The Snyder Family

Pinkalicious Party

2011-10-23T23:44:00.000-07:00

Hallie turns 3 on October 27th, so we celebrated her birthday a week early with all the family and had a fun Pinkalicious party for her. We are so blessed to have her as our princess in the family!

A few things Hallie is doing these days:

* Such a little princess! Always playing dress up and wanting new princess attire.

*GREAT creativity - she is hilarious with her creativity, wanting to name our new baby "Spiderman" if it's a boy, and "Strawberry Shortcake" if it's a girl.

*Has a smile that lights up the room!

*Some of the best silly facial expressions!

*Such a smart girl. Unfortunately, we haven't spent nearly as much time with her on letters, numbers, and other things like we did with Caleb, but she has picked things up by herself and knows all her letters, shapes, colors, most numbers, and can speak very clearly, even conjugating verbs properly (such as "I like" vs. "He likes").

*She has such a strong opinion. We decided to let her pick out a special party dress for her party... and it literally took all day and multiple stores to find the perfect one she was happy with, even though there were MANY options that were super cute at every store. She knew what she wanted and wouldn't settle for less. At her party, she broke down in tears. We thought she got hurt, but it was because three gems fell off her new dress. She LOVES her clothes!

*Loves her big brother Caleb and always wants him to be part of her play time. She is always hugging and cuddling him. He is such a good example for her and she looks up to him so much!

*Drama queen to the extreme...we have a thirteen year-old in a three year-old's body. It is fun though because she has opinions on things I never expected her to care about yet.

*Loves her long beautiful locks. Her hair is to the bottom of her back and is so pretty. Every morning, she picks how she wants to style it for the day. Lately, she has loved letting it go without any ponytails or bows. When I ask her if we can do something to it, she replies with, "But I love it this way, it's beautiful!"

Hallie is full of energy and love, and is such a joy in our lives. She makes us crazy and smile everyday. We love her SO much!

Now on to the pictures...

Sunday Photoshoot

2011-08-01T10:34:00.000-07:00

My cuties after church yesterday.

Wintertime at Hogle Zoo

2011-01-28T22:53:00.000-08:00

Once a month through the winter the zoo offers free admission for everyone! We decided to face the freezing weather and see how much fun we could have! It actually wasn't too bad...like 40 degrees, but sunny. The kids had a blast seeing all the animals and I even enjoyed it quite a bit! Tons of animals were out and being way more active than I have ever seen in the summer months.

In the reptiple room Hallie had the opportunity to pet a "Dragon!"...she didn't take it.

But Caleb sure did! He could have stayed in that one spot all day and pet that thing!

I remember growing up that there were peacocks walking allover the zoo! They are so pretty! Later we saw one with his tail feathers up, and doing a "dance"...fun times.

The Tigers were the coolest to see! They were all lying right by the gate and would get up and walk around for a bit, then come back and put on a show...so cool! These things are huge! I don't think I have ever seen one this close up!

Caleb's giraffe pose... Hallie loved the giraffes. They were so close to us, we could have touched them...if we wanted to disobey the rules.

Caleb is our little reptile guy...he loved looking at all the snakes, lizards, and creepy things I usually try to hurry through! -waving hello to this little creepy one...

Telling the snake "Hello"...

Then there was the turtles...Caleb has been fascinated with how turtles go in and out of their shells and how they swim with their "Heavy shell"...this turtle was huge!

We had such a fun time and the weather was pretty reasonable for the end of January! If we are still in Utah next year we will definitely take advantage of this again!

Check out this Awesome Giveaway!

2011-01-17T12:04:00.000-08:00

Go here to enter this awesome giveaway for a Silhouette machine! I want one of these so bad! Anyone wanna buy one for me in case I don't win it? :)

P.s. I WILL be updating the blog someday soon... I know it has been forever...it happens.

Halloween costumes (LOTS of pictures!)

2010-10-31T23:30:00.000-07:00

All Grown Up

2010-10-31T23:20:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Hallie's 2nd birthday this past week. Where has the time gone that our little baby has turned into this amazing beautiful little girl? We love her so much and she adds so much sugar and spice to our lives!

Hallie got a new kitchen for her birthday this year and it is a huge hit! It is the first big toy we have put up in her room, and she is loving it!

She wasn't too sure about blowing out her candles, but after Calebs example she did great.

It was fun to have both grandparents on Skype to watch her open her presents and blow out her candles and just spend the evening with us!

LOVES her new computer!


Wears her new shoes everywhere...seriously she played at a park in them. (They are dress up heels with a pretty decent heel)


Princesses...the new favorite toy of our little princess!

2 year old facts

*Hallie as shown above LOVES Princesses these days and is for hours on end playing with them (Everything is a princess too...she even put a package of candy to sleep on a tissue paper today..pretending it was a princess...hah)

*She talks in FULL sentences. We can carry on almost as good of a conversation with her as Caleb

*She is BOSSY...the only time she speaks in nursery is apparently when she is telling the boys she doesn't like what they are doing.

*She finally LIKES nursery and goes willingly and is excited about going!

*She climbs on EVERYTHING

*She knows quite a few letters and their sounds

*LOVES animals (every time we pull in or out of our development she points out the llamas and horses and cows)

*Loves getting her hair done..and will let me do quite intricate things to it...even though 2 mins later it looks like we never do her hair b/c of how active she is.

*If you ever visit her in her play kitchen she will make sure you don't go thirsty. she will offer you glass after glass of water.

*CHOCOLATE is her favorite food...wonder where she got that from??

*Walks around (and runs) through the house and up and down the stairs (much to our disapproval) better than I do in my stiletto high heels!

*Has an AMAZING imagination and can carry on a conversation between princess dolls for hours...as long as their noses are touching when they talk...they have to be really close!

*Loves having stories told to her to put her to sleep

*Loves tummy raspberries and will say "DO it again!" in the cutest voice over and over again/

*Is amazingly beautiful and we love her to pieces!

Snow Bird

2010-10-31T22:50:00.000-07:00

We had the opportunity to go up to Snow Bird for a free tram ride. The ride up to the resort was beautiful! We were sad about not being in Provo to drive Provo canyon, but feel like this was the prettiest canyon drive we have taken!

