New Home, New Job, and a FABU vacation!

Its been way to long since I posted anything, so once again I'm going to play blog catch-up.

First I'll start with our AWESOME trip to Cancun. We celebrated our 6th anniversary by taking our first "no kids" trip. I was seriously freaking out about leaving my kids home, but they had a blast with the grandparents and it was good for me and Brett to finally take a trip just the two of us. The best part of this trip was that it was all inclusive. We just laid by the pool reading books and drinking pina coladas, it was HEAVENLY!

We took some time out from all of our R&R to see some sites. Instead of going to Chitzen we went and saw the ruins at Coba. They were really neat and apparently are even bigger the Chitzen.

After Coba we went to and made pottery. The liked my pitcher so much that they put it on display.
One of the most exciting things we did on our vacation was when we went down in the shark tank. It was soooo cool, we even were able to feed them. The cage had small holes in it, and I was able to feed a shark a piece of meat right out of my hand.

Wet suits are definately not an attractive look on me.


The Aquarium had a a lot of really cool exhibits, like a shark tank where you could reach in and pet these giant nurse sharks, AWESOME!
The trip was great and we are already talking about where we are going for our next trip.
Over Memorial Day weekend we moved our family back to Idaho. We're going to miss Montana and all of the great friends we had there. Brett took a job at the hospital where he started all of his training. He's excited about working with all of the guys who had encouraged and mentored him.

We also bought a house south of Rigby and we are really excited about it. We looked at over 50 houses and just felt like this one was the best fit for us. The house is 4300 sq feet and is on an acre of land. The house is only 2 years old and looks brand new. We are so excited to make this new house our home and we love our new neighborhood and ward. I can't wait to get settled into our new house, and hopefully stay put for awhile.

The Good, the Bad, and Church Basketball

The past month has been even more crazy than normal. We've spent a lot of time in Idaho Falls the past few months and now we can finally tell everyone why...Brett got a job at Mt View Hospital in Idaho Falls. We've really enjoyed Great Falls, Montana but the job situation isn't very stable. We're very excited about our new job, new home, and the fact that we won't spend every other weekend in the car.
About 6 weeks ago Brett tore his achilles playing church basketball. It was fun having him home but unfortunately he tore his right achilles so I've had to be the chauffer, which hasn't been as fun. He's healing quickly and can't wait to get his brace off and start therapy.

We spent Easter week in Idaho Falls. It was fun doing Easter egg hunts with our cousins. Saturday Morning we woke up to this weather...notice the snowsuits

I felt like the worlds worst mother for allowing McKinley to go to this Easter egg hunt, but it was all made worth it when she won this

We also had a really fun Easter egg hunter with our Bradshaw cousins and my cute sister-in-law made a wonderful lunch for all of us.


We spent part of the week at the condo in Island Park. McKinley loved swimming with her cousins and sledding behind the 4-wheeler.

Annabelle had fun playing with her cousin Landon and hopefully he wasn't traumatized by her aggressiveness. It only looks like she is trying to eat his face, she's actually giving kisses.

It was fun spending the holiday with family and we look forward to being able to spend more holidays with family now that we live closer.
We are getting excited about our trip to Cancun. Brett and I leave for Mexico next weekend and the girls will be staying with their grandparents. I'm sure I'll have fun once I get over the initial shock of leaving my kids, and I'm sure the girls will have a blast with Grandma and Grandpa.

Updates and Pictures

Life has been kind of crazy lately. Due to some instability at the hospital Brett works for we have been traveling a lot. Brett has been picking up shifts at a hospital in Idaho Falls and we have been splitting time between Great Falls, MT and Idaho Falls. Its been fun because we've been able to see family, but we are definately getting tired of traveling. All of this traveling has made life crazy and has kept me from updating our blog.
So here are some updates and new pictures of the girls.


Annabelle has turned one and even though I'm home with her all the time I still feel like I missed it. She is growing up so fast. She has become the best cuddler and I LOVE IT!

Our mellow baby has become a very active and opinionated little girl. Its so fun to watch her play with her big sister.

She may be younger but she definately doesn't let anyone, especially Kinley, boss her around. She is starting to talk a little more, and she'll try to repeat what we say. Lately we've had a lot of Birthdays and Annabelle is constantly singing the Happy Birthday song. She also likes to sing the Sunbeam song, Clean-Up, and ABC's. You can't understand all of the words, but she gets the tune right:o) Annabelle is hesitant to walk. We know she can because we've seen her do it, but she would rather crawl everywhere. Oh well, it will come...and then she'll be that much more dangerous. She is such a sweet little girl and I'm grateful everyday to have her in our family.


McKinley is in preschool and LOVES IT. I'm always amazed at what she is learning. The other day she built a tower, apparently it was a flag pole, and she was holding it while saying the pledge of allegiance. I couldn't believe she new the whole thing, what a smartie. She is also learning how to write her letters and sound them all out. We recently celebrated her 4th birthday and we had a big Frog Princess party at our house for all of her friends.





