We had a play date at the Living Planet Aquarium on Monday. Leslie suggested that we do something fun with the girls (and Linky) so what better time to use our Aquarium passes. Ella and Linky had a great time with Ash and Kylee. . .and the babies were little troopers. Lincoln is always amazed with the brightly colored fish. I swear he could watch them swimming for hours. The penguins were a little disappointing this time though. . .they never got in the water. They just waddled around on the top teasing us with the possibility of diving in.
You’ll love this. . .In the car on the way to lunch I asked Ella what her favorite part of the aquarium was and she said, “the place at the end where you pick things out”. She was talking about the gift shop 
Well to say that Christmas was a little crazy this year would be an understatement. With a 10 day old baby in the house we pretty much did what we could and didn’t worry about the rest. We did get a tree up and presents wrapped and that was all that mattered to a very excited 4-year old and her 2-year old brother.
We feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family and are absolutely in love with our three little munchkins. It was nice to take time to enjoy them and not worry about the little things.
Avery had her newborn photo shoot at 10 days old. We took her down to Lehi for session with Angie at Sweet Memory Garden. Angie always does a great job and was very patient with a little baby that took about an hour to get to sleep for those precious newborn shots.
Born today at 5:30am the little girl that refused to wait her turn weighed in at 6lbs. 11oz. and measured 21″ long. Everything went fantastic once we arrived, feeling pretty blessed right now. Here are some shots from this morning.
Lincoln turned two on Wednesday, September 22nd and we had his party the following Saturday. Lincoln loves Lightening McQueen and Mater so we centered the party around that. The party was definitely the quietest we’ve had in the Moeller house, but that’s just because all of the kids were running around screaming and have a great time in the bouncy house. Lincoln had a great time although he was little timid and it took him a little while to venture into the bouncy house. . .but once he did, he wasn’t coming out.
He also really got into presents this year. . .he tore right into them. The only problem was getting him to move onto the next one. Once he saw the toy inside all he wanted to do was play .
Bet you’ve never seen park rangers this cute before! One of the staples of our annual Jackson Hole trip is for the kids to become junior rangers. At the start of the week they each get their little newspaper that has information, puzzles, quizes and other activities for them to complete. They also have to participate in a hike, watch a movie or attend a ranger class. Once they are done they recite a cute little oath given to them by one of the park rangers and then they get their badge. They were extra official this year due to the park ranger vests that Nana and Papa gave them.
As always, we had a great time in Jackson. We visited Teton National Park several times, hung out with the moose, watched the buffalo roam, rode the alpine slide and even bought a new car to fit our expanding family.
We had a great 4th of July celebration at Nana and Papa’s house. All of the kids were so cute and loved having their own little table to eat at. Anytime they can all get together and play outside it’s a hit.
Did I mention that Lincoln was terrified of the fireworks. It was actually pretty funny. He would put his blanket over his head and he eventually ended up watching them from inside the house. Cute little stink bug.
First time out to the race track with Shelby, it was a blast! Where else can you go flat out for a 1/4 mile with no speed limit, legally? I love the sweet smell of 104 octane fuel and smoldering rubber, you’d think I would have ended up in the auto industry. Thanks honey for enduring 80+ degrees to watch your hubby ruin tires
Did I mention how much fun holidays are with kids. You kind of forget how important Halloween is once you exit your teenage years. . .that is until your kids come along and bring it all swirling back.
Ella started asking me when she could go trick-or-treating as soon as she saw Halloween decorations. It’s hard for a three-year old to really grasp the concept of days, let alone weeks so I would end up saying “not yet” until we were only a few days out. This was the first year that she picked out her own costume. I sat her on my lap and we looked online until she found the one that she wanted. It ended up being a white cat, which apparently looked a lot like a bunny because that is what everyone thought that she was. I think she was a little confused. . .or frustrated. . .by the end of the day because she stopped and saying that she was a kitty when people would say “oh what a cute little bunny”. Linky was just along for the ride, but looked absolutely adorable as a monkey.
What a fun idea. Nana and Papa Moeller wanted to take all of the cousins to the pumpkin patch and let everyone pick out their own pumpkin to carve. They were smart to send the pumpkins home to be carved by mom and dad. . .what a mess 
).
There is an old farmer in Draper that turns his yard into pumpkin piles for the season. We had a great time and left with some great photos. . .and memories.
Time really does pass in the blink of an eye. Lincoln is a year old. . .I swear I was just in the hospital delivering him. He is still my little baby. He is such a sweet, cuddly little boy. I’m definitely a sucker for him and he knows it!
Like Ella, he was content to sit a play with his toys and wasn’t anxious to get moving (which was fine with me. . .it’s so much harder when they’re mobile). He was slightly quicker than Ella as he started to crawl about two weeks before his first birthday (Ella was the day before). Unlike his sister, however, he is not cautious. Ella never fell of the bed. . .she never even wanted to get close to the edge. Lincoln just barrells right off. . .and then again the very next day. I swear they should sell body armor for kids to protect the parent’s sanity.
Anyway, the birthday bash was fun. We decked everything out in blue and brown, had pizza to eat, a curious george pinata, and plenty of entertainment with the cake. Lincoln definitely did not want to dive in. . .both of my kids don’t like getting their hands dirty (I wonder where they get that from). But he eventually got a taste of the sugar and decided the mess was worth it. Then daddy spiced it up by giving him a little chocolate mustache and “Senior Lincoln” was created.
As always, we really appreciate the love and support we get from our friends and family. Our kids are lucky to be loved by so many wonderful people.
