Update...

How does life get so busy?? And maybe more importantly, why doesn't it ever seem to slow down? Much as I try to take a breather and not have everything scheduled, it never seems to let up!

It's been so long since I updated the blog I don't even have a clue what I've been busy with! Just working and doing photo sessions and being parents and running a household I guess!

For Halloween this year Sadie decided to be Nanny McPhee:



She hated her moles though. :)
Cydnie was convinced she was going to be a minion from Despicable Me:

so Morgan bought a round tube from Lowes and he was going to make her a costume. Of course, 2 days before Halloween we couldn't figure out how to finish it, so we were frantically looking for an alternative for Cyd. Since I am a terrible friend and hadn't returned last year's costume to my dear friend Hope, we had a backup... if only we could find some Dorothy shoes....

went to Wal-Mart looking for some kind of plastic show I could spray paint, of course - and they had a WHOLE RACK! Of actual Dorothy shoes!! Cydnie was in heaven! And I couldn't belive my luck!

And just as the real Dorothy, she has never let them off her feet for a moment since.

I thought they both turned out fun and they both enjoyed their costumes. We went to the ward trunk-or-treat as tradition dictates and then to the grandparents' houses. Got way too much candy as always!

November -

I took a girls' trip with a few friends the weekend before Thanksgiving. We had sooo much fun. I'm so blessed to have fabulous friends. We went to Time Out for Women, a conference with speakers with messages for women, most are gospel-related topics. Boy, did I need it. Lots of messages about Hope and the role it can play in our lives. And besides from the spiritual enlightenment, there was shopping and much, much laughing. Perfect weekend.

For Thanksgiving I got to host it at my house this year. We fed around 20 people from Morgan's side of the family in our basement. We also moved more couches into the basement for visiting and watching football. I had to work at 4:00 that afternoon so i didn't get to do much visiting or watching TV. Disappointing for me, cuz I'm kind of a talker.

But I enjoyed my time there very much! Love my family-in-law.

At the beginning of October we had a house guest - Morgan's nephew Donovan is engaged and we were having his fiance stay with us. The girls loved it - she was so great with them and did their hair so cute. After a while we decided it wasn't working for our family and she has since made other arrangements but it was fun to have her for a while.

As far as December thus far we are enjoying the Christmas season! We've got our tree up and decorated and most things bought and wrapped. (I'll add pictures soon.) The girls are beyond excited. I love this time of year, other than the cold, which I hate. I love parties though - looking forward to the Utah Highway Patrol party tomorrow night and the Big.Annual.Dudley.Christmas.Party (that causes much stress and anticipation) on Saturday!

Oh and regarding my Big News I mentioned on Facebook (no, I'm not pregnant), I'll give details tomorrow. ;)

The Most Amazing Weekend!

Get ready for a billion-picture-post! :)

We had sooo much fun with Annie and Jeremy and their kids this weekend! They came out Friday night and we barbequed for dinner and stayed up late getting things ready to run the Green River the next morning. We went down the river with Danielle and Jared Holmes and their kids, our family, and the Barker family. I think we all had a blast. We just went down once and then ate our packed lunch at Little Hole.

After we got home we did quick showers and then a quick photo shoot for Annie's ADORABLE family - thanks again, Annie and Jeremy for putting up with our obsession with your cute family and our cameras. It was maybe my favorite part of the whole weekend! :)

After the photo shoot we went to the derby. It was kinda lame this year, honestly. But we still had a good time. Here is Cydnie learning to dance to YMCA. :)

(Our cabinet guy's car)

We went to McDonald's after the Derby and got happy meals for the kids, then home and straight to bed.

Sunday morning after breakfast we hit the sand bar for one more hour of beach fun. We built the most amazing sandcastle town ever. I'll have to steal those pictures from Annie later.

Thanks again for coming out guys, we had such a blast - I haven't laughed that hard in a year, I think! :)

Collection

Every kid has a collection right??
I had stickers. And erasers. Neither of those things move.

My girls' collection look like this.

They move, and kind of chirp and smell funny.

To each her own.

What We Did on my Mini--Summer Vacation

I took a few days off work just to spend with my girls this summer. We did something fun every single day and still left time just to be home and relax.

The first day, Morgan was off work too so we went up to Jones Hole to play in the water and have a picnic. That is some COLD water!! Sadie didn't seem to mind though, which is kind of out of character for her. Cydnie was the one who was too cold to get in. (She was right though. I swore I saw an ice chunk floating in it once. ;)  )

We also went to the splash park...

The rest of the days we spent either at the lake or at the Green River sandbar. That place is awesome! Just around the corner from our house, free, and there's never anyone there!! The sand is amazing, too. I've just been too scared to take the camera there. Because the sand is amazing, and it gets EVERYWHERE.

Sadly, I had to go back to work last night, back to the very real world.

But it was way fun while it lasted!

The 5th of July

Since Morgan and I both had the 5th off, we decided to take a little mini vacation to Provo. Our dear friends are always so sweet to accomadate and this time was no exception. Morgan and I did a little shopping and that evening Annie and Jeremy took us up the canyon in Springville for a little barbeque. The kids played in the creek and got really dirty - which is always a sign of a good time. :)

Ava is sooo cute with this dog!! She pulls her around on that rope and the dog acts like she doesn't even mind. Hilarious to watch!

Us roasting GIANT marshmellows! These are soooo amazing.

Thanks AGAIN, Annie and Jeremy and kids for letting us use the most comfy couch in the universe and for letting my kids kick your kids out of their beds! Ugh!

The 4th of July

Tradition for our family on the 4th of July is something I look forward to every year! Last year I had to work and it broke my heart a little. :)

This year, the 4th fell on a Sunday, so we altered our tradition just a little bit. (Tradition being, get pizza fairly early in the afternoon and spend the whole afternoon and evening in the same spot at the park waiting for the fireworks.) Morgan's sister, Kimberli brought up her grill and we all grilled our own meat and had pot-luck salads and desserts. It was so much fun. (Plus our steaks were way better than any pizza I've ever had!) I did have to work the graveyard that night, but the fireworks got out at perfect timing for me to change into my uniform and go to work just a few blocks away.

I LOVE spending time with family! We missed Morgan's mom and dad, though, Rosemary wasn't feeling well. Everyone else made it.

We also had a Reynolds Family Reunion that weekend at the park. I thought it turned out really well.

What We've Been Up To...

Morgan and I have been busy scheming....

We also had the chance to do another wedding this month. We had a blast - the couple was sooo sweet! I just looove weddings. :)