Alright Already!!

Am I the only one that thinks its really time for it to actually be summer?! We have been trying to do as many summer "things" as we can. However, the weather hasn't allowed us to do much. We did take a little trip down south to "The George" and of course we had to hit up a certain burger joint...

We discoverd, after she ate half of it, that Maycee really enjoys her an In-N-Out Double-Double Animal Style. What can I say, she is related to KC and must have a little Burdette in her!

Some other random pictures...

Halle has been teaching May-May (as she calls Maycee) that she needs to carry a baby everywhere! They love each other!!

We love being outside...no more rain!!

This is really random, but strawberry shortcake always makes me think of summer bbq's.

We have moved forward! She was SO alert for the first couple days...but then she remembered how much she loves to sleep in the car.

Maycee's first trip to the splash pool. She wasn't too thrilled with the water temperature or the older kids splashing her...hopefully she will like it better next time.

Please get here summer, and stay for good!!

Dubai; United Arab Emirates

KC has always wanted to visit Dubai, so he talked his cousin into making the 26 hour trip with him, and they spent 4 days exploring the sights of Dubai in the 120 degree desert heat. While they were there, they went on a camel safari, went to a cool waterpark with uphill waterslides, went skiing at an indoor ski resort, saw the tallest building in the world, went to the 3 largest malls in the world, and hit all the local markets. It was a bizarre place with lots of wealth and cool things to see and do.

Really??

Maycee Jane is 1 year old!! Is this really true?? I can not believe how quickly this first year has gone by. It is incredible how much I have learned and experienced in this last year. I think about how nervous I was about bringing Maycee home and having to do all this "mom stuff" on my own with no nurse call button and no experts to answer all my questions and its amazing that I made it through it all. I have LOVED every minute of watching my little girl grow and learn. It truly is a miracle to watch a child in their first year and see the huge difference in just 365 days. I know I am a little biased but I think this little girl is AMAZING!! She makes me smile every day. I definitely underestimated the love that I would feel for my child. I heard about it from so many people, but until you experience it for yourself you don't. If I never had anything else to get done and could do whatever I wanted, I think I would sit and watch her every minute of every day (even when she is sleeping). I have realized how much I need to put those other things aside and just play with Maycee, this time will be gone too fast. I am so grateful for all the time that I have been able to spend with her, being lucky enough to stay home with her. I love that she loves to cuddle, even now, that is my favorite. She makes me feel needed more than I have ever felt. There are days that I want to wake her up early from her nap so I can just sit and hold her. I miss the days that her naps were spent in my arms. I really didn't mind that I wasn't getting anything done...wish it was that easy now. My favorite moments are spent just laying next to her first thing in the morning, chatting with her when she gets in her talkative moods, running in circles while she chases me on her knees and laughs and squeals her head off, seeing her hit the major milestones and celebrating with her, and so many smiles and laughs to even mention. Maycee has brought such joy into mine and KC's lives and our families lives. We love her more than words can say and hope that she always knows how much she means to us. I hope that I can be the mom that she will always consider her friend (even when she is a teenager). I am excited for all the years to come...

**See below for more birthday celebrations...

***Sorry for the OBSCENE amount of pictures...way too many to choose from!

The big day...

I tried my hardest to make Maycee's birthday the best I could for her, even if she didn't really know what was going on. She got a couple gifts, went out to lunch with mom and dad, had a fun dinner with her cousins and grandpa, and basically got to do whatever she wanted.

Opening her fisrt birthday present, her birthday outfit.

Promise she enjoyed her lunch, she loves Cafe Rio!
Lounging for a minute with a full belly...

Excited to open her new toy, even though she picked it out earlier that morning. It was still new to her!

She has the best facial expressions!!
Maycee with her cousin Halle. Can decide who loves who more...they are always so excited to see each other, its so fun to watch.

Party Time

We had a great birthday party for Maycee on Saturday, a couple days after her real birthday. I was pretty nervous because all weather reports said it was supposed to rain right when the party was scheduled to start. But, we got lucky and just had clouds, which kept it a little cooler and it turned out to be really nice.

The party colors...pink, orange and yellow.

The Guests:

Great Grandaddy 102 yrs old...Maycee 1 yr old

Great Grandma 90 yrs old...Maycee 1 yr old

Our friends and neighbors...Geoff, Joy and Beck Osmond

Uncles Blake and Joey (sweet mustache Blake!!)

Paytin Osmond and Halle

Marin and the Monsens

The gifts:

Maycee was actually interested in opening all her gifts...she got some great stuff!!

The cake:

Marin made the CUTEST cake for Maycee. She is the best chef! Thanks again Marin, you're the best!!

She wasn't too interested in the cake...really didn't eat any of it. Got mad when she got frosting anywhere on her. Silly girl!

Stopped to chat with Great-Grandma before cleaning up...but then she was sad her cake was gone. So...

We tried again. But once again she just got mad when she got messy. She did enjoy most of the rose from the top of the cake.

Thanks again to eveyone that came to celebrate with us. Maycee wants to thank you all for all the wonderful gifts, you were all so generous! All in all it was a great couple days of celebration for Maycee's first birthday. We love you Maycee Jane!!

Home again!