Once at the top the kids LOVED that there was snow on the ground. Every day since Caleb has told me he can't wait for the snow to be all over our grass...please can we wait a few more weeks at least?

Poor kids hands were FREEZING...we didn't expect quite as severe of weather as it was.

Hallie was fascinated with the snow. We would go in the warming hut for 5 mins to warm up then go back out to the"snowman" for 2 mins...repeat 10 times hah.

Our Tram back down. The weather was much worse than expected by anyone up there and it was getting really bad so they told us about an hour and half before the rides were supposed to stop that everyone had to leave the mountain now and that this was the last ride down. Scary...At the bottom we heard someone talking about the tram being broken... and our tram driver said it would be a little stop and go ride b/c there was snow on the line more than normal...who knows what really happened, but it was an adventure!

It was so fun, and hopefully it is the last snow we will see for at least a few weeks!

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-31T22:34:00.000-07:00

Hallie playing

2010-10-23T22:36:00.000-07:00

My Tiny Dancer

2010-09-20T18:28:00.000-07:00

....and no it's not Hallie

I was listening to this song earlier and Caleb started dancing...so cute! He even has good rhythm!

Praying Mantis

2010-08-29T21:13:00.001-07:00

Caleb has a new best friend... The Praying Mantis that has been living in our slide/playhouse for the last 3 weeks.

He REALLY likes these things. Every morning Caleb runs outside to greet his praying mantis to say good morning and tell him he's so happy he's still there. One morning there were two praying mantis's...Caleb was thrilled! He held them both and talked to them for hours. Later on we went outside to "check" on his friends and found one of them eating the other! Caleb freaked out...broke down crying and was so upset. He kept saying "my praying mantis friend is being eaten by my other praying mantis friend." It was so sad to see him upset about this event so I gave him a straw and told him to go break up the fight. Caleb immediately went to work pushing the one away and making sure the other was ok. He made sure to tell the one that it wasn't nice to eat our friends and that he should be nice! Hah...Later we found out from some friends that females eat their mates after mating...oops. A few days later I found some remains...so hopefully we didn't ruin the process too much!

Eww...I can't believe he lets it crawl like this on him. Caleb say's it tickles and that his friend is talking to him when he is on his shoulder.As a result of this insane love for Praying Mantis's Caleb has now decided what he will be for Halloween and has bugged me daily about making his costume...stay tuned for pictures of that b/c I'm sure it will be made before Halloween if he stays this persistent.

P.s. If anyone knows of a store-made praying mantis costume please let me know I can't find one anywhere!

Just before bedtime

2010-07-18T21:19:00.000-07:00

The kids wanted to send a goodnight message to everyone! We love you all!

Sorry for the mouth full of cheese the kids were munching on...they decided they needed a before bedtime snack tonight.

"Look at Hallie!"

2010-07-18T21:07:00.000-07:00

Hallie is a little narcissist ...right now it's pretty cute and we humor her by usually looking at her and saying how cute she is...because honestly she is dang cute. Wikipedia says there is a healthy level of narcissism...we will just hope it transfers into being very confident in her future years!

So this post was not to bag on my sweet little girl, but rather to point out another object of her most recent infatuation...

We got her ears pierced and she LOVES them! We think it's pretty cute also! She cried while they pierced, but then saw herself in the mirror and was happy again and now continues to tell us about her "pretty pink earrings", "Hallie so pretty earrings!" Aww...we sure do love this little girl!

Summer time

2010-07-15T12:17:00.000-07:00

We have had a wonderful summer so far filled with many great activities. I haven't blogged in forever and don't feel like catching up so here is a rundown of our summer events this far and then some photos of the kids this week.
May- Road trip to WA- the kids did wonderful on the road trip and it was so fun seeing them interact with everyone!
June- Work like crazy to put our sprinkler system, sod, and garden in! We seriously worked from about 7am-1am a few days! We had GREAT help from friends and it was a fun (but exhausting) learning experience.
June- Snyder's come to visit UT! We also had the Richardson reunion while they were here which was a lot of fun getting to meet people from extended family!
July- Krystal turned 24! It was a great birthday and I truly felt spoiled!
July-Monica and Jachen came to visit us and it was fun spending time with them and getting to know Jachen.
This week-Tess came to visit us over night to have a break from Rexburg before graduation next week! The kids LOVE her and she let us go on a date (to see Eclipse) which we are thankful for!
Next week the Bridges side of family will be coming into town and we will all head up to Rexburg for Tessi's graduation! YAY! It will be nice to all be together and share in such a great accomplishment by Tessi!

We are loving the weather of summer here this year and having a yard to play in!

Without further ado here are the pictures promised!

Backwards order, but these are the pictures that lead up to the one above.

Hallie is so into the camera lately. She asks to have her picture taken all the time and has smiled for it multiple times!

Photo courtesy of Caleb photography...I think it's such a cute picture!

That's all for now! Hopefully I wont take another 4 months break before the next post! Hope you are all having a wonderful summer!

A day at the park.

2010-04-16T21:30:00.000-07:00

We had our first long visit to the park this week and it was beautiful! The kids had tons of fun and the weather was SO nice! We can't wait to go more often!

Caleb looking pretty cool all decked out in his new "summer" attire. Caleb keeps telling me he is so happy it's summer time because he gets to wear his flip flops and sunglasses.

Cuddle

2010-04-16T21:27:00.000-07:00

Hallie's favorite word lately...She especially likes to cuddle her baby dolls!

Easter Morning

2010-04-16T21:19:00.000-07:00

Pictures are in reverse order (sorry). Easter morning the kids had fun doing their hunt for their Easter baskets.

Hallie wasted no time getting into the candy. She didn't really care to find her basket, she just wanted to eat the candy trail leading to it! :)

Easter Hunt fun!

2010-04-16T21:09:00.000-07:00

We went to 3 different Easter Egg hunts this year. The kids had tons of fun! After the This is the Place hunt we went on a train ride that lasted a little too long, but we sure had fun!

A Bigger Bed

2010-04-16T21:03:00.000-07:00

I made Caleb a bigger bed for potty training! He sure loves it! We can't believe how big this sweet boy has gotten! Every day he seems to say or do something new that shows how mature he is getting! He is our little cuddle boy though and no matter how grown up he is, he will always stop and let you cuddle him...if you scratch his back. :)

Naptime surprise

2010-02-28T21:13:00.000-08:00

I couldn't find Roxy during nap time the other day...this is where I found her... Caleb didn't mind so I left her.

Silly kids

2010-02-28T21:04:00.000-08:00

This is so our kids...Hallie is CONSTANTLY climbing on everything...she gets on the kitchen table at least 10 times a day...she climbed up here and LOVED it...you can see Caleb wasn't so happy about it. He was terrified that Hallie was going to push him off. Hallie the dare devil, Caleb the scardy cat.! :)

The kids LOVE going for basket rides...and it gives us a good work out pusing 50+ pounds around!

Hallie can push Caleb around and he sure likes that! She is a buff baby! :)

Caleb likes to load the basket up to make it more of a workout for himself of course...this makes it fun when Hallie decides she wants out instantly!

More art by Caleb.

2010-02-28T20:48:00.000-08:00

This kid is going to be an amazing artist...heck he already is. Check out these people he drew all by himself!

Swinging at the park.

2010-02-28T20:42:00.000-08:00

We had fun playing at our neighborhood park the other day. The kids love playing at the park and we can't wait for the weather to get nicer so we can go more often!

Creativity bug

2010-02-24T20:39:00.000-08:00

The kids and I have been on a creating kick lately and have been doing lots of fun painting, and coloring activities. Caleb loves his easel and is getting quite good at drawing things. He has a friend that comes over for playdate each week and he has been copying the drawings his friends does quite well! He usually draws a big circle and then a few more circles inside the big one, and then he knows how to draw legs and arms...it's quite entertaining to watch him draw, I will have to get video of it sometime.The kids also love water color painting! They don't like how messy it makes them usually though.

Ms chubbers just getting started on her page.

p.s. I really do do my kids hair every day...it just never appears to be freshly done in pictures for some reason...they must have hair like mine. Bummer.

Entry Way Table

2010-02-24T20:27:00.000-08:00

I have been following another new blog lately. This awesome blog gives the plans to build for some really nice furniture. Mostly Pottery Barn and higher end companies furniture ideas easy enough to make at home for the novice builder. This was my first attempt at building something all by myself. I am pretty pleased with how it turned out. I learned a lot from this project and can't wait to do more!

These are not the decorations I have planned for this piece, but couldn't post a picture without something on it. I did however re-cover those books with the papers shown, and saved the topiary from some hideous blue flours and orange pot, it still needs some work, but we are getting closer. All the things I have on the table cost $14 from the DI...I am becoming addicted to that place...who would have ever guessed I would be a thrift store crazy??
What ideas do you have for decorating it? I'm thinking I need Something fairly LARGE in the middle there, that mirror just isn't cutting it! Again I antiqued the edges. I like this finish b/c if the kids drive a car on it, or make a mark on it, it looks natural and I'm not afraid of them messing up my nice things, plus I like the look.

Where it sets in the house.

Toy Box Refurb

2010-02-24T20:08:00.000-08:00

I refinished this, because I haven't ever really posted "projects" on here before I didn't take before pictures, a lot of you who read this blog already know what it looked like before.

For those who don't this is the best picture of before that I found...Antiqued detailing around the edgesIt doesn't look this shiny in real life, my flash was bouncing off the stain finish.

Check 'em out!

2010-02-09T23:00:00.000-08:00

Ok so normally I wouldn't post about another persons blog on here, but you have to check this one out! They do some awesome make-overs of things and have inspired me to do so also. I will post a few of the things I have made shortly b/c I am loving the new hobby!

http://gorgfabgoodies.blogspot.com/2010/02/giveaway.html#comment-form

They also have a giveaway going on right now for 3 things to the lucky winner! Check their site out and I promise you wont be disappointed!

Becoming a family of 5!!!

2010-01-10T20:51:00.000-08:00

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Our newest addition
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Roxy our new sweet puppy boxer

The kids are having SO much fun with her and she is just the cutest little puppy ever! She is 10 weeks old and doing pretty good with all the usual training things...except she hates that we are crate training her! She even knows sit already, and will do it for Caleb! We adore her to pieces and can't wait to have many wonderful memories with her in our family!
Both kids LOVE getting kisses from Roxy. Caleb's is her little boss and she follows him around everywhere and listens to all his commands. They are new best buds!
Hallie still likes her even though that nasty scratch happened within 20 mins of bringing her home from Roxy's sharp little nails that need to be filed on the cement she doesn't like to walk on because it's so cold! :)

Just a few fun ones

2010-01-10T20:27:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2009!

2010-01-10T19:31:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Chirstmas this year! Tessi was able to come down from BYU-I and spend a few days with us, and we had such a good time! It was out first year since being married and not going to WA to being with all our extended family and that was sad. It was so fun (and relaxing) to enjoy Christmas day in our own home though and the kids enjoyed it a ton! Here are some photos of the day. Thank you everyone for everything! We felt so blessed and everyone was incredibly thoughtful!

Frosty the Snowman

2009-12-12T22:35:00.000-08:00

Caleb has been all about the snowman songs and stories lately, so we had to attempt to make his first snowman...even if our "Dry" snow is incredibly hard to make into a ball! :)

The cute snowman builder with his red nose like Rudolph the Reindeer...he also likes that story now!

Hallie was quite a bit happier being outside this time. She left her gloves on for a while, and kept saying "ball, ball!"

Having fun!

Our houses first snowman...aww!

Caleb kissing the snowman...

Finished product! Caleb was wearing the scarf, but was worried about the snowman getting cold so we went ahead and added it.

I thought Caleb looked really cute like this!

We put a face on both sides so the kids can see the happy face from the window.

Living Room wall that just got finished being decorated. (The fifth stocking is for Tessi since she will be here with us for Christmas this year....don't go thinking anything else!)

Snow Fun!

2009-12-06T22:17:00.000-08:00

We got our first REAL snow of the season finally so we had to go out and enjoy it a little bit. We bought a snow toboggan for when the snow came and Caleb was so eager to try it out, so even with only 2 inches of snow we took it for a test run! Hallie sat on it for the first run, but when I tipped the kids she was SO done...Caleb on the other hand wanted more, and more and more!Forcing Hallie to sit on the sled for a picture...she was not happy about this! :)

Caleb was sick of pictures and wanted "more riding please!"

