Our trip to WA!

We had the opportunity to spend a couple of weeks visiting the Oler side of the family in Washington. It was great, we had so much fun, and I'm sure Grandma and Grandpa Oler thoroughly enjoyed spending time with their 2 grandbabies. WARNING: This is a long post, but it has lots of pictures.

This is a picture of my bed as we were getting packed and ready to take our trip. Adia was taking a nap and Eve wanted to be under my feet. So into the laundry basket she went, I was folding those clothes so every time I'd ruffle the basket to get something out she'd giggle. It made folding and packing much more enjoyable.

Needless to say we instantly took advantage of the excess of babysitters and had some much needed "couple" time. Here we are at the Kirkland Waterfront. It was such a nice little park, right on Lake Washington, I got after Neil for never taking me there before this. But now that I know its there I can request to go. I really enjoyed it, it was so beautiful.

We got there right around sunset. We just walked and talked and enjoyed each other's company.

The weather in Washington and been exceptionally warm, so it made for nice evening stroll by the lake.

Our first Tuesday there we spent the day on Lake Washington, or pretty close to it. Eve and Adi loved the water. Uncle Gary was nice enough to stay with his favorite nieces while Neil and I went out on the jet-ski. It was my first time and I loved it! Even though I did end up in the water a few more times the we planned. Neil's mom Kathy had invested in this handy little fence so we had a nice little play area for the girls and of course Neil... he can be so out of control sometimes :)

Of course I got some cute bath pictures. I think it just delightful how much babies love the water. I love to just sit back and watch them play and splash and have so much fun together.

After studying Grandpa for a good while Evelyn became his little sidekick. It was so sweet to see how her little face would just light up when she caught sight of him and she wouldn't take her eyes off of him until he had her in tow to where ever he was headed.

Monday of the following week we headed up to the Olympic Rainforest. I was absolutely gorgeous! We stopped and had lunch near Lake Crescent which is the lake I'm am up to my knees in. It was so clear and completely breathtaking.

The random set of stairs we found, and if you can't tell those white specks in the picture are rain drops.

Our destination for the evening. Forks WA. Ever heard of the Twilight Series?... another post all about my time in Forks to come :)

We stayed in this quaint little B&B in Forks. Eve and Adi just loved being out of their car seats and on the floor.

The next day we saw all there was to see in Forks and headed to the La Push Beach, probably my favorite part of the whole Forks excursion. It was Adia's and Evelyn's first time in the ocean and only my 2nd time. It was so pretty and the tide was coming in so the waves would get pretty big at times. As you can clearly see all Adia wants is to be down in the sand.

On our trip back from the Olympic peninsula Evelyn drove...

Okay obviously not cause she can't reach the pedals but we had a good long wait before the ferry ride to take us across the Pudget Sound, so we let the girls out of their car seats and had a little fun.

One of the very best parts of this whole vacation was lots and lots of Daddy time. Adia has become quite a little ham and is very social. And just around the time we set out on this trip Eve has come out of her little shell and is just full of these sweet cheesy little grins.

We also had plenty of time to play with some of the things Daddy used to play with, and obviously still does. It was funny when he put these goggles on Adia cause once she realized she could see through them she left them on while we walked through the whole house to show everyone.

We also got to celebrate Neil's 26th birthday while we were there and a few of his aunts and uncles came to help celebrate and to meet the twins.

I'm so grateful we got to take this trip and spend some much needed time with Neil's family. I'm so lucky to have the in-laws that I do and that I get along with them so well.

Nauvoo!

This past week I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Nauvoo with some of my family to visit my Grandma on her mission. What an experience! I loved seeing her hard at work and so happy. Eve and Adi came with me and they did really well traveling and everything. Charity, Felicia, and me and my girls flew out early Saturday morning.

Saturday night my Grandma's group was in the Sunset by the Mississippi, what a treat! We all commented afterward that if that was all we were to see in Nauvoo we would be happy. But the fun had only just begun!

This is the gravestone of Seymour Brunson, he is mention in D&C 124:132. Grandma informed us as we pulled up to the cemetery that he is her great great grandfather.

Sunday afternoon we went over to Carthage Jail. Grandma was nice enough to watch Eve and Adi while we went through the tour.

In the room where Hyrum and Joseph Smith were killed, after the tour was over.

Carthage Jail. The upper story window is the one Joseph fell out of.

Eve and Adi were so good for great Grandma May.

Monday we went through the Visitor's Center, and the Relief Society Gardens.

We also went for a couple of wagon rides, one pulled by horses. Eve loved meeting Rambo the horse.

And one pulled by oxen, I had to keep Adia from putting her mouth on Duke the ox.

We also took the time to go through lots of the Old Nauvoo shops. We got to see how they made shoes, printed newspapers, built guns, how the post office worked, and the blacksmith shop. It was really interesting and educating.

Adia fell asleep on Grandpa at one of the shows. I really can't believe how good they were for this trip.

Getting ready to go to the Nauvoo Pageant. We were hoping the rain and mist would let up so me and the girls could go but it never did so we just had a nice, quiet, dry evening at the motel.

The Nauvoo Temple is gorgeous! I was so glad we had the opportunity to go to a session while we were there. I can't even begin to describe the spirit that I felt there. This picture is taken from the "Trail of Hope" on Parley St. The same street the saints used to cross the Mississippi and leave Nauvoo and their beautiful temple behind, never to see it again in their lifetime. Its absolutely mind boggling to think of this little Nauvoo town once had the population of Chicago today.

The end of Parley St. takes you right up the banks of the Mississippi River where the saints crossed into Iowa.

