Easter in Moab 2010

It has become a rather new tradition for our family to go to Moab for the Easter Jeep Safari. We have been going down since 2005. At that time, we had our own jeep and last year we sold it because it doesn't really fit us anymore, for we have our eye on the new Jeep Wrangler JK. Well, we always go on at least one ride and it has to be Big Saturday. It definitely is a thrill, but the endless potty breaks with that big of a group (20 + jeeps) gets a little annoying, but we love it just the same! For our Big Saturday ride, we went on Seven Mile Rim. While on our journey, I was able to snap some pictures!

Reagan and her silly grin she has been pulling lately!

I live for this tilty stuff, but Dad...not so much! Notice the death grips on the steering wheel! And this isn't even bad!!!!!!!

Saige enjoying herself! Every bump she would say...WOWA!

Dad, Saige, Liz, and Savannah hiking under Uranium Arch

One of her 3 cat naps! This wasn't her ideal sleeping quarters!

Savannah at one of her happy moments! Actually, she didn't complain half as much as I thought she would! Not to be pessimistic or anything!

Our family hike to see some dinosaur tracks and petroglyphs! Reagan was sleeping, so Papa stayed behind so we could enjoy ourselves! Thanks Dad!

I can't live without Pasta Jays Pasta Carolena! MMM, Yummy! This is Bryce, Reagan, and my dad while waiting for our scrumptious food!

Saige and Daddy on a stroll...ok, more like Daddy chasing after Saige! This is when he got her to turn around!

Savy being silly and playing peek-a-boo under the coffee table!

Papa and Saige. You can see the family resemblance with the hair...both have crazy hair do's!

Easter Egg hunt! It was so much fun to watch the girls find the eggs, they really didn't know what to do at first, but then they got the hang of it and we ended up re-hiding the eggs again because they were having so much fun! This year, the Easter Bunny brought them a Mickey Mouse, Pooh Bear, candy, bubbles, and money.

My Little Buggy

I am desperately trying not to be one of those stereotypical mothers who only take pictures of their first(s) child(ren)! Seems like by the time you get to the 3rd kid, the camera doesn't come out much! Well, I am bound and determined to make sure Reagan has some memories and she wont have anything to complain about when it comes to lack of pictures of her!

Hang'n out!

I took this with my very own camera! It turned out well!

Gett'n so busy!

She has finally mastered the rolling over from back to belly! This has been happening for a couple of weeks, but not long! Unfortunately, this isn't her first rollover!

Walla...she is so proud of herself!

Finishing the Basement

Well, we are in the process of finishing our basement! It will be so nice when it is all done! Ahhh, the extra room will be so nice! Bryce has been working so hard to get it done, and his dad has been helping a ton! With 2 extra bedrooms, a bathroom, and one great big play room...we wont know what to do with the extra space! Tuh, tuh, I am sure I can find lots of things to fill it up with and I am very sure Bryce hasn't lost faith in me either! At any rate, insulation and drywall begin tomorrow. It is now time for me to pick out paint, trim, and carpet! Yahoo!

Extra bathroom that is connected to the spare bedroom and theater/game room!

Looking from the spare bedroom to the bathroom and extending into the theater room.

Spare bedroom and walk in closet attached to the bathroom.

From one end of the basement looking to the other. The first wall will be where the big screen will be and the room behind it is going to be my craft room and Bryce's sportsmans room.

My GIRLS R Famous!

When my little S & S were just teeny tiny, I took them to LITTLE ANGELS Photography and had their pictures taken! They turned out so cute...and now...they are famous! The photographer decorates hospitals' labor and delivery units and various Doctors offices. I just happened to be on Little Angels' blog today and she had a picture of them! So fun! Nothing like showing off your CUTE kids!

Major Paul D. Jewell

Last Friday, I had the honors of accompanying my Grandpa to the HAFB Aerospace Museum. It was such a wonderful experience for me to be there with him. We asked him if he wanted to go a few days before that and he said "no!" But, we were very sure that once he got there, he would love it and that was very true! When he pulled up in his "ride," he saw the planes in front of him and you could see the satisfaction on his face! It was great.
He absolutely loves planes. It was awesome to hear him give us some information about what he did, where he was, and what happened.

This plane was the P-47, but he said it wasn't the one

he actually flew because there was other models

and they don't have that one at Hill.

This was the type of plane when Grandpa was shot down over Belgium. We asked him what happened to the plane, he said they had to bury it. Hmm, anyone want to go to Belgium to recover a plane probably worth millions? He did manage to salvage a piece of the plane and had stowed it away in one of his flight jackets for many years. It wasn't until a couple of years ago, my uncle found it in his pocket. Later, my uncle had it framed with the dirt and presented it to my Grandpa!


















