It's about time!

I know, I know... I've really been a slacker lately! So here is a quick update with the Rice's!

Ava and I just got back from a week vacation on the beach with my family in Rocky Point, Mexico! It was a blast! Thanks mom and dad for taking us! It's so fun to be able to spend time with the family and enjoy the beach at the same time! We sure missed those who could come with us though.
Chris couldn't come with us because he had to go to Las Vegas to finish his testing for the police department. (I'll do a separate post about that new adventure after this one for those of you that haven't heard yet.) So we missed him a lot last week!
P.S. Quick THANKS to the Rice's for watching our dog, Blue, for us for the week while we were gone! It was nice knowing he was in good hands!! :)

Here are some pics from our trip...

Fun in the Sun!

Eating yummy TACOs in town!!

Ew... Who is that beached whale?....

Before we went to Mexico we had the pleasure of having my nephew, Tyler, come down and stay a week with us! Ava and him are such good friends, so that was a treat!! Aside from being a little homesick throughout the week, I think he had a good time with us too! We also went to the cabin for the weekend while he was here! Which is always fun! It was the first time Chris and I have gone without taking another couple of friends with us, so it was an interesting trip. We both decided that its more fun when you've got the extra company... haha! In other words, it was a very quiet, boring weekend... I can't believe I didn't get any pictures while we were there though... Guess I just forgot to get my camera out all weekend! Oh well...

Ava's new Dance Class!

As most of you know, Ava always been one to love the spot-light! So we decided to sign her up for her first dance class! She has been going for about three weeks now, and she loves every minute of it! Her teacher, Miss Kim, is just great with these little girls! I love to sit and watch them all do their best to immitate everything the instructor is teaching. It's so cute! Ava is doing very well for it being her first dance class too! I think this is going to be a great thing for her! She gets so excited every thursday morning when we get up and its time to go to class. Keep up the great work Ava! Mom and Dad are so proud of you! You are our shining star! Love you!

Happy Birthday Chris!

Chris is now 24 years old! What an old man! haha...
Just thought I'd write a belated Happy Birthday. We didn't get to do much for Chris' birthday because he was out of town helping our friends, the Welly's, move out of their house. What a nice guy huh? Working all day on his birthday helping out some friends! haha... Anyways, he didn't get home til about 7:00pm so we had a late birthday spaghetti dinner. And Tyler and Ava had the idea to decorate and make it a party... so that is what we did! Chris was delightfully surprised when he came home to find our dining room all decorated. Then we topped it off with strawberry shortcake for dessert! :) So all in all it was a brief, but fun celebration!
Hope this year is a good one for you honey! WE LOVE YOU!

Happy Valentines Day!

Hey, I just wanted to wish everyone a HAPPY VALENTINES DAY today!! I hope you all receive or get to do something special with your valentine! Love you all!!

I also wanted to give out a big WOOOOHOOOOO!!!

I noticed today that my count down says that there is only 100 day's left until our baby is due!! That's like... less than 3 1/2 months!!! How exciting! I don't mind being pregnant, but I am sure sick of waiting to meet and cuddle with my new little baby girl!! Yay!!

Just a few pics...

Not much is new with us... Just thought I'd post a few pics from the last week...

Thought I'd throw a pic of my little belly! I'm now five months along! Although it doesn't feel very little any more... She is quite the active little girl! I don't remember Ava being this active all the time... Seems like she is awake and moving all day and all night! Hope she figures out a better sleeping schedule once she comes out... haha. The weather was so nice yesterday we went to the park! This was a cute pic of Ava and her best friend, Blue!

This is just a cute pic of Ava feeding our neighbors new baby boy. She had so much fun sitting and watching him eat... Good practice for what's in store for her soon!!

Last Saturday we went to Roosevelt lake with some friends to picnic and do some fishing. We didn't have much luck fishing though cuz the lake was so high that there was not really any good shore area to fish from. You really needed a boat to do any decent fishing with the water being so high. Oh well! We had a good picnic!

Trip to Vegas!

This last weekend Chris took me on a trip to Vegas for a late anniversary present! And it was a blast! In fact his brother, Corby, and his wife, Natalie, were there for the weekend too for their anniversary! So we got to hang out with them a lot! Thanks Mom and Dad for watching Ava for us for the weekend! It was so nice to have the whole weekend to ourselves!

