Introducing...

Jerrod and Kim Phillips They were married on September 24, 2009. Their wedding was held at the stunning Log Haven in Millcreek Canyon. The day was perfect and the bride looked beautiful. Although it must be said that Allison gave her a little competition and came in a close second place for most beautiful. (Second place by default only because nobody is allowed to look more beautiful than a bride on her wedding day.)We enjoyed having lots of family come into town. This picture is of Jerrod and Kim, Mom and Dad Phillips, Grandpa and Grandma Taylor, and Grandpa Phillips. The date of their wedding was chosen because it was Grandma Phillips birthday and they wanted to honor her memory.
We enjoyed celebrating their special day with everyone. The scenery was breathtaking, the food was fabulous, and spending time with family and friends was wonderful.

Busy Little Girl

Allison was playing in her bedroom and when I went to check on her this is what I saw. She was just as happy and content as she could be and seemed quite proud of her handy work.

She keeps us smiling everyday!

Goodbye Draper...

About a month ago our family moved. We moved to the Avenues area to live with my Grandpa Sanders. He had begun to feel a little uneasy about living by himself but didn't want to move yet and have to leave all of his great friends. Because we were in a position to help, we began to pack up and move what we needed and put the rest of our things in storage. We are renting out our house. We know this move is a good step to take at this point in our lives but we were sad to leave our house. We love our house and hope sometime in the future we will live there again.

A little peek at our first home:

Please, come in...have a seat
would you like something to drink

let's go upstairs

can you tell Dave loves the Utes

shhh the baby is sleeping

we don't live near an ocean so we brought the beach to us

so comfortable!

So far we have absolutely loved living downtown! We love the energy and culture and we really love walking everywhere. We walk to the neighborhood market, to meet my mom for lunch, Dave walks to work, we walk to the park, to the bakery, and everywhere in between. We love the building where we live and all the neat people we have met.

here she comes

Just before Allison's first birthday in August she could take two or three steps before she would plop down. Then a couple of weeks later she was getting up to seven and eight steps. And now at 13 months she can walk everywhere all the time! She has even started to get faster and can run (walk faster) especially when we are chasing her. Watching her walk around with her adorable little legs is pretty much the cutest thing ever. It is so much fun to see her progress and grow. Just don't do it too quickly....

Let's Go!

We love going on family walks. One of our favorite places to go is the walk to Memory Grove. The best part is the stream running along the trail. We love to hear the babbling brook. In Memory Grove there are fountains, statues, pretty buildings, a pond, and lots of beautiful flowers. The trail continues and goes up City Creek Canyon. Usually there are a handful of dogs playing fetch in the pond and lots of people walking, running, or biking. Allison loves to bark at the dogs and watch them splash around. She loves dogs! We look forward to many more family walks, not only to Memory Grove but discovering new places too.

Some Favorite Pictures of Allison

It's That Time of Year

Lots of BBQ, Games, Rides, Animals, the Big Yellow Slide, Kettle Corn, Crafts, People Watching, and Funnel Cakes.

What do those words make you think of? For us, the Fair comes to mind. Last night we went to The Utah State Fair. Going to the Fair is a family tradition and we have fun every year. Some highlights from this year were: Dave choosing the great BBQ place to eat, seeing the amazing quilts and beautiful paintings and sculptures that people had made, and for sure the best highlight from this year was... having Allison there with us! She loved seeing the animals. Here is Alli with her new friend the goat.

She also met some sheep, cows, pigs, and birds. We were a little bit sad that the rabbits weren't there this year.

Grandpa was so nice and walked with her. She is really getting good at walking by herself but I didn't want her to fall down on the dirty ground. Yuck!

This little cowgirl rode her first horse! Allison's horse was named Cleo. Our baby cowgirl just held on and wasn't nervous at all, I was so proud of her.

We ended our fun at the Fair with a carousel ride and sharing some of Grandma's delicious carmel apple.

Allison's Blessing Day

I realized a while back that I had not put any pictures from Allison's blessing on our blog. I briefly mentioned it but did not have pictures because they were not on my camera. Well... here they are! Better late than never.

We blessed our sweet little Allison on November 2, 2008. It was lovely. Her father gave her a wonderful blessing. Having all our family there made her day extra special. Allison wore a beautiful dress with a tiny pearl bracelet, crocheted shoes, and a pretty headband. We (my mom and I) bought her dress with the idea that it will be a family heirloom. We had Allison's name and birth date embroidered on the slip. All the baby girls born on my side of the family will wear the same dress and have their names and birth dates embroidered as well. It is our hope that it will be passed from generation to generation.

We are very lucky to be her parents and love our baby so much!

Allison, you bring so much happiness to our hearts and home.

We love you!

a Sunday evening

A BIG post for a BIG Birthday Girl!

August 18, 2009. Good Morning! This is Allison the moment she woke up on her birthday. What a difference a year makes. She has grown so much. She is now 19 lbs 1 oz. and 28 1/2 inches.

We told her something special is happening today....

It is your BIRTHDAY! Yea!!!

We had a party with our family at Draper Park.

Allison got to eat pizza for dinner!

Time for cake!

She started out slowly, taking little tastes of her cake.

Then she started to get excited and took big handfuls of cake.

She loved her delicious birthday cake and could not have been happier. It was so much fun to watch her enjoying her cake. She was all smiles and giggles. She is so nice, she even shared a bite with Dad. Yummy!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY ALLISON!!!

The party ended with a beautiful sunset and playing on the slide. It was perfect.