June 2014

Amber's birthday!

Taylor, Amber, Amy, Jessica, Erika, Bentley, Mickelle, Me, Darcus, Kristie, Max, Armie

My B.F.F. Amber's birthday was June 6th. We had a fun swim/lunch party at Amy Colby's house. Pretty much all our friends and her nearby family was able to make it too! We had a blast. Amy is always the best host :). Later that night we surprised Amber and went to Melting Pot with her and Brad (soooooooooooooo good) and then saw The Fault In Our Stars (also sooooooooooo goood). Amber is such an amazing friend and person! I'm so lucky to have her in my life and love her to pieces.

Stoker Summer Splash!

We had our family reunion the 2nd week of June. My brother Ryan and Jayme and their 5 boys came up from Arizona and the Stoker family spent the week together doing fun activities every day. We all wore reunion shirts so we could be nerdy and match :)

They arrived Saturday, June 7th and of course a bunch of us were there to greet them and hang out. Sunday we celebrated Father's day a week early since we were all together. We spent the day at my sister Judy's house in Springville. She set up a human battleship in the backyard. I didn't play but it was entertaining to watch them launch water balloons at each other. They got "sunk" if the water balloon broke on them.

On Monday we all met up at the Bean Museum wearing our matching shirts. They have completely redone the museum and it is super nice! After exploring there we all ate lunch at the BYU Creamery courtesy of my parents.  40+ Stokers in the Creamery plus all the normal lunch time traffic made it quite a busy place. Then my family went to do some slip and slide fun while our little family took a nap. Later that night we had dinner together in my brother Tyler's backyard.

Tuesday morning we got to go to the Provo Temple and do a session while my niece Cami went through for the first time. She leaves on her mission in July! Then we had a delicious lunch at Los Hermanos. Later we went to the Lindon Pool. It is so close to us and I have never been, but it is an awesome place! After the pool we played games and ate dinner at my sister Judy's again.

On Wednesday Michael, Lily and I joined in on the slip and slide action. We went to Rock Canyon Park in Highland that has a big hill and put down 2 billboard tarps and my dad sprayed water down it with a hose while everyone slid down. I was too nervous I would hurt the baby to slide down it so I mostly helped hold the tarp down by sitting on a corner and hanging out with Lily while she played in a kiddy pool with her little cousins. Michael went down the billboard fully clothed (he thought he wasn't going to do it since his back was hurting) and took Lily down a couple times. We also saw a mink at the park that was actually very friendly but made my dad jump and scream like a little girl! Everyone did a fun water gun fight too. Judy glued Alkaselser tablets to yarn necklaces so when you got squirted there it was fizzle and you would be out (Michael didn't play because he is allergic and probably would die literally). After playing in the hot sun we went to my mom's for some yummy Hawaiin haystacks.

On Thursday we went up to the Roy Pool which is also a pretty fun pool with big slides and high diving boards and a fun kids area and then had some yummy Italian food thanks to Nicole and Jayme.

On Friday most of the family went to Lagoon. We opted out with me being 8 months pregnant and all. Saturday we had one last day of hanging out at my parent's house before saying good bye to a fun but exhausting family reunion!

Me and my beautiful niece, Hermana Sumsion

this mink scared the crap out of my dad :)

Orem Summerfest!

We went to the Orem Summerfest Parade and fireworks with our friends Amber and Brad and their family. Lily loved the fireworks. She kept saying, "boom, boom!" and still does when we ask her what a firework says. She clung tightly to Michaels neck the whole time and kept naming off all the colors of the fireworks too.

Father's Day

For father's day I had Lily make some presents for her daddy and grandpa's. She answered a bunch of questions about them and I typed them up on a picture of them together. She also did some handprints and footprints with paint too on a paper for the grandpa's saying "The best Dads get promoted to Grandpas" and for Michael one that said, "Best Dad Hands Down". We also gave Michael a framed picture of her in his hat and shoes that she put on herself. I gave Michael a Steam gift card for computer games and some clothes and we gave the Grandpa's some gift cards as well. We spent actual father's day with the Malouf's since we had spent the entire week with my family. We had some delicious steak and had fun being with everybody. I was so exhausted from the week still that I fell asleep in a chair for about a half hour. That is unusual for me!

I am so lucky to have married Michael. He is my favorite person in the  world. I am so glad that I have 2 daughters with him. He is so good with Lily. They are best friends :). I am lucky to have my own amazing father and Michael's dad as well. They are all strong priesthood holders as well and are always there to help and support me.

Museum of Natural Curiosity!

We finally checked out the new Museum of Natural Curiosity at Thanksgiving Point. We went with my sister-in-law Alison and her 3 kids since they have passes and got us in half off (Thanks, guys!) and they were good company too :). It is a huge, awesome place. Lily was overwhelmed by all the people, but luckily was enjoying herself by the end. She liked the elevation sand thing and feeding the rabbits vegetables and the bubble, music, and art rooms best.

