we got trouble, right here in river city

I was cleaning the house today and talking to Sarah and if you spend any time with her you know that she is quite chatty. Anyway, she is crawling now and it is adorable and i am in the kitchen cleaning and i hear squawking and crawling and i am feeling pretty productive and then total silence. Not a coo or a dat-dat-dat nothing? So i look around the corner and i can't see Sarah, my heart jumps, she can't get far, she isn't crying so she must not be hurt, and then i find her. And i think to myself, oh crap. She is standing under our dining table with a very accomplished look on her face, she is pleased with her new situation, i however am not.

This kid has loved to stand from day one and up until this day she has always needed my assistance...well not any more. I am not happy with this new found independence but Sarah sure is so i guess i will have to make my peace with it.

Here is a little teaser of what is yet to come!

Don't you wish you looked this good in a swimsuit!

No time for losers, we are the CHAMPIONS!

Ok, so maybe you can guess that things are great around our house again! Jimbo is home from his three weeks of butt-kickin' training, Sarah is over what we thought was teething and turned out to be throat ulcers, and I can now cram my butt in my pre-prego jeans, however, I am not willing to leave the confines of my house in said jeans! All is well, yea all is well!

I think it is safe to say that Jimbo and I have done a lot of reflecting this spring. We are both in
"trim the fat" mode in every way possible. Myself having just reached the big three-ohhh, gracefully I might add, have been taking stock in my life thus far and I have to say that I am pleased. I am not where I thought I would be but I am right where I want to be and that in my book is success!

This is a great picture of Jim and I taken about a year after we were married. Jim stands tall and handsome in his Marine uniform and I am the very definition of newly-wedded bliss! A lot has changed since that photo was taken and I don't just mean our sizes! Yes, we are crazy in love with each other but our love has matured. We have changed, we have progressed, we have learned about each other, and most important we have remained best friends.

Let me tell you what Jimbo has been up to. Torture. He voluntarily signed up to let the Marine Corps do their worst and see if he was left standing in the end. While others went home with broken ribs and bruised egos my baby pushed through. I can't tell you every thing he went through mainly because I don't really want to know but I can tell you that they pushed my "big, dumb, jerk" to tears he was in so much pain. I've never seen that, I hope I never have to.

I took a few pictures of the graduation and despite all of the help I was getting from Sarah a few are actually in focus so enjoy!

Proud to be 'Salty'

For those of you who aren't lucky enough to be in the Marine Corps I will explain 'salty'. In this photo even though it is black and white you can tell that Jimbo's cammies are more fadded than the other Marines, this because he is salty, his cammies have been used for what they were designed; killin' the bad guys. Yes, he is salty and proud!

You didn't think I would take the time to post and not put a dozen or so pictures of Sarah, right?

I have made a resolution regarding Sarah's lack of hair. I used to lament over it, why can't she just grow hair, why do the few hairs she has keep falling out, why is her bald spot still bald? I just want her to have a 'do' and I have a drawer full of hair clips to prove it. The other day she woke up from her nap and I got my wish, she had a 'do', not what I had in mind but there is hair enough to stick out and that is all I can ask for!

Dad's idea of a 'do', the Alfalfa look!


My Baby Girl!

just us...recently

I looked out the window and what did i see...a truck load of pictures of my family! I just can't resist posting all of these recent goodies!

We owe this beautiful dress to Auntie Cami...so stunning right!

My Birthday Cake...Thanks Anna!


What happens to Sarah after too much partying!
(she always sleeps with her little butt in the air and it is adorable)


My two loves!


cute little thing

Love it, love it, love it! This being a mom is so much fun, I love it and I hope it shows!

Happy Birthday Dad!

My dad and I share a birthday and I love it. I have to admit though that I never liked sharing my birthday cake because who doesn't want there own cake!

I love my dad. I have the best dad ever, he has the best sense of humor, he is really funny, he is lots of fun to hug, he is rough and tough and doesn't treat me like I am a girly girl (even though I am one), he loves me just the way I am, and he has been a best friend for a long, long time.

I have a few great pictures of him and here they are. This first one is so fun because he is the little one in the picture and that is probably the only time we get to refer to him as 'the little one'!

see what I mean!

Super handsome though!

mom and dad in Italy

big guy, tender heart

my goofy men


he is adorable and he is my dad!

