Happy Birthday Brooklyn!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROOKLYN!!

Today is my niece Brooklyn's 2nd Birthday! I can't believe how fast time pasts when I am not right there in Vegas watching her grow. It is really hard because I was there for so much of Taylor and Kamdyn's early years and we were in Virgina when Brooklyn was born and I have only gotten to spend one summer there in Vegas since. But I really hope that I can still find ways to be close to my nieces (and now my nephew, Congrats Jason and Adaline) being so far away. I miss those girls like they were my own kids. They are the sweetest not to mention the cutest girls. I love you girls!

The Sad, The Cute, and The Silly!

We haven't been up to much lately. We seem to keep ourselves plenty busy with young women's, work, chasing kids, helping people move in and out, and just plain life itself.

The Sad:

On Monday Sarah (Jon's sister) moved to Michigan for her husband to start Law school. I am so bummed. It has been so nice having a sister only 7 miles away with kids the same age as my kids who understands me so well. We have had a lot of fun living close by and now she is gone. Sarah has always been there for me. Like when I tried to cut my fingers off with the hedge trimmers, she came right over and took me to the doctor. She has watched Dallin more times that I can count. She is truly one of my best friends. It is really sad to see her go, but I know it is for a good purpose. I got to watch her boys for her on Monday while they packed the car up and they are so sweet. Dallin and Ava played almost everyday for like a week. They are best buds! I know it will be an adjustment for them too. We are sure going to miss them.

Blake

Chase

Dallin and Ava- They really did EVERYTHING together. Ava was bound determined to potty train Dallin for us, but he is just too stubborn. Thanks anyway Ava.

The Cute:

Dallin is so handsome. I can't believe that he is going to be 3 in less than 2 months.
Elise is getting more and more beautiful each day. She has such a great personality. She is crawling everywhere these days and she has learned how to wave. It is so cute! Her laugh and smile are some of my favorite things these days. Grandma Seeley- Do you recognize the dress??? This is the one that you helped me make for her before I knew I was having a girl.
It fits her PERFECTLY!

Now for the SILLY:

Dallin says these are his "glasses", I am starting to wonder what he sees through them...

Jon has been itching to put Elise's hair into ponytails since she has such random lengths everywhere. Here you have it, our very own Cabbage patch kid:

A Sad Day for the Seeley Family and a Young Teenage Girl

Today I learned that Montell Seeley, a great uncle*, was killed in a tragic accident on Tuesday, August 12.

"There was a tragic end to a re-enactment of a pioneer trek in central Utah this morning. A 14-year-old girl was killed, as was a man (Montell Seeley) well known in Emery County for keeping the pioneer spirit alive.
The tragedy struck this morning near the community of Fairview. A teenage girl from Tropic, Utah was killed, along with the founder of the Castle Valley Pageant, which just wrapped up its season Saturday night. Twelve people had just set out for what was suppose to be a week-long pioneer-era trek. They started in Fairview and planned to arrive in Castle Dale on Saturday. But after less than a mile, tragedy struck along the highway. Just ten minutes after leaving their camp, a pickup truck struck them from behind. Trooper Cameron Roden of the Utah Highway Patrol said, "The 13-year-old female was behind the handcart walking and was struck by the vehicle. The vehicle then veered to the left where it struck a 74-year-old male who saw the vehicle coming and was trying to flag down the driver, to get his attention to stop, when he was struck and killed as well. Both died on scene." There were 4 others seriously injured, two of which were his young grandchildren. We will be praying for them.

A couple of years ago were able to go up to Castle Dale, Utah for a family reunion and see his home and see the pageant he and his wife wrote and it was a very memorable experience. He and his wife have also published 2 very thick family books; he was actually in the process of finishing the 3 one. He and his wife sent out family newsletters every couple of months that made all the distant family feel close although separated by several hundreds of miles. Montell was an amazing, talented man who had such a wonderful spirit. He is going to be greatly missed. He has and will always be an example to my family.

