Look what I did

I decided to try my hand at sewing (with a little prodding from my cousin-in-law, Cheri).  Cheri sewed a really cute skirt for Hallie & I loved it. She of course told me, "sewing is so easy, you can totally do it."

So I foolishly believed her and she invited me over for a mini sewing class.

And here is the end result-this adorable dress. It turned out so cute. I love it! And I have to admit, it was fairly simple. (But I am so glad Cheri was there to walk me through it).

                                                And some more pictures, just because I think she is pretty cute.

Youth Conference

A couple weeks ago I was able to go to Youth  Conference with the youth of our church and we had so much fun.  Some of the highlights were : repelling, eating, scaring ourselves, Ice Age 3,  dancing, laughing, getting to know the youth better, trips to Maverik, Adult conversation, late nights, wakeboarding, tubing, and poor Sadie's broken nose.

 Repelling

I finally got up on the wakeboard. Didn't stay up long, but at lest I got up. Yay!

We have some great youth in our ward and I had tons of fun!

Bye, Bye Binkie

Hallie finally kicked the habit.

On July 7th I told Hallie to just throw it in the garbage. I made it sound like such an exciting thing. So we ran to the garbage all ready to toss that baby in there.

But when it came time for her to actually drop it, she hesitated. She looked at it, then at me. I kept encouraging the drop. (I really never thought she would do it). But then tada. She dropped it.

The first night she cried for about 10 minutes for it, then the second night again 10 minutes. But by the third night she was completely over that thing.

For the first week she would still ask for it, when we laid her down for naps & bed, but we would remind her that she threw it away, and she would say, ""oh, yeah. Garbage."

I am so glad we finally got rid of that ugly binkie.

Wow. She's 2!

Well, I think this has kind of turned into Ryan's blog, but maybe he won't mind if I post  just this once. :)

Our little Hallie had a birthday and turned the big 2! I can't believe it . Where has the time gone? 

I wanted to do something fun for her, but I got home from Youth Conference the evening of her birthday and so I was worn out. We settled for a scoop of ice cream and singing Happy Birthday at home with just our little family. The poor kid didn't even get a present.

We are doing a little party in a couple weeks so that helped me feel a little better about not making her actual birthday a fun one.

We all love her to death and our lives would definitely be boring with out her.

Some things about Hallie:

*She is one sassy girl. (This is a fun trait and  also one that can drive me nuts).

*She loves to eat.

*She knows how to manipulate her dad. BAD!

*She has an adorable laugh.

*She  learned how to talk a lot a couple weeks ago, and hasn't stopped.

*She has beautiful eyes.

*She loves her big brother and follows him everywhere.

*Her favorite song is "Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam" & "The Itsy Bitsy Spider"

*She thinks farting is hilarious.

    

We love you Hallie and are so glad you are a part of our family.

Hallie learns to deflect

Sometimes the best defense against criticism is returned criticism. They learn so early.

Waffles and CNN

Two quick things:

I've been asked so many times about this I figured I would explain. Lessley and I were the feature of a recent CNN article (http://www.cnn.com/2009/...) and everyone wants to know how CNN came to find/pick us.

I wrote a blog post well over a year ago about how I'm a cheapskate and how Lessley has had to adjust (to the point that now she's the cheapskate). Anyway, the CNN writer said she liked it and wanted to do a story on finances in a couple's marriage. So there you go.

Also, I want to add a shameless plug for something delicious. My brother has a booth at the Provo Farmer's market where he sells Belgian Sugar Waffles (top picture).

Now, these aren't the kind of waffles you're used to. They are a desert. Imagine the best bread you ever ate mated with carmelized sugar, and that's what you get. They are, in a word: addicting. They also sell Stroop waffles (bottom left), which are two waffled cookies with a cinnamon sugar drizzle in the middle. They are also divine.

Lessley and I both have cravings for them all the time. So go to the Provo Farmer's market on Saturday and treat yourself. You won't be sorry.

Eli Rides

It brought back painful yet nostalgic memories of my Dad (this is Ryan writing) teaching me to ride a bike in the elementary school parking lot as Eli learned to ride his bike un-aided this week. He has a unique strategy for takeoff, but he's got the gist of it.

He simply took off, and loved it. Then immediately lost his riding priviliges for throwing a fit when it was time to come in.

So Eli now has a new favorite activity, and we now have a new effective tool for obedience. Enjoy the video.