Snowbird Tent Revival 2009

Our friends Jason and Rebecca invited us to the Snowbird Tent Revival in August.

It was a gorgeous fall day in the mountains.

Our friend Cory was playing with his band: Cory Mon and the Starlight Gospel.

Check em out on itunes, they are pure awesomeness!

This little girl loves to dance
Jim in his happy place


hallelujah!
Elise was really getting into the music
Chillin in BOB

Summer 2009

Yes, we like to take a lot of pictures of Elise. It's so hard not to when she is so sweet and cute.

Elise and cousin Emelia

Roni's Wedding

My wonderful, awesome, sweet, funny and dear friend Roni got married on July 31 in the Manti LDS temple. It was such a beautiful day in a beautiful place. Both Jim and I cannot believe we didn't get married in the Manti temple, it is awesome!

We love Brett and Roni and we couldn't be happier for them. Jim and Brett are both huge football fans and although Brett loves the Raiders we have still welcomed him into our family!

Go COWBOYS!

Her dress was GORGEOUS!

The happy couple

It was a wonderful summer evening for an outdoor dinner
Farewell beautiful Manti, UT

P.S. Roni is a hair stylist. She is the best around. Have you ever wondered how Jim and I always have great hair? You can thank Roni, or better yet you can give her a call and she will make you look as good as us!

If you want her # let me know.

18 months...

It's hard to believe that much time has gone by since this little beauty came into our lives. She is a spunky little girl who knows what she likes and what she doesn't, and, has no trouble letting you know either way! What a joy she is to our family!

Strike a pose!

Elise loves water! Whether it's bath time, pool time, or move the sprinkler time, she loves to get wet. She also loves to wear other peoples shoes. While she has her own dress up shoes that she walks around the house in, she can often be found tromping around in shoes that belong to daddy. She loves her blankies and her sippy cups (ba ba). Some favorite foods include mac and cheese, cheerios, crackers, cheese, peaches, yogurt, and cottage cheese - can you tell she loves cheese? Best of all though, she always, always wakes up happy. We love her!

You can't really tell, but she's wearing Jim's basketball shorts. She brought them to me saying "da da" and was trying to put them on by herself.

Even though she hasn't been in a baby seat for over 6 months, it's her favorite toy. Thanks to her cousins Gage and Emelia she still gets to play in one...

It's hard to explain how much we love this little one. Looking back, those first few weeks after she was born were so hard for me (I have never been so tired and "out of it"). I remember thinking "why didn't anyone tell me this was going to be so hard?" But now, I think how blessed we are to be parents - the joy that it brings us is so, so worth it!

4th of July

Our 4th of July started early at the Freedom Festival Balloon Fest. This has been a tradition in my family since I was little and someday daddy will join us in this great tradition of getting up at 5:00am and watching the balloons launch. Doesn't Elise look excited to be there?

Jim's Grandma also shares her birthday with our country so we spent the afternoon with her and Jim's family at their campground in beautiful American Fork Canyon.

Mackenzie, Grandma Leigh, Ellen, baby Gage, Jim and Elise

Baby Gage, Ellen, Kathie, Jim, and Elise

Jim and Elise playing in the river.

Elise trying to get Jim to give her a bite of his ice cream bar.

Beautiful American Fork Canyon

1st Time in a Swimming Pool

Yes, our daughter was 15 months old when we took her swimming in a pool for the 1st time. Don't judge...remember the bad virus/flu that went around last year that shut down the pools? Well I didn't want to chance my daughter getting some illness from the public pool so I waited until she was older to take her. She has no fear of water and LOVES to be in the pool.

Eating On Her Own

Elise has always been so good. Since she was born she has been so easy going. When it comes to eating she is the same way. One night while I was feeding her she wanted her spoon to do it herself, this was the result. Lucky for us she doesn't normally want to feed herself and she keeps her clothes and the walls clean.

Here is a video of the aftermath

Hanging with the Dogs

Everyone in our families has a dog, except us, which Jim is okay with. He said he refuses to have a dog until we have property big enough for a German Sheppard to run around and defend. Don't worry, I'm working on him. Until then, I am okay being dogless because we have plenty around us.

Elise chillin with Tamone (sister's dog) and Babette (grandma O's dog)

Thanksgiving Point Farm Country

June 2009

We went to Thanksgiving Point Farm Country with Grandma Kathie. We had a good time even though it was a little warm (as you can see from Elise's pink cheeks). Elise and daddy both have the tendency to run a little warm, which means I better get used to air conditioning and sleeping with the windows open...

Can you tell she is looking up at an airplane? Thanks to the air show she knows what a plane sounds like, and she'll look up anytime she hears one.

Thanks Grandma Kathie, we had a great time!

Father's Day, Blake's Birthday, and Elise's Birthday do-over

My not-so-little brother turned the big 15!

(can't you tell he is excited to have his picture taken and open his presents in front of everyone)

Father's Day BBQ at the Olenik's

My brother Dale holding my brother Brent and Jenni's baby Emelia

Elise getting ready to eat her "real" birthday cake

Flour Girls and Dough Boys in American Fork made this cake.

If you haven't been you must go. Everything they have is delicious!!

"Finally, my parents are letting me eat some real food. Damn hippies"

Cheese! it doesn't get much cuter than this. She loves to have clean hands. She has found the best way to clean them off is to run them through her hair.

*warning nudity*

Birthday aftermath

If you read about Elise's first Birthday cake you will know that I made her a sugar/flour free cake. I have felt bad that she wasn't able to properly delve into her cake. So, we decided to have a birthday do-over. She turned 15 months on Father's Day and Blake's Birthday so we rolled them into 1 family celebration.

Elise definintely enjoyed this cake much better than the 1st one!