Our Sweet Family

My sister, Jen, and her five kids came out to Indiana for the first time from their home in Missouri to visit us for a couple of days. We had such a great time. I fell in-love with my nieces and nephews while they were here. They are the BEST kids. So well mannered, so helpful, so fun, and so friendly. I love my family. I'm so glad that my sister has finally come into my life. I've wanted to know her my whole life, and now I finally do! It has been a dream come true. I'm so glad that they came out. I cried when they left because I missed my nieces and nephews so much.



Zeke & Crisco
Christian's a picky kid. He doesn't go to others too easily. However, that wasn't the case with his cousins. He loved them-- and they loved him. The cousins would fight over who could hold him. Normally Liz would prevail. I can't tell you how much of a blessing and relief that was for me. I loved the break. They were so sweet.

Isabel & Lincoln
Lincoln adored his cousins, too. The first night they got here we had the boys do a slumber party in Lincoln's room. Man, did he have a ball! He wouldn't stop talking to them. I think he adored Jonah the most. Lincoln would ask for Jonah to follow him everywhere. He still talks about Jonah, even though two months have passed by.

Jen & Elizabeth

My beautiful sister. I love how much she looks like my dad. It's so much fun.

Me & my girl Jenny!

What a blessed trip to Utah I had. I'm so glad that I got to reconnect with my girl Jenny. We haven't seen each other for over two years, ever since Jon and I moved to Indiana. I miss my Jenny. She has such a great personality. She's so honest and true, faithful and open. I can never get enough!

I got to meet her, I mean their, adorable son, Grant. He is such an amazing communicator! He could talk so well, and he's not even two! I was captivated by his talking. So adorable.

Chris, Jenny, and lil' Grant. What a gorgeous family portrait!

They're Engaged!

Robin and Tevita

Congratulations, you guys!

I Ran 3.5 Miles!!!

On Conference Saturday, my mom and I ran a 3.5 mile race. (Isn't that hilarious that we were moving simultaneously in the photo?!) Obviously, we weren't really 'racing', but I did set out with some goals. My most important objective was to run the entire time-- no matter what speed, just no walking. And I did it! I have never run that far before, that I can remember. I used to do cross-country, but the races were just over 2 miles. So, I was super stoked with my accomplishment. I'm not much of a running-lover, but I'm trying to be more active and lose my baby weight. So far, I have lost all of my Christian weight; now I just have to lose my Lincoln weight. I've got 6 lbs to go! I'm so excited. My mom's been a great influence on me. She's very active: teaches yoga, loves to run, and the likes. We're planning on running the mini-marathon here in Indy this spring. My calves and knees are a little scared of the idea, but oh how great that would feel to accomplish that! I hope I don't chicken out ;0)

Me & My Baby Boy

Crisco, and his many faces...

"hey dude"

the stinky eye

wanna see my old man face?

"i'm a model. ya know what i mean? and i do my little turn on the catwalk..."

Crisco got his first tooth while we were in Utah!

Jon couldn't believe how much he had 'grown up' while he and I were gone. Jon noticed that he's chubbier and Crisco's babbling more and saying "mama" (Yes!! Lincoln's first sounds were "dada"). And of course, Dentist Daddy was super disappointed not to be there when Christian's first tooth was discovered. It's amazing how much can happen in five days.

Christian did great on our trip. Although we got in to Indy super late, he did amazingly well on the flights heading home. On the first one, he took a two hour nap! I was so stoked. However, my arms and back weren't. They were really feeling it from staying in one position for so long. Totally worth the trade-off, though. It was a lot of fun having quality one-on-one time with my little baby. I love how snuggly he is, love how snuggly he is. I definitely love being a mom the second time around. So much easier for me.

Brookie, these are for you:

This is Brook Mann's baby boy, Carter Pierce. She didn't have her camera on her, and being the amazing (and wonderfully obsessed) scrapbooker that she is, she asked if I could take some pics of her lil guy in his matching green airplane. Isn't he adorable?! I can't wait to see what she does with them.

I want to make a shot out to Brook: I was originally planning to stay at her house, until I realized that the Mann's could accommodate me and Christian. And so, Brook had spent all this time cleaning up her beautiful place awaiting my arrival. She even put together the cutest toiletry bag for me. So, I am formally apologizing that my plans changed. But please know that I really appreciated such a kind gesture. And BTW, your house is amazing. Love it. The decorations look really good.

Me & My Sis

Lucas Jefferson Mann.

He is so freakin adorable! So handsome. I'm so happy for them. Okay, so get this--we were looking at Rachelle's baby photo album and it was crazy seeing the resemblance of mommy and son. Even Jeff exclaimed, while pointing to a photo of Shell and shaking his fist, "There's Lucas. Dang Dunfords!"

I'm so glad that they have a baby. I'm so glad that they have a son that is only 6 months younger than mine. Now our boys can play together. They were almost in the same grade. That would have been neat. But at least they were born on the same year. Now, hopefully we'll have girls together... Scarlet and Juliette. (Sorry, that's enough future baby talk. I still need to get my nights back before I can think about Willison baby #3.)

I'm so happy that I was able to come out and stay with them. It was wonderful. I loved just being able to chill and hang out with them. They are great parents. I think my favorite nights were game night, playing their favorite game called Ticket to Ride, and my last night there when the four of us congregated on their bed, along with Becca, and just had some good conversation. I love quality heart-to-hearts. They are such good friends. Of course, like always, as I was saying goodbye to Rachelle, I began welling up like a waterfall. She has a knack for doing that to me. Maybe one day we'll live close again and our kids can be best friends. Ojala.

Daniel v. Christian: The Light-Weight Title Championship

Mommy: Alright boys, I want this to be a clean fight. No eye poking or...

Crisco: Hey! He tried to take my binkie. Good thing it's attached to my ribbon.

Crisco: It's on now! Watch out because here comes my Super Man move!

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Utah HUNTS!

Wow, I hadn't realized how much I missed them. As I was saying goodbye to Mandy, I totally starting gushing and couldn't even talk! Call me Maple because I am a sap.

It was so wonderful to see them again. It was fun catching up and talking about the news of our Plainfield Ward. It was really cool, too, to have Bishop actually there and not at church meetings. They said they are loving Highland and that the kids have made great friends. That's too bad because I was going to try and convince them to move back ;0)

Robin & Tevita

This is Robin's love.
I had the opportunity to meet Tevita this weekend. (His name is Tongan.) The thing that impressed me most was his eyes. They shined. His spirit was so strong and pure. He's a very good guy. Very generous--always seeing need and offering to help. I'm glad that Robin is so happy. They are very good for each other. They seem to be a great match. I think love is in the air...

Visiting Much Missed Family

Doesn't Eric look great?! I think the long curls look really good on him.

Mirror shots are so cool.

Crisco just adored Jordan. Jordan would cover Christian's face with his hand, and Christian would giggle away. It was way adorable.

Me and Kaisie.

Her and Jason live in Herrimon, UT. They have five kids. The Willison siblings went to their house on Sunday for a family dinner get-together. It was great to re-connect. I love Kaisie. She is so easy to talk to. You can tell her anything and it's always such a fulfilling conversation. My favorite thing ever.