Happy kid!

Daddy and Caleb had lots of fun playing in the back yard. Nathan says it lo0ks like they were playing in a big field...well basically that's what our backyard is right now!

Caleb tumbled out a few times and would freak out for a second and then hop back on and ask for more! I told him to try laying down and he did and thought it was great!

We love the snow and can't wait for more! We should be getting more tomorrow...now if only the roads to Provo could not get hit for Nathans commute. :)

I Spy...

2009-12-06T22:12:00.000-08:00

Caleb and Nathan were looking out in the backyard one day and I heard some giggling...This is what I found.

Caleb was looking into our backyard and looking for cars, and airplanes, and bugs, and dirt, and anything else he could see! Good thing we don't have backdoor neighbors yet! He had tons of fun though!

Hallie thought it was pretty funny too!

We are so Thankful!

2009-12-06T21:57:00.000-08:00

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving this year as usual! We were so happy to have Tessi from Rexburg and Jenn and Tim from Provo with us! The yummy turkey..which when cut into was still...RAW...dang it. We cooked it a little more in the oven and it fixed that problem! :)

Hallie LOVES sucking on frozen juice containers...so that's how she helped with Thanksgiving dinner!

Tessi and I making oreo truffles...YUM!

We were posing for a picture of making the truffles and then decided that was pretty so we started laughing and this picture got taken. We had lots of fun working together!

Tim was great help entertaining Caleb as usual. I think they might be best friends! (at least Caleb thinks so :)Jenn getting her yummy recipes for her dishes! She did tons and it was so good to spend the day with her and have her help!

Caleb loves having us take pictures of him...I think this one turned out kinda cute.

And this one too! :)

Hallie loves her baby doll so she spent the day taking care of it.

The yummy spread of food! It was so good!

We are so thankful for all that we have and the time we were able to spend together this Thanksgiving!

Grandma and Tessi's visit.

2009-12-06T14:38:00.000-08:00

We had a great visit with My my mom and Tessi! We did lots of fun things and the kids loved all the extra attention!

We visited temple square and took a pretty picture from the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.

Hallie making applesauce with Grandma. She learned how to take the apple core off the peeler and helped for a LONG time! Hallie now loves to walk around saying "apple". She also loves eating them!

Grandma and Grandpa bought Hallie some adorable shoes and a nice fuzzy warm sweater! She loves both of them! This was her fussy way of modeling them! :)

Saying goodbye to Grandma at the airport. :( We will miss you!

The kids were not so in the mood for taking pictures.

Hallie fell asleep on the way to the airport... so this was the photo we got...haha

Caleb talks about Grandma ALL the time now! The last few days he has been walking around with our house phone "talking to Grandma!" He sure loves her and we miss her! Thanks for the great visit Tess and Mom! We can't wait to see you guys again!

A party for Hallie

2009-12-06T14:26:00.000-08:00

We had a small party with family and friends for Hallie a few weeks ago. Hallie enjoyed her princess cake...but wouldn't put her face in it like Caleb did as a baby. I guess she is just too proper.

She did eventually dig into it... but was quickly done so I didn't get any photos of the cake all torn up.

Attempting to open a few presents...or eat them??

Hallie then spent a good part of the night sitting on Jenn's lap while she sang for Guitar Hero.

Halloween

2009-11-03T13:00:00.000-08:00

We had a great Halloween this year! Caleb was going to be Bam Bam, but when my sewing machine broke right as I started the costume we ended up running to Walmart and getting this cool Fireman costume. I was sad about the kids not being "matchy matchy" but Caleb really liked his fireman costume!Hallie was an adorable little Pebbles!

They had tons of fun trick or treating. Both kids can say trick or treat and thought people putting candy in their buckets was just grand!

Hallie trying to get into her candy...she has now learned how to open just about any candy with her teeth.....dang it.

Caleb had fun driving his Fire Truck around the neighborhood!

Caleb thought it was pretty funny thatHallie has a bone in her hair.

We had tons of fun!

Our Baby is ONE!

2009-11-03T12:50:00.000-08:00

We can hardly believe Hallie is one already! It seems like we just had her a few days ago! She is turing in to an amazing little girl and we love her to pieces! We has just a small little party at home with her on her birthday and will have the big bash this coming weekend when we have family here to celebrate with us!Hallie LOVES her new baby doll!

It's so sweet to watch her play with it b/c you can tell she is mimicking us by patting its back and cuddling it.

Daddy picked out the perfect gift for his little girl!

Giving it lots of kisses!

Yes...we didn't wrap it...she would have had no clue! She could hardly figure out how to get it out of the packaging! Caleb eventually helped her! :)

Our beautiful little girl!

In other exciting news...Hallie started walking just a few days before her birthday! We are so happy she has reached this milestone and she is loving the new mobility! We will try to get a video up soon!

Tutu fun

2009-10-18T14:37:00.000-07:00

I made a tutu for Hallie to take some one year old pictures of her. These aren't the pictures I want for her official one year old pictures, but I thought it would be fun to take a few right after I finished it.

Hallie does NOT nap...

2009-10-16T12:01:00.000-07:00

Seriously I don't know how this little girl lives on such small amounts of sleep! Today we had a break through though! I nursed her to sleep, and put her in Caleb's bed instead of ours or the pack and play. She has now slept for over an hour!! I know it may be pathetic, but this NEVER has happened before! I wonder if there is something about the "baby mattress" that is super comfortable for her?? Hopefully this will transition over to her crib when she has that again next week! She even moved around quite a bit and I didn't hear any crying!

** UPDATE! ** She slept for an hour and 45 mins and woke up so happy talking jibberish!! I'm so proud of her!

Spaghetti and Coloring

2009-10-16T10:07:00.000-07:00

Hallie really likes spaghetti! She even likes to use it as a hair product. (check out those cute little front teeth peeking through)

Then she tries to use it as eye makeup and realizes that tomato sauce in the eyes isn't so much fun! On a side note... I hate spaghetti night b/c it's oh so much fun to clean up!

Caleb loves coloring lately,

AND he lets Hallie color with him...in fact they are coloring again together as I type this...so cute! Thank you Tom and Sudene for the Magic markers that only color on special paper...I'm pretty sure they have saved MANY cleanups!

