Laura also made sure that she could play with Grandma before she left. She read stories and polished her tea party skills with another audience.
Finally, I went to do My Girlfriend's Kitchen with Mom, so that we'd all have food when we came back from Florida. We were much faster this time.
Well, I got my hair cut yesterday. My wonderful Jason knew I wanted it done and made the appointment for me. I asked my stylist to give me a cut that would work with my curl. She did and I love it. I have never seen my hair this curly. Another aside; I really love the feeling of getting a good haircut. I just feel fresh and light. It's marvelous.
Here is a picture of us together. Maybe if I wear my hair down and curly instead of back in a ponytail, people won't ask where she gets it anymore.
Unfortunately, Laura had lost the wonderful priming I had done for Jason's Father's Day and said "Happy Birthday" to each of them when she handed them their presents. Well, at least she said lots of spontaneous "Happy Father's Day" wishes to Jason on Sunday.
I know I say it all the time that Jason is such a great Daddy, but I'm going to say it again. Jason is a GREAT Daddy. He is the perfect mix of playmate to Laura and helpmeet to me. Jason's love of children and their attraction to him is one of the things that first made me fall in love with him. That love has expanded exponentially since we have become parents. Thank you, Jason!
Youth Conference was great. Some of the highlights were: playing and chatting with the girls; hanging out with the lovely ladies who came to Youth Conference; looking at the Manti temple; and seeing Brian (my friend Emily's husband) dressed up like Captain Moroni. I think it was a successful Youth Conference.
The other exciting event was how much Laura grew up in Church this last Sunday. She went to ALL of nursery all by herself for the first time. Hallelujah. Jason and I loved being able to attend Sunday School together and Jason got to make it Elder's Quorum. She also went up with the Primary to sing, "I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home". We couldn't tell whether or not she was singing because she was so short, but she went up! She looked just like Kilroy...we could see her little hands on the edge and her head from the nose up. It was super cute.
So, we called Daddy and he was more than happy to take his lunch hour and meet us for some rides. We got there right when the carnival opened and were able to walk right on to every ride. Laura rode the swings with both Mommy and Daddy. It was exceptionally fun to wave at the other parent on the ground. She had NO fear and thoroughly enjoyed herself on every ride.
She also rode the ducks. Completely by herself, we might add. 
Laura was most excited to ride the carousel which fortunately got fixed just in time for one ride with Daddy. She wanted Grandpa, but Daddy did beautifully.
The cutest part was at the end of each ride, she would run to the other parent just squealing, "Daddy/Mommy, that was SO much fun!" She also cried when we left because she didn't want it to stop. We're nervous that 6 days in Disneyworld just may not be enough for Laura.
The kids seemed to have a grand time. I know that Jason and I sure had a lot more fun at this meeting than any other church meeting I've attended recently.
Has anyone else noticed that Jason always ends up as the biggest and best toy attraction for the kids?! That is one of my absolute favorite things about my honey.
Finally, after all that running, Laura was just wiped out. She decided to watch a movie (she's currently on a major Winnie the Pooh kick) in the playroom and chill out. Oh, how she loves to lounge in that big red chair.
Melinda
Jason
We had prepared for the evening by hanging a baby swing on the swingset for the little munchkins who were coming, and buying an awesome picnic table to seat everyone outside. Alas, it rained. Fortunately, the girls seemed to find something else to play with other than the swingset.
After playing with Jason and watching princess movies together in preparation for the trip, I think they totally bonded. Aren't they just darling?!
After 6 cans of spray paint (I didn't think it would take nearly that much) and numb fingers (from pushing the trigger) it got painted. I love how it turned out. It matches the floor much better now, in my opinion. Laura is just grateful that it's still made of metal and can be used for letter arrangements.
I was also told by my darling friend from my ward, Andrea Morrill, that my favorite lip stuff in the entire world, C.O. Bigelow Mentha Lip Tint, is on sale. It moisturizes, adds a hint of color and even freshens my breath. Really, it is the best! I'll be stocking up.
After months and months of work and a few late nights, we finally released the newest version of my product from work. It's called Pure Append 3 and it now out in our customer's hands. It's great to have this milestone reached and now life can and will be much less stressful. That's really the whole point of this post; that things at work are going to settle down and we will have much more free time. YAY!
I seem to have gotten in over my head with gardening. My rose trees haven't leafed out and my petunias in the new corner garden seem to be dying. I'm not sure if it's because of the extremes in temperature -- from a week of 90 degrees to almost freezing -- that are occurring so quickly, or because my thumb is some color other than green. I'm crossing my fingers that the sad little petunias bounce back, but if anyone has advice on helping them along that path, I'd love it.