Hilton Head Island

So this weekend Brett and I, and our friends Jason and Ashley all went down to Hilton Head Island. Brett's Mom was headed to Florida for Brett's Sister Karie's open house so she met up with us on the road and took Kaiya with us. Yes that's right Kaiya has been to Florida before I have. But that's okay. We had a fun weekend. We went shopping at the outlets, followed with BBQing at the pool and swimming all afternoon. Then we played some games, showed up and headed up for a late night dinner. Before leaving town we went by and saw the Light house on the island. It was a quick trip but well worth the break from the everyday norm. We met up on our way home and got Kaiya back. Poor girl spent 9 hours in the car yesterday, but was still her happy self. Thanks to my Mother in law and sister in law she was well taken care of, and even came back with new shoes :).

Karie Got Married

The Temple they got married in

So Brett's sister Karie got married last weekend. It was so fun to be able to go. She got married Friday Morning in the Washington DC LDS Temple. We drove up Thursday night. Then Friday after the weeding and luncheon we drove back down to Fayetteville to get rested up for the Reception. I helped out getting all of the food ready. We had a Chocolate Fountain, Cheese Fondue, Spinach Dip, Fruits, Vegetables, Bread (for dipping), Chicken wings, meatballs and Potato Salad. So it took some preparing. The Reception brought back a ton of memories from Brett and I's wedding since the yard was set up the same way. It had the typical end to a Shurtleff Wedding Reception. The bride got pushed in the pool. That's right dress and all. Karie's new husband Ryan got word that she was going to push him in. So he grabbed her clothes and all ran and jumped in. All would have been fine if he hadn't had her cell phone in his pocket :). Well within a few minutes all the brides maids and groomsman were all in the pool. So Brett's Mom and Ryan's Mom decided they should join and ran and jumped in Clothes and all. HAHA It was a great night. After cleaning up a bit we drove home getting us home about 12:30. Lots of driving, but a good weekend. So Tomorrow we are off again. Karie and Ryan couldn't take their whole Honeymoon since they needed to get to a Open House. So Brett and I decided to be nice (haha) and help them out by finishing up their time for them. We are taking down a couple of friends with us too so it should be a good time. I will be sure to post about that next week.

Karie with all the grandkids

I can't help but laugh..

Kaiya since the day she arrived hasn't stopped making us laugh. She has such a sweet spirit about here. I don't think there is a single time I have gone to the store that I Haven't been stopped by at least to strangers telling what a great smile and eyes she has. She just has away about making others smile too. Well here are a few pictures just to let you know some of the fun around our house.

Kaiya Hiding a Banana behind her head. That was fun to clean up :)

Always standing up in the bath tub. When she sits she just splashes and splashes. But she loves to stand up and splash her feet as well.

Hiding in the Hamper. She kept crawling in it so Brett finally stood it up and let it shut. Then she just kept popping her head out and laughing and then going back down again.

The last one I don't have a picture for. But just about an hour ago I heard some chatter coming from Kaiya's room ( who was suppose to be asleep). Well When I walked in I found a naked baby. It is a warm day so I let her play in just her diaper. Well she had decided even that wasn't needed and took it off. But no that's not all. When she saw me she got all excited and crawled to the edge of the crib. Pulled her self up. Leaned her torso forward and began to pee. All this with a HUGE smile on her face. I yelled out her name and the peeing stopped. I couldn't help but just start laughing. Maybe because she still just seemed so excited. Well we got a new diaper on her and a onesie to hold it on. I cleaned up the mess and we had to call Daddy. He said that it was the best story he had heard yet and you could hear how proud he was. That is right she is very much a Daddy's girl.

Time Out for Women

So this last weekend Brett's Mom took me and all 7 of his sisters to a Women's Time Out! It was very spiritually enlightening and was a good break away. It was my first time being away from Kaiya over night. But Brett did an awesome job. The two of them were both in one piece when I got back. Check out the link above to see what the conference was about.

One of the speakers was Mark Mabry who is a Photographer. His recent project was Reflection of Christ. I think this is something all Christians of all faiths will love!

