Finally....
posting about Christmas.
I realize that some months have passed but I really do have some seriously good excuses!
None of which I am going to give now because it's late and I'm tired and it would turn into a longer epistle than it already is so anyways....Christmas.

I think that 2010 Christmas morning was one of my favorites!
Owen was very excited for Christmas...it was the first Christmas that he FULLY "got it!"
He understood the whole Santa thing and the "getting presents" thing.
We tried to explain that it was a little bit more than that but well....we'll get there eventually.

So you know how you collect presents over a few months period and then maybe a couple weeks before you start to panic a little?!?!
Thinking maybe there is not enough under the tree?!?
Yah....we forgot about all of the presents, previously collected, so come Christmas Eve night it was wrapping hell!!!
Why?! Oh why did I not wrap days beforehand?!?!
Live and learn.....LET'S NOT DO IT AGAIN!
Needless to say, (and horror to my mother-in-law) it was fun to watch them rip through it!
My mother-in-law is a meticulous saver of wrapping paper.
While I love just about everything Silsby and I really do.
I feel so blessed with my in-laws, they are amazing
HOWEVER...Christmas morning at a Silsby house (minus mine) takes about 4 hours
in order to carefully open presents to SAVE the wrapping paper.
For someone who can hardly stand just about any waiting, that is COMPLETE torture!
They are better reducers, reusers and recyclers, needless to say!
She about died with all of the wasted paper!

Anyways, it was a Ben 10 success for Owen who is as of age 3.5 is OBSESSED with Ben 10.
He loved it all but the omnitrix was the MOST PRIZED!
If you are not familiar with Ben 10 verbage (as I am almost expert now!) well....it's a watch-thingy to turn yourself into an alien.
According to O, it is "TOTALLY awesome."


He was STOKED to see all of the presents....he said, "Mom is this all for me?!?"


Ben 10 straw, "Heatblast" (Ben 10 alien.....yes total expert now.), a coloring book & markers (church quiet toy, more for me than him ;)


Miss Ru fell in love with this baby that she played with at the museum.
FELL. IN. LOVE.
This mama found a shipper of said doll that would send me a baby to England.
Doll arrived....doll arrived BLUE.
Mom wanted pink doll....mom wrote shipper.
Shipper felt awful.
Shipper sent pink baby and said to keep blue baby too.
RADICAL.

All I can say is that I love these shots.
I love them because I remember having baby dolls and I LOVE that she loves them.
Watching her open up the dolls is one of my new favorite moments in life.
The sweetest.



Of course then the food was cracked out and well.....like her mama she LURVES the food!


Ben 10 book, chocolate coins (traditional English stocking stuffer), and our tradition, Matchbox cars in the stocking.


Helping Nana enjoy her present the Ladybug Picnic book, I am glad to know that Miss Ru is a fan!



The infamous OMNITRIX!
The intensity is real on that face I tell you!!

Happy as lark!

Of course Ben spoiled me silly.
We had such a fabulous day!

Hope yours was wonderful!

Okay I am not going to lie....it is a repost from the Pied Piper blog but I do have document this since I put this all in book at the end of the year. Miss L Ru....the big one. She really is such a delight in our family, we are so glad that she was born a year ago.

Where does it go?
How is it that you have a baby and then all of the sudden they are ONE?!
Where does that time go?!


Her new "baby!"
I really wanted to buy her a FABULOUS doll but England is SERIOUSLY lacking in the good doll department.
So we opted for a very cheap baby doll and guess what my friends, it doesn't matter!
She is IN LOVE with that baby!!


Cake bunting...I know SO CUTE right?!
Made by my fabulous sister-in-law.

There are things that I have always known but for some reason I tend to forget like.....
putting frosting on a hot cake with the result being dripping frosting....nice.
The cake.....well.....let's just say that I am a photographer and NOT NOT NOT a cake maker!!
I had this idea of the perfect GIANT cupcake but it SOOO did not pan out.
Thankfully that cute babe looked aside her mothers bad cake and ate it anyways!

Brother getting in on the cake action!






Sadly it does BUT with it also brings GREAT joy!
Our little delight is happily ONE!

She LOVES:

Her blankey
Her brother
Cottage Cheese
Toddling everywhere as fast as her chubby legs will take her
Wearing bows & ripping them out
Laughing (for reals but the fake laughing is fun too)
Singing
Saying AMEN as loud as possible at the end of a prayer
Eating...anything really
Snuggling whenever she feels like it!

We are so glad you were born ONE year ago scrummy ru.

Well....another chunk of time has passed by! I used to think that people who lived in their house for YEARS and YEARS were boring and not adventurous....NOW....I get it!

