Wedding MADNESS!

I feel like I'm spinning my wheels trying to catch up on this blog. It was such an eventful summer that I can't leave a single post out. I'm just going to have to condense so I can finally get it done!

NEXT UP: Wedding Mania

Aimee and Heidi both got married this summer. . .within 4 days of each other!

It was party central here. Melesa's family came to town, we threw a double bridal shower, and helped with decor and other projects for the weddings.

Melesa was the brains behind the bridal shower. She planned it all down to the last detail. It was fantastic! If she ever needs a job I'm sure she would be a natural party planner. 

Here are the beautiful brides-to-be.

 I had a blast making their sparkling "Bride" tank tops and their headbands.

Here is the yummy food, including a secret recipe artichoke dip. Sooooo good! 

The fabric flower clips and headbands were the party favors.

The decor was my favorite project. We wanted something inexpensive yet dramatic. How about some huge tissue paper fluff balls? We made a truck-load of these babies and hung them everywhere!

 For games, we played a game where you have to draw the bride-to-be's dream house on a paper plate. . . on top of your head.  The brides got to pick a winner. I drew a dog in the yard and it won Heidi's heart over. 

Then Melesa played a game of The Price is Right. From Kool-aid to tissues, to a bag of rice, we battled it out to win the product we were pricing. 

 Here's Randi modeling the product to be priced. (She's so cute I can hardly stand it!)

 Then we showered the girls with their gifts. It's not a real bridal shower without a couple of embarrassing gifts, right?  

And somehow between packing and planning, Melesa found time to make the girls one-of-a-kind aprons. Aren't they to die for?

Melesa = Super mom!

NEXT UP: Aimee and Franc get hitched.

I have to brag on my sister for a minute. She looked like a porcelain doll on her wedding day. My sis-in-law Cabrena did her hair and she looked amazing! I must inherited my Grandma Udall's tear trigger because I cried, and cried, and cried some more. Aimee was a stunning bride and Franc is a great man and we are so happy to welcome him with open arms into our family!

Here's the whole Udall clan sans spouses and kids. (I stole these pics from Aimee, thanks!)

*sigh*

The ceremony went beautifully thanks to all of our helpers.

NEXT: Austin and Heidi

(Austin, don't hate me for posting this picture. I love it! )

The night before Heidi and Austin's wedding they had an open house in Thatcher at a friends house. Besides the angry winds blowing everything over, the weather was perfect and we all enjoyed the fresh air and pleasant company. The kids wore out Uncle Jason with their wrestling, chasing, swinging, twirling, climbing. . .  

(Sorry it's sideways)

And as if the Uncle Jason jungle gym wasn't enough to tire them out, they found other stuff to jump on too! 

Aren't these guys just down-right adorable!?

So. Stinkin. Cute.

Then came the wedding day! They were sealed for time and all eternity in the new Gila Valley Temple.  

 Everything was perfect. . . except. . . 

did I mention it was really really windy? Heidi had to hold on tight to her veil so it wouldn't fly away.

And my hair doesn't do so well in wind. The other bridesmaids looked beautiful! (I stole this pic too. Thanks Jason.)

After all the action we enjoyed lunch with Austin's family in the church next to the temple. The food was fabulous! They even sent us home with leftovers of the scrumptious green chile.  mmmmm.

EPILOGUE:
So, now we have 2 brand spankin' new members of our family. We love them and can't wait to get to know them better. Aimee and Franc are living in Utah and Heidi and Austin live close by in Mesa.

These few days were such a whirlwind, I'm sure there are many important details that I have left out. Stories about fajitas, the ghetto hotel, and driving home from Thatcher in a massive storm. . .


AND I don't know if you have heard the rumor or not but there is yet another Udall wedding coming up before the year is through.  Woo Hoo!

THE END

Gone Campin'

 A week after our Grand Canyon Trip we took our little adventurers on thier first campout!

It just so happened to be Greer Days too, so first we went over to Greer to watch my dad and his gang of Cowboys show down in the streets of Greer. We got their just in time. Well, just in time to be stopped by the police officer who had blocked off the road. We were too late!

I jumped out of the car and caught the last part of the action. My dad made the best marshall! I love seeing his creative side come out.

We flagged him down in between swarming fans and autographs to snag a picture with our boys. And we got the classic looking-down-the-barrell picture. Thank goodness I knew that that gun isn't loaded. It still can send a shiver down your spine.

 Next to the road was a creek that the boys just had to go throw rocks and sticks in. It's in every little boys (and girls) nature to want to throw stuff in water.  Jeremiah got some sticks together and had stick races with the boys.

The boys were tired and cranky so we stuck them in a car and headed off to find a campsite.

