Little, yellow swimsuit!

Since several people have asked, I bought this swimsuit at Macy's on clearance for about $40. A steal, I know. I looked online and didn't see it there in yellow. They are closing out the color, I guess.

They have the same suit in red, purple, and some other color for $100. I bet if you go into the store it's on sale, though. You also may be able to find the yellow if you go into the store.

I love it and it's really comfy. Glad you like it too!!

BTW, they had a bunch of cute suits at Macy's.

Vacation Part 1: Utah! (finally!)

Ok, this post is finally done. You will understand why it took forever cause its REALLY long!! There were just too many pics and we did so many things! Enjoy!

Our first stop was in Utah for both Kevin's family reunion and my family reunion. We had to fly out of Chicago and as we were setting up camp at the gate, we saw a familiar face! My little sis, Sheri, was on the same flight!! She had come from southern Indiana through Chicago on a layover. What an awesome coincidence! We had no idea we had booked the same flight. It was awesome cause we all sat together and she helped a lot with Jos. And guess what? Josie was an absolute angel on the flight. She played for the first 30 mins. or so and then fell asleep on my lap under my nursing cover. It was awesome. She then slept through deplaning, getting put in a stroller, then in a car, and didn't wake up until I was putting her down in a pack 'n play to sleep. She must have been really tired. The next morning we were off to the annual Packard reunion. They have it at a camp site next to a pretty lake. (I can't remember where. Ogden canyon, maybe?) Anyway, she was passed around a whole bunch and got to meet some of the 60 cousins and 11 aunts and uncles Kevin has. Yeah. Big family. 

Josie with Papa (Kevin's dad)

She LOVED the sand! I let her eat some, so she would get over it and realize it is not so yummy.

Um, yeah, so remember me telling you about my black hair? Well, here it is! This is after I washed it many times. Yes, it was a mistake, and no, I didn't do it myself. I was hoping for a deep chocolate with a little redish tint. Its mostly washed out to a medium brown now.

We then put her in this torture device that is supposed to save her life and she went on the boat with us. Well, she at least slept on the boat. 

Kevin's the pro at wakeboarding. It made me tired just watching.

I'm able to get up, I just don't steer very well and end up in the wakes. 

Later that day, we checked in at the Gorg reunion in Riverton. The family rented a house and we were all able to have beds and bathrooms to use. It was really nice! Basically, it was my mom's family. My Grandma and her husband (She remarried after my grandpa died of ALS 5 years ago), my family, my aunt and uncle and their 5 kids and families and my uncle Mike. There were 4 babies within about a year of each other.

We spent time hanging out, eating, playing games and going on outings together. We decided to all go and see Temple Square and the art exhibit at the Conference Center. If you have not seen this exhibit, please go!! It was AMAZING! Josie would either crawl around following me like a little dog, or would stand up and "help" me push the stroller.

Sheri brought her boyfriend, Tom to the reunion. Everyone is pretty much in the Tom fan club. I'm pretty sure they are already betrothed as far as my family is concerned. No pressure, Sheri! We took some candids of them looking at the art. They looked so cute discussing together.

One of the days, we went to Lagoon with my parents, Sheri and Tom.

I gave Josie a teething biscuit to knaw on. They are SO messy! She ate the whole thing but it left behind a huge mess. It's hard to see in the pic, but she is covered in it.

......So we washed her off! She obviously loved it!

My dad went on the Skycoaster with us. They strap you together, raise you up really, really high and then drop you so you swing. It was awesome!!

We also spent a day at Thanksgiving Point and went to the animal park and dinosaur museum.

My mom really wanted me to take a pic of her and the dinosaur. Grandma, your so crazy!



Kevin and I got to have a day all to ourselves! We went to the water park at Lagoon, then to Tucanos for dinner and stopped by an arcade on the way back. It was way fun! We won some hillbilly teeth at the arcade.

Last but not least, Kevin had his annual show! His band gets together once a year to play and it's always so much fun. His bandmate, best friend, honorary brother, Jesse has been writing music with Kevin for 20 years now!! They played at a place called Wolf Mountain in Ogden Canyon opening for Jon Schmidt. Jon is a popular new-age pianist that has a really fun show. Anyway, the show was a hit! Several hundred people came and they loved it! 

We loved seeing old friends and family there! Thanks for coming, guys!

It was so great seeing all our friends and family and doing so many great things! We will try to be back soon. If you made it through this post, congrats on reading the longest post ever!!!

Vacation Part 2: California!

(Proof that Josie is standing on her own!)

*Ok, I hate doing things out of order, but my next couple posts won't be chronologically correct. We spent a week in Utah before California, but I took a bazillion pics there and those posts are taking a long time to finish. In the meantime, here is a little about Josie and me in California!

After spending 8 days in Utah, Kevin flew home and Josie and I flew to California for a week. My parents couldn't get enough of her in Utah, so we had to stop by! It was nice relaxing and having my parents watch her. She really became quite comfortable with them.

She LOVED having my mom read to her. She will sit for 20 mins. at a time while you read to her, even if it's the same book over and over again.

Josie was lucky enough to finally meet her 98-year-old, great-great-grandma! That's right, 2 greats! Nana is just as spunky and fabulous as ever! This woman has hardly slowed down over the years and is always such a hoot to be around. She is always smiling and is still sharp as a tack! We love you Nana! I think you may outlive us all!!

Josie with her great-great-aunt, Margie:

Arron drove out to see her with me. Josie had fun with him too.

We got to spend a lot of time with auntie Andrea and auntie Sarah too! (Sorry, no pics!)

The night before I left, I got to go to Ian and Ashlyn Fowles' wedding reception. It was amazing! We are so happy for you guys! Ian and Kevin have been friends forever and have played in several bands together. What a beautiful couple!! (Erin, I hope you don't mind that I stole some pics from you!)

Arron was my date for the night!

So fun seeing you, Elise and Skyler! Can't wait for the Christmas sing-along!

I was SOOO nervous about the flight home. 5 hours on a flight with a 10 month old on my lap did not sound fun. Especially without Kevin. It turns out, my flight was delayed by 2 hours. This was great for me since half the flight was rebooked and I got an empty seat next to me for Josie's car seat! It was a life-saver! I know it would have been miserable otherwise. So, she slept for the first hour or so and spent the rest of the time having the time of her life in her seat. She would stand up and try to play with the person in front of her's hair and laugh histerically at it. She stayed standing in her car seat pretty much the rest of her flight. She was so excited to see her daddy and didn't even care how exhausted she was!


What a great trip! It's good to be home now, though. Traveling is hard on babies. See you all at Christmas!