Nauvoo

This past July our family took a road trip for our family reunion in Nauvoo, Illinois. It was...quite an adventure to say the least. 24+ hours in the car with 2 little ones...we must be crazy! The girls actually did way better than I expected.

The first day we left super early and drove to Denver...well about an hour past Denver. It was our longest day on the way out. We traveled for 13 hours that day.

 This is basically how the girls looked the whole time. Lots of movies and bottles and treats...and Dr. Pepper for me!

 Alan's parents drove out with us which was awesome. We were able to split the gas and had extra help with the girls and driving.

 The second day we drove through Nebraska where we saw lots of this...corn! I swear I have never seen so much corn in my entire life. Quite boring to look at actually.

 We made lots of rest stops...the girls needed them. But so did we. 

The second day we made it to Omaha, Nebraska. That night we went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory which was fun. The next morning we stopped at Winter Quarters. This is where the pioneers stopped for the winter. I went to the visitor's center there when I was 12 or so, but it was kind of neat to go back as an adult and see it. The girls are young to know the significance behind it, but they had fun things for them to do there too.

 They played with blocks. They were supposed to pack the covered wagon, but they just liked to stack them.

 Alan learned what it was like to pull a hand cart. They put a pebble under one of the wheels to show how hard it actually was to pull it on the dirt trails they went on and he had a hard time pulling it over the pebble. It makes you realize how hard it really was for the pioneers coming west.

 At Winter Quarters we met up with Alan's brother, Norman, and his family. They were driving out from northern Utah. It was fun to see some familiar faces!

 Omaha is right on the border of Nebraska and Iowa. That day we made it to a little town in Iowa called Ottumwa. I seriously loved this town. It was built around a river so there are like 8 bridges or something linking the town together. It was a really cool town with a lot of old churches and cobblestone streets. I told Alan I wanted to move there...until we fell asleep that night and realized a railroad goes through the town about every 5 minutes or so. Haha. Ottumwa has this huge water park that only cost like $5 a person so that night we met up with Norman's family again and went swimming. It was fun to be out of the car for awhile and get away from the humidity too.

 The next day we made it to Nauvoo. We drove into town and went straight to the temple to see it. What a beautiful place.

 After a quick visit to the temple we went to the cabins we were staying at to meet up with the rest of the family. Only about half of Alan's siblings were able to make it for various reasons, but we were able to see a lot of brothers and sisters that we haven't seen in a long time and it was really fun.

For some reason we decided to come to Nauvoo at the hottest and most humid time of the year. I'm not kidding you, the heat index was 110 degrees plus humidity and it was awful...you walked outside and were seriously drenched.

 This is the only picture I got of our cabins and you can seriously barely see them through the mist. It was ridiculous. Luckily though we had rented out the cabins plus a big lodge where the kids could run around and play and where we spent most of our time. There was a kitchen downstairs so we had all of our meals there as well. It was a really fun experience. 

One of the days the adults were able to go to the temple and do a session. It was seriously amazing. Definitely the most beautiful temple I've been in so far, not to mention the amazing spirit you feel there. Everyone needs to experience it!

 That night we were able to go to the Nauvoo pageant which was really fun too. Before the pageant starts they have all sorts of booths where you can learn all about what the pioneers did to entertain themselves. It was really fun to walk around and watch our nieces and nephews play the games. Our girls were a little young for it, but they had a good time too. Madison loved the nesting dolls. Her cousin Jake was showing her how to play with them. I thought it was a cute picture.

 The next day we took some time to see the historical sights of Nauvoo. By this point in our trip the girls were done with sitting still so we didn't get to see as much as I would have liked, but it was still fun to be able to go to the different places.

 The last night we were there we wanted to get a family picture of everyone who could make it. First we tried to get one of just the grandkids...I seriously love how this picture shows everyone's personalities so well. Haha!

 We finally got one of the kiddos with grandma and grandpa.

 Then we got a big group one. Everyone is there except Clint and Rob who were taking the pictures. Mind you this in only about half of the Paxton clan!

