Memorial Day Festivities

I tried to post the fabulous pictures of our Memorial Day BBQ with the Webbs (my brother and family). I kept getting an error message saying that I typed in the wrong address. I didn't type in anything...I just clicked "upload". Anyone else having this problem? Anyway...these pics were actually the first pictures I've with my new SLR camera that I got for mother's day! I've been too nervous to take it out of the house, because I was sure that my clutzy self would drop it or ruin it somehow. So I finally got up the nerve to take it out (it kind of sounds like I'm treating it like a newborn baby! well, I do call it my baby). Anyway, we had an awesome BBQ. James and Jamie prepared EVERYTHING on their new grill. We had grilled potato salad (this was actually our favorite part of the whole meal) steak and corn on the cob. They could start a husband/wife grilling/cooking show. It was awesome. The kids played in the pool and had a great time. Then after we played Wii for awhile. Good time had by all!

Myla was Made for Walkin'

Myla loves walking around, with the assistance of our fingers or her little walker car. She won't hold still! She doesn't want to crawl, she wants to walk. And her little squawk (Kev and I call it the devil squawk) quickly convinces us to just give in and walk her around the house. I captured this happy face while taking the walker car out for her first spin. Can you see the joy on her face?! I'm thinking we will need to watch out for this one. We can't wait until she's walking on all her own...then maybe we can have our fingers (and our sanity) back!

My Life Soundtrack

Isn't it great how you can be transported back in time just by hearing a song? Sometimes I will hear a song that had great meaning to me at a certain time in my life and my mind and heart go back to that time. I feel the emotions, I smell the smells and I see myself back then. Here are a few songs that have become a part of my life soundtrack.




I Will Always Love You (Whitney Houston) When I hear this song I am taken back to my first New Years Eve party that I was able to go to by myself. I think I was about 13. This song kind of symbolizes my young freedom. My friends and I would sing it at the top of our lungs until our voices were hoarse and we could sing no more.




Groovy Kind of Love (Phil Collins) Ahhh, I remember the first time I really listened to this song. I was 12 years old and had just come home from a dance and I was in love and I thought it would last forever. This song was my anthem for my love (too bad he didn't know I was alive!).




One Week (Barenaked Ladies) The college days flood back to me full force when I hear this song. I remember loving the video. I remember my roommates and I listening to it over and over trying to get the words down. "Chickety China the Chinese chicken you have a drumstick and your brain stops tickin'... " What does that even mean?





Where Have All the Flowers Gone I heard this song for the first time when my brother sang it with his guitar. I remember listening to the lyrics and just feeling such a sadness for all the people whose lives have been affected by war. When will we ever learn?

Okay, there are so many that I could put and I don't want to bore you. These are just the songs that I've heard recently that have brought back memories for me.

There is one last song that will always hold a very special place in my heart because it helped me through a very difficult time.







Fly (Celine Dion) I heard this song while I was going through my second miscarriage. My first miscarriage was at 8 weeks, and my second one was at 16 weeks. I had to deliver the second baby. It was a boy and we named him Samuel. We were able to hold him. He weighed 8 oz and was 6 inches long. He was so tiny! It was a bittersweet moment to hold him. It was a very hard time for both of us and I had a hard time dealing with it. I was angry and confused and scared. And I missed our little boy, even though I had never known him; I felt like a part of me was missing. Then I heard this song. I feel like it was a blessing from above that I found this song when I did because it was very healing for me. I was able to find some sort of peace when I listened to it. These were the words I wanted to say to the babies that I had lost. Even though life has gone on and we've healed and are happy and we have two beautiful children I don't think I'll ever forget that time...and in a way I don't want to. When I listen to this song I feel connected to Samuel again and like to imagine what he's doing now. If you get a chance, listen to the song...I think it's very powerful. Here are the lyrics:

Fly, fly little wing

Fly beyond imagining

The softest cloud, the whitest dove

Upon the wind of heaven's love

Past the planets and the stars

Leave this lonely world of ours

Escape the sorrow and the pain

And fly again

Fly, fly precious one

Your endless journey has begun

Take your gentle happiness

Far too beautiful for this

Cross over to the other shore

There is peace forevermore

But hold this mem'ry bittersweet

Until we meet

Fly, fly do not fear

Don't waste a breath, don't shed a tear

Your heart is pure, your soul is free

Be on your way, don't wait for me

Above the universe you'll climb

On beyond the hands of time

The moon will rise, the sun will set

But I won't forget

Fly, fly little wing

Fly where only angels sing

Fly away, the time is right

Go now, find the light

What songs are on your life soundtrack?

