The Way We Live

Marie meets her Aunt, Uncle and cousins

2012-02-02T12:35:00.000-08:00

The weekend of December 16-17, we had some visitors!
My brother and his family live in Denver, and they came up and stayed and played with us.
We had a great time!

Aunt Lisa and Hailey holding Marie.

Hunter and Hailey became fast friends!

Ethan and Braden had a great time playing as well.

And Ryland and Hunter loved playing with Lego's together.

Sweet Little Owl Hat

2012-02-02T12:25:00.000-08:00

Marie's 16-day-old photo shoot with her cute owl hat.

Marie's 16-Day-Old (Christmas) Photos

2012-01-27T10:19:00.000-08:00

I won a drawing for a free professional photography session at MOPS (Mothers Of Preschoolers) back in November, and I waited until Marie was born so I could do a newborn session. We scheduled it for Tuesday, December 13, (or was it Wednesday the 14th? I can't remember).

The photographer was able to get a few good shots of Marie sleeping at first, but then she woke up and wasn't being very cooperative. We did the best we could and hoped that the ones we got would be good.

When it was time to go look at the photos, I was excited but I knew we didn't get a very good selection. There were a few good ones, so I ordered those and I have them in my possession now, I just need to get frames! (It is SO nice having a high quality camera, but it was very hard paying for pictures when I knew I could get very similar pictures with my camera and not have to pay for them, the only difference is finding a place that prints them and they don't turn out cheap-looking) If the photographer gets them up on her blog, I will post the link so you can see them as well. If not, you'll just have to wait until I get frames and then I'll take pictures of them on the wall.

Anyway, I really wanted a picture of her on this red platter that I have in front of the Christmas tree, but Marie was not having anything to do with that on the day the photographer was here, unfortunately. However, that very next Sunday, the 18th, Marie cooperated very well during her nap after church and I was able to get a few good shots. Yay!!

I love these tights!

Smiling in her sleep!

Marie's 9 day-old Photo Shoot

2012-01-19T10:43:00.000-08:00

I was able to get some good photos of Marie before and during her afternoon nap after church on Sunday, December 11. She was 9 days old.

Marie's Birth Story

2012-01-17T18:44:00.000-08:00

(This story begins a few weeks before her actual arrival.)

At my 36 week appointment, the midwife didn't want to check me, because according to her, "there really is no reason to-with my previous pregnancies going over the due date". REally?! You won't even check to see if there is anything happening "down there?" The next appointment was at 39 weeks and I saw a different midwife. I was really hoping for some good news at this appointment. She was much more friendly and helpful, and she did check me. I was at 2 1/2 almost 3, but still only 50%. This left me feeling very optimistic, because with Ethan, I was still only at a 2 1/2 when they induced me 11 days after the due date. And to be at that point, but still have a week before the due date was promising. Maybe this baby might come on time. As far as contractions, I had a few here and there, and during week 38 Saturday night into Sunday morning I had a pretty regular contractions for 4-5 hours. They never got stronger or closer together and finally just fizzled out. It was more than I ever felt with either of the other two pregnancies.

At my 40 week appointment, Tuesday November 22, 4 days before the due date, I was still at a 2 1/2-3 but was 70%. So there was some progress. I had the midwife strip my membranes to hopefully get things moving along a little quicker. I debated whether to or not, and in the end decided a few seconds of pain over the anxiety and frustration of going days over the due date was worth it. (Although it didn't hurt as much as I remembered, or thought it would. I guess it helps when you are dilated more than just a 1.) I felt a little crampy and uncomfortable that night and was really hoping something would happen, but by the next day, I was feeling "normal", with no real contractions.

Thursday was Thanksgiving, and I was really hoping that all the standing around cooking would get things going, but I should've known better. We had a nice, relaxing day with just our little family. The next day, we went out and did a little Black Friday shopping. Again, hoping that something would happen as a result of all the walking around. Nope.

I had another appointment scheduled for Dec. 1, and was really hoping I didn't have to go that long. Luckily, I was able to call and move it up to the 29th. I was at a 3 1/2 almost 4 and still 70%. I had the doctor strip my membranes again. He was very optimistic I would start on my own, but I was not at all. We did schedule me to be induced on Saturday, the 3rd. It was nice having a no-later-than-date, although it seemed like an eternity until then. After the appointment, I went shopping, and felt some good contractions, but I was tired of timing them and being disappointed, so I didn't pay attention to them really and was only vaguely aware of them because I would have to stop, or walk slower. The next 2 days went by SO slowly. I cleaned the house top to bottom, did laundry, and anything else to keep my mind occupied so I wouldn't go crazy.

Friday, December 2, 2011
I woke up about 5:30 AM with a crampy/backache feeling. I tried to sleep more, but ended up getting up at 6:45 to help Ethan get ready for school. I started feeling contractions around 7 although I didn't think they were real contractions, because they felt more like cramps, or a stomach ache. They were about every 15-20 minutes or so. (With both the boys I had to be induced, so I had no idea what "natural" contractions were like, only the ones forced upon me by Pitocin.)

Flynt took Ethan to school then came back and fell asleep (He stayed up till 2 or 3 AM playing some stupid computer game) which left me to entertain/keep an eye on Hunter. The "stomach pains" were still coming pretty regularly. I went to the bathroom, thinking that would make the crampyness go away, but of course it didn't. Hmmm. This may not just be a stomach ache. I played with Hunter, cleaned up the kitchen, washed some dishes while the contractions were getting a little more painful. At about 8:30, I hopped online to find a contraction timer and started writing down when they started. After about 6 or 7 contractions, I noticed they were about 10 minutes apart. Whoa. I finally started to think these may be the real thing. But I didn't want to get too excited.

At about 9:30, I took a shower thinking they would just fade away, but they just kept coming, every 8-10 minutes. They were getting a little more painful, but I could still talk, and continue whatever I was doing without stopping because of pain. I got dressed, did my hair and read Hunter some books, and then checked my email and looked at some blogs while keeping an eye on Hunter while he played. I know they say to come in to hospital when the contractions get 8-10 minutes apart, but I didn't believe they were the real deal, and if they were, I wanted to be able to work through them at home as long as possible before having to go to the hospital and be stuck in a bed for the rest of labor. Even though we still had at least an hour to get to the hospital.

Flynt finally woke up around 11:30. Eventually he wandered over to the computer and saw my list of my contraction start times and how far apart they were and kind of freaked out. By this time, they were 5-8 minutes apart. He wanted to go in right then, but I was still in denial and very nonchalent about it all. I continued to clean the kitchen/sweep the floor while Flynt continued to keep track of my contractions. When there was a few that were 3 minutes apart, he insisted that I call Labor & Delivery and see what they said. The nurse that I talked to didn't say to come in right away (of course I failed to mention that we live an hour away from the hospital), but it probably wouldn't hurt to come in and they would check me and see where things were at. Alright, I guess I'll start letting myself think this might be it.

While Flynt went over to the school at 12:15 to get Ethan out of school, I called our amazing, awesome, helpful friend Danielle who was going to watch the boys for us and told her what was going on. She agreed to meet us at the bottom of the canyon and take the boys back to her place. Once Flynt got back from the school, we packed up the car and left around 12:30. We called our families and told them we were on the way to the hospital. About 10 minutes after leaving, I realized I forgot to grab my medical folder, so we had to drive all the way back home so I could get it.
By the time we got down the canyon, the contractions were starting to get a little more painful, to where I had to brace myself and hold my breath when there were bumps in the road and/or turning corners. Still, I had my doubts and worried that we would get all the way there and they would tell us I wasn't in labor and to go back home. I know, I know, crazy.

At 1:15 we met Danielle and switched carseats and said goodbye to the boys. We made it to the hospital at 1:50, but we had to wait in a waiting room until 2:30 (it was a really busy day for delivering babies). I had several good contractions while waiting. I had to stand up and walk around/pace to work through them. There were several other pregant women waiting as well, but none were in active labor like I was. They just sat there and were all smiley and chatty.

Finally, at 2:30 I was taken to the triage room, where they hooked me up to monitor my contractions. I was still feeling pretty good and was able to talk and laugh a little between contractions. After another 20 minutes, a nurse came in and checked to see how far dialated I was. I was at a 5, and the pain level was about a 5 as well. The nurse said it would be another few minutes before a room opened up, ok thats fine, I said, but I want to make sure I have enough time to get an epidural, so hurry things along please.

At 3:15 we were in a labor and delivery room, and the pain was getting more intense and the contractions were coming quicker and quicker. We got a great nurse. She was really awesome, but she had to ask a whole bunch of questions and Flynt had to answer a few for me because I was in the middle of a contraction. I was getting frustrated, and felt like they didn't think I was in pain. WHY couldn't they have asked all these questions while I was in the waiting room??!?! WHY are we wasting all this time???!?! I am in labor here and would like to have an epidural, NOW. I kept reminding the nurse that I really wanted an epidural. Unfortunately, the anesthesiologist was in surgery so I would have to wait, but when she became available, they realized they needed to test my blood and wait for the results before they could do anything. Grrrr! The pain level was now at a 7, and I was so focused, on breathing during the contractions that I didn't feel a thing when they got the blood sample. The nurse asked if I wanted a shot of narcotic to just take the edge off and I said YES!! PLEASE!!

It felt like an eternity before they got the results from the blood sample and the anesthesiologist finally came in around 5:20. The contractions were SO painful and were coming right on top of each other, so I couldn't even get a break to catch my breath or relax. The nurse checked me to make sure it wasn't too late for an epidural, and discovered I was at a 7. Right then the anesthesiologist came in, so I didn't get the shot of narcotic. I HATED that there were more questions to answer and wish they would just stick the #$*! needle in my back already. Some women are really noisy and scream during labor, but I wasn't like that. I vaguely remember wimpering a little during the most painful contractions when I had to bend over for the epidural at 5:31 but no yelling or screaming from me.

Once the epidural started to kick in, oh it was such a relief, and I could relax a little. I could still feel the contractions, but they were no where near as painful as they were seconds before. A few minutes later, the nurse was going to put a catheter in, but I felt the need to push and before she could come check me, my water broke. That was a VERY odd/interesting.......experience. She called to the midwife to "get in here quick, we're going to have a baby." I pushed 3 times during a contraction, and we could see the top of the baby's head. She had a ton of dark hair, and when they told me that I just started crying. Flynt even shed a few tears! I pushed through 2 more contractions, and our baby girl was finally born at 6:08 PM!!

She was having a little trouble breathing, she was still coughing/sputtering because she still had fluid in her lungs and the cord was up over her arm, across her neck and down her back, and so they quickly got that off and wrapped her up and layed her on me. After a few seconds, she was still struggling a little so they took her to help clear it all out. I remember she was a little purple, but now when I look at pictures, she was like a grape and I'm grateful that it didn't register then, or else I would've freaked out and thought that she was in serious trouble. She was back to a normal pink color within a few minutes and they finally weighed her. Before she was born, I thought she was going to be at least 8 lbs., but she was 7 lbs. 10 oz. just like Ethan was. A perfect size.

Flynt stayed with me until 8:30 when he went and picked up the boys and went home. He brought the boys to visit me and their new sister the next morning, and they were SO excited!! It was so precious to see them with their tiny little sister. They are going to be the best big brothers ever.

