2 AJs and a Pop!: March 2010

Once there was a snowman...

A couple of weeks ago we got a pretty good little snowstorm on a Saturday. Ariyah loves to play in the snow. (Really she loves to be outside no matter what kind of weather it is...she gets that from her Daddy!) She loves to stomp around in it and throw herself down in it. I have changed many wet clothes this winter!

Chris decided it would be fun to make a snowman. It was his and Ariyah's first snowman ever! Ariyah had a great time following him around while he rolled the balls of snow around the yard. I don't know how he knew how to make a snowman, but he did a great job as you can see.

OK, the thing looks a little evil, but they had a blast! For the next few days after they made the snowman, the first thing Ariyah would do in the morning is check to see if her snowman made it through the night. It took a couple of days, but "...in the sun he melted, melted, melted. In the sun he melted, small, small, small!"

Playing with Daddy-O

OK, last post about St. George! Chris played with Ariyah every day all day! We had a little park at the condo complex where we stayed, so they played for hours there. But on the way home from Snow Canyon, Chris spotted a cool park that he wanted to take Ariyah to. Here is a little video of them playing on the See-Saw...So it is a little bouncy and makes you kinda sick if you watch it for long, but it is oh so cute.

Ariyah loves, loves, loves playing with her Daddy-O!

Ariyah's first hike!

While we were in St. George we decided to visit Snow Canyon (thanks Scott for the suggestion!). It was cold, but fantastic! What a beautiful place for a little hiking. I was a little nervous to see how Ariyah would do on her first hike, but she LOVED it! We actually went on two very little hikes (each only about .5 miles). I was in awe of the tremendous cliffs covered in bright mosses and streaks of mineral deposits of every color. There is something about being in nature that reminds me how blessed we are to live is such a beautiful world.

Here is Daddy and Ariyah at the back of Jenny's slot canyon.

I have never seen a slot canyon before! It is amazing and a little scary all at the same time. We kept hearing grunting noises that we thought was some kind of big animal for sure. It turned out to be a large black crow hiding in one of the many crevices in the canyon. It just sounded scary because of the echo!

Looking up at the cliff through a hole in a cave.

Peek-a-boo!

Mommy, Ariyah and Titi hiking!

Daddy and Ariyah posing among the rocks!

Those red rock cliffs are breathtaking! We can't wait to go back and do more of the hikes.

St. George Temple

At the beginning of March we headed down to St. George for what I call a "sanity trip." It is about that time of year that I just cannot take one more day of cold, gray, wet weather. So, we head to St. George every spring to find some sun.

This year, Ashley came out from Philly to go with us. It was so great to have her here with us for a whole week! Ariyah just ADORES her "Titi."

Unfortunately, we only had one day of warm sunshine before the weather turned cool and gray. I know, what a bummer, right? So much for my sanity trip! We still had a great time though!

One of the stops we made was at the St. George Temple. Ariyah loves to sing "I Love to See the Temple" and asks to go to the temple all the time. So I thought a nice little Sunday walk around the temple grounds would be a great Sunday activity.

Here is Ariyah with her "Titi" climbing up
the stairs to the door of the temple.
One day you will get to go in sweetheart!

Mommy and Titi with Ariyah in front of a beautiful patch of dark purple flowers.
(I have got to get a better camera!)

Mommy, Daddy and Ariyah with the temple in the background.
It is so white and beautiful!

Mommy and Ariyah...you can barely see it, but the trees were just starting to blossom.

What a beautiful place to spend an afternoon. I love to see the temple!

And speaking of hats...

How cute is that? She has a hat face just like her Aunt Ashley. They can both wear any kind of hat and still look absolutely adorable (even with Red Vines all over her face!) In fact, that is her "Titi's" hat. I wish I could get away with that!

Bowl on her head...

This is just one of those things that I wanted to document for Ariyah to see later. Since she was about 16 months she has liked to wear some of my metal mixing bowls as hats. Who knows why? It is just one of those things! The pictures are kind of dark, but that is her with a mixing bowl on her head.

Gotta love her fun-loving spirit!

Valentine's Day 2010...a little late!

Since Ariyah is totally into cooking and baking, I thought Valentine's Day was a great excuse to make some sugar cookies. We had a great time mixing up the dough, rolling it out and cutting out hearts. Ariyah was a great little baker. Her favorite part was by far the decorating though. I whipped up some homemade frosting and let her go at it with her own little plate of cookies. She loved frosting and using the sprinkles. She ate a TON of frosting and cookies. So much fun!