Desert Beauty

Arizona has some really beautiful plants and trees that I wanted to share with my Northern friends and family. There is a slideshow (off to the side) that shows off some things from Nana and Papa's neighborhood and from my neighborhood here. I really love flowers on cacti. It brought to mind the way we are to be in the world, but not of the world.
I have been fascinated with the plant life since the first time I visited Arizona with Nathaniel before we were even engaged. It was "winter" here and there was lettuce growing everywhere, different kinds and colors. I had never seen anything like it and I made him pull over so I could get pictures. He just laughed and rolled his eyes since it is so familiar to him. I was so excited to find lemons in his neighborhood and he and his family got a kick out of my enthusiasm. I grew up appreciating different crops and plants that grew around us. My grandparents and Uncle Mike and Aunt Joyce have many different crops I had the experience of working with and learned to love. Apples, pears, nectarines, peaches, cherries, asparagus, etc. This is just so different here. Lemons, oranges, pomegranates, grapefruit, lettuce, etc. I love the diversity and the beauty of both.
I'm not a photographer so bear with me. Laurel, you would have seen some of these in person if you would have gone on that walk with us...too bad you were too busy being a good mom :)

Not What You Wanted to Wake Up To...

My father-in-law drove a big truck over from Yuma on Friday with insulation and a blower in it to help us insulate our attic. We got up Saturday morning to find that someone had done this to his work truck (he works for a roofing and insulation company). The rock below is what was used to break the windshield. It is huge. You can tell by the size of the beer can next to it. The police came and took pictures and collected the can that was left behind, but we'll see if anything ever comes of it.
Luckily we were able to have someone come out and replace it so quickly that it wasn't much of a setback. The boys still got lots of work done and now I have 6, yes 6, working fans in my small house. It is SO nice! Thanks a ton, Dad!

Puddle Splashin'

Just look at her face! Pure Delight!

Believe it or not, it does rain here in Arizona...and thank goodness. My kids LOVE to go out and play in the puddles. I went out to throw a diaper in the trash outside and Eliza ran out after me without her shoes on. I told her she could play outside if she put her shoes on. She went in and put shoes on, but they were Daddy's flip flops which were so funny to watch her try to keep on while she ran around and splashed. She kept leaving them behind. It's handy that it was still warm enough I didn't have to worry too much. Kate saw that we were outside and came running, even though she had no clothes on. She had spilled yogurt on her jammies and took them off. I just let her go. How often do we get to do this (besides monsoon season, I guess).

I love the look on her face and her hair flying in the air as she jumped. You can tell the shoes were giving her problems.

Yuma for the weekend

We went to Yuma last weekend for a little fun with Nana and Papa and, of course, the cousins. I always love going because it isn't far (4 hours) and we get to see so much of Nathaniel's family. His parents are so fun with the kids and Becca, Elizabeth, and Matthew were all there to play with as well. Nancy and Quentin live just a few minutes down the road so we spend hours playing there as well. It is really handy when your sister-in-law happens to be your buddy from college. I tell you, that really worked out in our favor. The kids swam and swam. Kate was more timid of the water than I thought she would be, but if she were given time she would be back up to her skill level and then some from last summer. Eliza was a little fish. I couldn't believe it. She saw her cousins (who are quite the swimmers) and wanted to do everything they did. She was jumping off the diving board and swimming to the side and trying all kinds of things. They weren't complicated things, but last summer she didn't even want her face under water. She would tip toe around the shallow end of the pool with her nose barely above water, but she didn't want to go under at all. This was a huge jump for her and I was quite proud.
In the picture above, she wears this towel ALL of the time. She calls it her "hair", her princess hair. The problem is, when she takes it off her real hair is a matted mess. I hate it so much that Nathaniel and I had to hide them. I hope she forgets about them soon and they stay gone!
Kate wore these around for a while and I thought she was so stinkin' cute! She is such a character. She has gotten so chatty lately that people just love listening to her little voice as she goes on and on and on. It is entertaining and humorous. What a sweet little doll!
Way to make Daddy proud! Ever since this baby was born at 9lbs. 2 oz. Daddy has been gearing him up for football. We were at Nancy's house and Bubba walks in to the toy room, grabs the football and takes off running with it. I was so excited I had to call Nathaniel in to see it. He is growing up sooo fast.
This is Nathan with his cousin, Quentin (who is also a junior). My junior is a little less "junior" if you know what I mean ;)! Look at those thighs, I love them! I am afraid that now that he is walking they will start to disappear. Bummer!

