Swimming and 4th of July

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Swimming, Swimming, and 4th of July

Needless to say we have been doing a lot of swimming. When you are in AZ all summer, there's nothing better than to cool off in a nice cool pool. Hollyn has been doing lessons with me and my mom all summer and Paige just started lessons with my mom. They both love the water and Hollyn especially loves having people over to swim. We have been able to have swimming parties with her cousins and my cousins and their kids. Dan and I also finally splurged and finally got an SLR camera. I love it, especially the rapid fire. For the 4th of July we drove up to Heber, AZ for the day to see the fireworks and parade. Heber has the best fireworks. We had a great time Hollyn and Paige loved the fireworks. Hollyn said, "Mom, do you know how we get fireworks? It's Heavenly Father using sparklers."

Trip to Cali and Father's Day

Last week we went to California with our friends the Langs. We stayed in the Laguna area, which is our favorite spot in California. It was a quick trip, but we had a blast and beautiful weather. On Friday we went to Laguna Beach and spent the day on the beach. Hollyn loved jumping waves and playing in the sand. Paige had her first experience with the ocean. She wasn't too thrilled about the cold water, but she did love playing on the blanket and trying to eat sand. We had a great time playing on the beach and walking around the cute shops in downtown Laguna. That night we went to Spectrum mall for dinner and shopping. I will have to say this is one of my favorite malls. It has everything and it's outdoors.
Saturday we went to Venice to walk the crazy boardwalk and to play at the beach. Hollyn road the boogie board with me for the first time. She did so good. At first I had her do it by herself, but she kept falling off the board, so then we did it together. We caught some great waves. That night we went back to Spectrum for some more shopping and Wahoo Tacos. YUM! Dan also took Hollyn on the huge Farris Wheel. She was a little nervous, but ended up loving it. Sunday we celebrated Father's Day for Dan and then headed home.
A quick shout out to Dan. He is an incredible father. He loves our girls and would do anything for them. He lights up when he gets home from work or school and Hollyn is hiding for him and waiting for him to find her and give her loves and tickles. He wants the best for our girls and works hard to provide for them. He honors the priesthood and blesses our home with it. Most importantly he is my best friend. I can never stay mad at Dan because he can make me laugh no matter how hard I try not to. We love you Dan!

Trip to OC California

Hollyn's Musical Theater Performance

Arizona Fun

We have been in AZ for just about a month now and having a blast. I have been busy teaching swimming lessons and Dan is keeping busy with his clerkship. Hollyn has been having a blast spending time with cousins and friends. She is also taking lots of fun classes. Hollyn took an art class, she is taking a cooking class, hip hop class, tumbling class and just had a recital for her musical theater class with her friend Crew. The class was for two weeks Monday through Friday for an hour. She loved it! Hollyn loves to sing and dance around the house all day so it was nice to see her be able to do it on stage. Hopefully I can put on a part of her performance. She was so excited to perform and told my mom she wished she could do it everyday. We love you Hollyn! Thanks for all the family who came to support her.
Paige is growing up so fast. She is now pulling herself up and standing up on everything. Just last week I went to get her up from her nap and she was standing up in the pack-n-play. She has ceased to amaze me. Paige also loves to get into everything she shouldn't, but best of all she loves to smile. She really is a great baby.

Mother's Day

Dan gave me one of the best Mother's Day presents, not driving on Mother's Day. He drove 20 hours straight from Nebraska to AZ just so we wouldn't be driving on Mother's Day. Thanks babe! For the big day we had a pretty low key day. We visited with family, I didn't cook dinner, and I got to take a nap. Hollyn gave me a picture frame with a picture of her inside that she made at preschool. She was so excited to give it to me and made we wait to open it until Mother's Day. The wrapping was so cute. She had written "I lov mom." There's no better gift than one made from your child. Now I know why my parents loved when we made them stuff. Dan also got me a pair of jeans that were much needed. I will have to say I love being a mom and don't remember what we did for entertainment before we had kids. Live was not as fun without them.
Quick update on the family:
Dan finished his second year of law school and is officially a 3L. He also has an internship with Jackson White this summer in AZ.
Geri had a little mishap on her nose. I got a little precancerous spot removed on the bridge of my nose. The plus side is that I got to go to a plastic surgeon and there will only be a small scare. The down side is that I didn't get to see the surgeon for something a little more fun than a cancer spot removed and my nose looked like I was punched in a fight. I will also start teaching my swim lessons next week, so I'm enjoying a week off before my summer work begins.
Hollyn finished her first official year of preschool and loved it. She can't wait to do swimming lessons, cooking classes, dance, and play with cousins and friends this summer. Hollyn is also doing great in school and can read and write lots of words.



Paige is a wild girl. She looks like she is 4 months but moves like she is 9. Paige will be 7 months on the 20th and has been crawling for about a month now. She loves to climb on things and get into anything she shouldn't, but she will flash the cutest smile when she does anything notty and knows her mom can't resist her smile.