McKinley is a great helper for her mommy, and such a wonderful big sister.


She has the best imagination. I love to listen to her play pretend and tell stories. I can't imagine my life without my Kinley Bug.

Being a mom is the BEST! I Love these girls!!

Birthday Month

Between December 30th and February 10th we have had all 4 of our birthdays, and when you throw in Christmas its an expensive/busy month and a half.
Most recently we've celebrated my baby turning 4. I know 4 technically doesn't make her a baby anymore, but I think she'll be my baby until she has her own babies. I can't believe how fast she is growing up.
While we were in Idaho Falls McKinley had 2 birthday parties. We celebrated a triple birthday party with her cousins Madison and Mason at Leo's and had such a fun time. McKinley got a lot of fun frog princess presents that she LOVES!
We also had a party with the Maxfields at a place with a bunch of bounce houses. It was really fun to have all the grandkids play together. McKinley also got some pink cowboy boots, that she has worn every day since, and a really cute cowboy hat.
We had a fun family party on her Birthday. We went to her fav restaurant and then had cake and presents. McKinley really wanted a frog princess cake. I'm definately not a professional cake decorator, but McKinley loved it anyway. It was a really fun night, except that poor little Annabelle was sick and throwing up all day.


We also recently celebrated Bretts birthday and McKinley was really excited to help me decorate Bretts cake.

Its been a busy month, but its been a fun month. We are all now a year older and wiser, and now hopefully I'll have a little more time to stay caught up on my blog. :0)

My Baby is 1

I can't believe my baby is already 1 year old. Its amazing how the time has flown by. We had a little family Birthday party for her.
Of course there were gifts, and her older sister REALLY wanted to be the one opening them.

We also made her an individual Birthday cake.

Initially she was shocked and confused that we placed an entire cake on her hichair tray.
It took her a few minutes to figure out what to do, but she eventually had a blast smearing cake on her face, hichair, floor....and even the walls. It was an impressive mess!!!


My parents came up for New Years. McKinley is really excited about the Christmas present they gave us....A Trip to Disneyland. They are taking the entire family, and McKinley can't stop talking about it.
We had a BLAST having my parents up for the weekend! We were up until midnight almost every night having our Wii bowling tournaments. My dad rocked that game, but we all had a few good games. It was a great weekend and they were so helpful while they were here.

I Love Christmas!

I know I say this every year, but Christmas is sooo much more fun with little kids. The thing that I get the most excited about is seeing the girls faces when they see what Santa brought them. I LOVE IT! We've been dealing with some stress about Brett's job lately, but it didn't stop us from having a wonderful Christmas this year.
On Christmas Eve we had our friend Katie over to celebrate with us. Her husband was out on alert, and there was no way we were going to let her be alone on Christmas. On Christmas Eve we have a smorgasboard of food and watch Christmas movies; its a Maxfield tradition that we've adopted. Afterward we decorated Christmas cookies and read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and "The Nativity". We always open one present on Christmas Eve. This year we all got Hoodies, which are seriously one of my favorite things. The girls also really loved the cute presents that Katie brought them.



I really appreciated that McKinley let us sleep until 8am on Christmas Day. When she woke us up she told us that she saw Santa going up the chimney...what an imagination!!! The girls, like always, recieved a lot of wonderful presents. Santa did not disappoint!



That evening Bretts parents came up to visit, and it was fun having them come. After dinner we had a Birthday Party for Jesus. McKinley was so excited to help me make the Birthday cake. We had a great weekend with the Maxfields, even though everyone was sick. The Maxfields brought us so many fun presents that it felt like we were having Christmas all over again. We appreciated them making the drive to come see us, even though they weren't all feeling well. My parents are coming up to visit for New Years and I can't wait. It sure is nice living closer to family, especially during the holiday season.
I hope everyone had a Wonderful and safe Christmas!

Role Reversal

Our little McKinley is growing up WAY to fast! Recently I've heard my words coming out of her mouth a lot. Usually its aimed at Annabelle, but not always. Yesterday while we were in town I had a moment of road rage at the car in front of me. Apparently I was saying "Oh My Heck", because I heard that phrase coming from the back seat a few times during this event. Then I let my frustration get the better of me and I called the person in front of me a "Stupid Idiot". Whoops!!! Of course the 3 year old in the back seat heard... and she was horrified. She immediately reminded me that I said a "Naughty Word." She then started telling me the good words I could have said instead. Such as: "Hello", "Silly", or "Oh Frostbite". This cute little girl makes me laugh. How funny that my 3 year old had to be the grown-up and explain to her mommy that we don't say "Naughty Words". I think my life would be sooo boring without my "Little Mommy."