Aquarium and the Mayan

On Wednesday my sisters, my mom and I packed up the kids and took them to a neat little sea life aquarium in Sandy. They had everything from sting rays and eels to jellyfish and sharks. Teya loved seeing all the fishies and was especially excited when she got to the tank full of "Nemos and Dorys" They had a touch pool too that you could reach in and feel the sting rays as well as mini-touch pools with star fish, sea cucumbers, and other fun things. Teya didn't want to touch the rays, or "Mr. Ray" as she called them, but she was all about the starfish and cucumbers. She laughed her head of every time she felt one of them, it was pretty cute. After the aquarium we took the kids to a restaurant called the Mayan. When you go in it looks like a Disneyland ride. Everything is decorated and in the middle there is a huge rock cliff with a waterfall and diving pools. We got seated right in front of the waterfall, which we thought would be so great for the kids. At first Teya thought it was pretty neat, but then the show started. They had Mayan warriors jumping off the waterfall accompanied by thunder, lightning, and a waterfall surge. Teya buried her head in her hands and kept saying, "No mommy! I don't like it!" finally she jumped into my sisters lap (who was further away from the waterfall then I was) buried her head in my sister's chest and didn't come out for the rest of our lunch. At one point she did let us give her a little taco, but other than that she was way too scared to be peeled off of my sister. Eventually she just feel asleep in Sarah's arms. It was pretty adorable. When we got back to the house and her Uncle asked her what she did that day, I thought she would talk about the fish or the sharks but instead she enthusiastically said, "I see a waterfall!" I guess even if it was a little scary at least it's something she'll never forget!

Teya and her cousins outside the Mayan

Clinging to her taco while buried in Auntie Sarah's chest during the show

One tired (and scared) little girl

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

The other morning I woke up to the sound of Teya's little voice on the monitor. It took me awhile to figure out what she was saying, and then I realized she was actually singing. It was so cute because she was all alone in her dark room, laying in her crib singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. When she got done she shouted "Yay!" and gave herself a round of applause. I went in to get her and she said, "Mommy I singin!"

So I tried to get a clip of her singing it again and this is the best I got. Since I've never really taught her the words she just kind of slurs together a bunch of sounds to mimic what she thinks the song says. Still, if you speak or understand toddler you can tell that she is indeed singing Twinkle Little Star. Pretty cute if you ask me!

Happy 30th Birthday Taber!

Today is Taber's birthday and last night we had a big party to celebrate him turning the big 3-0! Because it was a special birthday we had to do something more than just cake and ice cream, so I organized a BBQ in our backyard and rented a huge bounce house for the "kids" ; ) Naturally it was the teenagers and adults who had the most fun in it, but the little ones had a blast too! We had the bounce house set up all day so luckily Teya, our little jumping bean, got her fill of it before all the big kids came. Later in the evening we got some of the men and youth to have a wrestle mania tournament inside which was quite entertaining! So anyway, Happy Birthday Taber! We love you and hope you had a great party and have a great birthday today!

The birthday crowd

Blowing out candles (with Teya's help)

Bounce house and BBQ pics
Wrestle Mania Smack Down!

Nashville Zoo

Today I woke up and it was so beautiful outside I knew we had to do something to take advantage of it. We've gone to the park quite a bit recently so that wasn't going to cut it. Finally I decided in a moment of spontaneity to pack up the girls and the wagon and drive up to the Nashville Zoo. I remember before I had Teya when I would drive to work on a beautiful day, I would be so jealous of the people who didn't have to work who could actually go out and take advantage of the nice weather. Since I've become a stay at home mom I'll admit there have been times when I've missed teaching, but then I get to have days like today, and I remember that I'm pretty darn lucky to be able to wake up and decide on a whim to hit a cool place like the zoo!

It was really cute when we got there and started seeing all the animals, Teya suddenly turned to me with excitement and said, "Diego here!" For those unfamiliar with Nick Jr., Diego is Dora the Explorer's cousin who happens to be an animal rescuer. I guess all the animals made Teya think we were in Diego's world. : )

Anyhow, after many awesome exhibits, a carousel ride, and a trip to the jungle gym playground, the girls were quite tuckered out and so was I from pulling those two in the wagon up the steep hills and winding paths of the 200 acre zoo. : ) All in all I'd say we did a pretty good job of taking advantage of a beautiful day!

Pregnancy update!

Spring is here and my belly is in full bloom! My tummy has grown quite a bit in the last few weeks and has really popped out. Maybe it's because I'm short, but more likely it's because I just really love to eat : ) I got plenty of comments about it at church on Sunday, especially from my precious 12 year old Sunday school kids who said something like,"Wow, your baby must be huge!" I thought it was sweet that they didn't say YOU are huge. Bless their hearts.
I'm feeling good though. With my bigger size I've definitely slowed down a bit. It's harder to carry Teya around and she's thrown plenty of fits because I won't hold her. I figure she'll have to get used to that though once the baby is here. Also with my bigger belly has come the always fun occurrence of heartburn. : ( Rolaids, Tums, and Mylanta are my new best friends! I don't go anywhere without them!