Lessons Learned From My 3 Year Old

Eliza wanted to go to the library today (even though we just went on Sat.). I told her that it was closed because it was a special day today. She asked me why it was special. I told her it was Memorial Day, a day to remember people who have done something really great for us, people who have died for us. She lit up and said, "Like Jesus Christ!" I had never thought of it in that way before, but what a great day to remember Him who has given his life for us. A few minutes later she said, "And Joseph Smith?" I said, "Joseph Smith died for our Church and what he believed." I love the way little children say things that are so profound and make you realize how wise they are. It makes me wonder how many other things I could learn from my little ones...

Time for a Change

I haven't cut my hair since Nathan was only a month old. I decided I needed to do something new with my hair. Brianne told me about a cute hairdo Chelsea had done recently. An Aline haircut. My friends Megan and Lori told me I should go for it. I decided to give it a whirl. What's the worst that can happen? It is going to take some getting used to, but it'll be perfect for Arizona. It's short, but I can still pull it up- a must!

Tea Party

Last week my sister-in-law, Nancy, had a tea party for my mother-in-law for mothers' day. I thought that was an adorable idea and decided to take off with it. I called Lori and we really got excited and started making plans. We got all dressed up and went to her house this morning to have a tea party brunch. (I am still learning ordering for pictures...therefore these are all backwards.)
Kate enjoying her donut hole. She did use her fancy party toothpick though.
The girls at their table. Lori had cute little doilies under their cups and plates. I could tell she was just as excited as I was about this event.
The little ladies at the tea party. Fancy dresses and all!

The desserts...YUM!!! The cupcakes were the biggest hit with the kids. They were chocolate and had princess sprinkles and pink frosting...need I say more?!

The whole spread. The girls were getting antsy to start and kept sneaking the little peanut butter and jelly sandwiches off of the table. They were a little excited, too.
Kate and Eliza helped me with the fruit. Kate put the grapes on and did a fantastic job. I couldn't keep up with her. I was in charge of the pineapple. I would put one on the toothpick and hand it to Eliza to add the strawberry. She would promptly eat the pineapple and put the toothpick on the table. Our system was somewhat flawed, so I ended up doing both the stawberries and the pineapple while Eliza indulged on the pineapple. That seemed to work out much better.
This is one of my favoites- Lemon Pound Cake with lemon drizzle frosting. Chelsea gave me the recipe for these and I can only make them once in a while or I gain a minimum of 5 lbs. with each batch. No self-control when it comes to these!
Mini Peanut Butter Cookies with chocolate. Eliza liked these, but liked the swirl ones best. The zig zags not as much. I didn't bother telling her that they tasted exactly the same. What's the point? The girl is all about fancy! She thought the swirl ones were fancier than the others. She sure knows what she wants.
The funniest thing happened when Nathaniel came to pick us up. the ladies were helping me pack things up and trading their items with mine so we all had a variety. Eliza saw my friends taking cookies and cake off of the trays and she kept saying, "Stop stealing our food! Mommy, they are stealing our food!" I tried explaining to her what was going on, but she took matters into her own hands and went over to the table, grabbed the tray, and brought it directly to me and said, "Here Mom, they were stealing our food!" And so comes the years of embarrassing things coming out of their little mouths...
Lori and Hallie, our hosts. I love the dress Lori has on. I wish I got a better picture of it. It is so cute!
Eliza sipping her "tea" or pink lemonade to the rest of us. She kept saying, "This is the best tea party EVER!" She is so fun to have around. She is so enthusiastic!
Kate got sick of the pictures I'm pretty sure. I did go a little nuts with the camera. It was all just so cute. She had a really good time and did the best clearing her plate. Do you see how she is almost spilling her drink? Nice!
The Sorenson ladies. Daddy had Nathan and they had guy time. It was very nice for us ladies.
My favorite part of the tea party was this little girl. Look at her! Could you get any cuter? That little bonnet made my day. I could have eaten her up with the rest of the goodies from the tea party. What a doll!!! Girls sure are fun!

