To Shoot or not to Shoot?

This weekend the youth in our ward were able to participate in a campout/gun shooting activity in Terre Haute.  Basically, the Scouts camped out last night and then the Young Women came up to join them this morning to take part in the shooting portion.  Tori and I really weren't planning on attending since Jared was going to the whole activity.  But a very last minute change came up and we were able to come up last night as well - although we got to "campout" in the house!!!  Prince was also able to come with us and he loved being outside so much and having so much new attention! 

Tori took a little extra time waking up this morning! 

Jared got to be one of the station supervisor people.  (Go Katie!!!)

Don't you think this is just an awesome picture?  And check out all of that fabulous use of hearing protection!  It made my little audiologist heart very happy!!!

Even I took a few shots - heck yes!!!  Sadly, they didn't take a picture of me shooting the Desert Eagle 44 caliber (I think that is right)!

Tori had a great time being outside all day, and loved eating many things off of the ground- like her pretzels for example!

Marina was the only girl that even attempted to shoot this huge shotgun - way to go!

And while shooting it she brought down the entire line of targets - awesome!!!

After all of the youth were done, the grown-up-boys were able to have a crack at everything.  And they had a great time!  Jared was able to shoot every gun at least once - his favorite ended up being the 223 semi-automatic rifle!  Here he is shooting the 9mm semi-automatic handgun (I am so glad he remembers all these numbers and names)!!! 

By all accounts, this activity was a huge success!  No one got hurt - except for a few bruises from kickbacks.  The location and food were amazing!!!  I am so glad that our family was able to participate!

I just have to say that I love the youth in our ward - they are absolutely fantastic!  I am so glad that Jared and I get to serve them and feel of their strong testimonies at this time!  You are all amazing examples to us!!!

Continued Celebrations

 Let's just face it, living away from family stinks - especially around birthdays and holidays.  But, if there is one good thing about it, it may be that you get to extend those celebrations out while things arrive in the mail!  Tori has been totally enjoying her extended birthday celebrations!!!  Her first package arrived from Georgia - thanks so much Uncle Willie, Aunt Krista, Parker, Lincoln, and Henry! 

Tori wasted no time getting into this one!

Yeah for a fun new towel and adorable card!

She loves this towel (although, she calls it her blanket!), and I think we have used it almost every night since it arrived!!!

Next came a package from Uncle Jer and Aunt Kim in Utah!  Since Jared wasn't home yet, Tori had to anxiously await his arrival before she could open this one!

What could it be?

She loves her new dog Dug (sadly I missed catching her giving him a kiss with our camera)!

And of course, the Cinderella book was a huge hit!!!  Thanks so much Uncle Jer and Aunt Kim!!!

Tori's next package was from Grandma Harrison and Aunt Anna in Utah!  The packing stuff was definitely an added present - she had so much fun playing with it!!!

Tori's very own computer - time to start working on sending emails and her own blog!

And then she found the pajamas with tutus - she had to try them on right away!

Hurrah for a new dress - she is going to look adorable!!!

Yep, Tori loves her new computer- she even tried to take it to bed with her!!!

The last birthday package arrived from Grandma and Grandpa Allen, Uncle Alec, and Uncle Dillon in Texas! So many presents, where to start?

Luckily Uncle Alec was looking out for Tori and let us know the order!

Oh how fun - Tori loves her new doll (especially since she can dress her up and comb her hair)!!!

Yeah for another new dress - she will continue to be the belle of the ball (or at least our ward)!!!

Tori loves her new dollie - she has been playing with her all morning long (so cute)!!!

An enormous thank you to all of our family for making Tori's second birthday so memorable!  It has been a blast watching her totally enjoy each new gift as it has arrived!  Love you all!!!

Our Little Book Worm

Tori has really loved books for the longest time!  She loves it when we read books to her.  She loves flipping through and looking at books by herself.  You name it - if a book is involved she loves it!  And now we have moved on to the next step, Tori is starting to read books along with us!  Here she is reading Moo, Baa, La La La! (by Sandra Boynton - we love all of her books) along with Daddy!!!

New Family Pics!!!

When we were visiting our families this June, we were able to get some new family and cousin pictures taken!  I am so glad - our last real family photos were taken when Tori was about 5 months old and she is almost two.  Without further ado - our pictures from Texas!  Sadly, Tori wasn't in the most smiley mood - but the pictures still turned out great (thanks Rigo)!!!

Our big girl!

Tori and Linken!

I love this one of Tori and Jared!!!

Yeah for our cute family!!!

And a few more fun cousin shots!!!

Now, for our pictures from Utah (thanks for being our photographer Mom)!  For this photo shoot we were able to find some awesome spots in Grandma Harrison's backyard.  Tori was in a better mood for this one, but much more wiggly!

Hurrah for a family photo and a smile from Tori!!!

I love how this one turned out! 

Another fun family shot!

And now for the cousin photo shoot - all I can say, we didn't pick a good time for this one at all.  But it makes me laugh to look back at it now!!!

Two Peas in a Pod!!!

Tori and Prince are just getting more and more cute around each other every day!  Don't get me wrong- we still have our Prince biting and Tori kicking or hitting moments, but they are getting less common.  Some of the latest developments: when Tori and I go downstairs in the mornings Tori greets Prince by putting her fingers down for him to lick them - so adorable!   

She also loves to lay down on the ground and play with Prince!

And I love watching Prince be so playful back with her (without any nipping)!!!

Sometimes we think Tori thinks she is a puppy too - yummy water (bleh)!

