New Move: Grande Prairie

At the end of May it was time for us to move again to our new selling place: Grande Prairie.  Mak was pretty stinkin cute snuggling with her lil giraffe on our trip there!

I got to be reunited with my Aunt Sheila who I haven't seen in a long time!  There was only one ward in GP and surprisingly lots of people from southern AB that we got to know.

We hooked up our Cruiser stroller to our bike and absolutely loved it.  Mak enjoys the ride quite a bit too, so we've spent a lot of time on the bikes this summer!  It's fun having Carson around too to hang out with every now and then.  Mak loves her uncle Cars!

Throughout the summer, the wives have had numerous competition with other office wives and we did really well with all the competition. We won a dinner in GP and had a blast relaxing and just chillin and chatting as wives.  We were party animals and didn't get home till 1:30 a.m.  Our husbands were probably wondering what the heck happened to us, but most of them were sound asleep when we got there haha

Also lil Mak sat up on her own for the first time in Grande Prairie!  She's growing up so quickly and each stage gets funner and funner.

First Half

So a few weeks after I had baby Maklyn, my motivated and 'inspired' older sis called me up with an idea.  She wanted me to commit to running a half marathon in Canmore with her.  She had just had a baby 3 months earlier than me.  I was super nervous, but have always wanted to do one and who better to do one with than my own sista.  So I committed.

The next day, I thought 'oh crap, what have I done'.  Lynz was inspiring.  She was sticking to her running schedule and kickin butt.  I was a lil slower to jump on the training wagon, but was determined that somehow I was going to make it through the race!

Mak and I flew home from Fort McMurray and met mom and Lynz in Calgary where we met up with Lacey Poy and the running girls headed to Canmore to settle for the night before our race.  I felt very unprepared, but knew I'd have my bestie beside me pushing me and that's exactly what she did.

We ran awesome!  We ran our first 7 miles straight with no walking and took only a few walking breaks but pushed each other and both felt so good about what we had just accomplished!  Mom and Mak were waiting at the end to cheer us on!  Oh and did I mention that we found out after the race that it was the hardest half in all of Alberta (i think it was AB) and it was soooooo hilly!!!  We just had to focus on putting one foot in front of the other.

It was such a great accomplishment and I was so glad to have my 3 month preggo sis right beside me.  That's right.. she's amazing!! Lacey also kicked butt and left us in the dust.  She's a killer runner!  I said after that I didn't feel like I ever needed to run one again, but now that it's been a few months haha I feel like I do want to do another one sometime in the near future!  We'll see what happens :)

 

We got to go home after and spend some time with the fam.  Lots of snuggles with Mak, went to visit Granny and Grandpa Hill's graves on Mother's Day and go to go visit Grandpa and Grandma Sheen too :)  We love visits with family!!!

Eleventy-Four

 

I was sitting with Maklyn tonight and got a few tears in my eyes thinking of just how much I love this lil lady!  I love how excited she gets around 8 o'clock when it's 'naked time' for the last hour before her bath.  Her legs don't stop moving and she talks and talks and talks and smiles to the moon and back :)  I love making her 'laugh' and shriek at my silly faces and games.  I love how she snuggles into my neck when she's just woken up or is getting tired.  I love how she can be in her own world while laying on her mat cooing away at the colors and toys.  I love everything about her!

I remember my parents saying that I would never understand how much they loved me until I had a child of my own.  I always thought I already did understand that they loved me a lot and that was great and all, but now that I am a mama, I truly understand what they were talking about.

It's a kind of love that is truly indescribable at it's fullest point.  It's a love that never ends no matter what the circumstance.  It's a love where you can be at your wits end with baby screaming their lungs out and your frustration is peaked and then you finally pick them up, and they give you a lil smirk and all your worries fly out the window. 

I believe I have only begun to fully understand a parent's love for their child.  It has made me appreciate my parents so much more and the love they had and showed me on a daily basis.  My dad has always said 'love you eleventy-four'. I have no idea where it came from, but I've decided now that it's a way to describe the kind of love that is impossible to express fully.  It's the best kind of love, an eternal love!  So grateful for the amazing people in my life!  So blessed!

