home again home again:part 1

We finally made it home and I have to admit...we're all pretty sad to be back! Especially since it was 114 degrees when we rolled back into town. We took 3 days to drive out to my mom's parents (Mommer and Popper) as kind-of a "pre-vacation" taking time to see things and camp along the way. We stopped in Flagstaff the first night to camp and as we were finishing setting up, we realized that we had forgotten Eva's ENTIRE suitcase. Which meant that aside from 1 diaper and a few wipes I had in my purse, she had absolutely nothing. No jacket, no pajamas, no clothes..nada. It was at this point that I looked over to see her happily rolling in the dirt completely FILTHY. We just made-do and decided it'd be cheaper to pick up some thrift store clothes the next morning than drive all the way home. Other than that the trip went fairly smoothly.

We just had to teach her how to properly jump on hotel beds.... :)
She LOVED Mommer and Poppers horses. I must have walked down that darn hill 50 times so she could see them again.
This little fella kept hanging around the first several days we were there. He was just a cub, but pretty big...about the size of their Great Pyrenees.
We got to work on part 2 of Mommer and Poppers terracing project. It was hard work, but fun.
Eva figured out the art of covering her ears.
The backhoe was by FAR Eva's favorite thing. She flipped out anytime she heard it turn on.
Omi and Eva checkin out the view.

the (still unfinished) kitchen

I give up. I've been waiting for the kitchen to be officially "finished" before posting pictures, but well...it's taking forever to do all those little finish items. Plus I deep cleaned it today in prep for vacation..so well..you know...spotlessly clean kitchen....must take pictures right? So without further ado...we have...the great REVEAL! Sorry about not having a bus pull away or something..use your imagination.

the before

the after:

There should be seating for three maybe four at the island once I find stools I like.

One last note: the floor isn't as dark as it appears. I know squat about photography, so while it looks black, its actually more of a semi-sweet chocolate kind of color.

Oooo La La!

Eva has entered the "I will pick out what I want to wear today" stage. It's cute sometimes, but rather frustrating when I'm trying convincing her that she can't go to the grocery store in a swim suit and sweater. She was appropriately dressed to go to the library and somewhere in between me finding the keys and gathering the books I came upon her dressed like this:

"What? You've got a problem with my outfit?"

splish, splash!

I love how easy to please kids are. Give them a leaky bucket, a hose, and a friend and they're in heaven. I had a hard time convincing Eva to get out.

Lovely day at the temple

I love the temple. It's always so peaceful and relaxing. It was soo hot that day, but it was still nice to be there.

Why is it so hard to get a good family picture?

I could just eat these two up.

Bedtime in the Gardner household

(can you tell that I am majorly stretching for things to blog about?? :) )

starts out with a bath....

followed by pj's

reading a book (three times over)

prayer, which is usually met by this little defiant face...

singing (head shoulders knees and toes, sung FAST is the popular request)

and finally, a huge fit on her way to her room which quickly turns into snuggling.

I LOVE bedtime. :)

leg update

Just wanted to give an update on Eva's leg...it's broken. :( They took another x-ray today that showed some bone regrowth along a hairline-fracture on her tibia. So she now has this little green cast to wear for the next two weeks. I'm just grateful that it's not all the way up her thigh...and that they didn't have to set the bone....and that it is only two weeks. I can handle that. I'm just a little shocked considering how she was running all over yesterday, but oh well...I guess it's better to be on the safe side.

I just realized that she's wearing the EXACT same thing that she was when I brought her home with a splint on...