Fall . . . (fall asleep, please!)

Where does the time go? I haven't blogged in so long! It is 3:30 am and I am having a bout of insomnia so it's time to get caught up!

Here we have Elyse feeding a stray cat that followed us home from the park. It looked so sickly! We found some Vienna sausages in our cupboard and let the cat have a feast. This brought us to naming this poor animal. We decided to name it "Vienna." Elyse proudly changed it's name to "Vienna-renna." If you know Elyse, you know who her favorite princesses is, and she calls her "Cinderenna." Yuck- Pretty disgusting that she is playing in the cat's water.

When I pick Elyse up from daycare, she is always sporting a crazy hairdo. Today her attitude matched. I promise I actually fix her up before she leaves the house for the day!

At least once a day Elyse asks if we can "Make a cake, Momma? She likes licking the bowl and does not get the concept that a cake must take 30 minutes to bake. This can get ugly!

We celebrated Elyse's 2nd birthday. I can't believe how much she has grown! Sometimes I hold my big, long, over-sized baby and think, "How did she get this big? She used to fit right in my arms!" I made her a princess cake. I am not great with frosting cakes and was pretty impressed that Ariel's clothing didn't run right off. At one point in my frosting process, I had a great laugh-I had not yet frosted a shirt for Ariel. She looked like a naked lady jumping out of a cake -not at all appropriate for a toddler's birthday party.

Elyse LOVES baby Jace, who attended her birthday. Sorry- didn't get pictures of Kyrsten and Hayley. They turned out blurry.

Grandma and Grandpa Mitchell gave Elyse a Snow White doll and movie.

And finally, we celebrated Halloween. Elyse LOVES the movie "Annie." My mom made this adorable dress for her. We bought the wig a few months prior and used the time to practice getting her to wear it. When she saw all of her friends dressed up, she got the concept of Halloween and actually proudly wore her costume all night!

Elyse and her friend Lille

Jason was Daddy Warbucks and I was Miss Hannigan.

Boston Work Trip

I went to Boston in August for a work trip. Jason and Elyse were able to come along. We are not in any pictures together- mostly because we were only together for dinners in the evenings. We ate at some fun places in the North End. Our favorite thing to eat was gelato.

Dinner Cruise around the Boston Harbor on the Odyssey

Boston Children's Museum

Dinner with Jason, Elyse and co-workers

Trying to catch pigeons

Boston Aquarium

It doesn't look that bad in this picture, but a little toe infection caused a detour on the vacation. Jason spent 3 hours on the phone with our oh-so-helpful (sarcasm) insurance company- All to find a clinic in our network that we could bring Elyse to. When Jason found one, he took a subway, 2 buses and a taxi to complete the trip. Oh what fun to do with a busy toddler! Jason handled it like a champ, while I missed the excitement attending meetings. The good part about blogging so long afterward is I can say I have received the bill and wonder, "What use was my insurance?" My supposed $35 copay turned into $178.

Jason and Elyse flew home a day before my conference ended. The grand finale of the conference was seeing Styx perform. They were so cool! My fav songs are Come Sail Away and Lady.

Mitchell Family Vacation 2009

Okay, so we really went on this vacation in June. It has been a busy summer and I finally got around to blogging about it! The Mitchell family went to stay in a cabin near Flagstaff, AZ. We had a lot of fun. My favorite part was seeing Elyse interact with her cousins. She is old enough to play with them and knows almost everyone's name.

Eating mangos with Dad

Mitchell Talent Show- Scott, Amanda and kids play their recorders

Elyse finds ANYONE'S shoes she can get her hands on

Elyse holding baby Jace

Walking with Dad


Hanging out with Grandpa Mitchell


At the Playground by the Cabin

Kyrsten

Katelynn

Andon

Caiden

Caiden at the Flagstaff Aquatic Center

Morgan, Brendan, Jensen and Ashton

Washington D.C. Work Trip

In July I attended a work conference in Washington D.C. with some coworkers. Our purpose there was to consult with independent pharmacy owners and discuss pharmacy statistics and audit strategies. It was so hard to leave Elyse, as this was my first trip overnight away from her since her birth. I stayed very busy to distract myself. It was so nice to get out of the Phoenix heat, however the humidity wasn't much better. I had to wear a hat every time I spent extended time outside so that my head wouldn't turn into a halo of frizz!

Here is the convention center where worked-Gaylord Nation Harbor, Maryland.

Here is the view from my hotel room.

We took an excursion to the National Mall.

The Washington Monument

Me and Stephanie

Some geese in park

World War II Memorial and Lincoln Monument

The sweetest sight! These men were on tour with other veterans. When they stood at the WWII memorial, they shed a few tears. I couldn't help being choked up. How fortunate are we to live in a country with such valiant servicemen willing to risk their lives!

The Holocaust Museum. This was definately my favorite. It kind of ruined the day. After a visit there, you may not feel very cheerful, but it is definately a wonderful growing experience. My favorite books on the subject are Night, by Elie Wiesel, and The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom.

Tiles created by children

The White House

This is an eraser and a brush. I have no idea what decade these where used (maybe they still are?), but I wanted the picture because I used to play "office" with one at my grandma's house.

The Pentagon. Wish we could have gone inside!

