April 2013

These pictures were taken in Madison's 12th month from my sweet friend Steph of Flash Jorgensen Photography. She did such a wonderful job of catching Madison's many faces and personality. Madison was a little cold so she wasn't as happy as I'd hoped, but she is a cutie no matter what!

Who do you think she looks like more?... Sarah or Kai

^Sarah and Kai's 1 year shoot. Wonderful photos by Julia Wade Photography.

I think Madison is a pretty good mix of them both.

April 1-

^Madison used to never cuddle until recently and we love it!! I think she used to think that if she laid down she'd have to go to bed. Glad she figured out we love her snuggles and won't put her down any time she is snuggling in. :)

^This is the typical scene when we walk into Sarah's room at night for our bedtime routines. Auzi is waiting for Sarah to come to bed. :)

April 2-

^Mads is wanting to stand all the time and she's also figured out how to sit on this car all by herself. So expressive. :)

^ When you have left over ham from Easter dinner, you make ham friend rice. Yum!

April 3- 

^We had a few warm days where it felt nice to just be outside and bask in the sun. Trampolines are a prime spot.

^Jenn and I took the kids to the zoo on one of the warm days. On the carousel Kai opted for the peacock, which is a sit down bench. Ideal for me.

April 4-

^Madison has turned into quite the monkey. Starting to climb a bunch! She loves the couch and knows how to get down safely. The climbing over the top isn't quite as safe so we have to keep a better watch on her.

^I have a feeling these same landscape pics are going to continue. Never gets old. Any time we are driving East, the majesty of the mountains is so beautiful I have to snap some shots! Ed and I took the motorcycle out one day and being out in the air with the view was an added bonus.

April 6-

^We are slowly trashing all of Kai's guns. They are breaking because of their heavy use and that's okay with us. We've decided his comments of wanting to "kill" so many things make us uncomfortable and we welcome the guns' deaths to the recycling bin. We don't want to be raising the next serial killer. :)

^ My friend challenged me to stop eating any sugar for the month of April. This included anything with  sugar in the first 5 ingredients. If you didn't know, that's pretty much any processed food! I accepted the challenge as I've wanted to test my mental power in this area for a while. I can exercise my heart out, but my diet has always included a lot of sugar. Seemed like a good time to challenge myself and reset before summer. I also started p90x again. I was hoping in conjunction I would see some good results.

My diet for April consisted of a lot of fruits and vegetables, meat, dairy, beans, and I used a lot of honey to replace my hunger for sugar. I also ate peanut butter (switched to the natural kind since sugar is the second ingredient in regular peanut butter) to curb my chocolate addiction. At the grocery store looking for a snack, these are the things I left with...sad.

April 7-

^ A new conference tradition has been born. Mani-pedi.

April 9-

Madders is starting to walk by pushing things. Fun stage.

April 11-

^Sarah is such a responsible, wonderful big sis. She helps us a lot already. She plays with Madison a good part of the day and loves to make her laugh. They have a cute relationship. My cute girls.

April 13-

^Sarah and Kai both started soccer this year. Sarah is taking to it more than Kai, but I'm sure he'll catch on. He'd rather eat the treats and play on the playground. :) Ed got to coach. Madison is happy to support. The weather was pretty chilly for most games and practices, but I think next month will be warmer.

^Ed and I helped my brother Neil surprise my SIL Jodi for her 30th birthday. We had the clubhouse to party in and Neil got karaoke, etc. It was fun to celebrate Jodi. She's a great gal!

 April 14-

^Sarah is still loving art in most any form. We think she's super talented. :)

April 19-

^My other babies never loved to dance. Madison likes it as far as I know. She knows how to shake it!

^My pantry organizations project. Before and After. Much better!

^ This week some of Sarah's friends tattled that she told them she kissed a boy at Kindergarten. Oh great! I gave her a little talking to and we discussed what is appropriate at her age. Even though kissing wasn't on the list I think it's pretty cute. A few days later this note came home in her backpack from the boy she kissed. Ha!

