Rex Lee 5K Run

Evan, Vienna and I ran our first 5K together! 

Krystyna, Me, Briennie, and Mel

Evan did amazing! I was so impressed because this was the first time he'd ever run a 5K. 

He ran it in 34 minutes! Amazing!

I pushed Vienna in the stroller so we completed it in 46 minutes. As much as I'd like to blame it on pushing the stroller, I was dying! It was uphill for 1/3 of the time, cold and windy and Nena does not like wind. 

We had to play musical chairs because Vienna didn't like the wind, then she couldn't see in front, so I would hold her. It was funny and we enjoyed ourselves. 

Evan still hates running and has volunteered to come support and take pictures:)

It was so fun to do this with my cousins, my baby and my dear sweet husband!

Vienna Rose Griffin 14.5 Months Old

We got Evan's new camera and we love it! I love that Evan likes taking pictures so now we will have some of Nena and I! Yay. We are best buds and I never want to forget this time we have together. She is already getting so big and I just adore her. So I ask him to try out his new camera on us. Here is a few pictures of our photo shoot together. Didn't he do great!?!?!

Vienna is 14.5 months today!

(I can't believe I am one of those people who use ".5 months". lol)

Trying a little flash:) 

She's just chill in' and gazing. Modeling just comes naturally:) 

 ....Yes....the flower did get pulled out.... lol

"SOOOO BIG!"  ~Miss you Grandma!

 I had some fun with this one in Photoshop

I love this one. 

We look nothing alike yet she is my precious, sweet, perfect baby 

and I wouldn't change anything about her.  

This is the face she makes when she gets caught crawling up the stairs.

I know they are mostly of her but it's because I feel like a fatty right now and I want keep the fatty pictures to a minimum. But Vienna is perfect and I love pictures of her!

Cami and Vienna Day

Cami got to come hang out with us for part of the day yesterday and we had so much fun with our favorite niece! Cami spent the day being brave to Sophie and learning how to be the boss of the dog.

Maybe she can show her other siblings and mother;) lol

They had so much fun riding the little scooter. It was funny though when Cami was doing all she could to convince Nena that she really wanted to get off the scooter and push the stroller instead. ha ha. 

Kids are so honest.

I love Cami's face! She looks so cute!

 Vienna did not want to smile so this is the best I got. She is obviously annoyed. lol

 Look at how gorgeous Cami is! She's just adorable:)

Cami is SUCH a good sharer! She shared her whole lunch with Vienna. I had to intervene:)

And her is the Queen of Bedhead:). Still pretty cute, I must say. 

She had her mouth full, this one was my bad. lol

Now this one is not my doing.... 

I'm not sure where this came from but she is still pretty adorable, crazy smile and all. Lol. 

 

 As you can see, they are still not done with the lunch-able, even between the two of them . 

Vienna was too busy to pose for the picture....

Cami is totally on though:)

Look at Vienna's face! She is such a sneaker! She looks like a little mouse waiting for some cheese!

So Cami and I finished off our time with a round of Candyland after Nena went down for a nap. She was kinda messing up our game. Cami finally got the hang of it toward the end and she and Sophie even got to be Princess friends. They both like the same color and all:)

Pinterest Poem

by Evan J. Griffin

So the other night I told Evan I would be on Pinterest for 10-15 minutes. 

Now this part is weird because somehow 2 hours past and I was like WHOA!

Evan must have thought the same thing because he wrote this poem.

In fact, he wrote like 4 poems while I was on the computer....

Here is the Pinterest one:

I thought it was kinda spot on, even though I try not to get carried away..... it happens:)

Thank goodness my husband is a gem. I love that boy.

Sicky Baby Nena

So Vienna has been sick all week and I am now feeling a little under the weather. Evan was sick while Vienna was sick so now it's my turn. Yay for me:).

Evan took this picture of us two days ago. 

Not lovely but pretty typical of our represent days. 

Actually I wish it would have been as quiet and chill but it wasn't. 

Her favorite thing to say was "eh...eh...eh...eh...eh...eh..."  Lol.

She has been so grumpy and my left arm is throbbing from constantly holding her. 

All in all, I love that my baby is back!! She is the sweetest baby ever and I missed her!