Red Dress Addiction

Aunt Nancy bought my girls red dresses. We love them. Kate especially. She finds them no matter where they are in the house and tries to wear them daily. I am not kidding. I have the hardest time washing them because she will take them out of the dirty laundry and put it on in the morning. Then, when I try to take it off of her and wash it, she loses it and cries.

You'd think two was enough, but not with the way Kate eats. She is going to have these worn out by the middle of summer. She loves to wear dresses, but this one is her favorite!!! Thanks, Nancy!

Cute Traditions

Every morning we see Daddy off to school. Daddy gives a round of kisses and hugs to us before he leaves the house, but it is what comes next that is so sweet. Eliza would freak out and cry if Daddy would drive off on his scooter before she waved goodbye to him at the window. Nathaniel and I have always waved goodbye while doing the I love you hand signal. Eliza has learned how to do this on her own and now she and Kate (Kate does different fingers every day, but she is getting close) do that every morning to Daddy at the window. It is the SWEETEST thing. I love how much Daddy melts for his little girls!

Girls, Girls, Girls!

Megan and I went out on Saturday to run some errands together. One of the places we went was to Costco. I wanted to look at the girls dresses, and WOW! they had some cute ones. This dress was one I couldn't pass up. It is reversible. Megan convinced me it was the only responsible thing to do to buy matching dresses and have Eliza wear one side and Kate the other side. I agreed. Everyone needs a Megan. She is the best!

Eliza and Kate were getting carried away hugging and they fell over and then Eliza had to kiss Kate. It is hard to resist. She is so sweet.

Kate has the best facial expressions! They looked adorable...which was good because they were rotten for church. My uncle always told us it was more important to be beautiful than smart. I just hope the people in church thought that it was more important to be adorable than obedient! At one point I got up to leave with Nathan and I motioned to have Kate join me in the hall. Eliza saw me motioning and she thought I was talking to her. Kate saw us leaving and started yelling, "Mommy! Mommy!" as she crawled under peoples feet to get out of the bench to me. I wasn't sure if I should be horribly embarrassed or just laugh at the scene we had just made. Oh well!
Eliza is the kid in the ward that everyone knows. I don't mean that in a negative way, she just gets noticed. Sometimes it is because she can't whisper and the ward members hear her say, "I don't want to sit by Mom!" Or because when the primary children sing, she stands there and doesn't move her lips to sing, likewise when it is time to sit down she doesn't move. She has to have someone prompt her to leave the front. She is infamous in primary for loudly contributing the most random things. For example, she told the ward I had a baby last week. Another time she told them she showers with me. (She does occasionally, but we wear swimsuits. A detail she, of course, didn't add.) This last Sunday it was during testimony that she was noticed. She went up with Daddy to bear her testimony and when Daddy prompted her to close, she said into the microphone, "I'm not done!" Everyone was laughing and I had several people mention it to me later. She is quite a character!

I love these little girls! They sure are fun to dress up!

Yes, that is a hug!

Sweet-toothed Water Snob

Eliza is addicted to sugar (I have NO idea where she could possibly get that from!). This picture is from when my family was here and she lived off of slurpees for days. She loved Uncle Tanner's "chocolate" (brown) slurpees, but the red kind were more abundantly found. She asks for treats the instant she wakes up and doesn't stop until bedtime. Yesterday, I was praising Kate for eating her broccoli so well and out of the corner of my eye I saw Eliza with the "light bulb just went on" look and she started chowing down on hers as well, and then went to grab more. I quickly praised her as well and called her my" broccoli eating dinosaur" and she was so proud of herself that she asked if we could call Daddy to tell him about it. The child rarely touches anything that resembles vegetables. She hardly eats meals and then begs for food (aka candy) the rest of the time. We are working on the being healthy thing with her. Eliza is VERY particular about her water. She doesn't like water that has been left out overnight (even if it is a new bottle that was opened the night before), water that is out of certain water bottles or sippies because she says "it's gross", or out of Kate's water bottle. She will try several water bottles before she finds an acceptable one. I have to use cups all of the time now so that she knows it hasn't been sitting out so it can't possibly be gross yet. It was just so easy to have her get her own water bottle off of the counter, until she got picky. Seriously...she's 3!!!