San Diego

Marli and I flew to San Diego for the annual Mendenhall trip. Of course Reno couldn't come because of work and we were so sad to leave him behind. This trip pretty much consists of beach, beach and beach. Marli did pretty well in the sand and loved the water! She had so much fun seeing Grandma, Grandpa and Sutton. Thanks you guys for such a fun trip! The Mendenhall clan

Marli loved watching Cutter, Breaker and Raeder on their boogie boards. I didn't realize how observant she was until she pulled this board down to the water and tried "surfing" all by herself!!

Marli got a taste of the salt water and did not like it one bit!

Marli, Me, Julie (grandma) and "G.G. Nore" (great-grandma)

Four generations!

This is how Marli ate breakfast every morning at the hotel. She was so excited to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse since she is never awake early enough to watch it at home.

Bubs, Marli and Breaker

Marli LOVED playing with all her cousins. Even though they are all at least 5 yrs older than her. I think Bubs won the prize as her new best friend because Marli was always asking for her and would follow her wherever she went!

4th of July

We had a fun 4th of July this year. We started out going to the parade in La Porte and it was fun, but lets just say it wasn't Provo on the 4th of July thats for sure! You know you are in a farmtown when the whole parade consists of police cars, fire trucks, horses and tractors. There may have been 1-2 marching bands and a cheer/dance group, but that was about it. Marli loved it, and as you can see she was happy just dancing in the street with her balloon. After the parade we had a lunch with all the wives and then Reno actually got off early so we could go to dinner! The whole office went to Cheesecake Factory downtown Chicago, but unfortunately I didn't take any pics.

The weather here has been so confusing, one day it is cold and rainy and the next day is hot and muggy! This week it has FINALLY started to feel like summer. Yesterday we went to the beach of Lake Michigan and had so much fun. Marli made her usual progression from hating the sand to tolerating it, to even sitting in it. Someday she will learn to love it I'm sure, but right now I cannot complain when she just sits on her towel eating snacks while the other kids are chasing birds and running for the water. It sure makes laying out a whole lot easier for me:)

Marli loves being Ava's little sidekick. She loves to act big and follow Ava around. The only way I could get her to walk in the sand is if she was holding Ava's hand. I guess peer pressure isn't always a bad thing.

I love how carefully they are concentrating on their steps.

The other night we had a big rain storm and the power in our apartments went out. Marli and Noah thought it was fun to run out in the rain.

I tried to take some pictures of them and the only light we had was the flash on the camera, so it was surprisingly bright on their little eyes.

I thought these pics of them were pretty funny and gives you a glimpse of their silly personalities.

Happy Father's Day!

Marli is definitely a daddy's girl and loves to be with Reno as much as possible. Sunday's are her favorite day because she gets to see him all day. I love to see how happy she gets when he walks in the door. Thanks Reno for being such a great dad, we love you!!

Good Times in Chicago

Marli and I have made a few trips to downtown Chicago with some of our friends. It is the coolest city! Sometimes we take the train and sometimes we drive. We have had fun shopping, eating at fun restaurants and going to Navy Pier. Marli loves the lights of the big city and riding the trains. Reno has been working super hard and we can't wait 'til the end of the summer when he can join us on these fun excursions!

Jinxed!!!

After today's events I decided I totally jinxed myself for writing such a nice post about Marli yesterday. Not only did she scream the whole way home from the beach today, but when I went to get her after her nap I found her standing there in her crib with no diaper on!! I will spare you the details and not post any pictures, but lets just say it looked like Marli tried to change her own dirty diaper! GROSS!! While trying to clean her off enough to put her in the tub she then decided to pee all over the bathroom floor! This mess just got bigger by the minute!!! While I am wiping the floor, changing sheets, Marli just walks around naked saying "uh, oh!". Yes Marli, this was a BIG uh, oh!!! So back to reality - Marli is not always the sweet little angel I dreamed up in my last post, but she is pretty dang cute and I still love her.

I Love This Girl!

I can't look at these pictures without having a big smile on my face. Marli's personality comes out more and more everyday and she is so much fun!! She can be such a stinker and so sweet all in the same minute. Since we are together 24/7 these days she definitely keeps me entertained and I feel so lucky that I get to be her mom!!

Probably getting caught doing something she's not suppose to be doing

Marli has reached a big milestone in her life - her little mullet has gotten long enough to now have pigtails!!! I swear they make her look like five years older.