Thursday, June 30, 2011

I Heart Chalk Paint

So I've been seeing paint projects all over blogland using the famous Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  And I've been dying to try some.  But you can't just buy it in a store.  And it's kind of expensive. 


BUT the cool thing is that:
1. It requires NO sanding.
2. It requires NO priming.
3.  It dries super-dee-duper fast! 
4.  I've heard nothing but good things about it. 

So yeah.  I really want some.  Bad.  I've been doing a lot of painting lately and this paint would be such a huge time saver.  No waiting for a few days for the paint cure and buying sand paper and primer and blah blah.  And The Shabby Chic Cottage is doing a giveaway right now.  So if you want some too, go here and enter.  That's what I'm doing.  :) 

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Beach House Vacay Part 1

Today is our 3rd day at the beach house and it has been absolutely wonderful.  These first 3 days it has been my hubby's immediate family and friends.  Starting tomorrow and the rest of the time will be the family reunion part.  So lots of extended family will be coming in. 

The first day we spent some time at Serra Cross Park to eat and kill time waiting to check into the beach house.  It was a way pretty park and had a beautiful view.


Once we got there we just relaxed, played games, went grocery shopping for the week, and just enjoyed each others company.

Day 2 was surfing for the hubby and beach time for everyone!


The beach is literally in the back yard.  You walk down some steps and there is the water.

Pretty cool huh?!

 The day started out cloudy but the sun came out it was great.  We did some boogie boarding and the waves were huge.  I also got sun burned.  Should've used sunscreen I guess. :) We also went into the hot tub with the little boys.  Don't worry, it wasn't actually hot.  It was more like bath water. 


Day 3, today, is Sunday.  So no swimming or surfing.  But lots of fun, hanging out, and playing games.  We also went to church this morning.

My good lookin' boys.

 Look at all those handsome fellas!
{Josh and Gray, and my nephews Drew and Jackson.}


We have been having lots of fun and there are still 4 more days.  Family Reunion, here we come!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

10 Months

Guess what?!  This momma knows her baby and I was right!  About what you ask???

...


My baby boy took his FIRST STEPS yesterday.  At EXACTLY 10 months!  Which is what I predicted.  Oh baby! 

Josh came home yesterday after taking his board exams (Yay, he's done and I have my hubby back!).  I told him Gray was so close to walking.  So Josh set him down with Grayson standing and scooted back.  Then he said, "Come here Grayson," and Gray took 4 steps to Josh!  It was so cool.  He did it again and then I said, we have to get the video camera.  So we did and he did it 2 more times for us on video.  So now you can see my big grown up walking boy! :)




I'm such a proud mom right now, I can hardly stand it!


So here are some things Grayson is up to these days-

He also started standing on his own (obviously) about a week or 2 before he started walking. 

Gray loves to help me do the dishes.  If he sees the dishwasher open even a crack he crawls so fast over and opens it up all the way.  Then he does this-
And he also grabs all the silverware out and chews on it.  So very helpful!

He is babbling a lot now and it is so cute!  He used to just scream (happily usually) but now he is doing lots of sounds like "ba" and "ma" and "da" and "ya" and you get the picture. :)



Also yesterday I saw him bend over from standing up, pick something up off the ground, and then stand up straight again.  Another first!


He LOVES to crawl up the stairs so we have to watch him closely. 

He is a busy and active boy.  I can hardly get him to sit still, let alone smile, for a picture lately. 


He is generally a very happy and playful guy and such a joy in our life.  I could write a lot more but we are getting ready to leave for the airport to fly to California.  Woo-hoo!  Then it's off to our beach house tomorrow for a glorious week.  I can't wait.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

New York Trip and the Winner!

***Waring- this post is not for the faint of heart, picture overload {as per your request Charlotte}!!!***

Last weekend we had a quick trip up to Rochester, New York for a friend of ours' wedding.  Joey was a Josh's roommate at BYU and my friend as well.  My apartment and his apartment were all friends and we did stuff together all the time.  It was great.  College was the best!  Anyways, so our friend Joey was getting married on Friday and we wanted to go. 

 {Gray loves to "drive" the car}

Unfortunately with Josh studying for his board exams for med school (which he takes tomorrow, yay), we couldn't really make a big trip out of it.  We drove up on Thursday, the wedding was Friday, and we drove back on Saturday.  It was a 10 hour drive.  Blah!  But it was so worth it to see Joey's wedding and our other friends from college who also went that we hadn't seen in forever. 

These next 3 pics are from the barbeque Friday evening (which we just made it for, yay!)

Roasting marshmallows for s'mores, yummy! I love s'mores!
 {Me, Shelly, Clark, Joey, Jordan}

 Getting ready to wrestle!
{Jordan and Grayson}

Jordan was SO great with Grayson.  Gray just loved him.  It was so sweet.  Jordan held him for us and played with him and held him some more so we could dance at the reception.  Thanks Jordan!
 
{Clark, Shelly, Me, Grayson, Josh, Jordan,and Joey in front}

On to Friday-

Outside the Palmyra Temple waiting for Joey and Marie to come out
 {The boys- Josh, Ryan, Jordan, Clark}

{The Girls- Shelly, Me, Brienne}

Grayson playing and having a blast :)

 He really loved this wall.  He could stand up next to it and he just stood there for awhile.

This was the best we could do at getting Owen and Gray to look.

 Me and my little boy

More playing on the wall, I told you he loved it!

 The bride and groom!  Josh took these pictures.  If it was me, I would of gotten one long ways so you could see her pretty dress.  Oh well, should've done it myself instead of asking a guy to go take a picture.  Haha.


Between the wedding and reception-


We got to visit some church history sites while in Palmyra.  It was really neat.  

This is the Smith home that was rebuilt on the original foundation.


our little family inside the house

Left is us in front of the Sacred Grove and right is us by the Smith's original frame house.

 The Smith family barn

 L- Brienne and Benson and R- Clark and Shelly

 Ryan pushing the big stroller with his 2 boys through the Sacred Grove.

Gray was pretty tired at this point and fell asleep in the Grove.

 Pretty soon ALL the little boys were asleep!  So sweet.
{Grayson, Owen, and Benson}

Reception-

So, I only have 2 pictures, because I was busy enjoying the reception and chasing my little boy around.  And then my camera died halfway through. 

But here is Joey and his brother's dancing to Nsync.  It was hilarious!


Saturday Morning-

We woke up Saturday, ate the yummy continental breakfast with Ryan, Brienne, and their 2 boys, and then drove home.

The weekend went incredibly fast but it was so much fun.  We loved being about to see our friends and celebrate Joey's wedding.  It was perfect!




And oh yeah, the winner of the 100 Followers Giveaway is comment #3 which is...



Congrats girl, I'm so excited for you!  See you soon! :)

Monday, June 20, 2011

Last Chance for the Giveaway!

There is only a couple more hours to enter the giveaway!  So if you haven't yet, here's your last chance to win these cute headbands!


Good luck!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Dads

Father! - to God himself we cannot give a holier name. ~William Wordsworth



Happy Father's Day Daddy!  You are the best Daddy ever.  you always play the funnest games and read me the best stories.  I love you!
-Grayson



And Happy Father's Day to MY Daddy and Father-in-law!  Love you, you are the best grandpas to my little boy!