Anyone else excited?

Now that all of the drama with American Idol is over, let the summer fun begin!(Actually, I really was excited that David Cook won, hate me if you will.)

What?!? You think reality shows are lame? Don't judge me, Kadie loves these shows too. We bond when we watch them, especially when we have to defend our coolness to Josh!

And for those of you who don't believe me when I tell you I knew Benji Schwimmer in the "olden" days, here is some proof. Look for the red stars. I am pretty sure Benji was about 13 or 14 here, I (Leisa) am right above him, I was 16. Sorry Benji if you ever see these, but don't you remember the Stake production of "The Music Man" that your mom and dad choreographed? You were the court jester, making us all laugh all of the time. Even if it meant you would wear a turquoise dress and a red sequined hat.

My new favorite thing

Piggy Tails! Laney's hair is officially a piggy tail worthy length. I am afraid that this is the only way I will do her hair now because I love it so much. The ends just curl up in these little ringlets that bounce all over when she runs...which is always. It makes me sad she is getting so big, but excited for the fun the future holds. And just look at those dimples, they have "I am trouble" written all over.

More signs Laney is getting older:

She is now tied with her sister at a 35 lb weight. And she is learning new words and phrases every day.

Update of the Laney Language:

"peace agane": Can we please do whatever we just did...again?

"peace sucka": Can I please have a sucker?

"jumpene wada": (She says this REALLY LOUD) I jumped in the water (pool)

"tase-a-mama"(all one word): Thanks mama

"Hi-a-mama"(or Kadie, or Daddy or anyone): Hi

"DONE-A-TUTZ!" (Said firmly with a scowl on her face): Don't touch!

"Lee-me-dye-bee-wa-dee-sy-bee": verse from "I am a Child of God"

"Ah Tadie do?": Where did Kadie go?

"I saw yee mama" (or Kadie or Daddy): "I'm sorry". This is my all time favorite phrase because it is always accompanied with a kiss or hug, and she even says it if it wasn't her fault you got hurt. I just think it is so cute that she notices when others get hurt, and then tries to make them feel better. Almost as much a favorite as when she learned how to hug, but thought that you had to hit someone first.

Another thing I love is that Laney says everything really fast and ends every sentence in a really high note, which to me is a form of her truly optimistic attitude.

Mothers Day

I just wanted to write a funny little note about the things that I never thought I would do or experience as a Mother, and yet I did:

1. Use the t-shirt that my daughter is wearing to wipe her nose when their is no tissue available.
2. Use food or candy as leverage of staying away from a tantrum in the store.
3. Get excited when Kadie wants to watch a show like Full House instead of Yo Gabba Gabba.
4. Sing along to kids songs in the car...realizing my kids aren't even in the car with me.
5. Let my kids eat in the car.
6. Let my daughter sleep with a ratty old blanket/bunny just because she loves them.
7. Be as excited for Christmas morning like I was as a young child, just to see the look on the girls faces - and then give the credit to Santa Claus. :)
8. Cry about a silly commercial or picture (wink wink Kylie!)
9. Lick my palm and smooth my babies hair when it was sticking up.
10. Blame a "toot" on the baby.

Thanks to my Mother! I love you, and now I have a taste of what you did for me to teach me and help me have a happy childhood. I really appreciate all your sacrifices for me and the rest of the gang, and your love and support that still shines through today! Thank you! I Love you!

And thank you Melodie! Josh and I look up to you so much and want to follow in your example as a parent. We love you!

Shelter Cove

My parents recently bought a house in Whitethorn/Shelter Cove, CA. It is about 4 1/2 hours up north from the Bay Area. They invited us up for the weekend, and we had so much fun! We only stayed about 24 hours, but it was worth it from all of the adventures we got in that short amount of time. Thank you Mamacita and Papa G! a.k.a. Grammy and Grompa.

On our way we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, and hadn't been across for a while so the girls really enjoyed that.

After hearing Kadie ask "When will we be there? Are we almost there? How many more movies do we have to watch? How many more minutes? " and any other version of "Are we there yet?" we finally arrived and headed straight for the beach! This was almost the first thing that my brothers Nick and Josh found in the sand.

The head of some kind of water creature!

The tide was coming in so all of the tide pools were filling up and the creepy crawling things started to emerge. We all fashioned up some home-made spears (sticks) and started poking around.





Josh was brave enough (or crazy enough) to grab a crab with out a stick! Overall, we found probably 10 crabs, and caught four! One of the crabs just clamped down on a stick that was waved in front of his eyes and wouldn't let go! He was a feisty one, and glad to be let go at the end of the day.

Here is Mr. Crab. Not the most intelligent one I thought - since he was trying to grab a fish hook. I thought because of shows like The Little Mermaid and Spongebob Squarepants that under sea creatures would have learned to stay away from hooks by now. He was lucky we weren't looking to eat him up!