Weekend Update

well Last Friday we had some friends come in from Utah, and stay until yesterday morning. It was so much fun to show them where our new home is. Friday we just hung out around town and kinda caught up with them. Saturday the guys went to hit golf balls while us girls went to a birthday party for one of Kaiya's friends. Then we all met up for samples and a hot dog at Costco. After that we took them down town to check out the river. Followed by a paddle boat in greenfield lake to hunt for swimming turtles and alligators. We found a ton of turtles but only one alligator. Then we grabbed some dinner, to eat at home so Kaiya could get a much needed nap. Had some friends over and played games. Well then Sunday we got up and headed down to Myrtle Beach south Carolina which is only an hour drive from here. We took them to all the awesome shops on there lakes (which to me look like big ponds). Fed the fish and the turtles. Went to the strip and beach down there and hit up the Tanger outlets on our way out. Oh and ate at Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville. Monday Brett had to go to work :( but I took them down to the Aquarium at fort fisher and then spent the afternoon at them beach. This was Kaiya's first real time to actually play at the beach. Of course she ate a lot of sand (yuck) and then miss Independent didn't want her Mommy to hold her. So finally I just set her down and she went crawling right into the waves. After being hit a few times and needed a nap really bad I went and sat with her at the tent. Needless to say next time I take her I am going to make sure she is well rested first. Yesterday they went home, and I tried to start putting the house back in order. It was a very fun weekend. So if anyone wants to come visit....now you know what is in store.

Only My Husband

Only Brett could be surprised at a backwards surprise party. So because of something going on over at the church everyone wasn't going to be able to be at the party before we got there. Actually we were the first ones there. So slowly people just started showing up. But Brett didn't seem to really catch on at all. He told me later he just wondered why I hadn't mentioned so many people were gonna be hanging out at our friends house. It wasn't until we all started singing happy birthday and Mary Helen came out with his cake, oh and it was right in front of his face that he caught on. He said when we started singing he thought it was someone else birthday haha. The look on his face was priceless. He really was surprised, even with everyone already there.

Brett's Amazing Birthday weekend

So on Brett's birthday we just had a couple friends over and I attempted at making him a cake that looked like a fish in water.
I don't think it turned out so great, oh well. Then On Friday we woke up kinda early and headed to Columbia South Carolina and went to the Zoo.

Brett by the way LOVES Zoo's. When we first got there we watched the Bears Play Fight. It was so fun to see them so lively. Then there was a huge turtle that let Kaiya get up close. Who she tried to feed her food to. But I think her favorite was the Cow. She kept trying to smack it and bite it's ear haha. It was a lot of fun. Then we Drove to Charlotte North Carolina and stayed with Brett's awesome sister Cathi's family. Had dinner and watched a movie.

Then in the morning we woke up and Brett and I went to Carowinds while Cathi Watched Kaiya for us ( I told you she is awesome). Carowinds for those of you who don't know is a six flags amusement park. It was sooo much fun. We have been wanting to go forever. We went on a tub ride and of course my seat went under the waterfall and I was soaked. It was only in the mid 70's so I never really dried off. But oh well it was still a lot of fun. Now it's sunday and we are off to a Surprise Party for Brett with Friends, so I will have to post about that tomorrow.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRETT

This was like two nights after we met in person


Such an awesome Dad!


I am sooo excited that it's Brett's birthday. Today is Brett's 28th Birthday! So I will give you 28 reason I love him sooo much.

1. Man can he make me laugh, even when I don't feel like it.
2. He is an AMAZING Dad!
3. He lets me sleep in on the weekends, ( but secretly I think its so he can watch cartoons with Kaiya) no matter what I love him for it.
4. That he'll Play the same games over and over with me even when he doesn't want to because he knows it makes me happy.
5. How much he loves and cares about his family. Especially each one of his 7 sisters.
6. How much he loves his Savior
7. His love for my family
8. His Testimony
9. That he truly cares about me.
10. His eyes
11. His smile
12. His Patience with me.
13. That he puts up with my pile of clothes on the chair in our room haha
14. His love for our Country. The guy loves America!!
15. His desire to keep improving himself and his life.
16. That he lets me talk, and those of you reading this know me and know that is a big chore.
17. His willingness to serve others
18. He is sooo easy going, and willing to just go with the flow
19. That he hates staying inside all the time and makes us get out and do fun things.
20. That he is willing to try new things
21. How spontaneous he can be and is always ready for an adventure.
22. That he drove all the way across the country to meet me
23. That he stuck with me through pregnancy haha, which was rough
24. That he gives a great massage, for me its free the rest of you its 60 dollars an hour ;)
25. That he loves road trips
26. This one may sound dumb, but that he does play a lot of video games haha
27. His Cup is always half full. The guy always is looking on the bright side
28. That he is my best friend!!!!

Man do I love this man. For those of you that know some of the trials I have been through in my past know just how lucky I am to have found Brett.

Easter

Easter was a lot of fun. Dinner went awesome. The cheesecake I made ( thanks shari for the recipe) was amazing. Kaiya finally got to wear the Easter dress that Brett bought her last year for Easter while I was still pregnant haha. We decided this year just to get Kaiya a couple things for Easter. She didn't seem to show any interest in Easter Eggs. So she got a cute Preschool size backpack with her name on it. and a Giant Stuffed Caterpillar. She seemed to love it all! oh and the other picture is just a random one. Kaiya loves to eat Paper haha. Just thought I would throw that in there.