Because there were so many babies being born at that time, we ended up staying in the labor and delivery room instead of moving over to the recovery/mother and baby room. Which was fine, but there was no cell phone service, so anytime we wanted to talk to anybody, Flynt had to go out in the hallway, or have them call the room's phone. We pushed to be able to go home Saturday night, and everything worked out so I only had to stay 24 hrs.
However, real life hit us real hard when Hunter threw up right before we were about to leave. He threw up several more times before we got to the car, in the car on the way home and a few times during the night. Needless to say, Flynt got a little taste of what its like to get up several times a night!

We just love our little Marie so very much. She is such a precious little girl and we feel so incredibly blessed to have such a beautiful girl in our home.

My latest deals in couponing

2012-01-11T15:04:00.000-08:00

Its very overwhelming to think about how much I need to catch you all up on what we've been up to, with Christmas, New Years, and my sweet little girl who is growing so fast and the two boys who smother her to death with love. But those will have to wait for another day.

I haven't posted anything about my couponing lately. I still do it. Even more now, probably. I get 4 papers on Sunday and it takes me till at least Wednesday or Thursday to get all the coupons cut, organized and added to my couopn inventory list. I'll admit it, I am a coupon nut.

Flynt is really starting to appreciate what I do with the coupons. He admitted to me just the other day that it was nice to have a stockpile of the things we need and use. We don't ever have to worry about running out of shampoo, or not having razors or shaving cream to shave with, or pain medicine. If any one of us is sick, I can guarantee I have something for it. No more late night runs to the drugstore, and paying full price.
He also admitted that I need more space for my stockpile.

Last night I think I had my best trip. I was only going to pick up a few things at Walgreens, but they had a lot on clearance that I couldn't pass up.
I will spare you all the nitty-gritty details, but I did it with clearance prices, Buy 1 Get 1 50% off deals, plus a 15% military discount on every item, coupons and Register Rewards.

Transaction #1

Pantene Shampoo and Conditioner, Tylenol Precise Cream, a protein meal replacement bar and 2 CoverGirl lipglosses.

Retail Value: $35.84

I paid: $4.23, and got $3 RR and $2 RR(register rewards to use on next purchase), so basically I MADE $.77!

Transaction #2

2 Herbal Essences Shampoos, 2 Herbal Essences Conditioners, 2 Old Spice Body Sprays, 2 Biotene gum, 2 Reach toothbrushes and Mentos.

Retail Value: $37.50

I paid: $3.70, and got $2 RR

So for all this ($73.34 worth):

I only paid $7.93!!

But it doesn't stop there.

Transaction #3

Pantene Shampoo & Conditioner, 2 Aveeno Body Lotions w/bonus travel size, Tylenol Precise Pain Patches, protein meal replacement bar, 2 packs of card games and a Spiderman memory game.

Retail Value: $45.44

I Paid: $15.89, and I got $3 RR and $2 RR to use next time.

Overall, I paid $23.82 for $118.78 worth of products!!! That's an 80% savings!!!

Need help couponing, or want to get started? Here are a few websites that I check frequently:

http://thekrazycouponlady.com

http://www.cuckooforcoupondeals.com

http://springsbargains.com

http://www.couponmom.com

http://www.coupons.com

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T13:35:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!

May your homes be filled with love and happiness this holiday season.

Love,
The Bailey's
Flynt, Kristen, Ethan, Hunter and Marie

(I couldn't decide which picture I liked best)

Sneak Peak

2011-12-13T21:19:00.000-08:00

Pictures!

2011-12-08T19:02:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to write Marie's birth story, but there just isn't enough time in the day. There are too many more important things that are requiring my attention. I forget how busy little babies can make life. But that's ok with me, because this little girl is such a sweetie and we just love her to pieces. Sometimes, well quite often, we like to just sit and hold her and kiss her sweet little cheeks.

I am feeling better and better every day. Its amazing how you forget the pain and discomfort of labor and delivery and the postpartum phase, but having such a precious little baby makes it all worth it.

I am so grateful that Flynt can be home with us these first two weeks. It has been nice to be able to sleep in while he gets Ethan up and ready for school, and take a nap during the day if I need to, and I don't have to worry about taking Marie out in the cold to go pick Ethan up from school. (I'm not really looking forward to when Flynt has to go back to work.) I think it has also helped out with the transition for the boys. It makes it easier to give them the attention they need when both of us are here. So far, they have adjusted really well. Occasionally Hunter gets a little whiney, but its nothing extreme, and its usually only when he's tired or hungry. Ethan loves his sister so much, and the minute he walks in the door from school his first questions are "Where is the baby?" and "Can I hold her?" And then Hunter wants to hold her, too.

On Tuesday, we took her in for her 3-5 day check-up. When we left the hospital, she was down to 7 lbs. 3 oz. but she is back up to 7 lbs. 6 oz and doing excellent in every other way. She eats, sleeps and poops great. She only cries when we change her and she is laying there exposed, or when she is hungry and she's not getting fed fast enough. At night she gets up two or three times and goes right back to sleep after she gets fed. (Yesterday evening, she had a tummy ache and didn't feel too good so I thought it was going to be long night, but she surprised me and slept from 1:30AM to 7AM!)

Hope you enjoy these pictures from the last few days.

Hunter figured out an easier way to hold his sister....

It works out pretty good!

I imagined her in all her cute little onesies and outfits and hair bows and bands before she was born, and it is so fun to see her in them now. This girl might just end up having an album full of pictures of her in every outfit.

Yesterday, it wasn't so freazing cold and I'm feeling almost back to normal so me and Hunter took advantage and headed outside to make a snowman. I was so excited to be able to actually "play" outside, and bend over and walk around without getting out of breath! (Just don't mind my lovely sweatpants look.)

Sadly, he is melting away quickly.

It always amazes me how small they are in their cribs.

This girl loves to be snuggled close and she loves to have her hands up by her face when she sleeps.

Another outfit and hairband/hairbow...

She's Finally Here!!!

2011-12-05T22:26:00.000-08:00

Our little girl
Marie Elise Bailey
was born on Friday, December 2 at 6:08 PM.
She weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz and was 21 1/4 in. long.
She has got a head full of dark hair.

I was scheduled to be induced the next day, but she decided she couldn't wait until then and that was totally fine with me!

I was very happy that I was able to start labor on my own, although I still wasn't sure until we were at the hospital. It went by pretty quickly, and I endured about 90% of the pain until I finally got an epidural (it was a crazy day at the hospital), and then 30 minutes later, she was born.

We are all in love, and she has got these boys, especially her dad, wrapped around her little finger already!

The boys were VERY excited to come see her and hold her!

My little crazy-man Hunter is so sweet and tender! It is the most precious thing!

We were able to come home from the hospital Saturday night. She was so teeny-tiny in her carseat.

Sunday, we just enjoyed being at home with our sweet little princess. She just gets cuter and cuter every time we look at her.

Sugar Cookie Recipe

2011-12-01T15:00:00.001-08:00

If you are like our family, we love to make and decorate sugar cookies for the holidays. I have tried several different recipes in the past, and I think I've found the best one.

We used this recipe when we made these Halloween cookies..

and they turned out amazing. Thick, soft, chewy, moist. Better than Lofthouse cookies. Seriously.
I must warn you, though-If you like to eat the dough before cooking them, this isn't the best recipe for that. Its not that tasty, but once they are cooked, the cookies are very delicious. Trust me.

Here is the recipe:

1 c. sugar 1/2 c. sour cream

1 egg 3 1/4 c. flour

1 t. vanilla 1 t. baking soda

1/2 c. butter, softened 1/2 t. salt

Cream sugar, egg, vanilla margarine, and sour cream. Add flour, soda and salt. Bake on greased cookie sheets at 375 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or 8-9 minutes for softer cookies. Let them cool for a few minutes on cookie sheet, then transfer them to a cooling rack to finish cooling before frosting.

-I put the dough in the fridge to let it rest for awhile before rolling it out. I don't know if that made any difference or not.

-When I rolled them out, I tried not to roll them too thin-maybe about 1/4 inch or so in thickness.

-Also, I only baked them for the 8-9 minutes, until they were just starting to get light brown.

Hope you enjoy the finished product as much as we did.

Happy baking!!

Passing the Time

2011-11-26T16:25:00.000-08:00

My due date is today, November 26, and still no baby. :(

In order to help make the time pass quickly and help me not go absolutely CRAZY, I've finished up a few projects the last few days, and even made two things this morning!

Here is the most updated photo I have of me. This was when I was 38 weeks.

The first part of the crib bedding that I finished was the crib skirt. I am extremely happy with how it turned out!

I even made it with a pleat in the front!

The next thing, and what took the longest was the crib quilt. I think it took so long because I was worried about how to make it "perfect" and was worried to even begin for fear of it not turning out how I wanted. After lots and lots of thinking and planning, I decided to just get to work on it. It changed several times from the vision I had in the very beginning, but I think the end result is nearly perfect.

The colors in the photo are a little off, and don't do it justice.

In my original plan, this was going to be the back, but I like it so much that it is now the front.

And this is the back.

The only thing I am not 100% happy with is the binding. I had a different plan in mind for the binding and that ended up not going to work. Plan B wasn't going to work either because I cut the fabric on the back side too short. So I was left with plan C, which works ok. Also, I am NOT the world's straightest stitcher, so if you look close, its quite skee-wampus in some parts. Oh well. Thats what makes it home-made, right?!

I absolutely LOVE how it looks with the cherry finish on the crib.

(Ah, much better lighting makes for much better colors)

I had a bunch of leftover fabric and a pillow form, so I decided to make a pillow to match.

(the crib sheet is yellow in these pictures, but I switched it with a cream sheet which looks a lot better.)

Yesterday, we purchased a glider rocker during the Black Friday sales and quickly put it together! Its hard to tell in the picture, but its a cherry finish with fern colored fabric.

It is so comfy, I can't wait to put it use!

We also finished painting the $10 changing table that I got at a consignment sale a few weeks ago. It was bright red, but now its a tan/almond color.

I wanted to paint it to match the cherry finish of the crib, but decided it probably wouldn't turn out or match very well, and then I wanted to paint it a green to match the green in the crib quilt, but that would have required hand-painting it. We found some spray paint in the almond color, and decided that would work out just fine and take a lot less time, so that is what we ended up doing.

I am looking forward to being able to change diapers standing up, instead of leaning over the bed or sitting on the floor.

This morning, I sewed up a quick nursing cover (no picture) and I sewed some fabric on the plain white cloth diapers for burp cloths. So easy, and now they are so cute!

And last night I packed my bags, so now we are just waiting, waiting, waiting.

....Keep scrolling down for 2 new posts.....

Sick Hunter & the Indian boys

2011-11-26T16:10:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, last week Hunter got croup really bad and had to stay overnight in the hospital. I was able to get some pictures of the poor child doing his breathing treatments using the nebulizer. He fought it the first time, until we told him he could watch cartoons or whatever he wanted during the 10 minutes he has to do it, and now he comes and sits down without a problem. He has two different types of medicine that he has to breathe in, but we are almost done because he is almost back to 100%. The doctor prescribed a lot of extra medicine and its good for a long time, so if he ever gets croup again, we can treat him at home.

The boys decided it would be fun to be Indians the other day. So they took off their shirts, drew war paint on each others front and back using marker, got towels to use for "loin cloths" and ran around shooting their bow and arrows.

