Simply Life....... Seeking joy one day at a time.

Living the good life with Baby Lincoln!.

2012-01-29T22:29:00.000-07:00

Wow. Life has been a little crazy around these parts... I thought I would've had more time to do some journaling about the new life we are living. Not so. We have had our hands full up to our eyeballs with this sweet new boy. The funny thing is, after you have had one child you think you are all over it. You know it all! This second baby is going to be a cinch! Ha Ha Ha. That is truly funny.

I feel like I am starting at ground zero all over again. And in reality I am! No two kids are alike, and Lincoln has been totally different that Elena. It feels like I am learning how to be a mom all over again. He has really had a rough go of it so far, and I am pleased to say that I think we are on the upswing.

Lincoln was the dream baby all the way till the two week check up appointment. He NEVER fussed, and was so alert and happy all the time. Then the terrible day came to take him into the two week check appt. which also included his circumcision. Poor guy. That was so hard for me to go through. I'm sure I suffered through the procedure more than he did. In fact, he came back from "the room" fairly happy and sticky from his sugar-syrupy binky. It didn't seem so bad for him. :) If only we had known what we were in for!!! Lincoln started getting really (and I mean REALLY) swollen and red a day later. I took him into the doc's office, and the doctor on call said he "thought" it was "possibly" infected and prescribed him an oral antibiotic to treat it just in case. I never felt too good about the diagnosis, and especially didn't feel good about the antibiotic. But what is a mother to do when her son's little ** is looking like that!? It was awful. The worst part was to come though. The next day there started to be a little bit of yellow puss (I know this is pretty graphic, and if you can't stomach it I give you permission to exit. :) ) but in the "book" it says a little is ok, but to watch it. So I did. I watched it double and triple and get completely out of hand gross by the next day. By the time Mike got home from work I didn't really even explain what was going on to him and just called the doctor and announced that we were taking Link in again. Good thing we did. We saw another doctor on call who brought in the other doctor who was in the office and they both agreed that Link was very infected. They really didn't even seem capable of efficiently treating him. Both of the doctors proceeded to tell me that they had NEVER seen something like this before. Well, that was real comforting, since I had obviously never either. That freaked me out frankly. Both doctors consulted together and decided that Lincoln needed to be taken into Primary Children's Hospital right away to be treated. :'( That was an awful moment for me. I was already so mentally, physically and especially emotionally drained. This just felt like too much to handle. I was so sad for Link. I hated the doctor for a little minute for inflicting and infecting my infant. (I'm sure she was probably not to blame in reality but I needed a scapegoat for just a while).

We were lucky enough to have Elena go to my Mother and Father In Law's house for the night. We met there and my Dad came too. The men gave Lincoln a blessing. I was so glad at that moment to have priesthood holders in my life! It was amazing the reassurance and peace I felt after Lincoln received that blessing. I knew somehow he would be ok...

We headed out to the hospital. To the pediatrician's credit, they did call ahead to the hospital for us and arranged for us to have a room already ready for us so that we could skip the ER. They didn't want us to have to be around that germ infested place with a newborn. Thanks. Really. :) We were seen by an entire group of doctors. They all evaluated Lincoln and talked with us for quite a while. They were all quite young but all very nice. They decided that Lincoln needed the plastic part that was still attached from the circ. removed. They prepared the circ. board and took him away to cut it off. They felt that it needed to be removed in order for the infection to drain out of the area. Let me tell you, it looked really really bad. I was so worried for Lincoln because it just looked awful! When the doctors brought him back into our room I can't tell you how much better he already looked! It was all cleaned out and already looked less irritated. :) Yay! I knew they were going to be able to take care of my little guy. They kept us there over night and for half the next day to monitor Lincoln and make sure he didn't get a fever in the night. It was a painful night for me. We were sharing a room with another mom and her baby. They were really quiet... Not.

The next day the group of doctors came back to do a final check on Link and decided that we could avoid IV antibiotics and blood tests and just use a topical antibiotic instead. Phew! I was so stressed about having them poke my baby. We were sent on our way much relieved.

Today Lincoln is pretty much 100% healed from the whole ordeal and much happier with his diaper changes. Ha ha. :)

He has been a delight to have in our home, even with the drama. It has been nice to have another boy in the house even thought he keeps me up most of the night. He has been so different from Elena. He wants to eat like every second. He would have an eternal "mommy binky" if I let him. So he is keeping me really busy feeding him and changing his now SIZE 1 diapers as of today. Sigh. I will miss those cute tiny newborn ones. But I am glad he is growing and healthy. Link seems to have some gas issues and maybe reflux. He is pretty fussy sometimes and spits up allll the time. But I still love him to death, spit up and all.

Lincoln laughs in his sleep. It is hilarious! Those moments where he has done that have been some of the funnest and sweetest so far. Second only to the delirious happy milk coma smile he gives me at the end of his feedings. Ha Ha. I love this little guy with all my heart and am proud to be his Momma. Here are a few photos that we have gotten of Link so far. :) Thanks to my S.I.L. Emily and Cousin Jensen for helping me snag these cute pics! xoxo

Newborn Bliss!

2012-01-07T22:47:00.003-07:00

Here is a little taste of what is in the works. This was our trial run on newborn pics. I really only had about 10 minutes of light left for the day, and just couldn't wait any longer to give the pics a try. So here it is... The first attempt. But not the last! :o)

Drum roll please........... Lincoln has arrived!!!

2012-01-05T21:12:00.001-07:00

We are thrilled to announce the birth of our sweet baby boy,

Lincoln Michael Muir!!!

He is such a happy baby and has already brought so much joy into our home. He is such a blessing and we are so grateful to have him safe and healthy in our home at last!

Lincoln was born December 29th at 8:31 am

6 pounds 12 ounces

20.5 inches

Baby Lincoln decided to come on his own time frame with labor beginning around 7:30 PM on the 28th. My master plan of torturing myself through a movie in the theatres worked like a charm apparently. :) I really wanted to see Sherlock Holmes in theatres and decided that I was just going to do it no matter what. I ended up standing for the last 20 minutes or so of the film, but survived it none the less. I was not doing too great after the movie ended though. I started having contractions right around the last half hour of the flick, and they just escalated from there. We went home and didn't think too much of the contractions until they got pretty regular. After about an hour and a half of having pretty painful contractions that were 3-5 minutes apart I decided that this was legit and opted to go to the hospital. I was really nervous to go to labor and delivery, because I had already been there 3 times in the last week and a half only to be poked and prodded and sent home disappointed. :(

We called my Aunt Diane who lives nearby, and she come over to listen for Elena who was already asleep in bed. Mike and I got everything packed up and ready to go. It was pretty strange to go through the process of having contractions on my own. Last time with Elena, I was induced two weeks early so I never really experienced the natural beginnings of labor. It was kinda cool to know my body was getting ready on its own to deliver our baby. I know that sounds strange, but it is nice to know that your body is able to do it the right way...

When we got to the hospital my contractions were quite painful, but I was still convinced they were going to try to send me home. At my last doctors visit I was only dilated to a 1+ and not really effaced at all, so when the nurse came and checked me out I was really excited to hear what I was at..... Big disappointment. I was still at a 1+ and only effaced a little. What in the world??? What were my contractions doing then? Just torturing me? The nurse told me they would monitor me for the next hour and check me again. If I hadn't dilated more they were going to send me home...

Well, my contractions stayed coming very regularly and got even more painful. It was a very stressful time because I was hurting so bad there was no way I was going to be sent home without a fight. I needed to have that baby!!! After an hour and a half the nurse (who actually was one of my older sister's good friends growing up, Laura Gygi) came to check me and see if I made any progress.

I was a 3.5 and 75% effaced!!!! Hallelujah!! I almost couldn't believe my ears! It was for real, and we were staying to have our baby! Mike and I were on pins and needles, and he hopped right out of his chair to give me a big hug. :) What a relief!

They did all the regular stuff like putting me on an IV (which they got on the first stick. Amazing.) and did some blood tests. After a while of laboring with my contractions, they got to a really uncomfortable level and I ordered an epidural. I was not worried too much about getting this because last time it really was the least horrible part of the entire delivery process with Elena. It went in like a charm and was done quickly. When the anesthesiologist came in, and it was the same man who did it last time for me I was relieved. He is super nice. Unfortunately the epidural was not so easy this time around.... It hurt pretty bad, and for some dang reason he could not get the tube to go between my vertebrate!!! He was literally jamming around in my back for about 15-20

minutes, which felt like an eternity. I was seriously freaking out that he was not going to be able to get it to work after all that. He even sounded like he was going to pull it all out and give up! This was not an option. I started panicking thinking I was going to be doomed to a natural delivery in which I was totally unprepared for! After what felt like a million attempts he finally found the right spot and had a successful epidural in place. It was a nightmare though. I don't ever want to have that happen again. I was thinking he was going to paralyze me with how much cranking around in my back he was doing. And man it HURT!

After all that craziness was over everything settled down and my pain was relieved. In the end, my epidural worked out nicely, and didn't numb me completely, so I could still feel what was going on to deliver my baby easily. It took quite a while for me to get to a 10 to deliver Lincoln. We worked our magic trick of sending Mike away to get some breakfast around 7:30 am, and within 20 minutes I dilated from a 3.5 to a 9.5! That is what happened with our delivery of Elena. Mike must be a bad luck charm. Send him away, and here comes the baby!!! I called Mike and told him to get his tush up there fast cause we were having a baby! :) Lincoln only needed a few good pushes through 4 contractions to come out. He has a little miconium that needed to be suctioned out, but after the team gave him a good look over we got to snuggle skin to skin for a while. This was one of the greatest moments of my life for sure. There is nothing like the joy of meeting your new baby face to face for the first time. We were so glad to hear that he was completely healthy and didn't have any problems or complications. What a blessing that is. :) We love this little guy. He looks a lot like Elena when she was born. Now that he is a week old, you can see the differences between them, but he is for sure a little Muir Baby. We are so in love with him.

All I can say is.... WE DID IT! I am so so so happy to have Lincoln in my life and feel truly blessed and honored to be his mother. He is lucky to have such a wonderful and supportive father and big sister who will love him with all their hearts. So welcome to the world little guy! We are glad you are here!

Love, Mommy

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the Muirs! Ho Ho Ho!

2011-12-23T15:35:00.002-07:00

Halloweeeeeen! 2011

2011-12-20T23:07:00.001-07:00

We love Halloween around our house. Elena had quite the opinion on her costume this year, and we were lucky that Nana has just the thing! Tinkerbell of course! Elena made a very convincing fairy. She danced around in her costume just like she was flying! If I ever told her this though, she would say, "Mom, I can't really fly. I am just dressed like a fairy.... I am not a real one!" We wouldn't want to be confused on that point now would we? Elena likes to give you the facts... And she thinks she is pretty much the authority on most things. She often tells me these days, "Mom, I know everything that you tell me already." It is pretty funny. :)

Here are a few pics from Elena's dance Halloween party. This was a funny experience. The dance teacher apparently takes her Halloween party very seriously. She went WAY overboard in my opinion... You've got to hand it to her. It was pretty well decorated. Like.... Really well decorated. It was just way way way to "real" for three year olds. She stuck to her character like glue, and wasn't giving it up for anything. Several of the kids, but especially Elena did not want to participate because the teacher just looked straight-up creepy. It was quite comical. Elena insisted on sitting on my lap and being a spectator for the entirety of the class. She didn't want anything to do with her teacher, and I am not sure if she even believed me that it was her. Ha Ha. The biggest mistake the teacher made was making the girls do the class with the lights off. I mean, come on! They are three for heaven sakes! Turn on the dang lights and lighten up a little while you are at it!