Sally's step-brother Ryan is home from the mission! He has spent the last two years in Romania. So weird, that the youngest in the family seems SO old now. The first thing he wanted to eat when he got home - Subway!!

So many things can happen in two years - including two new babies. Maycee and Sohpia's first encounter with Uncle Ryan. Soon enough, they will be friends!

That's a great gift...

For my first official Mother's Day as Maycee's mom this is what she gave me...



Its gonna be hard to top that one in the next couple years! I can't believe she is already walking...so fun but so scary! I love her and am so glad that she is mine and that she is the reason I am a mommy!

I took Maycee to visit her grandma at the cemetery and she was so good while I cleaned up a bit! I know that Maycee already knows my mom and even though its sad that I can't see them together here on earth, I know they played a lot together before she sent Maycee down to be with me. Even though I had such a short time with my mom, I haven't stopped learning about being a mom from her and I know she's helping me from far away...I love you MOM!!

Just had to throw in this pic of my amazing grandmother!! She has been such a rock in my life and I don't know if I would have survived those teenage years with out her! She has stepped up to the plate many times in the last 16 years to help me when I really needed my mom! I love you grandma!!

I am so grateful for all the "mothers" in my life. My mother-in-law Tami has been so great to make me just another daughter and I am so glad we have such a wonderful relationship. My step-mom Annette has had a hard run inheriting 7 new kids and she has done a great job. All my friends and sister-in-laws, you are all great and such great examples of mothers!

Hawaii

So, this is a little late...but we need to document this. We took a fabulous trip to Hawaii at the beginning of March with our friends the Reeses. The first few days were spent on Oahu and jam-packed with sightseeing and all the touristy things you can do on the island. Then we headed off to Maui to get the relaxation and rest we needed. We actually extended our trip twice!! Caryn and Ryan loved it so much they didn't want to come home...on the way to the airport to come home they were planning how they would make it work to move to the islands. They caught the island fever!

There are WAY TOO many pictures to even mention...so sorry for the obscene amount that are below. Caryn and Sally together taking pictures is not a good combo. But at least we didn't miss documenting every minute of this trip.

Oahu= Pearl harbor, Dole Plantation, Laie Temple, Ko'Olina, Polynesian Cultural Center, Hot Malasadas, Swap meet, Waimea Bay, Matsumoto Shaved Ice...and lots of food!

Pearl Harbor

Dole - We enjoyed the pineapple whip and the barbecued sweet corn

Laie Temple - its under renovation, so its not as pretty as usual but still a must see!

Polynesian Cultural Center

Luau at the PCC. Those random guys in the pictures are some Australians that sat with us at dinner. They were super nice guys, and Caryn wasn't hiding the fact she felt they weren't too terrible looking either. They loved the girls and the girls loved them! Hope to see them soon in Utah!

Hawaii's lost treasure - Hot Malasadas! Basically deep fried dough rolled in cinnamon and sugar, some had chocolate or custard in them. It was hard to remember the exact combo of the different kinds everyone wanted. Hawaii's not so lost treasure - the swap meet at Aloha stadium. Caryn was in Heaven! It was fun to watch the first-timers buy everything in sight!

A trip to the North Shore isn't complete without hitting Matsumotos shaved ice and the shrimp shacks. (We ate WAY TOO much on this trip!!!) Waimea Bay is a great place to watch people get taken out by the ginormous waves! Oh and its a pretty nice view too.

Maui= Haleakala Volcano, Caryn and Ryan's first snorkeling experience (hilarious to watch), Big Beach/Little Beach, Fire dancers (wink, wink), hot tub, beach, hot tub, water slide, pool, hot tub, Bachelor Finale...and lots of food!

It was super early and super cold, but so AMAZING! We had to leave the hotel at 4:30 AM and poor KC had to drive through all the dark and fog while everyone else in the car slept, but Haleakala was well worth the pain. It was fun for KC and I to re-visit the place we got engaged, five years ago! After the chilly frozen tundra we stopped off at Kihei Cafe for a super yummy breakfast (banana macadamia nut pancakes and eggs benedict).

After a power nap we headed to Big Beach/Little Beach. The girls loved playing in the sand and Ryan and KC took a dip in the ocean. When the sun set we all headed over the hill from Big Beach to Little Beach (nude beach) for an experience that is hard to describe - a show full of nude fire dancers (sorry no pics, this is a family blog!).

This is how Izzy felt about the sand...

This is how Maycee felt about the sand. Loved seeing it but didn't enjoy the diaper rash it gave her!

Relaxing at the pool at Marriott Vacation Club (the best pools on Maui). We spent most of our time in the hot tubs because the pools were a little chilly for the girls.

Isn't my baby beautiful??!!

Hanging out in Lahina. We sure love Cheeseburgers in Paradise! Of the three nights we were on Maui we ate there two of them. The first night we met a cute family while we waited for a table and ended up eating with them. They had two little girls that LOVED Maycee and Izzy - they even fed them for us so we could enjoy our dinner. We liked it so much that first night, there was no question where we would eat our final meal in Hawaii. Izzy especially loved the fries!

There are SO many other pictures and stories to tell, but I won't bore the two of you that actually read our blog with anything else. It was such a great trip and one that will not soon be forgotten! Thanks for all the fun Caryn and Ryan!!

Maycee waving goodbye to Hawaii...Until next time, hope its not too long!!