Summer Camping

We took our 2nd camping trip of the season June 30-July 1st. up American Fork Canyon at Granite Flats Campground. Being the holiday weekend we were pushing it trying to get a campsite.  We figured we'd be fine for Thursday night, but Friday was the question, but we were determined to find us a site!  This is what we got for the 1st night.  Perfect, we'll definately come back to this specific site again.

 Darn, I uploaded the wrong pic, sorry.  You can see the large deer in the right background, it walked right up through our site!  We saw them everywhere.

 Allstar loved eating at the table for a couple days.  We're looking for the little portable chair only kind for cheap to take around with us.

 This was Friday morning.  Determined I tell ya!  We found the 1 and only site open and took 3 trips to move our stuff.  Takes a bit longer when you have a toddler.

 We hiked around Silver Lake, which was beautiful.  We normally would do a big hike, but paking a 22lb toddler around and being 6 months pregnant just isn't as easy!

Father and Son, so precious.  Spencer teaching Allstar the ropes on throwing rocks into the water, loving it, of course.

 Allstar LOVED this backback, riding on daddy's back.

 Our site for the 2nd night.  So not as good, but we were willing to take anything.  Our tent was too big for the 2 tent spots in the trees, so we had to settle on pavement, which was easier w/a baby anyway.

 Don't forget about the smores.  Both nights.  With extra Chocolate, Reeses and marshmallows!

This was our first overnighter, with some friends.  We were supposed to go up American Fork canyon, but there was snow where our reservation was so we got cancelled.  We finally found an open site at Utah Lake State Park.  Woo!  Definately not in the mountains, but we got to camp.  Used Spencer's parent's tent trailer, testing that out to see how we like that compared to a tent this summer.

He LOVES dogs!!!

We've got a 5-day planned to Teton National park this month, then a 3-day in Payson Lakes next month with some friends. We are SO happy to be out again.  Last summer w/a baby made it more difficult.  This year with a toddler still has difficult moments, but he has done awesome so far, sleeping through the nights and enjoying the great outdoors with us!

Mr. Clean at 15 months old

Daddy is teaching Allstar from an early age to be a cleaner just like him! He's been trained on sweeping, mopping and putting things away. Ok, well maybe not trained, but Allstar has really caught on to the watch and do thing. He loves to get the broom out of the closet when it is left open. One of his first real words was "back", meaning he's putting things back, like we ask him to. He'll take things out of somewhere then put them back. It is amazing how much these little ones understand!

This little 1:13 min. video is so amazing. It shows Allstar "mopping" the floor at my office that we clean. He watches daddy do it every other week.

It's Business: Fancy Fabric Flowers

I have officially worked my last full day as a part-time employee for the Law Firm that I worked at for the past 6 1/2 years. It was a wonderful company to work for, and I will keep my ties with them as a consultant, b/c I was that good and they will still need me here and there for my expertise! Anyway...so what will I do now? Be a stay at home mom, and try and build this new company that I have created.

Fancy Fabric Flowers. I came up with this idea October 2010. It started just as H.S. Flowers - Corsages and Boutonnieres. They are made out of fabrics so they can be a keepsake forever for these girls, they won't die and crumble and eventually get tossed out when they move out of their parents house. However, what my special niche is, that all my flower arrangements come with a detachable accessory. All or part of the flower detaches so the girls can wear it in their hair after the dance, or formal event. Holla! I made up a couple and presented the idea to a couple of YW groups. They all LOVED the idea, so I got busy. I came up with the 4 main styles of flowersI wanted to have and started making a couple different ones.

I officially started the company Fancy Fabric Flowers in January 2011. On a whim Spencer & I decided to have a booth in the Utah Bridal Fair in Provo in a 6x10 size booth. It was so small! We signed up 1 week before, and I had NO Bridal Bouquets. My mom came in to save the day, of course. We made Bridal Bouquets for a week straight. The show turned out 2 Brides work, which they both loved. I learned I needed a ouple more flower arrangements to focus on for the weddings. We did another show at the South Towne Expo in April, in a 10x10 booth, where the below pictures are from. That extra couple feet made a world of difference, and we were able to showcase our product much better.

