Christmas Traditions...

For our family night tonight, Houston and I took Veronica to see the lights at Dovewood Court. Dovewood Court is in Orangeville that decorates almost every inch of their houses and yards with lights. Veronica fell asleep on the way there so she missed it. There is always next year. When we came home we opened Veronica's first birthday present. Houston has school tomorrow night so we opened an early birthday present. I can not believe my baby girl is almost one.

Small things change everything!

At church on Sunday, Veronica was being cranky. I took her in the foyer to crawl around and then I walk her around to look at all of the artwork on the wall. I point to the artwork, tell who the people are and then I tell her what is going on in the picture. I've done this a few weeks in a row now and this week something changed. I picked her up and walked by the picture of Jesus cleansing out the temple. She pointed at the picture and said "Jesus". I started to cry. It was very reassuring that I am doing what I'm supposed to do. I am raising my daughter and will raise my future children in the gospel.

First Thanksgiving

It was Veronica's first Thanksgiving. And of course, I didn't bring the camera. It is Veronica's last of the first holidays. She loved the turkey and sweet potatoes and of course the chocolate cream pie. We had so much fun with our family.

Black Friday Shopping

Houston and I have a tradition of getting up early to go Black Friday shopping. So today we braced ourselves and fought the crowds to get Christmas gifts. After a few hours of shopping Houston was able to get his beauty rest.

update

So now that it is no longer July, I thought I would update. We have gone camping, we went to South Lake Tahoe for Houston's birthday, and a bunch of other stuff the last four months. Veronica had her first Halloween. She was a giraffe. She was a hit at the ward Halloween party. Tonight, Houston and I went to an awards ceremony. He entered some of his work into a photography contest and he won 1st prize and honorable mention in the people category. I'm so proud of him!

Here is Houston with his ribbons

His first place picture

His honorable mention picture

Relief Society

I was asked to give the lesson in Relief Society on Sunday. The lesson was on Receiving the Blessings and Ordinances of the Temple. I learned so much about the early saints and their experiences building the Temple. I am so grateful for them and their obedience to the Lord and their amazing faith. They were driven from state to state seeking religious freedoms only to be persecuted again and again. I'm grateful for my Temple experiences and I'm so glad to be married for time and all eternity to my husband and that I can spend eternity with our family and our children.

If you would like more info:
http://www.mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/basic-beliefs/the-restoration-of-truth/the-restoration-of-truth

update

Wow so it has been awhile since my last post so let me tell you what has been going on. Houston and I had the opportunity to go to Portland to witness the sealing of his dear friend/mission companion. Houston took their wedding pics and they turned out so well! We had so much fun meeting families and listening to the 2 re-tell mission stories. We went to a huge craft fair with so many amazing things made out of recycled material. And since we were so close to Washington, we crossed the border and went thrift store shopping. Also this summer, Houston and I took a Biology Class and now Houston is taking an English class to transfer to Sac State in the Spring and start working on his Bachelors in Social Work (BSW) and then on to his MSW (Masters in Social Work), and I'm taking a Cultural Anthropology class. On June 29th We celebrated our 2 year anniversary. Since last year we went to Mexico for our anniversary, we decided to go to dinner and a movie this year. We went to our favorite restaurant, Chili's and then we saw The Proposal. It was so cute and funny.... I would say it's worth paying for, but we got in for free thanks to my friend at the Theatre, Mo! Veronica is getting so big. She can say ma ma and da da and is sitting up all by herself. She's aching to crawl, but she hasn't figured that out yet. She is so cute and is happy as can be. Veronica had he first 4th of July and with that she went swimming for the first time and I even let her play with a sparkler. It was bedtime, so she didn't get to see too many fireworks but she did see a few and she liked them.... I think. I think that's all of the update and here are a few pics of the summer.

This is a picture Houston took of his friends wedding

We spelled our name out but it looks like Wynme
Veronica with a sparklerHouston Made this Onesie for her. It says USA on the front

Our first attempt at Veronica swimming....

Our second attempt after a much needed napShe loves the corner of her crib for some reason

Memorial Day

I had such a blast today. I invited my family over for a BBQ. We had London Broil and Hotdogs for the kiddies. We had a slip and slide and we also had a kiddie pool. We rode the quads and the ride on lawn mower. The kids played on the monkey bars, swings and teeter totter We went across the street and looked at Ella's horse. We had so much fun and at the end of the day we had a birthday cake and sang Happy Birthday to my father-in-law, Walter.

Ava and Abby on the Teeter Totter

The kiddies on the jungle gym

Happy Birthday Walter
Houston and Abby on the ride on lawn mower
Baby Wyatt swinging
Abby on the monkey bars

Food!

Here's a picture of my first attempt at feeding Veronica Rice cereal... let's just say she didn't catch on right away...

Easter

Veronica's first Easter.... We had so much fun!

One of the reasons I love my husband

So, the other day, I thought Houston was getting ready to take a shower...... I walk into the bathroom and he was standing in front of the mirror playing with bubbles!


So the real story is, Houston is taking a Photography class and he was testing out the bubble mix to see how long they last and if they work and what not so he can get some good pics!

Oh My....

I've never in my life dyed my hair! I was given the opportunity to have my hair done by one of my best friends, Denise! I thought I'd go all out, and I did! I have a purple chunk in my hair, something that I've always wanted, and now I have! Thank you Denise! My hair looks amazing!

My Birthday

For my birthday, Houston took me to the Melting Pot Downtown, which is a fondue restaurant for those who don't know. When we got there, Houston had Flowers waiting for me at the table. He's so romantic. The food was absolutely amazing! A tad expensive, but worth going to. We got the spinach and artichoke fondue, a meat platter, and Milk Chocolate for dessert which had strawberries, brownie bites, marshmallows, cheesecake, and so much more to dip in the chocolate. We had so much food and it was so yummy! It definitely is not a first date kind of restaurant, so if you want a romantic evening out with your hubby, this is the place to go!

So it starts.......

I went up to Sierra College today to register for some Summer classes. I was walking to my car when I notice that Veronica is looking to my left and then she gives a huge smile to whatever she is looking at. I look over to see what or who she is looking at. I look over and she was smiling at a boy!!!

Pictures of Our Monterey Trip!

I love this picture

My dream house

We liked the jelly fish

Finding Nemo

This fish is huge it can get up to 14 feet high and up to 4000 pounds!

Veronica and me in font of the aquarium

On the Pier

Our little family

Dennis the Menace playground

They had a rock wall!

mommy and her girl. we had matching shirts.

As soon as we got to the hotel she spit up on me!!!

Point Pinos Lighthouse

Veronica crying in front of the lighthouse

At the Beach

I love our fish eye lens

My little girl! So cute.

I know there's a lot of pictures, but we wanted to share.

Romantic getaway!

Houston and I love to travel. Since we've been married, we've been to L.A. (Disneyland), Colorado, Mexico, and we've done spur of the moment overnight trips in California. We recently went on an overnight trip to Monterrey, Ca. Houston and I have always wanted to go to the Aquarium and now we can cross it off of our to-do list. We not only went to the Aquarium, but we also went to Cannery Road, Fisherman's Warf, Point Pinos Lighthouse, and the Monarch Habitat. And of course, the beach! What made it even more fun was that Veronica was so well behaved. She didn't fuss one bit! We had a blast! (Pictures are soon to come)

Veronica's first trip to the park!

Today Veronica and I went to Mckinley park with Rhonda, Ellen and their children. It was Veronica's first time going to a park and I had such a great time! I'm sure Veronica did too...! We fed the ducks and watched the squirrels. I can't wait until she can play!

Big Girl

I decided to introduce Veronica to the crib.... Every time I lay her down she would wake up and start crying.
On Friday night I would put her to the test, and she did it! Veronica slept through the night like a big girl. she is now officially a crib baby. No more bassinet!

Our fun day

So Veronica was sleeping in her swing when I heard her pooping! I though it was funny until I saw how bad it really was! She pooped up to her neck! I decided I didn't need the onesie that bad. I didn't want to slip it over her head, so I cut it off and threw it away and then I put her in the tub for a much needed bath! ewwww!