It was beautiful, fresh, green, peaceful, and quiet.

The boys helped us hunt for sticks to start a fire. We cooked dinner and put the munchkins to bed. They were so worn out that even in the middle of the forest at night it didn't take long to get them to bed. Then Jeremiah and I roasted marshmallows and I ate like 5 smores. mmmm.

Ryan played fetch with Zues.  And drove the stroller around on the lumpy ground.

My favorite part is always breakfast. This was my first time getting up, lighting the fire and cooking breakfast for everyone else. I finally got to break in my new dutch oven. Everything tastes better when it's cooked over open flames.

I can't wait to go again! The boys were so good and we enjoyed every second.

June Birthdays

 June was a busy month around the Hall house. Jeremiah and I celebrated our 7th anniversary (go us!), Simon turned 4, and we enjoyed family visits galore, which included a celebration for our nephew Jackson's 6th birthday.  

 Here's Simon's train cake. I tried and tried to convince him that his mom didn't have the time or talent to create a train cake. Last years Thomas the train cake turned into a smeared mess and I wasn't up for trying again. But. . . he insisted that he would not be happy without a special train cake. We searched online and found a cake he liked that I thought I could at least attempt.
The train cars are made of swiss rolls and nutty bars and it is all wrapped in Marshmallow Fondant. Here's the recipe  It's yummy and easy.
I have to thank my cake-makin' queen of a sister for this great recipe.

 Simon's grown up so much this year. He's become a pro at letters and numbers and is starting to read! His imagination is extrordinary and he is finally expanding out of the world of trains. He loves his brother more than anything. They fight all day long but when it comes down to it he would to anything for his brother.
He has really taken a love to drawing lately and he draws pictures and hangs them up all over the house. Mostly pictures of trains but sometimes he will draw cars, fire engines, and his family. I love how he draws me with big curly hair. lol.

 We had a birthday party for Simon at his Aunt Karissa's house. The kids played Elefun, the game where the elephant spits out butterflies and the kids have to catch them. Ezra decided it was easier just to leave his net over the elephant's trunk.

Melesa and Brett and their little gang came rolling into town on Jackson's birthday. They felt bad that they had to travel all day long on Jackson's birthday but we got to have a party and eat cake. And not just any cake, Batman Cake with teeth staining red frosting. I think the kids had red fingers and mustaches for 2 days after enjoying this cake.

Jackson has become such a sweet, smart, bubbly little guy. Simon adores his cousins and he can't wait to see them again.

The month of June will be continued. . . . (there is so much more!)

Happiness is. . .

. . . licking the beaters.

Ry-guy smarty pants

Every mom is proud of her sweet little budding geniuses. I'm one of those moms too. I have to brag on my kids sometimes becuase I think they are so stinkin' smart.

I've been meaning to post about this for a couple of months now but I'm so far behind on blogging I was going to try to catch up first.  ha ha.     yeah. . .

Ryan is a talker! He has been saying 3 syllable words since May and now sometimes he speaks in short choppy sentances.

He has always been a very vocal kid and I think that is what has lead him to his early vocabulary. 

And I'm pretty sure that there is scientific proof that every word is cuter coming out of a 1-year-old's mouth.

Here is a list of some of the big words and phrases that Ryan says. (BTW, he will be 2 in September!)

Avacado

Pancake

Banana

Ambulance

Helicopter

Macaroni  (Ma-na-moni)

Apple Juice

Chocolate Milk

Lemonade

Double Bus (double-decker bus)

Heavenly Father

Choo Choo Train

Backhoe

Bulldozer

Fire engine (but he usually calls a fire engine a "wee-oo-wee-oo")

Living Room

Top Bunk

Tomato

Ready go! (ready to go)

Outside

Sandwich

Zues Dog
Watch baby movie
Blueberry pancake
Strawberry jam
Peanut butter and jelly
Take a bath
Where Simon?
Be nice!
Go night night
I love you (My favorite!!)
Chick chick boom boom (chicka chicka boom boom)
Baby Einstein
Post office
Pizza
Poo Poo Potty (his name for his potty chair)
Right Now!!
Grandma Sue
Karissa house
and he knows all of his aunts' and uncles' names.

And many more!

I love that sweet, bouncy, temperamental, cuddly, smart, stubborn, lovable boy with all of my heart.

Singing in the rain

*sigh* To be a kid again. . .

Playing in the rain. . .

Splashing in puddles and catching falling raindrops. . .

Feeling the wet sand between your toes. . .

It's a rare treat when it rains here in the Valley. The boys enjoy every second of it.

And there was also some singing, and dancing in the rain.