A nice long weekend

Steve has been working hard at his internship in Salt Lake since May. Between driving to and from work and actually working, he has been putting in 11 hour days. Steve comes home to a usually exhausted pregnant wife and a toddler who is 'sick of his mom' by then. We decided that since he had off July 3rd, we wanted to get away as a family and relax. My dad let us use his house in St. George all weekend. Even though we knew it would be hot (and it was) at least it was getting away.

Thursday night after Steve got home from work we loaded up and drove to St. George. After getting Tyler to bed at like 11 (it was the pattern for the weekend), we headed off to a king size bed. Come Friday morning, we got up and headed to the outlet mall before it got ridiculously hot. After finding a few fun things for all members (and soon to be members) of the family, we took Tyler home for lunch and a much needed nap. Once he woke up, we went to the Washington Aquatic Center that had all sorts of slides, pools and such for kids. It was big and cool so we were all happy, especially Tyler. He had no fear and told us that he wanted to dunk his head in the water. Tyler also loved walking like a crab in the water. Very cute!

The morning of the 4th, we drove down to the St. George Temple. It was so beautiful and white next to the red rock cliffs. Tyler loved climbing up and down the stairs.

After the Temple, we headed to the City Center to see what activities they had going on. Even though it was only 11 in the morning, we were all roasting. Tyler went on the little train/tram and loved every minute of it. The heat was getting to all of us after just that one ride, so we went to cool off with some snow cones. Let's just say that Tyler had a lot of fun eating his, as evident by his shorts! Thank goodness for Spray n' Wash!

After all of us took an afternoon nap, we went swimming at the community pool at my dad's house. Tyler again thought he was Super Man and jumped off the stairs into our arms more times than I can count. That evening we ran into a cop when scouting out a firework viewpoint, who told us where the best spot in town was. He was right! The fireworks were right on top of us. It was pretty awesome! Tyler kept saying, "fireworks kind of loud" or "fireworks say boom!" He even told us some of the colors he saw in the sky. And we all know it wouldn't be the 4th of July without hearing Neal Diamond's "Coming to America" and the Overture of 1812. Good times!

Even though it was very hot down there, we had a wonderful time together as a family free from work, plans and obligations. Tyler got undivided attention all weekend from us, and Steve and I were able to relax. I'm already looking forward to our next family vacation!

The things he says....

Tyler is on a roll. It seems like his little 'sayings' and 'comebacks' have come out of no place this past week. For example, on Monday I could tell he was about to fill his pants and I said, "Do you want to run up to the big boy potty?" Usually he just says no thank you. But he surprised me and said "It's too late for that." I just looked at him and said, "What did you say?" It made me laugh.

Next, after getting him out of time out yesterday, I was giving him a hug and explaining why he went into time out. He was sort of squirming in my arms and finally yelled "I'm stuck in love." Where did he get that from?

Yesterday afternoon I asked him what he wanted to do until Dad got home and you'll never guess what he said! He looked at me and said "Go for a walk at the mall." Beautiful!

And lastly, he says "Oh my goodness" in response to most things. Needless to say, my days stay pretty interesting. I can't wait to hear what he comes up with today!

A Father's Love

I know that I am biased, but Steve is a great dad. He does everything he can to make Tyler happy. For example, the other day Steve found the following for Tyler. They instantly became Tyler's new favorites. It is a special dad who would sit through these countless times just to see his little boy smile. This first one especially touches my heart for some reason. Too cute!






Steve, I think I can safely say on behalf of Tyler that you are the BEST! Happy Father's Day!

Lake Tahoe 2009

Last Friday, we filled our little Honda to the max and headed out to the Pulley Family Reunion in Lake Tahoe. Even though we didn't arrive at the condo until 1 in the morning, the ride went as smooth as possible. Steve's parent's arranged for each family to have their own 2 bed/2 bath unit...with King size beds! The funniest part was Tyler had his own King bed. You could barely see him in the sea of pillows and sheets.

The weekend was spent mostly indoors due to rain. We didn't mind, as that gave us a good chance to visit with all the family. Most of the week was actually spent lazily chatting with each other and eating delicious food! This was the first reunion with Tyler, and boy did he love his cousins! It was so great to see him build those relationships with family and have a blast doing it. He couldn't wait to go swimming with all the cousins! Even now that we are home, he mentions the hot tub and cousins at least once a day.

Sunday afternoon, we got all the cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents together for some family pictures. It is quite a feat to get 28 people to hold still at the same time! We took the opportunity to get a picture of just our family too!

Monday, most of the men decided to go for a good hike near Fallen Leaf Lake. The pictures show the stunning lake and mountains. To the left of Steve is Lake Tahoe, and to the right is Fallen Leaf Lake. Beautiful views, but a little to strenuous for me!

Steve flew out of the Reno airport early Tuesday morning to head back to work. That same morning, I was surprised with a baby shower! And let me tell you, I was totally surprised. I'm a little slow on the uptake these days, and it took a minute to figure out why they were yelling 'surprise!' It truly touched my heart that the family would do this for me. Thanks again!

That afternoon, we all piled in the cars and drove up to Angora Lake. It was a pretty drive, and easy hike up to the lake, and the views were worth any effort we put forth. A picnic lunch with all the cousins, playing on the shore and watching Tyler poke things with a stick made for a relaxing and enjoyable afternoon.

And no trip to Lake Tahoe would be complete without actually going to the lake. While the water was far too cold to go in, that didn't put a damper on our adventure. Tyler of course found a stick was as happy as could be. The water at the lake was so clear and the mountains too beautiful to pass up a picture with my boy (even if he was more interested in the sand!)

Thanks a million Grandpa and Grandma Pulley for organizing this. This was the best reunion yet!

Has it really been five years?

Five years ago today, Steve and I got married. I'm sort of in awe at how fast the time has gone, and yet I can't remember what it was like to not be married.

I knew that I loved him when I married him, but five years provides a lot of growth. This might sound cheesy (and as Steve constantly reminds me that I like cheese), but I really love him now. At the end of the day, I'm so glad that I'm with my best friend.

In the past five years, we've lived in four states, seven homes, and moved more times than I care to! We've also finished school together and started school again, bought our first home, laughed and cried (well, mostly me) more times than I can count, gone on exploration adventures, and added 1.5 members to our family!

Thank you my dear for being so wonderful. Happy Anniversary, I love you!