Ok, so there was a little bit of confusion when I shot this footage. Grandpa thought it was the P-51 that he was shot down in, but it was actually the P-47, but I still like to watch it anyway!

I didn't get all of his reaction when we came upon the P-38, I was a little late, but at least I got some of it!

Jordan, Curt, Grandpa, Mom, and Me!

This is the P-51. From what I gather, this was his favorite! I may be a little off, but...just a hunch!

Me, Grandpa, and Curt (my bro).

Grandpa giving a sigh, then said, "Thats My Baby!"

The woman talking with Grandpa is PJ, she is the person we owe a BIG thank you to. She is the one who made it possible for him to come on his field trip. Also, Grandpa was such an HONORED guest, he was given special permission to touch the planes. No one else could!

This is Grandpa explaining to my mom that my Grandma used to work on the simulators as a link constructor and did the ground work for the planes in Columbus AFB Mississippi in 1952. Grandpa was a flight instructor for the T-26's and the T-28's at that time.

Of course, I cannot forget the "LOVE BIRDS!"

My Grandpa is amazing. All in all, this was a great trip! Like I said before.....IT WAS AN HONOR to be there with him and IS an honor to be his granddaughter! I would not have missed this for the world!

Raven About Reagan!

Oh little Ray Ray, she is a hoot! She is now sitting completely on her own, she is reaching for things, talking up a storm, and is the happiest kid I have ever known in existence! She is eating solid foods now, no longer breast feeding, and is working on the hand - eye coordination by picking up little treats off the floor. She is holding her bottle on her own.
I must mention, that this little girl is such a Mommy's girl! I love to see the look on her face when I haven't seen her in a while! She gets the biggest grin, I love it! She also snuggles against my shoulder and cuddles by burying her little face! She loves to giggle and finds a lot of things funny!

She loves balloons and anything that makes noise or that is small enough to fit in her hand. She is also working on transferring objects from each hand....but she has NOT rolled over yet! She is now 7 months old and just has not shown any interest what so ever to roll over! When I lay her on her belly, she will do little push ups, but that is about it. When I lay her on her back, she will reach for things behind her, but I just think her big-little bum is too big and can't get enough momentum going to roll it over!

I LOVE THAT BIG BUM!

Crazy Girl Bannah!

Little Savy...oh my little Savy! She is a handful! She is so clever it is absolutely astounding! Hmm, I am having a hard time figuring out who she is taking after, me or Bryce. She is the little trickster and such a little FART! She reminds me a lot of ME when I was little, by the looks she gets on her face like she knows when she is going to do something that is wrong or has done something wrong.

I try to work with her as much as I can or as much as she will allow time for by reading or learning new things. She doesn't say much that is in the ENGLISH language, but you can tell she is listening to you, but wants you to believe she is ignoring you! For example, I tried to teach her shapes and I pointed to the circle and asked her to say "circle," but she just looked at it then lifted her little pointer finger to the general direction and then changed course by pointing to whatever she wanted to point to. This is how I know she is a little stinker, because she will do what she wants, when she wants, and how she wants! HMM, sounds like me!

Yes, she is a little smarty pants in her own little way! Unlike Saige being able to process things, Savannah is a quick tempered little thinker! She knows when she wants something and she will be darned if she doesn't get it! AND, her emotions can turn on a dime! A complete 180 if your not careful! She has always been really emotional and I like to claim that she is PPPMS (premature - pre - PMS)!

A funny thing she does is when she is upset or fussy, she will come stand below me (usually when I am trying to make dinner) and grab at me to hold her and she will say "HOney......HONee!" I can't tell if she is trying to say HOLD ME or she has associated "honey" with what me and Bryce call them sometimes out of sympathy. Doesn't really matter, cuz its all cute anyway!

Savannah is absolutely obsessed with her blanket or "bankeT." She really emphasizes the T on the end. Both her and Saige hold the blanket to their mouths, make a clicking sound, and strokes the blanket between their fingers! It's very odd that both of them do the same thing!

Another funny thing about Savy is that when she wants a drink, she calls it a "grink."

Bryce wanted to make sure I mentioned she was a Daddy's girl, BUT I have to also mention that she doesn't want him when she is sick! LOL

So, this is a little glimps of my little Bannah Girl, hope you enjoyed this as much as I loved writing it!

Much Too Fast!

I would have to say that Saige is learning much too fast, I can barely keep up with her! Everything I teach her, she just excels at and wants to know more! Right now, we are working on her colors and shapes! She is very, very good at remembering things (like Daddy-except he claims his is "useless" information).

