7 months to catch up on!!!

Since I have not been good about keeping my journal up to date, I try to record
on our blog. It has been a crazy 7 months. I CAN NOT believe it's already August! I'm going to recap month by month!

JANUARY- We went to Arizona for a week at the end of January for my mom's surprise party. I began planning this with much help from friends and family last August. It was perfect!!! We had it at a close family friend's home and had such a great turn out! It was so great, so many of my mom's family and friends traveled some distance to be there! I thought either my mom would LOVE it or hate it. Luckily she LOVED it! I think everyone should have a big surprise party at least once in their life and mom hit a milestone birthday this year (although I'm not aloud to mention what year it is) so I thought it was a perfect time to give her a big surprise party. She knew something was up when I made "dinner reservations" for 7:30 and kept stalling to leave the house. I was on the phone with Spencer (who was already at the party house) and waiting for him to give me the okay or for all those to arrive for the surprise before we left my mom's house. I told her we were going to pick up her friend,who was hosting the party, to go to dinner with us. When we got there her daughter and my best friend told us to come on in and wait until her mom got home because "she was running late." Mom was so annoyed that I made us late and that her friend "wasn't home" because she wanted to stop at a fabric store before dinner. Luckily I had already been to the fabric store and purchased the fabric mom wanted. So when we came in the house to "wait" for Debbie to get home everyone yelled SURPRISE! I was so relieved that I could finally stop all the lying and secrets to mom. I felt horrible on the way to the party house because I knew she was annoyed at me but I kept telling myself that she would understand and not be mad in a matter of minutes.

We had a Betty Boop themed birthday party! My friends and I were rummaging through my mom's closet and found this Betty Boop jacket so we thought she must wear it at the party. Mom used to have lots of Betty Boop paraphernalia so we took all that we could find to help decorate for her party and had the jacket waiting for her to wear once she arrived.

Mom was a little emotional and overwhelmed when she saw all those who were there to celebrate her birthday with her.This is Cindy and me. She is like an older sister to me and I just love her! She was a huge help with the party!
Here we are watching the video my friend help me put together for my mom!

Here is most of my mom's family that flew in for her party. We missed getting the picture before a few of them left the party. It was so fun! Such a great party!
Thank you Debbie for hosting!!!
During this same trip to Arizona in January my friend offered to take some pictures of Maddy because she had her camera stuff set up and I LOVE how the pictures turned out! Maddy is so CUTE! Thanks Jess!

My dad and Jo and Sam traveled to Arizona for my mom's surprise party as well! It was so great that they could make it and give their love and support.

Since we hadn't had a family picture taken with them since Bay was Maddy's age we figured we were due for a family picture! I think they turned out great!

This is one of my favorite pics!

Spencer's mom's birthday is 2 days before my mom's birthday so while we were in Arizona we were able to go visit her grave sight and decorate it. My sister in law gets balloons for the grand kids to let go and gives them paper to write notes on and glitter to decorate the headstone. My kids really enjoy doing this. I love that we were able to be a part of it this year.

February- Here is Maddy! Just documenting how she is growing!

Maddy and SWBy both suck their middle finger and ring finger together. I had never seen anyone do that until I had SWBy and I think it's so funny that Maddy does it too!

March-HAPPY BIRTHDAY to SWBy!!! He turned 3 this year! He is growing so fast! He is definitely our comic relief! He keeps me laughing. He is either really excited or really not. We are working on his diet. This week he has tried new things like cantaloupe, apple, ground beef (which was painful to get him to eat) and chicken nuggets. His diet literally consists of yogurt, pink milk, chocolate milk, any variation of crackers, and all things dessert. At the time of his birthday he wasn't crazy about cake, so we got him donuts instead, which he loved!

For SWBy's birthday "the cousins" (Spencer's sister and her family) came down from Perry and celebrated with us at our family fun center! The kids bowled and then went to jump on the bouncy houses and trampolines. I think they all enjoyed themselves.

