So proud!!

So like I said, Chuck had to go to a conference in Boston this past week. It was conference for the Protein Society Symposium. He was presenting a poster at the meeting. They had 400 graduate students at the conference that were chosen to present posters, and Chuck won the award for the best poster and presentation! I am so proud of him! It is not only based on his poster and how he presents it, but also on his research. He has been working for the past 3 years on this research, and he has found some really cool stuff. I don't understand most of what he is doing, but I do know that he has basically proven something wrong that has been the accepted belief for the past 50 years. Anyway, I am so proud of him. I made him promise to get a picture in front of his poster and accepting his award at the award banquet, but he forgot. I am sad I don't have a picture.

Coming home!

We had a long week without Daddy. It was hard for the kids to adjust to having a new baby at home and to have Dad gone. But we had so much fun with Gracie and the kids are so cute and good with her. Here are a couple of our favorite things to do with the baby.

Our cute litte Gracie, she loves tummy time. The kids will get in front of her and talk to her and try to get her to look up at them.

We love to put Gracie on a blanket and lay by her and sing to her. Cayden always sings "I am a child of God." And Emma sings songs from her princess movies.

Emma singing and playing with Gracie, I just love this picture!

I took this picture the other night when we were telling stories in Emma's room, I love it. Emma is so silly and loves to make us laugh.

At night we love to bring baby Grace in to have story time with us. They take turns holding her while I tell them stories and read books.

Grace's birth!!!

I had the easiest labor, I was so blessed. I had to get induced because Chuck was leaving for a conference in Boston on the 24th so we wanted to make sure he wouldn't miss the birth. I went in the morning of the 22nd and they had me get my epidural before they even started me on the pittosin, so I literally had no pain the whole birth. The worst part was getting the epidural, I have never had one before when I wasn't having a contraction to distract me. It hurt really bad and I almost passed out, I know I am such a baby, but it's a really uncomfortable kind of pain. Once they started the pittosin I was a 10 within 4 hours and she came out in only a few pushes. She was posterier, which explains the horrible back pain I have been having. It was such an easy and wonderful experiance, and she is the sweetest baby ever. I can't believe how much I love her. She has the sweetest little spirit, and is so calm and never cries unless she is hungry or has a poopy diaper. She really is such a little angel. The kids are in love with her, especially Cayden, who is already protective of her.


Chuck insisted I take this horribly ugly picture of me before! Big Belly!

My mom was there for the birth, she was so excited.


Daddy got to catch her when she came out and cut the cord.

Our little angel

Cayden held her for over a half hour, he loves her so much. He was so cute with her.

Emma loved her too, and is still learning not to poke and touch her face all the time.



I love this picture, Chuck didn't know I was taking it. He is so cute with her. I love watching him with our babies, it makes me fall in love with him all over again.

Mom and baby were so tired after our long day!

I love this picture of Emma and the baby

My 3 babies. I love them all so much, and I really can't believe I am a mom to 3 kids now.


Everything couldn't have gone better. The only down side was that Chuck had to leave for Boston while I was still in the hospital. I missed him so much, and he was dying being away from me and the baby. He got home last night and I am so happy to have him home again.

Grace Isabelle

She is finally here! Gracie was born July 22 at 2:49 pm. She was 8 lbs 1.5 oz and 19 1/2 in long. She is so beautiful and has tons of curly brown hair. She looks a lot like Cayden did! She is so cute and has the sweetest disposition. We are so excited. Here are just a couple of pictures, I will post more about the birth and more pictures when I get home from the hospitol. Thanks for all the prayers on our behalf.

3 years old already!!

Today is my babies birthday!! I can't believe she is already 3 years old. It has gone by way to quick. I wanted to share some of my favorite things about Emma.
1- she is so spunky, she always is rolling her eyes at me and giving me the funniest looks, she has so much personality, I secretly love it.
2- She has two settings hot or cold. She is either really bubbly and cute and the cetner of attention, laughing and having fun. Or she is crying and upset, there is nothing in between.
3- She is so nurturing, she loves to take care of her dolls and keeps telling me all the things she is going to do to take care of the baby. She even likes to take care of Cayden, especially when she gets to tell him what to do.
4- She is so independent. She won't let me do anything for her, she wants to do everything on her own.
5- She is really loving and is always wanting to snuggle and cuddle with me, Cayden and Daddy.
6- She adores her daddy, he is her best friend, and she loves to get time with him.
7- She is a princess, literally, she really thinks that she is. And she thinks she is so beautiful. I keep telling her it's more important to be nice than to be beautiful and she says "I know mom, but I am nice AND beautiful, it's the best to be both"
8-She is so smart, I mean scary smart. She knows almost as much as Cayden, she is memorizing the articles of faith and is picking it up just as fast as he is.
9- She loves her aunties and my mom, she loves to have girl time with them and go on fun dates.
10- She is a talker, I swear she will talk for hours if you let her. I love to have conversations with her. In the car she will just talk and talk and talk. Cayden is so good to humor her and listen to her for hours on end.
11- She is a really cute dancer. She has the best rythem and shakes her bum so cute. She loves to dance all day long.
12- She loves to read, she will memorize her books I read her so she can read them to herself. I will always find her in her room just reading her books, and she is usually right on with the words.
13- She also loves to sing and I will frequently hear her singing to herself. Usually princess songs.
14- She is so funny, she likes to be funny, and she is always making up these silly jokes and then she will laugh so hard at herself.
15- She loves her brother. She loves to play with him and will always tell me that he is her best friend.
16- She loves to swim and be in the water, but she freaks if her ears get wet, she is so weird!

