Weekend in Utah!

Last Thursday Mercedes and I flew out to Utah for the weekend to visit family and friends. We kissed Taylor good-bye and boarded the plane. I was a bit choked up, I don't like being away from Taylor.
This was Mercedes' first airplane ride! Unfortunately it was right during her normal nap time, and although it was only an hour and 20 minute flight, she was a handful. She never screamed her head off (thank goodness) but she wasn't very happy either.
Well, except for this photo. She finally fell asleep the last ten minutes of the flight.
Mercedes got lots of time with her only cousin Alex. They were very cute together. Alex is two and a half hears older than her. These two actually remind me a lot of Addison and I. (My big brother, and Alex's dad, for anyone who doesn't know).


This is Mercedes' "Look at that doggy!" face. We were in my best friend Lacey's car and their dog was in the back.
All growing up Lacey and I would talk about our futures. Going on walks down the River Trail with our babies was one of them.
It was amazing and almost surreal knowing we were actually doing that.
Here I'm holding Lacey's 3 week old baby boy Maddix. He was so precious!
Mercedes loves being outside.
If you can click on the picture to make it bigger, I think Mercedes' face in this one is just great.
I had to get a shot of the babies in the car together! So cute!!
I stayed with my brother Addison and sister-in-law Ana. I love these guys.
Brown eyes! I decided a monkey costume would be perfect for Mercedes since we're always calling her our "little monkey."
She thought Alex's room was the best place on earth. I decided I need to get her some real toys. She finds those much more interesting than her baby toys.
Here we took Halloween pictures of Mercedes, Maddix and Lacey's sister-in-law Larissa's baby. We all played softball together in high school. Funny what the future brings! The baby girls were a bit concerned with Maddix who wasn't very happy.

The three of us and our babies! Love.


I kept trying to get a photo of Mercedes interacting with Nala Lacey's dog but every time I snapped a picture Mercedes would do something else. She loved the dog though.
This was Sunday morning after we woke up. I love her morning face.
These ones are for the grandparents in the Ukraine. :)


I loved spending time with Addison and Ana. I miss them greatly in California.
Best friends!
I love my big brother.

Mercedes and I had so much fun in Utah! Thank you so much guys for letting us come and stay with you and be with you for the weekend! And thank you Taylor for making it happen! It was a blast!

October Happenings

October has been a great month and I can't believe it's almost over. We are doing great and just loving the cool weather.
This was Mercedes two Sundays ago before church. I don't even know how many pictures of this girl I take per day...
On this night Taylor made a candy run for us.
We thought we would let Mercedes think she was enjoying what we were.
Don't worry, she wasn't really eating it.
...or so we thought! She had sucked and chewed on it enough so that the adhesive between the wrapper unglued and she got her first taste of chocolate, without us even knowing. So much for waiting. Silly mommy and daddy.
Last weekend we took Mercedes to Bishop's Pumpkin Farm! It was a really neat place and much bigger than the one I loved dearly and grew up going to in Utah. We didn't do too much however because Mercedes is so small but we're SUPER excited to bring her back next year when she'll enjoy a hay ride, picking out a pumpkin, etc.

We mainly hung out at the petting zoo. We knew Mercedes would enjoy that.
These two are just precious to me!

Family picture! I still wish we would have asked a random stranger to take a photo for us. Sorry Mercedes.

I had a hard time getting her to put her head through the hole.
We can't get over this adorable little face of hers!
Here is Mercedes playing at Grandma Tammy's and Grandpa Galen's.

See this picture above? Taylor and I die laughing every time we look at it. She doesn't like hats very much.
Sorry this picture is kind of blurry. Girlies posing for the camera! And I got bangs. :)
And last but not least, Mercedes' Halloween costume! She almost totally blended in with the carpet. Cute little monkey. :)
I was planning on making one but finally gave in and bought one last night because I'm feeling pressured with all I have to do before Thursday. Mercedes and I will be flying out to Utah for the weekend to visit friends and family! We'll be staying with Addison and Ana and I am so excited! I'll try to take lots of pictures and then do a post next week. Happy Halloween!

Not the only ones

I just had to post pictures of this sweet face. It's amazing how strong my mother to daughter love is for her.
Words can't describe!


I'm still getting used to the fact that Taylor and I aren't the only making messes anymore.

Not-so-Happy Meals

The title says it all. See my post about Happy Meals on my other blog. Crazy stuff! love.create.live

Late afternoon

Mercedes is finally down for what I'm hoping is a good solid nap. She doesn't normally fuss too much but today she hit the "point of no return" and cried an angry cry for a good 25 minutes before she gave up and went to sleep. In my arms or in her bed it didn't matter, she knew it was time for a nap and that was not what she wanted.

She is a pretty strong willed little one let me tell you. But we love her for it.

I, however, took a down day myself and I admit that I am still in my pajamas. Yes it is true. I am tired. I think I took a short nap on the couch earlier with Mercedes but I'm not really sure. I didn't feel like I slept but then again the movie I was watching had come near the end.

This picture is a total exaggeration but I thought it was funny.

I'll probably grab a snack and make myself decent before my hubby comes home from work. I love that man. Then I'll either take a really late nap (Taylor's suggestion) or go for a run. Thanks for reading my silly post. :)