Recently, Tori has become very helpful with Prince.  Whenever we are going to be gone for a long time, we set up our bathroom downstairs as his playroom.  Tori will move his bed and all of his toys into the room for him.  Then when we get back she goes right to the door to help let him out and puts all of his things away! 

Tori also loves helping us get Prince his food and says "good boy" to him all the time!

Sometimes she is a little too helpful with his food! 

This is one of my favorites- when Tori gives Prince kisses!!! (And I love how patient he is with her!)

Tori is very good at keeping Prince nice and comfy - even if it means wrapping him up in her own blanket! And of course she makes sure he has Nino as well!!!

Yeah for our two peas in a pod - it is going to be so fun watching them grow up together!!!

Our Crappy Day

Have you ever had a day where you just stood back and thought, "Wow, today has been a really crappy day?"  Well, today was one of those days for us.  The sad thing is, we started out pretty good.  We had to get up early to take Prince in to the vet this morning.  Things were running like clockwork- getting up, breakfast done, all set with stuff for Tori and Prince, out the door a little early, and to the vet with a few minutes to spare.  Then our day fell apart.  As we were leaving the vets office 20 minutes later, we soon discovered that the passenger side window on Jared's car had been shattered.  Then other realizations started coming- his brand new laptop for work had been stolen along with his Ipad 2.  Then it hit Jared that his keys and ID badge for work had been in the same bag.  And paperwork for an eye exam was also in there - so the thieves had our address and all of Jared's information - phone number, social security number, birth date, etc.  To top it all off they even took his lunch bag.  Talk about feeling like a carpet had been pulled out from under us!  The rest of our morning was then spent contacting the police and trying to get as much taken care of as we could.  Jared was on the phone with our insurance and tons of people at his school trying to cover all his bases.  I wish I could say that the officer that arrived was helpful - but he really wasn't.  Don't get me wrong, he did his job.  But at one point he even told Jared that this was not a top priority and made it seem like it was Jared's fault this had even happened since his things were not completely hidden out of sight.  Talk about not making us feel hopeful!
So, even though there are many not so fun things that have come from this (we get to pay for the work laptop, we have to watch out for identity theft, etc.), there have been a few silver linings.  We were able to get his window fixed this afternoon (too bad it was $350).  We did find out that our insurance will reimburse us at least a little bit to help cover costs.  None of us were hurt in the process.  And Jared doesn't have to pay to replace his keys or ID badge at work. 
Overall, I think the thing we feel we have lost the most is our security.  Jared and I were both so jumpy this evening anytime we heard a car outside.  I am hoping that this part of our ordeal passes quickly.  So, there you have it- our crappy day.  We just hope we don't have another one for a very long time!!!

Tori's 2nd Birthday Bash!!!

We now have a two-year-old living in our house - Tori is getting so grown up!!!  Since Tori was turning 2 this year, we decided to spread her birthday celebrations out over two days.  We started out yesterday by taking her to the Indianapolis Zoo!  Tori and I were able to visit the zoo earlier this spring with Grandma Allen, Uncle Alec, and Uncle Dillon, but Jared was working and couldn't come with us.  So it was even more special that we were able to spend the day as a family seeing all of zoo together!

The last time we visited the zoo, Tori was not much of a fan of the Oceans area.  This time it was her absolute favorite!!!  We went there first, and again right before we left!  She loved watching the sharks swim around!

I think the penguins were the number one favorite of this trip!!!

Jared and I decided that Tori's second favorite area was the playground!  She had a blast running around and going down all of the slides all by herself!!!

Of course, it really helped Tori's confidence that the slides were just the right speed for her!!!

After playing on the playground, we headed over to the Plains area to find some more favorites!  I think we were looking at the zebras at this point - this is my favorite picture from our day!!!

Yeah for rhinos!

The elephants were a definite huge hit!  We even got to see the brand new baby elephant.  Since there were so many people crowded around, we didn't even try to get a picture!  But this other mommy and baby elephant didn't mind being in a picture at all!

Tori had a great time at the zoo - we are so glad we got to go as a family!!!  Especially since the activities we had planned for today went well, but not exactly as planned. Things did get started on a positive note - Tori loves having waffles for breakfast!

Our next event was to make cupcakes together.  Jared and I thought Tori would love helping mix everything together - she wasn't interested at all and may even be a little bit scared of the Kitchen Aid mixer.  Luckily, she loved helping get out the cupcake liners!

We also thought she would like to help pour the cake batter into the liners - nope, not so much!  So, while the cupcakes were baking, Jared got everything ready for the big surprise of the day - Tori's new Princess bed sheets and comforter!

While Tori's reaction was okay, it was not at all what we had anticipated! (We were thinking of her running into her room with squeals of delight.)  At least we got a few smiles! 

And after about 10 minutes we did hear her back in her room playing on her bed - for some reason it took her a bit to really get excited about the changes!  Then we got these adorable pictures of her!!! 

I love the look on Tori's face in this one - can we just say, she is up to something!

After lunch, we dove back into our cupcake project.  Tori took about two swipes with the frosting and was done, but she absolutely loved putting on the sprinkles!!!

Yep - she really got into the sprinkle part, hurrah!!!

Let's just say our two-year-old photo shoot could have gone a little smoother - she wouldn't even hold her bear.  So, we have the next best thing- a picture of Tori throwing her bear!!!

This evening we were finally able to sing to Tori and let her blow out her candles!  (I think we need to practice for this part next year!)

And here she is - out birthday girl digging into her cupcake and ice cream!!!

We have heard that being two means much more independence and exploration- and I think we saw a bunch of that today!  What a fun adventure we have before us!!!  Happy Birthday, Tori!  We love you so very much and can't imagine our family without you!!!