Business has been very slow, expectedly, as most new businesses go. I am so grateful for the couple orders for Bridal Bouquets and H.S. Corsages and Boutonnieres that have given me a chance to show what I can create. This is a very unique product that not everyone will want, I know, but I think there are enough people out there who are looking to have something different and stylish like this to have at their formal event.

Spencer has been an amazing support throughout this 6 month endeavor, never really complaining about the large amounts of time I have spent here and there, or the money that was being used for this business instead of new carpet for the basement! I could not have taken this idea and turned into a business without Spencer's support, your spouse or loved ones are really the people you have to have in making your ideas a reality! My mom has also played a huge role as well, teaching me a few sewing techniques and the basics of putting flower arrangements together. It is crazy how fast this business has become a reality, but I am really excited to see where it can go. We have gotten nothing but awesome feedback from everyone who sees our product. I am hoping to be busy throughout this summer with all the weddings going on, especialy now that I have a lot more time to be at home. Feel free to check out all the different work I have created on the website http://www.fancyfabricflowers.com/ and see us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fancyfabricflowers. So far, the favorite style has been the Button Beauty line. It's different, don't we all want to be different?! Wish me luck!

Wedding Cake Flowers. All the roses detach from the cake, so you can give them out at your reception as gifts to your family & friends who are there!

We had a Photo Shoot done in March by Whitney Lewis Photography. All of our pictures turned out amazing, and really helped us to showcase how our flowers look on people!

Cheeser

I just had to post all 5 of these picts that were taken by my sister at our Easter Dinner b/c my little "Safari" Allstar is Hamming it up in ALL 5 picts, looking at the different directions of the cameras that were there, making sure we all captured his cuteness! What a little cutie pie I have, with 100's of other picts of this sweet boy.

These are the grandkids on my [Melina's] side. The 3 boys on the end are all w/in 6 months. 15 mo, 18 mo, 12 mo [in order of the pic]. It'll get crazy fun soon enough w/those boys!

Secret Pictures

Remember our photo shoot in February? Since I haven't written much lately, it is only a couple posts ago, if you want to check them out! Anyway, there were some pictures that I kept a secret from you all! It wasn't time to reveal them, or their secret quite yet...

October 21st is the official date, but we know that won't be the actual day!

We are SO EXCITED to jump right into this family thing.

I knew I couldn't top the way I told Spencer the First Time, but this one ended up being great still. I told the photographer while Spencer was in the bathroom changing his clothes that I was going to do this, and wanted him to snap away at the camera to get all the reactions. I love how they turned out!

Here are some common Q&A's we have gotten since letting the word out this last couple weeks... *Is this a surprise? Absolutely not. It was planned all the way.
...to that comment, are we crazy? Yes, probably, but we are willing to be so for the next little while.
*How far apart will the kids be? 19-20 months
*Do you want a boy or girl? We have no preference, and WE ARE NOT FINDING OUT. Period. We are going for the SURPRISE factor, second to the surprise of just having the baby. Just go along with us, will ya?!
*So how far along does that make me, for those who don't want to calculate? 15 weeks
*How have I been feeling? Mostly good. Super tired the first trimester with uneasy stomach feelings. But I am great now, back to normal.

That's all I can think of for now. We'll start all the belly pictures and updates from here on out.

Really...Last Time was on March 7th?

Whoa!  So I'm browsing around some of my favorites and I click on my icon for AdventureMaughan thinking that Melina has probably written something in the last few weeks or atleast the last month and a half.  Sadly, I see the last post that I did way back on March 7th wishing Melina a Happy Birthday.  Well now it's April 28th and my oh my has it been absolutely CRAZY! 

Very quick breakdown with details to come.  We did another bridal show and things are picking up with that.  Visited the Erickson's in Idaho and saw their beautiful new home.  Congrats!  Went to San Diego for a vacation, way to cold for that week (low 60's).  Started and still working on finishing the closet in the third bedroom upstairs.  Trying to raise Ryder (wow, he's a handful but we LOVE him soo much). 

I'm sure I've forgotten a few things but we'll dive into the details hopefully sooner than later.

Happy Birthday Melina!

(From Spencer) March 7, 1983, the lovely and talented Melina Glade Maughan was born. Melina, you are the love of my life. Everyday I thank our Heavenly Father for blessing me with such a wonderful wife. You are an incredible mother and wife to me and Allstar. I love being with you. Thank you for everything you do for me and our family.

