Friday, March 18, 2016

Paige's Baby Blessing

June 28th was Paige's special day. She was blessed in sacrament meeting by her dad. And I know that Ross gets nervous about these kinds of things, but he did a wonderful job with the blessing. 

The day before, we held a family dinner to celebrate. Not everyone could make it to the blessing and not everyone could make it to the dinner. But people came to one or the other (or both) and hopefully enjoyed celebrating the birth of this beautiful baby girl with us.  

This is the dress that she wore for her blessing. This is a special dress because it was the dress that wore when I was sealed to my parents in the Salt Lake Temple when I was just 3 months old. So this dress holds special meaning for me, and hopefully Paige will think it was pretty special too.
Getting a group picture after sacrament meeting was pretty chaotic, so this is about the best we could get. It might be a little hard to see everyone, but we were very grateful for all those who made the effort to be there with us. We had some of the Leslies, some of the Tuckers, some Miller family and even some of our Turner "family." It turned out that Lesley and her little family were coming out for their summer visit and were able to come to the blessing along with Lesley's parents. It was so fun to have them there.
Here is the group of priesthood brethren who were able to stand in the circle with Ross. We are so blessed to have such honorable men in our family.
The rest of our church meeting was pretty crazy. After pictures, Leah had to go into Primary and give a talk. It was fun to have some of her family members be able to go in and hear her. Then during the third hour, I taught the lesson in Relief Society. It wasn't my usual week to teach, but I was able to make some trades to be able to teach that week while family was there. It was very neat to be able to teach and share my testimony of the gospel with my mom, sister, mother-in-law, grandma, Lesley and Vera (who are like an extra sister and mom to me) there with me. 

After church, I got some pictures of Paige in her blessing outfit along with the blanket my mom crocheted for her. Isn't she a cutie!
And of course Leah had to get in on all the picture taking action. This girl loves her little sister so much! And who can blame her? We are so glad to have this beautiful bundle of joy as part of our little family. We love you Paige June Leslie!!!

Monday, March 14, 2016

June 2015

I've said it before and I'll say it again, June is probably my favorite month. The weather is warm, the days are long, and school is out. It is just a relaxing, fun month. 

We started out the month celebrating 7 years of marriage. We couldn't decide just what to do to celebrate. So we took the kids to my parents' house and asked for suggestions of something to do (that would allow Paige to tag along also). They suggested seeing the movie The Cokeville Miracle. We couldn't think of anything else, so we decided to give it a try. We were both surprised at how much we actually liked the movie. It was very intense at times, but had a great message and really got us both thinking. So we were glad we had decided to see it. Afterwards we went out for dinner at The Olive Garden. I always love going out to eat. And the best part was that Paige slept all through dinner, so I was able to just enjoy eating my dinner and talking to Ross without interruptions (a very rare occurrence!)

Here's some of the other highlights from the month of June:

Of course we loved watching this little face grow and get more and more cute each day (if that's possible). 
Corbin loves to climb to the front of the van to play with all the buttons and knobs and to pretend that he is driving.
We enjoyed an outing to the park with some neighborhood friends. Corbin likes the swing as long as it doesn't go too high or fast and he likes it best if I am holding on to his hand so he doesn't feel like he'll fall off. Leah must have been running around with her friends because I don't have any pictures of her from that day. Here's Paige enjoying a nice warm afternoon in the stroller.
Here's Ross and the kids being silly one night.

This kid only passes out like this when he is really tired.
We went to the splash pad to play one day after Corbin's tumbling class. We weren't planning on it, so we didn't have swim suits with us, but that didn't stop Leah from getting in the water to cool off and have some fun. 
On one of Ross's days off, we decided to take a little hike up to Bridal Veil Falls. When we first got there, it started to rain. And it didn't look like it was going to quit anytime soon. So we drove back down the canyon and found somewhere to eat. By this time, the rain was pouring down and we had to dodge huge puddles as we ran through the rain into the restaurant. But while we were eating, the rain subsided and we decided to try going up the canyon again. This time the weather was fine and we enjoyed some time up in the mountains. Leah especially enjoyed exploring around at the bottom of the falls. She wasn't afraid to take her shoes off and climb all over the rocks and logs.
Here's a couple selfie shots looking up at the falls. It did rain a bit more while we were there, but the kids didn't complain. This was a fun little family outing. 
Here's a couple fun little snap shots. The one of Paige was taken early in the morning. I hate being up early, but smiles like this make it bearable. 
My boy and his hat! What a goofy kid! I love him!
For the first and last time, Corbin and Leah were able to go to the MOA art class together, both as participants. The exhibit they were focusing on was all about origami. Leah loved art class and will be very sad that that she is now too old to participate. Corbin is still a little too young to appreciate it, but still did pretty well. They gave the kids fans to play with for a little while. Here they are having fun with them.
The kids found a Christmas popcorn tin and decided that it made a great drum one day. They had a great time banging on it at loud as they could. I enjoyed watching them have so much fun. But after a while, it was just too noisy and I made them put the wooden spoons back away.
Here's some proof that I am a "mean mom" sometimes. Leah did something that got her in a lot of trouble. I really don't remember what she did, but it was bad enough that I felt it warranted a punishment. So after talking about what she did wrong, I let her choose what she thought would be a good punishment. She thought about it for a little and decided that she would be willing to mop the floors. This wasn't exactly what I had in mind. And I was a little hesitant to go along with it knowing that a project like that would require a lot of supervision and could end up being more work for me. But in the end, I agreed because our floors really needed it anyway. She wasn't too happy that I made her do it to my standards instead of just setting her loose with the mop. And in the end she ended up appreciating that a job like that is hard work. But overall, she did a pretty good job and hopefully a lesson was learned.
It is not very often that Leah takes a nap. But when she does, she usually passes out like this. (And no this wasn't taken right after she finished mopping.)