Taste testing the different coke products from around the world at the coke store on the strip!

We also got to see the Blue Man Group show at the Venetian! We both really enjoyed it a lot! They are pretty strange, but hilarious too!

We sat and hung out at the ESPN Zone restaurant for the Cardinals game Saturday afternoon with Corby and Nat. To make it more exciting we all placed our own little bets on what we thought would happen in the game... I have to admit it made the game quite a bit more interesting! haha! But it was an AWESOME game anyways just because the AZ Cardinals WON and are going to the SUPERBOWL!! YAY! Go Cards!! We all had a great time cheering our home team on! Can't wait for them to beat the Steelers next week! It'll be a great game!

This is just a pic of us in front of the Bellagio... Man, I forgot how much walking it is going up and down the strip! We were both exhausted every evening from all the walking we had to do! I'm sure glad I wasn't any more pregnant than I am! Otherwise it could've been a lot more miserable with a really big belly! haha!

I can't believe that we have been married 3 years already... I am so lucky to have found such an amazing companion to spend the rest of eternity with! I love that even after 3 years of marriage we are still learning new things about each other and growing closer everyday!

Chris, I want to thank you for everything that you do for me and our family! These past three years have been the best years of my life and I look forward to the many more years that we will share with each other! I love you more than words can say! Thanks for the weekend get-a-way! It was much needed and nice to spend time alone with just the two of us! Wish we could do it more often! Love you honey!

Happy Birthday Papa Rice!

Make a Smilebox greeting

It's a girl!!!

Well for those of you that haven't heard already, yesterday we had my 2nd ultrasound and found out that our 2nd little baby is a GIRL!!! Haha, although Chris was looking forward to having a boy, he was still very excited and insists on the name Emma.
The ultrasound tech was actually starting to get very frustrated with her because it took her so long to get her foot out of the way so we could see what she was! She was very active and moving all over the place, but she was either being very stubborn already or just modest, cuz she wouldn't move her one little foot that was blocking the anticipated shot for almost half an hour! She had me roll over to the left and roll to the right, and she still couldn't get her to move her foot out of the way! But eventually she gave in and gave us a clear shot! haha! It was so fun to see her little arms and legs move around. She also kept her hand close to her mouth! In the first pic it looks like she just might be a thumb sucker! The ultrasound tech also said that she is measuring a little later than my due date. So she changed my due date to June 3rd!

It's a GIRL!

Ava's 3rd Birthday

Last Saturday, my little princess turned yet another year older.... Sad, I know! I can't even believe how fast these last three years have gone by! For you single people out there, if you think time flies fast now, its nothing compared to when you have kids! I swear the days just keep getting shorter and I have to fight with Father Time to keep my little girl young... Its just not fair! She acts older everyday and sometimes I just have to laugh at how grown-up she tries so hard to be. Anyways, enough of my mushy motherly moping...
Last weekend we were up in Cottonwood staying with my siblings while my parents were out of town, so we decided to throw Ava her birthday party while we were there so all her family could attend! And it was a great day! It was a Princess party and Ava played the part all too well! Once she put her dress and crown on, you could tell she felt like royalty! Everyone had a good time playing games and decorating crowns and eating cake! Thanks to all our friends and family that could attend! It was a blast!

Instead of "Pin the tail on the Donkey" we played "Kiss the Frog Prince!" The kids all had fun pinning their lips on the frog... It was a cute game! Thanks Dad for your artistic hand and drawing this cute frog for me!

Christmas In Utah!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year! Here are a few pics from our trip to Utah! We had a great time! Thanks Wendi for letting us invade your house for the week! It was so nice to enjoy the holiday with my whole family all in one house! Definitely one to remember!

Sister pic at the Mall Christmas Eve day... Unfortunately we are missing Emeli though, my youngest sister!

Sweet Cousins! Tyler, Jill, and Ava!

Decorating cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve!

Christmas morning, Ava dressing up in her new Cinderella costume! She gots LOTS of dress up stuff for Christmas so this is all she does all day long... haha! She is such a little girl!
Ava and Tyler playing in the snow Christmas day!
The day after Christmas we all wanted to take advantage of the beautiful SNOW covered ground! So we all went sledding! It was cold! But we had a blast! I love the snow!

Me and my niece Jilly!
Chris and I about to go down the hill! AHHH!