Allie's Holiday of Dance Recital 2008

Our Exciting New!

Well the real reason I haven't been posting much lately is because we are expecting Latta baby #3 and I have been lying on the couch wanting to die! We are so very excited for our new little arrival.

Tagged 4th file 4th photo

This is my 4th photo in my 4th file. How embarrassing. Allie had just done a "makeover" on me!

I tag Michelle, Camille, Katie Bybee, and Bethany.

Get Ready for an Update Overload

We have been busy! Now bear with me as I try and update all of our fun activities from the past few months.

First up, SOCCER!! Justin and our friend Freddie coached Allie's soccer team this fall. It was definately a learning experience for everyone. Allie wasn't too sure about soccer this year. She did great when she was focused, but would have much rather chase butterflies and eat snacks. It was fun to watch her use her ballet moves during the games as she lept back and forth. She is definately a girlie girl!

Justin did a great job teaching the girls some basic skill and how to have good sportsmanship. He learned to have patience and when to say NO!! All in all we enjoyed the soccer season and look forward to playing in the spring.

Auntie Michelle's Visit

Wow our summer has been full of visits, and still more to come! Michelle came a few weeks ago, and we just loved having her. I love all the comments we get when we go out that we look so much alike. Poor Michelle, but hooray for me!! She is 8 years younger than me!

While she was here we had a full on schedule. We went to a ward activity, went to the farmers market, made a trip to the Indiana State Fair and had a going away party for a good friend. Michelle was such a huge help and is great and just going with the flow! We can't wait for her to come back again.

These are our pictures from the State Fair. We decided to ride the train down and we weren't disappointed. It was fabulous. We stayed for quite a while and made sure we tasted everything! We played in the Little Helpers on the Farm, Allie rode an elephant (the best paid elephant we will ever see) and Brin rode a horse. We always have a blast at the fair and can't wait for it to come around next year!!

Happy Birthday Tutus and Turtles!

Tutus and Turtles is turning ONE and there is a HUGE celebration going on. So hop and over and enter!! (Sorry I don't have any connections! he he he)

Katrina's Visit

The whole family had so much fun while Katrina was here. We went swimming, shopping and even to a baseball game. The girls loved going through Auntie Katrina's suitcases and finding all the goodies she brought! Thanks Auntie for coming!! Don't wait so long next time!

Modeling

We have been trying out our new SLR camera, here are some of the "Modeling Pictures" we got of the girls. Justin is getting really good!

4th of July

To end our family vacation, we stayed for the Jackson Hole 4th of July Parade. Allie says this is her favorite part of the whole trip. Can't help but love free candy thrown at you from a parade!

Jackson Hole, WY

We had a blast in Jackson Hole. We rode in the Stagecoach, and Allie kept saying "I can't believe I am in a stage coach like a real Cowgirl!" We went down the alpine slide which Brinley and Allie both love. They must have their dad's need for speed!

We also saw the show " The Ballad of Cat Ballou" at the Playhouse, which is a must see!! The girls loved it and Brinley kept yelling "Look a Barbie" to all the pretty girls! The next night we went and saw the Bar J Wrangers. If you ever get to Jackson Hole you HAVE to see them. They feed you a delicious chuckwagon dinner and then sing and entertain you. It doesn't matter how many times I have seen them, they are always amazing!!

Yellowstone

Our first extended family vacation was awesome! We flew from Indy to Salt Lake and met up with my parents, Auntie Toe (Camille) Uncle Crocodile (Hector) and Auntie Chooch (Michelle). We ate a yummy burger at Crown Burger, then headed up to Yellowstone. Poor Michelle didn't get to come because of school and we really missed her. We drove up through Pocatella, ID up to West Yellowstone where our lovely accomodations were waiting. We stayed in a fabulous double wide trailer that is so fitting for the town of West Yellowstone, MT.

For the next two days we spent lots of time in the Park. It was beautiful. I think Allie thought Yellowstone was going to be a big zoo with lots of animals. She was disappointed a bit, until a huge ELK jumped out in front of our car. Pretty impressive. Allie squealed and gaulked and when the elk had passed she said "Mom I was so excited I forgot to take a picture!" We fished, saw Old Faithful, watched the buffalo herds and ate lots of yummy, yummy ice cream. I caught a GINORMOUS fish, but alas I don't have a picture. It snapped my line at the shoreline while Justin and my Dad tried to take over my victory. Thanks a lot guys!

Stay tuned for our adventures in Jackson Hole!

Allie's Grand Recital

This was Allie's big grand finale for her dance class. She has learned so much this year and we can't wait for next year.

** She is the second one from the left. And she did much better at her actual recital (this was the dress rehearsal.)**

Summer Fun

We have been enjoying the warm weather of summer! The girls practically live in there bathing suits!

I'm Proud to be an American!

Okay, so this post is long overdue. Justin is officially an American! These are pictures from his swearing in ceremony. I didn't expect to get emotional over this, but somehow going to a ceremony where people have worked so hard to gain citizenship was quite touching. Needless to say, I am proud to be an American!

The Turtle

Justin and I were driving Allie to school one day, when Justin saw something move out of the corner of his eye, on the side of the road. Next thing I know we are parked on the side of the street so Justin can go investigate (he wished he worked for the FBI.) He comes back with a TURTLE! We brought our little friend home and found a plastic container for him, fed him lettuce and watched him swim around. Some very concerned friends warned me about the lovely germs turtles have, so we quickly returned him to our local pond. I let the girls take him outside and hold him, just as long as they promised to wash their hands really well.

I must admit a pet turtle is such an improvement from the lizards and scorpions we would find in the desert.

Brinley's Birthday

Brinley turned TWO on May 1st. We had just a small little party with a few of our good friends.



She was so excited about her Bubble Machine. She also loved her new bike.

This was Brinley's birthday cake. I had planned some cute "Very Hungry Caterpillar" activties, but the kids just wanted to play outside.

Happy Birthday Janelle!

Our Auntie Janelle is celebrating her 21st Birthday today and we want her to know that we are thinking of her. Happy Birthday Janelle, we hope you have a fabulous day!

Our Trip to Chicago!

My secret mission to kidnap Justin and take him to Chicago was a success. We had so much fun, and it was awesome to have his undivided attention for 2 whole days!! We stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel on the Magificent Mile, shopped and ate to we dropped and actually finished a conversation without being interupted 5000 times! My favorite part, however, was seeing WICKED! Wow!! It was so GOOD and worth every penny.

So here are some pictures of our fun weekend without kids. Thanks Opa and Rella for babysitting, we are still detoxing our girls.

A Sunday Walk

The weather has been so nice the past 2 weeks, so I apologize for not posting. We have been taking advantage of the sunshine!

These are some pictures of the girls on one of our Sunday walks. They are so cute to each other (most of the time) and are at a perfect age right now. They are just so content to play outside with each other and it is so fun to see them play together like true friends! I hope this lasts for a long, long time.