Intsagram Rejects

I can't post everything on Insta. You would all hate me and think my kids were annoying and ugly. People just don't like your kids the way that you do and I get that. But I need to post them somewhere. Since like Ryan said blogs are so 2011 so no one reads this anymore and it is strictly for journaling and grandparents and some family.

When these two get a along nothing melts my heart more. Within the last 2 months I see it more and more. Reagan is close to 18 months now and can really play start to play with Camryn.

Camryn loves reading her books and Reagan won't pass up any book.

I posted the other picture of Reagan sleeping on me but this one was hilarious. I was so sad she was naked. I could have sat there while she slept. Kids sleeping on us doesn't happen so I could not get over this. Such a sweet moment.

If the TV brings cuddles and loves I am all for it! 

A rare warmer moment outside-as soon as it gets warm we head out. 50 degrees and above is warm at this point. So weird that I am ok with that.

Loved this pic at the Aquarium when we went with the McGrath's. Been so grateful to have annual passes.

Camryn loves her dance class and I love to watch her concentration and little body.

Reagan has gotten into crafting with Camryn. She has figured out how to do stickers and this saves us from a lot of tears because she wants to do what Camryn does.

Care packages and anything that comes in the mail is a big treat around here!

The day it got to 73 and hiked Kennesaw Mountain the girls could have been outside all day collecting rocks in doogie poop bags. So funny what entertains kids. I just love when Reagan can do what Camryn can-makes it more fun for both of them. Too bad it started to sprinkle and the fun was over. 

Cute outfit day and car rides.

Momma cuddles. She is SO much more cuddly than Camryn ever was or is. I love this about her.

And finally at 17 months she said Mama! She has double her vocabulary and saying so many words now. So crazy she just figured that one out. Camryn was yelling for me and then Reagan goes Mama! So anytime we wanted to hear her say it I'd have to go in the other room and Camryn would yell for me and then Reagan would chime in. 

Skinny jeans on this body.

Camryn was so proud she could catch her off the ottoman and carry her around. 

Stacking my new craft. I really love these things. 

Torando shelter fun

The girls love playing baby in Reagan's crib. They do this almost daily.

Reagan's obsession with Cats. "Oeow!"

Changing nap time to 1:00 is rough. She is tired by 9:30 and this is where I found her one morning in my closet.

Making stew just like I used to as a kid. Her hair is gorgeous here in the sun. I die over this girls hair.

Camryn loves to get Reagan cozy and Reagan is usually pretty happy about it. This picture brought a smile to my face after having a bad day.
I think a lot about how weird it is that we take pictures of our kids daily. Not just once but a ton. So different from our parents generation and even us growing up. Film and bad camera and no way to upload them to a computer. With a phone camera it is almost impossible to not take a picture a day. Sometimes I literally feel like the paparazzi but other times I am so grateful to be able to look back and completely remember one single day so well or the feelings that went along with those experiences. So though I think it is bizarre that we share our personal family lives with so many and have so many picture that probably look so similar-it also makes me happy and I hope it makes you all happy too.

New York Girls Trip

For Brittany's 30 Birthday I got to fly to NY for a weekend girls trip.

All by myself-really nothing better when you are a mom of two kids to fly alone in silence. Read, doze off or eat junk food the entire time. And I did just that. And no this is not a private plane as one friend thought-just a very small plane where many others puked. Glad it wasn't me.

Met these beauties after I almost puked in the cab ride from the airport-and almost every time I got in a cab there after. Ok, no more puke talk. This is Jenna Crandall-met her for my first time and loved her. People know her from her blogs, Mommy in Manhattan and Lunch pails and Lipstick. I didn't but now I am glad I do. And nothing better than being with two of my bests Kirby and Brittany.

First up try my first Macaroon. Wish I could say first of many but sadly we were saving up for lunch and only got this tiny morsel. 

We ate in SOHO at Delicatessen-man it was good. You can also see our server here-Johnny Depp's twin. Needless to say we loved it. And Brittany's Rainbow Chip birthday cake was out of this world. Like the best cupcake you have ever had in a cake form. Yum. Don't keep track of the amount of calories I consumed-it was of the charts.

After eating into an oblivion we walked around broadway and did some shopping. I was so happy though when I spotted this truck. They are known for their amazing waffles and I knew I needed one before I left NY. 

So after we went to a couple more stores I convinced everyone it was time. 

Not as good as the one I had in Barcelona but still fun to try. You have to get the Liege waffle and I got mine whipped cream and chocolate. Jenna got the ice cream and that was SO good. This guy is hoping to move to San Diego soon-so we'll keep our eyes open for this truck there too. Too bad though we were too full to even think about dinner so we cancelled our reservations.

 After walking at least 20 blocks of the city we made it back to the hotel. (We had to walk off some of what we ate.) So hard to not go to bed right then but Brittany was so excited about dressing up and going dancing. Once we all started getting ready and starting our own dance party we got excited too.

 The first couple places we checked out in the Meat Packing district were way too weird. But at least we got some cute pictures. 

The last place happened to be called The Avenues which ironically was the name of the Apartments we had met in Provo. We danced for about an hour-tired and starting to get to crowded with drunks. No thanks. But we had so much fun dancing and so glad that Brittany pushed us to stay up so late.

