Unposted post

While creating the slideshow of Taylee's birthday pictures, I found the slideshow I created of our trip to Moab in May with Mark and Amber. Then I found the post I wrote about our trip, neither of which were actually posted. I guess I got sidetracked trying to find a way to upload the slideshow into the post that I wrote. I still don't know how, so here is the post I wrote, and below is the slideshow.

Last weekend Kent and I joined Kent's brother and sister-in-law, Mark and Amber, on a quick trip to Moab. It was just a short getaway, but we had an absolute blast! Most relaxing and enjoyable two days we've had in quite some time. I did miss my baby girl more than I expected, but it made our homecoming that much sweeter. We arrived on Friday mid-day, and immediately hit the trail for Delicate Arch. It was a little rough acclimating after sitting in the car for 4 hours, but we made it to the arch, and enjoyed our $5 footlongs from Subway while gazing upon Delicate Arch. After checking in to our condo - (which was really nice, and worked out to less than $100 per night, per couple!), we relaxed with drinks and headed for our favorite Moab eatery, Pasta Jay's! As always it was delicious. I indulged in Pasta Jay's newest addition - Margaritas!! It turned into quite the party! We awoke surprisingly refreshed on Saturday morning, and hit the road for Arches Nat'l Park again. We cruised all the way to the end of the road and went for another hike, the Devil's Garden trail, which allowed us viewing of Landscape Arch, the fallen Wall Arch, Navajo Arch, and Double O Arch. It was certainly a worthy hike. We got back to town tired and hungry and went straight to lunch at the Moab Brewery. Yummy! We spent a bit in the room cleaning up and preparing for our 5:30 tee time at the Moab Golf Club. Kent, Mark, and I golfed nine holes, and Amber indulged in a little photography session. A good time was had by all. It was possibly the slowest nine holes we have ever played, as the threesome in front of us had to make frequent stops for their two small dogs to use the potty. Seriously?! Never seen dogs on the golf course before. Guess there is a first time for everything . . . By the time we were done it was well after eight, and we headed to meet my dad and his comrades (who just happened to be visiting Moab as well!) at the Branding Iron for dinner. This meal was the only disapointment of the trip, food-wise. Company-wise, we had a great time. We were practically the only people in the restaurant, which was probably a good thing, as we were NOT quiet! Sadly, Sunday brought our return home. We left Moab at 85 degrees, and hit SLC at 45 degrees. Ouch! We did take the opportunity to see Gemini Bridges before leaving town. If you've never had the opportunity to see it, it is well worth a visit! Anyways, we came home to a cold and rainy mothers day, but also to a little girl who was very glad to see her mommy and daddy. Thanks for watching our girl Nana and Grandma & Grandpa Judson! We had a great get-away!

Moab 2011

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2 Year Check-up

Taylee had her two year check-up this week. I told Kent that now that she has passed her check-up with flying colors, she is 'officially' two! He thinks I am silly. Dr. Strasser was pleased with all aspects of Taylee's development, especially with her developing speech. Last time she saw her (at 18 months), Taylee was using only a few words. When Dr. Stasser asked if Taylee uses 2-3 word phrases, we were pleased to report that she is occasionally using full sentences of 4 or more words! I guess this means she is caught up?! In fact, I may make next weeks visit to the speech therapist at Primary's our last. At least for now. I suspect that Taylee may eventually need further therapy to help refine her pronunciation. She still has a tendency to push her sound thru her nose (apparently a typical cleft palate characteristic). But for now, I am so thrilled that my daughter talks! A lot! So, the official stats:

Height 34.5 inches = 77th %
Weight 24 lbs 6 oz = 21st %
OFC 46.9 cm = 34th %

Party Time!

