Taylorsville Day Parade

My uncle, Jo Asay, and husband, Andrey, build a train out of 55 gallon drums and a riding lawn mower. It is amazing. My uncle then put Emma and Ellie's names on the side of one of the barrels. For the Taylorsville Days Parade, he asked if we would be in it. Emma got sunscreened up, sat in her little barrel with a train hat on (as well as the rest of us) and we began our walk from Furniture Warehouse on Redwood Road and 5400 (or is it Road Redwoon...ha,ha) west to 2700 and then made our way North to 4700 S. It was a hot day, but we kept the water coming and a lot of the people watching would get us wet. The kids did great the first um...3 minutes, Emma waving her little hand like crazy, enjoying all the attention (that's just how she is) and then after she threw all the candy (within the next 2 minutes and still 3/4 of a parade left) she got worn out. She just sat back and stared ahead as the train pulled her to her destination...The adults walking in it had to keep the crowd energized as we waved our arms off and kept drinking water. It was so fun to see everyone's excitement to see the awesome train my uncle and husband made. My uncle is so creative and put a lot of heart and work into it. If you didn't see the parade, you'll have to check out the pictures. This was a fun day and with a couple of naps and swimming in the new kiddy pool we bought today, the kids are ready for fireworks!! "Ohhh....Awwww....."

Ellie learning to crawl with cast on...

Wedding dress

I have the dress of my dreams, wore it for my wedding and now it is sitting in my closet. I have to get rid of it cause I know that I won't fit in it ever again (darn kids, just kidding). I would love to offer it to anyone that may need it or know of anyone that is looking to buy an inexpensive, but beautiful wedding dress. It has daisys on it and still needs to be drycleaned. It is in great shape and has been covered and taken care of. I will offer it on here for a while before I post it on KSL or Ebay. I will post more pictures or give out whatever info. anyone would like in you are interested.

First Fishing Trip

Here is the background on our fishing experience. None!!! Andrey is the only true fisherman. I don't even know what to do with a fishing pole...I only know how to work the ones where you are playing the kid's game and using the magnet on the bottom of the pole and trying to get the fish to eat the end. Three weeks ago, on a Saturday, it was the one day in the whole year that you could fish for free w/o a fishing license. Andrey jumped all over that. We took his fly-rod and invited my family to go with. My family also has no experience at fishing except for our one trip to Thanksgiving Point where we almost threw up when we saw the worker gutting the fish we caught. We bought me a pole and Emma a Princess fishing pole. She is so proud of that. We packed up a dinner and drove to Tooele to the closest canyon and fished away. We caught a lot of moss, branches, and the occasional rock. Andrey and my dad were the only ones who caught anything, but "it got away before we could get to it..." so it was a great learning experience and we are ready to get our fishing licences now that we are trained and well taught by Andrey.

No More Binkys

This post sounds wierd, I know. Emma is our child who fell in love with her binky at first sight. She would not let it go-We had her down to only having it at night and the occasional time during the day, but come on, she's almost three and it is bad when we can't understand what she's saying 'cause she has a piece of rubber in her mouth. We finally had to get rid of it. We had a "Binky Party" for Emma on Sunday. I made a cake in the shape of a binky/pacifier and put "Emma, the binky graduate" on it. We had a big get-together with the family and put Emma in front of a garbage can. We sang, in the tune of "Happy Birthday," a song about Emma not needing a binky and blah,blah,blah (we were wingin' it). We took some pictures as Emma threw away one binky at a time. Now this sounds bad-like we gave her a ton of them, but here's the deal. I would not be able to find them-they would just disappear, so I thought over the last year, okay, when they're gone, they're gone. Well, one day when I was washing Emma's sheets, I found her binky stash under her matress. She had been hiding them and sucking on them when we weren't looking. Smart little girl, I know. We continued on with the party by clapping and cheering as she got rid of all of the binkys and finished the night off with her blowing out the candle and eating cake and icecream. I know this sounds a bit over the top, but whenever Emma brings up that she wants a binky, or "she's a baby, not a big girl and needs a binky," we remind her of her binky party and that she threw them away. After a glare from her, she hmphs to herself and moves on. What an odd, but memorable celabration that was.

First Time Blogger-About my family

I have never done this, so I'm going to tell a little about my family. Andrey, my husband, is 27...old, I know. Almost 30 (like I always tease him). He owns his own company (with a partner, Mark) called A&M General Contractors. They build and remodel houses, outside work (drivways, fences, etc.). He is my fix-it man and can do about anything. The only problem is that he is so busy doing things for other people that our house never gets anything done....he sure is great and starts a lot of projects, but I've never seen one all the way done. I'm not venting or angry, that's just how it is. Just like a person that is a mechanic...they never work on their own cars ....(or so I've heard). We have half of our new cupboards in, most of the wood floor in living room, driveway poured, just no cealant (sp?) on it, Vynel fence up (no gates...but that is because of lack of money), no baseboards or crown moulding, etc. but, we have a home to live in and we are having fun watching it turn into what we some day hope it will be. Andrey is the Scout Master in our ward and is busy with mutual activities and putting flags up, and the occasional campout. He loves staying busy and is a fun and great dad. Emma just adores him!