Long story short, Elena was on my lap till the lights came on, and suckers were involved. Once everyone was leaving she decided that "this was actually fun" and wanted to stay.

She looked dang cute with the little wings on though! Love that costume. :) So here is to Halloween! Boo!

We had a fun Munnerlyn Family Halloween party at James and Angie's house this year. I was feeling extra sick that day, but was able to make it to the beginning part of it with Mike and Elena. We brought some yummy cookies and decorations with frosting for all the kiddos to have some fun with. I also made some delicious Caramel Apple Cheesecake Cups for dessert for the adults. Angie made some awesome chili for everyone. Fun was had by all! Even though we had to run a little early, here are the fun moments we had there.

I think this photo is hilarious! We were all supposed to dress up, but some people just raided James and Angie's wigs. It was pretty fun to see all the kids dressed up! Not everyone was in the pic, but here were the unlucky few that I got a pic of! Ha Ha Ha.

The cousins all had a good time decorating/eating the candy while decorating the cookies. I am pretty sure they each ate a bags worth. :) Yay for cavities!

Happy Halloween to you all! (Even though Christmas is in 5 days! He he.)

Elena in the fall

2011-12-18T16:34:00.001-07:00

I am still trying to do a little catch-up on the good old blog. I have only a few instances like oh..... Halloween for example, that I haven't written and uploaded photos on. I have been trying to catch up, but just cant seem to do it. It is a little hard for me to sit here in this chair for hours being almost 38 weeks pregnant, ya know?

Here are some fun pics I shot of Elena in the very last little part of fall. It was actually quite cold out, but we wanted to get up the canyon one more time before the snow flew.

Elena loves it up the canyon and who can blame her? It is one of my favorite places to be too. There is just something special about the mountains here in SLC. I love them, and when it comes right down to it, I probably wouldn't trade them for the ocean. :)

Just so you know, Elena absolutely loooooved having a "photo shoot". It was so cute how into it she was. She was totally posing for me and everything. I took these pics myself. I really wanted to schedule someone to do family photos of the three of us before the new baby came, but I hadn't felt up to it at all, so I just got the necessities done. Elena needed to be photographed because she had gotten so much bigger, and so dang cute I could hardly stand it! So, enjoy! This is a little glimpse of Elena Rose at approximately 3.5 years of age! :)

Reflecting on this year.

2011-12-18T14:37:00.000-07:00

This year has been quite the learning experience for me. I have learned more about myself, and who I want to become. Through the struggle of pregnancy while caring for my three year old daughter, and trying to continue being a good wife, I have grown a lot. Things I thought I couldn't do, I have done! I can't tell you how good it feels to know that with the love and support of those around me, I have almost made it to the end of this long and trying year, and will have a son to show for it! I feel very blessed today to have all the awesome friends and family that I do. They have really made my life so full of joy and even laughter through some of the roughest days I have known. Pregnancy for me is no easy task. At times it has seemed impossible. I have had days where I just didn't know if I could make it through. But with the support of everyone around me and with the blessings of the Priesthood from the amazing men in my life, I have survived pregnancy yet again! It really does feel like a miracle to me. I am so grateful for the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life.

During the Christmas holiday I have really felt such a happy spirit in our home. Elena is filled with wonder and magic! She is so excited for Christmas, and has absolutely loved attending the fun parties and dinners we have been to. She has participated in making and delivering some Christmas gifts to her friends, and really had fun doing it. Elena is such a happy and kind girl. On the days that I have been at my worst this year, it has been Elena who has snapped me out of it, and cheered me up. She is thoughtful, empathetic and loving. She will snuggle you, kiss you and tell you sweet things until you can't help but smile. I love her with all my heart.

This year Mike and I have grown closer through the trials we have faced as a couple and as parents trying to bring this baby into out lives. Mike is so supportive and loving. I appreciate all that he does for me and our family. He works harder than anyone I have ever known, and is so dedicated and reliable. I couldn't imagine a better husband or friend. I can't wait to experience the next year with Mike and Elena as we grow our family of three to a family of four!

Elena has matured so much lately, yet is still the full time entertainment around our house. She is hilarious, and keeps us on our toes! She is so excited to welcome baby Lincoln into our lives, and has for some time now, told me how much she loves him already. I am sure he loves her too. Lincoln is lucky to have Elena as a big sister. She will be such a fun sis.

This year I have spent a lot of time trying to better my self in many ways. It is still a process as always. Here were a few of my goals:

~Try to do better at keeping up with laundry

~Find ways to make our home a soft landing place for Mike when he gets home from work

~Cook dinner more often, and sit as a family to eat

~Take time out to work on things I enjoy, like sewing, cooking and art

~Love and forgive all of my family and friends, no matter what anyone might do that bugs me... (not that that is such a hard task considering my awesome family, but I have wanted to be less judgmental and quick to become offended.

After reflecting on how I have done in these different areas, I am pleased with my efforts. I have been able to accomplish or at least work on each of these goals. :) It feels good to know that if you really try, you can better yourself.

I have already been thinking of some new goals I want to set for the year 2012. I have actually been excited to start a fresh new year with a whole new me.... (as in not be pregnant anymore!) It will be great to have such a total change and fresh start! I will write up my list of goals after I am recovered from delivering my baby, and hopefully get started on making next year an even better one that this!

I hope everyone is having a happy holiday season. This week my goal is to find little ways to remind myself and my family about the true spirit behind Christmas. I hope you can all find ways to remember and celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ too. He was the ultimate gift to us all.

~Laura

Coronado 2011 in picture form. :)

2011-12-15T21:23:00.003-07:00

Wow. I miss this place already. There is nothing like a day at the beach to make life seem that much more beautiful.

Nix-O-Negatory

2011-12-15T20:17:00.001-07:00

Well, no cute little guy has been born as of yet! I got my labs back from the doctors office 30 minutes after the office closed, and they were clean. So there ya go.... Good news and disappointing news all in one big ball of stress. :) Its ok though. I am a little relieved to have a bit more time before the baby comes. In fact, today I have rearranged Elena's room, cleaned mine a little, and hung two sets of drapes! Go me. :) Hopefully I will be able to get a few last minute projects done, and clean my house up some more. The only thing that is bugging me is the fact that I don't have the binding done on my cute baby quilt that I made for Lincoln's room. I am just plain too tired to even attempt to do it despite my desperate desire to have that dang quilt complete! Oh well. So I will just keep trucking on with this watermelon belly, and hope that Baby Lincoln is ok. Can't wait to meet him though! This has been an interesting holiday season. Hopefully I make it through Christmas at least before I deliver this little guy.

Ho Ho Ho! Happy holiday to everyone! :)

Can't hardly wait!

2011-12-14T14:14:00.001-07:00

I am sitting here in the pedicure chair trying to de-stress and take my mind off of the long few hours I have ahead of me! I went into my doctor yesterday for a regular appointment and with the routein urine sample they found a +1 level of protein. That meant that I may be getting preeclampsia again like with Elena. They took my blood pressure and it was a little elevated so they sent me down to labor and delivery to take some more tests! I was a little nervous because I just wasn't prepared to have the baby right then! They said it was a possibility but that they wanted to monitor the baby and do some bloodwork along with some cereal blood pressure readings. After several hours hooked up to all the monitors etc, they decided to send me home with a 24 hour urine test. I turned in the test around noon today and am attempting to patiently wait for the results. The nurse told me if the test comes back positive again with protein that they will induce me!!! I am freaking out a little bit. Part of me really wants to have the baby today since I am miserably pregnant, and i would be back home from the hospital with my baby in time to possibly enjoy some of christmas! The other part of me worries about the health of the baby being 3 weeks early. I just want him to be healthy and safe. I am so excited to meet this little guy! I don't think I have written before about his name. We have decided to name him Lincoln Michael Muir. I officially love the name, and feel like it is the perfect fit. Mike loves it too! He really picked it out actually. It has always been his first pick. :) I love that he really had an opinion with his son's name. The phone call from my doctors office couldn't come soon enough! Waiting to hear wether they want me to come in to be induced tonight is painful. I just need to know! We shall see! Stay tuned!XoxoLaura

The last hurrah!

2011-11-15T22:40:00.001-07:00

Mike, Elena and I were lucky enough to have a chance to stay at the condo in Coronado this fall! It was a very last minute decision, and I was quite pregnant at the time, but what the heck? You can't turn down an opportunity like that! We drove there, and invited our Brother and Sister In Law, James and Angie and little Sammie. It was truly the "Last Hurrah" for us before we have this baby. Elena couldn't have had more fun at the beach. She loved every minute of it. We did too! It was beautiful weather and we played in the waves a ton. I couldn't do a lot physically, so I spent some of my time playing around on my camera. I really enjoyed doing that. I shot a ton of pics, and got some really fun ones. Here is a little taste of the first evening at the beach! Enjoy!

This photo is my absolute favorite that I took the entire trip.

It is so beautiful, and just shows how much

Elena loved playing on the beach. What a riot!

Hiker Baby.

2011-11-08T10:05:00.001-07:00

We got in one last hike together as a family at the very beginning of fall. We hiked Doughnut Falls. It was so beautiful! It was an early morning Sunday hike. We all enjoyed ourselves so much! It was just about all I could do carrying this baby in my belly, but it was worth it! There is something amazing about spending time together up in the mountains. It is so quiet and lovely. You can't beat it! I will miss the mountains and family hikes until next year... Here are a few pics of our little adventure.

The passage of time...

2011-11-08T09:28:00.001-07:00

I have spent this morning with Elena, and it has struck me how quickly the time has flown by. She is no baby. She is getting so independent and smart. She doesn't need her mommy for everything. This is a good thing and a little sad at times too. Even though we struggle with the usual three year old issues, she truly is a thoughtful and sweet girl. She had a tough day a preschool yesterday, probably due to lack of sleep from all the halloween festivities and our crazy schedule of late. She had a little run in with one of the girls in her class, and they were both scolded a little. It was no big deal while she was at school, but when she got in my car.... Well, that was another story.

She needed to vent to someone. I didn't realize at first what was going on, and after a conversation with my mom (who teaches at her preschool) light was shed on the situation. From the moment she got in the car with me she completely broke down crying, and was hysterical for almost two hours. I felt so bad for her. She is a pleaser, and wants people to always be happy with her. I was able to settle her down and get her to have a happy afternoon, but it was no easy task!

After all the emotions had passed, she said some of the sweetest things to me! She told me how much she loved me, several times. She told me how I always help her with anything she needs, and that she was so glad that I was her mom. It practically melted my heart it was so thoughtful and sweet. I just love her so much and hope that I can always be there for her when she needs me. I love that she will talk to me about anything right now, and pray that I will be able to keep a close communicative bond between us.

