Updating our blog has always been tough for me, but I must say it helps me to be more aware of what we're doing and I've been taking more pictures. It's a great way to write our family history! Now I just need to post more often :)

Ada has been grumpy lately. Because she's teething, she has quite the mood swings. She has three teeth coming in right now. Ouch! It's hard to have our normally happy girl going through so much pain, but she's a trooper and keeps us laughing.

Ada loves to have things over her head (and Kate definitely likes to put things on Ada's head). Her favorite thing is a purple bandana that we have. She can see through it and likes to walk around the house that way. She's also been clicking her tongue like crazy. She loves to knock on windows, walls, the bathtub, doors, and make the clicking sound while she's knocking. Good job on the sound effects, Ada!
For Valentine's Day lunch, Kate and I made pink heart-shaped pancakes. Kate loved them and was so excited to see the batter turn pink. Kate's a huge help in the kitchen! She's great at adding ingredients and stirring.
Another Valentine's treat for the girls was going to Grandma Muranaka's house while Dustin and I went to the temple. The girls had lots of candy and enjoyed being with Melanie and Lester. Melanie even told me that Lester was holding Ada. That's a huge step for him!

Dustin and I were able to do baptisms at the Provo Temple. I had a few family names to do, so it was a great experience for us. We went to the BYU Creamery on Ninth afterwards for ice cream. Yum! I love ice cream and will eat it even if it's freezing outside!
Kate had her friend, Kyra, over one afternoon and they were busy playing in her room. I went upstairs to tell Kyra it was time to go home and I found that they had decorated Kate's room with pipe cleaners. LOTS of pipe cleaners. They were tied on the crib, chair, dresser, and even the door handle. So this is now Kate's favorite way to decorate for a "party." I find them all over the house and it brings a smile to my face every time!

Last week in Kate's dance class, they had a freestyle portion during ballet. I was looking for Kate on the TV downstairs but couldn't find her. I finally spotted her by the mirror. Every other girl was dancing in the middle of the room, but there was Kate, dancing and staring at herself in the mirror! I did the exact same thing when I was little and had to laugh! After class, her teacher told me that Kate came up to her at the beginning of class and asked dramatically, "Teacher, may we dance?" The teacher said they would, and Kate started dancing for her, showing her all of her routines. Oh how we love our little Kate :)

Dustin found out last Friday that he will be doing an internship this fall in Palmyra, NY. We are so so excited for this!! We're friends with the manager and assistant manager of the Palmyra Inn, and that's where Dustin will be doing his internship. He'll be helping out with their marketing, using statistics. It will be a great experience for him and amazing for us to live close to the Church History sites for a few months. My brother, Matt, also lives close by in Connecticut, so we'll be able to see him fairly often. I'm always amazed at the opportunities the Lord provides, big and small!

Things to Remember

Kate got to pay tithing for the first time last Sunday. She was so excited to give it to the bishop that she ran upstairs and found some more money. Our ward missionary fund got an extra $0.27. I love seeing Kate get excited about living the gospel!

Kate and I were talking to Grandma Rogers on the phone the other day. Kate randomly asks, "Grandma, am I your peach?" We all had a good laugh. Then she asked, "Grandma, am I your madgigle?" (Magical) I was confused by these questions, but Dustin reminded me that Kate had recently watched "James and the Giant Peach."

Today we watched "The Testaments." At the end, when Christ is visiting the Americas, a choir is singing "hallelujah" over and over. Dustin and I heard Kate singing along. She wasn't quite sure what the word was, so she sang "Happy New Year." :)

Whenever Kate starts to bug Ada, the best way to distract her is to ask her to show us her ballet. She'll stay busy doing leaps, twirls, and the first three positions.

Ada has been starting to say even more words. Pictures of Jesus are her favorite and she has started to say "Jesus." She also loves to say "Temple," Doggy," and "Kate."

Ada is one cutie, but she has been pulling tantrums lately. Dustin and I just leave her on the floor until she's finished. She usually checks on us to see if we're still paying attention to her. We always have a good laugh :)

Fun at Home

Dustin and I have been thinking of ways to save money and decided that gas was something we needed to cut back on. So we've been staying at home quite a bit lately. I try to get out once a day to go to the gym (which the girls love), but other than that, we've been having fun at home. We keep busy with puzzles, dress-ups, play doh, coloring books, inviting friends over, and many more things. These pictures show just a few of the things we've been up to!

Kate and I love to play games together, but can only do it when Ada's in bed.


Kate and Ada had fun putting on Dad's bike helmet (Dustin's been riding his bike to school everyday. He's so awesome to do that so we can have the car! I'm glad it's been a mild winter!). And you can see Ada's flower that Dad put in her hair. She can't reach it when it's on the top of her head :)

Ada likes to put the phone on her head and say "hello."

We spend a lot of time playing in the girls' room. Kate likes to cook food for me and Ada in her kitchen.

Here's Ada on her rocking chair that she LOVES. She's also enjoying a cookie from Kate.