Mothers of Daughters

I was on Pinterest, taking a breather after a long day with my sick baby girl, and I came across this sweet post. Here is the link to the author's blog:

http://diapersdaisies.blogspot.com/2012/01/rules-for-mothers-of-daughters.html

I thought of my baby girl and how much I love her, even on the hard days, like today. I realized that I can't expect much out of her if I don't change myself first. I love that these "rules" are simple and back to the basics. There is no rocket science (which is perfect because I'm not good at either of those;) and it doesn't cost money. Just be there and be in the moment, each and every time. Your babies will remember it. I know...... because I am still my mother's baby.

I just wanted to share it with all of you....

1. Paint her nails. Then let her scratch it off and dirty them up. Teach her to care about her appearance, and then quickly remind her that living and having fun is most important.

2. Let her put on your makeup, even if it means bright-red-smudged lips and streaked-blue eyes. Let her experiment in her attempts to be like you…then let her be herself.

3. Let her be wild. She may want to stay home and read books on the couch, or she may want to hop on the back of a motorcycle-gasp. She may be a homebody or a traveler. She may fall in love with the wrong boy, or meet mr. right at age 5. Try to remember that you were her age once. Everyone makes mistakes, let her make her own.

4. Be present. Be there for her at her Kindergarten performances, her dance recitals, her soccer games…her everyday-little-moments. When she looks through the crowds of people, she will be looking for your smile and pride. Show it to her as often as possible.

5. Encourage her to try on your shoes and play dress-up. If she would rather wear her brother’s superman cape with high heals, allow it. If she wants to wear a tutu or dinosaur costume to the grocery store, why stop her? She needs to decide who she is and be confident in her decision.

6. Teach her to be independent. Show her by example that woman can be strong. Find and follow your own passions. Search for outlets of expression and enjoyment for yourself- not just your husband or children.  Define yourself by your own attributes, not by what others expect you to be. Know who you are as a person, and help your daughter find out who she is.
 7. Pick flowers with her. Put them in her hair. There is nothing more beautiful than a girl and a flower.

8. Let her get messy. Get messy with her, no matter how much it makes you cringe inside. Splash in the puddles, throw snowballs, make mud pies, finger paint the walls: just let it happen. The most wonderful of memories are often the messy ones.

9. Give her good role models- you being one of them. Introduce her to successful woman- friends, co-workers, doctors, astronauts, or authors.  Read to her about influential woman- Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Marie Curie. Read her the words of inspirational woman- Jane Austen, Sylvia Plath, Emily Dickinson. She should know that anything is possible.

10. Show her affection. Daughters will mimic the compassion of their mother. “I love yous” and Eskimo kisses go a long way.

11. Hold her hand. Whether she is 3 years-old in the parking lot or sixteen years old in the mall, hold on to her always- this will teach her to be confident in herself and proud of her family.

12. Believe in her. It is the moments that she does not believe in herself that she will need you to believe enough for both of you. Whether it is a spelling test in the first grade, a big game or recital, a first date, or the first day of college…remind her of the independent and capable woman you have taught her to be.

13. Tell her how beautiful she is. Whether it is her first day of Kindergarten, immediately after a soccer game where she is grass-stained and sweaty, or her wedding day. She needs your reminders. She needs your pride. She needs your reassurance. She is only human.

14. Love her father. Teach her to love a good man, like him. One who lets her be herself…she is after all wonderful.

15. Make forts with boxes and blankets. Help her to find magic in the ordinary, to imagine, to create and to believe in fairy tales. Someday she will make her 5 by 5 dorm-room her home with magic touches and inspiration. And she will fall in love with a boy and believe him to be Prince Charming.

16. Read to her. Read her Dr. Seuss and Eric Carle. But also remember the power of Sylvia Plath and Robert Frost. Show her the beauty of words on a page and let her see you enjoy them. Words can be simply written and simply spoken, yet can harvest so much meaning. Help her to find their meaning.

17. Teach her how to love- with passion and kisses. Love her passionately. Love her father passionately and her siblings passionately. Express your love. Show her how to love with no restraint. Let her get her heart broken and try again. Let her cry, and gush, giggle and scream. She will love like you love or hate like you hate. So, choose love for both you and her.

18. Encourage her to dance and sing. Dance and sing with her- even if it sounds or looks horrible.  Let her wiggle to nursery rhymes. Let her dance on her daddy's feet and spin in your arms. Then later, let her blast noise and headbang in her bedroom with her door shut if she wants. Or karaoke to Tom Petty in the living room if she would rather. Introduce her to the classics- like The Beatles- and listen to her latest favorite- like Taylor Swift. Share the magic of music together, it will bring you closer- or at least create a soundtrack to your life together.

