20 month pics

I know that's a random age to get pics done, but it's been a while since she's had them done - better late than never, right? My mom gave me a free sitting and 8x10 from Studio West Photography. Karl did such a fantastic job!!! I was so happy with the way they turned out and with the whole experience! It was WAY better than Kiddie Kandids. No long lines, lots of room to run around, I didn't feel stressed at all. And don't you just LOVE that big, fluffy tutu? My friend Kenzie made it and I just love it - Emmy does, too! Thanks so much, Kenzie!

So here are the results of the photo shoot - these are the pics we ordered (of course I got more than the free 8x10! The main pic above on the blog is the 8x10 that we got. Isn't it adorable?):

Family Reunion

We also went to a family reunion while we were in SLC this past weekend. I volunteered to plan the big event and, thanks to Stephanie, April, my mom and sister, it turned out great!!! I couldn't have done it w/out those ladies - thanks for the help! We had a carnival - there was face painting, a cotton candy machine, a bouncy house and a big blow-up water slide. It was so much fun! Here are the highlights . . .

The cotton candy machine - yum yum!

Family pic w/ grandma and grandpa - they are troopers!

Emmy, don't you know that cotton candy is yummy? So why are you letting it fall to the ground, silly girl!

4 generations of beautiful ladies!

Our family!

I will post more pics when I get them from Stephanie. She was the official family photographer :) I'll have one of the whole family then, aunts, uncles, cousins and all.

Boating

While we were in Salt Lake, we went boating up at Jordanelle with my family. It was such a blast! The weather was perfect and so was the water. Here are some highlights . . .My man wakeboarding

Emmy and Dylan riding in the tube. Emmy wasn't digging it . . .

Mommy and Emmy

Emmy did a little better in the tube w/ her momma :)

My mom even joined in on the fun and water ski'd! Go mom!

24th of July

We had a great 24th of July this year! We made the trek to Salt Lake and spent time with my family and Jake's family. We ate, set off fireworks and just had fun! Here are the highlights . . .

Emmy and her "twin" Emma. They were born on the same day and have almost the same name.

The glorious FiReWoRkS!

Jake's fam. His brother's wife, his sister, his brother and their kids.

So pretty!

Happy Birthday, Honey!!!!

My cute hubby!!!

Jake turned the big 30 this past weekend!!! He wasn't too excited about turning 30, so I surprised him with a weekend getaway to Vegas. We had so much fun! Thanks to my sister, Lindsey, for watching Emmy!

Hanging out by the pool at the resort

I also surprised Jake with tickets to Blue Man Group. Jake has wanted to see it ever since I've known him so I thought it would be a great surprise. It was a pretty cool show! I didn't really know what to expect, but they were really funny (even though they never talked) and the music was pretty cool. They had the same expression on their faces the whole show (see below for pics). We also got really cheap tickets to Mama Mia (the play, not the movie) so that was fun to see, too. We also saw The Dark Knight (it was seriously cool) and Wanted (again, seriously cool). That's what we do when we have a kid free weekend, see movies! We had a great time celebrating Jake's birthday. It's always nice to get away for the weekend!

Strange Blue Man . . .

Another strange Blue Man . . . plus I look sick in this picture. What can you do?

The Blue Man Group band

We love you, honey, and are so glad to have you as a husband and father. We are so lucky!!! You are so selfless, so willing to help whenever and wherever needed. You are such a hard worker. You are so willing to help around the house, change diapers, do dishes, clean. Thanks for being such a great example to me!!! I LOVE YOU!!! Oh, and you're hot, too :)

A day at the zoo!

Last week when we were in Salt Lake, we decided to take Emmy to Hogle Zoo. We met some friends there, Ammon, Tasha and Izzy, and set off for an animal adventure! We had a lot of fun but it was blazing hot!!! Emmy's poor little cheeks were so red. We saw a bunch of animals, rode the carousel and the train. Funny story: Emmy started picking up garbage off the ground when we got off the train. A man that worked at the zoo came up to us and gave us a free ride on the train since Emmy was helping out! What a great helper :) And, of course, she and Izzy had a lot of fun getting wet and playing with the big stone water ball.

Looking at the elephants
Family pic in front of the big elephant. It makes these loud elephant noises - Emmy loved it!
Right before riding the carousel
Emmy got to ride on the panda - she was so excited! She kept saying "panda! panda!" She loves pandas ever since we took her to see Kung Fu Panda.
She wasn't too happy about getting off the carousel

Riding the train and sucking all the germs off the rail - yuck!!!

The poor red cheeks!

Playing at the water ball w/ Izzy (in the pink tank top)
Getting her hands wet! It was a nice way to cool off after walking around in the 100 + degree heat!

Playing dress-up

Emmy's favorite new past-time is playing dress-up. She will run up to me holding a tutu or a pretty dress and say "Dress! Dress!" Here are some of the latest dress-up pics. My sister gave me some of her little girl's old dresses (not necessarily dress-up dresses, but Emmy LOVES to put them on) and that is what the red and white dress is. She also loves to put on hats and shoes, even if they are big high heels - no shoe is out of the question!

4th of July fun!

We had a great time on the 4th! There is just something so fun about the 4th of July. We spent the holiday in Salt Lake with my family. We had fun barbecueing, lighting fireworks and spending time with each other. Here are some pics that highlight our holiday . . .

Family pic in my parent's backyard
Emmy and daddy watching fireworks (in the light . . . we couldn't wait until dark!)

More fireworks w/ Maddy, Sonya and Grey
This is the face Emmy makes when she talks . . . I guess she liked the fireworks!
Emmy and daddy