Party Time!!!

We had Emma's birthday party on Saturday and she had so much fun. I only invited 3 litte girls from our neighborhood, I wanted to keep it small and simple. They are her best friends though, so they had so much fun together. They all wore their prettiest princess dresses and we had a princess party. My sister Becca dressed up like Giselle, (At Emma's request) and she came and gave the girls princess lessons. Then she sang princess songs and danced with them. Our princes (Daddy and Cayden) came and danced with them. Cayden was so cute, he took a turn with all the litte girl and danced with them, they loved it and it was so adorable. Then me and Becca gave them manicures, which they loved. Then we had heart sandwiches, strawberry's and pink yogurt for dessert, and ate pink cupcakes. Emma was so happy with it. When she went to bed that night she told me "Mom, I am so happy with my party, I loved it so much, thank you." It was so nice to hear a thank you for something I had done for her, and I was so happy that she was so thrilled with it.

My little birthday girl.

Emma and her best buddies, Avery and Angelina, we missed Nora who is in Texas for the summer. Emma kept asking why Nora couldn't come to her party, she was so sad.

Emma and Cayden, Cayden got Emma a priness doll and a neclace that he picked out himself. He payed for her present with his own allowance and was so excited to give it to her.

The girls with Becca

Emma and her prince


Our cute little family.

Emma with my mom dad and sibs. My mom just got surgery on her nose for her breathing problems so she looks a little swollen and bruised.


Getting a manicure

I had to take a picture of the streamers that Chuck spent hours putting up for me.

My beautiful pink cupcakes, don't they just look so pretty you don't want to eat them.

Gotta love em.

A couple of days ago the kids wanted to have silly string war. I told them to go upstairs and get their swimsuits on and that we would do it in the yard. This is how them came down. In their boots, gloves and hats. I guess they needed it as their war gear. They had a great war that consisted mostly of Cayden spraying Emma in the face. They are so dang cute sometimes. After their war I came outside and found them like this...

I guess they were all tuckered out. The sun must have really drained them.

7 years

Sunday was Chuck and I's 7th anniversary. I can't believe we been married for this long, it has gone by so fast. I am so glad to be at this side of the seven years. We have definatelly had some really hard times, but our relationship is better than ever right now. I am so grateful to have such a loving, caring, and intimate marriage. I am so grateful to know how much he loves me and to see how hard he works to be a better husband. I try everyday to deserve him as my other half, he definately is the better part of this whole. I love him more everyday and I am so grateful to be where we are at today. Happy Anniversary Baby!!

Bike Parade!!!

For the Lehi roundup days they had a kids bike parade as part of the big parade that they did. Cayden just learned to ride his bike without training wheels so he really wanted to ride in it. I took them to dollar store and let them pick out their own decorations and then I helped them decorate their bikes and they picked out their own costumes they wanted to wear. They turned out so cute. Each child under 8 had to have a parent walk in the parade with them. I was so sure that the 2 mile parade route would put me into labor, but no such luck. They had a blast though, and want to do it every year. Emma won the ribbon for best costume, Cayden was sad he didn't win, but he learned to be happy for his sister.

Mommy and Daddy Dates

On our dates for this month we had such a geat time. I got Emma again this time cause Chuck really wanted to take Cayden camping. I sent a camera with them, but somehow Chuck forgot to take any pictures. They had a great time though. They went up to our favorite spot at Silver Lake and Chuck taught Cayden to set up a tent and how to build a campfire, they chopped wood and everything (Which Cayden loved). They they went hiking and hung out and roasted hotdogs around the campfire. After dinner they accidentally got poison ivy on them when they went to the bathroom, so after washing up Cayden was cold and he wanted to eat his marshmellows in the tent. They layed in the tent and ate marshmellows and finished reading "The Wizard of Oz" which is the latest book I have been reading to Cayden before bed each night. In the morning they went fishing and hiking and took down camp. Cayden had such a great time with his daddy and it is still his favorite thing he has done all summer. They are going to make it an annual boys camping trip.


Me and Emma had a great time as well. We got pedicures and manicures and I did a makeover on Emma. She was so excited to get makeup on, it was really only a little bit of blush and lipstick, but she thought she was so beautiful. Then we went and played at the park and got ice cream cones. We had a sleepover in my bed that night and she was so excited to get to sleep with mommy. I had more plans for us the next morning but my Grandpa had a heart attack and my grandma needed me to pick her up and take her to the hospital so she could be with him, so our morning was spent helping them. But she was still happy to be with me. I love to just spend time with Emma and not have a ton planned cause she will just talk and talk and talk, we have the best converstaions.