How the house looks this week!

2009-10-04T17:44:00.000-07:00

The front with the shutters on and the van in the driveway :)..haha like my pose?

Kitchen with the counters and sink in.

Backyard

North West side of the house.

Backyard looking out west towards Legacy Parkway...it's way out there by the power lines.

Laundry room

Wall being built between family room and front room.

Family room

South West side of the house

I love this picture of Caleb! He told Nathan "Take a picture of me in dirt dada!" I think it's way cute! He's holding the key they lend out to go look at your house...

Us hanging out in the kitchen...it is like a 2 or 3 butt kitchen... :)

Half bath just off the kitchen area

View from the master bedroom...again.

Master bathroom counter

It's getting closer! YAY!

There's no place like home!

2009-09-26T22:46:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the house that we are purchasing. The builder is finishing up the last few things as you will see from the pictures and then we will be able to close in a few weeks! We are super excited to have our own place and to start building our own home of wonderful memories!

The outside- There are now shutters around all the windows, the garage door in in and painted, and the front door has been painted to match the shutters (which are a dark blackish color...we think...haha)View from the family room into the kitchen.

Standing in the front room looking into family room/dining area. A wall is being put up between the family and front room with a arched pass through.

Top of the stairs, to the far right master bedroom, then the two kids rooms.

Straight ahead at the top of the stairs is the laundry room. To the left is the kids bathroom, and then across from the kids bathroom is the spare/guest bedroom. (Come see us and we have a place for you to sleep in your own room! YAY!)

Master bathroom...it's HUGE! To the right is our walk in closet and then the "throne room".

View from the master bedroom. In real life you can see the Bountiful temple right between those houses.

Master bedroom standing in the bathroom arch.

From master bedroom door.

One of the kids walk in closets. This one is a little smaller than the other one.

The kids bathroom, well kinda... some reason I didn't take any photos of anything other than the cabinets.

One of the kids bedrooms.

Looking into the kitchen from the garage door entrance.

Straight back is the garage door, left 1/2 bath, and right under stairs pantry.

Under stairs pantry.

The floor...

From the kitchen into the family room.

Yay! That's all the pictures that we have so far! We are super excited to move in, and have you come visit us! :)

Welcome Fall!

2009-09-21T16:32:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of Fall and I have decided that I love it! Really I have been looking forward to Fall for quite some time this year...not sure why. The weather is 65 degrees outside, just the right temp for a light jacket and hours of endless fun playing without getting too hot or too cold. I can't wait for the mountains to turn their bright colors! I used to think summer was my favorite season, but it is quickly becoming Fall! I am excited it is finally here!

Just thought I would say that... Enjoy your pretty Fall season!

Just like daddy!

2009-09-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

I found Caleb like this today...reading the funnies. Hallies first pony tail not on the top of her head with all her hair in it.

Hallie has been gracing me with lots of smiles lately when I bring out the camera and say, "smile Hallie".

Caleb still loves his train tracks and works intensely on building them!

Hallie making a mess...she loves to dump out the toy bins!

Sweet Girl

2009-09-06T23:24:00.000-07:00

Hallie likes looking at books and I found her on the stairs one day flipping through the pages. So cute.She was happy to see I was taking a picture! I never get pictures of her smiling!! Dang railing got in my way and made a funny shadow though.

Picture time

2009-09-06T22:39:00.000-07:00

Eventually the kids are going to tell me no they don't want their pictures taken, but until then they do a good job of humoring me every time I make them "pose" for a photo shoot.

The trying to love on Hallie, but Hallie not having it picture

This is so our kids...Hallie trying to get Caleb, and Caleb freaking out.

Our Garden

2009-07-26T15:12:00.000-07:00

We love our garden and have greatly enjoyed the yummy things we have harvested so far!

We are growing:

Green Bell Peppers
Tomatoes (picking our first ripe ones today!)
Anaheim Peppers
Zucchini (we've had lots of these!)
Cantaloupe
Cucumbers (have picked one but it was SUPER bitter...)
Watermelon
Butternut Squash
Pumpkin
Strawberries (but the ants get them all before us)
Thai Basil
Sweet Basil

Caleb loves picking zucchini!

Pioneer Day Parade

2009-07-26T14:55:00.000-07:00

We had a good time going to the Salt Lake City Pioneer Day Parade. The kids had a good time even though it was 90 degrees by 9 am! Caleb loved the motorcylce cops and Hallie really enjoyed the bands.

Photo Shoot

2009-07-26T14:43:00.000-07:00

It has been so nice outside so I decided to take the kids outside and take a few photos. Caleb wasn't really into it so it ended up being mostly Hallie, but it was fun. Too bad it was so bright they were squinting... we will have to try the shade next time!

Mr. Clean

2009-07-26T14:11:00.001-07:00

Caleb loves to help me bake and lately he loves to help clean up! Almost every day he asks to bring a "big chair" over to the sink so he can "a wash ma hands" which really means he wants to wash anything he can find close to the sink. It's pretty fun except for when he gets crazy with the water! These photos are the first time he did this, we had been baking so he was standing at the counter helping me and he turned to the sink and started washing the dishes we had just dirtied!I think he is wondering if he is going to be in trouble...

July 12, 2009

Front Runner

2009-07-26T14:06:00.000-07:00

The Front Runner commuter train here in Utah has a special this summer for four people and $10 you can ride all day. Caleb loves trains so we had to take advantage of it. We rode from Woods Cross (just north of Salt Lake) up to Odgen. We all had a great time and Caleb loved going on a real train! The whole ride he kept pointing out the train tracks and telling us all about them! It was a great fun day trip!

Birthday fun!

2009-07-26T14:00:00.000-07:00

I had a great Birthday week this year! My parents, and Tessi drove all the way here to Utah to spend a few days and take us out to a YUMMY dinner at Rodizio Grill! I only have this one photo of the whole weekend, but it was a GREAT one! Thank you mom and dad!

On my actual birthday Nathan had to have some dental work done... but he still made the day very special for me! He even made me a YUMMY dinner! We had friends over and had a great time! Thank you everyone for the wonderful entry to my 23rd year of life!

2009-07-26T13:34:00.000-07:00

The kids both fell asleep cuddling me one day, and I thought it was so cute. I had just gotten up from in between them... haha see how little space I get!