Again, just documenting Maddy's growth! Isn't she cute!?

April-My aunt planned a family reunion and birthday party for my Grandma Crabtree's birthday this year! It was so fun! We had it in Brian Head at my aunt's cabins and most everyone was able to make it! It was so fun to see all my cousins that I think I've met once before and spend time with them and play games with them. Spencer had never met any of them, so that tells you how often we get together. I wish we'd do it more. It sure was a fun weekend! I was introduced to the game of spoons and became a little bit addicted!

There was still quite a bit of snow when we were there in April. Above, Spencer jumped off the balcony of our cabin and got stuck in the snow. He had to be shoveled out! It was great to play in though!

It was great! All we had to do for the kids to go sledding was to go out back behind the cabin. There was so much snow and all on a slope!

Here is my cute grandma and Bailey.
Grandma, Mom & Maddy!

Maddy is wearing many of Bay's old clothes and it is uncanny how much they look alike when I dress them in the same clothing. Maddy definitely has her own look but there are times when she is an imprint of Bay. I have a picture of Bay in this same outfit and Maddy looks so much like her!

Mom came to visit for Easter and she brought her i-pad which my kids think is the coolest thing EVER! Here they are playing angry bird!

Sam and her cute friend came to visit from BYUI for Easter as well. It was a fun Easter!

HAPPY EASTER morning! Everyone is enjoying their Easter baskets!

Here the kids are in their new Easter Sunday clothes all ready for church!

We went to "the cousins" for Easter dinner! It's always so fun to get together with Spencer's sister and her family. Maddy must be enjoying some Easter treat!

All the Easter Egg hunters are waiting for the eggs to be hidden so they can go find them! They were all very excited!

Here are our Easter Egg hunters! The eggs were hidden twice because the kids wanted to hunt them again. As you can tell in this picture SWBy lost interest in hunting eggs after his first hunt and wanted to play baseball instead!

Here is Maddy at 6 months!

One Sunday during Stake Conference SWBy told me he wanted to go to the Temple and since Spencer didn't have any meetings that day we were able to take them to Temple Square. It was fun and we got a lot of cute pictures of the kids. I wish this was something we could do more often!

May-I think May was our busiest month!

Here is Maddy in this cute outfit my mom got for her! I LOVE this outfit! She's such an easy going, nice, sweet baby! She has such a nice temperament and I just love her!

Bay LOVES her baby sister! She loves to play with her! Bay is the second mother around our house and SWBy and Maddy both adore her! I thought this was so funny when I walked in and Maddy was surrounded by the stuffed animals and Bay had put bunny ears on her!

Thrity, Flirty, and Thriving! I turned 30 this year and everytime I thought of 30 I kept thinking of the movie 13 going on 30 where the girl says she wants to be thrity, flirty, and thriving. Spence rolls his eyes everytime I say it! I had such an AWESOME birthday this year. I wish I could turn 30 every year!!!

Spencer had a work conference in Las Vegas again this year so he wanted the kids and me to come with him. The last day of the conference was on my birthday. He said we should come with him and we'll be half way to AZ and then could go the rest of the way and spend some time in AZ after his conference. So we left the Saturday before his conference and went to St. George to see and stay with my Aunt and Grandma. Spence went to Vegas with his boss the following day on Sunday and I stayed in St. George with the kids until Tuesday. Little did I know this was more than just a trip to Arizona. I told Spencer I didn't need a party or anything big but I wanted him to plan something fun and special for us to do together. That he did! He and my mom went above and beyond anything I could have dreamed of for my birthday. Spencer's conference didn't end until Tuesday evening so I knew I was going to meet him in Las Vegas that evening and I orignally thought we'd get up the next morning on my birthday and head to Arizona. However, he did spill the beans the Sunday he left for his conference that we'd be staying in Vegas for my birthday and not drive to AZ until Thrusday. So this much I knew but had no idea what he had planned. Tuesday, before we left for Vegas my aunt gave me a piece of mail that had come to her house for me, from Spencer. It was an invitation to my birthday in Vegas. He wrote a poem about where to meet him (at MGM) and we were going to dinner. I was so confused. I kept thinking that dinner probably would be a handful with all of our kids. So then I thought I wonder if my mom flew up because she would totally do that! So I called my mom just to chat while I was driving from St. George to Vegas and while I was talking with her she had said "so when will you be here...I mean to Vegas?" Then I thought for sure she was there. So I wasn't surprised when we got to the hotel room and my mom was there. It was so fun to see her and I was so excited that she was there. She watched the kids while Spencer took me to Ruth's Chris Steak House (our first time there and the food was sooooo good) and then Spence took me to the Venetian and we went on a Gondolla Ride. It was such a fun night with Spencer! Mom and SWBy and Bay stayed at the MGM that night and Spence and Maddy and I stayed at the Marriot, where Spence was staying for his conference.

