A Day to Remember

Reno and I had a quick trip back to Utah to attend the funeral of one of his very best friends, Aaron Garrett. We had a few roadblocks to overcome to get there, but we made it and are SO happy that we did. Although we were only there for one day, this past Monday was a day we will always remember.

Remembering Aaron: Aaron's sister Meagan was one of my best friends all through high school, so at first Aaron was always just the big brother that all the girls had a crush on. But as I started dating Reno I became friends with Aaron as well, and I feel so blessed to have known him. He was always so kind and respectful to me, and such a loyal friend to Reno. We have so many fun memories with him and will miss him so much!

Remembering Friends: Reno has a great group of friends that have been friends since 2nd grade. It is so fun getting all together to laugh and share stories (even if I've heard some of them a hundred times). But Monday my heart ached as I saw them gather together around the casket of one of their "brothers" and weep as they said good-bye to him. I cried as they sang "Called to Serve" at his funeral, but I felt the strength and power as they sang the words "...Press forward ever called to serve our King!". I know they will continue to support one another and that Aaron has been called to serve a special mission. He will forever be in their hearts.

Remembering (meeting) Reno: After the funeral they had a beautiful BBQ where we all got together to celebrate memories of Aaron. On our way there Reno and I realized that is was at this place, almost exactly 7 yrs ago, that the two of us met. It was Meagan's wedding dinner, I was there with all my friends and Reno was there with his. He asked me my name and if I had a boyfriend, I of course said no. Then he went back to talking to his friends and we didn't speak the rest of the night :). Three weeks later, he finally called and asked me out. And the rest is history!

I just want to say thank you to the Garrett Family for letting us be a part of the most amazing funeral services I have ever attended. We loved Aaron and we love your family. We will continue to keep you in our prayers!

Growing Up Over Night

Today Marli was sitting behind me brushing my hair when she leaned forward and asked, "Would you like a ponytail or a bun sweetheart?". At that moment I thought 2 things - a. When did my little girl get old enough to play with my hair? (I swear I remember me doing this to my mom and sisters:) and b. Why is she talking to me as if she is the adult here? Then I took these pics of her talking to Reno on the phone, and I thought wow! she looks as if she should be 16! So I'm not sure if it is because of the experiences mentioned above, or because she has to pick out her own outfit everyday (sometimes 3 times a day) or the fact that she is now POTTY TRAINED (Hooray!), but I feel like Marli is growing up so fast and I'm not sure if I love it or hate it.

What Do You Think?

The other day Reno and I were saying that we think as Laney is getting older she is starting to look more like Marli. So this morning I decided to comb through some of Marli's baby pictures and I found this one. They don't look alike in all her pictures, but in this one I think they look very similar. What do you think? (Marli's is on top and Laney's is on the bottom)

We recently moved to Alabama for the second half of the summer. We haven't had internet for awhile so here is a long list of pictures to show what we have been up to.

This little girl is not so tiny anymore. She is definitely chunking up. She is starting to smile more and so fun to have around!

Doing poppers on the 4th of July

Finally getting some time with Dad in the pool. (A very rare occasion out here...Reno is usually busy working 12 hr days and doesn't have much time for the pool)

Marli loves to read Laney books!

Marli and Noah have been playing so good together this summer! (a little too good in this pic) I hope this isn't any indication of what they will be like in ten years!

Looks like Laney may be Marli's biggest competition with Noah. The other day Jodi asked Noah if he wanted to come see Marli and he said "No, I want to see Marli's sister".

Marli's first haircut!!!!! Say good-bye to the mullet! Marli doesn't have much hair, but for some reason the back grows faster than the front so we finally decided to trim it up. It only took about two snips of the scissors, but it made a big difference.

Marli is obsessed with play-doh lately. This is her "umbrella" she made with it

She has also caught on to the Toy Story craze and loves this book my mom sent her. Thanks Mimi!!

Sister Sister

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE having two little girls? One of my favorite things about it is watching how their relationship as sisters is already growing. Everyday Marli says to me "Can I hold Laney for just a second?" So after I get them all situated Marli then says to me "Will you take a picture of us?". So now I have quite the collection of pictures of these girls in pretty much the same pose. It is fun to see how much Marli loves her little sister, and Laney is so patient (most of the time) at letting Marli "take care of her".

Good Times in Georgia

We have been having a lot of fun out here in Georgia. We try to keep ourselves busy all day while Reno is at work. There are so many other wives and kids for me and Marli to play with that it makes it easy to have a good time. Between many hours at the pool, playing with friends and the insane heat and humidity, Marli (and me) are completely worn out by the end of the day.

As for Laney, she still pretty much does this all day:My friendsMarli's FriendsSpace MuseumThis is Marli asking "What are we going to do next mom?" Marli figured out how to make me buy her a new book at the bookstore - just take out all the stickers and stick them all over the chair! (Barnes and Noble has become one of our favorite places to go escape from the heat)Fun in the sunAfter a long day, I went into the kitchen to start dinner and two seconds later look back and Marli had fallen asleep like this:The couch is definitely one of her favorite places to nap.Sisters :)

One Month

Seriously time flies by so fast - I really can't believe that Laney is one month old! We have love, love, loved having her in our home and are finally getting used to life with a newborn again. Marli has adjusted pretty well and is doing a good job of taking on the role of big sister. She has already learned to give Laney her binky, help wipe her bum and is working on "burping" Laney after she eats. Here are a few of Laney's newborn pics that our friend Stephanie did. I couldn't be happier with how they turned out, especially since Laney was awake almost the whole time!