Is Paradise Supposed to be SO HOT?!?!

This past week has been somewhat miserable in the McMillan household. Myla tried the tackle the stairs, but instead got a nice bump on her head; Cade has become a little impatient and demanding, adding "NOW" after every request (example: Go outside...NOW. Want apple juice...NOW); Kevin has to watch movies with the regular TV sound because our surround sound went out; and I have a pretty severe sunburn on my back (I even applied sunblock!!). But worst of all, our beloved air conditioner has been sick and the temperature in the house reached upwards of 92 degrees (I chose to wake up the kids from their nap and leave at that point and seek coolness elsewhere, so who knows how hot it really got!) The air that was coming out of it was cold, but it was just trickling out. We could barely feel it. My dear, industrious, intelligent husband wanted to fix it himself. We have been duped by A/C repair companies before. So Kevin collected knowledge from his friends and the internet and decided that it was dirty and needed to be cleaned. He got a coil cleaner from Home Depot and went to town. Here are some pics to show how difficult it was. The indoor part of the A/C unit is above the stairs leading to our room. He first had to take apart the indoor unit, which was a challenge in itself.

Here is Kev applying the cleaner. The fumes were really strong.
Here is Kevin rinsing the cleaner off. He used a little sprayer at first, but then we ended dragging up the garden hose. He created quite a little contraption to collect the water to try to preserve our carpet.
Look at all the ickiness that came out of the A/C. My job was to make sure the water got into the bucket.

So after 3 very late nights and many hours working on it, Kevin put it back together and turned it on this morning and it was blowing a lot better than before, but the air wasn't cold!! Ahhhh! We were so disappointed! So Kevin called a friend and his friend called a friend and they came to look at it. It turns out that our unit had no freon in it. We just had the unit serviced two months ago and the man said he topped the freon off, so it was supposed to be full. Anyway, they added the freon and the air turned immediately cold. Sweet, wonderful, blessed cold air. How grateful we are for our aged little A/C unit. It's about 20 years old and still kickin'! Thank you to Rob and Allen for helping us out!

Tonight life is back to paradise. Myla's bump is gone (but not her adventurous spirit) , my back is almost healed, Cade is...well, we are working on that, and Kevin is just happy to be watching a movie rather than propped precariously on a ladder trying to fix an A/C unit. Now we can enjoy our 3-day weekend! We hope you enjoy yours!

You Know You Grew Up in the 80's If...

You've ever ended a sentence with the word SIKE.

You can sing the rap to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and can do the Carlton

You know that "WOAH" comes from Joey on Blossom

If you ever watched "Fraggle Rock"

It was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.

You wore a ponytail on the side of your head.

You got super-excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.

You made your mom buy one of those clips that would hold your shirt in a knot on the side.

You played the game "MASH"(Mansion, Apartment, Shelter, House)

You wore stonewashed Jordache jean jackets and were proud of it.

You know the profound meaning of " WAX ON , WAX OFF"

You wanted to be a Goonie.

You ever wore fluorescent clothing. (some of us...head-to-toe)

You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off and his cheeks shifted.

You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf.

You took lunch boxes to school...and traded Garbage Pailkids in the schoolyard.

You remember the CRAZE, then the BANNING of slap bracelets.

You still get the urge to say "NOT" after every sentence.

You thought your childhood friends would never leave because you exchanged handmade friendship bracelets.

You ever owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes.

After you saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure you kept saying "I know you are, but what am I?" You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up"

You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates.

You have ever played with a Skip-It.

You remember watching both Gremlins movies.

You thought Doogie Howser/Samantha Micelli was hot.

You remember Alf, the lil furry brown alien from Melmac.

You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool...and don't even flinch when people refer to them as "NKOTB"

You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved By The Bell," The ORIGINAL class.

You know all the words to Bon Jovi - You Give Love a Bad Name.

You just sang those words to yourself.

You still sing "We are the World"

You tight rolled your jeans.

You owned a bannana clip.

You remember "Where's the Beef?"

You used to (and probably still do) say "What you talkin' 'bout Willis?"

You're still singing You Give Love a Bad Name in your head, aren't you!

**This was emailed to me awhile ago and thought it was funny...and pretty accurate!

How Many People Have My Name?