        

Started Our Summer Adventure Up North

Well we've officially arrived and started our summer away from home again, but this summer we're spending it up in northern Alberta in Fort McMurray for May, Grande Prairie for June and Red Deer for July- August.  We tried to get in some good family time before we came up and I wish I had more pics to show for them.  Apparently Nana stole the spotlight for time with Mak before we came :)  Maklyn loves her Nana!

 I believe this one was taken during conference... Nana got a lil distracted :)

 Two of the cutest lil babies around!

We took our time driving up to Fort Mac by stopping in Calgary on Thursday and then Edmonton on Friday night till Saturday and we got to spend some time with some great friends!  Maklyn and Renne got to hang out again and Ashton and I can't wait till they start playing with each other instead of their moms shoving their faces into each other trying to create that best friendship haha

 

We even got to do a dinner with a bundle of friends including Braeden and Kenzie, Chris and Robin, and Ash and Tim.  We had a lot of laughs and great conversation!

Maklyn did so great on the drive up.  She slept most of the way from Edmonton, which was really nice!   

They tried to put us in these 'crack house' looking apartments and we said heavens no to that.  We were very uncomfortable with the set up and luckily had another option for a basement suite that it pretty tiny, but in a great neighborhood and very nice landlords.  Renting it sooooo expensive up here.  I was talkin to the lady upstairs and she told me that she charges $2100/month to live down here.  Back home, this place would maybe be $800 a month.  But we're happy where we are and are starting to figure out the place.

 This lil lady is 4 months old now and is growing so fast!  Her hair is longer, she's gaining weight and she's continued to move and groove!  She's so happy and loves to hear her own voice!

 She's started to giggle a little and loves having tummy time on her pillow and mat!

 She always slants to the side in the bumbo chair we borrowed from Lynz and she is slobbering and sucking all over her arms and fingers.

 She likes to fold her arms while she sleeps sometimes and is so much fun to have around all the time!  We took her swimming on Monday at the leisure center here and are planning to go tomorrow too.  She wasn't too sure about it the first time, but I'm sure she'll learn to love it throughout the summer!

 We love our lil Maklyn!

Baby Girl is 3 Months Already!

It's crazy how fast time flies when you're having fun!  Maklyn is already 3 months and has changed in so many great ways! 

She now loves her bath time and starts getting fussy when 9 o'clock comes along because she is ready to get in the water and splash away.  She is sleeping through the night!!! :)  Whoo hoo.  Not that she's ever been a bad sleeper, but it's great to not have to wake up during the night at all now.  She goes to bed between 9:30 and 10:30 and sleeps till 8:30!  It's soooo great and I can only hope her future siblings follow her lead :) 

 

 

She got blessed on February 3, 2013 in a dress that her great Granny Hill made for her and all the other great granddaughters.  We had tons of family come to celebrate her blessing day and it was such a great day!

 

She went for her first swim with mommy and even did the dunk :)  She did great!!!  Her swimsuit and swimming diaper were a lil big, but we still managed to get them to stay on her haha  She LOVES the water!
 

She got her two month shots at the end of February and I think I took it harder than her haha  It was the saddest thing and it knocked her out for the remainder of the day.  She just snuggled with mom and dad and snoozed the whole day.

 

She got to meet her new best friend, Renne, and Ashton and I just know they will be such great friends!  They're already holding hands hehe

 

Maklyn also got her ears pierced when she turned 3 months.  Her daddy was against it the whole time, but mommy convinced him finally and she looks cute as ever!!!  Grandma Hill and Aunt Kait came to help support.







Mak is holding her head up so well and has shown the beginning stages of turning over!  Won't be long now!







 
She also loves sitting in her bumbo chair that we borrowed from Lynz.  She just chills in it while momma cooks or cleans.
 
We've also started reading books to Maklyn and she loves looking at the pictures!

She's starting to finally not look half the size of Jeter and we're convinced they are going to have a lot of fun together in future years.  Aren't they the cutest!!?!?!?!?