These two really have a great time playing together! It is so fun to watch them, and hear them!

Snow Pictures (from 11-2)

2011-11-26T15:52:00.000-08:00

We finally downloaded the camera software on our new computer, so I can now post a bunch of pictures from the past couple weeks.

These pictures are from one of the few snow storms we've had already. It was back on the 2nd of November. In this storm we only got about 6 inches.

The boys LOVE playing in the snow!

When we moved here, we didn't have any snow gear for the boys, but thanks to some consignment sales I was able to get all the things we need (coats, hats, gloves, snow pants, boots) at very reasonable prices. (you all know how I love a good deal!)

The back corner of our yard.

Ethan and Hunter enjoying the snow.

Our wood pile and the back corner of our house.

Looking out over the back/side yard towards the "forest."

Unfortunately, it warms up a few days after the storms and melts away the snow. We've missed snow so much that we wish it would stick around a little longer. Maybe once it gets a little colder, the snow won't melt so fast.

2011-11-21T16:52:00.001-08:00

Our laptop died last Tuesday. Not very good timing. But things like that never happen at a good time. Even though it has only been a week, it feels like f-o-r-e-v-e-r. We have a new computer now. We were going to wait until Black Friday to get a computer, but we weren't sure what the next few days would be like. And I wanted to make sure that we had a computer in case anything happened on the baby front.

Nope, no baby yet. Last Sunday I thought it might be the day because I had fairly consistent contractions every 10 minutes for about 5 hours during the night, but they never got any stronger and ended up fizzling out. Nothing that regular or consistent since then. I did go to the doctor on Thursday and found out that I am at a 2 1/2 almost 3, which is farther than I've been with the boys even at 40 weeks, so that was good news, I guess, but it still doesn't really mean too much. I go again tomorrow, Tuesday, so we'll see if anything has changed. I am trying to stay happy and optimistic that this baby will come on time, or maybe even early, but that may just be wishful thinking.

Other than no baby, we have had a pretty eventful and crazy week.

Tuesday night, Flynt had to take Hunter to the ER/hospital for croup. He was a little sick and hoarse-sounding during the day, and at night after he went to bed it got really bad. We tried taking him out in the cold to help clear the airway, and sitting in the steamy bathroom, but they did nothing. His lips were turning grey and he was really struggling to get oxygen, so we didn't delay any longer and Flynt took him in. I'm not sure all that they did or gave him when they got there, but he was able to get in quick and they decided to keep him overnight to monitor him. Hunter finally calmed down enough to fall asleep around 2 AM.

The next morning, after getting Ethan to school, my brother Mike came up (he and Flynt had planned on going hunting) and we drove up to the hospital so I could switch with Flynt so they could go hunting. He said we should be released by 9 or 10 AM, but we didn't end up getting out of there until 3 PM. Hunter was off the oxygen and was up moving around, with some energy, so that was good, but trying to keep him entertained in a tiny room with very little for that long was difficult. I wasn't planning on staying there all day, so I didn't bring much. By 2:00 I was starting to worry if I would get out of there in time to get Ethan from school, and if I wasn't who could I call to get him. Luckily, I had a phone number of another kindergartener's mom (not in Ethan's class, though) and called her to get Ethan for me. Poor Ethan was a little freaked out when this lady he's never seen before comes to pick him up from school. Thankfully, we got out of the hospital soon and I was able to meet them in the school parking lot.

We got some medicine for him and even a nebulizer that we can use at home! (Maybe, just maybe, that was our last trip to the hospital for croup!) Hunter is feeling a little better, almost back to full strength and energy, but still has a very annoying runny nose and a nasty cough. Ethan also got the sickness, so he has a runny nose and a nasty cough. He's got this whole week off of school, so hopefully he can fully recover before next week.

Flynt had almost all last week off, but he was hunting most of the days, either with my brother Mike on Wednesday, or his brother Bryan who flew out here for a couple of days. We had a great time with our visitors!

I was able to finish the crib skirt and quilt and I even made a matching pillow! Pictures to come soon, once I get all the picture/camera software loaded. I am happy with how it turned out, and very glad that I was able to finish it. We are very, very close to finishing the changing table, too. Now if this baby will just come, already!

Sneak Peak...

2011-11-07T16:39:00.000-08:00

...at what I'm working on right now...

Pictures of the final product(s) coming soon!

2011-10-31T20:58:00.000-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
from Spiderman and the Mummy

and the Skeletons!

I saw this idea for a costume last year here on my one of my favorite craft blogs, Make It and Love It, and was so glad that I could use it this year!

All it took was a $3 shirt from a thrift store, a pair of black comfy pants I already had, some freezer paper and some glow-in-the-dark fabric paint. The hardest part was drawing the skeleton stencils on the freezer paper and cutting them out, and then the seemingly endless waiting for the paint to dry.

I wore the shirt this morning to my Dr. appt (nothing exciting to report, unfortunately, except that I got to see an ultrasound of babies head for about 3 seconds. I'm 36 weeks, still 4 more to go :( ), and then shopping, and then trick-or-treating around the shopping center here in town and I got SO many comments! Everyone loved it.

I loved wearing it. It was the most comfy costume ever!

I should have painted on the due date. Then everyone would know that it was a girl and when I was due, which is what everyone asks, and I wouldn't have to say a word.

I also "made" Ethan's mummy costume, or put it together rather. All it took was a grey sweater and sweatpants turned inside out, a glue gun and an old white sheet ripped into strips. He was really excited to be a mummy.

Hunter was happy to be Spiderman.

For trick-or-treating around the neighborhood, I painted his face since we didn't have a mask.

We didn't make donuts this year, but we did make Halloween sugar cookies.

Between our ward Trunk-or-Treat party Saturday night, Ethan's school Halloween party today, Trick-or-Treating to the stores in town and then down our street, we have SO MUCH CANDY.

Thankfully, most of the candy freezes well. I think we'll be saving a bunch of it for Christmas, too.

My Newest Creation

2011-10-25T12:10:00.000-07:00

I feel a little more prepared for baby girl to arrive now that we finally have a carseat.

A few weeks back, I went to a huge consignment sale down in the Springs and was able to find a never-been-used travel system (carseat, base, stroller) for a really good deal. The pattern/fabric design was not my most favorite, but for such a great deal, I knew it would be just fine.

Since then, it has been sitting in the closet waiting for me to tackle one of the many projects on my To-Do list for this little girl.

I finally got the motivation to get my craft/sewing area (somewhat) put away, and so I was able to sit down and work on a few projects.

First and most importantly was Halloween costumes. I finished those up the other day. Pictures of those will be coming soon.

Then, I got out all the "girly" flannel I had and, I am very proud to say, that I was able to whip this baby out in ONE day!! Yay for getting things done. (I knew if I didn't finish it right then, it would sit for days unfinished.)

Ethan didn't have school the day I worked on this, and luckily/thankfully the boys played extremely well with each other for hours on end, making it so much easier for me. They don't get much play time together anymore now that Ethan is in school all day long.

Can you guess what I made yet?!

These car seat "tents" or "canopy's" are so popular right now, and I knew it couldn't be that hard to make one. And, it would be perfect for keeping little girl covered up and warm during the Colorado winter.

I was just planning on making it really simple but once I started looking at examples online, I had to add a few little things.

If I had a million dollars, I probably would have used different fabric, but I wanted to use what I had.

Like the big, fuzzy, felt flower that Ethan thought was a tree. Silly boy.

It has velcro straps. I would like to add little brown flowers on the top of each strap, or brown ribbon to tie a bow, but we'll see if I get there. I didn't do it mostly because I didn't have any brown material or ribbon.

The flower snaps off....

....So it can be used on the other side. Yep, this thing is fully reversible!

We are all getting anxious to open up the cover and see a cute little one inside!

Only 5 more weeks to go!

A REAL Pumpkin Patch!

2011-10-21T14:35:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, we met our friends Luke and Danielle and their cute little girl Hannah for breakfast down in Manitou Springs and then went to a REAL pumpkin patch down in the Springs. We will definitely be going back down to Manitou to really check the place out. It was such a beautiful little town with lots of neat shops and places to see. Unfortunately, we didn't get to spend too much time there. Flynt had to work the 6 PM to 6 AM shift that night and so we needed to get home in the early afternoon so he could get some sleep.

The pumpkin patch was great! SO much better than how we'd gotten our pumpkins in L.A. This was a REAL pumpkin patch, which included walking down to the field, and walking and walking amongst thousands of pumpkins, most still on the vine, and picking out the perfect pumpkin. Not driving up to the corner of 9th and Western and picking from just a handful of pumpkins and then paying an arm and a leg for one. Or driving down to Home Depot and picking a pumpkin out of a bin. This was MUCH better!

Ethan and Hunter had a great time picking out the perfect pumpkin! They both chose smaller ones, but that was ok because Flynt and I ended up carrying them back up the hill to pay for them, and I wouldn't have been much help if they had picked any bigger or heavier ones. (I mean I was already carrying a big, heavy one in my belly, for heaven's sake!)

Pumpkin patch with snow-capped Pikes Peak in the distance.

So beautiful!!

(This is just a nice, big pile o' pumpkins. Not all the ones we got.)

We have yet to carve ours.

Just a Little Taste..

2011-10-18T12:28:00.000-07:00

Let me give you just a little taste of the what surrounds us...

Just a quick 30 minute drive brings us to a beautiful fishing/camping canyon.

We have been several times already, mostly so Flynt could fish. He REALLY missed fishing in California.

Ethan wanted to fish, too. He found a stick, some old fishing line and was good to go after I tied the line to the stick.

This is our neighbors house directly across the street. No, we are not admiring the house, although it is nice and shaded with all those trees, but we are looking at our frequent visitors, the deer. Do you see them? We see two "groups" every couple of days either in the front, down the street, or in the back "forest" area between our house and the school. This group is the one with two does and three babies, triplets we think. The other "group" consists of 4-5 smaller bucks.

We all enjoy looking for them and watching them.

The other day Hunter and I went and checked out the library. That building in itself is beautiful and amazing. I think I'll take my camera next time and ask if I can take pictures. It is that awesome.

Anyway, while walking upstairs and looking through the huge glass window that face Pikes Peak, I was blown away by the beauty of this place. Especially right now with the snow on the peak and the yellow leaves dotting the mountain side.

Just down the road from our place is this park, and I had to stop and take a picture.

Yes, that is snow on the ground. There are little spots here and there still left from our awesome winter storm the other weekend. At our house, we had a foot of snow! It was great! Although we quickly found out that we desperately need to get a few winter-gear items for the boys. We are so excited to experience winter and snow again!

I know, you are probably thinking we are crazy, but we really missed it.

My Kindergartener

2011-10-10T13:19:00.000-07:00

I still have a hard time believing that Ethan is old enough to be in school. But at the same time, he is so stinkin' smart that sometimes its hard to believe he is only in Kindergarten. He is growing up WAY too fast.

There have been so many changes in his little life recently, but he has been a trooper and has handled it all pretty well. Sometimes I seriously question staying in the military knowing that we will always be moving every 3-4 years. It sounded fun and adventurous when the kids were little, but now that they are getting to be school-age, it brings about some serious issues. I know there are many military families who have done it and are doing it, but there comes a time when you really have to look at the situation and determine if it is right for YOUR family. We will just have to see how things go for us.