I can’t believe that my baby is old enough to be going to pre-school! Ella started school at Corner Canyon Academy this week and she is very excited. Her teacher’s name is Miss Crystal and she has lots of new friends in her class. She was a little anxious her first day but she did great learning all of the new rules for school! I thought it was funny. . .the number two rule was “remember to flush the potty” )
They were instructed to bring a present for everyone in the class that will be given to them on their birthday throughout the year, and they were given a bag to take home and decorate to be used to put their presents in. I asked Ella what she wanted to decorate her bag with . . .Mickey Mouse, princesses, Little Einsteins, Dora, Cars. Of course, she chose Cars. . .I swear she has watched that movie at least a thousand times. . .she loves Lightening and Mater!
We spent a week in Jackson Hole over the 24th of July and had a blast. I drove up on Sunday with Ella and Link, Nana and Papa, and Holly, Jackson and Logan. Then the boys (and Maddy) joined us on Thursday. Ella had so much fun with her cousins that I think she could have stayed there forever.
We packed a lot in but also had time to relax. We went to Teton Village and rode the tram, we went to the petting zoo at the county fair, rode the alpine slide, waded around in String Lake, hiked to Hidden Falls, rented a motorboat at Colter Bay and went up and down “moose road” about a dozen times. We also saw several moose, a herd of elk and buffalo. Ella, Jackson and Logan also earned their Jr. Ranger badges!
Probably the funniest thing was the kids and their dolphins. On the drive up we stopped at McDonald’s in Evanston and the kids each got a mini beanie baby dolphin in their happy meal. Who would’ve thought that those dolphins would be such a hit. They played with them the entire time we were up there. The moment that there little eyes popped open in the morning, it was. . .”where’s my dolphin”. They even had a dolphin call, which was an interesting, and loud, screech.
Thank you sooo much to Nana and Papa!
To be three years-old and playing with your cousins in a bouncy house. . .what could be better.
Quit eating my bushes you little buggers )
I love, love, love my family. I feel like the luckiest girl in the whole world. I am married to the love of my life, and he has given me two amazing children! Until you are a mom you cannot possibly begin to imagine the immense love that it brings into your life. Not to say that there are not moments when you want to cry and scream right along with them. . .because there definitely are. But when your three year-old grabs your cheeks when you are giving her back scratches at night, and says “i love you the most”ess” mommy” nothing else matters. Ella is so amazing, she has grown up so fast and is such a thoughtful sweet little girl. . .I am so proud. And I didn’t think that I could love anyone as much as I loved her until September 22, 2008 when little Lincoln made his appearance. When he smiles his little eyes light up and my heart melts. I love my little man.
I had a perfect mother’s day just chillin’ with my family. Here are some pics we took while swinging in the back yard. I LOVE YOU ELLA AND LINCOLN!!!
If you know Matt you know that he is a “car guy” and more specifically a “mustang man”. This is evident with the five mustangs we have owned in the past seven years. Well, he has his dream car now (or at least one of his dream cars), an ’08 Shelby GT500. We’ve owned the car for about a year and have definitely enjoyed it. One of the most fun things we have done is participated in the “Mustangs Across America” event. It was a caravan of about 600 mustangs from Vegas to Alabama. We only went about half way . . .we couldn’t leave our kiddies for too long!
After almost 13 years at BlueCross I have finally pulled the trigger and decided to stay home with my two little monkies. After Lincoln was born it was extremely difficult to go back to work and I really felt strongly that I wanted to focus more on my family and less on my career. They are small for such a short time that I want to enjoy every possible minute. My sweet husband, simply said, “I want you to do whatever is going to make you happy” (as he gulped realizing we were going to have to tighten the belt, so to speak). I could not ask for a more supportive, loving sweetheart.
After I made the decision I was surprised at how difficult it was to actually give my notice. I truly loved my job at BlueCross and the friends/family that I shared my days with. I started at BlueCross as a starry-eyed teenager the month after I graduated from high school and shared my life there as I became a wife and a mother. I will always cherish the relationships that have grown over the years and will look back fondly at my time at Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah. Who knows. . .maybe I will be back there some day.
I was terrified! We had been preparing Ella since November that after her birthday she would be too old for the binky. For months we would say, “what happens on your birthday?” And she would say, “No more binky”. Well it went off without a hitch. The day after her birthday she threw it away after she woke up and we all clapped. She asked for it a couple of times when she climbed into the car (as she could only have it in the car and at sleepy time), and then smiled shyly, realizing that she didn’t have it anymore. We’re so proud of you Ella!
The time truly flies by. . .I can’t believe my baby is three. Although I can’t remember a time without her; funny how that works. We celebrated with an Ariel themed party and our family and friends.
I had this great idea that I would blow up about 100 turquoise and sea blue balloons and string them to the ceiling for an “under the sea” feel. I started blowing them up the night before her party with the air compressor (it worked great) and Matt said, “you’re putting too much air in them”. Yeah, yeah, whatever. . .I wanted them to be big. Well about an hour after I finished blowing them up and stringing them all across the room, they started popping randomly. By the way, did I mention this was at about midnight. I had over-inflated them. Matt, the sweetheart that he is, didn’t say anything. . .just looked at me and smiled. We ended up taking the scissors to them all so we could actually get some sleep.
The party was a hit, even without the balloons. Ella ran around have a great time until it was time to open presents when she got shy and poutty, but she perked up after seeing what was inside. I hope this year is as great as the last!
