FIRSTS

Savanna had her first week of swim lessons this past week. I should have done this last year! She is having so much fun! I tried to take pictures, but they didn't turn our very well. Her two cousins are in the class with her and I think they all like their teacher. (He's a boy) They all do what he tells them and they are having a blast! She loves swimming, but has never wanted to put her head in the water. I think she's getting a little more comfortable in the water now, but is still weary of putting her head in the water. She has one more week and we'll see if she wants to continue.
Savanna also had her first sleep over a couple of weeks ago. Her cousin Afton slept over at our house. It was actually a lot of fun. The girls played and of course didn't want to go to sleep when it was time. I think they finally made it to sleep after 10pm. (Savanna was closer to 10:30 and Afton had a harder time, but made it around 11pm.) I was impressed she made it through the night. It was Afton's first sleep over as well. Fun times! We'll have my sister and her family here this weekend. (She has two girls.) So, it will be another fun weekend with more cousins!

testimony

It finally came! Troy and I had to speak in church last Sunday. It actually went ok. I had to speak on testimonies. Does anybody know the trick to not bawling during a talk? I haven't figured it out yet. I feel a little bit bad for the congregation because I don't think you can really understand me when I'm crying and talking at the same time. Anyway, I was actually thankful to speak. To relay several general authorities talks about testimonies and the importance of gaining a personal testimony. I was thankful to find out that even some of our prophets gained their testimony through small whisperings of the Spirit and not by spectacular means like Joseph Smith. Although I do know that he did see our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in a vision!
I almost had Savanna talked into giving a talk as well, but she chickened out at the last minute. She comes out of primary every week asking me why they won't choose her for a talk or a scripture. So I tried to give her the chance. I guess she just wants to do it in primary. Oh, well. We'll try again some other time!

Lagoon Day!

I'm a little late in getting this posted, but here it is! We had a great time at Lagoon. We were hot and miserable and it was super crowded, but it was still fun. We started out a little rocky. I took Savanna and Codera on the merry-go-round. Erica took Codera and I took Savanna. I left Savanna for just a second to check on Codera and came back to find Savanna screaming and wanting to get off. I think she was just terrified that I left her. (I did tell her where I was going.) We made it through the ride and took a break on the little boats after that. They both enjoyed it! Savanna doesn't care for loud noises, so getting her on anything was somewhat of a chore. We took a break during the afternoon and Troy and I went on the Wicked roller coaster. Talk about taking your breath away. We have been on something similar back in Hershey Park, PA. This was a little different however as the "trains" got stuck or a button got stuck so we were in line for a little longer than normal. We were watching the tech push buttons randomly trying to get the coaster to work, but to no avail. That didn't make me nervous at all. (Whatever, I almost turned around and got out of line!) Anyway, about 10 minutes later we were on the coaster and zooming straight up and straight down and looping all over. It was great! We were going to take pictures at the pioneer place, but there was a huge line and the price has gone up considerably! (We had a large group!) Anyway, so we took pictures at the old train station instead. All in all, it was a great day! Next time, we'll go during the "off" season.

Happy 24th of July!

Savanna, Kylee and Codera watching the Ivins city parade
and waiting for candy!

Grammy and Codera

Savanna covering her ears. She doesn't like the
fire engine sirens!

Codera's 1st birthday

Happy 1st birthday Codera!
I can't believe my baby turned 1! She is just so much fun! Her birthday was July11. (I'm a little slow getting it blogged). We had a good time. Troy's mom and Tim came down for the party with Troy's nieces Erica and Kylee. My mom and dad and my sister and her family were here as well. We had a great time.
Of course Codera wasn't really sure what was going on, but had a great time pulling paper out of the bags that her presents were in. She didn't really try to grab the cake or even touch it. Well, she did try to get it, but only got a little frosting. She seemed to like looking at it more than touching. Anyway, she's trying to feed herself but makes more of a mess than anything. Aren't birthdays fun? I made the cake with the help of my mom of course. It's one thing that I love to do for my girls. One of these days, I'm going to take a class so I can get better and do it on my own. I'm so glad my mom is around to help me! Fun times!

Fun in a Box

It is such a blessing to have Savanna as Codera's older sister. She is so good at playing! She is also teaching Codera how to play. Today, we emptied a box that had stuffed animals in it and they played in it for a good 30 minutes, if not more! They went in and out, in and out, in and out for however long they played. They just had a great time! Forget the "real" toys! This is way more entertaining!

This is my Savanna playing "Princess and the Pea!" We haven't figured out where to store the blankets yet, so they're just downstairs on the couch. Savanna decided to play like there was a pea under all the "mattresses." She said she could feel the pea so I told her she was a real princess. How fun is that? She has such a great imagination! She is playing so well and including Codera in her play time! I couldn't ask for anything more!

So much has happened since my last blog. Where to start?

Savanna did have a birthday party in my parents back yard. They just put in a splash pad and it's a huge hit with the kids. They all love it except Savanna. She just likes to get her feet wet. Anyway, we had lots of kids and lots of family over and just had a great time!

Savanna "graduated" from her first year of preschool. She loved it there! The teachers were great, the school was clean, and the kids were fun! In fact, Savanna met a little girl there and they became fast friends. Apparently they were inseparable while at school. Audry would usually be waiting at the door for Savanna to get there. Did I mention this is a small world? Audry's grandmother lived in our neighborhood and was my mom's visiting teaching companion. Needless to say, Savanna and Audry got a few more play dates when Audry was visiting grandma.

graduation day!

savanna and audry

We have now moved into our new home as well! We've been here for almost 3 weeks and are starting to settle in! I don't know about you, but I hate moving. Hopefully, we'll only do it one more time in the somewhat near future. We plan on being here in our townhome for about 2 or 3 years and then we just might be able to build our home on the lot we have in Dixie Springs. We just found out that they are really close to getting bids on development finally.
Anyhow, we are so happy to have our own place again! The only thing we have left to do is put up pictures! We do have one drawback to this place. Our truck is too long for the garage. So, the garage is going to end up being a play area for the wiggle cars or storage. We mostly drive the car because it gets better gas mileage. I'm sure everybody is feeling that pinch these days!
Anyway, the girls are having a great time with having their toys out all the time. Today, Savanna and Codera were playing in the little couch like it was a roller coast, so I took them for a little ride. I didn't get a great picture of them smiling but they were having a ball! We went around the room and down the hall I don't know how many times! But, it was fun! I'll have to post some pics of the rest of the house later. We love it here and are very happy!

During all of this, my mom fell and broke her leg. Actually, she shattered both bones. She has 19 screws and 2 plates just above the ankle. She's doing pretty well now though. She did have a few scary moments when she was hospitalized with a blood clot in her lung. Thankfully, she is home and getting better. We are thankful to all who have kept her in their prayers and helped out when possible. Have I ever mentioned how awesome my mom is? I may have to blog about her one of these days! She can do anything! She's amazing! Good thing she is getting better cause I have a lot to learn from her!
Well, that's all for now. See you in the next blog!