Wonderful Day!

Yesterday we were able to witness a very special event. A sister that has been investigating the church here in Bakersfield was baptized. It was such a beautiful service, and as she was baptized I was reminded of what a precious gift the gospel of Jesus Christ IS. We who have been members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints our whole lives may not realize what a special gift we have. There are so many restored truths and promised blessings to those who follow the Savior. As this wonderful sister took the step to follow the Lord, it helped me to understand the importance of recommitting myself to the gospel each day.

Also, Mike had the opportunity to speak in Sacrament Meeting today and he spoke on "Obtaining the Word". Before we can share the gospel with others, and especially our children or families, we need to "obtain" the "word" ourselves. He mostly focused on the importance of scripture study, and how we can improve our study of the scriptures through prayer, marking them, setting up a scripture study schedule, and applying the scriptures to ourselves. I'm grateful for Mike's example to me in these areas. I'm grateful that we have the chance to go to church and to learn. There is always something that we can strive to become better at, and thankfully through the help of our Savior, we can.
I don't normally share such moments that are so dear to my heart because they are so special, but I was so thankful for the spirit that I felt and wanted to share that with you as well. I hope we can all take a moment to think about our relationship with the Lord and how we can each strive to make it a little bit better.

Beach Day!

We have been wanting to go to the beach for quite a while now and last Saturday we finally decided to go. We had everything packed for a nice sunny day at the beach until we got there and it was 50 degrees and overcast. We had no idea that the temperatures would be so different at the coast than in Bakersfield. Just naivete for us new Californians. Luckily I had packed a hoody, and Emma had some pants and a jacket in the car. We ended up going to Morro Bay and walked around the shops, etc. We just happened upon the beach there and it turned warm and sunny so we were able to break out the swim wear and have a little fun. Emma loved walking in the sand. She had a lot of fun just running around. She had a little bit of a runny nose and so at one point she did a face plant into the sand and this was the result. Sandy boogers! We brought Molly with us as well and she had fun digging in the sand, where she made this nice cool bed for herself.
We ended our time with a TON of fish and chips. It was a long day, especially the REALLY winedy road getting home, but we had a great time.

Emma LOVES Crackers!

I just had to put this up because Emma, (and her parents) have been so proud of all the signs she is learning. She has learned to SAY cracker as well as just signing it. I think she thinks she can live on crackers because that's all she ever wants to eat. (Mostly Graham Crackers:)

A Few of My Favorite Things

This morning I was thinking about all of the things I am grateful for, so this is a gratitude post.

1. Our dog is FINALLY doing better with her potty training. Oh the joys of having her scratch at the door and actually doing her business outside instead of inside.

2. Walks to the Park- Since we've had Molly we have been truly forced to get out and go on walks more often. It has been nice to have this excuse to get outside and enjoy our mornings. (While it is still cool outside) There is a park that we will walk to and Emma loves playing on the slide. It is a fun routine for us.


3. Superman for a husband- He is such a hard worker. He is so busy at work, yet takes time to spend with us, as well as help out around the house when he can. He also is the best dad in the world. It is so much fun watching him play with Emma. She loves all the attention she gets from her Da Da.


4. Emma's Laughter- She is such a crack up, and laughs mostly at herself. (Hmm, I wonder who she gets that from?)


5. Baby Signs- We have been teaching Emma some baby signs recently, and it is so fun to see her pick them up. She can now say the signs for: Milk, More, Please, Food, Dog, and Cookie. I shouldn't have taught her the sign for cookie because now that is the ONLY thing she ever wants.:)

6. Family- We were able to visit with family in Las Vegas over the weekend. We were able to see Sara baptized, and got to watch Emma and Annadele interact. They are a funny pair of cousins. We are so excited to see all of our family in less than a month.


7. Tide and Snuggle- I love the smell of clean clothes, and especially of dryer sheets. Mmm it just makes me happy.

8. Homegrown Vegetables- Recently we have actually been able to eat the produce from our garden. It really doesn't amount to much food, but it is sure fun seeing the end product. I was able to make some zucchini bread, we've had some peas, green beans, spinach, lettuce and strawberries, and soon we will have some yummy sweet corn.

9. Nice Neighbors - Our neighbors are always so nice to help us out by watching Gracie whenever we go out of town. We also hosted an ice-cream social for our neighborhood and had an awesome turnout. It was good to get to know our neighbors better.

10. The Gospel- I'm grateful for the happiness that the principles of the gospel bring to my life and the life of my family. I'm grateful that the Lord had provided multiple ways for us to find peace, answers, help, freedom, and joy.

Just a few of my Favorite Things:)

Water Baby!

This past weekend Emma went swimming for the first time in a little kiddie pool. (I forgot that last weekend she went swimming in the babysitters pool) She loves water, and a great time. We really need to get her out more, I think we are going to go to the beach this week and I know she is going to love it. She loves playing in the sand and just getting wet.

I tried to get her to smile for me, but she was too concentrated on her playing.

Father's Day and Too Much Sugar!

Yesterday was a nice day in which we were able to spend more time with Dad on Sunday. He usually leaves early and doesn't get back until mid afternoon. It was nice getting to sleep in, although Emma decided to wake up at 5:00 a.m.. We had our Father's Day dinner on Friday, and we had Tri-Tip with all the fixins. I had never made it before, but it turned out alright.
Mike has been wanting a bird-feeder ever since we moved into our home so that's what Emma got her dad for Father's Day. We sure think Mike is the best Father and Husband in the world. It's nice when he get's spoiled every once in awhile, because he sure deserves it.

This past week we had 2 birthday parties and Father's day and so we really overdid it on the sweets. So much for our 1 dessert a week. We indulged in 2 birthday cakes, key lime pie, as well as 2 kinds of cookies. Pretty yummy, but boy does it make you sick when you aren't use to eating it that much.

It's Me...Finally!

I tend to go in blogging spurts because I'll have a lot of things to talk about and then nothing at all. This past week we had a lot of fun. First we had our friend Gigi from the ward over for a birthday dinner. She is a diabetic and so it was interesting trying to find a no sugar, no carb cake for her. In the end it turned out more like a chocolate omelet, but tasted pretty much like a brownie. Oh well, at least it was something.



I love these pictures of Emma because she is in the stage where she wants to be Mamma's helper. She loves climbing on the dishwasher and "helping" me with the dishes. It ends up being more of a game of how can Mom keep Emma away from the knives. EEEK!


She also loves food, and this particular time, Dad was giving her some of his chocolate chip cookie. I think she got more chocolate than cookie, but I don't think she minded too much.