Hummus

2009-07-26T13:28:00.000-07:00

Caleb REALLY likes hummus! He especially likes if it's homemade, so much that he has to lick his bowl clean!

Richmond Beach

2009-06-13T10:31:00.000-07:00

We love the beach and miss it terribly here in Utah. Thankfully we had the joy of going to Richmond Beach with family on May 23rd. The weather was so nice and we had such a good time!

Caleb's Birthday Party in Washington

2009-06-13T09:46:00.000-07:00

We had a very fun birthday party for Caleb when we went up to Washington. Caleb had so much fun! We have tons of pictures from the event so I made a few Picasa collages to display just a few of them. You can click on the collage to view the pictures a little bigger.

Another "Awww... cute!" moment from the kiddos.

2009-06-12T22:34:00.000-07:00

Cutest babies. EVER!

2009-06-12T22:20:00.000-07:00

Well, we might be a little biased, but come on! Isn't this adorable?
Whoa...

Too cute!

Caleb's 2nd Birthday (and Daddy's birthday, too!)

2009-06-12T21:39:00.000-07:00

This is Caleb excited for his big birthday present!

Caleb loves sharing his car with Hallie!

Watch out for this monster when he turns 16!

Caleb finally just learned how to move forward in his fire truck today, and now he doesn't have to push Hallie around it in anymore (at great relief to his parents - Hallie doesn't get pushed into walls anymore, at least in his car! We're still working on Caleb not pushing her walker into walls.)

Piggie Tails

2009-06-12T21:36:00.000-07:00

Grandma put Hallie's hair in piggie tails for the first time. It's now a favorite hair do.

Graduation!

2009-06-07T21:16:00.000-07:00

Nathan graduated from BYU on April 23rd with his bachelor's degree in Information Systems with a minor in Japanese (which everyone always forgets, as he just reminded me). We are SO proud of Nathan and all of his hard work to get to this point! Nathan has a great job working for Deloitte here in Salt Lake City. Now if August could just get here... :)

Nathan's parents and my mom came down for graduation and the boys' birthday. (Mostly to celebrate Nathan's graduation though) We were so glad to see them and Caleb and Hallie enjoyed playing with them! :)

Every child needs a window to play in. Caleb had a good time playing with Grandpa.

Hallie fell asleep on my mom...this NEVER happens!

The kids really were excited for Nathan to be graduated. So much that they wanted to get outta there right after the ceremony.

Cabbage Patch Hallie

Our craziness of a family, all happy to be at this point in life.

Love Story meets Viva La Vida

2009-05-30T10:19:00.000-07:00

Stay tuned...

2009-05-01T17:59:00.000-07:00

for a post about graduation! I am trying to get all caught up, but we are in the middle of moving now, so I am being a little slow.

Easter

2009-05-01T13:03:00.000-07:00

Caleb wouldn't allow me to take pics of him dressed up..but here is a cute one of Hallie in her Easter dress.

The trail Caleb woke up to that lead to his hidden Easter basket...aka a trail of smarties

Yay! He found it!

Checkin out the goods

Hallie with her basket...maybe next year she can have candy.

Caleb was pretty hesitant to bite the bunny.

Silly Boy!

2009-04-28T15:15:00.000-07:00

We find ourselves saying this all too often with Caleb these days! He finds the funniest things to do. One day I was in the bathroom and I hear Caleb hollering for help. I came out to find him stuck like this...too funny!

April 11, 2009

A visit from Aunt Tessi

2009-04-28T15:10:00.000-07:00

Tessi came down to visit from BYU-I over conference weekend. It was fun to spend some time with her! The kids love her to pieces!

Solids...well kinda

2009-04-28T15:06:00.000-07:00

Hallie had her first taste of Solids a.k.a. mashed up avacado on April 2nd. She wasn't a fan then, but now she LOVES her solids, especially her oatmeal.

Inside the Box

2009-04-28T15:00:00.000-07:00

A while back I was working on laundry and Caleb brought his boxes out of his room and got inside it. I figured Hallie might think it was fun to hang out in there too. So while I finished up the laundry they hung out and looked super cute in the boxes.

"Snack? Please?" "COLD." "Sicko." (plus "silly eyes!")

2009-03-15T00:38:00.000-07:00

Yes, these are all comments Caleb made as he ripped open the popsicle box and we tried to tell him what these strange things were.

"Snack?"
"OK, but it's a cold snack."
"Cold?"
"Yes, it's cold. It's a cold snack. It's called a popsicle. Say 'pop.'"
"Pop."
"Say 'sicle.'"
"Sicko."
"Say 'popsicle.'"
"COLD! COLD SICKO! SNACK?"
"Yeah, Caleb, it's a cold snack. It's a popsicle."

Some days, we feel like we are making some progress. Other days we just have deja vu. A LOT.
Repetition is key!
P.S. If any of you haven't seen Caleb's "silly eyes," look at the second to last picture. When he's tired, and especially when he's sitting down to eat for some reason, he likes to roll his eyes. Instant crackup.

Hallie's growing up so fast!

2009-03-15T00:23:00.000-07:00

So, remember how Caleb seemed to be really slow at everything before he started walking?

This girl is the opposite! She is already able to sit up by herself for a few minutes... and we predict she'll be crawling before we leave Utah! *(by the way, she'll be six months old then).

Plus her hair is getting long enough to make a cute little ponytail off the top of her head... and then look what happens afterwards!

Mikey Likes It!

2009-03-15T00:17:00.000-07:00

... and so does Caleb. I guess he couldn't wait five more minutes for mama to finish his breakfast up. Instead, he tried pouring his own bowl of cereal, but was thwarted due to the bag being rolled up.

In response to being frustrated in his attempts, once he did have cereal in his bowl, he spilled it four times all over the house. Every time by accident, but we are still stepping and sitting on little tidbits of Life cereal as we speak.

Tomato hat

2009-03-15T00:12:00.000-07:00

If a container has one open side, it is a hat.

At least, in Caleb's world it could be a hat. And sometimes he insists that we put it on his head anyway, despite our protests.

So to our dismay, our son was a box head one evening.

To our amusement, it was pretty entertaining, so we took some pictures for you to see.

Enjoy!