*He was actually a second cousin, twice removed for all the anal people out there. But he was more like a great uncle to us.*

Nauvoo Trip

This past weekend we took a family trip to Nauvoo to see the pageant and to sight see. It was so much fun to get away as a family. It's sad to say, but we have never really done a family trip since we've had kids. I don't really count moving in a Uhaul a trip, so this was our first fun overnight trip. The kids did amazing in the car. The weather was so perfect, like 75 degrees. And there was a slight overcast so it wasn't too sunny and bright. It was just such a perfect day to be outside. We didn't get to see everything but we got to see alot and learn a lot about Joseph Smith and the saints not to mention getting to see the gorgeous Nauvoo temple. It definitely gave us a new appreciation for all the saints did on our behalf. It was kind of funny, our first stop was to see all the Joseph Smith history which was run by the R-LDS church. We didn't know that until we were 5 minutes into the tour. It made us laugh. (I know I have a lot of pictures, but I couldn't choose which ones to use, so you get them all.)

Our kids were SO happy to get out of the car. This was right before the pageant.

The Boys
The Girls

Joseph and Emma's House Joseph and Emma's Second house and hotel.

Elise is so stinking cute!

Okay, I know that this is random. It was on a bench at the temple, but I am posting it because it is the biggest daddy long leg spider I have ever seen! So gross!!

Why I should NOT do yard work...

So what do you get when you give this girl:

This tool to trim the bushes with???Give up.... You get this!

Although I don't enjoy posting about myself (it is much more fun to tell everyone about my cute kids) I felt that it would only be fair if I told the world what I did to myself. So here it is: Last Thursday I was trying to be nice and do some yard work for Jon since he has been working so many hours. I decided that our bushes out front were looking a bit shaggy, so I got out the electric hedge trimmers. I plugged it in, pushed in the safety and without even paying the slightness bit of attention I pulled the trigger with my hand on the blade. I ran inside and put my hand in the sink. I knew it wasn't going to be good when my hand was bleeding pretty bad. So I called Jon and Sarah and we went to the emergency room (no one knew if we had a quick care anywhere close by). They scrubbed and soaked my hand and then determined that the cuts were too jagged to stitch so the bandaged me up really well gave me a tetanus shot and sent me home. It was horrible! I can't get my hand wet, so I can't bath kids, wash dishes, cook, etc. It was fun for a day, but now I just want my hand back... So there you have it. Most people don't know, but I am somewhat accident prone. I have never needed stitches or been to an emergency room before now, but burns, cuts, broken toes, etc are pretty normal for me... I guess I still have a little bit of blond left in me after all.

What the kids are up to.

Elise has finally decided to be more photogenic. She has never liked having her picture taken, but lately whenever I get my camera out, she smiles.
She is already starting to crawl. She has mastered the army crawl, but still working hard at getting up on her knees. She does that cute little rock back and forth all the time.
She is very motivated to go really fast when she see something she wants. Which usually is Dallin cars, the phone, or in this case the remote.

Dallin LOVES to play letters. Ever since he learned the alphabet and then learned to recognize the letters he has done this. He thinks it is so fun to sit on the computer and types letters and numbers.
Dallin also has a new found love for the US map. I bought him a map placemat and he loves to ask about the states. He has gotten really good at remember most all the states too; in just a few days. He never ceases to amaze me. You just point to a state and he will tell you the name. He is acting pretty silly since he had a camera in his face, but you get the idea. He actually answered a map question on “Are you Smarter than a Fifth Grader” the other day too! He flipped it over and found the state flags on the other side and now he is asking which one belongs to which state and he know about 8 of those too. He’s so cute!One more bragging moment, Dallin can now spell his name. I taught him one morning and by the time Jon came home he could do it all by himself. He apparently got Jon's love for learning!
Being cute!
Getting frustrated
Eating! Elise loves to eat. She is such a natural too.
Just Chillin.