Itch Scratched!!!

So my trip to Arizona was successful! I scratched the itch, and don't feel so much like moving anymore! So that is good news, right? I really didn't want to sell my house or pack anyway! Scratching the itch was much, much easier! I even ended up being gone long enough that I am really excited to be back home! There is no place like home!

Here is the top five for the AZ trip! What is with my current list fetish? Who knows, I'll keep you posted if I figure it out!

1. Wedding reception fun and visiting!  Carley's reception was beautiful! She was beautiful, and her Dylan was dashing as well! They are now Dylan and Carley Hushka! Too fun. I really enjoy that weddings are impromptu family reunions of sorts! It was so fun to see some family that I hadn't seen in a long time! Too sad, I didn't get any pictures at the reception, I think I forgot to lug my enormous camera out of the car. Sadly you don't get to ogle at the wedded bliss! (Ooooh, I'll pull a wedding picture off an email from my aunt Lori instead!)

Talk about a dream wedding on the beach. Gorgeous!

2. Staying at our 'Arizona House'. Byron has given my cousin Tonya's home this delicious title! Byron is a spoiled boy there. Playing video games and watching shows to his heart's content! Tonya's dear husband, Daniel, was the crew behind Byron's fun! Steve and I both love to visit there, hang out, chat, and the 'big boys' also enjoy their video games! Many thanks to Tonya & Daniel for providing us with an 'Arizona House'!

3. Aunt Tammy's House! aka. the party house! No really, this is where all the magic happens! Always has been! She has a pool, trampoline, two T.V. rooms (to facilitate older and younger audiences), a swing set, a merry go round, a pecan tree (do you have any idea how much fun it is to crack nuts?), a basement full of cars, dinosaurs, train tracks, a pool table and a basketball arcade game! Oh, and did I mention that this trip there was a never-ending supply of Swiss Miss Bars? Magic I tell you, pure magic! Really, the Whitings are magic. Byron said, "mom, do you know who are my two cool guys that I like?" He then pointed to my cousins Trent & Tanner! They did an awesome job babysitting Byron and Taryn while we were at the Hushka's reception. They were impressed at Byron's ability to keep himself awake! P.S. Uncle Trey was taken in for consideration, the jury is in and he is a cool guy too!

My cousin Trevor Whiting playing with Taryn and Tyler! He is so cool!

My cousin Mandy's daughter Ava Morris, devouring one of the afore mentioned Swiss Miss bars! Check out those beautiful baby blues!

4. Driving down and back with my dear aunt Marie! It was so fun to catch up and visit with her. In many ways we are two peas in a pod! I love the way she thinks, what she knows and who she is! Maurin, the 6 year old baby of Marie's family, was the best 'backseat babysitter' one could ever hope for!

The gorgeous, spunky Maurin Chase!

5. Girl time & makeovers! My mom is embarking on a new business venture called Dressing Your Truth, more about that later. She got to use her newly acquired skills to teach Grandma Jean Squires, Aunt Tammy Whiting, cousins Tonya Whiting & Mandy Morris and CIL Megan Whiting & Jenna Whiting! It was so much fun to play with them and have a good time. I got to take the class with my mom back in March and I love the information, it was amazing! They are all amazing ladies! In addition I also got to hang out with Karalee, Brittany and Aunt Marie playing and being girly! So important! I should really do it more often. It is good for the soul!

Here are Megan's before and after pictures! Hope she doesn't mind being the lucky one!

Before

After

Eclectic

So here is a post because I haven't posted for awhile, and I have really wanted to! Let's see how it turns out?!

The ITCH! I always get the itch to move pretty much from September 15th to October 15th EVERY year! Steve gets the itch too! I think the biggest part of the itch is that the HOT weather just seems to drag on. Don't get me wrong, 90 degrees on the way down feels so much better than 90 degrees on the way up in April/May, but I just want cool, cold weather! I miss the leaves changing colors on the trees, on the mountain. I miss Fall Sunday drives, just to see the golden aspens! I miss the random, early snow fall sometime in October. I miss seeing Eric, Lynette, Adam and Lauren Gratteau! I want to move back to my Rocky Mountains! But that would mean leaving my family! 

