Happy Birthday Dustin!

So, all Dustin wanted for his birthday was to have a little break from life. He wanted to get away for a few days with no work and no school. We left Macie in Logan and headed to Moab. It was a way fun weekend. It was our anniversary/birthday weekend. We left on Thursday, Dustin's birthday. Of course, on the way we got pulled over. Dustin was going 12 over, but maybe the cop saw it was his birthday and let us off with just a warning.

We first went to Goblin Valley.  It was pretty cool actually because you don't see anything as you are driving up until you basically get to the parking lot.  Then it just opens up into this little valley with goblins all over.

We took this picture because it kind of looked like a brochure picture.

We were going to go to Canyonlands to camp, but it was getting later, and we thought it might be full, so we just drove up into some hills by Goblin Valley and found a nice little campsite.  My only complaint was that the wind was brutal til about dark.  It was all good, though.  We got there, set up camp, went for a little bike ride, and ate dinner.

Dustin was so lucky and got some jeans for his birthday.  He actually got a GPS, too, and he thought that was kind of cool. (Don't mind the Christmas paper wrapping, it's all I had!  Stop judging!)  :)

When we were about to go to bed, we realized how bright it was outside.  We walked over to the other side of the little valley we were in and Dustin got this awesome picture of a full moon.  Those are just the rock cliffs in front of it.


Friday morning, we got up, packed up camp, and headed out.  We went to Arches National Park.  I'd never been there.  It was awesome.  We hiked in to Delicate Arch, the one from the license plates.  It looks SO amazing in real life.  If you look really close, Dustin and I are on the rocks at the front of the arch.

Parade of Elephants.
After Arches, we drove into Moab and got our hotel room.  We were going to go for another bike ride but realized we were tired, so we got ready, went to dinner, and went to see Star Trek instead.  Basically that show is awesome, and Spock is my hero.  (Besides Dustin of course!)  Anyway, Happy Birthday, Dustin!  I hope you had a good time.  I love you!

Easter and some other stuff...

This might be a long post, but that's ok. First off, Dustin's dad and step mom went to Italy a few weeks ago and brought Macie home this little swimsuit. There's a new hotel that opened in Logan, so they went to stay at it and decided Mace should try it out. I must say it's kind of cute.


It took her a little bit to get in, but her aunt Hanna and Hallie and some friends finally coaxed her in. She decided she liked it and was just lounging in her float tube. Look at that double chin. :)

So yesterday, Saturday, Dustin was SO bored and it was so nice outside.  He wanted to do something, and I had LOTS of ideas for him.  Putting some more blinds up, putting up another door, cleaning out our basement...lots of ideas.  He decided to build us a nightstand instead.  It isn't finished, but here's the idea of it.

FINALLY!  I've been wanting to paint easter eggs the past few years Dustin and I have been married, but we never have.  Last year I boiled 2 dozen eggs, and we didn't ever paint them.  We actually painted them this year!  YAY!  We had our neighbor Natalie come over to paint them with us.  Good times.

We had some awesome eggs.  You can't really tell that well, but Dustin made a football and made another one that is the earth.  Natalie made Humpty Dumpty.  Mine is the rainbow.  That's as creative as I get, and it's just because my older siblings used to do it. 

And then Easter morning.  We got most of it on our video camera, so we don't have many pictures, but Macie did get this super cute dress that her Grandma Hansen made for her.  It is SO cute!

We had such a good Easter Sunday.  We got to go to church and hear all the testimonies.  Then I got to go to Primary, and I love Primary because those little kids are so smart.  They have such sweet testimonies and they really help build mine up.  I'm so thankful for my calling, and for the gospel in my life.  It brings so much to me, and I just love it so much.

P.S. Macie is now walking and went down the stairs all by herself the other day. Backwards! I was so proud of her!

Nine Month Pics!

The time has come again for Macie's pictures. We actually took these at about 9 1/2 months, but that's all good. Anyway, like always, I thought they turned out pretty cute. :) She's getting so big. Enjoy!

One Kid, Six Kids, Ten Kids!

So two weeks ago, Dustin and I got to go watch DeDe's kids while they went to the WAC tournament.  We went Thursday night and were there til Sunday.  It was good times.  Here's Macie and Addi (who is eight months older than her) playing with the crayons.  Macie really likes that waxy taste.

Addi was obsessed with going outside.  Here she is in her jammies waiting to go outside.


The next weekend, (last weekend) we got to go to Idaho Falls to help watch Camille's kids.  Saturday was fun because Celeste and Bethany came and brought their kids and we just had a big party.  It's always a party when we get together.  Here's Cody with Macie and Carly (who is three months older than Macie).

They sure like playing together.  I still think they kind of look alike a little bit.

Watching that many kids, it's easy to forget about your own.  Here's poor Macie eating a slightly burnt pancake off the floor.  Sorry girlie!  I really did feed her real food.

Camille and Tony have this super fun toy deal in the backyard.  We were missing a few kids...

Here they are!  How cute!  Here's Kaden, Dallin, Lilli, and Saki.

We really did have fun watching both families for a little while.  It's the least we could do for how much all these guys have helped Dustin and I out.  We really are blessed to have such awesome families around us!  We love you all!

Macie!

Here are just a few recent pictures of Macie because it seems like I haven't posted many pictures of my little babes lately.

She is just getting so big and gets cuter every day.  We just love her so much and are so thankful she's a part of our family!

The Ranch

So this weekend, we went with Tony and Camille out to their family's ranch. It was tons of fun. We went out Friday night and stayed til Saturday.  It was great because we got to sleep in a nice warm cabin.

Here's me, Macie, Cameron, Brennon, and Kaden.  It took awhile for the cabin to warm up, so we had to snuggle a little.

We got out there later Friday night, and then Saturday morning (after Macie woke up all the boys) we had breakfast and then went out to play in the snow.

This is the snow cat.  It was sweet having that to ride out in.  Camille and Tony were super nice and took all the kids (including Macie) in the cat.  That thing is a tank and goes everywhere.  

It really came in handy when I got stuck.  My first time getting stuck was going up a hill.  I didn't keep up my momentum and the track just sunk down in the powder.  There was LOTS of powder.  From when we got there til we left I don't think it stopped snowing once.  It was DEEP DEEP snow.  Tons of fun.  Dustin got really good at getting the snowmachine to tip on its side and do really sharp turns.  Anyway, we were coming out Saturday afternoon and there were some trailers blocking the road so the cat couldn't get out.  We had to find an alternative route which happened to go over this little river.  I tried to go fast through it, but just buried the nose in instead.  I got off and sank down to about my thighs and then the water went into my boots.  At least we were almost back to the truck, so I didn't get too cold.  Luckily the cat was able to just pull me out so we didn't have to dig it out.

We made it back to Camille's and we put Macie in the tub with Mason and Kaden.  She had lots of fun, and they all looked SO cute!