I saw this on Meggan's blog. Thought it was fun. There are 51,325 people in the US with the name Christie and 48,306 with the name McMillan. For some reason I thought it'd be a little bit more. Thanks Meggan!

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 8 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Where'd Wendy Go?

This is the question Cade asked me this morning when he woke up and Wendy and Grandma weren't here...they had gone back to Utah after a wonderful weekend! Wendy became Cade's new best friend. He loved playing with her and was constantly saying her name. Myla, on the other hand, was a Grandma's girl. They had a good time together too. We love it when they come to visit. We always have such a good time! We went to the movies, we went swimming, we ate orange chips (hee hee), we visited. It was great! Thanks for coming...come back soon!Just the girls!
My handsome men!

Shrek 3!!

I think I was more excited about seeing Shrek 3 than Cade was...and this kid LOVES Shrek. Yes, I am one of those parents who bought the Shrek toys, got the Shrek Happy Meal from McDonalds, and played Shrek 1 & 2 everyday for the past week to "prepare" for the big day! I guess I'm a sucker for big, green, smelly ogres...but I'm more of a sucker for the smile and "shank shoo Mommy" that comes from my surprisingly grateful child when he receives any of these things.

We are so excited because Grandma Pat and Aunt Wendy came down from Utah and we went to see the movie together. My mom came as well and we had a good time.

This is us waiting for the movie to start.
Grandma Pat, Myla, Aunt Wendy and Cade

So the movie...I loved it! Cade loved it! Daddy, Grandmas, and Aunt Wendy loved it! Myla...well, she did good for about 45 minutes, then didn't love it so much, so Mommy took her down and rocked her (while still watching the movie of course) until she fell asleep. I love most the message the Shrek movies send--love yourself the way you are; don't cave to society to be someone you aren't; don't let others define you. Everyone is beautiful no matter what shape, size, or color.

Arizona Museum for Youth

Now that all the season finales are over, I am embarking on my one month of no TV for the kids and I. TV has become too commonplace in our house and is always on. I think that we miss out on learning opportunities and using our imagination when the TV is on. So I thought it would be good to try a little experiment and fill our days with non-TV stuff...music, museums, creative play, crafts, books and library, water play. Any other ideas would be appreciated! :) (Just to clarify, we can watch one movie a day, but no TV.) So today we went to the Arizona Museum for Youth. I love this place!! It is so cute, and such a good place for kids AND adults. They have an Under the Sea exhibit right now and Cade loved it. It was so fun to watch him look at the art, and find all the Nemos. He would go up to a piece and look at it, for almost a minute. I could see his brain taking it in. He especially liked the mermaids (go figure). I was surprised that he wanted to look at the art. I was expecting to have to chase him around and keep his hands out of everything. Myla liked looking at the art as well. They had all kinds of mediums there. And at different spots through out the gallery they had a craft the kids could make. It was so fun!

They also had Artville, a place where kids under 4 could play. It was very hands-on. This is Cade in the submarine looking out at everyone. There was a slide, a little "theatre" where the kids could put on costumes and act things out, an arts and crafts room, a little kitchen playroom, a garden. There was so much to do.
They also had a little area for the babies where there were different colors and textures. Myla loved it.
My favorite thing is to watch Myla and Cade play together. This is them acting like doggies. Really, Cade is acting like a doggy and Myla is giggling and crawling after him.

Diaper Rash Trick

My kids have very sensitive skin and eczema, so every little thing from perfume to grass to baby laundry detergent affects their skin. When Cade was younger he got bad diaper rashes all the time. We tried every diaper rash cream out there, but nothing really worked. Then I remembered a trick my mom used on my twin brothers when they were babies...browned flour. I called her and she told me she got that trick from her mom and that it really works. So I browned up some white flour and put it on his bum and the results were amazing! One application overnight and the rash wasn't even there. I know it sounds weird, but it was all we used on him after that.

Fast forward to Myla and for some reason I went back to putting on diaper rash cream. She's had a pretty bad diaper rash the past couple of days, it even had some blistering. I kept slathering on the cream, but it just kept getting redder and redder. Last night I remembered the flour again and browned some up and put it on her and WHALAH! this morning there is barely any sign of the rash! I don't know how it works, but it works!

All you do is put about 1/2 cup of white flour in a frying pan, turn the heat on medium, and stir until it is about the color of sand (it'll take about 15 minutes). Let it cool all the way before you put it on the bum (I just throw it in the freezer). Just apply it to the diaper rash area, put the diaper on, and let it do it's magic.