Moving is the biggest PIT of my life! We still have several boxes in the house and I am working on a half made desk. We are STILL a work in progress but we will get there eventually. The problem is it all takes TIME and money BOTH of which we are quite lacking!

Ben is CRAZY busy with Groundwork. He is running the show for the entire county and with all the teams he has under him it has been NUTS! He has been called as the YM's president. He is excited about it, it was his favorite calling in Plymouth....it was also very time consuming.....I'm not complaining ;) I get quite jealous of his time. Sometimes he gets home late only to run off for meetings or mutual. The young men here REALLY need him though so it is a good thing.

Owen started pre-school. He loves it most days and they all love him there. The only remark I ever get is that he doesn't want to stop to eat lunch because he is having too much fun! We were really lucky to get him into this pre-school and we've put him forward to three really great schools for "BIG BOY" school next year. We're praying hard that he gets into the right one for him. I think it is CRAZY that four year olds go to full time school here, I'm still having a hard time with that! He is so much fun though. He says MANY things that make me laugh all day, he eats ALL THE TIME and still looks like a stick figure and talks about lasers, swords and Umizoomi A LOT. He is more than good times!

Libby....almost one. She is a complete delight! She is toddling along now and really starting to get the hang of walking. She refuses to let me feed her and despite the fact that she only has two teeth she does a pretty good job with everything that we eat! Pizza and cottage cheese being her favorite! She is quite the sass! She hates to get dressed (it is my MOST dreaded part of the day!) If it wasn't so cold, I really wouldn't bother dressing her. When we do finally get her dressed she is wearing 3T clothing because she is tall and a little bit fluffy ;) She giggles all the time, folds arms for prayers (although can't quit make it around aforementioned fluffy belly.), says "amen" and sings A LOT. We love her...she is a great addition to our family!

ME....well I am trying to keep my wits together despite the fact that every time I think about my house not being in order I want to rip my eyebrows out! I have always known that I liked to be organized but now I know that it is KEY to my sanity and spirit! I know it will happen but I have not acquired enough patience yet to handle it!!! I am busy with work, writing a book and pining for the day to fly to AZ for the month of the TURKEY! I have longed to enjoy a bit of Arizona winter and sit down with my family for Thanksgiving. I always prepare here but it is NOT the same. I love waking up to Arizona crisp air, running the Turkey Trot and coming home to the wafting delicious turkey. *sigh* things like that keep me sane! It will have been FIVE years since I had a PROPER Thanksgiving. HOLLA. Can't wait to see you all!

I wouldn't leave you without some updated photos....here are our babes.....

GOOD GRIEF! May since I posted?!?! That is pretty pathetic but we have good excuses!

Since April Ben got a promotion and we moved from Plymouth (about two hours closer to London). This is something that we have wanted for a long time. Plymouth has been so good to us and when we drove away I could not help but sob leaving my little flat where I was first married and had my two babies. Many many good memories. We loved our ward and loved so many things about living there but also felt a tug to move on. Two of Ben's brothers live in Poole and it is SO much closer to London. Which means more temple trips and more visits to Ben's family in Hastings (which is now 2 hours closer). It used to take us 5 hours to get to his parents house! We've loved the ward here too even before we had an inkling of coming. It has been great so far and were happy to be here.

Ben literally packed up our entire flat and moved us to Poole while the kids and I were visiting in Arizona during March and April! So we flew back to a new city! We stayed with Ben's brother, his wife and their two girls while we searched for a home.....can I tell you how much NOT FUN that is?! Ugh, I wish I could just pay someone to find everything that I want and then move and unpack the entire house. We looked for weeks! Finally the house next door (literally next door!) came up in the right price so we took it. They had quite a bit of remodeling to do which took a few weeks longer than we hoped for so long that in fact we left for Arizona again at the end of July....we put the boxes in our new house and flew out the next day! SOOoooooo we got back here about a week and a half ago and have been sorting out the house ever since!!! We've been without a home since April! It is completely weird to be in our own place again but soooo nice!

Can I be honest and say that it is not exactly what I wanted?! We looked long and hard for the right place and this came up with a great price that we felt it would be a blessing to us financially. SO it is not my ideal home....I guess I am not there yet but the carpet is new and the kitchen is brand new. I have a new refridgerator and a new washing machine which, sad to say, are things that I am so excited about! AND we live next door to Ben's brother and his family which is great because our kids are the same age and we get on like Donkey Kong!

