Hello Again...

Wow... Has it really been 7 months since I've updated this?? There's really no good excuse, but I think everyone will understand if I just say - LIFE. So, to update all the readers of my blog, I guess I'll have to start with my kids...

Ellie started piano lessons and is loving it. She passed me up in height this year!! And not just by an inch! See for yourself-

She also started 5th grade and is loving school as much as ever.


Josh is playing soccer again this fall and started 2nd grade. He is also getting so big, but I better at least have a few more years of standing taller than him!


Little Lexi...Just turned 16 months old. Where to start with her progress! Well, she's walking now - since July actually. She's pretty much running around non-stop these days getting into everything! The bathroom drawer and the kitchen drawers are her favorite play places. I find toothbrushes and measuring cups all over the house. She is so much fun! She is talking a lot and just becoming a little person. She has become obsessed with Daddy, especially at bedtime and can't get enough of Ellie and Josh.

Since I've neglected to post anything over the summer, here is a collection of pictures from our many trips to the Cabin, Montana, Lagoon and many more places...

As for the parents... John has been busy at work and school. He is busy getting his bachelors in Social Work. He has already completed 4 classes! I am so proud of him for choosing to finish his degree.
I have been busy with kids, work - I went back to my old job 2 days a week, and training. I ran the Bair Gutsman again this year in August and ran my first full marathon on Sept. 18th - the Top of Utah Marathon! I was so excited to run the race and so nervous also! I had been battling with a sore hamstring for a week or so before the race and that made me even more nervous, but there was no way I wasn't going to run the race. My sister-in-law, Amy, ran the race with me and made it such a fun experience. We were doing pretty good for most of the race and although my leg began bothering me early on, I still felt pretty good at the half way point. We made it in about 1.45 and were on pace to finish under 4 hrs until my leg and knee completely went out on me on mile 21. I made it to the finish line at 4.28 and was really proud of myself to finish! I am really excited to run another one and plan to do 2 races next year. Hopefully, starting injury free!

Okay, there it is. A quick and lengthy update. I am making a goal to stay on top of my updating!

Cake, Cake and more Cake!

It's been since December since I posted a cake... A large update:

Mission farewell to Madagascar:


Super Mario bros cake: Done for Josh's birthday..


Cake for the Superbowl:



Chihuahua cake: Done for Ellie's Birthday. Those are all of our dogs, including Skippy (RIP)




60th Birthday cake:




Wedding cake: I made all the flowers from gumpaste.


This cake was done for a company's basketball tournament:

Alexis...

Lexi is growing so fast! She is now officially crawling, she is getting her first tooth (see pic below), she stands by herself and is now a little girl, not a little baby. Is there something we can give these kids to stop growing??

The tooth...it's been a few days since this picture and it has broken the surface completely.



We still see a lot of this:

Lexis loves this sink...here she is taking a bath in it:

Here she is just playing in it - her favorite place to be when im doing anything in the kitchen:

Birthdays

Happy Birthday to Josh and Ellie!! Every February they have their birthday parties exactly a week a part...Josh's bday is on the 1st and Ellie's is on the 10th. I guess I was busy with kids and other party responsibilities because for some reason, I don't have very many pictures and the ones I snapped are pretty bad. Next year I'll have to put someone on camera duty...

Ellie tuned 10!!


Josh turned 7!!

Ellie's First Cake

Ellie got a cake decorating kit from Santa for Christmas. She loves helping me and John in the kitchen with decorating cakes and she bakes brownies and cake by herself all the time. This is her first time decorating a cake all by herself:

cake

This cake was done for Stephanie's birthday...her favorite color is yellow :)

Lexi - 7 months

Little Alexis is starting to move...almost crawling but not yet. I'm torn between excitement and anxiety... are my floors clean enough, how fast will she wear out the knee area in her pants, the constant arch of her back to get down from my arms to explore (especially places I don't want her to), the messes to clean, the scary things she could put in her mouth.... ugh

she looks really Asian in this picture:

Her scooting around:

Christmas

Our Christmas was so much fun this year. Here are some pictures to share of our morning:

Ellie and some of her loot:

Josh and some of his:

Even Lexi scored from Santa:

And there was no forgetting Leia:

The best gift this Christmas (to quote my kids) was the newest addition to our family, little Bella. She was hidden and the kids had to follow a scavenger hunt of clues to find her. She is a sweet little chihuahua, and hopefully a good friend for Leia, who has really needed a play friend since we lost Skippy:

This Christmas really helped us to realize that we are so blessed to have so many great friends and family.