On another note, I have a little less than NINE WEEKS until my baby boy is expected to arrive!!! That seems so soon to me. I am maybe halfway ready for him...... Elena, Daddy and I are getting pretty excited to meet this little guy. Yesterday, Elena kissed my tummy and said, "I sure love you baby brother!" It was so fun to know that she is still excited for him. He will be quite the new years present for us all! A new year, and an entirely new chapter in our lives. It will be an adventure! :)

I am really starting to look forward to this last Christmas holiday as a family of three. It will be a good one, I can tell.... Happy November everyone!

~Laura

Introducing the newest members of the family....

2011-10-22T22:03:00.002-06:00

We are proud to announce the hatching of our new baby chicks!

Yes.... You heard right. Chicks.

We are raising chicks, and I couldn't be more excited about it! Our little girls arrived on Tuesday the 18th, and were all healthy and happy.

They are the fluffiest, most adorable little things. Elena and I are smitten.

These chicks are ours, and my Aunt Diane's. We are raising them together even thought they will live in our yard. They will lay all different colors of eggs. They are all supposed to be very docile, happy birds with great temperaments! It is so fun to watch them and snuggle with them! They are growing every day, faster than you would believe!

We have had fun naming them, and playing with them every day. At the moment, we are building the cutest chicken coop in the back yard for their home. It is to die for!!!

Here is a photo of the plans for the chicken coop. We have made a few changes, but this is the basic idea! Cute huh?

Little Miss Twinkle Toes

2011-10-21T00:04:00.000-06:00

I finally got some photos from Elena's dance class and some others from just before class at home! We have been enrolled in dance for about a month or so, and it is going really well. Elena is taking a Ballet/Tap class. We invited her friend April who lives in our neighborhood to go along with us too, and she decided to enroll in the same class! They are having a ball! The class is just perfect for her age. It only lasts 45 minutes, and is all about having fun. No stress at all. There are a bunch of darling little girls in her class. Elena seems to really love learning in this new environment. I have been really happy with my decision to let her join a class for dance. It makes her happy, and it is so fun to watch!

Hooray for Preschool!

2011-10-20T23:39:00.001-06:00

Here are a few pics from Elena's first two days of preschool at Children's Discovery! She absolutely loves every minute she has at that place! I have also loved having a little adult time three days a week! I have been going over to my Dad's house to meet him for a walk after dropping her off in the morning to get my exercise in. It has been such a fun experience. I have relished every moment of the early fall weather, and the quality time with my daddy-o. It has been pretty darn therapeutic to have a good chat with my dad so often. He truly is a great guy.

Elena is such a social butterfly. She is so immersed in playing with her new friends in her class, and participating in the activities. Every day when I pick her up from school, she immediately wants to empty out her bag and show me her art. She is always so proud of her creations, and loves to tell me every detail of the goings ons at school. I get to hear all about her friends, and what she did on the playground. What they had for a snack that day. What songs she is learning. Everything. I am loving it!

So all I can say is...... Hooray for preschool!!!!

Here is Elena and Grandma Munnerlyn at "Grandma's Preschool" in the words of Laney.

She has been practicing her *wink* (Daddy taught her that one. So cute!)

I love this photo. Elena is on the front porch of Grandma Jeanne's house swinging on the swing my Dad made with his two hands! I soooo wish I had one of his swings. It is so cool. I have so so many memories on this very spot. It is great to see my own baby girl enjoying some of the same places I have all growing up. :)

Summer Flashback. :)

2011-10-06T23:05:00.000-06:00

To start out the summer right, Mike and I were lucky enough to go to New Orleans together. Mike had a business trip there, and we were able to get in a little playtime too! New Orleans is a pretty strange place considering. It was cool, but very different. All the voodoo stuff kinda freaks me out to be honest. But truly, nothing can beat their awesome local musicians! We went to this hole in the wall place called Snug Harbor, and listened to some of the most entertaining music ever. "Tambourine Lady" was seriously amazing. I wish I had a video to show of her.... Imagine the most crazy skilled person with a tambourine ever. That was her. :)

This summer was filled with lots of cousin playtime! My sis-in-law Emily shot these darling photos of the Muir Cousins for us. Love it!

There were also plenty of park days. We loved being out in the nice weather and getting our wiggles out on the swings and slides! This is a pic of a bunch of Schaar Family Cousins at the park.

Fourth of July was a fun one this year! Unfortunately we partied a little too hard for Laney the night before the fourth at my Sister Sandy's house. So the parade was mostly filled with grumpy faces and hungry tummies, due to late wake up time... Next time we will do things a little differently.

All the kiddos loved sparklers. Elena still isn't sure wether she even likes really big fireworks.

Because of the new laws on allowing arial fireworks in Utah, it was like a war zone in our neighborhood for days on end.... There was really no point on even buying some of our own, because there were so many going off every second!

This summer Elena and I had a few Mommy-Laney nail appt. dates.

Elena absolutely adores getting her nails done! Who wouldn't?

Bear Lake Boating was really fun this year, even though we didn't get out as often as we would have liked. Elena is a great sport on the boat, and always enjoys herself!

We did a little tubing on the new big tube! All the cousins loved it, and got a little wild and crazy on it!

One day we went to Liberty Park with a bunch of Munnerlyn Family Cousins. We let all the kids play in the water. They had a blast! That is actually a really cool place to go, I wish I ever remembered it is there. :)

Our summer weekends usually consist of some kind of Family Dinner. Many of them are spent up the canyons. We love it up there! What a great place to escape the summer heat, and enjoy the outdoors!

Smores are always a big hit with Elena... and me too! I can't resist a good roasted marshmallow with chocolate!

We only got out to the Salt Lake Country Club Swimming Pool maybe twice all summer, but one of those times Uncle Ed came to visit, and swim with the kids! Elena love Ed. :)

One of our summer hangouts was the back yard of Grandma Jeanne's! Elena asks constantly to jump on the tramp, and swing on the huge swing. It was a happening place to be!

Our neighborhood does "Hikes With Tikes" once a week if possible. I love the idea. I only made it to one hike with them this summer because of being pregnant, but we sure had a great time! What a beautiful view it was at the top. All the wildflowers were in bloom. I love the mountains. We are so lucky to live so close to them!

Jungle Jim's was a must of course! We went there a few times to have a little fun on the rides. Elena loves the space ships. :)

Our cute friend Dea invited us to go to the Dinosaur Museum. Elena loooooves her some Dinos. Truly loves them. Here is a pic of Libby and Elena. They are good buddies!

The water-sand-dinosaur play area was a must for Laney! She was so excited to get all dirty and wet and dig in to discover some dinosaurs!

The Beach!

We hung out several times in Bear Lake at the different beaches. It was so fun to see all the kids playing together in the sand and water. The lake really wasn't all that cold either! Elena would live on the beach if we let her. :)

My favorite part of summer???

The fresh tomatoes!

I did a lot of canning this summer. Elena was a really good sport while I worked on all my canning projects. She even got all excited about the white grape juice! She loves it!

I did many different types of Jams, Bottled Peaches, Grape Juice, Chili Sauce.... And oh yes, fresh salsa! That was a regular at meals for quite some time!

Yummy! These garden Jewels will be sorely missed!

Farewell summer days! We will look forward to seeing you again!

xoxo

Laura

Living with Laney

2011-10-05T22:56:00.000-06:00

Elena has grown and changed so much recently, I thought it would be fun to write some of the things she says and does, and what she is into lately. There are so many instances where something happens, and I think to myself how I have got to remember that...... Unfortunately I have pregnancy brain, so I hope I can come up with some of the good ones.... Here goes!

Elena Rose: 3 1/2 years young.

Elena is in her first year of Preschool!

She is attending Discovery Preschool, and has the nicest teachers. Miss Sydney and Miss Celeste. She loves them. The moment she gets into the car from preschool, she pulls out her worksheets and art project to tell me all about them! She is so proud of her art, and all that she learns there. I love that she will give me the school yard run down, and spill all the details. I have been told that that is how my husband Mike was as a kid. :) It feels so good to know that for now, she wants to include me in her school affairs, and is excited to tell me all about her adventures!

This picture was taken on Elena's orientation day for preschool! She was so excited to go to Grandma Kristine's School!

Elena's favorite activity #1:

Drawing and doing art projects. If she could, I am sure she would draw little pictures of flowers and cut them out with safety scissors all day long. Lately she has been drawing me little teensy tiny daisies and cutting right around them. Then she comes up to me with it hidden behind her back. She sings me "Happy Birthday To You" in the sweetest little voice and presents me with the little art. She thinks it is the greatest gift to give, and I must agree! I love her thoughtful art gifts, and they really do cheer me up and put a smile on my face. :)

Happy Birthday to Me!

Sometimes Laney will draw something she loves, and she will get on a chair to put it up on my calendar board for me. Just so I don't forget about it! :) This is a picture of the sunset according to Elena. So sweet.

This is the usual art/snack time hang out. This desk has been worth its weight in gold!

Favorite activity #2:

Whenever Elena is playing pretend, she usually wants to be the mom. She walks around the house doing things like my hairstyle, cleaning the house, working on the computer etc.... The best part is that she adopts the cutest English Accent. She has me pretend I am the daughter, and she calls me "Dear" in a thick accent so that it sounds like "dee-ya". So cute. She must think all moms sound like that? Ha ha. Who knows, but I love it! She also likes to play "lost baby elephant" with two of her tiny stuffed animals, where the baby is lost and the mommy elephant has to go find her in a dark cave.... Not sure how much I love this one, but it is pretty funny!

Favorite activity #3:

Playing with friends, or swinging outside on her swing set.... Can't decide which she enjoys more. She is always asking who she can have a play date with. She is also constantly begging for me to come outside and swing her, even though she really can get on the swing and get it going really high in no time. She just likes the idea of me doing it with her I think. I don't mind either, it makes me a little jealous I can't just hop on there and soar in the wind too!

I often catch Elena singing cute little songs to herself while swinging. Wouldn't it be so nice to have no care in the world other than swinging and singing? Ahhh the good old days of kid-dome.

Here is Elena and her cousin Austin having a play date while Mommy and Aunt Sandy bottled grape juice!

Fun Fact:

Elena is big on the idea of "Dates". Mommy-Laney Dates, Laney-Daddy Dates, and anything in between. She thinks any time spent together can be made special if it is an official Date. :)

Laney loves to help me cook, and get involved in the kitchen! This is a fairly new development. Pretty much happened to be fun for her ever since I have started watching cooking shows with her every once in a while in the afternoons. She absolutely adores cooking shows for some reason! Here are a few great stories for you...

One morning Elena woke up super early. It was a completely unearthly hour, and there was no way Mike or I were going to get up and do the ritual, milk in a sippie cup, dry cereal snack and a toon... (she insists on those things almost immediately when awake.) I asked her to go turn on the t.v. and come back up and tell me what was on. She went downstairs, turned on the t.v., and came to the stairs to tell me it was a good toon. I believed her of course. :) Who wouldn't at that hour? She was happy and seemed very content, so Mike and I rested for a few more minutes. After a bit, we relented and headed down to get breakfast going. We came into the family room to find Laney glued to a cooking show! Ha Ha Ha! It was quite the shock! She explained that this lady was so so nice, and was teaching her how to make her "Joes" (sloppy joe's we see). It was so silly and unexpected. She wanted to finish watching the program, and talked about it for quite some time after. From then on she has been hooked on cooking shows with "nice ladys" who teach her all about cooking. Now she wants to help cook! Love It! If fact, this morning Elena woke up and specifically asked to watch a cooking show instead of a toon. Hooray! I have to admit, I love her new obsession with cooking shows! It beats Micky Mouse Clubhouse in my book any day!