Moving on, as I mentioned in the last post, we got moved in to our new house on Friday, Sept. 2. On Tuesday, we went to the elementary school and registered Ethan for Kindergarten and Wednesday was his first day of school!

School starts at 7:40AM. Yep, you read that right. In order to be awake, have time to eat breakfast, get ready and walk to school our mornings start around 6:30AM. (I am constantly amazed at the sacrifices we make for our kids. If you know anything about me or Flynt or Ethan, you know that NONE of us like to get up early).

Ethan requested pancakes for his breakfast for the first day of school.

Looking at this picture now, I am surprised at how wide-awake and happy he looks! He was very excited to be big enough to go to school.

Schools here in Colorado have all-day Kindergartens, at least the schools up here, so not only was I sending my very first child out into the real world (kindergarten) for a couple hours, but I had to say goodbye to him for the whole day! Because the day starts so early, he does get out earlier-at 2:35, but still, that is a LONG day for these little kids!

And for some reason, I have yet to have a chat with the principal about this, but the Kindergarteners don't get to eat lunch until 12:40!! They do have 2 snack times before lunch, though, so its not like they are starving the kids. So along with packing a lunch (Ethan had school lunch the first day and I think it was kind of scary for him being that it was ALL totally new and foreign, he now just likes me to pack him a lunch), I have to pack him an additional 2 snacks.

Flynt didn't have to work on Ethan's first day of school, so we all got up and ate breakfast together and then I walked him over to the school. He was really excited but I could tell he was nervous once we got closer and especially when it was time to head inside with his class and for me to leave. He started crying a little, but I just had to keep reminding him how much fun he would have. I hugged him, said I loved him and turned around to walk back home. I was and still am VERY proud of him and how brave he was starting Kindergarten at a brand new school in a brand new town. I thought I was doing great, too because I didn't shed a tear the whole day. The next 5 days were a totally different story, but I'll get to that.

While Ethan was at school, we went down to the Springs (Colorado Springs) to take the Jeep into a shop so it could be fixed (remember the little accident in our driveway from the last post?) and to get a rental car to use while it was in the shop. That pretty much took the whole day. I thought about Ethan all day and wondered what he was doing, how he was doing, etc. Flynt had to tell me to stop thinking and worrying about it. We headed back home and before we knew it, it was time to go pick Ethan up. Flynt walked over and got him and I was so anxious to see how his day went. When I could finally see them out the front window, I waved and he gave me thumbs up! YAY! He had a good day! Later he told me he only cried a little a couple times during the day. I thought he would take a nap when he got home, but he didn't. He was pretty ornery and irritable, though.

The next few days were rough on all of us. Flynt had to go back to L.A. and left early Thursday morning even before the rest of us got up. So it was just me trying to get the boys up and ready for school Thursday, Friday and Monday. I missed Flynt terribly, and so did the boys so we were all just not in good moods. There we were in a new house we just moved into-still not very settled in with boxes everywhere, a new town, Ethan's going to a new school, Flynt is now gone for the next 5 days and we don't know anyone. NOT FUN. And then throw in a 7-month, VERY emotional pregnant me in all that mess. Because Ethan is so shy, he wasn't really eating his snacks or lunches, wasn't playing at recess, and was sad and would cry a few times during the day, he told me. That was so hard to hear. It hurt to know that he was so scared/nervous/anxious/shy and that he wasn't enjoying it as much as I knew he could. Its hard enough sending your child to all day kindergarten, but to do it in a brand new place was really hard on all of us. I seriously questioned and doubted EVERYTHING about me and my parenting. Did I do too much, did I do too little, should I have done this, or that, etc. etc. I worried about all the things that we couldn't do anything about like the timing of our move. I worried whether we should wait until next year to put him in school because he is still only 5. I'm sure Flynt thought I had gone absolutely nuts when he talked to me on the phone. It was Who are you and what have you done to my wife? bad. It was just a BAD few days for us. The boys even had a hard time going to primary and nursery at church, which is usually not a problem. I wanted and needed to talk to someone so badly, but I just physically and emotionally couldn't. I could barely talk to Flynt on the phone for a few seconds before I was bawling.

Flynt came back on Monday night, much to our relief and needless to say, I am SO glad that is over.

Ethan is doing AWESOME in school now and just absolutely LOVES it!!! He has friends that he plays with at recess and sits by at lunch. I've been able to come and volunteer in his class twice now, and that is a lot of fun, although it really makes me miss teaching. And last week, Hunter and I surprised him and came and ate school lunch with him.

Hunter loves all the attention he gets while Ethan isn't home, but he misses him a lot. He'll ask at least once a day if its time to go get Ethan yet or not. Ethan misses Hunter too, and when he gets home they go play, play, play. It is fun to watch them get along so well.

Our new place!

2011-10-08T17:59:00.000-07:00

I have been MIA from blogging for awhile. Life got really busy once Ethan started school, and there have just been too many other things to do. But, I am back and ready to update you on all the exciting things in our lives right now.
(I also figured out a trick to uploading pictures A LOT faster. I was very unmotivated to post pictures because it took hours and hours. Literally. Now, it takes a few seconds. Hallelujah!!!!)

Our adventures in Utah unfortunately had to come to an end because our next journey/adventure was waiting to begin. We left for Colorado in the early morning hours of September 1. Flynt and the boys were in the white car (we bought my parents Nissan Altima) and I was following in the Jeep, which was packed full.

We stopped several, ok many times to gas up and so I could stretch and go to the bathroom. I wouldn't recommend a long car ride when 7 months pregnant. I got VERY uncomfortable, VERY quickly.

While driving, Flynt called the property managers to let them know we were on our way and find out when we could pick up the keys to the house.

Everything had gone so smoothly. Here is where the hang-ups and trouble and stress and "not-going-so-smoothly" starts.

Long story short, there was a miscommunication/misunderstanding between us and the property managers of when we were going to and when we would be able to move in. They didn't want to let us in until the 8th of September, a whole week. There was no way in H*@% we weren't going to move in until the 8th. There were too many things riding on us getting in as soon as we could. Our plans had to change quite a bit after that.

Flynt was able to solve the problem, but we did have to spend one night in a hotel and when we arrived to start unloading a few things for a somewhat comfortable night sleep at 6:45PM on the 2nd (after a CRAZY day of trying to get stuff in order to move in-rent a truck, get the keys, pay the deposit, etc. while dealing with two energetic boys .....well, I'll just leave it that, you get the idea) the guy who was cleaning the carpet was just leaving. That was supposed to be done in the morning so it would be dry when we moved in. Wet carpet and moving in aren't supposed to go together. It was late and we were exhausted, so we just hauled our mattresses onto the kitchen tile, grabbed some blankets and crashed for the night. We opened most of the windows earlier to help dry the carpet out faster. We got our first taste of the colder mountain air that night because we left most of the windows open. Nice.

The next day, we got up and got to work. Flynt's brother Neil, and family came out from Utah to help us move the rest of our stuff from the storage unit up to the house. They were such a great help loading and unloading boxes, unpacking boxes and putting things away, and their kids kept our kids entertained and out of our way. We really appreciate all that they did for us.

Ok, enough talking, lets get to the pictures.

Here is a picture of our new place!!

This is the path to Ethan's school. It is on the other side of our neighbors house that you see in the photo above. That is the "forest" that is between the school and our house. So incredibly beautiful!! And when the wind blows through the pine trees..... absolutely heavenly! It is definitely a far cry from San Pedro.

Here is Ethan giving the thumbs up for his school and playground.

The next couple of days we unloaded and unpacked tons of boxes and got things somewhat put away in the house. Sunday we went to our new church/ward. It seems like a good one! It was also Hunter's birthday on Sunday, but with all the moving-in stuff, we decided to post-pone celebrating until Monday, which was Labor Day.

On Monday, we wanted to go check out the town, but before we even got out of the driveway, there was a little accident. Neil backed into our Jeep, causing a little bit of damage to the left rear bumper and wheel well. Fortunately, it was still drivable. We'll deal with that later. We wanted to see the town and have a little fun before Neil and his family had to leave. Unfortunately because it was a holiday, almost all of the stores were closed. We did get a HUGE donut at The Donut Mill and we went to the Dinosaur Resource Center which is not very far from our house.

We all agreed that it felt a mountain resort town, like Park City or Jackson Hole.

Case (almost 4 in the picture), Ethan (5) and Hunter (3) all are about the same height! They had so much fun running around and playing in our big yard. (I know, I really need to take more pictures of our yard, and especially the awesome tree fort)

And that will have to do for now.
Up next, (I promise) : Ethan and Kindergarten!!

Vacation Part 2

2011-09-11T19:19:00.000-07:00

Of course we couldn't spend time in Utah without going up to Logan. I wanted to walk around the campus (Utah State University, our alma mater), but school was in session so it was pretty busy. We did go up the canyon to check out the river and fishing conditions, though. Lucky for us, Flynt didn't bring his fishing gear, or else we would have been up there forever.

The boys wanted to be right by their dad, but that required walking in the river. Ethan made it successfully.....

...Hunter, however did not. The poor guy got soaked all the way up to his armpits in the freezing cold water. But of course he is tough, so he didn't cry.

We finally remembered to bring our free ice cream tokens from years and years ago when I got them from working at the University Inn.
MMMMMmmmm, good stuff!

And the rest of our time, we just spent relaxing and having fun with family.
Here is Hunter and his cute cousin, Clara, who is just 2 months younger than him.

I supervised the boys work washing the Jeep. Ethan and Hunter were very helpful.

Getting on the horses at Grandma and Grandpa Bailey's is always fun! Too bad it was too hot to do much else.

I love that Ethan and Hunter are such good buddies. I think I want to get a bigger print of this picture and frame it.

And for my personal family memories journal/book, (especially since I haven't been doing good at taking weekly pictures of my growing belly) here is prego me at 25 weeks, back in the middle of August.
My wonderful assistant, Ethan, took this picture, by the way.

Up next:

our moving-in fiasco
introduction to our new home
and Ethan in Kindergarten

The rest of our journey and our Utah vacation Part 1

2011-09-10T20:20:00.000-07:00

(We are still working on getting internet here at our new place, so I haven't been able to catch up as quickly as I would like to. There is SO much, so just be patient, we will be up to date soon.)

After we pulled out of San Pedro, we headed to St. George to stay the night. Then, we got up and drove to Cove Fort where we met my sister-in-law who was driving the boys up to stay with family while we went house-hunting in Colorado. We loaded the boys and their stuff into her car and they went north and we continued east. Flynt and I drove to Grand Junction and stayed the night there, then got up early and drove the rest of the way to Colorado Springs. That is the longest I have ever driven, and hopefully ever will drive, especially being 6 months pregnant! It was very...tiring...to say the least. (Flynt drove the Penske and I followed behind in the Jeep) We were able to unload all of our stuff into a storage unit, with the help of a friend, relatively quickly.
We stayed at our friends house at the Air Force Academy while we were house hunting. (Thank you so much again, Luke and Danielle!)
Luckily, we had been looking online for the last month, so we had a good list of houses to check out. The next day after church, we drove to a few of the houses on our list, and came away very disappointed and discouraged. They would NOT do. That night we checked online again, and a new house, in the area we really wanted to be came up for rent, and would be available exactly when we wanted to move in. We called and got an appt. to see it the next day, along with a few others in the area that we'd been keeping our eyes on.
Well, Monday came and we went to these appointments. The first house was Flynt's favorite, and the second one, the one that just came available, was my favorite. We were very happy and excited with both options, but after lunch and a long discussion on the pros and cons of each, we decided on the second one. That afternoon, we applied and the next morning were approved to rent it! Wahoo!!! It worked out so perfectly. Now we could relax a little and get back to our kids, who we missed terribly.