We had a birthday bash for Taylee on Sunday. A good time was had by all. Well, except maybe Taylee. She was a little overwhelmed by all the people, and kept trying to escape the party. She repeatedly dragged nana into the garage. So sad. However, once it was time to open presents, she was enjoying herself again.
We set up Grandma's blow-up water slide and the baby pool in our backyard, along with cabanas for shade. We had meat trays, rolls, potato salad and pasta salad, cookies, and all sorts of goodies. Followed, of course, by cake and ice cream!
For posterities sake, the attendees were: Lana, Danny, Tavin, Mark, Amber, Kenzie, Nana, Poppie, Ginger, Aden, Garrett, Xavier, Grandma Judson, Grandpa Judson, Mike, Shelly, Cody, Hunter, Scott, Ranae, Mike, Jennika, Dawson, Daphne, Summer, Courtney, Elle, Max, and of course, me, Kent, Skyler, and Taylee. We were so grateful that Aunt Ginger, Aden, Garrett, and Xavier were able to travel all the way from Colorado to celebrate with us. This visit turned Taylee's birthday celebration into an all weekend event! The whole fam went to the Roy Aquatic Center on Friday (minus me - sleeping after night shift, and Kent - working), then we did fireworks Friday night. On Saturday we spent the evening at Boondock's - way fun!! By Sunday the party was in full swing! This weekend of fun and frolicking, and staying up past our bedtimes, was a little too much for my sweet little two year old, and she had a little (ok, MAJOR) meltdown on Sunday evening.
But, alas, she was good as new on Monday morning, ready to play with all her new birthday gifts. She got new clothes, a new baby doll and a stroller, a teaset, an Elmo doll, some puzzles and books, her ELMO phone (can you tell she likes Elmo?), a dollhouse, a homemade ice cream maker, two singamajigs, several movies, and a new little motorized quad. And I haven't even spent the money that Aunt Tota and Great Grandpa Gene sent for her! Can you say SPOILED?! The good news is that she has been playing with everything she got, and enjoying ALL of it! Thank you everyone for spoiling my baby and coming along to help make her day special. She may not appreciate it (yet), but Kent and I sure do!

PS Don't know how to load my slideshow into this post, so scroll down to the next to view photos of the party.

Taylee's Birthday Party

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Look Who's Two!

Dear Taylee,

Today you are two years old! I can hardly believe that you are not my baby anymore. Well, really, you will always be my baby. But it seems like just yesterday that you were a tiny little newborn. You have been such a wonderful blessing in our lives. You bring us so much joy! These are some fun and silly things about you these days -

* You love the park! You tell me park , duck, water every night before bed and every morning when you wake up. We go to the park almost every day. Sometimes it's the only way to get you into your carseat! When we drive by a park you say "I see a park dere!" If I don't agree with you, you yell about the park until I agree. But, I think you believe that all swingsets are parks. When we drive by Lowe's and you see the swingset display, you tell me there's a park over dere! Silly girl.

* You are most definitely a mama's girl. Often you refuse to let daddy do things for you, like get you out of the car or carry you. When daddy carries you, you say "mommy hold you!" I give in to you a lot because I can't resist snuggling you!

* If I am going somewhere and you want to come along, you say "mommy, whichoo!"

* While cleaning up your toys daddy taught you to sing "clean up, clean up!" You love it!

* You hate to have your "bahper" changed. Unless you know that something fun will follow the task. Then you flop down on the floor and stick your legs up into the air. It's hilarious!

* One day while looking for your hippo toys, you said "hippos, wa ahr you?!" Ever since then you ask where everything and everyone is. At the park if there are no kids, you say "kids, wa ahr you?!" At home, looking for Skyler, it's "Skaer, wa ahr you?!" It's so cute! Sometimes Skyler hides just to get you to say it.

* You are learning to say please and thank you. But sometimes you get mixed up and say "thank you!" when you hand me something.

* You are kind of a picky eater, but you love to eat chicken nuggets, avocado, mac n' cheese and spaghetti, peas, and string cheese.

* You still love "Sneet" (Sesame Street), and you can name most of the characters. Elmo, Big Bird, Murry, Telly, Monster (Cookie Monster), and Abby. You also love to watch your "moomies," mostly Baby Einstein or Baby Genius, but sometimes you get to watch "Memo!" (Finding Nemo)

I could go on and on about you Taylee Bug! You are our favorite girl in the whole wide world!We love you little one! Happy Birthday!

And here are a few pix of you with your new birthday gift.

Picnic Fun!

Last week Taylee and I had the opportunity to go to Salt Lake and meet up with a couple of my girlfriend's from work and their little ones. We had a little lunch at Liberty Park then we hit the playground! The kids had tons of fun playing. Us mommie's had tons of fun chasing them, and we even found just a little time to chat! ;)

Here are the little bits . . .

L to R

Zane & Mia (Adrienne's), Lydia & Nyah (Jessy's),

and of course Taylee (mine!)

Cute little Nyah and I had a great time sliding together!

Mia was insistent on taking off her clothes.

Pretty soon she found a fun pole to play with.

You can imagine the jokes this provoked.

Lydia and Mia were fast friends!

Zane and Mia had a great time on the swings.

So did Nyah and Lydia.

Taylee decided the bark was more fun.

Hmmmm.

Although we had a small scare when

we lost Nyah, we had lots of fun.

(don't worry, we found her!)

Too bad we can't do this more often!

Two Year Photos

My cute friend Summer took some photos of Taylee last week. It was an adventure to say the least!! Luckily Summer brought her little helper Elle and they both wore their running shoes. We chased her up, down, and all around! If you are interested in viewing all 200+ photos, visit sweettayleegirl.shutterfly.com, use the password "baby." Here are just a few of our favorites -

Taylee broke free during her wardrobe change,

and she took full advantage!

