how big is baby??!

okay, how cute is she??! i thought this nice big picture is fitting for this big girl. :)

we have been watching samantha as she has hit each milestone. we have been very anxious as she has been nearing walking for sometime. she has been cruising around furniture and anything else that is around. she also has this little push toy that is intended to help walking...she practically drags it with her...as long as she is holding onto something.

yesterday, while at church, samantha must have had a strange burst of confidence. she suddenly decided to stand up...unsupported. she did it over and over and over...until her poor little legs were so tired they were shaking.

this evening she dared to go a step further....

how big is Mantha Baby?? SO BIG!!

picture?? PERFECT!!

okay, if i were to give a thorough 'journaling' of all that has gone on since the last post of substance...it would take like two pages and therefore would probably never happen!

so, what i am going to do is picture update with captions. if i had the camera with me, it gets mentioned. :)

at the beginning of april, we went up to utah. we were able to visit my brother- seth, his wife- joyelle, and their son- little seth. we also got to stay with troy's uncle matt and aunt laura the entire time we were there. were were also able to make it to the sunday afternoon session of general conference! it was a great little vacation for us!

this is samantha and little seth....cute cousins!!

the seths!! i love, love, love this picture! :)

awww! i had to take advantage of the purdy flowers, and the girls are always up for a photo shoot. :) too bad i couldn't get samantha in there too.

they really do love each other...it's not just for the camera!






on april 19th, our little sammymantha turned 1! doesn't time fly?!

mmmm! the first birthday cake! thank you walmart for your reduced price strawberry parfait cake...really saved us some time after running around all day!

yummy!! the very messy aftermath of that delicious cake!

we have this large lot....but it is a lot of dirt. we have lived in this house for six years this coming september and we have been working towards landscaping. here is our back yard. it looks small with some small piles of rock...but this is misleading. those piles equal 100 tons of rock! we purchased it last year, but there was a lot to do before we could get it put up.

how far does 100 tons of rock go?? it was just enough to rock the banks in our backyard. i don't know the square footage, but they are between 6 and 7 feet high. here is the completed picture.(completed banks anyway) unfortunately there is SOOOOOO much more to go...then there is the front yard.

yeah, a larger lot is nice...until you have to landscape and maintain it! eesh!




this is the famous lance that you have all been curious about! he has been with us since march 1st. he got to celebrate his 7th birthday with us on june 2nd. he got to spend some time with his 10 yr old brother earlier that afternoon too. here he is with a couple of his presents...a john deere set and a red fuzzy blanket.

a blanket in june??! that's what he wanted. he loves snuggling in blankets. :)

the birthday boy and his cake. it's no strawberry parfait cake...but we sure enjoyed it just the same!










heehee here is our sumo looking child! she had her first ponytail...not much there, but i consider it a milestone. she has had the slowest growing hair out of all the girls and i have been dying to be able to put her hair up. it is still a LOT of effort so i don't attempt it very often...but at least i know i can!

noemi and lance both graduated kindergarten this year! unfortunately i don't have any pictures of noemi graduation too, because her teacher opted not to do one...just a private celebration in their classroom for just the kids. (no families invited) but it actually worked out really well because lance and noemi attend different schools and i was wondering how i was going to juggle 2 graduations. phew! that coulda been sticky!

and thus ends my photo update!

I'm not dead yet!

or...am i back from the dead??!

sorry for the long hiatus!

what has kept me from blogging?

• lack of motivation
• having gotten too far behind and dreading the long "catch-up" post(s)
• getting my hands on the first two books in the Twilight series....i need book three BEFORE august 2nd...
• giving into the dreaded facebook "cess pool" (and enjoying every minute of it!)

*sigh* but since i have been so desperately missed, i have decided to grace you all with my blogging presence again!

so in the next few days i'll be in the process of getting things back in order...new postings, blog face lift...possibly some catch up- but don't hold your breath!

so here's to new beginnings!!