Labor day trip to St. George!

Over the Labor Day weekend, we went to St. George, Utah. We stayed with Linda's sister Lisa and her family. It was a fun trip. We had one horrible night with Penny and the next night we put her in her own room and she did great! I think I have learned the trick. She needs her own room or blocked off area so she doesn't see us and think it's party time! We really did have a fun time.

We got there on Saturday. Penny wasn't on her best behavior on the ride up but she did O.K. She was really excited to be out of the car. The boys went to play a round of golf and the girls went to lunch and did a little shopping. Penny did get a nap in the car after some shopping. That night, we all hung out at Bill's house and had pizza. Penny loved being outside in the grass.

Penny running around!

Penny with Grandpa Moulton!

Penny chilling out on a blanket.

Chris and Mack making ridiculous faces!

Penny loved playing with the golf balls.

This is a rocking chair that Bill's late wife had since she was just a child. Penny was in love with it and kept climbing in and out of it! She just loves chairs, especially little ones!

My handsome husband. He was so tired though. Look at those blood-shot eyes!

Mack and his classic mouth open face!

Sunday, we went to church and had a lot of relaxation time. Penny was a beast the night before but something she ate had made her a little sick. Chris ended up driving her around at 4:30 in the morning just to get her to sleep. Penny and Chris were so tired that they took a long nap. After church, we took Penny and Mack for a drive. Penny slept even more which was nice! We went to see some of the scenery around St. George. We had an excellent dinner at Lisa's house. Linda's daughter Jessica, her husband Shane and their son Crew came also. Penny and Crew had fun!

Chris, Penny and Mack.

Grandpa Moulton with Penny.

Sunday evening, we went to a park in Bill's neighborhood. The kids had a total blast!

Grandpa Kim pushing Crew in the swing.

Penny loved the swing! She was giggling away.

Penny on the slide with daddy.

She loves to run free!

Penny attempting to step onto the slide!

Penny making it to the bottom all by herself!

After sliding down, she wanted to go back up...the wrong way! Where do kids learn this stuff?

What happened when gravity took over. She fell down a million times and never cried. She really is one tough cookie! Penny and Crew ran around until the sun went down. Penny slept great that night!

On Monday, the boys went shooting early in the morning. Then the girls went to lunch and did a little more shopping. We had a lot of fun! The boys watched the kiddos and swung the golf clubs in Bill's backyard.Mack practicing his swing.

Penny wanted to play too!

Of course Penny made her way back to that chair!

Mack and Penny.

Penny was pretty tuckered out after a fun weekend!

A few more August pictures...

So here are just a few more cute pictures we took in August...

This was one of the pictures I used on the invitations for Penny's party!

This was the day my mom arrived for her visit. We went to a restaurant and had so much fun! Penny walked to her at the airport when she came up to us. It was adorable! It was the first time my mom got to see her walk!

Nana and Penny!

Are these cute little feet or what? She never stops moving them and they are usually crossed.

Look at that pose!

Playing with her favorite toy... any cell phone.

Have you ever seen bigger blue eyes?

Practicing with the sippy cup.

Penny thinking she can be as good as me in Mario Kart! I don't think so.

Hanging out after church.

The day after the party...

The day after Penny's party, my parents left early in the morning. We got Penny ready for church (in another beautiful dress) and took a few pictures. I am horrible at getting enough pictures of my mom and dad with Penny. They are always busy helping and working and I never get enough so I promise that the next time we are together, I will take and post TONS of pictures of them together!

Penny was in heaven playing with all her new toys!

She always crosses her cute little feet like the princess she is.

Grandpa Estes with his little cutie pie!

Again...

Trying to get Penny to stay still and smile for a picture is impossible nowadays!

Look at my tongue...

Nana with her little darling!

That night we went to Kim and Linda's for dinner. Pam stopped by for dessert and to see Penny again before she left for Utah with Chandler. She got to play a lot with Penny and fed her a whole cup of ice cream. Before she left, Penny was tired and cuddled with her Grandma Moulton. It was so sweet and Pam was in heaven!

There is nothing better than when Penny rests her head on your shoulder. I love it!

Penny's 1st Birthday Party!

On August 13, we had Penny's first birthday party at a park here on base. It was really fun and the food was amazing. However, the wind got so strong it nearly blew all of us away. It was soooo windy. Another problem we had was that the sprinklers kept going off. We had to move the cake table three times! With the wind blowing, the water from the sprinklers would reach us under our little pavilion. Let's just say that no one will ever forget the party! It was still fun because we had such great people there. It was just disappointing that all our decorations were ruined.

Here is a picture of the cake we had made for Penny!

Here is a picture of everyone sitting and eating. We had amazing food!! My mom did most of the cooking. Everyone brought food too. It was so great to have everyone support little Penny!

Penny with grandpa Moulton!

Chris' mom Pam got to meet Penny for the first time. She just walked right up and took Penny. Penny loved her! She sat with her for a really long time. Pam wouldn't even go get her food because she was bonding with Penny so much! It was so cute.

Grandma Moulton with Penny. We got her that crown at Party City and it was so tight that it was practically cutting off her circulation. We didn't want to kill any brain cells so we took it off!

My brother Ariel and his wife Francini trying not to get blown away.

My best girl and me!

My dad did his usual duty of being camera man. Thanks to this guy, we always have fun memories because he has filmed so much!

Pam with Penny some more.

You can see how bad the wind is blowing.

My mom, and our dear friends Shawna, Jordan, and their little cutie pie Kaden. He is only 8 days older than Penny and they are the cutest little friends! Seriously, who ordered the wind?

Then everyone gathered around and we opened presents. Chris helped Penny open all her presents and read all of her cards. Everyone was so generous! Thanks for all the gifts!

Penny did not want to sit in the chair but once she started opening the presents, she was into it!

When she would open a present, everyone would clap and she loved it. She would start clapping too. It was adorable.


She would tear off a piece of wrapping or tissue paper and hold it way high in the air for everyone to see.
Then she would put the paper on her head or in her hair like it was a hat.


Then it was cake time...
We bought Penny her own little cake so she could eat it. We stripped her down to her diaper and let her at it. This is what happened...

She completely demolished the cake! We thought she would take handfuls and eat it but she went totally bonkers and murdered that cake!


Everyone started asking her where her ears were so she would get the cake in her hair. They succeeded and she touched her ears and got cake all over!

She did get a few handfuls of cake actually in her mouth. She really seemed to like it! Not as much as destroying it though.

Blurry but still cute!

This is my mom at home with Penny. Her hair stuck straight up from all the cake and wind!

Overall, it was a great day! I can't believe my little girl is 1! She loves to be the center of attention (I don't know where she gets that from) and has so much fun being around lots of people. Thanks to everyone who made this day so special and all the people who traveled so far to celebrate with Penny! I love you all!