Camping at Lake Murray Oklahoma

This past week was Spring Break for Clif. Our ward decided to have a camping activity planned for the last part of spring break. We went to Lake Murray in Oklahoma. This was Caitlyn's first time Camping and Dylan's second. Both of them did really well. Camping in Oklahoma was different than what I am used to. You can see in some of the pictures the scenery is really different than the western states. I really liked not having a lot of bugs or mosquitoes.
I have to say that I am really proud of myself. We went on a walk and on the way back Caitlyn got tired and wanted to sleep. So I carried her all 1.2 miles back to the campground. I definitely got my exercise that day.

Scrapbooking

So today I was scrapbooking Dylan's scrapbook, and I decided that I needed some new ideas. I thought about my favorites and thought of two things. One is my crop-a-dile and the other is my favorite website.

The Crop-a-dile is my favorite because you can punch holes easily for brads and eyelets. Also it compresses the eyelets so you don't have to use a hammer and other tools.

My favorite website is http://www.scrapyourtrip.com/ . They have everything you can imagine. They have weddings, sports, military, travel, holiday and more.

So I was thinking that anyone who scrapbooks and reads this, I want to know your favorite tool and you favorite scrapbook website.

I Love....

I thought I would post about what I love about my Family.

I love that Caitlyn can be a girly girl and the next minute she is total tomboy.
I love when Caitlyn comes and cuddles with me. She hardly ever want to cuddle.
I love Caitlyn's expressions.
I love that Caitlyn is so independent.
I love how Caitlyn dances.


I love that Dylan is smart beyond his age.
I love that Dylan asks me if I am his"Big Girl".
I love that Dylan tells me he loves me without telling him first.
I love Dylan perception on things.
I love Dylan's passion for music and how he can remember where he hears the song.
I love that Dylan is all boy.

I love that Clif knows me more than I know myself sometimes.
I love that Clif likes to cuddle in bed.
I love that Clif likes to hold hands in public.
I love that Clif likes to do the things thatI do.
I love that Clif encourages me to do the things that make me happy.

But, most of all I love my whole family!

I Love My Hubby!

It is not all that often that I get roses from Clif. Yesterday, he came home from school a little bit late and Voila Roses! I Love you Clifton!

Photos

So.... I was gettting a lot of hits on my blankets on etsy, but no one is buying. I gave one of my blankets away at a baby shower and one of the gals there said my pictures don't do them justice. I thought so too. I have never done anything like etsy before and everyones pictures look so professional. So Heather volunteered to help me out and give me a little advice on picture taking.
I want to Thank Heather for helping me out. It was such a simple thing, but it means the world to me!
If you would like to see the improvements, go to http://shellybellycreation.etsy.com

Happy Anniversary!

So, Saturday January 31, 2009 was our 5th anniversary. I was going to post this on Saturday, but you know how it goes. I can't believe that I have been married for five years. Time just flies by and each day brings something new. I want to take this time and take ten things that have happened in our marriage.

1. After being married for 3 weeks, Clif deployed to Iraq for 7 months.
2. Four months after Clif returned from Iraq, we recieved the news that we were expecting a little boy, Dylan. August 16, 2005
3. May 2006, Clif deploys to Kuwait for 4 months.
4. We move from Edwards Air Force Base to San Diego CA.
5. April 22, 2007 Caitlyn is born a month early
6. One month later we move to Frisco, TX so that Clif can attend school.
7. Dylan is 3 now.
8. Caitlyn will be 2 in April.
9. We will be moving to Provo in the Fall so that Clif can finish his degree in Civil Engineering.
10. I still love my husband the same way I did on our wedding day. I love you Clif!

I want to thank Clif for being a wonderful husband and father. He is always taking care of me and making sure that I am ok. In the five years that we have been married, he has figured out how to read me and knows me in and out. He is a wonderful father who loves his children and they love him too. Happy Anniversary Clif!

Catching up

I have been meaning to post a blog for Christmas, but I have had a busy New Year. We ended up going to Arizona for Christmas. It was half way for my parents and half way for us. We stayed at my sister's house. Which I think I needed to be around my family for a while. It was great to see my siblings and get to spend time with them. My sister's husband thought we were all weird because we were so loving towards each other.