One night after mutual, Ross brought home some leftover fudge ice cream bars. They were a little melty, but the kids still loved them!
Every once in a while the kids will sit quietly together. On this particular day, Corbin snuggled up to Leah and fell asleep. I thought it was too cute not to get a picture of it.
And here's the cutie cudding on my lap at the time.
More pictures of our cute baby!
Leah wanted a picture of this pink hair clip in her hair. 

And at the end of June our precious little girl turned 3 months old. She is a cuddly little girl who has a cute smile. We love her lots!

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Father's Day 2015

June brings with it Father's Day. I tried get a picture of the three kids together after church to send to Ross and my dad. These shots were about the best that I could do. Trying to get all three kids to look at the camera and smile at the same time is nearly impossible. But I still love their cute little faces.
In Primary, they had the kids fill out these questionnaires about their dads. Leah's answers were so cute, I had to make sure I kept a record of it. It is funny to get a little glimpse into the head of your child. 
They also had a questionnaire going around on Facebook that I decided to try out with Leah asking her questions about my dad (her Grandpa). I want to include it here too:

WITHOUT ANY prompting, ask your child these questions and write down EXACTLY what they say. It is a great way to find out what they really think.
1. What is something grandpa always says to you? Leah McGru
2. What makes grandpa happy? When I come to see him.
3. What makes grandpa sad? When I don't listen to him.
4. How does your grandpa make you laugh? Tickle.
5. What was your grandpa like as a child? A little boy.
6. How old is your grandpa? 62
7. How tall is your grandpa? This big (said while spreading her arms apart.)
8. What is his favorite thing to do? Play with me and Kynee.
9. What does your grandpa do when you're not around? Go to work.
10. If your grandpa becomes famous, what will it be for? Go to work.
11. What is your grandpa really good at? Making dinner.
12. What is your grandpa not very good at? Fixing things.
13. What does your grandpa do for a job? Gets things he needs to done.
14.What is your grandpa's favorite food? Spaghetti.
15.What makes you proud of your grandpa? Because he gives me and Kynee piggy back rides.
16. If your grandpa were a character, who would he be? Henry Hugglemonster.
17. What do you and your grandpa do together? Play hide and seek.
18. How are you and your grandpa the same? We both like spaghetti.
19. How are you and your grandpa different? Because we're both not the same age.
20. How do you know your grandpa loves you? Because I've known him for a long time.
21. What does your grandpa like most about your grandma? Because he married her.
22. Where is your grandpa's favorite place to go? Del taco
23. How old was your grandpa when you were born? 60

I did the same questionnaire for Ross. Here's what Leah said:
1. What is something dad always says to you? Don't do that.
2. What makes dad happy? Giving us hugs.
3. What makes dad sad? When I don't listen.
4. How does your dad make you laugh? Tickling.
5. What was your dad like as a child? Like me.
6. How old is your dad? 51
7. How tall is your dad? Like two of me right now.
8. What is his favorite thing to do? Playing games with me.
9. What does your dad do when you're not around? Make dinner when I'm at a friend's house.
10. If your dad becomes famous, what will it be for? Lots of people know him cause he's a Leslie.
11. What is your dad really good at? Making dinner.
12. What is your dad not very good at? Winning war.
13. What does your dad do for a job? Teach the kids.
14.What is your dad's favorite food? Potatoes
15.What makes you proud of your dad? Cause he loves me very much.
16. If your dad were a character, who would he be? Jafar
17. What do you and your dad do together? Play games.
18. How are you and your dad the same? Cause we both like playing games.
19. How are you and your dad different? Cause our hair is different.
20. How do you know your dad loves you? Cause he's always been my father.
21. What does your dad like most about your mom? Cause she's known him for a very long time.
22. Where is your dad's favorite place to go? Del taco
23. How old was your dad when you were born? 21
She was probably off on a few of her answers. But I know she loves her dad and grandpa very much! And I don't blame her. They are both pretty great guys. (A couple of the best I know!)

After Ross got back from church, we were able to enjoy some time outside together. You gotta love nice June evenings!
And since we're talking about Father's Day, here's a cute picture of Paige I took in June sharing how she feels about her dad!

And just for fun, here's what Leah said about me:

1. What is something mom always says to you? Slow down tiger.
2. What makes mom happy? Giving her hugs and kisses.
3. What makes mom sad? When I do something really mean.
4. How does your mom make you laugh? Tickling.
5. What was your mom like as a child? You ate a lot of food.
6. How old is your mom?  21
7. How tall is your mom? About this high (stretches her arms all the way out)
8. What is her favorite thing to do? Playing games with me.
9. What does your mom do when you're not around?  Make dinner.
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Cause you're a Leslie.
11. What is your mom really good at? Making dinner.
12. What is your mom not very good at?  Making machines.
13. What does your mom do for a job?  Making projects.
14.What is your mom's favorite food? Spaghetti
15.What makes you proud of your mom? For her helping me make my bracelets.
16. If your mom were a character, who would she be? Jasmine
17. What do you and your mom do together?  Play games.
18. How are you and your mom the same? Cause we both like Paige.
19. How are you and your mom different? Cause we don't have the same kind of hair.
20. How do you know your mom loves you? Cause she's known me for a long time.
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? When daddy comes home.
22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? Del taco
23. How old was your Mom when you were born? 12