Rub-A-Dub-Dub

2 cousins in a tub...
{Circa June 7, 2009}

The {Park} of Life We Love Best

Having a child changes everything. Spontaneity becomes a scarce commodity, where it once was in abundance. Children like predictability. That's why each morning I basically follow the same routine: Wake up to Grace yelling, "MOMMY!" Put some "toons" on. Go to the gym. Come home. Make lunch for Jeff and Jace. See them off to work. Grab Grace and head to the park. (There are even more detailed steps, but you get the picture.)

Grace looks forward to going to the park more than any other activity of the day. You know what, I have to admit that I love it too! There is nothing quite like playing and laughing with your child. So as it turns out, this "do what you want, when you want" girl has come to enjoy the expected. I now need and crave the point in my day where I can turn back time and be a little kid again. Where Grace and I are two Best Buddies having fun in a place that we agree is magical - the park.

(It only gets better when Daddy, Uncle Josh, Shi-Shi, and Corbin come along too!)

Josh, Jamie & Corbin

I shot some family photos for Josh and Jamie and here are a few of my faves...

Off the Grid

I haven't so much as looked at a blog in 2 weeks! How am I still alive? (Prior to this hiatus Jeff told me if I were a country singer my name would be "Kenny Bloggins.") With the holidays in full swing, I found myself quite busy. It's time for some power blogging! Now begins my Reader's Digest version of the Hunt Happenin's. Starting with...

{December 7th}
We all bundled up and went to see the temple lights. Grace was amazed! It has been so fun to see her enjoy all of the wonderment of Christmas for the first time.

Beanie Babies

Grace contimplates the birth of the Christ child.

Our Temple

My Loves

This is how Grace likes to ride around.

Ready for a Little Brother or Sister?

Grace loves her little cousin Corbin. When he is near, you can bet Grace is by his side. She watches everything that Jamie does and tries to help out. If she isn't helping she is offering her love with tons of hugs and kisses! It makes me so happy to see her nurturing side and I am eager to see her as a BIG sister. Help yourself to these cute pics of Grace in action....

Greetings from Hawaii

This post comes to you from the BEAUTIFUL island of Kauai. That's right, one whole week of Hunt hilarity! I love it when we can all be together, no matter the location...but I've gotta say Hawaii is the icing on the cake.

The flight wasn't as big of a deal as I had anticipated. Grace did SO well. The trade off was the fact that our luggage didn't make the second flight and was delayed until this afternoon. It was pretty inconvenient, but...what are you gonna do??? Did I mention I am in Hawaii? That really puts things into perspective!

Here are a few highlights from today:

Corbin has the right idea! This is what vacation is all about...relaxation!

The view from our balcany! We had a rooster wake us up at sunrise and the sky was beautiful. Grace woke up too and EVERY time the rooster crowed she would say, "DUCK!" I couldn't have been any sleepier, but the dang rooster kept going and Grace kept repeating!

Humidity! Sigh...I left all hope of a good hair day in Arizona.

Grace rockin' a shirt from "Aunt Shi-Shi." Thank you delayed luggage! What you can't see is that Grace is bare bummed! (We packed her diapers.) Luckily, the bags came before any accidents did.
What a cute family! Enjoying the sunset on the beach.

Grace's 1st dip in the ocean. Stay tuned...

Trick or Treat

We had such a fun night on Halloween. Our new friends Seth and Mandy brought their little girl Lilly over to hit the neighborhood up for some candy. Josh, Jamie, Corbin, Mom, and Pop met up at our house and we all planned our assault. The wagon I got at a yard sale for only $5 was a hit as the girls rode around in style. Following the trick-or-treating, we went back home for some cider, pizza, and caramel apples. I am pretty sure more than one of us gorged ourselves on candy too. It's amazing how children put the magic back into holidays and really make us feel like children all over again.

Golly, has it been forever since my last post or what? SLACKER!!!! Here is my short and sweet recap on what I have been up to:

Grace has had a fun summer and her favorite play place has been in Nana & Papa's pool. She is quite the little dare devil. She has no fear when it comes to jumping in the water. See exhibits A, B, and C.




When taking it easy, she enjoys watching her "show." (Baby Einstein DVDs) See exhibits D & E.



My little sister, Alexis, (or "Secsis" as Grace calls her) moved in with us. I am totally lovin' it! Now that she is all grown up we are the BEST of friends. It doesn't hurt that we can share closets now. She is enjoying being a part of our crazy family and having older brothers. (As evident by exhibit F.)


The MOST exciting news is the arrival of my nephew, Corbin Douglas. Doctor Grace was at the hospital for his big debut. In true Josh and Jamie style, Corbin took his sweet time. He was worth the wait! Grace wasn't about to have her "thunder stolen," so she stepped right up to the loving cousin role. See exhibits G through I.




One night I had the fun idea of playing dress up with Grace. My mom bought the cutest fairy stuff right after Grace was born and I have waited SO long for her to be big enough for it. The trick for getting her to put the stuff on was to call it "pretty." I would say, "Oh, wow Grace! Look how PRETTY!" She got all excited and was eager to wear everything except for the boa and crown. (Enough with the exhibit stuff...here's the pictures!)



I have really been getting my craft on lately. My FAVORITE project has been making this puppet theater as a Christmas present for Grace. Seriously, I had more fun making this than she will have playing with it. I want to make one for every little kid I know. Any birthdays coming up? Thank goodness the boxes are from low fat goodies, or I might gain a million pounds just for materials! Everything I used was lying around the house. (Okay, in my craft area...I'm not THAT messy!)





Finally, this last picture is pretty priceless. Grace hasn't fallen asleep in our arms in FOREVER! Jeff, you lucky dog! I can't believe the flash didn't wake her up.