In the Middle of the Night

Last night I woke up to a voice in our room. I heard the printer going spastic and a women's voice. I sat up and told Kevin that our printer was talking to us. He told me to lay down, it's just our answering machine. I was tired enough that I went back to sleep, only to awaken to some serious racket downstairs. I bolted up in bed and moved closer to the baby monitor so I could hear what was going on. I shook Kevin and demanded he wake up and listen. There was all kinds of screaming! Kevin listened for a minute and then told me, in a rather bored manner, "It's just Harry Potter." Huh? He said, "It's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets movie playing." Okay, I could accept that, but...WHY WAS IT PLAYING? So I sit there and stare at Kevin as he drifts back to sleep, totally unconcerned. I huffed out of bed and tip-toed downstairs half expecting some intruder to be lounging on our couch watching Harry Potter before he decides to murder my family and take off with our stuff. (Sometimes I jump to the worst case scenario before finding out what's really going on.) I get downstairs and, indeed, Harry Potter was playing. I turned it off and bolted back upstairs, still a little nervous. Then, while I'm laying in bed (Kevin is snoring away) I started imagining some person in my kids room, waiting for the perfect moment to snatch them away--turning on Harry Potter as a distraction to the real crime! So I gathered up my courage again, threw Kevin a dirty look for peacefully sleeping the night away when there is so much potential for danger, and tread back downstairs into the kids room. Cade and Myla were sleeping soundly. So I looked under their beds--no one there. I peeked in the closet--no one to be found. Lastly, I opened their bathroom door, took a deep breath, and looked inside--empty. Relieved, I went back upstairs and layed in bed, waited for my heart rate to go down, and drifted back to sleep. In the morning Kevin and I had a conversation that went like this:

Me: Kevin, our house is haunted. The printer talked to us last night and someone turned on the Harry Potter movie.
Kevin: Christie, our house is not haunted.
Me: Yes it is!
Kevin: It's simple really. The power went out and when it went back on everything reloaded.
Me: That...doesn't....make...ooohhh
Kevin: All of that stuff happens every time our power goes out.
Me: Oh (sheepish laughter)

I'm such a scaredy cat at night.

Mother's Day

Today was such a wonderful day. I am such a blessed person. I have two mothers in my life. When I was younger it was kind of hard to have two moms, but as I get older I really see how super blessed I am. More people to love and more to love me. I wouldn't change anything about my life and I'm grateful for my moms and all the many women who have influenced my life. I love you!

Today I was also able to reflect on the honor of being a mother. My heart just overflows with joy and love when I watch my children. They are such special little people and I feel so honored they have been entrusted to my care. The pictures below are the moments when I met my babies for the first time. I love these pictures. When I talked to both of them for the first time they turned their heads toward my voice. It was so sweet. These are my first moments of motherhood with each child.

Meeting Cade for the first time
Meeting Myla for the first time

Sausage, Spiderman, and Sippy Cups

What do these three things have in common? Well, let me tell you. Thursday night is breakfast for dinner night at the McMillans. Tonight I was cooking up some sausage for breakfast burritos. Cade was watching Spiderman in the living roon and Myla was crawling around, getting into Myla mischief. In between stirring the sausage and pondering whether I should really be letting my 2 1/2 year old watch Spiderman Cade comes in asking for "bapple juice." I told him that I'll give him water. He shouts, "Mommy, no water!" I fill up his sippy cup with water anyway (Cade had long since surpassed his "bapple juice" quota for the day - he could live on it). I hand it to him and he bursts into tears and runs into the living room. So I give it to Myla and she happily sucks it down. I continue cooking the sausage. I turn around to put a plate in the sink and Myla has crawled into the kitchen and planted herself right in my path to the sink. I know it's really a half-step to the sink, but she's caught me off guard and I lose my balance. My hands go flailing and I elbow the frying pan with the sausage in it and it all goes flying...everywhere. Hot sausage. Hot grease. Hot frying pan. Right onto the floor where my baby girl is sitting. My heart jumped into my throat. I look down and Myla is playing, totally oblivious and untouched by any of it. Don't ask me how, she was right in the middle of everything. I put Myla in the living room and put up the baby gate right away and cleaned up the mess, all the while thanking God that my baby was not burned by the scalding grease. I am really shaken up over this. I learned a huge lesson tonight...I will NEVER cook while my kids are in the kitchen. No matter how careful I think I'm being, accidents happen.

