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!

Santa!

Ava and I went with my Grandma to the mall and Ava got to sit on Santa's lap! She wasn't sure about it at first... but when I asked her to smile she put on this big grin! So it didn't take her long to adjust... Then she proceeded to tell him what she wants for Christmas and we were on our way! I have to say it was much better then last years experience! Last year she was terrified and sat frozen on his lap!

Gingerbread House

Just had to show off our cute little Gingerbread house that Ava and I made last night! I've never done a gingerbread house before so it was a first for both of us! We had a fun time putting it together and decorating it! Although I think Ava had more fun eating all the candy then actually putting it on the house! But what can ya do! Thanks again Mom for giving Ava the Gingerbread house kit! She loved every minute of it!

"Can I eat it now mom?"

"Ta Da!"

"I'm so sweet!"

Rice Family Update

Seems like so much has been going on lately, and with the stress of the holidays that have passed and those soon approaching, once again I have yet to remember to do my blogging... So I thought I'd just give a quick update of what is going on in our lives...

Where to start... Well we had a great Thanksgiving weekend with Chris' family! The entire Rice Gang came to stay at our house for a the holiday weekend and what a fun time it was! Thursday we went to Chris' Aunt Becky's house for the big turkey meal and stuffed ourselves silly while enjoying the company of the entire family! Then Friday morning Jolin, my mother-in-law, and I got up early to do the Black Friday shopping! Unfortunately we didn't quite get up early ENOUGH though because all the things on sale that we'd planned on buying were already sold out by the time we got there at 7:00 in the morning! I have never been Black friday shopping before so this was a first for me, and I guess I've learned that if your going to do it, you might as well do it the RIGHT way and be one of those early birds at 4AM to get all the good stuff! Oh well, there's always next year! Then Friday afternoon we took the whole wild bunch to see the movie BOLT! I thought it was a great movie! Ava loved it too! I was always laughing... and call me pregnant, but it also brought tears to my eyes at one part too! haha! And Saturday was exciting because all of us GiRls went and saw the one and only... TWILIGHT movie!!! And I must say, aside for a little bit of cheesy acting, it was all I had hoped it would be! (Can't wait to read the books all over again!)

Don't worry, we don't usually go for family rides on the bike! haha, we were just driving down the street... We had walked to the park and I didn't wanna walk home in my heels, so I made Chris come pick us up! Haha, these are pics at the Park on Thanksgiving...

~Ava and her cousin, Dawson, on the slide~

After a fun Thanksgiving weekend, things settled back down to normal... I keep busy cleaning house and playing with Ava while Chris goes to work at UOP. Not much is happening... I am now 17 weeks along and we should find out Jan. 5th if our new baby is going to be a boy or a girl! I don't really have a preference... my only opinion is that it would be easier and cheaper to have a girl because we already have lots of girl clothes from Ava... But Chris would love to have a boy... So either way I will be excited!
As for our Christmas plans, we will be making the trip up north to enjoy a wonderful WHITE Christmas with my family at my sister, Wendi's, house up in Provo, UT! We plan on leaving when Chris gets of work Wednesday, the day before Christmas Eve, and will return home the following Sunday! It is going to be a fun trip! I can't wait to play in the cold snow and Ava is very excited to see her cousins!
Well, I think that's it! I hope everyone is doing well and has a wonderful and memorable Christmas! We love you all!!

First Ultrasound!

Yesterday we got to see our little baby for the first time and hear the heartbeat! I know these ultrasound pictures are hard to look at even in person, so I know it's probably hard to see copied to the computer! haha! But here it is! Surprisingly the doctor said the baby is measuring about a week later than my due date, but she said due to other reasons she still wants to keep my same due date for now... So it's still May 25th! I am now about 12 weeks and almost done with my first trimester! And I am feeling it too! I can already tell that the sickness and tiredness is already starting to wear off a little bit... Which is great for me cuz I'm WAY behind on my house work!

Last Week...

Last week Ava and I went with my mom to visit my sister Wendi and her family in Provo, UT. We had a great time! It was fun to hang out with her and my other sister, Kati, who is living up there too! We always have a great time together! Ava and Tyler, my nephew, are only about 10 months apart so they get along pretty good and have fun playing together. (well, most of the time! haha)
Thanks Wendi for letting us stay with you for a while! Hopefully we will see you guys at Christmas! Love you! And also thanks to Amber for stopping by to visit! It was great to see you and Ryan! We miss having all of you guys closer to home! Hopefully we can visit again sometime soon!

Tyler, Jill, and Ava at the mall.

Then yesterday, Saturday, I had the opportunity to go to Time Out for Women with my two younger sisters and my mom! Thanks mom for taking us! I really enjoyed it and learned a lot! And I'm glad I could experience it with you, Lesli and Emeli! I'm so lucky to have such an incredible family!!

Me, Lesli, my Mom, and Emeli!