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...

Back on the Main Land

It's good to be home! We had such a BLAST while on vacation, but I am happy to get back to the real world. Did I really just write that? I suppose my excitement is due to the fact that the holiday season is here! The rest of the year will fly by, packed with all sorts of fun. (Now for a little confession: I have already decorated Grace's room for Christmas! I did it the day before Halloween...I just couldn't wait! It was kinda funny dressing her for trick-or-treating in her room with a Christmas tree and tensel everywhere.) I just LOVE this time of year!

Grace added all kinds of words to her vocabulary thanks to our trip. Beach, ocean, and luscious to name a few. She has gotten so tan..."brown as a biscuit" as my mom would say. She is our little adventurer! I am so blessed to have such an AMAZING family. I am thankful for this vacation and the opportunity it gave us to bring ourselves closer to one another. Here is the final recap on our family trip...

Plays hard and falls hard. The poor baby's sleep schedule was so mixed up. It made for a pretty cranky 20 month old at times, but also this cute picture.

We made some yummy breakfasts...banana pancakes are my favorite!

Josh makes a beautiful mermaid! It's fun to be a kid...
My hunky husband! I love this man.

The Hunt Family

Our Little Family

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.

The 4th of July has to be one of my favorite holidays. First, it represents all that is summer - family, barbecue, warm weather, fun and games, the works! (Fireworks that is.) Secondly, the 4th of July doesn't just signify independence, it also means my birthday is just 2 days away. Let's face it, I am a fan of birthdays! (Independence too!) This weekend was filled with fun and laughter, so what better gift could I ask for?

We kicked things off at Nana & Grandpa's with a little barbecue. Grace was thoroughly entertaining as always. Here she is making faces as she enjoyed "bababerries."

Next, we headed to the bowling alley to hopefully knock down a few pins. Jeff found his game and Josh perfected the "huck fin" method. Kara kicked all of our butts in the second game with a start of 4 strikes, also called a "4 bagger." I bowled a personal best breaking 100 all 3 games and finishing with 149 on the last one. Grace was the princess of the alley, roaming where she pleased. We had such a blast that we missed the fireworks without really missing them. The night ended with a refreshing dip in the pool.




Saturday, we all went to my favorite greek place on Mill Ave. to celebrate my birthday. After church Sunday, we went to the Visitor's Center by the temple to check out the photography exhibit. I was able to snap a few pics of Jeff and Grace, and that wrapped up our fun filled weekend.