So that is how it has been over the past few months (gosh it feels so much longer than that!). Owen turned three. We had a big Buzz Lightyear party which he loved and had so much fun! He still talks about it all the time! Then we went to a great family reunion in Utah, it was my favorite of them all. We left from Utah straight to California for some beach time. I felt like it was a quick visit, even though it was two weeks! I am used to my big long stays when I come! Now were here, trying to sort this house out. My brain and emotions feel fried and I am sandbagging big time because this all more than the biggest of chores! Once it is done I will feel like a whole woman again!! Anyways, we did just have our photos done in April but I've been working out like a crazy woman, dieting like mad and I've lost over 30 pounds so I felt that some more updated photos needed to be done! We had our very good photographer friend in California take some family shots for us. Here are a couple.....we'll update soon with more photos....I PROMISE!!!

Just 35 more pounds to go and I may fit back into that wedding dress again!!!!

We had our family photos taken while we were in AZ.
Bonus of having photogs for friends!
I debated on doing it because I am NOT back to the body size I would like to be.
BUT moments must be marked before they pass too quickly so....
Here they are, we loved them!

I know I posted this on the Pied Piper blog but it is dedicated to the mommas I know through this blog so it is a repeat but with full heart intent!!


my sweet mom and sister...


my dear mother-in-law....



Women.
Quite remarkable creatures really.
Amazing at so many different things and some at the same time!
Now before this starts to sound feminist,
I assure you it is not.
Men and women are made to compliment one another without question.
Like peanut butter and jelly, fabulous on their own but perfection when together!
Oh dear let me not digress....heaven knows I love me a PB&J....
In all seriousness, I think about this a lot.
A LOT.
Women and the certain kinds there are.
The potential that they have, use and become great or...not.
There ARE certain kinds, you know.
Categories if you will.
Too numerous to really be named but truthfully it boils down to two.
A dividing line between two kinds.

The kind that create beauty and love wherever they go, they are wrought with kindness and thinking of others far more then themselves.
They KNOW who they are, what life is about and where they are going
and they ACT accordingly.
They know that ONE good woman can do great things.

Or the other kind.....who think nothing of others or any damage they do in their wake, they breed gossip and judgement, take no responsibility for their actions and do not understand their divinity which in turn leaves them without respect from others and quite sadly without respect for themselves.
It's quite tragic really.
Some just don't get it and some never will.

Now if you're like me you may find yourself in the gray area in between.
I wish I could say that I have never partaken in a juicy piece of gossip
or that I haven't had a selfish time or two (or MORE *ahem*) in my life.
I'm no bit of perfection but I would like to keep my body on the better half of the line.

Women can be amazing when they combine to do something good but also just as amazingly VICIOUS when they gossip or tear down an individual.

Okay this is a large rant and I am by NO MEANS any expert on this subject but...
I guess it has had me thinking on this mother's day as I have spent hours working on photos of stunning wonderful women and many young little women who I wonder what kind of woman they will be.
I think about my own mother and the many other mothers who surround me.

What kind of mothers are we?
What kind of woman am I?

I hope that I have patience like my mother.
That I play with my children the way she did with me.
That I am steadfast in holding to precious morals.
That they will know who they are, where they come from and where they are going.

Give a girl a good mother and she can do anything.
Thank you mom for all that you are....

Happy Mother's day to all the amazing women out there!

Well, after an 11 hour flight BY MYSELF with two kids we are here.
In fact we've been here a couple of weeks!
I know.
Shame on me for not blogging all about it.
I have my reasons...
Ben got a great promotion so we are leaving our lovely Plymouth.
Were moving two hours closer to live in a city with family
and live closer to the rest.
So I've been packing the house..
then I packed for the trip then
I took a very long trip..
had lots of fam time
taken lots of shoots
and so here we are.

Owen and Libby have been having so much fun!
Wearing t-shirts and shorts already has been quite the highlight!
Owen can't get enough of his nan and neither can Libby.
Poor Ben had to stay and work but he gets to come to us soon
but we are missing him SO MUCH!

Anyways, happy funny shoot today.
Owen DID not like sister touching him at all,
especially with slobbery hands and mouth.
Can you tell?!?!?



Libby had a great time! She couldn't get enough of him!


Our little (being the optimal word!) lady is 5 months old.
She is loving rice cereal and can certainly not get enough of it.
Poor thing, she'll waste away!
She is rolling over and drooling ridiculous amounts of slobber everywhere.
Yes, say it all you like but I have to tell you WE KNOW.
She is the CUTEST thing around and we are not going to deny it!

Owen is a great big brother and is starting to really have a little more interest in her.
He is really missing daddy though.
I don't think I will ever make the cut with that guy!
At least he kisses me often (and like daddy or so he says)
They entail holding my face TIGHTLY and saying MWA as loud as possible!
He is super fun!

More to come soon, were just soaking up all we can while were here!