Fashion Show

Julia got some really cute outfits from Grandma Cromwell for her birthday in August but its been to hot to wear them. But today....aaahhh the cool weather hit and we did a little fashion
show and got some cute pictures. She put the tu-tu on and wanted to dance around all day! She is so funny sometimes!

Click....Take a Pic

I was playing with Julia on the floor and my back started to hurt so I said I had to sit up in the chair. Julia comes walking over to me and says, "sick, mommy?" Ok, Ok, mommy?" I said I was ok and then she let me be. So she tends to have a little OCD and took all of her little stuffed animals and lined them all up. She then proceeds to tell me her Bunny is sick, Bear is sick. So I told her to give them hugs and kisses. She bent over and kissed all of the animals in the line. Next proceeded to pick up a few and rock them while saying, "Rock, Rock." She said Mingo (flamingo) and Dino (alligator) were still sick so I said she needed to give them a hug to feel better. The look on her face when she picked them up was so priceless....she seemed to feel their pain (whatever pain that might have been). She was so concerned for them. I told her she was being a 'good mommy' taking care of all the animals. So once they were all taken care of it was time for the photo shoot. If any of you out there have seen 'Go Diego Go' they have a part of the show where a camera comes out to take pictures of the animals. So Julia kept saying Click, Mommy?? At first I was what are you saying....then it clicked (pardon the pun). She was imitating Diego. She kept saying Click...take a pic mommy....she would put all the animals on the stool and then lay down with them on the floor and then wanted to sit with the animals. It was quite the ordeal but she was really have a good time. Its so neat to see her imitate or say those things that you continually say and do for her. How impressionable our kids really are. Below are some pictures of the animal photo shoot!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Nature Walk

For FHE the other night Layne had an activity planned to go outside with a paper bag and have Julia collect things in 'nature.' Then she could bring them inside and feel their texture and smell them etc. Well it was FHE meltdown as usual with Julia so he went the next night with Julia. They came inside and she was touching all her stuff she found and putting each one up to her nose and smelling them with a big inhale and then a big exhale with an added AAHHHHH effect at the end! It was so funny. Well the next day after Julia's nap she got her shoes on and we went out to collect more stuff. She wanted to find more'nature' as she calls it....we got inside and she made me sit at the table and pull all her stuff out and with the same over emphasis smelled everything and ended with a big AAHHH! I was laughing so hard. I got a few pictures to capture the moment.

Busy September

Well I'm trying to keep up with everything going on and its been a little hectic and crazy! An update on the Cromwell's! Layne has been at this new job for almost a month now. He is still learning and training in a sense. He said to really feel comfortable it will take about 2-3 months. He is adjusting well and is still studying to take his insurance exams. He has to go into work earlier than is old job and so that made it difficult to contain Julia in the mornings while I work. So with some hemming and hawing I also changed my work schedule. Because I changed my schedule around I also had to pick up an additional 5 hours. NOT FUN... is all I have to say. I still work a split shift and only work a few hours in the mornings and work more at night when Layne gets home. Poor guy....its tough to come home after a long day and deal with a 2 year old all by yourself at the worst part of her day.....(Cranky and Hyper)....to say the least. I appreciate his willingness to watch her when he comes home after a long day!

I was able to complete my temple goal this month and Layne has allowed me to have some "me" time for a few Saturdays this month as well! Its been nice to get a break and be able to shop or complete a project without being interrupted every 2 seconds! Layne gets the "Father of the Month" award.....hands down! THANK YOU! I am glad it is cooling down and getting to feel more like fall....I got out my Halloween decorations all ready and it feels more like fall. The leaves are starting to change in the mountains....Love this time of year!

Layne had his 10th annual PPA tournament with his good group of high school friends over Labor Day Weekend. Layne put together a little video, shirts were made, smack talk and a great competition ensued. Layne pointed out before he left that no one had predicted him to win anything this year and he came home with the Overall Champion trophy and the Bowling trophy! I wasn't surprised, I knew he would win something. And he has been overall Champ now back to back and 3 times total....a feat no one else has done so far....Way To GO!!! Layne is also excited about his 49er's this year...started off 2-0 so far in regular season and he has refused to wash his 49er's shirt until they lose....OH BOY! So he is excited to see his team take on Brett and the Vikings this week.....should be interesting!