Baking Brownies

2009-03-08T22:28:00.001-07:00

Caleb and I had lots of fun baking brownies together tonight! He loved turning on the mixer and helping put the ingredients in. He couldn't wait for them to come out of the oven...He kept checking them for me.

Pajama Party

2009-03-08T22:22:00.000-07:00

We hung out with some friends last night and Caleb had tons of fun hanging out with his friend Kade. They stayed up until about 1 am together and were still going strong!

screaming in unison

Caleb posing

Future makeup artist

2009-03-08T22:02:00.000-07:00

Caleb got into my makeup yesterday and this is what we found. It looks like a pretty good black eye we think... He walked around saying "eyes, eyes" for a bit after I washed it off.

cuddling daddy

2009-03-08T21:59:00.000-07:00

Hallie was having a sweet moment with Nathan yesterday so we had to snap a photo.

Hallie's 4 month checkup

2009-03-06T23:48:00.000-08:00

Hallie had her appointment today and for the most part it went well. She weighed in at 14lbs 4 oz which is right at the 60th percentile. The nurse had a little struggle measuring her head and had to do it like 10 times... no joke, and that made Hallie a little upset. With how much she struggled with the head measurer it made me question if she could plot the chart correctly... The doctor was impressed with her head holding skills and said she is doing great in every other aspect. He recommended we start solids in about a month so he can talk to us about how it's going at our next appointment before we move since we don't know when we will get to the doctor after getting settled in. Shots were horrible as always, but she got over them quickly and went right to sleep. Caleb was a little terrified to be in the office because it is 100% confirmed that he remembers he had shots there last time. It will be interesting to take him to his 24 month checkup in a few weeks. Here is a cute picture of Hallie sitting in the Bumbo in the last few days. This is one of her favorite places to chill. She just sits and watches everything we do and loves it.

A new hiding spot

2009-03-06T23:41:00.001-08:00

Caleb has learned how to open and get into the dryer. I am not sure if I like this new place of hiding out, but it is quite funny to be looking for him and find him in there. The bad part is he likes to climb in there when there are fresh dried clothes in there...it must feel like a warm nest or something. Thankfully this was a load of his bedding and Pj's so if they got dirty again it was from the one who wears them.

He gets so excited when I get close to him. He flings the door open and makes a silly face at me. Honestly...it's pretty cute I think.

Pics from today

2009-03-03T11:54:00.000-08:00

Caleb trying to

cars, boots, and milk...a few of his favorite things

2009-03-03T11:27:00.000-08:00

I realized I haven't done any posts just about Caleb lately, so here goes one. Caleb is still loving his milk... he also loves his boots and wears them around the house about 99% of the time. We will get home from church and take off his shoes and 5 mins later he has his boots on. he loves them!

He does the funniest things these days...like wearing his boots with shorts...

He is getting so smart! He was bringing all his cars to the table for lunch one day and I heard him say, "ok. cars, lunch, lets eat" obviously very slowly because that many words in a row is still pretty rare, but I thouhgt it was awesome! You can also see in this photo he has figured out how to fix the problem of only having two hands to carry cars with... he now uses his chin to carry that one extra car!

Here are all his cars about ready for lunch. It took only an extra 10 mins, but don't worry every car was over wtih him at lunch.

curls

2009-03-03T11:25:00.000-08:00

My new shorter hair, done curly. I don't wear it curly often anymore, but I thought it was a good picture of it when I did have it that way...well except the fact that I have no makeup on!

A new toy

2009-03-03T11:18:00.000-08:00

We bought Hallie a walker a few weeks ago and it has been a big hit. She loves standing in it and scooting herself around. It amazes us that she can do this because Caleb couldn't move in his walker until after he started walking on his own. I put her in this in the bathroom while I take a shower and she moves from one side of the bathroom to the other in no time! This was definitely a good purchase!

Caleb also enjoys the walker...he likes to zoom Hallie around the kitchen in it... she isn't so fond of this yet though. We have also found Caleb in the walker himself and walking around...he can get in, but not out.

"I ain't gonna paint no more..."

2009-02-21T13:54:00.000-08:00

We had a similar experience to this book, but in the bathtub. Caleb had a blast and Hallie was pretty happy also! I have been wanting to paint with Caleb, but have put it off because of the mess I knew it would have caused. This is a way to keep it contained nicely! We had lots of fun, and Caleb was excited when he realized he got another bath after the messy bath.

P.s. this book is awesome, check it out!

She's getting chubby!

2009-02-07T00:21:00.000-08:00

Check out those chubby cheeks!

cute chubbiness!

Hallies 3 month photos

2009-02-07T00:17:00.000-08:00

I snapped a few photos of Hallie on her 3 month birthday...I think it's funny that all of these were taken within a few minute period and yet she looks so different in a few of them.

chewing on her hand like always these days

a smile!

Brotherly love

2009-02-07T00:14:00.000-08:00

They love each other can't you tell? At least Caleb loves Hallie!

A few recent ones

2009-02-07T00:07:00.000-08:00

Hallie likes to look at herself these days...we used to do this with Caleb and it's fun to compare the two.

Caleb found his pockets the other day and thought it was pretty amazing!

Hallie wearing her new dress from Grandma and Grandpa Bridges..so cute!

Caleb likes putting this bucket on his head these days...it's all fun and games until he decides that Hallie needs to try and wear it.

Caleb has discovered the world of climbing lately and now helps himself to whatever he wants on the table.

then and now...well a few weeks ago.

2009-02-07T00:03:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of Hallie when she was like a week old taking a bath...

Look at her now...she is getting so big!

Hallies Blessing Day

2009-01-08T11:34:00.000-08:00

We were able to bless Hallie up in Renton, WA at Nathan's grandparents house over Christmas break. It was so nice to see everyone and to share in the wonderful experience.

Everyone in the blessing circle. From left to right: Edward (friend), Grandpa Bridges, Hallie, Nathan, Great grandpa Richardson, Uncle Louis. Nathan gave Hallie a beautiful blessing.

Daddy holding his little girl

3 generations (Grandma made Halllie's beautiful blessing dress all in one day! She is so talented! Thank you!)