They, however probably didn't even notice we were gone because they were having such a great time with grandma and grandpa, aunts and uncles and cousins.

We arrived on Wednesday just in time to see the last few events of the day at the fair. We missed Ethan riding a horse again and getting a participant ribbon and trophy by less than an hour, but thankfully we got to see pictures. Flynt even participated in a driving (driving horses) event with his "inappropriate attire"-shorts and flip-flops.

For the rest of the week, we just relaxed and had fun with family, especially with my mom and dad before they left for their LDS mission to Omaha, Nebraska.

Me and Erika, one of soon-to-be-only-three girls on my side of the family. I wonder if Ethan and Hunter's sister will look like her. She looks like she could be mine, doesn't she?

Sunday night, after my parents "farewell," there was an awesome thunder/lightning storm, and we were able to get some great photos.

Cooling off in the pool with cousins.
Jonah, Carter, Ethan, Hunter and Bryson.

Just a few seconds later, or before, I can't remember, Hunter had his feet stretched out, up on the edge and his arms folded behind his head, totally chillin.

We can't forget the fun up in the valley...

Pea picking in Grandma's garden with cousins Clara and Bridger.

And of course, the two sets of PUPPIES!!!

That is all I can do for now. I need to go to bed so I can get up and get my kids up for the 7:40 AM school start time. (Don't even get me started on this).

Stay tuned for the rest of our Utah vacation, hopefully pictures of our new place, Hunter's 3rd Birthday and my Kindergartener, Ethan.
Like I said, I have a LOT to catch up on.

Goodbye CA

2011-08-27T12:46:00.000-07:00

Its almost been a whole month, and so I have a TON to catch up on.

Here are just a few of the highlights before we left California....

Because of NAVY week, there was an air craft carrier, plus a few other Navy ships in the harbor.

I took a break from packing/cleaning and braved Disneyland with the boys, by myself. (Flynt had to work). We had a great time despite the long lines and HOT weather, but the next day, all three of us were pretty much useless. I think we all had a little heat exhaustion.

We got the big Penske truck on Wednesday, August 3rd and packed most everything up that night, then finished Thursday morning.

And then after packing up the last few things and cleaning like crazy, we checked out of our place and were on the road by 4.

So long San Pedro, so long California. You treated us quite well, and we will miss you just a little bit.

So long for now...

2011-07-31T16:43:00.000-07:00

Our internet is being canceled tomorrow, so this is my last post until... who knows, sometime is August, but maybe not even until September.

Well, we are 95% all packed up. Just a few last minute things, and then cleaning, checking out on Thursday and then we'll be on our way. We are driving to Utah to drop the boys off with family, and then Flynt and I are heading to Colorado to find a place to live, then we will come back to Utah for some nice, long vacation time with friends and family. And then all 4 1/2 of us will head out to our new home for the next 4 years, Colorado Springs.

And to add just one more thing to our already crazy life, Hunter decides that he wants to be potty trained. I was planning on waiting until things settled a little, but he is ready and very willing, so I have to oblige. "Oh boy, here we go" is all I can say. He is doing really well, though, so that is really good and encouraging, and helps us keep the hope that we can do this in the midst of traveling, moving and all that goes along with that, as well as being on vacation, and he will be potty trained quickly. We are keeping our fingers crossed.

We are really excited, but really sad at the same time. We have met some GREAT people here, and it is really hard to leave them. :(
We love you! Please stay in touch!

Misc. Pictures

2011-07-22T13:22:00.000-07:00

We finally got our first tomato out of our garden, and its a monster! I was worried that the tomatoes wouldn't be ripe yet, and we would have to dig up the plants when we moved, but I think we may be ok. There are 2 more that are almost ready, and 7 or 8 that hopefully will be red before its bye-bye time.

I just wish it was as round as it was long.
Oh well, it still tasted delicious!

We live in "box land" now. Packed boxes and flat, waiting-to-be-filled boxes. Kind of messy, but the boys love playing with the unfilled ones, and can't wait till we move and can unpack everything and then make rockets and castles and fun things like that.

No matter how many times I stack them up in a nice pile, it only takes a few minutes of attention from the boys before they are strewn all over again. Oh well, it keeps them occupied, right?!

Lately, Ethan has been writing words, phrases, attempting sentences and stories. All I have to give this kid is a pen or pencil and some paper, and he is happy for a long time.
Here is something he wrote all on his own. Usually he asks me questions along the way, but he didn't ask for help once and just came and showed his paper to me.

(Cake, Captain America,
My Captain America cake,
Hunter
Hunters Spider-Man cake,
Hunters Spider-Man cake)

*Couponing Note*
With some of the back to school sales starting, I am well stocked for Ethan's writing adventures because we now have over 100 pens, and I only paid $4.87 for all of them!

Ethan made up a story about "mummy-fighters" and the other day he brought me the roll of toilet paper and told me to make him and Hunter into "mummy-fighters."

Last weekend was our church's Father's and Sons campout. Ethan was extremely excited! Flynt was only going to take Ethan, but once he saw how excited Hunter was when he started getting the tent and sleeping bags out and put in the Jeep, he knew he couldn't leave without taking both of them.

They had a great time, and Ethan still talks about it at least once a day.

I also enjoyed it and made the most of the quiet house by packing up the guest room/craft room (probably the most challenging room to pack up because of all the "stuff").

Deals and Steals

2011-07-14T14:26:00.001-07:00

Finding good deals and steals through couponing is such a thrill!! I am giddy when I get home and can't wait to share what I found. The only thing I can compare it to is the feelings I have just after riding a really intense roller coaster ride. The adrenaline is pumping, its super exciting, intense, a little scary but totally worth it, and the feeling that I need to do it again, and again.

There are some great deals at CVS and Target, and I couldn't wait to get in on some of them. Here are some of me latest deals and steals from my shopping trip last night:

CVS
-Bayer medicine reg. $4.49, but with raincheck was $3.00. Used $2 off coupon making it $1.00!
-CVS brand 10 pk batteries FREE with 8 pk Duracell batteries, reg. $8.99 but with $1 off coupon, making both pks. of batteries only $7.99!
-150 caplet bottle of CVS pain reliever normally $10.49, but with $3 off coupon printed in store from the coupon center, it was only $6.49!
-Banana Boat sunblock on sale from $10.99 to $6.99. Used $1 off coupon making it only $5.99.
-Balance bar was $1.69, getting $1.69 ExtraBucks back, so basically it was FREE!

Target
What did I get? Better yet, what did I pay?

-$12 for both the Venus razor and Gillette razor, normally $8 and $10, and got a free $5 gift card (used $4 off and $2 off coupons)
-$28 for 2 boxes of Luvs diapers, normally $16 each, and got a free $5 gift card (used 2 $2 off Target coupons)
-$2.99 for both Old Spice Body wash(includes free travel size deodorant) AND Old Spice deodorant(includes free full-size deodorant), normally $3.99 each (used $1 off coupon and Buy 1 Get 1 Free coupon)
-$3.38 for 2 Dove Men Care Face and Body Washes (both include free travel size), normally $3.99 but on clearance for $3.38 (used Buy 1 Get 1 Free coupon)
-$2.76 for 2 Dove Men Care Deodorants(each include free travel size) normally $3.99 each, on clearance for $3.38 (used $2 off Target coupon and $2 off manuf. coupon)
-$1.58 for 2 4-pks Dove Men Care Bar Soap(each include travel size deodorant) $4.79 on clearance (used 2 $4 off coupons)
-$5.89 for Nivea Goodbye Cellulite Lotion, normally $9.89 (used $3 off Target coupon and $1 off manuf. coupon)
-$3.19 for Nivea Hydration Lotion, normally $5.19 (used $1 off Target coupon and $1 off manuf. coupon)
-$2.33 for 2 packs of Sour Patch candy, normally $2.04 each (used $.75 off Target coupon and $1 off 2 manuf. coupon)
-$.99 each for 2 Colgate Max toothpastes, normally $2.74 (used 2 $1 off Target coupons and 2 $.75 off manuf. coupons)
-$.52 each for 3 Papermate pen 2 pks, normally $1.52 (used 3 $1 off Target coupons)
-$.98 for 2 Bic pen 10-pks, normally $.99 each (used $1 off 2 Target coupon)
-AND MY FAVORITE, 3 totally, absolutely FREE Sharpie marker 2 pks., on sale for $1 this week (used 3 $1 off Target coupons)

These 11 items were the only ones that I didn't use coupons for, but none of them were over $1!

-2 4-pks of Fruit Roll-ups, $1 each
-4 pair Circo infant socks, $1 each
-4 notebooks, $.45 each
-1 composition notebook, $.65

Its an awesome feeling to see my total savings be close to or even better, more than what I actually spent in a transaction!!!

My Birthday and the 4th of July

2011-07-13T13:36:00.000-07:00

For the 4th of July weekend, my brother Scott and his wife Jenny came down to visit. our last visitors before we move, sad :(

Unfortunately, I didn't take too many pictures, but we had a blast playing games, talking and laughing, and eating some really good food made by the "Grillmaster!"

We dined on grilled pizzas, babyback ribs, tons of grilled veggies, and steak. It was AWESOME!!

I have always enjoyed having my birthday(the 3rd) the day before a big holiday, mostly because I can always count on fireworks either the day of, or the day after my birthday! Since my birthday fell on Sunday this year, we did most of the celebrating on Saturday and Monday, and with family in town, it was so much fun!

Saturday night, we went out to eat at my favorite restaurant, La Creperie, and had delicious frozen yogurt at my favorite dessert place, Yogurtland. Oh yeah, and I had to get 2 cupcakes for later from my other favorite dessert place, Frosted Cupcakery.

And Flynt gave me these gifts on Sunday.....

Oooooh Yeah, baby!!! THE big 36" by 24" rotary mat! Bring on the quilting/sewing projects now!!
I'm really sad I can't use it until after we move, though. :(

And these super-cute clothes for the little one...

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these tiny ballerina-looking shoes!!!

On Monday, the 4th, we enjoyed the hot weather by playing at Hermosa Beach for most of the day. It was very crowded, but we still had a great time. Being pregnant, I was able to get in the water, get past the breaking waves and swim around out in the ocean! It was very refreshing, but it totally wore me out.

Later in the evening, we found a perfect spot on the grass here on base to enjoy the fireworks down at the Cabrillo marina/bay. It was the perfect ending to an awesome birthday and holiday weekend.

Ethan's Birthday!

2011-07-11T14:06:00.001-07:00

It's hard for me to believe that our Ethan turned 5 yesterday!
On Saturday, we had an impromptu birthday party with a few of his friends.
The kids played in a bounce house that we rented from Outdoor Rec., had a picnic lunch out on the grass, had cake and ice cream and opened presents. It was a perfectly fun, no-stress way to do it. It was a lot of fun!

Ethan wanted a Captain America cake. I made a 2-layer, chocolate cake with red, white and blue frosting. The top of the cake looks like Captain America's shield, with an action figure to top it off.
Despite the weird face Ethan is pulling, he loved it!