On Sunday morning a while back I decided to bake some wheat bread. Elena got all excited and helped me the whole way through! She wanted to be completely involved in each step. When I sprinkled flour all over the countertop to have it ready to put the bread dough on, Elena got all worried and said, "Daddy is going to be so so mad you are making such a mess! Why are you putting flour everywhere on the counter?" It took some serious explaining on my part to help her get over it! Ha!

Favorite Food:

Chinese food, (she pronounces it: Shine-ahs.) Rice and Chicken.

Chinese soup... (Ramen noodles)

Strawberries with Whipped Cream

Chocolate Milk

Carrots or Steamed Broccoli with Ranch Dip

Apples Whole

Home Made Bread with Honey

She also loves Chocolate Chip Pancakes :)

Elena is finally getting more willing to experiment with her food. She will have little "eating adventures" with me every so often, and find that she does love different kinds of foods! Finally!

Favorite Movie:

Lion King! She sings "Hakuna Matatta" all the time, but she thinks they are singing "A-too A-taa" He He. I can't convince her otherwise. :) I think it is awesome that she loves this show so much, because it was my long-time childhood favorite too! We went and saw it in theaters recently in 3D. She loved it to death!

Favorite Song:

Popcorn Popping (re-mixed version) by Primary Colors. She asks to hear it literally ever time we are in the car, and wants me to sing along with her, every word. If I ever stop singing, she will say, "Mom! You are missing the parts!"

Elena is excited to meet her new baby brother, and has quite the opinion on what his name should or shouldn't be. The other day we were snuggling in my bed. Laney had just woken up and jumped into bed with me. I woke up and noticed that the baby was kicking a ton. I asked Elena if she wanted to feel that baby kick, and she did. I put her hand on my stomach, and of course that baby stops kicking... She waited and waited. Nothing. So she started to talk to him. She said maybe he is tired and needs me to sing him to sleep. She sang him her made up lullaby, that consists of singing the word "lullaby" over and over in a beautiful vabrado. He He. Love that. Then the baby kicked and she felt it! She was so happy, she hugged my tummy and said, "Oh! He does love me! It was just enough to melt my heart away. I can't wait for the sweet moments to come when baby boy is finally here!

Well, that is just about enough for tonight! If I think of more little tidbits, I will try to add them. :) Goodnight!

Elena's Self Portraits

2011-10-03T21:50:00.000-06:00

I found these little gems on my ipad and iphone. I thought I would put together a little view into the photography mind of my sweet little 3 year old. I'd say they aren't too shabby! I especially love the awesome one of the capri sun. She must've really been feeling it that day. Ha ha. Elena makes it a practice to get into my camera on my phone and take pictures even though I ask her not to. :)

Enjoy!

This sick summer.... Literally.

2011-09-30T22:02:00.000-06:00

Alright, I am no longer holding myself to the "I must catch up my blog, before I can post anything about NOW" idea. It aint' happening people. Move on. :)

I will however pick a few of the highlights to post so that I can say I didn't completely pass this summer by without any recognition on here. We were alive the past several months, but I have been fairly sick. We are getting really excited for our new baby-boy-to-be this January.... Or December if he decides he is more like Elena.

I do want to talk a little about the experience I have had with this pregnancy. It is happening, so I might as well admit to it... We are having a BOY. It is not too far off now, and I am going to begin to live my life in recognition of that fact. I can say that pretending I am not pregnant (to myself) has been quite a useful tool in beginning to feel better. My pregnancy with Elena was a doozie, and not something I ever wanted to live through again, so my plan was to just not have that be the case! As if I had any say in the matter. I had convinced myself that I had made it through the last one, and because I am such a good little girl, I couldn't possibly be cursed with such a hard experience again. It would just be messed up.... Well, news flash!!! Life isn't fair sometimes, and you have to suck it up! So that is what I have been doing for the last 7 months. :) I can say that in the last month I have pretty much gotten back to being myself, other than being unusually moody, emotional, exhausted, and about 18 pounds heavier! Hows that for normal? He he. ;)

This time around I have been more mentally strong, and able to survive the trials of my pregnancy better. I knew how to handle many of the fun little "side effects" that pregnancy has in store for me, and that is no little thing in my book. I felt like I had been there before, and was better equipped to deal with the onslaught of problems. I was hoping that some of the things I struggled with last time would kindly pass me by, alas that was an errant dream... I am proud to say that I am hopefully out of the bad part, and into the being huge and uncomfortable part in which I would be glad to endure. Bring on the sleepless nights and heartburn I say, cause that is nothing compared to what I have gone through! :)

There are a few really awesome parts about being pregnant and having a cute little 3.5 year old to share it with! Elena has been what has gotten me through. She is so sweet about her expected "big baby brother". She is so sensitive to me if I am really not feeling well, and for the most part has allowed me to play with her while lying down when I have needed to. She has been my energizer bunny, keeping me going even when my battery has run out. I am grateful for her happy personality, and the purpose she brings to my life, even when I am in no mood to participate in it much. Elena is just what the doctor ordered to help me through expecting baby number two. Love her.

Pregnancy is hard for me, but it truly is worth all the pains. I adore Elena clear to the moon, and I am sure I will baby boy. We will all love him, and we already do. Elena felt him kick for the first time the other day, and thought it was awesome. It was a fun experience to share with her. She has sung him lullabys, and this morning, talked to him quietly, listened then said, "Oh mommy, did you hear that? He loves me!" That was enough to melt your heart right out. I am sure he does love Elena's tender voice. Who doesn't? She is just too sweet. :)

That about sums up all I can say for now. Things are good. I am about 28 weeks along, and doing well. We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our new cutie, whoever he may be. Come soon!

Love, Mommy.

Easter 2011

2011-09-26T15:45:00.000-06:00

These are literally the ONLY photos I got over easter! Crazy for me. I just had bad luck with my camera deciding to be out of batteries, and with my brain for never remembering to charge it! Oh well, such is life. We did however have a lovely Easter. We had a fun egg hunt put together by my friend Alisha. She filled all these eggs with the cutest little prizes. The kids had a great time searching all over the park for them. Elena particularly likes Easter Egg Hunts. I can't blame her. It's fun!

Here are the few moments I was able to capture. They are a mixture of Park Hunts, and the Country Club Easter Dinner.

Elena's 3rd birthday carnival extravaganza!!! (yes, it is a little late...)

2011-09-25T10:45:00.000-06:00

I am not going to write a ton about how much fun we had at Elena's birthday party, because the pictures tell it all in my opinion! It was a crazy carnival with many cute friends! We loved having you all there to celebrate with us! I am sorry it has taken me so long to get around to putting these photos on our blog, but there were just tooooo many to go through in a short period of time. Here are the highlights of the joyous occation. Enjoy! :)

Our house have never seen so many kids running around at one time before! It was a riot!

All the kiddos got to collect a bag on fun favors. The bag was also to collect their prizes in when they win at the carnival games!

Here is Elena's sweet friend Ginger. She is so adorable.. No?

We love our cousin Kate! She is such a sweetheart! She is oogling the cupcakes for sure.

All the kids got a ton of tickets in their bags to play the games. They loved having real tickets to use.

My awesome Aunt Suzanne did face painting for everyone. She was a real trooper! Love you Sue!

This is our darling friend Brynn. Sadly her family just moved away again! We were so glad to see her. :)

Cousin Sam and Aunt Angie are ready to Par-tay!

Grandma Kristine helped out with the Fishing Hole! It was a hit for sure. Thanks for being such a great help Mom!

This is our fun backyard neighbor Alisha with her cutie boy, Alec. They are the best neighbors!

Bowling was tons of fun! Thanks for helping out Aunt Sandy and cute Camille! (Our amazingly sweet neighbor Camille stayed the entire party long to help with games, and even cleaned up afterwards! Couldn't be a nicer girl out there! Thanks!

Here is our neighbor Cyndi and baby girl Gigi. We love them!

Of course the party wouldn't be complete without cousin Melanie! She is such a fun gal.

This is our cool order neighbor Sophia. Elena adores her.

Get in line for some fun and games!

(Rachel, Serena, Charlotte and Isabel)

Score!

This is our fun friend Liam. He is a cool dude if there ever was one! ;)

Here is one of Elena's best friends, April. We loooove that she shares a back yard fence with us.

Party time! :)

Can tumble game! Yay!

A party isn't a party without a party hat!

Austie boy! We love you!

Serious skills: by Elena.

Thanks to Auntie Amy for helping with the Can Tumble game! You rock!

Ring toss. This game was hard, even for me, I must confess! It was a fun one though. Thanks to Uncle Tay for being there to help!

We were so glad to have grandma Jeanne there! We love her so much! Elena absolutely adores her to pieces. So do I for that matter. xoxo

Caught one! Its a whopper!

I love this pic. Matthew is all excited for his turn! Ha Ha Ha!

Uncle James was the master of the Dart Throw! Thanks for your help dude!

Lovely as ever!

Cotton candy. Nuff said.

Every kid went home with way way way too much candy. No wonder all their parents hate me now?!? He He. Just joking. But seriously they were all for sure on a massive sugar overload.

Sadly I busted the giant sucker right before I put it into the cake.... :( It was still yummy thought!)

Thanks a million to everyone who helped out, and partied with us! We are so blessed to have such an awesome circle of family and friends! You made this party what it was. We love you!

The end!

Happy birthday to my sweet baby girl, even though you are already 3.5..

Ha Ha. Love you!

Baby Artist :)

2011-09-16T14:57:00.001-06:00

Elena was so excited when I taught her how to make a flower with grass, stem and leaves. She was all smiles!

Her first garden scene. :)

Elena sat down with some serious motivation for this picture. This may be the most complete drawing I have ever seen her create to this day. I am still amazed by it! She was so happy with the new art supplies so got for Easter!

The bird is by far my favorite part, followed by the slightly sullen sunshine. He he.

Elena told me this was her. She grew some really long ponytails that day....

The spiky guy to the right is either daddy, or a spider... I am not sure which. :)

Elena Rose loooves to draw. It is a regular thing around here. She is always drawing girls with long hair and boys who have spiky hair like daddy's. She draws flowers, suns and birds a lot too. Laney is so funny when she is drawing. She sings to herself and talks all the time. I have caught it on camera a few times. So sweet. Love that little girl!

Backtrack.... Snapshots of the year so far.. :)

2011-09-01T15:22:00.001-06:00

Here are a bunch of photos I have uploaded that got looked over earlier this spring. I wanted to post them, but have been a poor blogger of late, and thought... Better late than never, right?

So, here is for your viewing pleasure, a quick look at our spring fun before Elena's third birthday.

Enjoy!