My twin Brothers Nick and Josh did some off shore fishing. Nick even caught a small fish, and my Dad showed him how to gut it that night. My Dad saved the meat, but I don't think anyone was planning on eating it. Good times.



The next awesome discovery was the Star Fish that we found! Here is Laney taking a closer look. She looks so confused. She took a nice 15 second stare before she chucked it behind her.

We even found a friend for Mr. Starfish. Yes, the yellow one is a boy, because the purple one has to be a girl. I am glad that Kadie was there to tell us that.

Josh helped his Cowgirl Kadie write her name in the sand.

Kadie was right in the water from the beginning. I thought it was freezing! I miss being a kid, where nothing like hunger or freezing water even bothers you for a second from having the time of your life!

In honor of Mothers Day I was glad to get a picture of my Mom. I couldn't have asked for a better person to go to for advice, and ridiculously crazy fun times! It also is impossible to get a good picture of our girlies together, this was the closest thing with "grompa" that we got. Next to the family photo above with Laney balling.

This (below) is the view right outside the windows of their house! It was amazing to watch the sun set after a fun day with family, starfish and crabs! We can't wait to go back for the 4th of July! Thanks again for a great weekend of memories Grammy and Grompa!

Wacko for Wonka!!!

Some of you may have heard, Shrek has finally been put on the back-burner for Laney. It was sad to see her first crush let go. She now has a new love. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with Johnny Depp. I know what you are thinking...like she needs any more reason to love candy right? Well, Josh just threw it in one morning and both of the girls LOVED it. Yes, Random (Do people still say that? Or am I just really out dated?). Laney's new phrase is "Shocka" or "Shocka-do" which means "Will you please turn on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...again?" Kadie has even memorized some of the choreography to the oompa loompa songs. So I recorded it for all to enjoy. You might not think it is as funny as I do, but either way Kadie is quite entertaining.

Bugged Out!

Laney really should have been a boy. This is such a funny instance actually because it shows her girl and boy sides at the same time. At the park, big sister Kadie found a big bug. She was convinced it was a stink bug, it may have just been a beetle. I only got close enough to take a picture of it.

Kadie speared it through it's head so it wouldn't stink anyone. The poor bugs head fell off after that. Laney was for some reason just so amused at the bug. She kept poking it with sticks, and pointing at it laughing. She came up to me and other Mothers' at the park about 20 times saying "tutz, bug tutz" because she wanted all of us to touch it! Inevitably, she finally touched it herself, and it must have hit a heart string or something. She then carried it around the rest of the park without its head attached. She even pushed it on the swing. I am glad that she has motherly instincts already, even if she practices them on dead beetles at the park.

Monkey Surgery

Kadie is so imaginative. She has this "fluffer" that you can buy small bears for and put their "fluff" in them. Sort of like bringing Build-a-Bear workshop into your own home. Kadie wanted to fluff up poor Mr. Monkey. He ended up being a victim of a "fluff-by". Since he didn't have a zipper, Kadie had to cut him open with scissors to fluff him up more. In the end, we performed Monkey Surgery and he bounced back right away. Warning: images are graphic so you may want NOT WANT to scroll down if you get queasy.

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

Hola! Some of you may not know that Josh and I were married on May 5th. We just celebrated 7 years of marriage this last weekend together! Everyone keeps warning us of the "7 year itch" but I decided to go with something that our waitress said when we went to dinner. Lucky number Seven! I feel like we have just mastered being in a relationship with an accounting career. We have been through so much together, and it has been so much better than I ever expected. I am always so thankful that my instincts were right on with Josh. I couldn't have married a better man.

These are my most favorite things about him:

1. Josh LOVES to plan romantic getaways, sort of his "thing". We usually get away 2-3 times a year thanks to his planning and my mama watching the girlies!

2. He encourages me in everything I want to do or try...that is how I knew he would be a good father. He was a huge reason I got back into painting!

3. He puts up with my "hobbies" being scattered all over our bedroom all of the time.

4. On the weekends he could be anything, a Cowboy (He even has boots), a baker, or a golfer . The next day he is back to his famous Metro-style. You should all ask him about that. :)

5. He is always honest with me, and doesn't hide any secrets - sometimes I do.

6. He teases me ALL OF THE TIME...I act like I hate it, but I'll admit it is fun.

7. He is always making goals, and always accomplishes them in record time! Like the year President Hinckley asked everyone to read the entire BOM. He ended up finishing in like 2 weeks...I didn't even make it the whole way. He even accepted a calling in the ward nursery, unfortunately I don't think that they will let him accomplish that goal early although I am sure he would love to.

8. He always makes time to play with the girls at home, whether it be princesses, pet shop, or wii games...he usually lets them decide.

9. He will call on his way home to see if I need anything from the store. For those of you who have or will have a toddler like Laney - this is a very desirable attribute in a man.

10. I know he loves me, he tells me all of the time and I have never doubted him for a second.

I love you so much Josh! Lucky year number Seven will be our best year yet!

Isn't it great how we look like we are 12 years old? Love it!