Before we left Nauvoo we made one final stop at the grave sights of Hyrum Smith, Joseph Smith Jr., and Emma Hale Smith. This sight is now owned by the RLDS or Community of Christ Church, along with Joseph Smith's home, and The Red Brick Store, but hopefully one day the will finally sell them to the LDS Church.

On our way to Kansas City where we would catch our flights home the next day we stopped at Adam-ondi-Ahman and Liberty Jail.

I am so happy I got to have this experience and to learn so much about myself and the the early saints. I feel like my testimony has been strengthened and I know that experiences like these are few and far between.

First Piggies!

I spent the day yesterday at Charity's house, her daughter Sydnie always pulls her hair out during her nap. So I was up in the bathroom holding Eve while she fixed Sydnie's hair. After she was done she decided to try and do Eve's hair too. I didn't think she would be able to but she did it. She put a little bow in it and it just looked so stinkin cute! So of course we had to do Adia's hair too. She has a little more hair then Evelyn so she did 2 piggies.

Eve after taking out her hair and getting ready for bed. Gotta love that she's got her dinner all over her face as well.

Adia being silly before bed.

I thought they looked just so stinkin cute with their hair in bows that I went right out and got the stuff to make some of my own. Its kinda fun little project, not too hard, and you don't have to be super crafty or creative to make "tute bows".

A Quick Visit

Neil's family came and spent a few days in Utah this last weekend. It was great! We had lots of fun, and plenty of time to just chat while they enjoyed getting to know Eve and Adi again. Luckily it won't be too long before we see them again, we're planning to spent a couple of weeks in Washington in August.

Below is Auntie Christy on floor playing with Adia.

It obviously didn't take Adia too long to warm up to everyone. Here she is snuggling up for a nap in Uncle Gary's arms.

Evelyn was having a rough week, she was very sociable but just wasn't herself.

This week...

This week has been a fun week, and I even feel like I got a lot accomplished as well. Tuesday I needed a break so Neil watched the girls while my sister Charity and I went to dinner and a movie. The Proposal was absolutely hilarious! We also managed to squeeze in a little shopping between the dinner and the movie. I'm so grateful to have a sister close by to save my sanity when needed. The picture below was taken by Neil while I was at the grocery store. Yes, Evelyn in laying on the sack of potatoes, but gladly enough only a few potatoes managed to escape before they were caught by Daddy.

Wednesday night Charity met Randy and Daisie in Beaver, so that Daisie and her kids could come spend the weekend at Charity's while Randy went off to California to go deep sea fishing with some friends. So naturally Thursday became a small family reunion at Charity's house. It was a blast! It was so cute to see how much Houston age 7 and Peyton age 5 (Daisie's boys) just loved playing with Adia and Evelyn and carrying them around. Of course Eve and Adi loved the attention. Below is Kaylee(Felicia's) holding Adia.

When I got over to Charity's I asked who else would be showing up. The only other person who had mentioned coming up that day was Chavonne with her 2 kids. When she finally arrived Mom, Corinne, and Felicia and her 2 kids had decided to come along. So that made for a very pleasant surprise. It was so fun to watch all the nieces and nephews play together. Below is Kaylee(Felicia's) and Sydnie(Charity's) lounging in Eve's and Adi's car seats. I guess they decided they looked pretty comfortable.

oh and those binkies are also Eve's and Adi's

Adia was pretty excited when Aunt Corinne decided to put her up on this rocking horse she had not left along since we got there.

Dinner time! The table was completely full of grandkids, and this is only 8 of 14. Brynn 4(Charity's), Kaylee 2(Felicia's), Houston 7(Daiseis), Dusty 3(Felicia's), Sienna 2(Daisie's), Jaycee 6(Charity's) and Peyton 5(Daisie's), and you can kind of see Wyatt 2(Chavonne's) standing behind Jaycee's chair. The ones who were there but aren't in the picture are Sydnie 1(Charity's), Misty 1- or will be tomorrow(Chavonne's) and mine; Evelyn and Adia 9 months.

It was so great to get to see so many of my sisters. We all missed seeing Erika and Tiffany but 6 out of 8 is pretty good anyhow, hopefully it won't be too long before we all can get together again. Now to the fun that has yet to begin... Neil's family is current en route to Utah. His youngest brother Gary is going into the MTC on Wednesday so they decided to come down and spend a little time. We are SO excited to see them! We haven't seen Grandma Kathy and Auntie Christy since February and Grandpa Van and Uncle Gary we last down in March. I am seriously counting down the hours til they get here. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family and to have married into a such a wonderful family as well.

Our very favorite!

What's Adi's favorite?

What's Eve's favorite?

Their Daddy, of course!

Eve and Adi were playing in their room, and I was in the front room listening to them jabber away at each other when Neil came home from work. I got my customary "I missed you" kiss and a "How are you?" and the jabber in the next room stopped. Next thing we know Adia is crawling as fast as her little self could go into the room with Eve right on her heels. Daddy was home! And they weren't about to wait for him to come to them. So Neil laid down on the floor so his daughters could greet him properly, by climbing all over him. It melts my heart to see how much they love their Daddy. Thanks for being such a wonderful dad to my precious little girls Neil, I love you.

4th of July

Happy Independence Day!

Grandma Kathy sent some cute stuff for Evelyn and Adia for the 4th of July.

Adia showing off her "Baby's first fourth" bid and "red, white, & cute" socks

Evelyn in her bib and socks, thanks Grandma! Daddy is off to the side trying to get her to smile.

My little yoga baby. I am constantly catching Eve doing her "downward facing dog", if I'm lucky I'll catch her with her head on the floor as well, like she's about to do a summer salt.

Evelyn bonking heads with Daddy.

My view of Adia, I loved this face, mid-jabber.