They have finally started to play with each other! I love hearing these two girls giggle while they play and keep each other busy. Sometimes having more than one child is easier! Only sometimes though...

Kate is always wanting me to take pictures of her making silly faces. I'm happy she can enjoy these simple things we do. It definitely puts a smile on my face!

Uncle Callan and Aunt Aubrie gave this tent to Kate for her birthday and it is almost always out in the living room. The girls love to play inside, although I have to keep a close eye on Kate because she likes to tip it over while they're inside! It's actually pretty roomy and Dustin and I have each been in there with the girls.

I've really got to childproof these cupboards. Ada loves to take out the bowls and play with them, making a huge mess. But seeing those cute dimples makes it all worth it.


Last August, Kate started taking dance classes at the Little Gym in Orem. She's there for an hour every Tuesday and learns ballet, tap, creative dance, and gymnastics. It's been a great way for her to put all her energy to good use. And I'm happy that we have a reason to go somewhere!

Christmas 2011

We love going to the Riverwoods during the Christmastime so we can see the lights and let Kate see Santa. It's an outdoor mall, so it gets pretty cold. Here we are huddled together to keep warm. Ada barely made it in :)

Ada and I in the toy store. I love how she's licking her coat. Just too tempting...
Best. Picture. Ever.
Seriously, this warms my heart every time I look at it. Kate was nervous at first, but warmed right up. Love that genuine smile!
We made chocolate and caramel dipped pretzels for some treats to give away. Kate sure enjoyed testing them out. She also got a kick out of these "lovely" pictures.

Decorating sugar cookies at Grandma Jenn's. I wish I had a picture of her finished product. The snowman was covered in frosting and sprinkles. I'm not sure if anyone ate it... But she had a great time being creative!
Christmas morning! We had 9am church, so we got ready before opening the presents. I love when Christmas falls on a Sunday. It's a great way to remember the true meaning of Christmas.
Kate with some presents. She was so happy Santa didn't forget her! We spent Christmas Eve with Dustin's Dad, and before we left, he went outside and jingled some bells. Kate recognized the sound of Santa and his reindeer, so she pushed us out the door so she could get to bed before Santa came. If you look closely you can see a little bottle of ketchup. She was very excited to find this in her stocking. She LOVES to put ketchup on almost anything!

Ada's Birthday Bash!

Ada turned 1 on Dec 19th. These are a few pictures from her party at Grandma and Grandpa's house. This picture is my favorite, purely for Kellie's beautiful face in the background. Love it!

Ada and her favorite person, Uncle Quinton. Well, her favorite besides her mom and dad. At least I think. She usually gets pretty upset when she has to come back to me. Opening her present...and apparently getting some squats in at the same time.

Her birthday cake before...
...and after.
It took awhile for her to dig in. This girl likes her food, so we watched her pick delicately at the cake for a few minutes and eat it. I'm pretty sure we had to smash her hand into the cake. I'm just happy some ended up in her hair :)

It's been a fun year with our little girl. She's a drop of sunshine and makes us all laugh and smile. We love you Ada Jane!!

Temple Trip

So I totally got called out for not updating my blog for so long. So this one's for you, Rachel! Way to make me feel bad :)
We went to the Mount Timpanogos Temple this past summer to walk around and let the girls touch the temple (Kate loves doing that). Kate got very interested in taking pictures and took these for us. Not too shabby! Here's a picture of Ada, our little girl born back in Dec 2010.

This picture of Ada is a little blurry, but I love it because this is how she is most of the time. We love our happy baby!
Ok, so our heads didn't quite make it, but I had to include it. We walked out of these doors on March 10, 2007. We felt like dorks but had a good time!And here's the lovely photographer. She allowed us to take a few pictures before insisting she have the camera back so she could take pictures of all the flowers.

It's a crazy life...

I should blog more, but I'll wait until New Year's to make that resolution. Until then, we'll see how often I post pics.

These pictures are at the Bean Museum on campus. I like the one of Dustin and his new ears growing on the top of his head.

Here's the cake from Kate's birthday. Jan 29th. Yikes! That's a long time ago. I made this cake, and I wasn't very happy with the colors, but Kate loved it and that's all that matters! Nice pics of us on the cake :)
I really shouldn't say it, but Daddy picked out her outfit while I was at work. I had to smile when I saw her. She's a cutie no matter what!

We usually have to keep our camera away from Kate. She plays with the settings and I'm sure some things are still messed up.
After playing with Mommy's mascara...
Kate and I went to the mall and got a yogurt parfait to share. There was a little bit left and she ate it on the way home. At least I thought she did...
Things needed when doing Daddy's hair. Brush? Check. Elastics? Check. Listerine? Uhhhh...check.
We're happy and healthy. Kate's pretty much potty trained (some days better than others) and is growing up so fast!! She has a new best friend, Kyra, who lives next door. Luckily Kyra's mom, Andrea, is becoming one of my favorite friends. Dustin's leaving next week for Boston to finish filming the never-ending Joseph Smith film. Kate and I will stay in Vegas for a week and party with the fam.

Well, until more pics...adios!