Thank heavens for springtime, sunshine, and most of all family!

Grandma Connolly came to visit for a few days and was so sweet to just hang-out and adore and spoil  our little darlings.

 

 Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

 

First tricycle. She should be doing wheelies in no time with an almost pro-biker for a Dad.

Ivy's blessing. Grandma & Grandpa Riggs came for the special occasion, and we are so blessed to have my sister and her family always nearby!

gray hair

I recently found my first gray hair (that I know of) the other day. I know I am 30 now and am definitely of age to get gray, but I am sure it the past year happenings that are to blame. Other than husband getting a new job in far away land, then commuting for 2 months (leaving daughter and I traumatized with each departure), us moving to far away and strange land of North Dakota, and experiencing crazy cold and winds (that can literally blow you off your feet), delivering a beautiful baby in a small town (with a doctor I have met twice), then hubby getting another job (still in the stange land)...what I think really brought the gray out in me was when Ivy got sick with RSV. I have worked with many parents whose kids are very sick and in the hospital for months at a time, and I knew it must be difficult for them, but I really had no idea just how difficult and heart wrentching it would be. Ivy was only hospitalized for 3 days, but the days felt like an eternity and my heart and body have never been so sick. How thankful I am for the Gospel, the Priesthood, and wonderful perspective the Plan of Salvation brings in times of trial. For all of the above, I feel like my gray hair is more than just a sign of age but a sign of experience and relief and comfort knowing that we have made it through, what to me feels like, "a lot".

Life with Ivy

Just leaving the hospital with our newest addition!
My nurses... The hospital is so small the nurses work in both labor & delivery as well as postpartum/recovery. My nurses, Lisa and Judy were so kind and wonderful! They gave me such great attention and care, it definitely helped me feel better should an emergency arose.

Grace loved this position as well- way to go Daddy!

Our first morning at home with Ivy. I keep thinking Grace will wake up mad that Ivy is still here, but bless her little heart she has adored Ivy from the beginning. She asks for Ivy every morning and gives her TONS of kisses and talks "baby" talk to her. She is such a sweet sister and little helper to me. I am so grateful she loves her little sister.

Please take note of Brandon's dashing mustache. Looks fabulous on him doesn't it? If he wasn't my husband and I saw him around town, I would assume his name is Chester and is driving the creepy large van with no windows around the neighborhood. Thank goodness for razors.

My Mom came out for a full week! It was WONDERFUL! Having one baby was so easy I didn't think I needed any help when Ivy came....thank goodness Mom's know better! It was a blissful week for me and Grace! Mom cleaned, did laundry, made meals, played with Grace and of course adored our new baby- I was definitely spoiled to have her come.

I can't get enough of her delicious cheeks!

We have missed our fun camping trips and since it is way too freezing outside and Ivy is way too little to camp, Brandon decided we'de camp inside. It was very fun! Grace talked about it days before and after and continues to ask "when we gonna go camping again?".

We ordered pizza, made popcorn and smores, played Dora cards and watched Lion King.

My eye goes straight to the stache, so glad it is no longer in our lives. At least for now.

When Grace goes to her room for "rest time" she has a ritual of playing and reading for some time before climbing into bed. When I check on her, she is usually looking angelic nestled in her bed while her room looks like a bomb went off. Well this day I went to check on her and instead of playing with her toys she found some baby powder and decided to "write" and do "art". When I walked in she looked at me with the most guilty face and immediately said "I'm so sorry Mom". I couldn't do anything but laugh. You have to admit it does look fun, and where we live fun can be hard to come by.

This is just one of the areas/things covered in powder.

Short Video of Baby Ivy

Here is a short video of Ivy with some pictures and clips. I hope you enjoy it. Sorry the date is wrong I will change is soon.

http://vimeo.com/36627690

So...we have had some big changes recently in our lives and since a new baby girl is to arrive here hopefully now :) I thought I'd take a break from walking stairs and eating spicy food to update this thing since we will have some very exciting pictures soon.

I do apologize before I catch up I can't find all the pictures of our fun year such as...camping in Carlsbad with the Perkinson's, swimming swimming and more swimming, Grace's second Birthday party, and the Riggs Family Reunion.

One big change that occured at the end of the summer is Brandon's job opportunity in the oil industry which has now taken us to the amazing land of North Dakota- yes North Dakota. What is in North Dakota you ask besides oil...well us now :). And my sister Marie and her family who introduced Brandon to some of the job opportunities.

Brandon started working in August and since housing in our little town is far and few between Brandon had to commute back and forth until we found a place to live (which wasn't until November). It was a hard few months but I quit my job and was able to have fun with Grace, family and friends, pack up our things and get ready for my parents arrival home from their mission in Mexico.

Some friends from work, they gave many sweet things but my favorite was the gigantic pink snow shovel. I will miss St. Joe's.Connolly's annual Newport Beach vacation...eating yummy food and bumming on the beach- just what a vacation should be.

Grace and Benson...they are 3 weeks apart and couldn't love eachother more. Thanks to Benson's amazing mom Brittney we have the most darling pictures of them. Here are just a few.

Grace loves to get dirty, whether at the beach, camping or in the backyard.

During Brandon's few days home with us in the fall we took some great camping trips. One of them we brought my Dad's dog Duke, another of Grace's BFF's.

Pumpkin picking time for Halloween.

Father Daughter outing in our ward. Since my parents had recently returned home I was attending with my Dad and Grace with hers! My brother Don came and brought his girls, Kennadee and Raylen- it was VERY fun.

Halloween...Grace wanted to be a lady bug like the "Lady Bug Girl" books and Benson was nerd- SO cute!

My oldest nephew Ben recently left for his mission to Milan, Italy! He is such an awesome kid and is a great missionary! Also Grace is just as photogenic as me which is evident in the above picture!

One last fun lunch with friends (Sarah Toleman, Whitney Hale and Kasey Perkinson) before leaving for the cold.

Grace opened most of Christmas after our Christmas vacation in beautiful AZ.

Some of my cute nieces and nephews at dinner.

The teenage girls, too darling for their own good.

Zoo lights. I must say, I along with everyone else was very jealous of Grace and Benson's set up.

Family hike. Yes I am very pregnant.

Going to church on Christmas Day.

New P.J.'s from Grandma Connolly on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve dinner at Ammon's with my parents and Don's family.

Temple lights.

Grace's "funny" face as she calls, others are quite frightened however.

Just before Christmas we had white everywhere, however after Christmas we have had very little snow and only one week with the high in the negatives. We have been SO blessed to have a mild winter.

Grace's room.

I still need to fill in some pictures and find something cute to put in the empty frame.

Our family room, as you can see it is directly in front our "dining room" which is directly in front of our kitchen and just to the left of our "office" and "laundry room". Our apartment is small but it is new and clean and I am grateful to have our little family together.

Wish us luck with the our new baby, hopefully we will have some darling baby pictures to post SOON!