She does more before 9am than most do in a day...

Our littlest is CRAZY. I don't know if it is just that I haven't had a toddler for a while, or if she is really unusual, but I can't get over how much this little girl gets into. She has an affinity for climbing. She climbs on any and everything. I decided to do this little photo gallery to illustrate what I mean. Notice how many of these pictures are in her jammies- litterally before 9 am. "Feeding the fish"- notice the pile of fish food on the counter

and the proud look on her face.

She loves to drag the barstools wherever she needs them-

mostly she takes them to the pantry where she helps

herself to snacks.

This one is new- she has been fascinated with the microwave

for a few days. Sometimes I will find her standing on the

burners on the stove. Soon she'll be cooking for the family.

This was a few months ago- I left the room for no more than 30 seconds-

in that time she used an unhung mirror as a step-stool to get on the

counter and brush her teeth, turn on and off the lights, throw stuff in the sinks, etc.

"Helping mommy garden"- Notice the nose and the soil stuck to the

drool on her hand. This picture doesn't do it justice.

Nothing like fresh baked bread- I turned around and she grabbed

a whole loaf and just started chomping at it.

Next, I got out the knife to slice some for Cam.

Elle wanted to try that too.

I used to keep a bowl of fruit on the counter-

until I started to find little 2 teeth bite marks in every fruit.

My mom said "I don't know how you get anything done." I don't do much more than follow her and try to keep damage to a minimum, but it is the best job I've ever had. She is truly a joy- we wouldn't trade her for the world. One of my favorite phrases since she has joined our family has been "I didn't know how much fun a little girl would be." I really didn't.

Then and Now

May 14, 1999

May 14, 2008

Today was our anniversary. 9 years have gone by so quickly, yet it seems like our lives have always been together (we have known each other since Jr. High). I like to say that I couldn't have written a more perfect story. I can't wait to see where the next nine years take us.

One Spring Day

Today we took advantage of the nice weather and spent most of the day outside- feeding the ducks and playing on the playground by the duck pond. The day went by so fast! It seemed like I woke up, sent Davis to school, worked out, played, picked up Daivs, and put the kids to bed. Usually my day feels more like dishes, pick up toys, put someone in time out, diapers, food, more dishes... you get the idea. I am so glad for the nice weather to break things up. Yea spring!

Women's Conference at BYU

I never knew what Women's Conference was until Kristi invited us to attend with her this year. What fun! It is two days of talks and classes just for women. Somehow Christina, Kristi, Cyd, Heather, and I were able to go Friday. We went ALL DAY- no kids- just girls- and got to listen to some amazing speakers. Kristi told us to bring a lunch since food lines get long. So we had a girly sack lunch (yum, yummy Chicken Quinoa Salad-from Pook and Bonnie's bread- from Cyd yum!). We were able to just go from class to class and didn't stop! We started at 9:00 and ended at 5:00, but it seemed to go so fast for me. I thought for sure I would fall asleep sitting in class all day, listening to talks, but I didn't! That says a lot about how great it was. Highlights for me were; John Bytheway (he talked about replacing our fears with faith), a class about teaching children to work, and President Monson telling stories and laughing with us.Notice our cute necklaces- Kristi made one for each of us.