Kevin from A to Z

Since this is a McMillan blog, I thought I'd introduce myself - it's surprising what you are willing to admit on a website when you would generally have a hard time saying it in person.

A- age: 27
B- bed size: queen
C- Chore you hate: any chore that takes longer than I originally thought. Other than that, I'm game.
D- Dessert you love: raspberry or lime sorbet (sherbet)
E- Essential start of your day: shower
F- Favorite musical artist: Howard Shore
G- Gold or Silver: Neither (see letter P)
H- Have to Have: water
I- Instruments you play: the mouth trumpet
J- Job title: CAD Draftsman
K- Kids: 2; Cade and Myla
L- Living arrangements: little townhouse ("cozy" undermines the emphasis on "little")
M- Most favorite month: October (My wife's birthday, Halloween, it starts to cool off, the leaves start to turn colors in places with regular climates... so many wonderful things!)
N- Nickname: None, I generally don't do much that makes me worthy of a nickname
O- Ordered last on the internet: A video card for my computer
P- Phobia: jewelry, lipstick, and the elderly...I think I must have been traumatized by a great aunt or some other relative wearing gaudy jewelry and chunky lipstick. (Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl!)
Q- Quote: "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." - Walt Emerson
R- Right or Left handed: Right
S- Siblings: 4; Ryan, Jay, Paul, & Wendy
T- Traffic tickets you've received: 4 and a few warnings. Three were for speeding, one was a photo ticket for allegedly running a red light - I'm not convinced the camera was properly synchronized with the light.
U- Unique Talent: being able to memorize movies after seeing them a single time but being unable to remember anything important. And I do a few voices.
V- Veggie you hate: None that I can think of...I even like brussel sprouts.
W- Worst habit: staying up too late
X- What body part would you Xerox?: my hand - I wouldn't dare do anything heavier (I knew a guy who broke the glass by sitting on the copier, a doctor got the pleasure of removing the shards from him - copiers are not built for that!)
Y- Yummy food you make: toast, cold cereal, eggs, grilled sandwiches, top ramen... you know, the basics!
Z- Zodiac sign: Virgo

Okay, now it's your turn! Who are you A to Z?

Book Suggestions?

I'm looking for some new books to read. I like all kinds of genres. Does anybody have any suggestions? Have you read any good ones lately?

Pretty in Blue

Kevin's Mom is a master crocheter and she crocheted this beautiful blue dress for Myla. I love Myla in blue; it brings out her eyes. Thank you Grandma Pat!
The turquoise bracelet Myla is wearing was actually made by my Grandpa Webb and I wore it when I was Myla's age. I can't really describe the feeling I had when I put it on Myla. I love that I am able to pass on something to my daughter that my Grandpa made for me. My Grandpa Webb passed away a few years ago. I will always remember how much he loved children and how talented and hardworking he was. He was totally devoted to his family. I miss him.

Me, A to Z

A- age: 29
B- bed size: queen
C- Chore you hate: folding laundry and putting away dishes
D- Dessert you love: hot apple pie with vanilla ice cream melting on top
E- Essential start of your day: kisses!
F- Favorite musical artist: currently, Rascal Flatts
G- Gold or Silver: A little of both
H- Have to Have: air conditioning!
I- Instruments you play: violin
J- Job title: Domestic goddess
K- Kids: 2; Cade and Myla
L- Living arrangements: cozy little townhouse
M- Most favorite month: October
N- Nickname: Chris (original, I know)
O- Ordered last on the internet: photo book for my mom for Mother's day
P- Phobia: the dark
Q- Quote: "Patience is heavenly." I don't remember where I read this, but I wrote it out in big letters and taped it to my wall so I see it every morning before I go downstairs.
R- Right or Left handed: Right
S- Siblings: 5; James, Nicki, Richard, David, Jacob
T- Traffic tickets you've received: 2; one for speeding on my way home from Vegas with my cousin, one was a photo ticket for (allegedly) running a red light at Alma School and Southern.
U- Unique Talent: pulling my hubby’s leg hair with my toes. I’ve got Supertoes. I should write a theme song for them.
V- Veggie you hate: okra! Yuck, yuck, yuck.
W- Worst habit: eating sweets
X- What body part would you Xerox?: my foot
Y- Yummy food you make: chicken parmesean
Z- Zodiac sign: Libra

Okay, now it's your turn! Who are you A to Z?