Caitlyn had a blast this Christmas. She got the hang of unwrapping presents. Her facial expressions were the best. She got dress-up clothes, an Ariel doll, a baby with a stroller, car seat, and cradle along with clothes. Caitlyn's favorite person is Uncle Brent. The whole time we were there she would rather go to him than her own mom. Every time she was cranky or tired, we would giver her to Uncle Brent and she would lay down on his shoulder and go to sleep.

Dylan knew the routine very well this year. He got Army BDU's, Clone trooper outfit, Light Saber, VMotion, and clothes. Dylan got to play with all the cousins his age. Ther are 4 boys that are around the same age as him. Poor Caitlyn was the only girl her age until Thailia came along.

While we were in Arizona we went to Old Tuscon, The Tuscon Zoo, and The Sonora Desert Museum. Caitlyn loved the Corn on The Cob and Dylan wanted pictures with the actors.

Baby Blankets

I recently started selling baby blankets on etsy and just wanted my friends and family to check it out. My shop: shellybellycreations.etsy.com Here are two of the blankets for sell.

Marine Corp Ball 2008

Once a year, I get to dress up for the Marine Corp Ball. This year the ball was held in Arlington. It was great to get out of the house and have a night out with my Handsome Husband.

Santa, Batman and Scooby Doo

So we decided to go to the mall this year and take pictures with Santa. Dylan was fine with it last year and did well this year too. Caitlyn was only 8 months last year and didn't know what was going on. So this is what was going on before we went and saw Santa. I don't think she knew what was coming.

So, I am holding Caitlyn and it is our turn to go up and Dylan hops right up into his lap. Caitlyn is now clenching onto my shoulder and starts to cry. She starts calling for her daddy. So Clif sits down with her and manages to calm her down enough to get this picture.

We decided to go to Six Flags last week. We found Batman and Hawkgirl and Dylan loves Batman. Caitlyn actually gave Batman a high five and told him hi. I was actually suprised. I thought she would cry.

We also saw scooby doo and I thought scooby, being a doggie and Caitlyn liking doggies, would be okay with Caitlyn. Nope, we started crying and wanting nothing to do with him.

So when it came to the Ward Christmas Party, Dylan was the only one to sit on Santa's lap.

Prayers

So our nightly ritual is to clean up toys, brush teeth, read a book, and say prayers before going to bed. Well last night Caitlyn had been crying a little bit and she usually sleeps with a dog and kitty stuffed animal. Well we told the kids to get ready for prayer and while we were waitling for Clif to come in, I found Caitlyn putting her animals face down on her bed so that they could say prayer.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Dylan at first wanted to be a pollen jock from Bee Movie. I thought maybe I could find and outfit. I couldn't find one and I was going to resort to making one. I even tried convincing him to be something else. Finally one day he said he wanted to be a transformer and I was sold.

Caitlyn is a princess. She won't leave the crown on her head. I am so suprised that her hair actually turned out. She hardly has any Hair.

We bought two pumpkins for the kids and let them help with carving them. Dylan was interested, but he did not want to get messy. Caitlyn was not too keen on pulling out the seeds and by the time we got done, she was tired and upset.

Trunk or Treat

Tonight our Ward had a Chili cook-off and Trunk or Treat. I thought I would share some pictures of it. I decided to make chili for the cook-off and I actually won. Caitlyn was so tuckered out that she fell asleep with her costume on.

Texas State Fair

Last week we went to the Texas State Fair. I think it is the biggest fair that I have ever been to. We always have to go see the new cars out. I actually found a truck that my dad would love. It was a Cabela's truck that was decked out with two gun cases built in. It also had the logo on the seats and rims. The Cabela's package on the Ford truck was an extra $8,000.00 on top of the price. We also had to go see all the John Deere Tractors for Dylan. Every year he runs around and looks at every tractor that they have. The men at the display were laughing at him because he was so excited.Then we had to go see all the animals in the petting zoo. It is so nice because you can see animals that you would think that you would never get to pet. They had zebras, giraffes, camels, bison, exotic deer, and kangaroos. We were also able to see the man that does the voice of Big Tex.