Kangaroo Zoo! We went there a few times this spring. It is a really fun place to play, and it wears mom and kiddo right out! It is packed with bounce equipment and slides. Elena loved going there, even if she did get a few bruises in the meantime.

I just love how much fun the little cousins have with each other. They are so lucky to have such fun little playmates!

This was taken at cousin Cannon's third birthday party. He is such a cutie. All these cousins are so fun to get together with. We love them!

Many mornings were spent at the Granite Park by our house. Elena loved getting out into the sunshine, even if it was still a bit chilly. Yay for friday park days!

Elena loooves her a good flick. She has had some of the neighbor girls over for a movie night. She thinks that is the best thing to do it the world.... Im not sure wether that is good or bad, but who can say no to popcorn, movies and treats???

This little gem was taken at Cold Stone Creamery where Elena was awarded for good potty training! She was really excited about her success, and even more so at the idea of getting ice cream for her good... ahem.... work. :)

We have a love/hate relationship with the "Golden Arches" aka McDonalds. Elena of course love it there, and mommy does not so much. But ya know what??? Sometimes you just need an indoor escape from the home. This is were we ended up, and connected with Kate and Auntie Emily.

*Crazy cousins*

This year we used our "sun room" as a green house. We planted about a billion seeds and babysat them for eeever. They were quite the success, and a fairly large time commitment. But we had a great time tending to them and getting something green living in our house. Unfortunately at about the time that we would have planted the early crops I was really sick because of my pregnancy, so we had a few casualties due to my serious neglect of my precious planties. Boo.

We did in the end plant a considerable sized garden, and it has been going really well! Hooray!

Elena adores art.

Nuff said.

Well, there ya have it!

We have so much more catching up to do, but who has all that time??? You?

Birthday traditions

2011-08-28T10:43:00.000-06:00

For 3 years now, on every one of Elena's Birthday mornings, we have taken her to the Original Pancake House for breakfast. We all love it, and it is quite the treat! Elena says that this is where her favorite pancakes are. She is quite the breakfast food expert.

The last two years, the Wilkinson family has joined us. We had a great time, and ate some fab breakfast. My favorite is the Fresh Fruit Crepes! They are so good, and come with the best strawberry syrup ever!

Another birthday tradition that Elena has had is going to Build-A-Bear with Nana and Papie! She has a riot there, and gets to pick whatever she wants! What a lucky girl! Here is her newest addition to her Bear Family. She loves these animals and always sleeps with one of them. :)

Happy Birthday my sweetie girl! We all love you!

xoxo

Mom

Birthday Buddies

2011-08-28T10:29:00.000-06:00

Elena and Grandpa Harris have a birthday 2 days apart! Here is a little photo of Elena giving Grandpa his birthday drawing. Elena has always loved Gr. Harris from the dawn of time. She even talks about him randomly when we haven't seen or talked to him in a while. We love Grandpa!

Hello again!

2011-08-28T09:34:00.000-06:00

Yes I know my family blog has become an abandoned nightmare. What can I say? I am pregnant, and haven't been up to any real blogging..... Sigh.

I am feeling better now, and am set on getting what little photo documentation we have of our lives updated on here! I hate that I haven't been able to keep up, so please check back soon for some actual posts. :)

The mini update is: I am 23 weeks along in my pregnancy, and we are expecting a baby BOY! We are so thrilled to have this new baby in our lives! Elena is happy that she will have a sibling finally, and is going to be such a great big sister! She is getting so much bigger and more self sufficient. It scares me a little how quickly she has grown up. She is such a big helper now, and is really the sweetest 3.5 year old ever. We are getting ready to start preschool for the first time, and she is soooo ready.

We took Laney to get her new school shoes yesterday and she was so excited about them she could hardly stand it! I love her. To death.

That is all for now. All is well at the Muir front. We love you out there, even if we haven't shown it.... He He.

xoxo
Laura

Rebecca with Amano Chocolate to be on Foodnetwork 5/22/11

2011-05-18T21:47:00.002-06:00

Our friend Rebecca at Amano Chocolate will be on the Foodnetwork Sunday 5/22/11. She will be in the show Challenge. The episode she is featured in is called "Wild West Chocolate." We wish you luck Rebecca!

Say Cheese! More Carnival pics!

2011-04-14T14:13:00.000-06:00

More Photo Booth Partiers! He He!

2011-04-13T20:57:00.003-06:00

Here is a little preview to Elena's 3rd Birthday Carnival!!! It was a RIOT!

2011-04-13T20:51:00.000-06:00

ART. Its a big deal around here. :)

2011-04-13T09:45:00.000-06:00

Laney and Mommy's Hand Turkeys. Happy Thanksgiving! Ha Ha

We love DO-A-DOTS.

Nuff said.

Rainbow. Elena is always talking about how she wants to have sweet dreams of a rainbow that she can slide down. It totally melts my heart that such young minds are so sweet to think something like that is possible. LOVE IT.

This is my particularly favorite piece of artwork of the year. Elena must have forgot that we only draw on paper. OOPS!!!! She got ahold of the only blue permanant marker in our house and had a hay day. Literally. I found marker on my office chair, new apple desktop screen, keyboard, brand new pottery barn desk, allllll over elena. That was a fun day let me tell you. I only had like, 2 panic attacks.

All is well now. I went through several fabulous magic eraser sponges and voila, my desk is basically better. Kinda.

As for the screen, I got it off with a little windex and elbow grease. The keyboard and chair are hopeless. Oh well. Thats a 2 year old for ya. :)

We love art. As you can see.

The light of this experience is this... Through Elena's sad tears, she explained that she wanted to decorate my desk for me with a pretty sun, and daddy. That is enough for me. She hoped I liked her drawings, even though it was the wrong place. Man I love my daughter. She was trying to do something so sweet for me. :)

In hopes that the snow will stay away for good!

2011-04-13T09:24:00.000-06:00

This was a sledding day we had this winter. We did this a few times at the "fish bridge" park by our house. They have a great sledding hill. We are lucky to know some great people in our neighborhood. Pictured above is Cindy and her cute daughter Gigi. Pictured below is Devra and her daughter London. (Me and Laney are in the pics too of course...)

Elena loves sledding! We had some good fun in the snow. She always says she love to make snow angels too.

I threw this one in there of Mike and I shredding the snow. This is one of my favorite photos. Ahhh. The good old days. :)

So heres to no more snow!!! For several months anyway.

Happy Spring!

A Smattering of Christmas Joy

2011-02-05T18:45:00.002-07:00

I know Christmas was forever ago, but I have been so wrapped up in my cooking blog and Muir Fresh Harvest blog that I haven't sat down to post about this lovely event!

We had a wonderful Christmas Season. We had a lot of laughs with family and friends. We had a ball with Elena this year. She was so excited for Christmas and Loves Santa. She loved reading all the Christmas stories and looked forward to Jesus's Birthday. She memorized all the traditional Christmas Carols, and still to this day sings them often. Her favorite is "Deck The Halls."

Our Laney brought much joy into our home this Christmas. She helped decorate the tree, and re-decorate daily. She helped with the Christmas village. She is a Christmas girl.

We had so many family gatherings, and dinners, I swear I have to have gained at least 10 lbs. from all the feasting. We went to the annual Santa Dinner at the C.C. and had a riot. Santa gave Elena a ballerina barbie! She was loving it, and she looked darling, however we forgot our memory card and got no pics.... :(

Rather than tell you all about every Christmas event I will just let you see the fun we had and the memories we made. I will say though, that this Christmas eve I got sick and threw up all night, so I look fairly green in most of my pics. We got through the day and had fun anyway, but I had seen better days.

Santa gave Elena a Loving Family Doll House and some little Loving Family Members.

Mommy & Daddy gave Laney a new table and chairs for her kitchen with a darling tea set.

Nana gave Laney a new baby doll and crib. She is named Bonnie Bear Muir.

Elena Loves her to pieces!

Grandma and Papa gave Laney a cool sled!

Merry christmas to her... :)

xoxo

Laura

The Hairstylist Returns...

2011-01-22T23:40:00.000-07:00

Hey there all! Just a little note. I am going to start doing hair again! I have a spot set up in my house now. It is going to be fun! I don't have a sink specifically for shampooing. It isn't the same as the comfort of a salon shampoo bowl experience, but I will do your hair well even without all the bells and whistles! If you want me to do your hair nonetheless, call me or email me. loolamuir@msn.com. I am doing hair every other Tuesday and Thursday Evenings, and Every other Saturday Morning! I have already done several services, and it has been really fun. I have missed using a nice cutting chair with a mirror in front. It was good. So let me know if you need to schedule! I am only doing hair on a limited time schedule, so call in advance! Thanks!

xoxo

Laura

Muir Fresh Harvest: Blogging Seasonal Harvest Bundle Giveaway!!!!

2011-01-16T11:57:00.000-07:00

Muir Fresh Harvest: Blogging Seasonal Harvest Bundle Giveaway!!!!: "Ok people! Here is the deal.... We are going to do a Seasonal Harvest Bundle Giveaway! Do you love to blog, and cook? This is..."

Project Central!

2011-01-05T10:57:00.000-07:00

There has been a ton of crafting/sewing going on in our house.

I have finally accomplished some of the big projects I have been working on! Hooray for me!

I made a cute pink and white crochet blanket for Elena's new baby doll "Bonnie Bear".

She loves it, and had Bonnie snuggled in it all the time.

The biggest project I have finished is the quilt for Elena's bed! Hooray! I am loving it, and Elena thinks it is so special. Just last night I finished sewing the Euro-Sham for the pillow on her bed. I have two other pillow covers to make that I will get done soon! I think it will be so cute when they are all done!

I have also made a few outfits for Laney. Here is one of them. She loves this dress and twirls around in it. She really does appreciate when I make her things, so it makes it that much better! :)

Elena sure loves her new doll. She snuggles her and loves her like crazy. Yesterday she wanted to bring her on all our errands. This morning, she was feeding her some of her yogurt. So cute. Love her to bits!

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

2010-12-21T18:56:00.000-07:00

Getting the low down on our cutie!

2010-12-21T16:07:00.004-07:00

Time has flown by since Halloween! I can't believe that was the last time I wrote something about our lives. I have thought at least 50 times about darling things that I want to remember and document in this blog, but I can't ever seem to find the time. So.... I am shirking my wifely, motherly duties of cleaning the house to make time for this! Ya gotta do what you gotta do.

First of all, I want to wright a little bit about Elena. She is a doll, and is growing up way faster than I would like. I want to freeze her in a jar like she is now, and on the other hand look forward to what fun we will have in the future!

Elena Rose Muir
2.5+ years old.
25.7 lb
Tiny, but growing taller
Finally wearing 2T, maybe 3T (rolling up sleeves and pants, here and there) clothes

Elena's cute phrases:
*Thats not yummy for me
*Whew
*I love you so much!
*I miss you/her/it so so so so bad
*I was missin' you

Funny story:
A few Sundays ago Laney came home from nursery at church and had learned the "Happy Family" song. She was walking around the house singing it all day.
"I love mommy, yes sirrie
She loves us, so she sees
We are a happy family."
That is how she sings it anyway......
The song continues repeating that line but with Daddy, Sister, Brother and Baby.