Cinco de Mayo weekend

Kevin mentioned this morning that it's kinda weird that we celebrate Cinco do Mayo. We're not Mexican, do not have Mexican ancestry, and really don't even know WHY Cinco de Mayo is even celebrated. I say bring on the Mexican food. That's all the reason I need. And boy did we eat...and eat...and eat some more. I started of on Cuatro de Mayo with a lunch with some friends. We had nachos and tacos and some good laughs. We all piled in my little townhouse, almost standing room only. :) It was great to get some girl time. Later that night we played Settlers of Catan with our good friends the Blakes. We had fun! Except their baby, Ty, was an angel while Myla and Cade were little stinkers. I'm thinking they really don't like us to have a social life. We'll remember this when they are teenagers...(insert sinister laugh here, ha ha ha ha).

Saturday was such a beautiful day and we didn't want it to go to waste. We took the kids to the zoo for a couple of hours. It was so nice and breezy. It was beautiful. I think the whole city of Phoenix had the same idea as us because it was super busy. Saturday night we went to a potluck at the church where we had some more great Mexican food and fun. Cade even got to hit the pinata. He loosened it up for the rest of the kids. :) I ran to get my camera to take a pic but he was done before I got there. After the ward party we went to my brother and sis-in-law's house for some of her great bean dip and we played Nintendo Wii. It was so cool! I really have no love for video games, but this was awesome. Instead of shooting aliens and walking through their guts and gore we golfed and bowled. It was pretty cool.

Then tonight Kevin's cousins (and our really good friends) the Olsons came over for some more Mexican food and we played some Star Wars and Lord of the Rings trivia pursuit. We are sad because the Olsons will be moving back to Utah in less than a month, but happy for them because they will be close to family. Jared is graduating from Midwestern University in June. We are happy for them!

We had a great weekend. We didn't really get anything done, but we had fun. I think we need weekends like that every now and then.

Digital Scrapbooking

I recently discovered digital scrapbooking and I have to admit that I think I've become addicted. I have a ton of scrapbooking stuff. In fact, a couple of months ago I decided I need an 8 ft table set up in my bedroom so I could do my scrapbooking. So between our computers and my scrapbook stuff, our bedroom is basically just an office with a bed in the middle of it. This will soon be changing!! Anyway, I haven't scrapbooked since Cade was 6 months old, so I've got tons of pics and tons of supplies, and no motivation! That is, until I discovered digital scrapbooking. I've gotten 6 pages done today alone! It's so much faster and I'm suddenly bursting with creativity. And getting results. This was my very first digital scrapbook page, done in Photoshop:

Basically I started with the aqua dotted paper and added the flowers and other embellishments. I was alot easier than I thought it'd be. It was good to be able to add something, and if I didn't like it I could trash it. It was fun to do the color on the black and white. At first I was intimidated by Photoshop, but there are so many tutorials online. When I saw the tutorial for this I just picked a pic and went for it. The best part is that there is no clean up, no small pieces for Myla to find and put in her mouth, no scissors for Cade to get ahold of, no mess hanging around. I love it! So when I finish my layouts I can get them printed in a hardbound book for a good price at Shutterfly. All in all, it's cheaper, cleaner, and in my opinion, funner (who said "funner" isn't a word?).

Anyway, I just thought I'd share my excitement about it. If you are interested, one of my favorite websites that has tons of tutorials and free supplies is Shabby Princess.

Some Splashin' Fun

This morning we went to the Tempe Town Lake splash park. It was so much fun! This was our first time and I know we'll be heading back there soon.

Myla did great. She loved splashing in the water. Again, babies in swimming suits. Love it! It took about 15 minutes for Cade to start having fun. This is just his personality. It didn't help that the second we got out there, a bigger boy came up and pushed Cade...of course, his mother was nowhere to be found. Cade got over it and once he found the slide and stairs he was one happy little boy.
The water was shallow everywhere, so she was able to crawl around and find fun things to put in her mouth. Needless to say, Mommy was pretty on-guard the whole time. By the way, Myla is an official crawler!! We are so excited. Yesterday I couldn't keep her out of the kitchen. She pulled down the kitchen cart on herself. I discovered that I need to re-babyproof the house.
When it was time to leave, Cade didn't want to go. So we started out our little trip the same way--crying because he didn't want to play in the water, then crying because he didn't want to leave the water. It's always nice to go full circle. :) But at least we had a good time in between.