Happy Birthday Ryan and Jenna!

I cannot believe my babies are two! Their birthday was yesterday, Ryan was officially two at 6:10 pm and Jenna at 6:12 pm. I can't believe how much they have grown up in just the last few months. They are these adorable little people with the best personalities. Ryan is definitely a boy, getting into everything and climbing on everything he sees, but he is also the sweetest little boy in the world. He is so mellow and loving, he loves to run around the house and hug all of his sisters all day long. He is definitely a Momma's boy (which I LOVE), and he gives the best hugs and kisses. Jenna is a smart little sassy girl. She is talking so good, and she will definitely let you know where you stand with her at any given moment. She has the most infectious laugh, and the cutest chubby cheeks and dimples. I am so lucky to be their Mom, they have brought so much love and happiness into our family.

Ryan right after birth 3 lbs 15 oz (the little stinker gave us a pretty good scare by scoring a 1 on his first Apgar)

Jenna right after birth 3 lbs 13 oz

Look how tiny their heads are compared to our hands!


My first little glimpse of Jenna (I didn't get to see Ryan for a couple of hours, they whisked him up to the NICU)

This was the first time I got to hold them at the same time.




Here they are on their 1st birthday





And at their 2nd birthday party

Fourth of July and More

The last month or so has been pretty action-packed around here! It has been exciting to have my own business, I am absolutely loving it. It is definitely a lot of work, but definitely worth it.

Scott and I celebrated our 8th anniversary on June 26th. In some ways it is so hard for me to believe that we have already been married for 8 years (and been together for over 10), but then I look back and see everything that has happened in the last 8 years and I can't believe that we have fit it all in there!

We took our first big family to Park City, UT for the 4th of July. We were up there for just over a week, it was so amazing. I don't know if I could even describe in words what 4th of July is like in Park City, you seriously have to experience it yourself to know how amazing it is. Of course, the weather was perfect. It was hard to believe that everyone back in AZ was suffering in the blistering heat, and the high in Park City was low 80's (we wore sweaters at night!). We had a huge 4-bedroom condo right on the golf course, and the kids loved being able to run out the back door and play in the grass without sweating to death. There was a family from Pennsylvania in the condo right next to us who had daughters the same age as Macey and Heidi, so we all became fast friends and enjoyed some late night BBQs and glasses of wine while the kids ran around having a blast. On the 4th, the town shoots the fireworks off from the golf course, so we just walked right out our back door, set down some blankets, had dinner, and watched the show. There were thousands of people just covering the golf course. Kids were running around everywhere, people were shooting their store-bought fireworks off all over the place (they aren't illegal in UT like they are in AZ), and everyone was just so happy and relaxed. The kids all slept awesome the whole trip, too. We seriously couldn't have dreamed of a better vacation. It sure was hard to come back to this heat and reality.

Scott and I went by ourselves one day to Olympic Park, where the Olympic athletes train. We had a blast watching them and going on the Alpine slide and the zipline that goes over the park. We all walked around downtown Park City several times, they had so many things going on for the holidays. I really don't think that we can go anywhere else for the 4th of July now that we have been there. I used to live in Virginia, and even the festivities at the Pentagon don't compare to how things were in Park City. We took our Wii and Wii Fit with us, and after the 3 little ones went to bed at night, we had some awesome family bowling tournaments. What a perfect vacation!

Emerge Esthetics

After much soul searching and consideration, I have decided to start my own skin care business- Emerge Esthetics! The last week has been a whirlwind- finding a location , getting equipment and product, setting up a business with the state, setting up accounts, etc. But I got it done, I signed my lease yesterday, and I have my first client tomorrow morning! Oh my gosh! I am actually booked for this week already. I decided to do this because it is what will work best for my family, and I knew that I eventually wanted to have my own business, so I decided to take the plunge and just do it now. My studio is in Gilbert, so it's close to home and pretty central for my current clients. In addition to permanent cosmetics I will be offering customized facials, microdermabrasion, epidermal leveling, waxing, PCA peels, lash/brow tinting, and professional Image and Rhonda Allison treatments. I am so excited, this is exactly what I had imagined for myself. My website is being built, and once it is done I will put the info on here. So everyone who would like to have some treatments done, give me a call at 480-628-4314!

San Diego

Macey, Heidi and I had a great weekend in San Diego. It was so fun to take a little road trip with them and spend some time together. I was a little worried, because I got my first "Are we there yet?" about 30 minutes into our drive. But we survived the drive and they were so excited to get to their cousins' house. It was so fun that my mom was visiting SD, too!

We had some jacuzzi time:





A tiny bit of relaxation time:

Some Balboa Park time:




Some awesome beach time:





And some Wii Fit time (our favorite was Hula Hooping):




This little trip was exactly what I needed to relax and take a break from the craziness that has been going on the last couple weeks (I will post about that later today!).

We made it!

It feels like so much has happened since I last updated my blog! It's all good stuff, though. I passed my practical and written exams- YAY!!!!! I was so nervous, I have had several friends fail their practical and have to re-take it. I had to wait 8 days to get my results, and when I saw the letter in the mail, I wasn't sure if I wanted to open it. You can imagine my relief and joy when I saw "Pass" on the results page. Whew! The written was pretty straightforward, but I finished 110 questions in about 20 minutes, so then I was nervous that I had rushed through it too fast! Luckily, I only had to wait about 15 minutes for those results. I got my license in the mail last week, so now I am official and ready to go! I just need to find a good job!

I also did my permanent make-up certification class a couple of weeks ago. That was one of the most fun but exhausting weekends I have ever had. It was four days in a row, get up and get ready, drive an hour to the class, tattoo or get tattooed for 11 hours straight, drive an hour home, and then get up the next day and do it all over again. It was a blast though, because my friend Chakeia and I did the class together. I performed and received several procedures, and got a nice start to my portfolio. I want to get a few more pictures for my portfolio though, so if anyone is interested in getting any permanent make-up, I am going to do just a few more procedures for a drastically reduced rate (just to cover my supplies). I have a couple of people booked already, so get in touch with me quick to make sure you get a great price. This is definitely something I can see myself doing for a long time. A lot of people would probably think it is monotonous, sitting there for a couple of hours doing very detailed work on such small areas, but I already have a passion for it!


Macey and Heidi have had a great summer already. They have had tons of play-dates, swimming, and sleepovers with grandparents. Next weekend we are going to have a girls weekend, and the three of us are going to go to San Diego to visit my sister Summer and her family. I cannot wait to get some alone time with the girls.

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks.