More recital pictures...

Here are all the little ballerinas waiting for their turn on stage!

I love their little dresses!!!!

"I love you, Santa Claus!"

The Christmas Tree Dance!
This has been such a good thing for Olivia. I hope she continues to enjoy it like she already has...

Happy Holidays and more...

Well, I still don't have a camera and I'm waiting for people to send me pictures, but I thought I was WAY overdue for a blog update! This last month or two has been extremely busy and exciting! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with all of my brothers and sisters except one (we missed you, Sha!) It was so nice to have my parents with us again for the holidays! On my birthday Gary took me to an amazing restaurant owned by one of his bosses. They give everyone who works there a free meal and we have never gone, so Gary made reservations for my birthday. It was unbelievable! I think I'll have to save my money and go there once a year on my birthday! December was busy with getting ready for the holidays. I did a lot of sewing this year: nightgowns, baby doll blankets, pillows and diapers for Olivia's friends...it was fun but very time consuming! Olivia had her first dance recital on Dec. 4th, and I have to say, it was a blast! She was so good! I've been bugging Gary to get the video of it on our blog, but I think he forgot. I guess I'll have to get on his case again. But here are some pictures my friend took:

This is the dress rehearsal

Olivia is in the same class as two of her friends in our neighborhood. This is Chloe, Paige, and Olivia. They all have so much fun!

They did dances to the soundtrack from "The Grinch" this was the finale with all the dancers.

Update...

SOOOO.....my camera is broken. I couldn't even take pictures on Halloween. My sister took a bunch, but I don't have them yet. So this is going to have to be a picture-less post!

We have been busy! Two weeks ago I started babysitting a friend's kids 2 days a week. She brings them at 6am! Now, most of you know that I am definitely NOT a morning person, but luckily I LOVE babies, so it makes up for it. I also babysit my neighbor's kids once a week. Then last Monday I took Olivia in to the doctor because she had a wierd pimply rash on her face that kept spreading. The doc said it was infantigo..which is a bacterial rash caused by strep or staph. So he put her on antibiotics which was a good thing, because that night I was in Urgent Care with a high fever and sore throat...STREP!!! So since Olivia was already on antibiotics, she never caught it. I was miserable for a few days, but thanks to the priesthood, modern medicine and the best Grandma in the world (my mom took Olivia for 2 nights), I got better quick! (So to speak...I still slept all weekend trying to fully recover!)

So besides being sick, babysitting, Olivia's dance class and play dates, I also help my sister with her Youth Indoor Football League! I help answer emails and phone calls, help with fundraisers, and lately we've been running around to all the schools in the area passing out flyers! Basically I do whatever she tells me to do. It's been a busy week and I finally have a few minutes to relax. I like keeping busy, but I also like my down time! I promise I'll try to get more pictures posted soon!

Unexpected Visitors...

So, I'm totally in love with facebook...it has put me back in touch with so many people I have lost over the years! One of them is my best bud from high school, Scott. We've been emailing back and forth a bit since I found him again, and then last Friday I got a phone call from him. He says to me, "Oh by the way, we're in Salt Lake City this weekend!" I about passed out. We went to high school in a suburb of Chicago and the last place I expected him to visit was SLC!!! I was so excited. So Scott and his friend, Matt stopped by for lunch last Saturday! It was just like old times and felt like hardly any time had passed. What a great surprise! Hopefully it won't be as long in between visits next time, and hopefully we won't lose track of each other again!

Homemade Christmas Presents

Well....I don't usually brag about myself, but these turned out so cute I just had to share! I made Olivia a nightgown for Christmas last year and decided to do it again this year. I had tons of extra fabric, so I thought it would be fun to make a matching one for her favorite doll! It was a bit tricky, but I'm so proud of myself for working it out! I hope she loves it. I'm sure the little one will end up on "Lely", though...

REBA AND KELLY!!!

Yeah, we had great seats!!! I think this is when she pointed at me and smiled. You think I'm kidding? I'm totally serious.

Another great shot from our great seats.

Reba and Kelly making their grand entrance, singing "Sweet Dreams" It was AWESOME!!!
What a night to remember. I know it was a couple of weeks ago, but I still had to post some pictures!

Happy Halloween!!!

We had so much fun today taking pictures at our friend's house!!! She really decked out her kitchen with a bale of hay, corn stalks, pumpkins, the works! Then she took these (and many more) ADORABLE pictures of Olivia in her Halloween costume. THANKS, LINDSEY!!! She was so sweet to do this for us. And I must say, her boys looked so cute in their costumes, too! Olivia is my little princess. She acts like a princess, loves anything to do with princesses, and will tell you in a heartbeat who her favorite princess is...CINDERELLA!!! She is outgrowing EVERYTHING lately, so I bit off a bit more than I could chew trying to make this costume for her. Luckily, my good friend Nicole stepped in and pretty much sewed the entire thing! She did an amazing job and Olivia is SOOO happy to have a new Cinderella dress that actually fits! Olivia is such a joy and I hope I can really cherish these moments while they last...