 Starved by 1:30 we had the best pasta dish and french fries (burger was just ok) at the Spotted Pig. We ordered light and were still hungry so it was time for bed. At 3:30-can't remember the last time I was up that late because I wanted to.

After sleeping in until 9:15 we felt like we could function. My feet and legs were so sore. Jenna headed back home and we went to brunch at Sarabeth's and walked around Central Park. We lucked out with "good" weather considering the time of year. 

Brunch was fun-nothing I love more than good breakfast. This place was so cute and girly too perfect for Sunday Brunch. (On vacation that is)

More walking and shopping in Rockefeller Square. Loved seeing all of these places since I hadn't been since I was 14 and stayed at the World Trade Towers. Crazy. I lucked out and got to see the Statue of Liberty and Ground Zero from the plane so didn't feel I needed an extra trip (this time).

 

Had so much fun with these girls. It has been a long time since it was just us. No kids, no husbands. We love them and all but it is just different.

 

Then it was on to the ballet! The NYC Ballet that is. Something I've always wanted to see. And so cool that it was at the Lincoln Center. The ballet was a Tschaikovsky Celebration with pieces from Balanchine. They did a great section from Swan Lake. The Corp was unreal-of course had me in tears by the end of it. And I knew one other piece they did. Such an amazing company-I can't imagine the strict/organization of this director. Scary to think about. But so cool that I knew a couple of the dancers from Utah Regional Ballet-they were young then like 13 or 14 but now Principal dancers with NYC. Crazy. 

Such a beautiful theater! We couldn't get over this chandelier-we both wanted smaller versions for our houses.

And perfect location because we were able to see the Temple and Brittany's old church building. So cool right in the center of things.

We didn't have time for dinner before we had to rush to catch the train to Brittany's but I did pop into Crumbs for a delicious Dulce de Leche Cupcake. So glad I made a stop.

Grand Central Station. Love this place what a cool feeling. Such an old building but still so organized. Fascinating. Sunday night we were beat and went straight to bed. 

Monday was Brittany's actual birthday so I decorated to make her feel extra loved and then she showed me around her cute town and had bagels and shopped a bit. Then later went to Cheesecake for dinner and Bachelor and cupcakes to round off the night. I had such a great time with Brittany and her family. So fun to relax the day after and so different being around her family when mine isn't around. You can give a lot more attention which is nice. I sure hope we get to see each other again soon! 30 has never looked better on Brittany and I sure hope this is only the beginning to many more girls trips for me!

My Parents New Year's Visit

Before my parents came in town Camryn was all about helping clean to get ready for our visitors that had never been to our house. "Grandma and Grandpa don't want to see a dirty house." She is a character-but so grateful for her love of cleaning.

Once my parents got here we did our own "Christmas." Camryn is in LOVE with her Castle Play-doh maker. The Rapunzel growing hair is pretty entertaining. And wants to play Princess Candyland everyday. 

And could you just eat her? Those cheeks.

She got piggies for the first time and sat still with a show of course.

Pulled back hair for a rainy day at Catch Air. My girls love this place so it was fun to show my parents where we always go to wear me kids out. 

They decided they need one in Sacramento. New business venture on the horizon.

When they love-they love. And don't you love the beanie my mom made Reagan?! Talent-that one.

New Years we got the party started early. With noise makers. The girls were obsessed with their accessories. Ryan and I got to go out and see Les Mis and the girls partied with the Grandparents. Love family for that!

Then we hit up the Aquarium while Ryan had to go back to work. We lucked out and only needed one ticket and one of the workers just gave us one! Talk about luck! And tickets to the sold out dolphin show. Super cheesy but you have to experience it. 

My parents were so fun to take here because they really love it. My mom is the one keeping the penny souvenir machine in business-love that she collects them and so do the Grandkids.

Enthralled with the huge Manta-Ray's and Whale Sharks. Love this picture.

This one is pretty cute too. 

We drove to the top of Kennesaw Mountain and walked around in the 37 degree weather. Way too cold to be outside. Fun to be at the top and learn about the history of the part of the Civil War that took place but too cloudy to see the views. 

After we froze we warmed up with Biscuits! Been wanting to try this yummy place and boy was it good. My dad and I tried their famous Biscuits and Gravy and Camryn loved her cinnamon roll. We need to go back and try their fried biscuit they were sold out of. 

My parents are cute.

After learning about the battle here-only makes sense to see where they are buried. No really this is one of my favorite sites here. May be morbid but this cemetery is like a mini Arlington. Love the perfect rows and circles.

And beautiful wreaths on all the stones. 

And no visit would be complete without seeing the Big Chicken. So ugly, hilarious and just wrong-but yet so right. Kinda wish we could have eaten there because my dad shares Ryan and I's love for their food but too full from other biscuits. This is the original KFC here and ask my dad anything else about it, he did some serious research. I knew he would appreciate it. This is also that spot where I broke down and cried when we were looking to move here. Special, awful place. 

Last but certainly not least Miss Maime's Cupcakes. Sad we could eat them on China this time but man that Strawberry was killer. Too bad it was Camryn and we had to keep asking for more bites. We had such a great visit with my parents. It is always so nice spending one on one time together. Sure wish we were not so far away but thankful for all the ways we can see each other these days. But that doesn't mean I felt good about washing their sheets and putting them back on the bed not knowing who was going to visit next. We had such a good run or visitors. Let's hope we get some surprises;)!