Tonight, we all sat on the floor getting ready to read a book and she comes and hands me a shapes book. There were triangles, rectangles, squares, and circles. Her favorite was a triangle and she pronounces it so cute, but so amazingly clear! Then I was combing Savannah's hair and Saige came to me with a box of crayons. She started to pull each of them out and said, "Color?" She was meaning what color were the crayons she was pulling out. She can remember that a color is green, so every time I ask her the color of a shirt or something, she will say green. But, when I told her the colors of each crayon, she would repeat back the color like she is filing it away in her "will need to know someday" file! She cracks me up! I did catch her studying on her own other colors too. She would say pink and orange. So I know she knows there are colors but hasn't been able to associate the colors yet with the correct names!

A few weeks ago, the nice "sick" bug went through our house. Reagan was coughing and Saige gets down on Reagan's level and says, "U arigh?"

About a week ago, Saige was bending over to pick up a toy and she let a stinker. She stood up tall and looked over at me and said, "cues me!" I just had to have a belly jiggle. She will also say "cues me" after she burps! When anyone else burps or stinkers, she will say "cues me" as well. AND, last but not least, when she sneezes, she will say "bless me" and "blesshoo" when someone else sneezes! She is so full of manners! AND, when Savannah does something to her (like pinch or pull hair) I always scold Savy for what she did. Soon to follow, Saige will repeat what I said which more often that not is, "Bannah, be nice!"

Last night, Saige, Savannah, and me were making Snickerdoodles and when I was rolling the dough, she kept saying, "Playdough." Then she would give me a disgusted look. I kept telling her it was cookie dough and it was good! It took her a while for her to believe me and that it didn't taste nasty like playdough.

I cannot believe how fast she is learning. I just bought flash cards for 4 year olds and I have started to go through some of those with her! It is amazing to watch her progress and her vocabulary and knowledge grow!

Like Strawberry Wine; 17

(Hmmm,wish I could look 17 again!)

So, I was making some yummy breadsticks for dinner the other day and Deanna Carter's song; STraWBerRY WiNE, came on. It was fun to reflect back on the memories of when I was seventeen. This song was very popular among my group of friends and this song meant something very different to me then vs. now! It was interesting because it was just then that I got my first taste of love and it was gone in an instant. Fun stuff? Not quite--that is where I learned my first life-long lesson! It was also interesting to think about the could-a beens, the should-a dones, and the woopsie's!

One other thing that sticks out in my mind was thinking that 30 was old! Now that I am (almost) there, its crazy to think that 30 is just around the corner for me! It's amazing how much I have changed, how much growing up I have done, how much growing up I have left, and all that has happened thus far!

SO, if you are reading this and you have been in my life at any point of time....

THanK YoU for helping me become the amazing woman I have become!

Talking Up a Storm!

Isn't it funny how we spend the first 2 years of a childs life trying to teach them to sit, crawl, walk, and talk and the next 16+ years trying to get them to sit down and shut-up? Well, it is beginning for us. Saige is just-a talking up a storm. Tonight, Saige and I had our first real conversation:

Saige: (burp) "Cu-me!"

Me: (laugh) "You're funny, Saige!"

Saige: "Daddy home?"

Me: "Nope, he's working."

Saige: "Yep, he's worken!"

(pause)

Saige: "Worken n home?"

Me: "Yep, he is at work then he will come home."

Saige: "Oh."

(pause)

Saige: "Oh no, Banna no dum pet!" (Savannah was dumping her plate)

Saige is such a smart little girl! She is very mature for her age and rarely gets in trouble. Usually it is Savannah that is always getting in trouble. For example, when she doesn't get her way, she will pull Saige's hair, bit, or pinch. Then she looks at me and giggles! UGGGH. I am a firm believer that when people say that at this age they don't know any better....blah...I disagree!

Savannah isn't really putting a whole lot of words together yet. But, she is definitely a girly girl! I think her favorite words are "NO," "MILK," "DADDEE," ,"BANKET," and "MINE." She may be our cuddly girl, but she is our little turkey! She is definitely more naughty than Saige. I thought Saige was going to me our naughty one, but Savannah has proven me wrong! But, Savy sure does have a trick up her sleeve to wiggle right into your heart! The looks she gives are priceless! She really can be a sweet little girl, when she wants to be!

As mentioned before in previous posts, Savy likes to be flipped, tossed, twirled, and the like! I have taught the girls how to do somersaults. Savy is working on a back bend right now. It's amazing how quick they learn. When I say "do a somersault" they will lean forward and put their head on the floor and try to walk up towards their head. Usually they need a little assistance to get their diaper butt going in the right direction. When I tell Savy to do a back bend, she comes and stands right in front of me, puts her arms out, and looks backwards.

My girls are so much fun!