Some sushi restaurant. I can't remember the name.

A summer concert on the green by our hotel in National Harbor.

Another summer concert in a shopping area. Why can't Phoenix be cool in the summer so we can actually attend stuff like this?

And I got to spend some time with Doyle and Preston, who also attended the convention!

The final night of the conference was an act by Kevin Nealon. He was so funny!

The End!

Happy Birthday, LaPreal!

I love and miss you.

July 2009

It is so easy for a month to pass by! Here I am trying to catch up again. July was filled with festivities with friends, some work trips, BBQ with family and lots of fun. Here is a picture of Elyse on the 4th of July. I wish we could do fireworks in the front yard like I did growing up in Idaho. We made up for it by going to our friends, the Winns to hang out and eat some yummy food.

Mommy fell asleep while Elyse watched Cinderella for the millionth time.

Elyse getting her first haircut. She didn't like it at first. . .

But it got a little better. . .

And even better . . .

And then it was actually fun!

Elyse's first experience "licking the bowl."

If we let Elyse watch a movie, she will sit still long enough for me to braid her hair. Oh what fun to have a girl!

Daddy and Elyse swimming in Grandma and Grandpa Mitchell's pool.

Elyse's favorite place to play is in the cupboards.

Other happenings . . .

• Elyse calls her pediatrician, Dr. Chung who happens to weigh about 80 lbs, "Dr. Chunk."
• Elyse consistently asks for a pickle when I put her in the car seat to take her home from the sitter's.
• While giving Elyse a bath, we got to the dreaded part of washing her hair. She started shouting "Rescue Me!"

Diamondbacks Game

D-backs vs. Rangers

Check out this guy's name! It wraps around his whole back.

Try singing this to the tune of Deck the Halls:

SALT- al la la la laaaaaa - la la MACHI - Ah

That was fun.

Thanks Gary and Crystal! We had a blast.

A Day At The Zoo

raspBABY

I have had no time to blog, but wanted to throw up some kind of post. Here is what we have been up to lately:

• went to girls' camp above Payson, AZ
• stayed in a cabin in Flagstaff with Jason's family
• had to fix something on my car every other day!!!

Happenings for the cutest, sweetest 20-month-old EVER:

• calls raspberries "Raspbabies"
• now sleeps in a toddler bed (and doesn't get out)
• can count to THIRTEEN by herself!!!
• finally can sit through a whole book to listen instead of flipping pages on us while we try to read
• sings along with numerous songs-her favorite being "Once Upon A Dream" which she can now do in a few different accents (okay not really-but she thinks it's funny to change her voice)
• wants to change her clothes several times a day-mostly for the purpose of wearing a dress to twirl around in

Yes, it sounds like I just wrote my daughter a resume. I realize I am bragging. We love Elyse so much. She is a pleasure and the greatest blessing we have ever known!

Happenings In May

My Mom made this dress for Elyse for Easter. I absolutely love it. She has grown so much, but I have managed to stuff her inside of this dress. Thank you so much, Mom! I think it was more of a present for me!!

FOTC concert

Can you believe that we met these guys!?

Just kidding. We met some girls that made these pictures on their computer and glued them to a popsicle stick.

Elyse loves her Cinderella doll. She even sleeps beside her at night.

And here are the kids (Emi, Elyse and Chase) all watching Cinderella!

Elyse helps Mom with the gardening

I sold my motorcycle . . . It went to a wonderful new home!

We went to Joni's graduation party. Dad taught Elyse how to dance.

And finally, we attended Baby Jace's blessing.

We are thankful that we had such a good month. Our Memorial day weekend wasn't so great! Elyse got the flu, so I had to take a few days off of work. By the time my Memorial Day vacation began, Jason and I also had the flu. Were we going to do anything fun anyway? Not if you want to count traffic school (which I missed because I was too busy throwing up!)

Happy Mother's Day, Mom Hawker!!

Happy Mother's Day to my sweet mom

Marita Jensen Hawker

She was born in Emmett, Idaho. She is the second oldest of 7 kids. She sews, paints and cooks. She has even been known to do laundry for her grown-up sons! She is also quite the practical joker. Mother to 4 boys and 1 daughter.

Marita with sisters Stephanie and Laurel.

If only I had inherited her beautiful black hair!

One of my favorite memories was a trip to California in 2004. We spent time in Monterey, Morgan Hill, Oakland and San Franciso.

And here she has recovered nicely after being miserably carsick from my driving on those crazy bay area freeways! We are at the Oakland Temple.

And here we are at Alcatraz.

“Motherhood is the greatest potential influence either for good or ill in human life. The mother’s image is the first that stamps itself on the … young child’s mind. It is her caress that first awakens a sense of security; her kiss, the first realization of affection; her sympathy and tenderness, the first assurance that there is love in the world.”

-David O. McKay

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! I love you.

Thank you for all that you do and all that you are!

We haven't been up to much lately, so here are a few pictures from the last few weeks. The weather has been amazing so we have tried to spend time outside at the park, on walks and gardening in the yard.

Elyse loves her dad. Sometimes when he is in another room she will decide she wants his company and say "Dada" over and over again until he hears her and finds her. We love stealing kisses.

Her new favorite place to play is the kitchen table. We caught her in my Bears cap trying to play on the computer.