The baby is really packing some punches these days and Taber has been able to feel some impressive kicks. She is very active and gets especially hyper when she hears kids playing. Seriously, when we were in Utah and Teya and her cousins were running around, screaming in delight, the baby was pounding on me like she couldn't wait to come out and join the fun. I think she's going to be a party animal. : ) Also while we were in Utah we went to a little Gender Ultrasound place at the mall to get another peek and we were able to confirm that she is indeed, still a girl.

So that's the latest and greatest on my pregnancy! Just 12 and 1/2 weeks to go!

Blue Angels Air Show

On Saturday we took Teya to see the Blue Angels Air Show at the Smyrna airport just south of Nashville. I say we took Teya, but really I should say we took Taber, since he was the one who was giddy excited about the whole experience. Taber got his private pilot's license while he was in MBA school so he gets pretty pumped about this kind of thing.

Anyway, the show was about 4 hours long and featured some pretty amazing flying by several acrobatic pilots and was capped off of course by the amazing Blue Angels jets. Watching those pilots fly was unlike anything I've ever witnessed before! They were playing chicken in the sky, stalling in the air, doing crazy spinning free falls, it was nuts! My heart was beating so fast, I seriously thought they were going to crash like 50 times! Teya really got a kick out of the airplanes, but I think the jets scared her a little because they were SO LOUD! We had a great time though and came home with full tummies, some nice sunburns, and a new awe and respect for show and air force pilots!

I took this picture myself.
This is the Geico skydivers doing some fancy flying.

They had planes everywhere that you could get in and look around

Me and Teya in front of a fighter jet.

Taber and Teya with an army Helicopter
This lady was a wing walker
She was doing all these tricks on the wings while they flew
It's hard to tell, but the lady was upside down on top
of the plane, kicking her feet in this picture

Teya's favorite part was the junk food of course : )

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This is a video of John Klatt who was one of the pilots that performed. This will give you a taste of some of the crazy maneuvers we saw during the day.

More Utah Highlights

Before I move on from our trip to Utah, I just wanted to mention a few more highlights:

-Going to the temple with my 3 married sisters was amazing! Having all four of us sitting together all in white, it was such a special experience.

-Meeting my little niece Brooklyn for the first time was awesome! She is so stinking cute, I couldn't hold back the tears the first time I held her. What a blessing it is to be an Auntie!

-Seeing my little sister Sarah who is pregnant too and due just one month after me! It was so fun talking about pregnant stuff, going to Babies R Us and baking cookies to fulfill our pregnancy cravings.

-Seeing Teya get completely absorbed in watching the Justice League with her uncle Tau
-Watching Teya play with her Aunties, Uncles and Cousins.

- Eating at Rumbi Grill, Macaroni Grill, Training Table, and other great restaurants.

-Having soooo many babysitters to help out with Teya! It was so fun being able to go out to lunch, go to the temple, and go shopping without having to worry about finding a trusty babysitter.

Utah trip!

Sorry I haven't blogged in forever! We've been in Utah for the last week spending time with old friends and both sides of our family. Taber had to go out for a leadership conference so Teya and I came along so we could see my family. When Taber's family found out we'd be there, they decided to come in too from Colorado and Arizona. It ended up being a wonderful fun filled reunion for everybody! The posts below cover some of the highlights of the trip. Enjoy!

Pool Time!

One of the best parts of staying at a hotel is going swimming! Taber took Teya down to the pool and she never wanted to get out. She was a little frustrated because the pool didn't have a shallow end so she had to be carried the whole time. She was kicking and paddling and trying so hard to escape and swim on her own, but we didn't dare let her since she's never had any kind of swim lessons. I think she just thought she could walk around on the bottom of the pool and have a good old time.

Piggy back in the pool

Auntie Regan's Birthday

We got to celebrate Teya's auntie Regan's birthday while we were in Utah. I went to party land and decked out the hotel room in sweet birthday decorations. I also made sure to get plenty of fun party favors for all the kids, including hand clappers, noise makers, party hats and bubbles. We made a lot of noise and a huge mess, which in my mind made the party a huge success! Teya still thinks that every time we sing happy birthday we are singing to her, she even tried to blow out Regan's candles. One of these days she'll figure out that every birthday party isn't just for her. ; )

Regan, me, and Mama Rigg partying with the grandkids
Taber with his whole family
Papa Rigg, Taber, Regan, Brett and Mama Rigg

Kangaroo Zoo

Right down the street from my parent's house is the neatest place called the Kangaroo Zoo. It is basically just a huge building full of blow up slides and jolly jumps. Teya is a little jumping bean so we usually go there several times when we're in Utah. This trip was no exception. We hit the Kangaroo Zoo twice, once with my family and once with Taber's. Teya had so much fun with all her cousins, and especially loved bouncing around with her Uncle Brett.

Teya with her Uncle Brett and cousinsMe and my sister-in-law CJ with my newest nephew River

Aspen Grove Leadership Conference

This last week we got to fly out to Utah for Taber to attend a Leadership Conference up at Aspen Grove. I'm a little sketchy on all the details, but I believe it was put on by BYU and featured a lot of great speakers, including Stephen Covey. Taber really enjoyed the conference and gained a lot of great insights into leadership and organizational behavior. His favorite part though was reuniting with his friends from MBA school. Even though they're all spread out across the country now, it was so fun for them to get together and catch up.

Taber, Sarah, Pat, and Matt
My favorite HR people in the world. : )