Julia.....well what can I say about Julia!!! She is a ball of energy the minute she wakes up at 7:30am every morning until she hits the pillow at 8:00pm at night. She honestly wears me out. I only get a break if she takes her nap and I usually tend to doze off myself....I love nap time!!! Her latest thing is to watch "Mermaid", "Tinkbell" or "Cinella" everyday and sometimes more than once a day. She loves "Little Mermaid" the best and she can actually quote along with the movie and loves to sing along with Ariel. (As I type this Mermaid is playing. ) She loves to watch her "shows" as she calls them and play with "ta-doh" (play-doh) while she watches. She is a pretty good eater for the most part but is in a rut with her favorite foods. I guess its in the genes because she asks to eat chips and salsa everyday and usually for breakfast but we usually can hold off until lunch. She loves her fruit and chicken fingers and snacks (fruit snacks) as she calls them. She is becoming more independant and wants to try things on her own and gets mad if we try and help. She talks so much more. A usual conversation lately goes something like this:
Julia: " Hi, mommy, whatca doing?"
Me: "Hi, Julia, I'm eating breakfast. What are you doing?"
Julia: "Oh, yes." Ok. Something to that effect. She is also really big into already asking, "what's that." Until you answer her and its over and over again.

Next big thing for Julia will be next weekend. We are going to attempt potty training with her because she is the habit of pulling off her diaper now and usually when its messy. Fingers crossed...I hope this goes smoothly...we keep everyone posted with updates! Should be exciting!
I am excited to see Julia go through the Holiday season. She is at such a fun age. The other day as we were out walking I thought to myself "How can I keep her this small and little." She is so fun and I hate to see her grow up to fast. I cherish everyday with her. Its always something new for her each day...learning about the world around her. Its fasinating to watch.

GOAL ACCOMPLISHED!!

On September 5th (last weekend) after work my sister and I drove up north to visit the Logan temple. It was a busy day with lots of weddings taking place. Logan temple sits atop a big hill and it looks very similar to the Manti Temple. Great day, great company and a great trip to the Temple.

Then this weekend we left to head down to Monticello Friday night. We drove most of the night and got a room for a few hours to get up early to go to the Monticello Temple Saturday morning. You need to make appointments to attend Monticello because it only has one endowment room. It was the smallest temple we have been to but no less beautiful. We all got up and went to the 6 am session on Saturday. We beat the rush and actually stayed awake through it all. Everyone kept asking where we were from and we actually met a couple in the parking lot who has the same goal this year. They were just starting out and Monticello was their first stop and come to find out they were from our neck of the woods in Highland. Small world!!

It was our last temple trip and we were all able to go together. 13 Temples in 9 months!! At first I didn't think we would be able to get it all done. Everyone had different schedules but if we all couldn't go together we did go with one other person. We set the time and followed through. Just with anything in life you have to make up your mind to JUST DO IT!!! It has been a great experience to be able to go to the temple each month and to see all the UTAH temples. I'm grateful for the work and service I was able to preform and hope to continue to get to the temple each month!! By attending the temple it brings added peace, comfort, and blessings to my complicated and overly scheduled life. Things just seem to work out a little more easily when we make the time to put temple attendance as a priority in our lives. What a wonderful experience it was to go to each temple and to see each of their unique qualities. I'm glad I was able to achieve at least one goal I set this year, and I'm glad I was able to go with my family!!

Flashback Friday

I missed last week. Its been crazy around here lately but I found some cute ones of Julia. 2 years ago we brought Julia home from the hospital on opening day of Cougar Football. It was a great day. Layne insisted we bring her home in her cougar gear. She will probably look back at those pictures and say "Mom and Dad what were you thinking?" but hopefully we have another sports fanatic/cougar fan in the making!! Fast forward, 2 years later and she is ready for another Cougar football season!! She is pretty good at yelling.....GO COUGARS, and TOUCHDOWN!! Layne makes sure she is wearing her BYU gear each week for good luck!! Here's to another great season!! RISE AND SHOUT THE COUGARS ARE OUT!!!!

BYU!!!


BAD CALL REF!

TOUCH DOWN COUGARS!!!