I love you,
Spenny

We're so Fly

We got our first professional family photos taken, and I LOVE them! Thanks to Daniel at Foto Fly here in Draper, we have too many good ones to choose from. Here are just a couple of our favs. I love how we captured many of Allstar's expressions, the handsome little devil. He can be so stinkin cute & smiley 1 second and so serious the next.

I LOVE my little family. These guys in my life are the best. Just look at 'em, seriously.

First set of Clubs

Allstar turned one the other week. Wow, time just flew by! Spencer got him this present, his first set of Golf Clubs! I was actually very surprised, I had no idea. But Allstar loved them! He pulled out the clubs and walked around with them, then played with the golf balls. Spencer stood up behind him and they hit a couple balls together. It was so cute!

We had his 1 yr appt last week, here is how he is growing!

Weight: 19.67 lbs (8%)

Height: 29.21" (29%)

Head: 17.7" (12%)

He's still kind of little, but the doc says he's not worried, as he is very active and accomplishing a lot. Getting out the club, the driver, of course!
This one is so funny, it looks like he is 'Praising the Lord', so thankful he got clubs for his birthday!

He already knows how to do the golfer's pose!

Allstar has mastered the stairs, up and down. I don't worry about him anymore, and don't have to watch him around them. He is a mover, and won't sit still for more than a couple seconds. He always wants to go, play, touch, and make messes. He's walking here and there a little more everyday. He loves balls, and calls everything "ba-l". He'll also say mom and dad and babbles. He knows what a cow is, and he just Loves Kittly Jynx. He loves to "sing" in church when everyone else does, and when I run the blender. He is a great eater, we give him a wide variety of foods and he will eat anything. Oh, he just reminded me he is getting good at throwing little tantrums...what! I didn't know that started so early! However, we love this little boy so much, what a cute little thing he is. We're taking some family picts this weekend, can't wait to see how that goes.

Baby Steps

Allstar is doing the 'Drunken Sailor' walk! He's not steady yet, but he can take 5-10 steps at a time! His crawl has now turned into a knee & foot crawl. Hopefully he'll get himself up all the way soon! He is such a cutie.

My sister took this video at work on her iphone. She named it Gangsta Walking bc of his "pants." I waited too long to change his diaper [crazy day] so pee soaked through his jeans. He crawls around everywhere, and the office has that industrial carpet, not soft, so I put his legs through his jacket arms and zipped it up a little to keep that over his legs, protecting his knees! So it looks like he's got a long crotch {it's a hood crotch}, like a gangsta...enjoy.

walking boy 2 from Carla Thorup on Vimeo.

Stylin' short

Allstar has had this funky mohawk thing going on. He's almost 1 so I finally gave in to a little trim, so a trip to Pocatello, ID to Aunt Emily's house was scheduled. I needed mine renewed anyway. He did awesome, and was just a little wiggly like all kids!

The two of us with our new haircuts. Emily does a perfect job everytime! It always amazes me how much better I feel about myself after getting my hair done.

Anniversary Highlights

Spencer surprised me with a get-a-way to sunny St. George for our 6 year anniversary. I told him I would leave Allstar for 2 nights, so he took that and planned. My MIL & sister shared the responsiblity of the baby, and of course, Allstar was an ANGEL for them the whole time; eating and sleeping perfectly...well that ended quickly as soon as we got home.

Anyway...here's what we enjoyed for 3 days, beside the 50-60 degree, chill free weather:

the St. George Temple

A Heart Jacuzzi Tub...which was heavenly, especially for 2 people at one time, we both had our own spots to sit back and relax

a Hike in the warm, sunny weather

Good Eats, of course.

Basila's Mediterranean Restaurant was delicious, and a cute, quaint, intimate place.

Don't forget the Nielsen's Frozen Custard...mmmmm

and we ended all this with GOLF. Spencer was SO happy that I suggested we go.

He had his clubs ready and waiting in the car already!

Marriage rocks, we are so grateful to spend some time just the two of us and remember what the "old times" used to be like. However, it sure was nice just the two of us, but we did feel like a something was missing. Our sweet boy clapped for us when we walked in the door.