St. George Girl Trip

This weekend Mckay and I got to go to the Stander family girl trip in St. George.  For those of you who don't know, the Stander family is Chase's mom's maiden name.  Thursday, Courtney, Chelsea, and I headed down for St. George, and by Friday night, everyone else arrived (there were about 20 of us), and the party really got under way.  Some of my favorite things that we did include:

Hot tubbing with Mckay . . .

Channeling my artistic side by painting canvases . . .

Speaking of artistic side, this was way, way fun!  I decided to see what it felt like to be Jackson Pollock. I made a huge mess, but I don't think I was the only one . . .

After this great activity, some of us had the chance to get a pedicure. . .

We also had a great cook-off, where we divided into teams to make an appetizer, soup, salad, side, entree, and dessert.  I wish I could have taken pictures of what we created, because it was soooo yummy!  And one of my favorite activities was doing family history.  We got to go through and organize some Stander family pictures and memorabilia.  I really enjoyed getting to know the family's history better.  But best of all, I just loved spending time with my family and friends.

Cowboys and cowgirls and cows . . . oh my!

This Halloween was a week of fun.  Yes, an entire week!  We started our Halloween fun by going to a Murder Mystery at my parent's house on Monday.  It was a blast, made even more so by the fact that Chase figured out "who done it", and won the game!  Saturday we also got to go to a ward Halloween party in the afternoon, and we spent Halloween night with Grandma and Grandpa England.  Mckay and I helped give candy to the trick-or-treaters, and Chase got to watch a certain Utah vs. Airforce game.   It was a fun night (make that week) for everybody!

So Halloween is way fun with a baby.  Especially when that baby's costume happens to coincide with my costume and Chase's costume.  Yep, we were one of those families with a theme.  We were nothing too fancy.  Chase and I donned handkerchiefs and boots, and walah!  Cowboy and cowgirl.  The real star of the show was Mckay.  He's what every cowboy and cowgirl needs . . . a cow.

Here is Mr. Mckay with his Dad.   I like the part where Mckay is attempting a death grip on his bandana.  I think we both got choked more than once by our little guy.  He's into grabbing everything that's in front of his face, including hair, necklaces, and earrings. 

I always think my kid is cute, but something about this cow outfit really made me smile.  Maybe it was those cow tights that showed off his chubby legs. . . I don't know, but whatever it is, he made Halloween fun!  

Beans, beans, those magical things!

So Mckay is now old enough to eat solid foods.  Hooray!  I am very excited, because that means that I can more easily outsource his feedings.  He did really, really well this first time.  I guess beans are a hit!

On the downside, diaper changing is not as easy as it once was.  Oh well.  You win some and lose some!

Has it really been 2 years?

This Thursday we went to Snowbird's Iron Blosam Lodge (I know, it seems like it should be blossom, but it's spelled weird) to spend the night.  Chase and I were really excited because we spent a part of our honeymoon in Snowbird, so this trip was made extra special for us.  Bringing Mckay along helped us to realize that though time has flown by, things have changed a bit since that first day of our marriage!  We didn't get up to Snowbird until about 5:00, so we didn't have too much time to do things, but we did manage to take a drive and look around.  Little Cottonwood Canyon is so gorgeous this time of year, even if it was about 40 degrees.

 Can I just add that it takes Chase about 3 times to get a good picture of me. . . not because he can't take a good picture (he's a really good photographer), but because I am not photogenic.  I am jealous of all you people who take good pictures the first time!

 It was really cold outside, so we decided to leave Mckay in the car while we took a quick look around.  Isn't he cute with his little hood on?

Doesn't this look like it's a picture from Sweden?

Diaper Duty

So those of you with babies know just how many diapers you change day in and day out.  Because of that, I give Chase the "opportunity" to change Mckay's diaper as often as I can.  I figure, why rob him of all the joys of parenthood?  I'm glad I do, otherwise I would have missed out on this funny moment.

Jackson Hole

This Labor Day weekend we went up to Rexburg to help Chelsea move into her new apartment at BYU-Idaho.  Once done, the family took a trip to Jackson Hole for a day.  Chase has been trying to get us there for over a year now, so it was fun to be there at last.  It was absolutely gorgeous!  We took a trip around Jenny Lake, then down to Teton Village.  We only had one day there, but it was worth it.

I love this picture of Chase and Mckay, totally worn out after a long day in Jackson.

Summertime 2010 was the best summer ever! Here is a brief update of what we did:

On May 1, 2010, we had a baby! Mckay Chase England was born at 6 lbs, 14 oz. and was 20 inches long.

We were two very proud parents, and both agree that Mckay is his father's son.

After a month of hazy adjustment to having a baby, Chase and I went to California with my family. We stayed in the England's California house, and spent a wonderful week at the beach, Disneyland, etc. It was nice to be with family who could babysit while I took some much-needed naps:)

Anne was an excellent babysitter! She and the grandkids are hanging out in the front room of the California House.

The family in front of the beach that we went to one chilly June afternoon.

We also visited the San Juan Capistrano Mission near the California House.  It was so pretty and fun to learn about where we were staying.  In the background, you can see Talia, loving the fish in the pond.

Hot tubbing anyone?  We loved hanging out in the hot tub after a fun day at Disneyland, sight seeing, etc.

Mckay's first trip to Disneyland!!

We loved getting to go with family and making some fun memories:)