Mom told me that the next day for my birthday she had rented a cabana by the pool and we'd just hang out at the pool. One of my favorite things to do! We began our morning by having breakfast at Paris. I LOVE the crepes!!! Then we went to our cabana by the pool! It was so nice and so fun. The MGM has some fun pools. Bay liked the lazy river the best. SWBy didn't want anything to do with the water, Maddy slept, poor Spencer came down with Strep Throat so he felt horrible, and mom was hanging out with us until she left to run some errands for an evening I had no clue about. It was so fun to just relax, swim, eat, and be with family. I felt so bad for Spencer though. We did get him a prescription called in, too bad it didn't work instantly.

Spence and mom told me that we were going to Tournament of the Kings for dinner that night, which I was excited about! I love the show and the food! When mom left to run her errands she said she had to pick up a cake and check in at NY NY where she would be staying that eveing so that Spence and I could stay at the MGM with our kids. I didn't think anything of it.

I kept wondering if my friend Tangi was coming up. She loves Vegas and this would totally be something she would do. But then I thought no she isn't coming. For dinner mom had gotten to the Excalibur early to check in and get our tickets. Spence and I were going to meet mom at the Excalibur for Tournament of the Kings. As we were walking to the Excalibur Spence said "where are we meeting them?" And I asked who them was and that I thought it was just mom. Spence very cooly told me that he meant to say mom and he didn't want me to read into that because there is nothing to read in to. So I said okay and didn't expect anything. We got to Excalibur and met mom and headed to our seats. As we walked down to our seats I saw my best friends Jessica and Tangi. They had come up for my birthday! I thought it odd that I hadn't heard from them all day and this was why. It was such a fun surprise!!! My mom and Spencer really went above and beyond. As if that wasn't enough, my mom had Tangi bring up my favorite cake from AZ. So her errand when we were at the pool was meeting Tangi and getting the cake. After the Tournament of the Kings we went back to the MGM and had my cake and mom still had yet another surprise. She had tickets for she, Jess, Tang and I to see Cirque du Soleil's Ka! It was fantastic! It was such a good show! And after the show Jess and Tang and I went to get something to eat because it's tradition to eat at midnight when we're together! It was such a FUN, FUN, FUN birthday!

So as if this wasn't all enough, Spence and Mom had a Surprise party for me at her house the following Saturday. Mom told me she was having a primary party at her house and I totally bought it. I kept asking Spencer where my birthday video was because he asked me for 5 of my favorite songs and Bay told me one day that they had stopped at my friends house who makes these dvd's. (She did one for my mom's birthday party.) Spence told me he did and said that just to throw me off so I'd have no idea about Vegas and I totally believed him. In order to get me to my surprise party at my mom's house, my friend Jess planned a birthday party for her daughter (who's birthday is 2 days before mine) where Bay and I would come. Jess picked Bay and me up and took us to her house where we did the girls hair and makeup and then we took them to Red Robin to eat. We were then supposed to meet Tangi and Karen at my mom's because I thought the 4 of us were going to do something. But when we got to my mom's I noticed way down the street were all of Spencer's family's cars and I knew it was a surprise party for me. I felt kind of silly with all these birthday celebrations. But it was such a fun birthday and so fun to celebrate with family and friends!