On the way home we drove to Lincoln the first day which was about a 6 hour drive, I think. The next day we were supposed to just drive to Denver and stay the night, but we decided we just wanted to get home. The girls were seriously done...mostly just Kennedie. So we just drove through the night and got home at 6:00 AM the next morning. That day we drove a total of 19 hours. It was a long trip with lots of driving, but it really was a lot of fun and we got a lot of fun new memories. But I think next time...we'll fly!

Life Lately

 

Moments like this one are hard to find these days. Daddy is very busy right now...but we absolutely love these times!

  

Alan has been extremely busy with school. I won't go into details, but the class he is taking right now takes up most of his free time. If we happen to get a nice day at home he usually looks like this. 

 

The girls and I try to be quiet so he can work without interruptions, but that doesn't always work out. On this particular night we decided to go to the park to have a picnic so daddy could work on his paper. Madison built me a sand castle.

 

Kennedie stood, yes STOOD, by me the whole time. Can I just say that my girls are getting too big too fast? Kennedie is standing all the time now and she took a step yesterday. Give her a week and she'll be running around my house! She is 9 months now. We went to her appointment yesterday and she weights 14 lbs. 6 oz. and is 27 inches tall. She is a full pound bigger than Madison at this age. That was kind of fun to see. In the picture she is eating a leaf. She will eat anything she can pick up in her little hands. She is so busy and naughty, but smiles the whole time so you can't help but love her! So fun!

 Madison is getting so big too! (At least age wise...she technically hasn't gained weight since like 18 months...) This day she had gotten her outfit dirty so I had to borrow a onesie from my boss...it's size 6 months and it fit her perfectly. So funny. Madison is my little helper and LOVES to help with Kennedie. Whether I want her to or not. :) Today she told me Keny was her favorite sister. Which was adorable. She also has been telling me lately that she wants a little brother. It seems like everyone is having boys right now and I think she wants in on the action. All I have to say to that is hahahahhahaha...not happening. I think I would go crazy to add one more to the mix right now. Can you believe I have a 2 1/2 year old (going on 14)? I sure can't. It's crazy!

 This is one of Keny Mae's fits. When she throws a drama fit she stands on her head. It's quite funny. I laugh at her and she gets more upset. She is still as dramatic as ever and makes the saddest face when she gets her feelings hurt. I'm in trouble with this one I'm afraid.

 Lately I've been working out like crazy. I'm doing crossfit, which is giving me really good results, but I'm going to zumba too. I never thought that I would like to do zumba. I thought it was crazy and I am seriously the whitest girl in the world...I don't dance. But I LOVE IT! I took Madison with me one night in her tutu. She really had fun in the beginning, but got bored with it halfway through. But she keeps asking me if we are going to go to "dance class" again.

 This past week we celebrated my dad's birthday. He loves fishing and being with family so we tried out a pond that is up on the hill off of red hills parkway. It would have been fun if it wasn't so blasted hot. We lasted maybe an hour.

 Madison was sporting her new boots.

 Afterward we went back to my parents and had prime rib...so yummy...and just spent time with the family. Kennedie was attacking the camera here. But I love the face she is making...she's thinking "what trouble can I get into?"

 Such a sweet girl...Ken that is :)

 And of course a post wouldn't be complete without a picture of Madison on papas farm. He now has added rabbits, or as Madison calls them "funny bunnies", to the mix.

Gregory James "Jimmer" Olsen

Gregory James Olsen, or Jimmer as I like to call him, is here! Beth's water broke last night around 6:00 and they went to the hospital. Jimmer was born June 3, 2011 at 2:17 am. He is 7 lbs. 5 oz. and 18 inches tall. He is just the sweetest thing in the world. Mom and baby are doing great!

Grandma and grandpa are prouder than you can imagine :)

 Big cousin Madison was so excited for Gregory to get here. She jumped up and down when I told her he was going to be born today. She gave him a very special gift of her binkies. That's right, we are going to be binky free...scary!

 I was so excited to cuddle and snuggle this sweet boy. He is so fun!