He was really excited about his blue Razor scooter he got from us, and two Ninja Lego sets he got from his friends.

After all the fun, we all went inside for naps. Once we woke up and came downstairs, we found this lizard in our kitchen. He wanted to wish Ethan a Happy Birthday, too!

You can't tell from the pictures, but he is the biggest "wild" lizard we have seen around here, and his tail was really long.
We shooed him outside, and now I am very cautious of where I step, not only outside but inside too!

For his birthday dinner, we took Ethan to Chuck E. Cheese! We all had a great time!

Then on Sunday, his "real" birthday, he got some more presents from us.

An awesome bow-and-arrow set..

...And a Superman lunch tin.
(We got Flynt a larger one at our favorite candy store recently, and Ethan had been carrying it around claiming it was his.)
Now he has his very own!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ETHAN!!!

2011-07-11T13:34:00.000-07:00

Just recently, Hunter taught himself how to ride Ethan's bike in a very short amount of time. He would watch Ethan ride and just yearned to be out there riding too, so whenever Ethan wasn't riding, Hunter climbed on and made us push him around on the sidewalk. It took once or twice of doing that for him to figure out what to do with his feet and how to make the pedals go. Then, he would spend HOURS (I'm not joking) out there figuring it out. Within a day or two of that, he got it! Now he zips around the courtyard area like a pro.

Of course, he did have quite a few spills, but he is one determined and tough kid. I watched him crash several times, and pretty hard too. Once he went over the handlebars and landed face down in the grass, going downhill in the grass. He didn't make a single noise, but got right back up and put the bike back upright, got on it and he was off again.

Now he just needs to figure out how to use the brakes!!

We have two spots in our back patio area for strawberries. The first is just one plant, over by the gate, and the second, which is several plants, is in a flower pot. They both have taken awhile to produce anything, and once the first one did, the nasty bugs/slugs would get to them before we could pick them, ruining the nice, big strawberries. It was so sad and frustrating.

The second spot just recently had a growth spurt and started producing a bunch of little strawberries. However, they are weird shaped, deformed looking things but they sure taste really good.

Here are the boys showing off our "successful" strawberry growing!

Busy Playing

2011-06-30T14:01:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted any pictures of the boys in awhile, so I thought it was about time.
Here are a few from the past month or so of them busy playing outside and inside. They really have become the best of friends and I love to hear them play together. Ethan is in the "pretend" stage and Hunter happily goes along with whatever Ethan says, and if he doesn't want to play that, he'll go find something else to do, but that is very rare.
Today, they were pretending to be lions and they'd switch off being the mommy lion, the daddy lion and the baby lion. It was hilarious!

This is a common hang out spot outside. Ethan can climb up there by himself, and once I put Hunter up there, he is good for at least 15 minutes, then he calls to me to come get him down.

The boys had their first trip to the dentist a while back, and in preparation, I talked to them about it for days before (In truth, I was probably more nervous for them than they were!). It turned out to be a great success. Ethan did AWESOME, and Hunter did pretty well, although he did have to sit on my lap because he was afraid of the dentist chair.
Well, guess what they played for days and days after that?
Yep, dentist and patient.

Hunter sat so still for such a long time while Dr. Ethan checked out his teeth, cleaned them, and put fluoride on them. I couldn't believe it!

And then it was Ethan's turn to be the patient.
It was pretty dang cute!!!

Bring it on!

2011-06-23T13:36:00.000-07:00

Bring on the pinks and purples, ribbons and curls....

because

Its a GIRL!!!

2011-06-22T14:35:00.000-07:00

I never was good at taking belly pictures when I was pregnant with Ethan or Hunter, and I told myself I would do better this time. I'm doing my best, but am still behind.
Here are the ones that I did take, with Ethan's help.
(just disregard how awful I look. these are not the best pictures of me at all. you should be focusing on my growing belly, not my face, anyway)

10 weeks

14 weeks

15 weeks

And currently I am at 17 weeks, but no pictures yet.
Maybe I'll remember tonight or tomorrow.

Oh, and I had an ultrasound on Monday...........
(stay tuned!)

My Stock Pile is Growing!

2011-06-21T15:01:00.000-07:00

I have caught the couponing bug AND the food storage/72-hour kit/emergency preparedness bug!

Its great because I/we have never been really good or diligent on getting ourselves ready in case of an emergency, but this couponing stuff has really got me into it. I think about coupons and the deals several times a day and usually dream about them at night.

My main purpose in going to the store once a week, sometimes more, in order to get the hot deals that week is to build our food storage/72-hour/emergency stock pile. It has really opened my eyes to the things that would be really nice to have in an emergency and probably wouldn't be able to get unless they are already on hand. Like toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, razors, shampoo, medicine, etc.

We usually have just enough to get by until the next shopping trip, let alone extra for our emergency kits. Plus, my shopping trips are usually on a tight budget and I can't spend more on getting emergency items. But with couponing, I can get those things for incredibly low prices, sometimes free or for pennies. Just a few things here and there and pretty soon, our stock pile is growing!!

In the few short weeks I've been at this, we now have 4-5 toothbrushes, 4-5 tubes of toothpaste, extra floss, plenty of mouthwash, 2 nice razors with replacement cartridges, pain medicine, 2 types of allergy medicine, body wash, deodorant, 2 different kinds of shampoo and conditioner, some chocolate and high protein snacks.

Just like in the grocery store, items go on sale at different times of the year, (like ketchup, mustard, hot dogs always go on sale around Memorial Day weekend and during the summer). Its the same with drugstore/personal care items. Right now, it seems to be toothbrushes, toothpaste, and shaving items. Buying these emergency items when they are on sale has helped me build our stock pile slowly over time, making it less stressful. Big, daunting tasks are always easier when they are broken down into smaller, manageable parts.

Enough talk, here are pictures of the last two weeks of my couponing:

Total Retail Value: $82.58
Total out-of-pocket Paid: $38.36
% Saved: 53.55%

Total Retail Value: $54.79
Total Out-of-pocket Paid: $26.53
Total % Saved: 51.58%

(Not super great, but I am still very new at this.)

Extreme Couponing

2011-06-08T13:42:00.000-07:00

Flynt and I have been watching a show called "Extreme Couponing" on TLC. Its amazing what these people can bring their grocery bills down to after using stacks and stacks of coupons. Like from $1200 down to less than $10!
Some of their stockpiles are crazy! Not just the pure size of them, but where they keep it all, like using kids closets and space under beds. For the most part, its a little ridiculous having 100 bottles of laundry detergent, or 100 2-liter sodas. Seriously, when are you ever going to use all that up? However, there was one couple that gave 98% of what they got from these extreme couponing shopping trips to local charities and food banks. Or another lady who only bought useful products and planned her monthly food menu off of the deals. I can appreciate that.

I have always been a coupon-clipper, but not to that extent.

Anyhoo, Flynt and I have been trying to figure out how to do this. It is nearly impossible to get that good of savings at the grocery stores here in Southern California because of the differences in coupon policies compared to those in other states. Almost all the grocery stores don't double coupons, and the only one that does only doubles coupons up to $1. (So no doubling a $5 off coupon, like some of the extreme couponers were doing.) And, the 9.75% tax rate is killer. Lucky for us, the military commissary already saves us around 40% a year on groceries before any coupons. Yesterday, I went grocery shopping at the commissary and used 30 coupons and was able to save $28.40. Not too bad.

However, we can get some pretty good deals on health/beauty products at drugstores like Walgreen's, Rite Aid and CVS using their Register Rewards, +Up program and ExtraBucks.

In fact, just today I went to CVS and purchased $48.56 worth of products(this is including their sale prices for the week, normal retail value of $67.30) for a whopping..........

wait for it..........

wait for it............
$14.55

The key is to combine weekly sale items with coupons and ExtraBucks, and to break up your purchase into several transactions to make the most of the ExtraBucks that you will earn.
Here's how I did it-

Transaction #1

Crest Pro-Health Rinse-buy 1 get $2.50 ExtraBucks
on sale for $4.50
I used a $2 off coupon
total out of pocket=$2.94 and I earned $2.50 to use on next purchase
(I was supposed to buy two $.99 Excedrin medicines as well, which would have given me $1.98 more ExtraBucks. I did get a raincheck, so when they are in stock again, I can still get them for the sale price and the ExtraBucks too)

Transaction #2

1. Crest Pro-Health Rinse-buy 1 get $2.50 ExtraBucks(EB)
on sale for $4.50
I used a $1 off coupon
2. Oral-B Pulsar toothbrush-buy 1 get $3 EB
on sale for $6
I used a $3 off coupon
And I used the $2.50 EB from Transaction #1
making my total out of pocket: $5.02
(normally would have been $10.50 plus tax)

Transaction #3

1. Oral-B Pulsar toothbrush-buy 1 get $3 EB
on sale for $6
I used a $2 off coupon
2. Ban Invisible Solid deoderant- buy 1 get $2 EB
on sale for $2.99
I used a $.75 off coupon
And I used $2.50 EB from the rinse and #3 EB from the toothbrush
making my total out of pocket: $1.62

(normally would have been $8.99 plus tax)

Transaction #4

1. John Frieda Full-Repair Shampoo-spend $10 get $3 EB
on sale for $5
2. John Frieda Full-Repair Conditioner
on sale for $5
I used a $5 off coupon and a $2 off coupon
3. Colgate 360 deg. surround toothbrush-buy 1 get $2 EB
on sale for $2.79
I used a $.75 off coupon
4. Colgate Maxfresh toothpaste-buy 1 get $2 EB
on sale for $2.79
I used a $.75 off coupon
Plus the $3 EB from toothbrush and $2 EB from deoderant from transaction #3
making my total out of pocket: $3.60
(normally would have been $15.58 plus tax)

And finally, Transaction #5

1. Huggies Pull-Ups, buy 1 get $2 EB
on sale for $8.99
I used a $1.50 off coupon
Plus the $3 EB from the shampoo and conditioner and the $4 EB from the toothpaste and toothbrush in transaction #4
making my total out of pocket: $1.37
(normally would have been $8.99 plus tax)
plus I have the $2 ExtraBucks to use on my next purchase!

I know a few of you already do this, so if you have any suggestions, pointers, etc. PLEASE share your knowledge with me!

Projects

2011-05-18T09:15:00.000-07:00

I was out of the "create" mood for awhile, but thankfully it came back and I was able to finish up a few projects. Most of them being school/teaching related.

1. The first one is from a teaching book I have. I started making it a long time ago, but needed Popsicle sticks. I rounded some up and finished these apples....

You count the dots on the "candy apples" and match them to the correct holder. One side of the cupcake liner has the same amount of dots and the word number and the other side has the numeral.

2. I save the metal lids from frozen juice cans, knowing I could use them for something. And I found something...magnetic sight words for the fridge.
Ethan can read them all now and pick them out of books.

3. I had this almost-done file folder game hidden away in my old school stuff and recently found it. It was time to finish it once and for all.
After some contact paper and velcro, it now is among my arsenal for keeping the boys entertained, occupied and quiet during church.

4. We hadn't painted in a while, so I go the kids crayola, washable paints out and we did some painting with q-tips.

5. Before we put away our plastic Easter eggs, we made an alphabet matching game with the upper and lower case letters. Hunter could even do a few with a little help.

