morning looked like this:

Unfortunately, the girls and I spent most of the trip with really awful colds (which Dallin caught as soon as we got home) and so it was hard to sleep.  But we kept the girls so busy that they were too exhausted to stay awake.  Despite the colds, we had a really great time!

On the way home, we stopped to explore Cove Fort.  It was a fun detour and it was nice to get out of the car for a bit.

P.S. The air conditioner in our van had been acting up prior to our trip.  The fuse for the a/c compressor kept blowing.  But, we put a new fuse in when we got to St. George and it worked the whole time.  It was such a blessing, because it was SO hot! Every time we turned on the car and the A/C worked, we said a little pray of thanksgiving.  Tender, tender mercy!

Deep Conversations- Vol. Uno

Sabrina and Fiona are quite the talkers!

They are always saying things that amaze me, either because of the words they are using, or the amount of thought put into it. 

The other night during bedtime prayers, Fiona prayed that we would be patient (she probably mostly meant me)!

Or the other day, Sabrina asked if she could wear garments when she went to the temple when she was bigger. 

We have funny conversations too!

Sabrina: Who tooted? It smells!.... It was me. 

Fiona, sharing chocolate ice cream with Dad: It's not poop, it's ice cream!

Or Sabrina explaining to Dad that they sleep in big girl beds now because their cribs are disassembled in the closet, due to broken batteries (Who knew cribs had batteries? I sure didn't!).

But as much as the conversations we have amaze me, there are some things that just need translation to anyone outside the family. Some words and phrases just aren't understandable to someone who isn't here every day. 

For instance:

"Baby apples": Pouches of applesauce

"Fruit kines": Fruit snacks (Includes fruit snacks, fruit ropes, fruit leather, etc.)

"Slip slops": Flip flops

"Sweep me": Sleep by me (What Fiona says every nap time, and every bed time.)

"Shur-lurr": Cereal ("Blue frosting shur-lurr"- Frosted Shredded Wheat- is their current favorite)

"Paga": Grandpa

"Maga": Grandma

"Paga and Maga White Car": Dallin's parents

"Paga and Maga Truck": My parents (Why they associate the grandparents with vehicles? I have no idea! But it works for them, so we go with it.)

I sure love these little ladies, and I can't decide what I love more: the big words coming out of these teeny girls' mouths, or the funny little phrases that we just can't seem to correct. I guess it can just be a tie for now! And I will probably be sad when they get bigger and Paga becomes Grandpa.

Spring Day

Back in mid-March, we had about a week and a half of fabulously warm weather in which we spent every day all day outside in the sun. We got pink cheeks and a few more freckles and thought we were in heaven.
And then it got cold again.
Talk about a tease, Utah!
But then today (and hopefully from here on out), we had some nice Spring weather! Warm sun, a light jacket, and some flip-flops. A perfect day for a walk through the neighborhood.
So Sabrina, Fiona, and I set out on a mission to see as many flowers as we could. In as many colors as we could find.
Along the way we saw a few bugs. The conversation is as follows:

Sabrina: Bug! Bug!
Fiona: Don't worry, I stomp it! (Stomp)
Sabrina: Bye bye bug!

And we had a lot of success in the flower department too. Lots of tulips and a few daffodils, some dandelions and other pretty flowers.

Me: What color flowers do you see?
Sabrina & Fiona: YELLOW! ORANGE! WHITE! YELLOW! PURPLE! PINK! YELLOW! BLUE!!!

And in other news, Dallin had his last classes today! He turned in his last two papers, took his last final and he is a COLLEGE GRADUATE!!! Wahoo! I am so incredibly proud of him and how hard he has worked to get through school. It's been a long, hard ride but he did it. And he did it with flair! He got a 4.0 GPA several semesters. What a rock star! He is my hero and my favorite person ever! Love you Hun!

In other words, today was a perfect day!

Big girl beds

Remember how at the beginning of April, we moved the girls to big girl beds?
Well here is the report on how it's going:
Sabrina and Fiona both get an A+!!!

The first night, they were so exited that they jumped right in bed and fell fast asleep. That's how nap time and bedtime went for the first few days.
After a few days, they figured out that try weren't stuck in bed anymore, but still stay in pretty well.
For the first few days, they waited for us to come in and get them, but after a week or two, they realized that since they know how to open the door, there really isn't anything stopping them from coming out whenever they want.
However, they are great at following directions, so after we asked them to wait until Mom or Dad said it was okay to come out, they have complied exceptionally well! What good girls!
They still like a nightlight and in the last week, they have decided that they like to sleep with the door open. Which had me very nervous, but they actually fall asleep faster if its open. Then I just close it after they fall asleep.
Sabrina and Fiona are growing up so fast, I can't hardly stand it! Since January alone, we've gotten rid of binkies, we don't take sippy cups to bed anymore, and have moved onto big girl beds!
They are so proud of being big girls and they are working on potty training right now.
I would almost say that they are ready for baby sister to get here (I certainly am), except that then they will have to share Mommy's lap (and I don't think Mommy's lap fits three girls!).

Hugs

These girls love to hug! Or at least, Fiona loves to hug Sabina (all pics). But I have it on good authority that Sabrina likes it too. :)

Weekend

1-Haircut
2- The zoo

A Night at the Cinema

Last Saturday, we took Sabrina and Fiona to see a movie in the theater for the first time. We talked it up a lot, about how this movie was going to be bigger than all of us!
We took them to see Wreck It Ralph. They were pretty wiggly, and since it was just the dollar theater there was no stadium seating, so it was kind of hard for them to see. But they really liked it. They thought the bugs were bad and mean, but not scary. And the little girl, Vanellope, was really cute and small.
Overall, it was a success and they have already asked to go see a big movie gain soon.
It is so fun being a mom to these sweet girls, we get to try new things together and it's so fun to see their reaction to things! That doesn't mean that every day is easy, in fact a lot are hard, but it's all worth it!