19. Share secrets together. Communicate. Talk. Talk about anything. Let her tell you about boys, friends, school. Listen. Ask questions. Share dreams, hopes, concerns. She is not only your daughter, you are not only her mother. Be her friend too.

20. Teach her manners. Because sometimes you have to be her mother, not just her friend. The world is a happier place when made up of polite words and smiles.

21. Teach her when to stand-up and when to walk away. Whether she has classmates who tease her because of her glasses, or a boyfriend who tells her she is too fat- let her know she does not have to listen. Make sure she knows how to demand respect- she is worthy of it. It does not mean she has to fight back with fists or words, because sometimes you say more with silence. Also make sure she knows which battles are worth fighting. Remind her that some people can be mean and nasty because of jealousy, or other personal reasons. Help her to understand when to shut her mouth and walk-away. Teach her to be the bigger -the better- person.

22. Let her choose who she loves. Even when you see through the charming boy she thinks he is, let her love him without your disapproving words: she will anyway. When he breaks her heart, be there for her with words of support rather than I told-you-so. Let her mess up again and again until she finds the one. And when she finds the one, tell her.

23. Mother her. Being a mother—to her—is undoubtedly one of your greatest accomplishments. Share with her the joys of motherhood, so one day she will want to be a mother too. Remind her over and over again with words and kisses that no one will ever love her like you love her. No one can replace or replicate a mother’s love for their children.

24. Comfort her. Because sometimes you just need your mommy. When she is sick, rub her back, make her soup and cover her in blankets- no matter how old she is. Someday, if she is giving birth to her own child, push her hair out of her face, encourage her, and tell her how beautiful she is. These are the moments she will remember you for. And someday when her husband rubs her back in attempt to comfort her...she may just whisper, "I need my mommy."

25. Be home. When she is sick with a cold or broken heart, she will come to you: welcome her. When she is engaged or pregnant, she will run to you to share her news: embrace her. When she is lost or confused, she will search for you: find her. When she needs advice on boys, schools, friends or an outfit: tell her. She is your daughter and will always need a safe harbor- where she can turn a key to see comforting eyes and a familiar smile: be home.

Love your babies.....

Cake Decorating Class

Krystyna invited me to take a cake decorating class and it was so fun! I can't wait to use my new found talent on a cake. We will get to try that this week!

 Krystyna and me in our cake decorating class. I had a small issue with the color ink stuff. 

I made the mistake of opening the container with my teeth and the color would not come off! 

Here are my little flower things that we learned how to make. 

I messed up on my color mixing so mine came out tie-dye ish. 

Krystyna and her beautiful purple! She actually mixed hers rights:).

Yogurtland Sister Date

Girl's Date at Yogurtland!!

We decided we needed a girl's snack out and so we went to Yogurtland.

Evan's usually really good about watching Nena when I go out with the girls but we were having a BBQ later so he had her diaper changed, outfit on and bag pack. 

I had no choice but to take the cute little girl with me. 

She loves Yogurtland so it was fine. Or she loves her Tia Adis, 

I'm not sure which but either way, as you can see we had fun.

Adi, Mom, Mel, Me, and Vienna

Nenners and Adis! Mel is the reason for the smile:)

Las Vegas Celine Dion Concert Graduation Gift

 HAPPY GRADUATION TO ME!!! AND MEL!!!

As a graduation gift from EVAN, my parents and his parents:

Mel and I had the pleasure of attending THE Celine Dion concert in Las Vegas' Colosseum......

PS. I graduated from Brigham Young University, FINALLY after 5 years with my Bachelors in 

Recreation Management and Youth Leadership with and emphasis in Leisure Services

I know, it's a mouthful.

And Mel already graduated from BYU you like a million years ago. 

This time is was from the 

Institute of Healing Arts

Okay so the concert.....it was AMAZING! We seriously cried for the first hour because of the shear power and talent-ness that she conveys. Unless you've been to see her live, there it no way to describe how feels to be in the same room as her. I mean because I love love love her music, songs, voice, everything. But actually seeing her, was breath-taking. It made me want to be amazing like her. I don't even know how because I can only sing like that when I'm in the car or the shower. 

But either way, she was inspiring.

The concert was the highlight but we had some extra fun on the side. Evan surprised me with prepaid Visa credit cards and said I would be in big trouble if I came back with more than $20 on any of them. Lol. Is he a keeper or what? :)

We stuffed ourselves at buffets, walked off about a gillion pounds looking for a concert dress for me, went to the wax museum, and ate at Eva Longoria's Beso Steakhouse. We had a ball being totally carefree. No feedings, naps or diaper changes for almost 3 whole days. All thanks to our crews back home. Mel has more of a posse between Alex, Mom, Dad and Mami, lol, but we were so grateful that they allowed us to do this. 

