Blogger MIA

Hi there everyone! Again, everything's been so crazy I haven't had time to blog :) To start with, Ray and I had our 5 year anniversary! I can't believe it's been five years. In some ways it seems like just yesterday we were dating and driving back and forth to see eachother; but in other ways, it seems like we've been together forever. I can't imagine my life without Ray. He makes me feel so special and I love being his "hot mama".

Right after that the girls got sick...runny noses, coughs, and Kynlee got an ear infection. Due to all the waking up at night, and snuggling sick kids, Ray and I are now sick. And somewhere in the middle of it all Kynlee started crawling! She is now into everything, but very happy to be mobile. She says da-da all the time and ma-ma only when she's tired or sad. Sierra is turning into such a social little girl! She loves talking on the phone. I mean LOVES it. Loves it so much that when you hang up, she knows what buttons to push to call you back (like a hundred times). I usually end up having to take the phone away from her!

That's our life in a nutshell...we're all trying to get better so we can go on a little trip Ray won with State Farm to Savannah, GA! Lot of Love!

Belated Holidays...

Okay, so I don't know how it happened but from October thru January, it seems like we have one holiday after another and I just couldn't find the time to update our blog. So here's our holidays in pictures...

First there was Halloween! Sierra was going to be Sleeping Beauty for probably 6 weeks before Halloween. Then, the day before Halloween, her cousin Tessa came to dance class as Tinkerbell and so then it HAD TO BE Tinkerbell! Luckily, we already had that costume in the closet :) And Kynlee made the cutest little lamb!




Then there was Sierra's 4th birthday! We ended up having three parties to accomodate all the friends and family. This picture is on the morning of Sierra's birthday. She couldn't wait to open her presents, sooooo.....of course we let her! This is all really wanted for her birthday. A doll that goes potty. Only it doesn't actually potty, it just tells you when she has to go and then makes potty noises...


The first party was a pizza party on the night of her birthday. We invited all the cousins and had a great time!


Party #2: This one was with some of our neighbors and all my family. Of course, everyone had to dress up in princess dresses!




And the cake....


Kynlee in the Hannah Montana wig!


I don't have any pictures from our third party. It was with Ray's parents and it was more cake and presents:)

Then there was Thanksgiving. We spent this year in Salmon, ID with Ray's grandma and various other family members. We had a great time and ate lots of good food. There were 56 people there for Thanksgiving dinner. We are really just grateful for everything. We feel so blessed that we are happy and healthy. What more could we ask for?

And then there was Christmas! This year we spent the weekend before Christmas with my family. We saw everybody (including our new baby cousin Wyatt), went to the Nutcracker, went elk hunting, went to my grandma's party, and endured a blizzard. It was great!

Christmas Day was at our own house and it was FUN! It was the first Christmas we've spent at our house and we just loved it. Sierra was so excited to see what Santa brought her and Kynlee just loved all the bows and paper.


Here is Sierra in her dress up clothes and Kynlee in her new saucer!




We had a fabulous holiday season and hope you did as well. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Dance Class

I remember my first day of dance class at Val's Dance in Bluewater, NM. I was three. I had on a light blue leotard, white tights, and pink jelly shoes. Since that day, I've been to A LOT of dance classes and done A LOT of dancing. And I've loved every single second of it. I really didn't think anything could be more fun. UNTIL, I took Sierra to dance class.

To be fair, Sierra did do dance class last year. But it took her a good 3 or 4 months to actually stand on her 'X' by herself. (Guess who had to stand next to her and do all the moves? Yours truly!:) This year she couldn't wait to start dance. Every Wednesday, I'll bet she asks me about one hundred times if it's four o'clock yet. Now she is very good at standing on her 'X'. She practices her ballet positions and her splits every day. She loves to do the warm-up on my aerobics video "all by herself." Sometimes at dance I stand back and just watch her twirl; thinking to myself how much fun it is to watch her love something like I love it. Who knows? Maybe it does run in the genes!

The BOX!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay so you know the box I mean. It's the one (or two, or three...) that you packed when you turned 18 and moved away. I am now almost 27 so it's been very close to 10 years since I packed MY boxes. Well, my parents got tired of storing them, so they brought them to me about 2 years ago and they've sat in my garage until last week. Let me just tell you that if you want to have one heck of a funny afternoon--just go through your box. I was ASTONISHED at all the crazy stuff I kept. I really don't know what was possessing me when I packed up my room. Here's a short list of some of the things I found in my boxes....
1. a small box full of pennies (none were old or special or anything, just pennies)
2. Every note anyone ever wrote me in junior high (including one from a boy that asked me if he could kiss me! I was DYING with laughter)
3. My AP English, Geometry, Chemistry, Human Biology, and US History notes (because why?)
4. Every book report I wrote from about 6th grade on...including the one where I wrote a letter to Gerald Lund telling him how much I LOVED the Work and the Glory books and his response letter with a picture of him :)
5. A list of everyone I sent graduation announcements to
6. Of course...all the missionary letters...
7. My beaded necklaces that I earned--one bead at a time--at Girl's Camp
8. Scrapbooked pages of every formal dance I've ever been to...with the names of my dates, what we did for our day activity, and where they took me to dinner
9. PICTURES! of me asleep on the bus, at cheer camp, at EFY, the HIDEOUS haircut, the big blue glasses, and ones of some of you out there--Jessica, Megan (can I just say coconut bra?!), Marinda, Jodi, Lindsay, Sarah!!!!!!!
10. A box full of dried, dead flower corsages, movie tickets, gum wrappers, and other junk--I'm sure I was trying to be sentinmental but now I can't even remember why I kept the stuff?

It was a grand afternoon remembering my younger days. I know I'm only 27 but it seems like it was so long that I was in junior high and high school. Remember when the most important things in your life were the football game, who you liked, and what you were going to wear the next day? It's like I found a part of myself that I'd forgotten for a while--amidst all the diapers, dress-up, bills, etc. I remembered how all of those experiences (the break-ups, the moves, the friends, the teachers) that shaped me into who I am today and I was grateful for them. So if you have a box--and I hope you do--go through it someday. Throw away most of it--but keep some of the things that remind you who you are and why you are who you are.

Love,
Tappia

Photo Shoot

We just got new pictures of the girls! Hope you enjoy!