That night I asked her if she would sing that song to me before she went to bed. She did, and it was so sweet. When she finished that song she started to giggle. She said to me, "Mommy, do you want to know a weird secret about that song?" I was surprised, and said yes. She says to me laughing, "I don't have a Sister or Brother!!!!" She was laughing with these wide eyes like it was the funniest joke that she was singing that song, but she didn't even have a brother or sister...... It was seriously one of the cutest things ever. She continued on by saying that maybe sometime she could have a sister or something. She told me all the things they could do together including, playing with her barbies together on the bean bag chairs downstairs, watching movies together and sharing their toys.

She must have thought about the fact that she doesn't have any siblings quite a bit, because for the next few days she would get all sad, and even cried a few times asking why she couldn't have a sister, and that she needed one so so so so bad!!! It was enough to break your heart! I told her she could have one after a while, and that it would be really fun. :)

Elena's favorite songs:
*The I know you song (Princess Aurora's song, I know you) (She calls Aurora "I know you" like it is her name)
*Cinderella Song
*Jingle Bells, or most any Christmas song
*"The funny songs" Honk Honk Rattle Rattle Crash Beep Beep, or Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky
*Spoon full of sugar

Elena's Favorite Princess: Cinderella

Elena's Favorite Cartoon: Dinosaur Train and The Cat In The Hat
She knows a ton of the scientific dinosaur names. She looooves her dino's.

Elena's Favorite foods:
*Chicken Nuggets from "Old McDonalds"
*Cauliflower soup from Zupas
*Pei Wei Honey Seared Chicken with Rice. (She loves pretty much any chicken and rice, but especially prefers Pei Wei
*Spagetti Noodles with Red sauce
*Chocolate Milk (of course)
*Treats

Elena's most loved activities for playtime:
* Do a Dot paints
*Coloring and Drawing
*Play Dough
*Playing with her princess barbies
*Playing pretend with puppets, (Especially my hand puppet named Handy) (Handy is just my hand nothing more, and it provides tons of entertainment. He saves the day at the grocery store, and can get Elena to do pretty much anything, even when mommy asks and she says no. :)
*Playing at the park on the slide and with other girl friends

Elena's Best friends:
*April is a little girl just barely older than Elena who lives right behind us. They are great friends.
* Elena also adores the older girls down the street, Camille, Sophia, Rachel and Serena. They are all quite a bit older than her, but they still come over to play every once in a while, and Elena absolutely thinks they are the bomb.

Elena loves to do crafts and make things. She is a girl after my own heart. I love that about her. I can see that we will have a lot of fun creating together in the future. I love her with all my heart. I hope she can see how happy she makes me, and all the joy she brings to our home.

Elena is about to experience a christmas that she will hopefully remember. She did love last christmas, and even remembered about Santa from last year. However she is now old enough to anticipate it a little bit, and has been talking about how much she loves Santa and how nice he is to her. She knows he is going to bring her gifts if she is good, and she talks about making sure she is on the "right list". It is so so cute.

Elena love Nursery in our church and looks foreward to it each week. She loves her teachers, and thinks it is the funnest place to be. She talks about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and tells me how much she loves them. She helps me say prayers at night, and does really well. I was talking about the gift that Heavenly Father sent to us, Jesus Christ and what a special present that was. I explained to her why we celebrate Christmas and who's birthday it is. She was so excited to hear that Christmas is Christ's birthday. Right away, she asked what gift we were going to give Jesus for his birthday. I told her we were going to be kind to everyone we see, and that that would be our gift to Jesus this year. She thought that was an excellent idea.

Today at lunch Elena said the work Fabulous. It was a riot. She is so expressive and intelligent!

There are a few things about Elena that you might not have known. She is a princess. The cutest girl ever, and is such a sweetie. She is so social with people, and is kind hearted. I couldn't love her more.

We can't wait for Christmas to come. We have already done a lot of celebrating. The reason we have no pictures to show, is because our camera was out of batteries and I keep forgetting to charge it! EEK! I am going to do that today, and hopefully we will have some to post soon!

Merry Christmas to you all!
Ho Ho Ho

Trick-or-Treat!

2010-11-19T16:40:00.000-07:00

I love me some Halloween!

We parties as hard as a mom and a 2 1/2 year old can, I'll tell you that!

We were invited over to our cute friends house, (Alisha and April) to bake and decorate some ghoulish goodness.

We had a really fun time. Elena and April worked hard and rolled out the dough, used the cookie cutters, and decorated all the cookies themselves! They were a.may.zing!

I tasted one, and they were delish! Elena could not get enough of the colored sugar crystals. I'm pretty sure each cookie got 5 times more than necessary! They were yummy though!

Here are the girls hard at work! Look at their cute creations! I absolutely loved watching them do this. I think it made them feel so big! What a fun way to spend the afternoon!

Thanks Alisha for the invite! You are too cute!

I know you all want one right?

We attended Nana's annual Halloween Bash. It was a total blast, and done up to the tea for sure! All the kiddos dressed up and looked so so cute! Elena got a special Cinderella costume in Disneyland. Her favorite of course! She felt so special with this princess dress on. She is so sweet. I could just eat her up!!

What is a princess without a magic wand right???

Her's even glowed blue and would twinkle too!

*Sigh* what fun it was to watch her live these magical moments.

I remember how important and amazing I thought Halloween was when I was little.

I love that she is so into it!

Notice the upturned finger and lovely pose. Princess to the core.

Here are all the cuties! We had a scrumptious dinner of Pizza and a fab salad. There were even Witches finger breadsticks and eyeball cookies!

Doesn't that just make your mouth water???

We decorated pumpkins with silly faces, and made a few of our own. :)

We played Halloween Jingo and won some awesome prizes.

It was a fun night for sure! Kathy and Phil sure do make our holidays special! We love them so much!

On halloween night we went to Dianie's house to trick or treat them, and his a bunch of houses in our neighborhood too. Mike stayed home to pass out candy, and Elena and I did some candy gathering just us two! Elena was surprisingly into it! She loved the whole process, but we got cold after about 3 full streets and booked it home! We warmed up to some yummy Chicken Tortilla soup made by mwa. It was pretty tasty. Elena even got to stay up later and watch Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin movie! We had a super fun time. Halloween is so much funner when you get to share it with such great people. I love my family so much!

Elena loves the little mice at Diane's house. She placed them all in families according to color, squishiness, and squeakability. Ha Ha. Love that girl. She is too smart for her own good!

We had so much fun at Diane's that our eyeballs almost popped right out! Geesh! We better lay off on the laughing for a while!

Happy Halloween! Guys and Ghouls!

If you haven't given it a try.... You're missing out!

2010-11-14T22:16:00.002-07:00

Hey there!

Mike and I are having a blast with our new business Muir Fresh Harvest! We have had a wonderful response from those who have participated! It is going great! We hope you will check out our website and learn more about it!

www.muirfreshharvest.com

I just barely started up a cooking blog to compliment Muir Fresh Harvest. It is called:

Fresh Cooking=Happy People.

Feel free to take a look!

www.freshcookinghappypeople.blogspot.com

Have a great week!

xoxo

DISNEYLAND!!!

2010-10-31T22:58:00.000-06:00

*Playing in the park*

Elena was so overjoyed to get to DISNEYLAND!!!

She loved getting ready for the big trip, and talked about it daily for at least a week and a half before we left.

She loved the Airplane ride, Other than a short stint of ear irritation. Laney has always loved airplanes, and is the first one to spot one in the sky! Riding on one was quite a treat for her.

When the time came that she could see the gates to enter, she was practically squealing with delight. She was glowing with excitement and anticipation.

She has only dreamed of meeting the PRINCESSES

Especially Cinderella. Her favorite!

Coming up to the gates of the castle!

I love this little face. I don’t remember what brought on this look of concern. But it is so cute. I wonder what she was thinking about? Perhaps where her beloved Cinderella was? Why did she not greet her royal guest at the gates? Perhaps..

*Fantasyland*

Riding on “Small World,” Elena really enjoyed this one.

So cute, and not scary at all. All the little charecters were singing and dancing from all over the world. Cute!

Loving the ride with Nana! She was so fun the entire trip long. Thanks Nana and Papa for this great family vacation!

*Minnie Mouse and her house*

Elena was utterly starstruck when she got to meet Minnie Mouse! She could not believe her eyes!

She really didn't want to leave when her turn was over. She just wanted more time to see Minnie, and talk to her about everything. After she met Minnie, she got to tour through her house. She wouldn't leave for the longest time because she wanted to sneak back to see Minnie again. She is so sweet and curious. She loved Minnie's house. It was pure magic!

Elena was having a little tea party at Minnie's table. So sweet. What a cute house she has!

No matter how much fun you have, Disneyland will wear you out! One can only play for so long without getting exhausted!

Introducing Princess Elena!

Have you ever seen anyone more beautiful? Me either....

She truly was a princess ready for the ball.

When we would talk about going to Disneyland to meet the princesses she would always ask if she was going to be able to dance with the princesses at the ball?

She also wondered if Cinderella had a playroom in her house that they could play together in?

I tell you.... If there was a way for me to make that happen, I would do it in a second.

What is it about parenthood that makes you want to do everything for your kids?

All the girls had a reservation at Ariel's Grotto for lunch and to meet the Princesses! Hooray!

Elena has been looking forward to this event for weeks now.

The only bummer is that she was so so tired when it came time to go in! She was able to squeeze in about a 35 min. nap before the party started!

Once she realized she truly was going to meet all the princesses, she perked up as quick as a cricket! She was on cloud nine. This luncheon with the princesses was unreal for her. A total dream for her I am sure.

I really was not prepared for how amazed and excited my little girl could be over these princesses. She was squealing with delight to the fullest. She was in shock at all the princesses, and kept saying how beautiful they were to me in amazement. It was such a joyful experience for me to be able to share that with Elena. Such a fun time!

This is the moment where it started to get real for Elena. She was so amazed at meeting Ariel, she became very shy and silly.

Laney was in utter shock at meeting Belle.

She just couldn't believe her eyes.

I couldn't either. She was gorgeous!!!

Belle came and taught all the princesses in training a cute princess bow, and dance. It was darling!

She was so sweet and cute to all the kids. I think she was the overall favorite.

I know Elena was enamored with her instantly. She couldn't stop talking about her.... Until Cinderella came along, that is.

Elena was soaking in everything that Belle did. She was glued to her every move.

She got to hold Belle's hand. She was loving it!

Look at all those cuties! I want a froofie dress too!

Mulan was super fun and spunky.

She was teaching all our girls how to do ninja moves. She was so sweet to Elena and gave her several hugs.

Snow white is so pretty too! All the princesses were such cuties, and made this girls luncheon at Ariel's Grotto a hit!

Check out Elena's pose here! Mulan taught her that! Ha Ha. So funny and cute!

You must know that Cinderella is Elena's absolute FAVORITE IN THE WORLD!

There is nothing else to it. I wish I would have gotten her reaction when Cinderella came walking over to us. Elena freaked out!!! She screamed and was shaking her arms like mad. She sprung out of her chair like it was on fire!

She was so so so excited to meet her favorite princess!