Special thank you's to: Bill & Brenda, Mom & Dad, Mami, Alex and extra extra thank you to EVAN. I love you baby.

Checking in....

Here we are waiting to board

 Boarding.... 

Yes, we have flown before. We just wanted to document the whole trip for our kids:)

Our Celine Dion tickets and itinerary 

Arriving at Caesar's Palace

 

 Our hotel tower 

Mel and I at the hotel

 Mel and Julius Caesar

The view outside our hotel. This is for you, mom!

 So...It's the year of the DRAGON!

Me and my friend Kim. You might know her too.... 

Buffets

 

 

Did I mention we ate.....a lot.... That's the beauty of buffets: CHOICES

 Evan sent me with my list of attraction options, drawn in arrows directing us how to get every where and information regarding each attraction so we wouldn't waste any of our time getting lost.

Shopping

 This is Mel just as we are walking out of the hotel to go shopping.... Great way to start ;)

We did some shopping, and boy, did we shop. I tried on dress after dress, went in store after store. I just wanted a fun, pretty Vegas dress that I could wear to the concert. Mel was such a good sport! We got lost of fun stuff. It's hard not to buy for the people you love. We got Alex and Evan matching jeans and t-shirts, clothes and toys for the kids and  few things for ourselves.

Our feet were destroyed from all the walking but it was so worth it. 

Here are a few snippests from our shoppings!

 I ended up getting the Kim Kardashian leopard print dress you'll see later.

Our feet hurt SO bad!

 

Signage announcing Celine Dion at Caesars Palace's Colosseum

  
Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum

 

 You can never have too many shots with Eva!

Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt

 Will Smith & Mel

Bradley Cooper, ?? guy, Me & Michael Jordan, Mel & Jennifer Lopez,

Me & Snoopy Dog, Elizabeth Taylor & Me, Angelina, Me & Brad

Captain Jack Sparrow & Mel the Pirate

Mel, Bradley Cooper and Me

Doesn't Mel look amazing!? Maybe the piano helps too:)

"Sisters.....sisters...... There were never such devoted sisters...."

I love this picture of us!

It took this:

 and this:

To finally get this:

 Fun Caesar's Palace tunnel where we practiced our model walk.

Doesn't this just have my name written all over it?!
This area is called "Pools of the Gods"
And I want one.....

We got ready in 45 minutes and RAN to Beso to make our reservation.
This is the produce of our time spent.I think we clean up nicely.

SO GORGEOUS!! Princess Kate earrings:). Mel wears them so well.

Beso Steakhouse

Created by: Eva Longoria

As you can see, Beso was gorgeous AND delicious!
We didn't get to see Eva Longoria by it's okay. We got to eat at her restaurant!
That doesn't happen everyday.

THE CELINE DION CONCERT

I did not take these... I would not have wanted to anger the people of Celine :)

 The show opened with this scene. Thousands of yards of red velvet curtains slowly parted to reveal Celine standing in this gown, surrounded by a modest, beaded train.

She finished the concert by singing "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic in this amazing gown. This number was a show stopper. The stage was all over the place, she was surrounded by rain falling in formations in a circle around her......breathtaking lights and music that just filled the enormous room.

We asked if we could take these picture after the concert so you could see the beautiful concert hall. It looked like a fancy version of the Conference Center in Salt Lake.

Since we aren't big gamblers, we changed into comfy clothes and walked around the streets enjoying our last night together in Vegas. 

 Cool blue lights

Funny story:
We look like twinners and Mel loves it when we match so, we ask a tourist to take our picture.
We're sitting back to back and Mel says, "Legs up or straight?"
I say, "Straight!"
I guess I have a hard time following direction.....even my own :)

Did I mention I love horses?  Well I do. The only thing better than horses are horses with wings!
This is a the Forum Shops

I just had to take a picture of this. I love how artsy this is designed. 

 The Venetian hotel. Funny moment happened here..... :)

Waiting to be taken to the airport, which by the way I seriously thought we were going to go down on the flight home. There was snow and yucky weather and I thought we were going to die.

We made it to Salt Lake airport safety and Nana and Papa picked us up and took us home to our families. We even got to stop for In-and-Out Burger on the way home.


Amazing, Unforgettable Trip!