 Congrats Beth and Jeff we love you guys!

Old McGrandpa has a farm

For quite some time my dad and Alan have been trying to talk my mom into letting them get chickens for their backyard...they finally got their way :) They have 18 chickens and 1 duck/goose...we aren't quite sure what he is.

 

 Madison and the other grandkids love the chickens. They play with them and feed them and it is really fun. We can't wait until they start laying eggs and we get fresh eggs everyday.

This is Mo the duck/goose. He used to be called Huey, but we changed it because of the rockin' mohawk he has on the top of his head.

We have lots of fun in grandpas backyard.

In the Garden

Alan has been super into his garden lately and I am proud to say it is doing awesome! We don't have a yard at our house so we have turned my parents backyard into our own little family garden. It is really fun!

Hard at work!

Our crops
We have all sorts of things. I think the few things I am most excited about is the Mammoth Pumpkins. They are pumpkins that will grow to be over 100 pounds. We are excited for them come Halloween!

I'm loving that Alan is so excited about it and it's really fun to get the whole family out there working in the garden together. It's a really fun experience.

We're Still Here!

So I know it's been forever since I've posted anything on here, but the Paxton's are still here! I'm so behind that I'm not going to try to catch up with everything we have been doing, but I will give you an update on what's going on.

Kennedie (mostly known as Keny) is almost 8 months old. Can you believe it because I sure can't. She is a pro at crawling and is now starting to walk along furniture. I have to watch out for this one. She is constantly getting into things and getting into trouble. Her very favorite things to do are to eat cords and shoes. I've even bought her her own flip flops just to eat so she stops eating mine. She still has no teeth although she has been trying to get her bottom ones in for months now. You would never guess it though because she is literally the happiest baby you will ever meet. If she gets attention she rewards you with huge smiles and happy noises. As happy as she is though, she is super dramatic. She gets her feelings hurt very easily so don't look at her the wrong way :) She is such a fun girl and we are loving having her around.

Madison Joy will soon be 2 1/2 and I can't believe how grown up she is. She is a huge helper when she wants to be. She loves to play with Kennedie and when Madison pays attention to Kennedie there is nothing that makes her happier. She is still a little mother and quite often I have to remind her that Madison is in charge of Madison and mommy will take care of Kennedie. She LOVES being outside and would be all day long if she could. I'm very excited that it's starting to get warmer because it's splash park time and that is one of Madison's all time favorite things...the water :) We've definitely had some really interesting days with the terrible two's and had to overcome that, but I'm hoping (cross my fingers) that the worst part is over. Now onto the three's which everyone says is even worse :)

Alan is still incredibly busy being daddy, student, and provider for our family, but it seems like we have finally (after over a year of school :) found our groove and gotten used to it all. He has been doing really good at work and recieved pinnacle for his branch of the bank. Which means that his branch was one of the top 6 performing branches of his group of 60 (or so) branches. (I don't totally know what it all means, but it's awesome and super prestigious). He's also doing amazing with school and should be done by Christmas. Yippee!!! He has been dealing with all this stress by starting a garden at my parents house. We have all sorts of vegetables popping up (pictures to come) and it's doing really well. He would be out there all day everyday if he could. He also has started working out doing cross fit and is loving that too.

And me...I'm just doing the same old stuff. Being mommy and trying to stay sane doing it :) I've been staying pretty busy with my calling as the relief society activity coordinator (which used to be known as the enrichment leader...does anyone know why they change the name so much?) and really enjoy this calling. It's a lot more work than I realized it was. I've also started working out again. I've been going to Zumba classes, which is very funny and not totally like me, but I love it, and I've also started cross fit. I will tell you that with this workout program I haven't been as sore as I am since high school, but I absolutely love it. It feels good to be active again. I've also been trying to adjust to being mommy of 2 young girls. The drama is definitely something I could do without, but I am completely in love with my girls and wouldn't trade them for the world.

So that's a little bit of what we have been up to. I'm going to try to be better about updating this thing. We have lots of fun stuff coming up this summer so hopefully I'll be better :)