Priceless

I came home from work the other night to this....

and this...

Need I say more? I thought this picture of J.J. and Josh was just priceless. I saw them holding hands and had to grab the camera.

On another note, Bailey and J.J. are starting to become little buddies now that Bailey is able to get around a little better and interacting more. It is so fun to see them play together. Even though J.J. still likes to pick on Bailey, they sure do love each other. They are going to be best buds!

J.J.'s first day of preschool

J.J. went to his first real day of preschool last Friday. He was so excited he could hardly stand it. He looked so cute all ready for school with his back pack on.



His teacher Mrs. Redd (AKA Granny)!! J.J. is so lucky that he gets his Granny for his preschool teacher. Josh's mom runs a preschool out of her basement called The Little Redd School House. This makes it so much easier and funner for J.J. He also has his cousin Chase in his class who he absolutely loves and adores.

J.J. hanging up his backpack for the first time! SO CUTE!!

He was so excited for his name tag and for class to start, but not to excited about mom taking a million pictures!!

Each child was asked to bring five things to help everyone get to know them better. Here they are looking at everything J.J. brought.

It was so fun to see J.J. so excited for school, but a little sad for me to see that he really is growing up. I never thought this day would come that I would be taking my child to preschool. I wish I could freeze time right now. He is at such a fun age. He is learning so much, discovering new things, and becoming his own little person. J.J. I love you!

Thanksgiving Point Petting Zoo

We have had such a fun summer, and have really enjoyed the nice warm weather outside. We took the kids to the Thanksgiving Point Petting Zoo and they loved it. J.J. Loves to see the animals and try and make the all the noises they make. Bailey loved to see all the animals too and she loved the pony ride. J.J. was a little nervous at first to ride the pony, but after seeing all his little cousins do it he decided it would be fun.







This kid is all boy! He loves to run, climb, jump, and get dirty. He has so much energy. He is always keeping me on my toes.

She is all Smiles!!

Bailey is now almost eleven months old! Where did all the time go? She is the sweetest baby you will ever meet. She is always smiling and is always happy. I do not know how I got so lucky to be blessed with such a little angel. She truly is the best little girl ever. She is very quiet and very calm and always has a big smile on her face. I just love her smiles and had to show them off. Whenever she smiles you get this huge cheezer that can just put a smile on anyones face. I love you Bailey Grace.




I can not believe how big my little girl is getting. She can now climb the stairs and thinks she is pretty hot cool.



This past week she has also started to stand and balance all by herself! She has been standing with the support of something for a while now, but she can now stand up all by herself and balance and take about one step before she falls. It is so exciting to see your kids grow and meet each new milestone, but at the same time it is so sad. She is suppose to be my little baby and she is growing up right before my eyes way to fast. I wish I could just freeze time and make them stay little forever.

My first half Marathon

My sister in law Tavah talked me into running the provo half marathon in August. I had been wanting to do something like this for a while, but never was brave enough to. It was so fun to have a goal to do something and then actually accomplish it! Thanks Tavah for running with me. It was a blast. I can't believe I actually made it to the end. Josh and Brandon and the kids came to support us at about mile seven and eleven. It was so nice and gave us so much more energy when we saw them. Then at the end of the race my parents and my brother and sister in law were waiting. It was so nice. When I thought I could not run anymore, I spotted all our fans and instantly I was reenergized to finish the race. My final time was two hours and six minutes which I was very proud of for my very first race.

Twenty Fourth of July- FIESTA DAYS

We always look forward to the Twenty Fourth of July and the Fiesta days rodeo. This year we started the day off with going to the parade. The kids loved it and loved running after all the candy. Then, as usual the guys all ditched us and went golfing. After the parade the girls and kids made our way down to all the booths to do a little shopping, and then took the kids to the carnival to ride some rides. I was so glad that this year J.J. actually enjoyed most of the rides instead of being scared of them all like last year. After the carnival the kiddos were exhausted and so we headed home for some naps. That night we went to the rodeo where Josh was treating all the Cowboys so we were able to get free tickets! It was a great fun filled day as usual.

Fourth of July in Blanding

Every year Josh's family all gets together in Blanding for the Fourth of July. The city puts on a huge celebration with a parade, a bunch of different sports tournaments, a carnival for the kids, a firework show, and much much more. Josh and I have not been able to go for a couple of years since we have been in Texas going to school. We were definately excited to finally go back down to Blanding. We always have a good time. All the grandkids love to play together at grandma's house.


This trip we actually decided to take a hike up to Bears Ears where Josh's uncle Johnny had placed a time capsule many years ago. We decided we would hike up and dig up the time capsule and see what was in it. We took J.J. and at the last minute we decided to leave Bailey at the bottom of the mountain with Grandpa Slavens. We soon found out that that was a very good idea considering the hike was a much more difficult hike than originally estimated! We had a great hike even though Josh had to carry J.J. the majority of the time.




On the way back we decided to stop at Bridges National Park. It was pretty amazing and we were surprised we had never been in all our trips to Blanding. It was Beautiful and we will definitely be making another trip there the next time we go to Blanding.



J.J. was completely exhausted after the long hike, and visit to Bridges! He was sound asleep after about three minutes of being in the car! What a hard life.

On our way out of town the boys decided that the trio would not be complete if they did not go jump in the lake in there speedo/underwear!! If you know the Slavens you know they are all crazy and always up for a fun time! So all the boys jumped in the water. It was pretty chilly, but J.J. did not want to miss out on the action and had to jump right in after his dad. I love these boys.

December 2009
This little boy loves to wear little dress up shoes and high heels everywhere! Josh hates when I take pictures of it, but I think it will be great for when he gets older!! What a funny boy.

Best buds- Once again notice the high heels!


We decided to spend the day at Gardner Village. It was the first time I had ever been. It was decorated so cute for Christmas. Unfortunately this was the only picture I got because I was trying to keep little Bailey Boo warm!

Bentley, Mimi, and J.J.

Can you tell I tell this kid to be quiet a lot? He thinks he needs to tell us to be quiet because his sister is sleeping!

Bailey looking like a sweet angel.

This little monster has started to test his mommy. So yes, we have started putting him in time out. As much as I hate punishing him, I sure think he looks pretty cute sitting in his time out chair!

I love this picture! So exhausted I didn't even bother taking his shoes or coat off.


November 2009
For Thanksgiving we loaded up the two kids and drove to Kansas to spend the Holiday with Josh's family. Other than Bailey wanting to eat all the time, the kids did very well on the long drive. We stayed at Gary and Janes house and had a wonderful time. The boys played a lot of nintendo, played basketball, and watched football. We had lots of delicious food, and great company. After Thanksgiving I had to say goodbye to josh (tear!). I flew home with Beverly and the two kids to go back to Utah, while Josh had to go back to Texas to finish up school and all his finals. Thanks again to great family that helped me out during this time without Josh. I couldn't have done it without all of you.

Beverly meeting Bailey for the first time

Grandpa Slavens and Bailey taking a nap together. Precious.

J.J. all bundled up to play outside in the freezing cold with the big boys!