April 21-

^Kai came in in the morning and snuggled in and fell back to sleep. My boys.

No-sugar alternative recipes. Sweetened with honey. Homemade granola, peanutbutter/honey bars, and banana muffins. Getting creative around here! Everything we've (I've) eaten has been homemade. Glad I have some new go-to's and I'm forming some healthier habits even if I know no-sugar won't be long lasting.

April 23-

^Another day at the zoo with my friend Stef this time. Despite Kai getting lost in the first 10 minutes (It's common in these settings- I knew we'd find him), we had a great time and Madison had her first  carousel ride on a little ladybug.

April 24-

^That there temple is just a few blocks away. Beautiful sight. Beautiful morning. At Kai's preschool.

^We've been doing a lot of yard work. Madison just crawls around the yard and is usually quite pleasant. 

Apirl 26- Girls Trip! St. George.

^Me and my friends (mostly from high school) drove down Thursday evening. We snapped a quick pic before bed. Rides down include a lot of catching up and girl talk. Every girl needs it! Jenn's parents have a house there and were so nice to let us all stay over.

The next morning I went for a run and then Jenn/Steph gave us a hardcore work out in the back yard. Committed chicks even on vaca!

^Then we got in our pool get up and headed to the pool for the day. High 70's felt great! No real agenda and relax time. Girl trip must!

^Steph likes to make funny videos. One to share. Goofy girls! Immaturity- another must of the trips!

^After the pool we dressed up and went to dinner on Main. I cheated for a couple days on my no-sugar deal since I made it to the end of the month and at a 1/2 cupcake and 1/2 cookie. I didn't think I noticed a huge change without sugar throughout the month, but I almost immediately felt so sick after!

^We visited the new craze in St. G and went to SWIG. It was ite! The girl time and chillin' was the best part.

^Group pic! Looks funky with the yellow ceilings.

Alisha(Blaire), Jenn, Jennie, Steph, Me, Lisa, Steph, Brooklyn

^That evening I brought my shellac light and did most everyones nails. Fun girl time and chattin'.

^Ugly face pics also seem to be common on girls trip... Man, we ugly!

^Playing with panoramic pics...

^Ed and the kids were able to go to their cousin Zoey's Bday party. Appears Madison was very snuggly and tired.

April 27-

^Not sure I could ever live in St. G, but the scenery is pretty great in small doses. Beautiful, not-so-hot-yet run -day 2.

^After a relaxed morning we got some snacks and headed to the pool again. All the nails that were did the night before.

^We swam at Jennie's brother's pool so he snapped a quick pic of the group.

Some more ugliness, silliness and video.

^ LOL. Litrally! HA!

^All Girly for dinn at Pizza Factory.

Then we went to Walmart. Yep, that's right! No karaoke in the town, so Walmart it was for some dance dares and breakfast ingredients. Got some funny ones. I don't have any though.

^Group shots of the night.

^What happens when a bunch of ladies get together for the weekend? We loosen up get creative and sing...

April 28-

^Steph made some delicious lemon poppyseed pancakes in the morning before our departure. Delicious! Good food accompanies most trips.

April 30-

^More creativity in my last couple days of no sugar. Birchermuesli and protein pancakes made with cottage cheese. That'll do.

^It's possible that I froze a piece of cake from Jodi's party and got it thawed out and ready for May 1st. ;) Whether I get some healthier habits or not, I had to celebrate, right?! 

In April I lost an inch off my chest and stomach, 1/2 inch from my thighs and lost 3.5 pounds. I don't weigh myself or do measurements hardly ever, but it was nice to see a change in the right direction. :)

Apologies that the majority of the pictures are me and about what I'm doing. I'm  the lady that takes all the pics and I'm the author of the blog so unfortunately you're stuck with my take on day to day life. :)