Life As A Griffin: September 2012

Willow Park ZOO

Today Shannon and I took the kids to the zoo here in Logan and they had so much fun seeing all the animals and running around together. After we were all done as we were walking out of the zoo there was an old man with a straggly looking beard and worn and dirty clothes sitting on the bench and Tylee yells out "mommy look at that" and points to the guy. I felt so bad and embarrassed. Dang kids ha. Anyway then we took them over to the park and let them play for a little bit too. They had so much fun until they got tired and thirsty and it was time to go home. Brody loved the birds and was so fun watching him try to make the same noises. Tylee and Kasen just couldn't help themselves, they just ran off to see more and more things. It was a great day. Both Tylee and Kasen were sad to leave each other at the end of the day.

Okay so I had promised myself that I was going to blog at least once a week.... yeah whoops. Okay so quick update since my last post. I earned a free car, become a director for the most amazing company for women out there. Brandon did amazing at selling pest control in California. I came home at the beginning of august to go to a MK seminar in Texas and then to Lake Powell with my family. Brandon joined me about a month later (talk about the longest month of my life... life without a husband is HARD) Then Brandon started school. I made a super hard decision and decided to take this semester off because my business is going so well. I think I might have just found out what i want to be 'when I grow up.' We shall see. Brandon is just busy going to school and I am working full time being a mommy and working my mary kay job into that life... Talk about the BEST decision I have ever made so far. I have been able to enjoy what all the other 'stay at home' moms enjoy, while still making money to play and help Brandon so he doesn't have to work while going to school. (His classes are starting to get a lot harder.) Yay for graduating and pre-dental classes right?!

LONG STORY SHORT:

We moved back to Utah - started school - Moved into an apartment - Bought a TV :) - And we are living and loving life to its fullest. Oh and I have become a homemaker... (we have yummy smelling candles, new dishes to try, and crafts around the house) SO MUCH FUN!!!!!

Here are some pictures from our wonderful summer in Livermore CA. I hope you enjoy this hasty catch up post. More to come

This sandwich was amazing.. Seriously one of the best sandwiches I have EVER eaten. It is called Mr. Pickles. Kinda on the pricy side for my Utah budget but definitely worth every single penny. If you ever get a chance to head to Northern CA then you should definitely see if one of these will be in your area.

Another place that you can't miss when vacationing or visiting California is Fenton's. This place is great. We got to see Myrtle the cow. Such a fun outing :) Food and ice cream is also incredible. Here is little Tylee sporting the Fenton's hat with daddy (brandon) and Myrtle.

Mommy and Tylee at Fenton's :)

Here is a picture of a 'black and tan.' You GOTTA try one of these. PUT THIS ON THE BUCKET LIST!!!!!! :) :) only at Fenton's

On the days that daddy was close we met him for lunch. Here is mommy and Tylee at 'Chubway' (Subway) eating lunch with dad.

Tylee loved every moment that she got to spend with her daddy. Sometimes they were hard to come by in the summer months (He worked long hours - thanks and we love you)

Date night on a Saturday evening!

Long story short: While visiting some family (Carbines) in California, this little one disappeared and we found her upstairs in the dog kennel. I almost wish we had one of these at our home - It could come in handy ;)

We had multiple face time dates with my mommy and Tylee's Grandma Bales :) We sure missed her during the summer.

On the way back to Cali with mommie's new car, Tylee got a new DVD player for the LONG drive. She loved it. Here she is trying to show me the movie "Wook MOM"

We were able to visit the JELLY BELLY factory in CA. It was so much fun to see the jelly beans be made and try them at different stages of the creation process. It was very interesting. here is me and Tylee outside the factory.

Tylee's BIRTHDAY 2 years OLD!!!

For Tylee's Birthday I made her a minnie mouse cake and we had minnie balloons. We took her to Fairy Land in Oakland and had so much fun. Here are a few pictures of our adventure.

There was a slide that she found and she went down it over and over and over again. She loved it.

There were lots of 'child only' areas. This was one of them.

Waiting while Tylee headed down the slide

Birthday girl lunch with mom! Shicken Nuggets!!

We decided to stop at the Oakland temple on the way home. Wow what a beautiful place. I must say that I am so glad we chose to be married and sealed in the house of the Lord. Very special place. This one is so beautiful and such an amazing place to visit.