Dress-up

The girls LOVE playing dress-up! I love this pic Thad caught with Tessa in her Minnie Mouse costume.
They especially love playing princess dress-up with cousin Jairus.

S & T with their car

I found this car at a garage sale this summer for $15. The girls love playing with it. Actually, Siena will drive it about 10 feet, then be done. She always wants to play with it but I think it scared her. Tessa, on the other hand, could ride in it all day long and be perfectly content!

First Day of School!

Today was Siena's first day of school! Twice a week, she will be attending the preschool where I work. I can't believe she is old enough for school already (3 years old!). Even though I was with her all day, it was still a little emotional for me to see my little girl going to school. She LOVED it though! And it took so much out of her, she slept for 3 hours straight right after!

This is the Place & Hogle zoo

I had never been the the "This is The Place"
Park, where Brigham Young first announced to the Mormon Pioneers that they had arrived in the 'Zion,' so we checked out the park, then spent the day at the zoo. The girls are such animal lovers, they couldn't get enough!
When I asked Siena what her favorite animal was, expecting one of the African animals or reptiles or something, she responded with "the chicken.' Huh...
Tessa's favorite was the iguana. She got really excited when she saw the iguana, and kept running back to it long after we had moved on (or tried to). Fun day!

Lehman Caves

After the last Cedar City trip, my mom and I decided to take the girls to Lehman Caves, in Great Basin Nation Park, near Baker, NV. I remembered going there as a child and being in complete awe of the formations there. It was a really neat experience to see the caves again with my girls, and they loved it!

naptime

Siena and her cousin Jairus pretend napping in the closet in Cedar City this summer.

playing with Grandpa

The girls love to play with the grandpas (all 3 of them). Grandpa John likes to swing them around, and play on the ground and the girls just eat it up!

Reunionmania

I'm back! It's been about 16 years since I went to a Tanner Reunion, and I escaped with only MINOR cuts and bruises....

Actually, I had a GREAT time with my brother, dad, and all of my 10638 cousins again! My grandma Bev, mother of 14, is something of a celeb, having been on the Letterman show 9 times, Wayne Brady 5 times, and Donny & Marie. We were celebrating her 90th birthday, complete with a bright pink present pinata and $2 bills galore. It was the first time the girls ever met their great grandma. We went to Lava Hot Springs in Idaho- a fun tiny town with a river running through it. Our first day there, we tubed down the river and capsized twice. A little scary, considering Siena was with us. She panicked a little, but held it together pretty well until we got out and said, "Mommy I was so scared!" A couple days after the fact, my bruising has come to full fruition, and likes to tell me "Mommy, your rainbow skins are so pretty!"

Puddles

We had a torrential rainfall today, and the girls enjoyed every moment, from raindrops falling on their heads, to splashing in the puddles afterwards.

The Birthday

32 has always been a special number for me. So contrary to my last couple of birthdays, I was actually looking forward to this one!
I was happy to spend the day in Cedar city with my sister and mother. I woke up to gray skies and drizzle. Never having had a rainy birthday before, I was at a loss for what to do. Mom and I both looked up and said, "I bet it's not raining in St. George!" (Jinx). So we drove 45 minutes only to discover that it was, indeed raining in St George.
We found a small celebration in a park, and Siena exclaimed, "Mom, we found your birthday!" As it turns out, it was a celebration for Americans with Disabilities. Pretty cool really, complete with a firetruck that the celebrants could climb in and get pictures taken. Needless to say, we didn't stay long (awkward), but Siena was adamant that it was "the best birthday ever!" ONly later did she realize, "But mommy, they forgot your birthday cake!"
Later on, I went to dinner with my sister at the only decent eat in town, Thai Basil. We had a 45-minute wait for drinks (tap water), and watched all of the larger parties that came in after us get served first. It was very busy, with a visible staff of only 2 people. On one of our 2 exchanges with the waiter, he asked if we knew why it was so busy- if there was a convention or something going on in town. I replied, "Well, it's my birthday, but I doubt all these people came to celebrate that." He wrote "Happy Birthday" on our bill. As we got up to leave, they started playing a jazzy "Happy Birthday" song over the sound system. I thought, "Awesome! This almost makes up for the terrible service!" Then a waitress came out with a large plate of Thai donuts with ice cream and a candle in the the middle, walking right towards me. I smiled a huge smile, then watched her continue past me to one of the larger groups that came in 20 minutes after us and got served first. She told one of the girls "Happy Birthday!" I said "Thank You!" and we walked out.
Then we went home, ate a chocolateless :( red velvet cake from Costco, then set off some fireworks. That was awesome, as I have always wanted to light fireworks on my birthday. This was the perfect year to do it since Utah celebrated pioneer day on the 25th, and my birthday is on the 26th. So fun! Overall, a memorable birthday!

Brea and the Beach

The girls and I went to Brea, California this summer to visit my childhood friend Shauna, and to visit the beach. We had the most amazing time, and the best food ever (Shauna is an awesome cook, among other things). Brea is a beautiful area, and it was so good to catch up with Shauna!
The girls loved the beach, and Siena made sand angels. Tessa just wanted to go in the water without being held or even holding my hands. She went under the water briefly twice, but that didn't stop her. I was hoping it would instill a healthy fear of the water so she would use a little caution, but no such luck!
In fact, when I took the girls to an arboretum the next day, Tessa went head first into the duck pond. I fished her out, and she just kept on walking, with a huge smile on her face, completely unphased by the fact that she had nearly drowned 2 seconds earlier. What an adventurous spirit!

Playing Dirty

some pics that cousin Katri took of Tessa playing dirty :)

Baby Abigail

My darling niece was born at home on July 20. She weighed 9 lbs. My sister's recovery has been amazing! I am a little jealous that she got to do a water birth, since that is what I have always wanted, but hey! I am so proud of her! She was amazing! And what a DARLING little baby!

Happy 4th!

This year for the 4th of July, we made the mistake of going to the Freedom Festival parade in Provo. The streets were too crowded, the people very rude, couldn't find a spot to see the floats, and we vowed never to go again. In contrast, the 24th of July parade in Cedar City was totally awesome! Plenty of room for everyone, the people were very friendly, the floats threw out candy, coupons, frisbees, etc. It was so fun!
Regardless, the girls favorite part of the 4th this year was playing at the park after the parade.

Cedar City Spring

In April, I spent a couple days in Cedar City, where my sister's friend took some great pics of the girls and me. I think she is a great photographer!