6. And this last one won't be "done" for another 6 months or so......

....sometime near the end of November (but knowing how late I go, most likely early December).

Legoland

2011-05-13T13:06:00.001-07:00

A few Saturday's ago, we went down to Legoland!
Here are some of the highlights:

There were quite a few rides for the little ones! Ethan got to go all by himself on this one. He enjoyed it, but it wasn't like riding a real horse.

Flynt and Ethan going down the big slide.

A must-try at the park are these Granny Apple Fries. They are fry-shaped pieces of granny apples, fried (I think), and covered in cinnamon and sugar, served with vanilla whipped cream. Not very healthy, and a little expensive (what isn't inside a park) but definitely worth a try. Little hands had already grabbed some from off the top, or else you would have been able to see the "fries" better.

In Miniland, their current set-up is a couple of scenes from the Star Wars movies. Very impressive!
These were two of my favorites:

And the boys favorites were these life-size models of three of the characters:
(the last one is at the very bottom)

There was a safari ride that took you through a "jungle" of animals made of legos, including giraffes, flamingos, hippos, lions, monkeys and many other animals. My favorite was the panda bears.

Also in Miniland, they had several big cities (Washington D.C., Las Vegas, New York, New Orleans, etc.) set up that included several key buildings/monuments/places as well as vehicles like fire trucks, police cars, regular cars, boats, ferries, etc and people!

We really liked the farm. This is one of the barns, with moving animals inside and if you pushed a button next to the description of the display, the cows would moo, the ducks would quack, and the sheep would baa! It was so cool!

Just to show you the size of some of these Lego creations, here is Flynt squatting down behind/inside one...

Ethan was excited to go on these helicopters! Hunter and I are in one too, taking the picture.

This one was Ethan's favorite of the whole day.

You get in a fire truck or police truck, and you use the pump to make it move across to the "town" where you then jump out, turn on the fire hydrant and aim your hoses at the fire in the window. Once the fire is"out" or the window thing drops, you get back in your fire truck and race back to the finish line.

Ethan and Hunter are sitting down, so you can't see them.

But here they are fighting the fire...

Another cool thing, there was a Volvo made out of Lego's! The frame was real, and Volvo sent the blueprints of the real thing to the Lego people, and they built the thing to exact specifications as the real car (the inside is hollow, however). And it only took them a few months!

Oh, here is Darth Vader.

And I thought this was pretty clever. A mom pushing one of the park strollers with a kid inside, holding a stuffed animal- all Lego's except the stroller, just outside the park entrance, near all the parking lots.

We had a great time, and our tickets are good for another day, but I don't think we will go again. We were able to go on all the rides we wanted to and see everything we wanted to in one day. Unless someone wants to come down and go, then we could probably make another trip down there. :)

Easter

2011-05-09T14:49:00.000-07:00

(Still trying to catch up on all the photos from the past few weeks.)

EASTER 2011

At our church Easter party, Ethan and his cotton candy that is bigger than his head!
He also found an egg with a dollar bill wrapped around smarties during the egg hunt!! Score!

Visiting the Easter bunny at the base Easter celebration.

Hunter is busy gathering eggs.

The boys and their goods.
Along with the eggs they found hidden around the house, they each got a movie (Wall-E and Brother Bear), an Easter book, a CARS giftpack of 9 cars to share, new church clothes, and shoes. Oh, Hunter also got a pack of superhero "big boy" underwear (including superman, which is very hard to find, trust me), although he's not quite ready for them yet.
Flynt and I received some new shirts. I also got a new pair of way cute shoes, that will be shown at a later date.

We had a great Easter remembering and celebrating the Resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Staples

2011-05-05T15:29:00.001-07:00

Here is a picture of the staples that were removed by Flynt from Hunter's head wound, with the staple remover.

Nasty little things, don't you think?

...(Keep reading, Grand Prix post follows)...

Long Beach Grand Prix

2011-05-05T15:05:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are some pictures from when we went to the Toyota Grand Prix in Long Beach back in the middle of April.
We had a blast! It was fun to see how the city and streets were totally transformed for the races- cement barricades, and fences in crazy places. I had a hard time recognizing roads and areas that we travel frequently.

A pretty good spot to see the cars racing, especially since it was FREE!

Flynt and Ethan sitting in the middle of the blocked off road. As you can see, we weren't the only ones with this idea.

I think we may have had a better vantage point where we were at, than some of the paying crowds up on the terrace.

Uh-oh! This car got clipped a little right before the turn, and had to pull up out of the way. Bad for him, good for us! When the driver got out of the car, Ethan kept yelling at him, trying to get his attention. Unfortunately he was a little busy and I'm sure he couldn't hear above the noise of the cars.

Pretty sweet Ferrari's on display!

Sometimes, we just need to laugh

2011-05-03T12:26:00.000-07:00

Children are great at teaching us many things.

Recently, I learned this great lesson......

When things get thrown your way, learn to laugh and have fun with it.

What we've been up to and whats on my mind

2011-04-28T13:49:00.001-07:00

We've been keeping busy, enjoying the nice warm weather.

-We went over to Long Beach for the Toyota Grand Prix and watched a race. We thought about getting tickets, but decided not to, since some things came up that Flynt had to do the morning we wanted to go. So we went in the evening for the last race, and it was great! The boys thought it was pretty cool watching the race cars, although it was pretty loud. And the best part, we only had to pay a few quarters in a parking meter but we got to watch for free, and we had a pretty good spot!! (tickets weren't cheap-like around $40 per person to watch one race!)
I have pictures, but we recently wiped our computer clean, again, and haven't downloaded the necessary programs to get our pictures off our camera.

-Flynt took the staples out of Hunter's head, and it was a little more painful than putting them in, I think. Hunter cried quite a bit, and it bled and I just couldn't watch. Although we did get pictures of the staples and the staple remover. His gash is looking really good, and luckily his hair will cover the scar. But, he is in need of a haircut, so I guess we'll see for sure once we cut his mop top.

-Our strawberries have done awesome this season, but nasty little bugs like to get them before we can. Grrr!!

-I was able to go to American Idol and watch Jason Aldean, Kelly Clarkson and Rhianna perform. I'm not a big Idol fan, but it was a lot of fun!

- We had a nice Easter. We had a lot of fun at our church Easter egg hunt/party, and the one here on base. Again, we have pictures, but they just aren't off the camera yet.
We are in the "limit-the-boys-sugar-intake" mode, and they've actually done really well. I, on the other hand, haven't.

- I've been able to practice my baking skills quite a bit lately. We are working with the missionaries and some young men, and we have them over a few times a week, and each time I get to make dessert. This past Tuesday night, I made homemade Pizookies!!! Not exactly the same as at Firehouse Pizza in Logan, but pretty dang close, and just as sinfully good!

- Most of my brain has been occupied with the decisions we have to make this fall with moving. We don't have the official orders yet, but Flynt's leave-no-earlier day is Sept. 15 and his arrive no-later-than date is Sept. 30. We are trying to work out the logistics as well as figure out what to do with Ethan and kindergarten.

(can I just say that I HATE the Los Angeles Unified School District)

School around here doesn't start until Sept. 13. WHAT!?!?!?! Oh, and some of the schools had registration back in December. Huh? Where I come from, and pretty much everywhere else, kindergarten registration is just a few months before school starts, not freakin' 9 months! When I call or go to the school to figure out what needs to be done, they really aren't sure what is going on with kindergarten or if they'll have orientation, and they won't really know or have the papers I need to fill out until June. So not helpful, at all.

I really don't want to have to send Ethan to school here, but I don't want him to miss out on those first few days/weeks where the new kindergarteners get used to the whole "school" thing. The schools in the area we are looking at moving to in Colorado start school in the middle of August, so by the time we got there, he'd miss almost a whole month.

Needless to say, its been just a little bit frustrating and stressful. I know its probably not as big of a deal as I'm making it and I don't need to be so worried/stressed, but its hard not to.

Railroad Museum

2011-04-15T14:02:00.001-07:00

We are backtracking today.

2 weeks ago, I took the boys to the railroad museum that is up in Lomita.

We had a great time climbing up into the steam engine and the caboose, and seeing all the historic artifacts.

The building is a replica of a Victorian, 19th century depot in Wakefield, Massachusetts.

Across the street is the Museum Annex, a beautiful grassy area where a box car and an oil tank car rest. It is a great place for some photos...

and I was able to just get a few of the boys.

Another ER visit

2011-04-11T12:36:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we to Home Depot to get a few things. However, our trip was cut short and we had to leave in a hurry. Ethan and Hunter were messing around on one of the dolly/cart things, and Hunter slipped and fell backwards hitting the back of his head on the edge of the metal cart. As soon as Flynt picked him up, we noticed drops of blood on the cart, so we rushed out to the car where we could clean him up a little with wipes and take a closer look. It was already a big goose egg and we could see a gash. We went home to clean it up better and shortly after, decided it was out of Flynt's glueing-back-together league, so we headed to Urgent Care. We waited there for awhile, trying to get authorization from our insurance, but ended up just taking him to the ER.

Luckily, we were only there for about 2 hours. The doctor checked it out, and our suspicions were confirmed, he would need to get some staples to hold it together until it can heal on its own. We wrapped him up in a blanket burrito style so he couldn't move around, and the doctor gave a few shots of local anesthesia around the cut. He didn't hardly bat an eye! Then came the staples, and he did fine with those, not crying at all until two didn't go in very good and she had to pull them out. Then, he just whimpered just a little and a tear or two were shed. We all thought it was pretty cool to watch, even Ethan. It only took a minute or two, and then after giving him some Tylenol we were good to go.

While we were waiting in the waiting room, we told the boys that if they were good and Hunter was brave, we could stop at McDonald's for lunch. They definitley deserved it, too!

We were so impressed with how brave Hunter was through the whole thing. He cried right when he fell and bumped his head of course, but just until Flynt picked him up. And if you didn't see the blood on the back of his head, or all over Flynt's shirt, you wouldn't have known anything was wrong, because he was playing around, laughing with Ethan while we were waiting. He cried more when they were trying to get his temperature than when they were putting the staples in, for heaven's sake!!

He is back to his normal, crazy self besides sleeping on his right side, and giving a little whimper if he bumps his "owie." We have to keep it clean and put stuff on it at night, so when its time to take the staples out they come out easily. Flynt has to do the cleaning, though. I can watch, but I can't handle the thought of touching it.

They told us to go to the doctor here at the clinic on base in 6-8 days and they can take out the staples, but they gave us the staple remover before we left the ER, so Flynt might just do it at home.

After all that, we went back to Home Depot to finish our shopping, and then came home and planted a few things in our garden. Hunter was right there in the middle of it all, helping like nothing had happened.

Universal Studios

2011-04-01T14:20:00.001-07:00

When Flynts sister and her family came to visit us, the boys and I were able to go do some fun things with them, including Universal Studios.

Ethan and Hunter loved seeing this Darth Vader costume and Yoda.

There was a lot of advertisement stuff set up for the Easter movie, Hop, coming out soon. Ethan posing with (or hiding behind) the Apollo 13 astronauts.

Shannon, Dave, Benjamin, Hannah, and Matthew entering Jurassic Park.

This super-hero store was a total hit with my two boys! Superman and Batman shirts and stuff, plus a life-size Iron Man on display?! Nothing could be better!

They loved seeing Curious George. We always have to get a Curious George book at the library, even though we've read them all like 50 times.