My Grandpa Crabtree's birthday is the day before mine and since we were in St. George on his birthday we were able to visit his gravesight and help my aunt replace the silk floweres she had decorating his grave.

Maddy and Bay haging out in the cabana.

Mom and Bay at Tournament of the Kings.

Maddy at Tournament of the Kings. She was a trooper!

Here is our Tournament of the Kings party! Jess and Tang got me the cute princess crown to wear on my head, so that's what that is!

Mom, Tang and I with the guy who's section we sat in for the show. He was the bad guy!

Spence and I with my yummy cake!

Mom, me, Jess, and Tang about to leave for Ka!

Bay and Jessica's daughter, Hannah doing their makeup to go to dinner. I love it!!!

Bay and I at Red Robin for Hannah's birthday!

When I got home from Arizona this was hanging on my house. My friend Jenny hung it for me! It was so fun to come home to. The next morning we were supposed to go running, or so I thought but she asked me if we could first go to Mimi's to pick up muffins for her Laurels (she's YW president) who just graduated. I totally didn't think anything of it and said sure. So when we got to Mimi's I was looking for the glass case with the muffins and a waitress asked me if we were with this table of women, I automatically said no and Jenny said yes so I looked at the table and realized it was my friends. They had a surprise birthday breakfast planned for me! This birthday I felt so special and so loved! I have such wonderful family and friends!

June Although, Spencer had a fun birthday planned for me as part of our trip to AZ we most importantly we wanted to get to AZ to see and spend some time with Spencer's oldest sister Lanae. She was diagnosed with colon and liver cancer in Feburary and her body began to fail quite quickly. I'm so, so grateful for the opportunity we had to see her and spend some time with her because she passed away the Sunday we got back to UT from AZ. Spence and I were both able to spend some time sitting and chatting with her and and I can't express enough how grateful I am for that. I'm grateful I got to express my gratitude to her, for her before she passed. She was such an amazing woman. My children loved her and she sure loved them and all her nieces and nephews as if they were her own. She was incredibly thoughtful of them. Even at Easter when she was so sick, she sent them cute coloring packets. Every Christmas she made all the cousins matching PJ's. Those are my kids favorite PJ's. She was always thinking of others.

The Tuesday after we got back from AZ we left again for AZ. Spencer's sister that lives up here and her 3 youngest and my kids and I drove down Tuesday and Spencer left with the rest of Kristen's family Wednesday after work. Above is Spencer's family at the viewing. It was such a nice funeral. Everyone speaking did such a nice job and the musical numbers were great. It was so evident how much she touched others lives and how loved she was.

Our city doesn't do a 4th of July parade, instead we have a parade the Saturday before the 4th for our Heritage Days. We love to go and this year we got to sit with our neighbors. The kids love it and get lots of candy!!!

JULYHere are the kids in their 4th of July shirts! Cute kids!

I love this! This was too cute not to get a picture of!

Spencer's other sister from AZ came for a visit and we sure enjoyed seeing them!
Bay and her cousin Anna. Anna was here on her birthday so we got to celebrate her birthday with her! We sure love when our family comes to visit!

Maddy at Anna's birthday party! Too cute!!!

Do you think SWBy likes Buzz Lightyear? He LOVES Toy Story and especially Buzz. When SWBy first started liking Toy Story he called Buzz his "infinity and beyond" and then because he has a hard time saying his "Z's" he called Buzz his "butt year" but now he says Buzz Lighyear.

Ocassionally Bailey let's me practice my french braids on her and I love when she does because her hair looks so cute! This is what it looked like for church last Sunday! It was too cute not to get a picture of!