Holli (that's me!) is staying home now (no longer an employee at Maceys) with her two little girls going to the park, doing preschool activities, watching library movies, reading lots of books, taking long walks, putting girls down for naps, going to the park, and other outdoor activities. Holli's down time (usually meaning to get a Young Women lesson ready, laundry, or finally getting to read that book) is when the girls take their naps (I love those two precious hours). Holli is the Young Womens President in the ward and stays busy with her amazing presidency. We have about 10 active young women and we have great times. We have two camps coming up (but I'm missing out on one of them) and am excited to get away and be in the outdoors. Holli tries to help bring in a little money by selling Avon (call if you need anything), but it seems to be taking the opposite affect...she seems to be spending more and bringing in nothing but a big bill (don't tell Andrey...)

Emma, who is almost three (in September) is full of energy and personality. Emma loves to watch morning shows like "Super Y," "Word World," and "Signing Time." She is one smart cookie who can tell you her ABCs and her numbers, with the occasional shape. She loves to sing, dance her little heart out, go to the library and pick out her books and movies, and dress up like a Princess. Her room is the Princess theme and every morning I have to make her hair look like a "crown" and she has to wear a dress or skirt (which she takes off when we go to our daily trip to the park for lunch). Emma loves being an older sister and likes to help change Ellie's diapers, but for some reason, she doesn't think she's big enough to be potty trained...that's our next goal now that we FINALLY got rid of the BINKY....that was a war in itself (another post for those details). Emma is a lot like mom-she is not shy, talks to anyone who will walk by her, telling them about her day and how old she is. She is super bossy and will tell you what to do and how to do it. But, she has a big heart and will give you a hug and kiss when she is good and ready to plant one on you. She is still trying to figure out how to sign "I love you." She just can't seem to get the right fingers up, but she will tell us every day that she loves us. She keeps us on our toes and keeps us laughing with her funny, random comments.

Ellie, oh, our little angel. She is full of so much love and kindness. She is always happy, smiling, and has her cute little giggle. She has the best facial expressions and has her own little way of communicating. Ellie just underwent a surgery in her hand, having her second thumb removed. She was great and has to deal with a splint for two more months and then she is home free from anything slowing her down (not that she would let it). She is a great crawler and I'm just waiting for her to take off and walk-the only problem is that she is TERRIFIED of hights. Seriously-I go to change her in the church bathroom on the table and she is shaking and bawling until I finally pick her up. She hates to be thrown in the air or anything that requires her to be above your head. Ellie is our sensitive baby who will cry if you look at her wrong, hears a loud noise, or if you hurt her feelings. She is very sweet and kindhearted for that reason. She is the one that makes me feel loved and needed as a mother-she's not quite as independant as Emma. Ellie is a mommy's girl...which frustrates her daddy who wants to hold her or play with her every once in a while. Ellie will be one in a few weeks (July 8th) and we are excited to see a new Ellie-a big girl. We are excited to have her in our family and love her very much-just as much as her big sister, Emma. We have a wonderful family and we have good times together.

Ellie's Surgery

Some of you may know that our little Ellie was born with an extra thumb on her right hand. We found this out after she was 12 hrs. old. I know, did the nurse REALLY wash my baby. ha,ha. On April 15th we took her to Primary Children's Hospital and they removed the thumb. She was such a brave and happy girl. The surgery went quicker than we expected, but she would not wake up from the morphine and other pain killers they gave her. Andrey and I camped out in the recovery room for about 4 hours until Ellie was able to breath on her own and we got her in her cast and all taped up. She thought the IVs on her feet and other cords were amazing. She would kick her little feet in the air and watch all her tantacles fly around-oh, how they are easily amazed. We took her back a month later and had her cast removed. It is amazing what technology and doctors can do for our little children. Now Ellie can do a normal "high five" and not a "high six" and she will be wearing a splint for about three months. The splint will help her thumb stay straight and the bone that is sticking out a little on the bottom to be pushed back into place. The sad thing, is that she can't bend her thumb. When she is older we will have to go in and do another surgery where they ( I could be wrong) break the knuckle bone and put a pin in it to form it how they want it, and then she will be all new with a cool new thumb. Thumbs up!

Going to Lagoon

We had a blast going to Lagoon. Emma was talking about "riding on horsies, playing in the water, and eating candy..." but we never told her about the candy. Andrey figured she just KNEW there was candy there and that she was going to get some. She is a silly girl. We started the fun with a haunted house-I know, bad mom, Emma's going to have nightmares, but she came out, wide eyes and all, and quickly moved on. Not a tear was shed-she was so brave. She went on every ride there was for her-some even twice. Her and Ellie watched the singing Broadway program (while mom and dad went on the new Wicked ride-yikes, wet-myself-scary). We had a blast swimming. The water was soooo cold, so Ellie didn't last too long. She splashed a little, went around the mote a few times, and then she was done. Emma, however, had a little adventure of her own. While mom and dad went on some water slides, grandma and grandpa were watching the girls...or so we thought. We came back to find Emma was gone. Oh, sick to my stomach...all that water and one little girl. After I rushed to a supervisor and all the lifeguards I could find, someone found her about 1 hour later (ok, it seemed that long, but it was really only 5 minutes). Emma had taken off, determined to go on the waterslide that I wouldn't even dare to go on. She was walking up the long staircase to the slide and when it got to be her turn the lifeguard was a little shocked to see this 2 1/2 year old there w/o supervision. They marched her back down and found us. Emma is a little stinker. We ended the fun night with one more haunted house and a big bag of cotton candy (that was all over the truch and the girl's faces...and Andrey was pretty messy too).