Luckily Summer caught it on film.

Hiking Mt. Ogden

The boys went out for another big hike last weekend. They tackled Mt. Ogden, and although they didn't reach the summit they had an exhilarating, exhausting hike. Next time they plan to hike to the top, then take the Snowbasin gondola down the other side! That way they won't feel so exhausted with the thought that every step they take up the mountain is a step they will have to take back down. Several years ago Kent and I hiked to the top then went down the Snowbasin side of the mountain. It was fun, but also very exhausting. Well, you won't see us making an attempt at Everest anytime soon! Mountaineers we are not! But day hikers? For sure!!

They even found large snow drifts up near the top.

And, of course, the post wouldn't be complete without the flower Kent picked for me!

Party Prep!

Taylee's birthday is coming up, and along with her birthday, is a birthday party!! We prepped the pool (i.e. patched the holes!) last week so it would be ready for her party. The big blow up water slide is a bit too much for Taylee and the littles. But the big kids love it!

Skyler claims that this pool is the perfect place to get a tan.

Personally, I think he looks pretty uncomfortable . . .

And I included this picture just cuz I like it! So there!

Zion National Park

Recently my boys had the opportunity to take a quick jaunt down to Zion National Park. This was something that Kent had been wanting to take Skyler to do for quite some time, and since I had a few days off to stay home with miss Taylee, they headed off! They were pretty disappointed upon their arrival to find this . . .
The high waters this spring had kept the river running high further into the season than normal. They decided to make the best of things and headed out for the Emerald Pools. This turned out to be a good warm-up hike for them . . .
Because the next day they tackled Angel's Landing! This trail is quite well-known for it's beauty as well as it's terror-inducing heights and drop-offs. Several people have died on this trail in the past several years. Needless to say, I wasn't so sure I wanted them to complete this hike! They did indeed hike all the way to the top, along with more people than you would anticipate on such an intimidating trail. Apparently it's reputation precedes itself! Here are a few photos to demonstrate . . .

I wasn't even there, and I am sure these photos don't do this hike justice!

In this next photo you may notice Skyler's knuckles clutching the chain. Do they look a little white to you? ;) Mine certainly would be.

But, alas, they did summit, and they said it was well worth it! The trip was exhausting but pretty spectacular, as they have never had the opportunity to enjoy Zion before. I am looking forward to going along next time!

They even managed to slip in some pool time and 9 holes of golf at Sky Mountain. They took no pix of their golf game, because they were too busy avoiding the houses lining the course. Kent is notorious for hitting houses, and we avoid courses with houses at all costs! Little did they know when they went off the back nine what they were in for!!

My favorite part of these recent hiking trips Kent and Skyler have been taking is that Kent spends a few minutes on each hike to find me a flower. He takes a photo of "my flower" and brings it home for me. Seriously, how sweet is that? Here is my flower from Angel's Landing . . .

Happy Hiking Everyone!

Happy Hillbilly 4th of July!

We had a wonderful 4th of July weekend! We started out on Saturday attending a bbq at an old friends house. Good times were had by all, even Taylee. She conquered the massive hill in their backyard, announcing to the whole party "I did it!" when she reached the top. We kept her out a little later than we should have, but were glad to find that she did just fine. She didn't find her way to her crib until after midnight! Her normal bedtime is well before nine.

On Sunday we spent the afternoon at the Roy Aquatic Center. We all enjoyed an afternoon of fun in the sun!

On Monday, the 4th, we headed to Ogden for the Hot Rockin' 4th Demolition Derby! If you've never been to a derby, I suggest you check it out. It's a hillbilly event for sure, but way fun! Taylee was manageable, and really liked it when each new heat would begin and all the cars would be revving their engines and roaring around hitting each other. We taught her to say "car go boom!" I hope she doesn't remember this when she turns 16! The fireworks display afterwards was excellent, and the first that Taylee was actually aware of. She loved it, pointing at the fireworks and exclaiming "whoa!!" and "pitty!" (pretty!). We headed home after the event, and by this time it was nearly 11 pm. Once again, well past bedtime. She would fall asleep in the car, then suddenly awaken and yell "car boom!" She did this several times on the way home. It was hilarious!

We are so grateful we have our independence to celebrate! God Bless America!

P.S. Yes, these are the best pictures I have from the 4th, because I forgot my camera, so I was using my phone, which has a poor excuse for a camera.

P.P.S. Taylee didn't drain a whole coke in this last photo. But we did let her taste a little dribble!