Cinderella was so beautiful and kind to all the girls. She gave Elena hugs, and Elena was speechless. She just couldn't believe her eyes! Cinderella was hugging her and holding her hand! Could it be true?

This was the highlight of the trip for me. It was so awesome to have Elena so happy. I was so happy for her to have such a fun experience with me and all her girl cousins and Nana too! Happy day!

Once the Princess Party was over, Elena crashed hard. She was DONE. Good thing daddy was there to snuggle!

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

Laney was loving her some Mickey. She even did the Hot Dog Dance with him. It was hilarious!!!

After the Princess Party and a little rest, we watched the Pixar Parade. It was super fun. Elena loved watching all the craziness! Here were a few of our favorites!

We loved the rides! Elena unfortunately was not quite tall enough, by about 1/4 of an inch to go on some of the little roller coasters, so we hit everything else we could. Fun Was Had!!!

The carousel was a big hit. Of course!

Elena especially enjoyed the rides in "A Bugs Land".

She loved the Lady Bug Ride!

As you can see, we were spoiled rotten by Nana and Papa with such an awesome family vacation! We had a total riot, and can't wait to go back someday!

We are so appreciative of all the efforts that our family make to provide these fun family activities!

Thanks Nana and Papa.

We love you so much!!!!!!!!

Out and about this summer!

2010-10-24T12:22:00.000-06:00

We did a lot of park time this summer. We love our parks for sure!

Elena just cracks me up. I love her facial expressions.

I just want to save every one. I don't ever want to forget them.

They bring me so much joy!

Here are a few pics of our only Frisbee golfing day this year.

(I have to say, it is not my favorite. Elena and Mike had a lot of fun though.

The Boyz

I think Elena is checking to see if it is ok to be getting so dirty in the wild.... Ha Ha.

She was running free, and loving every moment of it.

Mike and I went to our Anniversary Annual Concert together.

Somehow I didn't post about this event. We did celebrate our 6th Anniversary, but it was such a BUSY time that I overlooked writing about it.

We had a nice dinner together on that special day, and a little later, Mike surprised me with tickets to the B.B. King Park City Concert!

We had a really fun time, other than the fact that I had a injured back, so towards the end I was in a lot of pain, and Mike had to help me to the car. :)

I love my Man. He really is the greatest Friend and Hubby.

So lucky to have him in my life!

Happy Anniversary Babe! xoxoxoxo

Sick...but mentally motivated...hmm, what to do?

2010-10-21T21:18:00.000-06:00

I am sick... I swear every time I fly on an airplane I get sick. Truly.

I have about had it with this cold, and it has been torturing me for only 2 1/2 days.

The worst part of the ordeal is that I have a major bug to exercise, and also to get some projects done around the house, but this cold is going to stamp out all my desires for such errands for now.

Poo.

I just wanted to post about something funny Elena did today at dinner time. We were having some Rice and Chicken for dinner, (one of her personal favorites) and she had eaten most of her food. There was some rice left on her plate and she scooped up a handful of it and arranged it on her palm. She started talking to her rice lovingly calling them baby animals. She was being so cute with it, I couldn't bring myself to say a motherly, "don't play with your food" comment. She was patting them and being so sweet to her little baby rice animals. It was so funny and cute! I just wanted to remember that one. Ha Ha.

Elena is such a lover of animals. It is so sweet. We were sitting on our front porch wrapped up in a cozy blanket waiting for Daddy to come home. Elena saw a dog across the street and was calling to it to come to her. The dog of course didn't respond, because his name isn't Doggy. But I thought it was really cute. She was saying sadly that the dog wouldn't come to her, because he was "busy sniffing around and stuff". Which he was in fact doing! She is so observant and smart. She has long conversations with me practically all day. She is a TALKER!

The other day I took Laney to McDonalds for lunch to get out of the house, and we sat behind a Grandpa watching his granddaughter playing in the playplace. Elena chatted with him nearly the entire time we were there. I just sat there chuckling to myself while this man kept up conversation with my 2 1/2 year old. It was so funny. She just looooves to talk.

That is all for tonight! I need to be better about documenting these fun experiences of motherhood. But for now, I need to rest. This sitting at the computer and typing has actually worn me right out! So goodnight.

Hopefully I will be a bit better in the morning! :)

SUMMER & ALL IT HAS TO OFFER!!!

2010-10-11T17:58:00.003-06:00

First of all, I want to share with you the AMAZING new MUIR CABIN playground!

This is just across the circle from our Cabin. It is so fun for all the kiddos! They have a blast over there!

The playhouse is so darling!

Elena loves to play in the sand.... who doesn't?

I'm pretty sure most of the adults did a little digging too! :)

Life can't be all smiles right?

Poor cutie scraped her knee in all the crazy running and climbing.

There is even a wrecking ball? Strange, but sorta cool...

(above is a pic of Elena at one of our Ward playground days. There is the cutest lady in our neighborhood who brings her pony to the park on Fridays for the kiddos to ride! It was so fun!

We went twice this summer. It was a hit!

We had a ton of park days, of course!

We love the parks in our area. They are all fun and different!

But my favorite right now is Granite Park.

So fun for kids Elena's age!

FAIR FUN!

We went to the Fair as a family this year. I can't say we didn't have a good time.

I'm pretty sure we dropped just under $80 dollars there though...

Aren't fair's supposed to be cheap?

Guess not!

Elena loooved the Ferris Wheel!

It actually made me a little nervous, I must confess.

It was just not safe at all!

Really dirty too. but oh well! :)

We all enjoyed the view. Carnies all around! Ha Ha.

Mommy won her Laney Girl a giant Elephant at a game of Darts!

Yea, I got skill.

Elena loved it! She insisted on having the Elephant, and named her "ZURI"

After the baby elephant at Hogle Zoo.

(Zuri is her favorite animal at the Zoo by far.)

Elena got to pet this adorable baby Cow.

She was so cute. Just sleeping there.

I have been hearing about the Helicopters at the Fair for weeks on end.

They were her favorite ride at the fair.

She felt like such a big girl being the pilot and all!

Hey dad!

HERE BEGINS OUR NEXT SUMMER ADVENTURE!

JUNGLE JIMS!!!!

The coolest place for kids in my book. We had a good five hours of fun in there for a whopping $8 entrance fee!

It doesn't get much better for a 2.5 year old than that!

The swings! Hooray!

The Space Ship ride! Elena got to do all by herself! She always wanted to be up the highest!

She is all about the rides these days!

Fearless!

The spinner ride. Makes me a little dizzy just thinking about it!

And of course, the CAROUSEL!

Elena is always excited about those.

Yee-haw!

There we so many rides there to enjoy!

What a fun way to spend a day with my cutie!

"Auntie Deeanie" came along with us, and had Tara's cute girls with her.

We played till we crashed.

Those were some happy kids I'll tell ya!

We will be back there soon for sure.

That is all for now! Just playing catch up on the blog!

Hope everyone else had a fabulous summer!

xoxo

Here is one of the reason's we are going to miss summer!!!

2010-10-11T17:14:00.001-06:00

Summer Lake Lovin!

We spent a bit of time at Jordanelle.

It was so pretty and fun!

Here are a few pics from the lake.

For Tay-man's B-day we took him and a few friends out! It was a fun time.

They are all so cute!

Here is a little glimpse of the fun we have had boating!

We love Bear Lake, and all the other fun lakes in the area.

Elena Loves boating!!! She is a water babie.

Such a great week!

2010-10-10T21:53:00.000-06:00

This week was so awesome. I have to say, I feel so accomplished this week.

I have been so overwhelmed and stressed ever since we moved. There has been a lot going on. Much has been tossed out the window and forgotten in my personal life, and It has been hard for me. On top of trying to get our new house under control, make and meet new friends and neighbors, raise my daughter, be a wife, and friend, I just started a new business. Who wants to tackle just one hard thing at a time right?..... the list goes on and on.

Sometimes that list of important things just gets to you.. There is NEVER going to be enough time to do it all, or having it all under control.

During General Conference this last Sunday, I had all of this heavy on my mind. I was depressed, and just too all encompassed in my life, with all its worries.

I am just so grateful for the advice and teachings of our Prophet and Leaders. It was such a strength building experience to listen to conference. After hearing the talks and thinking about all that I wanted to do differently I came to the conclusion that I can't do everything at once, and I can't hold myself to feel guilty for that fact! I can only try my hardest to do the important things, and do my best to be a good mom and wife and friend. Mike and I talked about this for a long time, and discussed some of our Spiritual goals.

We came to the decision that what we were going to start working on was Family Prayer, Personal Prayer and Scripture reading with Elena as a Family! Those may seem like simple little goals, but to us, it is a lot to organize and commit to do!

I did my best all week to implement and plan on these things, and guess what? It worked! We were able to accomplish those goals, and it was fun and easy and best of all fun for Elena. We started reading a few scriptures, taking turns who go to read them, and Elena would help repeat one too! She liked being so involved in reading her Special Book Of Mormon.

We were more united as a family this week. More patient as parents. More organized. The most amazing thing of all is that, I was worried that spending time focusing on these things would further overwhelm me and make me feel like I couldn't get it all done. It was just the opposite!!! I felt amazing that I was accomplishing such an important goal, and I was so much more productive somehow. I got more done this week than normal, Including my prayer, scripture study and Family Prayer!

It just goes to show you that what the Prophet says is so true! If you make time for the important things, everything else will just work out! And it does! I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father for blessing me this week. I love the gospel, and don't know how I would be where I am today without it!

I just couldn't go without writing about such a great experience this week!

On another note, I have a new office!!! Mike and I finally found the right office furniture for our house! When we moved, we decided we were not going to bring any furniture we didn't really love into our new home, and we were going to gut it out and just go without until we could afford to purchase what we really want. It has been kinda torturous, especially because I have been running my business from a Costco fold out table, but ya know what? It has been worth it! We have saved up, and bought something we both absolutely love!!! We are happy as clams. I am convinced that this is the way to go. :)

I will try to take some pics to post soon!

We will see.... I am going to Disneyland soon, so I may not have a ton of time....poor me huh?

ha ha.

Goodnight!

Bear Lake Raspberry Days!

2010-10-06T15:36:00.000-06:00

This was one of the last trips we took at the "Whits End" Schaar Cabin in Bear Lake.

That is quit a mixed emotion trip for us all!

We have many memories of good times in that cabin!

The big yard provided a lot of happy playtime for everyone!

Elena loves the Jeeps that the older girl cousins have. She loves to cruise around the yard in them.

She was actually attempting to drive them herself.... but she drove into Kimball.

That was the end of that.

We had many fun days on the lake this year! Elena is THE BOATER GIRL!

She so enjoys cruising on the boat. She yells, "Faster daddy!!!"

She love to go tubing!

She is so brave. It doesn't even phase her at all.

She laughs and giggles, talking all about how she loves it when it is bumpy.

One time on one of our Mommy+Elena tubing rides, she just went on and on talking to me about all the things she loved about Bear Lake, and Boating.

She is such a talker. She loves to sit and explain things to me, then say, "right mom?"

The cowgirl herself!

We went to the Raspberry Days Rodeo.

Elena was so excited.

Nana and Papie gave Laney her own cowgirl shirt and hat.

She was loving it!

Sittin' on the front porch waiting to go!