Maternity Pictures

My niece Holly is an amazing photographer. Her business is called Hallelujah Photography <http://www.hallelujahphotography.com/> check it out! She did some maternity pictures of me that turned out great! I love the family ones especially. There are also some pictures we took that will never be seen by the public because they are so hideous but so hilarious. I saw someone do this adorable picture of her blowing pink glitter to announce that she was having a girl. So I thought it would be fun if I did that. We went through a whole bottle of glitter and every picture my face looked like a ferocious chipmunk. It still makes me laugh so hard to look at the pictures though. Luckily we attempted that last since I ended up getting glitter all over my body and in my mascara. A shower was required as soon as possible and I am still finding glitter in my bathroom.

Here is a link to her blog about the session: http://www.hallelujahphotography.com/lindsay-maternity-session-utah-newborn-photographer/

BBQ at Aunt Kathy's

We also got to go to Kathy and David's to have a yummy hot dog bbq. I was in charge of bringing a watermelon and was nervous so had my mom help me pick one out. It turned out very flavorful and juicy (thanks Mom!). Lily loved their yard and their little playhouse and we loved the company of Michael's cousins and aunts and uncles and of course the regular Malouf clan.

Renee's Birthday

Michael's mom, Renee celebrated her birthday this month too! She liked Lily's little question/answer survey I did for the dad's on father's day so much we did one for her too :). We also made a butterfly out of her feet on paper and a flower out of her hand with bee thumb print flying by. Renee loves Amazon (who doesn't) so the family all pitched in on a gift card for that for her. Renee does so much for everyone in our family. She is so thoughtful, generous, and caring. We are so lucky to have her. She gives us all such amazing presents its hard to fathom how we can ever match them!

Princess Party!

I took Lily to a Princess Party put on by the Lehi Legacy Center with Amber and her daughter Sophie and Mickelle and her daughter Lily. My Lily brought her dog of course who was wearing a matching pink dress with her. Sophie and Lily Gregory were Anna and Elsa! So adorable. It was a really cute event but Lily was once again a little overwhelmed. She is also terrified of people dressed up like princesses and cows :). I guess she isn't ready for Disneyland yet! She liked some of the activities though and I think overall had a good time. Maybe next year will be better and I will have 2 princesses to take!

Princess Lily holding Princess Dog

All the fun things they got to do

Getting her hair, make up, and nails done

Terrified of the "Real Elsa and Anna"

Some of her princess swag

I will tolerate this

The 2 Lilys and Sophie!

The Living Planet Aquarium

Our little family went to the Living Planet Aquarium this month as well. It was really cool! We were there about 2 hours. The shark tunnel was our favorite part.

Pepsi Day

June 26th is Pepsi Day. Pepsi Day is the day my Grandma Evans passed away. It has been 15 years since we lost her but she is still very near and dear to our hearts. We found out after she died that she had a secret love for Pepsi, so we all go and have a picnic by her grave every year and drink some Pepsi in honor of her.

top row: Me, Lily, Jana, Zoe, Judy, Cami
bottom: Marisa, Ceci, Lauren, Mom

Bermuda!

Lily wanted to sneak into Bermuda with Daddy!

Michael got to go to Bermuda with his Dad. His dad got to go as a reward for work and Michael was his guest since Renee doesn't like flying. Michael hates flying too, but he just takes some Adavan and is good to go! They got to go snorkeling and on a catamaran boat ride. For one of their dinners they had to wear "Bermuda Dress Attire" which meant colorful Bermuda shorts, knee socks, and a suit jacket over a dress shirt.

The beaches were the most perfect Michael has ever seen and the water was clear, warm, and beautiful. Everything was really expensive. A gallon of gas was $8.50, a gallon of milk was $10-$12, a dozen eggs was $5. I don't think we could afford to eat if we lived there! They got spoiled and ate really delicious dinners by the ocean and got lots of expensive gifts. Someday Michael will have to take me there!

Here are some pictures Michael took while on his fabulous vacation in Bermuda:

Meanwhile in Utah while Michael was in Bermuda. . .

Lily and I were jealous but happy for Michael that he got to go to Bermuda. We still had our own fun at home and tried to keep busy. We played with friends and cousins and grandparents, went to 7 Peaks, went to the park and Zumba, went to Bentz's birthday and Pepsi Day, ate snocones and Mcdonalds, and watched fireworks.

Loves to draw in the car!

All tuckered out after 7 Peaks

We couldn't find Lily's shoes all day. Then I finally noticed she had put them in the fridge. I guess she wanted to keep them fresh and cool!

We went to the park and she road her bike there in between swinging and going down slides.

Cedar Hills Fireworks

We have been in our house since December of 2008 and this is the first year I have tried watching the fireworks from our balcony. We have the best view! It was perfect! I had put Lily down for bed at 8 like normal but then heard her wake up and start talking at about 9:40. I grabbed her out of bed and had her watch the fireworks with me. She loves fireworks! Luckily she went right back to sleep after too :)

Butterfly/Unicorn Jedi