Graduation Vacation

I love flying, but with a toddler and baby, it made it a little more challenging than just catching a flight! We had a great time! But it was a little more work than I anticipated on the flight. There was plenty of family to help out while on land though. It was great to see family and watch the sister graduate. She is so smart! Josh wasn't coming, according to Stephanie, but everyone else knew he was! I got some of it on video (to share later) I knew there would be tears, it's been a long time since we've all been together.

We borrowed a house and had our 4-day long party! This was my room! wow. It was so light and airy, lots of good decoration inspiration has come from staying there.

And this would be the perfect room for Kenzie, I'm going to recreate those curtains someday! So pretty!

Kenzie discovered foosball, completely blew her mind and she laughed the entire time. Henry was so helpful in putting the balls through the hole and watched for them to come back out.

Grant man had his first Easter egg hunt! (A common Bagley practice, occuring anytime between March and May when the family is all together)

But I think he liked being held by uncle Matt more...

Kenzie enjoyed the hunt, although she was too busy helping Riley pick up her treats and opening Riley's eggs to find her own.

Didn't see it coming, but Kenz managed to get the bottom half on an easter egg stuck in her mouth, smooth side in. Luckily Grandpa noticed and got it out! (These must have been the beginning stages of that)

Josh really enjoyed the egg hunt too, he dreamed and woke just in time to grab and bag and run!

Did you notice the sword and shield behind Josh? Dad came up with a cute! little skit for Stephanie, she was the main character. She played Princess Stephanie, locked away in her 'ivory tower', waiting for prince charming to rescue her. Her fairy godmother was helping guide her to the right choice between Masters and Job. There were many distractions from doing her Masters degree like money (Josh), fun (Katie's friend), and dating (Daniel). Though in the end, Sir Graduation came with his sword and shield and saved her from the ivory tower! It was very creative and very fun, Stephanie played along really well for having learned of it 10 minutes before. What a good sport! Katie did all the shirts and props, she's amazing at art and creativeness!

Sorry honey, money never wins... :) It was a great family reunion/Graduation party. It came to a close for most of the family Sunday night. We put on our shirts that we decorated (each member drawing a picture on another's that reminded them of that person) and took a fun family picture (now going on my wall). It was just nice to be in Utah again. My trip doesn't end there! I'm still working on Utah trip part 2

Sew many projects!

I caught this very contagious craftiness bug, it was quite serious. No medication for it either! The only cure was to turn on Toy Story 2 and give in to the crafty bug! I pulled out the sewing maching to stay and have managed to find time to tackle the many crafty ideas I've had on the brain. First is a car seat cover for my sister-in-law. It's super cute, actually, I think it's the best one I've made yet! I love the pattern and the colors! And it came together very quickly. Quality prep work can make all the difference. Hobby lobby has fabric? who knew! The store here in Atlanta carries the Calico line, so cute! I added a layer of batting to add weight and keep the baby girl cozy and wind free. So bold! and classy! Just like my sister-in-law :)

Next are the toddler aprons, I just couldn't say no! Originally, it was going to be one for McKenzie but then I thought how fun it would be for her cousin to wear one with her out in Utah. This picture makes me laugh so hard! A perfect little kid picture!

She will have this apron to 'grow into' for sure, I made it bigger for that reason.

The little miss has discovered the use of a stool and has carried it all over the house, nothing is safe anymore! So I'm hoping the apron will make time cooking with mommy at the counter a more organized event than her randomly appearing by the cutting board, yikes! Now I know why the knife set is kept on the fridge at my Mother-in-law's house.

It's fun, and not that much fabric or skill involved.

Major Update, Holidays! Grant! Spring Break!

Hey! Long time, no blog!
In order to update the blog, and actually finish, here's the shortened version of the last 6 months. Here goes.
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Thanksgiving was wonderful! We went to Tasha Hale's Parent's house and Kenzie played with Ellie while Thomas, Tasha, Josh, and I played games after inhaling a most delicious dinner! Kudos to Tasha's parents!

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Our car (Chevy Tahoe) finally was registered in GA! It was a triumph for my pregnant body to be able to travel all over the north Atlanta area finding a good mechanic and going to the Emmissions countless times. It took $600 dollars and a lot of huff and puff to get it registered. Wow am I glad that's over! However, I WILL be posting more about this because no one (especially a woman 8 months pregnant with a toddler) should have to go through this but learn from my experience.
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The biggest event of the year was at the hospital when I got to hold my baby Grant Wayne seconds after he was born. He is the cutest things, well, since Kenzie I guess! But he has the biggest spirit and looking at him is like chocolate melting in your mouth! Grant is so adorable! He was 9lb. 3oz. 21in. I labored until a 9, then received an epidural. Four hours later, I "pushed" (breathed down) 10 minutes and he came. I loved walking around the hospital with him and really loved the photographer coming to the hospital room to capture the picture above. He was a still is a happy (BIG!) baby. My mom came a week early and stayed a while which helped a ton! McKenzie stayed entertained quite well with 'Waka waka' and 'Cotton eye joe' to help.








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Christmas was a blast, it was strange to cook our own dinner but very rewarding. I loved the simplicity of the day and how my mom pretty much delivered all our presents as a favor to Santa. ;)










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Jamie and Sara came from Missouri for a week to see Grant. It was a lot of fun to have them and show off our chunky hunk. Sara made me an amazingly creamy birthday cake and they watched the kids while Josh and I went on a date. Joshua finished Kenzie's "Big Bed" while they were here too! He did such a good job, Kenzie loves it!
McKenzie's birthday was fun, she got to go to Nursery which beat out Chucky Cheese or anything else. It's her favorite! Her cake was the easiest thing I could think of and luckily her favorite book at the time. She loves to sing the ABCs and Twinkle little Star, but now, since Grant, her favorite is 'I Am a Child of God'. I love it when she sings it in the grocery store! People stop and listen and knod their heads and go.







My present for my birthday/Christmas/Anniversary/Valentines, and possibly birthday next year is a piano! A Casio PX 130 digital. I love it! It has made me so relieved and relaxed to have a piano again! And it's made my calling to play in Relief Society much easier. Thank you Josh!! Oh, and I carried it up our three flights of stairs all by myself! Fist pump!
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We just got back from an amazing Spring break vacation to Missouri! It really was like a vacation, it was so nice! It was wonderful to bless Grant with so much family around, all from so far away. Just being at my in-laws made it so most of Josh's family was there. My parents dead headed from Kansas City on their way to South Dakota for the day, Grandma and Grandpa Jackson had flown in for a visit, and Grandpa Foster was there too. It was quite a big circle with Cousin Gene included.
It was a beautiful blessing. Short and sweet with very specific blessings. After church, we did a picture marathon. Grant wore the same blessing outfit that Josh wore, I thought that was very special. I wanted to take a picture outside the Stake center in front of the same bush that Josh was posed in front of for his blessing and Missionary picture, but I was a year too late. It was mostly destroyed in the Joplin tornado last May. But the people inside survived! And they are rebuilding on the same property! If you want to learn more, they have a few Facebook pages about stories and relief.