"I can't wait to see the Buckin' Broncos!!!"

All the kiddos were dressed and ready for the Rodeo! yeee-haw!

Honestly, Elena was so concerned that the cowboys would get bucked off the horses and bulls!

She would watch so intently, and when they fell off she would ask me, "what happened???"

"Is the cowboy ok?"

She is so sweet. Love her to pieces!

The show was actually really fun. The riders were great!

Elena's favorite part was the clown. She wanted so badly for him to come closer to where we were to throw her a prize!

Quite the clown if I must say!

I truly love Bear Lake, and the time we get to spend as a family.

We have made so many memories there as a family already.

It is our way to vacation. We love it!

We are having fun in a new cabin now, "The Muir Cabin"

just off of Sweetwater Golf Course!

The boys are having a great time golfing together. The view is awesome from the cabin.

It is the luxury cabin if there ever was one. That is for sure. We are being spoiled rotten by it!

Thanks a million to Nana and Papa for making our family vacations so much fun!!!

Pics will be here soon for the new cabin! It is a-may-zing!

Happy Wednesday all!

Fallen off the planet. Or so it would seem.

2010-09-17T21:47:00.000-06:00

Hello desert wasteland that is my blog. I have disappeared for quite some time. Life itself has taken over all control. I haven't had much free time. I have some great pics I need to update, and some funny stories and experiences with elena I don't want to miss posting about. The fact of the matter is. I have lost all desire to continue...... Why have I fallen out of love of blogging for the moment??? I don't know. I can say however, that I am doing great, and so is my fun little family. Our new business Muir Fresh Harvest is going well, and is a lot of fun and even more work! Our house is slowly progressing towards getting put together, but it is a far cry from finished.

Instead of blogging I have been spending my free few moments reading the Hunger Games Books, and have finished them. Then I moved on to finally sewing together the quilt for Elena's big girl bed. It might be the cutest blanket ever.... yes, yes it is.... It is almost done and I find myself wishing I wouldn't feel silly having it on my own bed. She absolutely loves it, and goes on and on about how colorful it is, and how thankful she is to me for sewing it for her. She is the sweetest thing. Love her to pieces.

Sometime soon I will get up the willpower and drive to put up some pics and get into more detail about life right now, but that night is not tonight. So there you go. You will just have to wait a little longer if you can.

Goonight Moon.

:) ~Laura

Recipes. Too delicious. mmmm.

2010-07-24T19:47:00.000-06:00

I am feeling pretty accomplished. Today I compiled the recipes in preparation for next weeks first Seasonal Harvest Bundle. Let me tell you, they deliver. They are so dang good!! I cooked 3 of them tonight, and Mike and I did not want to stop eating. It was so so so good! I actually felt like a master chef with my food tasting so good! You have got to cook these recipes! They are provided on the Muir Fresh Harvest Blog for customers on the day of their Bundle Pick-up! They won't disappoint! Check it out! These recipes will be posted Wednesday, July 28th! Stay tuned, and log onto muirfreshharvest.blogspot.com for more info on Muir Fresh Harvest, and what we can do to bring fresh food into your homes!

xoxoxoxo

Laura

Muir Fresh Harvest!

2010-07-20T16:24:00.005-06:00

I am so excited to post about this! Mike and I are launching our new business as of today. I have been working really hard to get this thing going and I hope that it will be successful! Here is the link to the Muir Fresh Harvest Blog. Check it out and see what you think!

muirfreshharvest.blogspot.com

Muir Fresh Harvest is a company based off the model of a Produce Co-op, but is so much better in my opinion. We not only supply the freshest Produce possible, we also supply Specialty Produce, Gourmet and Imported Foods! It is offered in a bi-weekly (every 2 weeks) package called the Seasonal Harvest Bundle. It gives you a wide variety of Produce and Specialty Foods, and on the day of your Pick-Up of this Bundle, there will be online recipes and product highlights available to you on our blog. You can print these Recipes and Highlights off to use with your Seasonal Harvest Bundle. I hope you like it!

If you have a moment, go visit our blog and read about how we can supply you with the

ingredients for a healthy life!

We are doing our first Seasonal Harvest Bundle Pick-Up day this next Wednesday, July 28th. It will be the first test run for friends and family. This is a fun way to get some wholesale direct produce and specialty foods into your home for a great price!

If you are interested in participating in this, please feel free to purchase your first Seasonal Harvest Bundle on our blog site. This will help us work out any kinks in the system if there are any, and get a feel for the process. We are so appreciative to any who would like to be a part of this fun new venture for us! If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at

loolamuir@hotmail.com, or call me (801) 419-8105.

Have a happy day everyone!

Thanks!

Swimming day!

2010-07-18T12:25:00.000-06:00

Look at all these cuties! These are some of the darlings that live in our new neighborhood! Elena has made a ton of new fun girlfriends! I am so happy for her. She has girls knocking down the door often to play with her. These girls are between 3-11 and are all so so sweet!

We had a swimming day at our house yesterday. I set up 2 swimming pools for the girls, we had a waterslide, and a slide into a new bigger pool too. I found that baby for 6 bucks! I guess shopping at the end of the summer season pays off! We all had a great time! I really enjoyed just making a fun day for my Laney Babe, because those have been hard to come by at home lately. I have just been so busy. Yesterday was a hit! We met a few new gals, and got plenty of sun!

Hooray for summer!

exciting things on the horizon....

2010-07-15T21:13:00.000-06:00

I am so excited right now, I can hardly stand it. This post is almost pointless, because I am not really going to disclose all the info right now, but I have an awesome business idea that is potentally going to be a reality really soon..... Mysterious huh? I have been working on it a lot, and all signs point to "ya baby" it is gonna work out. I feel so good about this concept, and am pretty sure it is going to be a great benefit for the community in general too. So stay posted, and you will hear all the details about said business soon!!!

I just needed to get that off my chest! Wahoo. There, I am done now.... ;)

Have a lovely night.

What we looove about summer!

2010-07-15T15:31:00.003-06:00

Isn't the 4th of July one of the best parts of summer??

We think so!

This year my hubby went to play golf with the boyz at the Homestead with Grandpa Harris, so Laney and I were off to the good old parade and carnival! It was the funnest time I have ever had there, and I have been for most of the years of my life! So that is saying something.

Elena really does make everything so much more fun and exciting.

Taking her to the celebration that I always attended as a child meant so much to me for some reason.

I truly got such joy out of watching her soak up all the 4th of July fun!

With the help of Auntie Dianie, my Mom and Karuna (the cute gal that is staying with Diane) we decorated Laney's wagon so that she could ride in it in the parade.

Laney was the cutest thing on the planet. Diane brought her some red pom-poms and for a lot of the parade she was shaking both of them vigorously, and shouting Hooray! Hooray! to all the people on the sides of the road! It was such a hilarious sight. She just loved it. She also filled her little pink purse packed full of starburst candy and had a riot throwing it to all the kiddos!

It was a blast.

This day made me so happy.

We also ate at the breakfast afterwords, and I can say that it was not so good. But what can ya do?

There were some really cute little floats in the parade this year.

Of course, what is a carnival without a giant ball of cotton candy?

We also played in all the blow up bounce houses and slides. Elena absolutely loved doing that.

We played games, and many prizes were won.

One of Laneys favorite parts was listening to the singing performers at the park. She was lovin it. She danced all over the place like a wild woman.

Ha ha ha.

Later in the afternoon afternoon we all went to my sister Sandy's house to have a BBQ and do fireworks! We also had a mad tournament of Bocce Ball. It was pretty funny.

Elena really liked doing the sparklers.

It took some getting used to the big fireworks though, before she would start to smile and uncover her ears. I think this is the first year she has really seen or noticed the fountains and bigger works* and she just didn't know what to do with them! Ha Ha. Love that little gal.

This year was a great one for the 4th celebrations! Thanks to everyone who helped make it such a fun time! Happy birthday America!

xoxo ~ Laura

Why do we want to own a house again???

2010-07-05T15:12:00.000-06:00

HOLY CRAP-OLA! Seriously though. Houses are a big huge pain in my butt! It seems that everything that we do in this new house goes wrong or is broken.... It makes me so frustrated. I don' t know what to think of it. I love the idea of this house, but it sure is more than we have bargained for. I could roll out a long long long list of all the problems we have dealt with, but I don't think it will make me feel any better. So do you want to know what my solution is??? BOATING! I'm sure we are being a little silly to walk away from the mountains of work we have ahead of us in this house, but we need a serious break! We are going to take a time-out and go to Bear Lake for the week to party, relax and think of nothing to do with our new lovely jewel of a house! Doesn't that sound good? I think so.

Aside from all of my complaints, I can see that our new house has major potential to be all that we need and more in a place to call home. We really do love it, it just has been draining us of all of our mental energy, and oh yes, $$$.

I am really looking forward to the break, and a new scene. I can almost feel the sunshine on me, and the breese of the bear lake air in the boat. I need it. :) I am sure a tan would make me a much happier person too. It seems I have missed out on the spring and summer festivities this year. I will have to make up for that somehow.

I guess that is all I have to say for now. Just needed to get that off my chest I guess! Have a happy 5th of July everyone. Don't burn down your neighborhood with fireworks! :) ciao!

Summer - summer - summer- time....

2010-07-01T15:19:00.000-06:00

We are lucky enough to have a family that makes the effort to get together up the canyon for bbq's! This may be one of my favorite things to do to celebrate the beautiful summer weather up the canyon. It is so comfortable and nice up there.

We met my family at the top of Church Fork last sunday, and it was such a good time. Both of my Grandparents were able to come too, and I loved that!

I wish I would have gotten a picture of it, but my sis-in-law Angie brought GIANT marshmallows. They were at least triple the size of your average mallow. They were the hit of the bbq for sure. We made tin foil dinners, and made smores. It was very delish. Everything always tastes better when cooked over an open fire!

This is Elena's first encounter with a real smore. She was totally lovin' it! She got so sticky!

Can you believe how big Laney-lou is??? She now fits in 2T sizes!! She has grown up so much in the last 3 months, it is amazing.

Mama loves her some Laney babe.

Recently we went to a Bees Game with the entire Muir Family. It was so much fun. We all went to the game in memory of Grandpa Muir. He really loved the Bees games. We miss him!

Uncle Ed was in town too. It was really great to see him. Elena doesn't see Ed too often, but she always remembers him!

Take me out to the ball game!

Go Bees!

This was a total snack fest. Elena seriously gorged on pretty much every treat imaginable. Ha ha ha.

We loved going to the game with all the fam. It was fun for Elena to see the "Bee" and just spend time doing something normal for a while.

This last pic is one that I took at Hogle Zoo on Monday. We went with a bunch of peeps. It was a fun time, and Elena just loved the train ride. She wanted to sit on her own seat and not be on Mommy's lap. She is getting so self-sufficient. She is such a big girl. Love her!

P.S. Could she be more adorable? I think not.

Our sweet Nana Muir's Birthday

2010-07-01T14:43:00.001-06:00

Girls lunch for Nana's birthday!

We love you Nana. You are the best!

Nana's birthday dinner at Matt and Brooke's house. Delicious smoked ribs, by the smoker master Matt Muir!

Soooo yummy!