Girls with Giggles

So I keep forgetting to post this. But the little girl I baby sit and Kaiya have been doing this everyday for the last week. They crawl back and forth across the apartment and just giggle at each other. It's so cute to watch them play together.

Head butting

So Kaiya is going through this I need to head butt all my toys phase. You'll get the idea from her video.

Easter

So I found this cute idea for Easter. We are having Brett's Dad for dinner since his Mom will be in Utah. We are also going to have the missionaries over and maybe some investigators. I thought this would be a cute idea to remind us of the real meaning of Easter. I thought I would post it on here in case anyone else wanted to do it.

If your family is Christian, and you want a unique way to share the Easter story, try this Easter Story Egg Hunt. I love this activity because it combines the spiritual message of Easter along with the fun of a traditional egg hunt.

What you do is get twelve plastic easter eggs (the kind you can fill with candy) and number them 1 - 12. A permanent marker works well for this, or you can get fancy and use squeeze-tube fabric paints. In each egg, put the corresponding numbered scripture and item. You can write out the scriptures or just put the reference and look them up in the Bible as you go.

You can have a separate egg hunt with just these eggs, or do what I like to do, and mix the numbered eggs in with all the candy, boiled eggs and other surprises for a traditional Easter Egg hunt. Give the kids instructions not to open up the special numbered eggs until you say so. After all the eggs are found, let the kids settle down and eat some candy, and then gather everyone around. Open the eggs in order and read and discuss what is inside.

You might be surprised that the kids will enjoy these special eggs the best!

If you have older kids or don't want to do an egg hunt, you can place these eggs in a basket and take turns opening them after Easter dinner.

1. Item: Small cup or sacrament cup. Scripture: Matthew 26: 39-44 Jesus went to Gethsemane to pray. He asked Heavenly Father to bless Him. He did not want to suffer. He said to Heavenly Father "if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." But Jesus wanted to obey Heavenly Father. He would suffer for all people who repent of their sins.

2. Item: 3 dimes. Scripture: Matthew 26: 14 - 49 One of Jesus's twelve apostles, Judas, made a deal with some wicked men. He would show them where Jesus was in exchange for thirty pieces of silver.

3. Item: Knotted twine. Scripture: Matthew 27: 1-2 When morning came, the chief priests and elders of the people decided to put Jesus to death. They bound Him, led Him away, and delivered Him to the governor, Pontius Pilate.

4. Item: Piece of soap. Scripture: Luke 23: 13-24 and John 19:6. Pilate asked Jesus many questions and then told the Pharisees that Jesus had done nothing wrong. Pilate wanted to release Jesus, but the Pharisees wanted to crucify Him instead. Pilate washed his hands in front of all the people, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. Then he let them crucify Jesus.

5. Item: Square of purple cloth. Scripture: Matthew 27: 28-30 and Mark 15: 15-19. The people stripped Jesus, put a purple robe and a crown of thorns on Him. They mocked Him, saying "Hail, King of the Jews!" The spit on Him and whipped him with a reed.

6. Item: Nails. Scripture: Mark 15: 15-19 and Luke 23: 26-27, 33. After they mocked Jesus, they took the robe off Him and led Him away to be crucified. The soldiers nailed His hands and feet to a cross.

7. Item: Dice. Scripture: Luke 23: 24-34. When Jesus was on the cross, he asked Heavenly Father to forgive the people who crucified Him because they didn't know He was the Savior. The soldiers took Jesus' clothes and cast lots for them.

8. Item: Small rocks. Scripture: Matthew 27: 57-60. When Jesus finally died, His spirit left His body and the sky was dark. There was a big earthquake, and the ground and rocks broke into pieces.

9. Item: Strip of white cloth. Scripture: Matthew 27: 57-60. One of Jesus' disciples, Joseph, took His body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb.

10. Item: Stone. Scripture: Matthew 27:60, 65-66. After Joseph had laid Jesus' body in the tomb, he rolled a big stone in front of the tomb so Jesus' body would be safe.

11. Item: Spices tied in a small piece of cloth. Scripture: Matthew 28:2 and Mark 16: 1-9. Jesus' body was in the tomb for three days. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome had brought spices to use to anoint Jesus' body.

12. Item: Leave egg empty. Scripture: Matthew 28:6. When the women got to the tomb, the stone was rolled away from the door and it was empty. They saw an angel there, who said to them, "Jesus is not here, for He is risen." Jesus was resurrected.