We miss you DADDY

Jesper is on yet another deployment to the Middle East. We miss him and are so proud of him. We see the sacrifices he makes...they are not over looked. Keep safe sweetheart:)

Well, I really wanted to post some pictures of my family from Thanksgiving in UT, but I can't find them on my computer. When I find them I will post them so you can see more than just Jesper, Elsa, and I. But for now here are more pictures of Jesper, Elsa, and I. I love this picture of Jesper and Elsa watching basketball. She will just sit there and point (her new favorite thing) at the game. I am so excited that Christmas is here. It is going to be fun now that we have a little one.

I love to take pictures of Jesper with Elsa because they bring me comfort when he is deployed...and because they are both just so good looking!!! She loves to play with Jesper. When Jesper gets home from work she goes crazy. she is daddy's little "big" girl.

Happy First Birthday Elsa!!!!

Elsa celebrated her first birthday with mommy, daddy, and lots of friends. We had a great time...between all the kids opening the presents, getting sugar highs from candy, and Elsa's marshmallow covered cake...very sticky. She was really funny about the cake, she wouldn't dig in because she didn't want to get messy. I finally had to put her face in it which brought tears. We can't believe how big she has gotten in the past year. How time flies. She is so much fun!

I know, I know, I know...it has been forever since I last posted something. It was mostly due to pure lazyness and a little bit of being busy. Elsa has had a lot of firsts lately. Her first pigtails, her first time in a swing, and her first Halloween costume. She is growing and changing so fast before our eyes. She is going to be 1 year old in just 9 days.

I will post her birthday pictures right after the party...not a couple weeks after, promise:)

My 26th Birthday Party

Thank-you Jesper for the flowers, Heather for the shirt, and Britt for the pants!

I had an awsome birthday on the 16th. My closest friends in Califonia and I ate at Il Fornaio...a fabulous Italian restaurant. No kids...good conversation....what more could you ask for.

From left to right: Jeri Call, Jamie Deal, Cristine Miller, Stephani Cooney, Me, Cecilia Froude, Heather Deshazer, Lauren Froude, Jamie Petersen, Urzula Wawro.

We missed you Candace:(

Elsa at 10 months

I love Elsa in this dress. She is beautiful. I think pretty is going to be her first word because we tell her she is pretty all the time. She is super smart too. She is learning to walk. She can walk across our living room behing her toy stroller.

This is most of my family sitting around the camp fire. No one looks like their normally glamorous selves because the point when you go camping is to wear your least favorite clothes.

Carpinteria Beach Trip

Our family beach picture.

Carpinteria Beach Trip

Jesper was buried so deep he couldn't get out on his own. my brothers and nephews then dug a channel in the sand so the waves would soak him and he couldn't do anything about it.

Carpinteria Beach Trip

Here are some great pitures my sister-in-law Angie sent me from our trip. On the last day Elsa and her dad had a great time playing in the sand.

Our very own Houdini

I walked away for two minutes and this is how I found her when I came back into the room...under one of our dining chairs.

Carpinteria Beach Trip

We just got back from our Collings Clan Family Reunion where we camped at Carpinteria State Beach for a week (that is just below Santa Barbara). It is the best vacation we go on all year. This is my favorite picture of Elsa. When she wasn't eating sand...she was sleeping.

Carpinteria Beach Trip

Our family reunion could not have been better. The weather was sunny, not a cloud in the sky, and 74 degrees everyday. I love Southern California.

Carpinteria Beach Trip

Elsa really likes the taste of sand.

Colorado Trip June 2008

Aunt Candace, who would have been Elsa's best friend had she not moved away.

Air Force Academy

Elsa's first trip to her daddy's school....the Air Force Academy. Future pilot?...who knows.

Colorado Trip June 2008

Here is Elsa with her Grandma and Grandpa Bell.

Colorado Trip June 2008

Elsa and her cousin Jackson are 1 month and 10 days apart.

Weekend in Napa Valley

This weekend Jesper surprised me with a weekend trip to Napa. We had a great time and my favorite part...ate some great food. We took this family picture at a park near the restaurant we ate at.