Hey dad, on this special day I thought I would remind you of a few of the things you have taught me over the years......
you don't what to get yourself caught between a pig and a poke? (we still haven't figured this one out)
this isn't Relief Society, toughen up!
once you hook your hand to the plow you can't look back
you gotta dance with what brought you
your face could use a little more spackle (makeup)
if your car is making a funny noise, turn up the radio
you can't put 10 pounds of shit in a 5 pound sack!
my favorite and used the most...
you can't make a silk purse out of a pigs ear!

I love you Bear, happy birthday!

A Very Merry unBirthday!

We want to start a Zoo do you?

But oh, there is so much to know and do!
Can you tell us if it's true?

Ok, so I have now memorized most of Sarah's favorite books and mind you this is not a complaint, I really like it. This past week feels like we have started a Zoo and there is so much you need to know and do!

The plague has finally left our house and we got to celebrate Sarah's very merry unBirthday! She was officially 6 months old on Easter Sunday and therefore got her first taste of Rice Cereal, a freaking hilarious event. I think the pictures will tell it best but I do have to share with you that she was much more interested in the pink cup holding the cereal and about mid-way through the feast she kicked it out of my hand, all over the wall, down my leg and into a lovely splat on the floor. The good news is the dog immediately lapped up all evidence! Just what would I do without my little furry Hoover?

I will admit that I really wondered how our pets would react to Sarah and just what would she think of them and it turns out they are both equally enamored and annoyed with each other.

Roxie, who was a little upset in the beginning that someone had taken her spot as the baby of the household now loves being my mommy sidekick. She loves to nap by Sarah in the day and gets up with me when she cries at night. And though I was very strict in the beginning about how close she was allowed to get to Sarah I am a little more lax now that they both can play on the floor. I think Roxie is the most excited at the prospect of how much food this little one will drop on the floor in the months to come!

I don't have a great picture of Sarah and Buster or Busturd as Riley would call him but I would have to say that the cat is Sarah's favorite. He too loves her and has accepted the fact that this little sticky thing is here to stay. Buster will now come sit near Sarah and let her "pet" him for a while or until she gets a good fist full of fur and then he is outta there!

What can I say...Monkey see, Monkey do!

just Plane sick of flying

I did it again, I took my sweet innocent kiddo on another trip. Yep, 5 flights in 4 days with another city (Phoenix) to add to her travel repertoire. I am crazy and I really hope to never have to travel with her alone again...it is tuff stuff and I am not sure if my back will recover.

The trip itself was to attend the funeral of a dear family friend. A great man whom I have wished I could have known better. Thankfully it was one of those 'happy' funerals, a blessing that has ended suffering and a chance for me to see a lot of old friends.

The best part of these jaunts home are to see my family and to see them make a fuss over Sarah. They really are amazing and I love that I get to cherish every second with them.

Hum, I really wanted to finish this entry but it is 2 days later and now I can't remember all I wanted to say. Oh well, life goes on and I will surely post again soon.

Grandpa Stenny and Sarah

I'm so glad when Daddy comes home

Sarah and I get so excited when Jim walks in the door every night, partly because i think she is a little sick of me and partly because she knows Daddy will sing her all sorts of crazy songs. Jimbo has a song for everything and if there isn't one to fit the occasion he is quick to make one up. We have songs for bath time, songs with actions, songs for bed and even a song about diaper changing!

So, what I am telling you is that when Jimmy is around things are never dull or quiet. However, I snapped a few pictures of a very special moment, a Sunday afternoon nap. This is what happens to two people who have been playing and singing and talking to each other until they are just flat out pooped.

Sweet huh, Sarah loves to touch faces and she loves to pull you close to her. I can see her mind working to take in every detail (this is also why I now try a little harder with the makup). Anywhoo, this is how they napped, face to face, arm in arm. I have a few dozen more pictures of this event because well, it makes my heart melt.

On to less mushy stuff. Sarah can sit up now on her own for a second or two unless you get out the camera and try to catch a few shots, then miraculously she loses all ability to do anything other than flop to the side to see just how fast Dad can get his arm in there to get her right again.

The kid just has so much personality and she can be such a little stinker. Here are some of my favorite shots and please just ignore the hairy arm in the back ground!

So cute right! It is so hard for me to pick what pictures to post and if it didn't take so darn long they would all make it. So this is my girl, I love her and you know what, she is pretty darn fond of me too!