Krystal's side of the family

Nathan's side of the family

Our little family

Our friend Joyce

The kids playing

Three way cuddle

2008-12-15T16:02:00.000-08:00

This is how we cuddle these days :)

Daddy feeding Hallie her first bottle. I was almost sad how easily she took it! I guess I'm not needed as much as I thought I was.

A few of Hallie

2008-12-08T22:49:00.000-08:00

tummy time...she hates it! :)

"executive sweet"

The end of a very cute smile. We have yet to catch one straight on but they sure are cute!

I think she looks so big in this photo!

Oh Christmas tree oh Christmas tree

2008-12-08T22:44:00.000-08:00

Caleb and I put the tree up a few days ago and then Nathan and Caleb had a good time putting the finishing touches on. Caleb didn't like using the hooks to hang the icicles though..he thought they went better just pushed in between the branches. Caleb also now thinks he needs to remove and replace multiple bulbs and icicles each day. :)

Thanksgiving in Provo

2008-12-01T09:24:00.000-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving here in Provo this year. We were blessed to have Tessi and her friend here with us so we weren't alone. We missed being with everyone, but have so much to be thankful for here. Here are a few pics from the day... some reason they posted backwards to how I wanted them to post.

After dinner relaxing on the couch

Caleb enjoyed his mashed potatoes

Our visitors. Tessi and her friend Teresa.

Nathan being an excellent carver. He watched a tutorial on how to carve a turkey so I made sure he put his knowledge to use. :)

Our pretty dinner, minus the stuffing which was either still in the turkey or in the oven at this point.

I love this time of year that we are so blessed to be able to spend time with family and friends and to reflect on all the wonderful things in our lives. I am so thankful for so many things. Here is a short list of a few things I am especially thankful for this year.

My Family

Both here in Provo and in all the other states we are spread throughout. I have the most amazing husband who works so hard and is such a great father. I am so thankful we are married for eternity and that we will be together forever, he is the best! My adorable children who remind me every day of how I can be better and more Christ like. I am so thankful I am able to be a mom and watch my children learn and grow! My parents who are so supportive and loving and have been such an amazing examples for me growing up and now. My sisters who have always been there for me and show me so much love! My in-laws who care so much about us and show us so much love and support. I love you all and am so glad I have each and every family member in my life!

The Gospel

I have reflected a lot lately on where I would be without the gospel and it isn't a pretty place. I am so thankful I have the knowledge of Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father and their plan for me here and in the eternities. I have so much more to learn but I am so thankful I am able to attend church each Sunday and go to the temple to worship and learn more.

School

I am thankful Nathan can be in school right now, and even more thankful he will graduate in April. Being here at BYU has been an awesome experience. I am also thankful that his schooling has lead to a great job back in Seattle next year! I am also thankful I was able to go to school for a few semesters this year. I love learning and really enjoyed taking classes to expand my knowledge.

Cars

This one is kinda 2- fold... I am so thankful for the vehicles we have. I can't imagine not having a car to get around in. The other half of it is the movie Cars. It is Caleb's favorite and gives me a few minutes of sanity when he watches it! :)

Hallie's birth etc...

I am so thankful for the amazing experience of giving birth to Hallie and all the wonderfulness that has come since. I feel so blessed that I was able to have her the way I wanted, and that everything else is working out the same.

There are so many other things I am thankful for that I don't have time to list on here, but I am so thankful I am able to reflect on all these things this time of year.

Happy late Thanksgiving everyone!

Visitors

2008-12-01T09:14:00.000-08:00

We have been so blessed to have visitors lately! My (Krystal) sisters Jodi and Tessi have been able to come meet Hallie the last few weeks. Jodi was here the weekend before Thanksgiving and got to claim the fame of meeting Hallie first out of the sisters in my family. Tessi came down last Sunday with a friend and was here with us through Thanksgiving this week. We love all our visitors and are so thankful for all their love and help!

Tessi with sleepy Hallie. (Tessi became a pro at putting Hallie to sleep on the exercise ball

Jodi loving on miss Hallie.

Thank you both for visiting! We love you!

A few pictures

2008-11-19T16:31:00.000-08:00

Sleeping beauty the way I found her when I got up yesterday.

Hallie was folding her arms for Grandma.

Daddy and Hallie took a nap together. This is a favorite napping spot for Nathan these days...in fact as I write this, he and Hallie look exactly the same.

Caleb sporting his cuteness...along with lambie

Grandma with the kids before she had to leave last Sunday. Thank you for coming and helping SO much!

Bath time!

2008-11-04T21:58:00.000-08:00

Caleb and Hallie took their first bath together yesterday. Caleb thought it was very interesting, but fun to have someone else in the tub with him.

Hallie liked the bath most of the time!

Caleb thinks she is just great!

Proud big brother.

Nuchal

2008-11-04T21:50:00.000-08:00

Nuchal will be Hallies nick name we have decided. She was born with her hand next to her cheek when she was born (a nuchal hand), and she continues to like having it there. Her hand is almost always up by her face...especially when she is sleeping or being cuddly.

Halloween

2008-11-04T21:04:00.000-08:00

We had a great Halloween! Caleb dressed up as a ninja and Hallie was his Asian princess for her first Halloween! We took Caleb trick or treating to visit friends we hadn't seen for a while from work and Wymount. It was a fun night and we have all too much candy to last us a life time!

We started the night off by picking up a trick or treat bucket for Caleb. Nathan found just the bucket when he ran in ToysRUs... a Cars bucket! Caleb LOVED it!

Caleb and Hallie all dressed up.

slouching...

Caleb LOVES kissing Hallie. He is so sweet and gentle with her!

Kind of a bright picture, but his smile is priceless. He was so cute and happy with his cars trick or treat bucket!

He even sits like a ninja...

Caleb checking out his stash. He is constantly asking for "car" when he is at the table hoping we will give him some candy out of his car bucket.

Here is the princess

Big eyes!

More on Hallie!

2008-10-27T16:47:00.000-07:00

As Nathan posted earlier Hallie has arrived! She weighs 7 lbs even, and is 20 1/2 inches long. She is doing amazing and checked out wonderfully at the pediatricians office today! We are so happy to have her here with us, she is a doll!

Caleb loves being a big brother! He is so sweet with Hallie kissing and being nice to her.

Her fingers are really wrinkly and it looks like she is wearing finger nail polish

Our new sweet baby girl!