So we will scratch the itch with a trip down to Mesa, AZ to my dear cousin Carley's wedding reception. I don't believe we will find much cooler weather there, but it will be fun to be a part of that event. We didn't always make it to fun family events when we lived in Denver! I would really love to scratch the itch with a trip to my beautiful Colorado! Maybe early next year.

5 Things I Love in Las Vegas

1. My family.

Poppi & Nonni

Brandon & Chelsa

Karalee & Todd, Tyler, Elijah

Ashley & Robert

Elyssa

Brittany

2. Sister time! Sister service! Girl's nights out or 'in'!

3. Double dates with Bro and Chelsa!

4. Taking over Nonni & Poppi's house for conference weekend!

THANK YOU!

5. Luv-It Custard! If you come to visit I will take you there. 

If you live here and you have never been?? Sinful! 

Call me and we will make a date of it! 

Every one should go there at least once in your life time!

Two words for you: Banana Luv!

I love the Fall! There is something about it! I don't spring clean, I fall clean! I don't know if it was the fresh start of a new school year? Maybe here in Vegas the reason could be that the weather has finally cooled off enough to go outside; trim the trees, clean out the garage, etc. I have been FALL cleaning! And I love it! Yesterday I exploded! Literally bombed my house with the contents of my closets!!! It was awesome! Sometimes it just has to get worse before it will get better! I'm looking around at 'worse', but I couldn't feel better! I have three garbage bags, so far, of things to take to D. I.! Yeah! I love to purge! Throw things away! Pare down to only the needed items in my space! I love to see organized closets with empty space, room to grow! This is my week project! I have a ways to go! I love progress!

Introducing . . .

Alison Aleen Crabb

Born Monday September 15, 2008

Lynne Gratteau Crabb & Eric Crabb are her proud parents!

Isn't she so stinkin' cute? She is a week old in this picture!

Byron concentrating very hard to put together the 

Transformers puzzle that Grandma Kathy brought him!

He loved it! THANK YOU!

Last, but not least

(((((DRUM ROLL PLEASE)))))

My absolute favorite picture of the week!!!

Taryn sleeping in the rocking chair for her afternoon nap!

You may have figured out by now that Taryn does not sleep in a crib. She never has. It is a Montessori thing. She slept in a bassinet in my room until she was 4 months old, and then slept on a futon mattress on the floor in her room!

During nap time these days, she rarely sleeps on her futon mattress! This is the most creative place I have found her yet! She is hugging her baby doll! Too cute!

Mystery Solved!

Within two days of the last nap time escape Taryn was opening pretty much every door in the house! Luckily the locks on the pantry and office doors are still there, so she can't raid the food or splash in the dog water on a whim (and occasionally eat dog food, ewww!) Since we don't lock Lucky up during meal times, Taryn still feeds her on a whim, but that's another story!

Maybe I owe Lucky an apology for assessing door opening blame too hastily? I'm sure she's already over it! She's a dog!!! 

Well on Wednesday night things got really interesting. Taryn is cutting in all four molars at the SAME time! Needless to say she wakes up in the middle of the night in discomfort (pretty much every night this week). Do molars know that the best time to push through the next painful little tooth bump should be between the hours of 3-5a.m.? Are all four of her teeth in cahoots to cause as many sleepless nights as possible in the process? Or is there plan to drag it out as long as possible? I'm onto you molars!

PROBLEM: Taryn wandering around our downstairs crying, LOUDLY! And saying, "Mommy, mommy, MOMMY!?!" Why is this a problem? It was 4:30a.m. and dark! I have a monitor in her room, so the only thing I can figure is that she happily and quietly left her bedroom! Then out of routine turned herself around and slid downstairs, only to find it void of any life! SCARY! When you are 14 months old. When I came to, saw her open door, scanned her room and finally figured out that the crying was downstairs; I found her in the front room halfway to the front door! SCARY! When your the mommy!

SOLUTION:

This little diddy was created on the spot with the only bungee I could find without going out to the garage, hence the hanger to finish off the job! I thought we might use it just to keep her in while she falls asleep, but you better believe it was on her door ALL NIGHT last night! Dad took it off in the morning so she could open her door when she woke up! I need to know I'll find her where I left her in the middle of the night!

SAFETY first you know!