We also experienced her first sickness... the flu :(  Last Sunday morning she seemed so tired and I wondered if she was going through another growth spurt, but I noticed her temperature seemed really warm, so we brought her home early and took her temperature and she had a fever.  She ended up throwing up twice that evening and once yesterday, but we're hoping today goes well and that she gets back to being healthy and happy.  She's been such a trooper!


She is smiling like crazy these days!  My favorite time with her is when she's just woken up in the morning and I walk into her room and say 'Good morning pretty girl' and she gets the biggest smile on her face :)  Then after I feed her we smile back and forth at each other for a good 45 minutes.  It's the best!

 

I just cannot get enough of this lil lady!  She is so much fun and such a blessing in Dust and my life!  I can't wait to continue our journey with her and fall more and more in love with her every day!!!

My #1 Main Man is Getting Old ;)

We met many years ago and had no idea of the love that would grow between us.  Today is my best friend and hubby's bday and he is the big 27.  I'm glad he's finally the same age as me because he always comments on how much older I am even though it's only 6 months :)  I must be 6 months wiser than right!?!?!

Yes, I was the first to have a crush on my handsome devil and it began young for me.  A high school crush.  I loved watching him play basketball.  He was so athletic and such a smooth player. He was tall and studly and I wanted to hang out with him, so I began making friends with some Cardston girls hoping that someday I would get lucky and get to hang out with my lil crush.  That never happened as he ALWAYS had a gf throughout high school.. lil stinker :)

But we found our way to each other in college.  My best friend, Jarah, grew a crush on him and she drug me over to the house he lived in with some buddies.  I had mostly got over my crush on him especially because my friend now had a fresh crush on him, but it was always stirring around.  Then he left on his mission to the Philippines.  So I spent the next couple years dating various not-as-good-as-my-hubby men that never seemed to last.  I also became best friends with Dustin's lil sister, Kenzie.  When Dustin got home, I was a flirty gal who thought it was funny how uncomfortable most returned missionaries were when they got home.  Kenzie and I went to a pool party with a bunch of friends and Dustin ended up coming to try to get back in the swing of being around girls :) I gave him a hug and made a joke that I would help him get over his awkwardness with girls...so smooth haha

That fall he ended up living with my lil bro, Carson, in Calgary while they played football at the University there.  He, of course, found me irresistible and while we were at home during Christmas, he put the moves on.  I had spent New Years with Kenzie and her fam and we went out sledding with the boys.  Later that night, Kenz, Dust and I were watching a movie and, of course, Kenzie fell asleep (she never could make it through a movie) and Dust couldn't keep his hands off me ;) We ended up having our first kiss right there in front of my sleeping best friend.  This led to Dust coming up to Edmonton to seal the deal, but I had other plans... committal issues.  He left Edmonton frustrated and gave up on the idea of he and I.  I, of course, had many regrets of letting him go so easily.

Who knew a couple years after this happened that we would go for round two and that it would work out as a happily ever after story.  We joke around all the time about whose fault it is that the first round didn't work out so well, but I truly am so thankful that he took another chance on me because I know I would never be happier with anyone else!

Dust is my best friend!  He has my back through the thick and thin.  He loves me through all my faults and shortcomings and makes me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world on a daily basis.  He has amazed me with how naturally he has taken on the fatherhood role.  He adores our beautiful daughter and I love watching him with her.  It's an unconditional love and she has him wrapped right around her lil finger. 

 

 

He brings out the best in me and pushes me to be better and strive for greatness in our life together!  I very much dislike when we're apart and can't wait to be back by his side at any opportunity!  I feel so blessed and can honestly say I have the best husband and friend for me in the whole entire world!!!!!!

I love how goofy he is...

 I love how he can always make me smile...

 I love that he's a pretty darn good cook... especially breakfast!

 I love that he looks pretty darn sexy on a horse...

 I love that he can sleep ANYWHERE...

 I love that he's a Mr. Fix It with ANYTHING...

Dust... I love you eleventy-five and am so grateful to have you in my life every day!!!!!!