And Dora. They don't really know who she is, but they still had fun seeing her.

On the Backlot studio tour....

New York

Oh no!! Its a flood! Coming straight for us!

Amazingly, we didn't get wet at all.

Does this house look familiar to anyone who watches a show on Sunday night?...

called Desperate Housewifes?

We had to cruise through this area because they were filming, so I didn't get very good pictures.

And Who-ville

We past some of the studios where they were filming other shows, like our favorite, Parenthood, and another one called Fast Five. Unfortunately, we didn't see any actors/actresses or famous people.

It was a lot funner than when I went when I was younger. It seemed like there was a lot more rides and fun things to do and see. I don't know if they've added a bunch of stuff, or if it just wasn't very interesting to me back then.

I did the "buy a day, get 2011 free" thing, so we will be going back.

We were also able to go to Disneyland, SeaWorld, Hollywood and of course, the beach with the Willis family (although I'm not going to post photos). We had a blast!!

2011-03-28T15:34:00.000-07:00

It has been a crazy past couple of weeks. I just finished posting about our cruise, so continue on down to see them. I still have a ton to post about, but hopefully soon I will be close to being up to date.

USS Midway

2011-03-28T15:05:00.000-07:00

Before we headed back home and back to reality, we stayed down in San Diego for a few hours and checked out the USS Midway aircraft carrier that was just a short walk down the street from where our cruise ship was docked.

Hunter and Ethan in the cockpit of an airplane. They had fun pushing all the buttons, dials and knobs pretending they were flying it!

Coming up the stairs to mid-deck after getting claustrophobic walking around below deck, seeing how the Navy lived in such cramped spaces.

Can you see my two littles heads in the first round window on the left?

Just a cool ship we saw in the bay.

After eating some really good fish and chips at a little place on the water, it was time to head back. It was the end of the best vacation we have EVER had.

Day 7- Disembarkation in San Diego

2011-03-28T14:46:00.000-07:00

Saturday, March 12

A very sad, sad day.

But we were really excited to see our kids!

Day 6- At Sea

2011-03-28T13:40:00.000-07:00

Friday, March 11

We awoke to a message from the captain of the ship informing us of the earthquake in Japan, and the threat of tsunamis on the Pacific Coast. But he assured us that because we were out at see in water that was over 5,000 feet deep, it was one of the best places to be during a tsunami, and we didn't need to worry. The rest of the morning, we kept a close eye on the news for possible damage anywhere close to home in San Pedro. Fortunately, there wasn't anything to report. (It would be my luck to have something big like that happen while we lived down here near the port, and be out on a cruise and miss the whole thing!)

We went to the Crew Farewell and Disembarkation meeting mid-morning. Its amazing how many crew members are on the ship making everything run so smoothly, and it was fun to see just a small handful of them. Some are away from their families for 12 months! And they are ALL so incredibly happy and kind ALL THE TIME!

Later that morning, I participated in the Holland America and Susan G. Komen On Deck for The Cure 5k to help raise money and awareness for breast cancer. It was 9 laps around the Promenade. The first few laps I just walked with everyone, but then I got ansy and ran the rest of the way. It was a lot of fun, and helped me feel a little less guilty about how much I had eaten during the whole cruise!

In the afternoon, Flynt and I went to a show that some of the Filipino crew put on. They sacrificed their break time to do this, and it was fun to see them performing. They sang, danced and performed some traditional/cultural Filipino songs and dances.

The ship was going quite fast at this point, in order to make it all the way back up to San Diego by early morning, and the sea-sickness was showing itself again. Flynt and I were able to make it through dinner but had to go outside to get some fresh air as soon as we were done eating. The waves were pretty big and so the ship was rocking quite a bit.

Because we needed to have our luggage outside our door that night, we had to go back to our room and pack. This was a very difficult task and took me forever, because I had to keep laying down. Just watch our cupboards and hangers swing back and forth.......

Day 5- Cabo San Lucas

2011-03-17T14:01:00.000-07:00

Thursday, March 10

At Cabo San Lucas, the ship drops anchor out in the bay and you get on the little life boats or tenders and ride to the dock. We were one of the first groups off the ship. After being bombarded, again, by all the tour guides, we quickly found a glass bottom boat tour that would take us to see the main sites, drop us off and let us snorkel and swim and then pick us up a few hours later. We planned on doing some shopping first, then going swimming and snorkeling later, but no stores were open yet, so we headed back on the tender to the ship to get our swimming gear. And then back to do our sight-seeing and play in the water.

Me, Scott and Jenny in our glass-bottom boat. ( Disappointingly, the glass-bottom was only about a 1 ft. by 4 ft., not the whole bottom of the boat) It was really cool to see all the colorful fish swimming right underneath us though!

One of the sight-seeing stops was the local seal hangout. Boy was it stinky over there, though.

On the other side of that keyhole in the rock is the Pacific Ocean and the side we are on is the Sea of Cortez.

The beautiful green water on the Sea of Cortez side, and Land's End.

Finally some beach time! Jenny and I agreed that the sand looked and felt very similar to brown sugar.

Scott, Flynt and I did a little snorkeling here as well. It took me a good long time to get used to it again and stop hyperventilating. It didn't help that my snorkel was broken so every 10 seconds or so water would get into my mouth and make me gag. Flynt let me have his, and that helped a lot. But as soon as I figured it all out and calmed down and started enjoying myself, it was time to head back.

Disney Wonder cruise ship on the left, our cruise ship on the right.

Back on the Observation Deck on our ship, overlooking Land's End.

Leaving the port. Out of all three ports, Cabo was by far our favorite. We would have loved to have been there for another day instead spending a day at Mazatlan.

That night was the Dessert Extravaganza! I had to get a picture of the menu-so many desserts! And you could try as many as you wanted! Its a good thing we were still full from eating dinner not too long before this, or I think I would have had a sugar overload!

There were all these tables set up around the pool with all kinds of cakes and things. All the melons were carved so intricately, and the bread creations were amazing.

My favorite was the little fruit tarts (fourth from the right).

When we went back to our room, I didn't see a towel animal on our bed and was a little disappointed. Until I looked over at the wall...

...and saw our hanging monkey!

Day 4- Mazatlan

2011-03-17T10:49:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, March 9

Due to all the violence in the state that Mazatlan is located in, Flynt's bosses (and the government) did not allow him to get off the boat at this port. So it was just me and Scott and Jenny.

We got off the boat and were immediately bombarded with all the taxi drivers, bus drivers, tour guides and resort owners hoping to get our business. It was quite overwhelming to say the least. We were able to find a van driver who would take us to all the sites we wanted to see for a decent price. We weren't too impressed with Mazatlan, but Norman was really great. He told us a lot about the history of the city and gave us a lot more information than just the basic two second explanation of what the tourist sites were.

One of the stops we made was at the Cliff Divers. These young boys climb up to the top of this rock, wait for the tide to come in and then dive into the water, narrowly avoiding all the rocks! All for tips, of course.

Just watch how crazy these kids are..

(for some reason it is sideways, so just turn your head to the left)

Here is one of the many taxis zooming around the city streets..

Another one of our stops was this beautifully large and ornate cathedral...

We walked just a few blocks down from the cathedral to the local market. The streets were buzzing with cars, taxis, buses, vans and bikes. The sidewalks were very small and very crowded.The indoor market was crazy as well, but very interesting. It reminded me of the episodes of The Amazing Race where the racers are trying to find things in the markets and they keep getting lost in all the many, many rows of vendors selling fruits, vegetables, meat, seafood, clothes, trinkets and odds and ends. It is not the place to be for anyone who gets claustrophobic easily.

A guy in the middle of the street, up on an aluminum ladder, in the middle of a bunch of wires, trying to fix some of them. I guess safety is not too important down here.

At the top of this steep hill is the world's second tallest original lighthouse. At the bottom of the hill is the cities water treatment/sewage plant, so it reeks even miles away. This was as close as we got, and as close as I wanted to get.

Norman drove us up onto a different hill so we could look out over the city, and also see our huge ship in the midst of it all.

All in all it was a fun day, but we agreed (and heard from several others) that we would have rather skipped Mazatlan and had another day at our next port, Cabo San Lucas.

After boarding the ship and watching the city disappear into the distance as we pulled out of port and back into the ocean, Flynt and I headed to the gym to work off some of the many calories we had consumed the past few days. It felt good, but what an experience it was trying to run straight on the treadmill while the ship was rocking back and forth!

I had to take at least one picture of the menu. Unfortunately I was too excited about dessert and didn't take a picture of that menu.

Jenny ordered the Alaskan King crab legs, and I wish I would have since they did all the work by cracking them open for you. (sorry the lighting is not very good)

And I ordered the Master Chef's favorite, the braised short ribs. Very, very good!

After dinner, Flynt and I stopped in the lounge to see what the entertainment was tonight. It turned out to be a very talented ventriloquist, Willie Tyler and Lester. He was really good, and pretty funny.

And that night, we found our second towel animal, a cute puppy!

Departure and the first few days

2011-03-15T15:43:00.000-07:00

First and foremost, I have the best mom and dad in the world. I am so lucky to have such great parents who are willing to come down to our house and watch our little gremlins for 7 straight days. Scratch that, not just watch them, but do so many fun activites with them while we were gone. They took them to the beach, the long beach aquarium of the pacific, a kids play-place called Kid Concepts and just showered them with love and attention.

I can't thank you enough mom and dad!

Saturday, March 5

We arrived at the San Diego cruise terminal around 11 AM, meeting my brother and sister-in-law. A short while later, we were on the ms Oosterdam!!

We had a few hours to explore the ship and eat before departure at 5PM.

On Deck 3, the Promenade, with San Diego in the background.

Now we are up on Deck 9, the Observation Deck.

Lounge chairs just begging to be put to good use.

We are so ready!

A beautiful sunset on our way down the coast.

That night, Flynt and I got pretty seasick and could barely make it through dinner. After taking a motion sickness pill and sleeping a lot that night and the next day, we felt much better.

Sunday, March 6

Thinking we were going to a Port and Shore Excursion Highlights presentation, we sat through maybe 10 minutes of the shopping ambassador go on and on about buying diamonds at the ports and how Holland America backs your purchase, but only from certain stores. We missed the Port and Shore Excursion presentation and went to the Shop 'til You Drop presentation. Besides being totally boring, I still was feeling seasick, so we stepped out early (thank heavens, I don't think I could handle another second of that guy) and went back to our stateroom to sleep off the rest of the sickness.

Later that afternnon, Flynt and I went to Tea and Cupcakes (anything with cupcakes and I'm there!) and enjoyed several mini cupcakes but no tea, just water.

That night was Formal night, so we got to dress up and get all fancy (but not too fancy). We loved eating dinner at the table with just us 4. I can't remember exactly what I ordered, but it was delicious.

That night, we went to the Oosterdam Singers and Dancers production "Garage Band" in the theatre lounge. It was entertaining to say the most.

Monday, March 7

In the morning, scenic cruising through/past Bahia Magdalena, where lots of whales are supposed to be spotted, was on the agenda but Flynt and I were still sleeping. We heard from several people that we didn't miss much. Not too many whales were showing themselves, I guess.

After eating a very good lunch in the dining room, Scott, Jenny, Flynt and I found ourselves in the screening room (a mini movie theater) watching the Kenny Chesney concert tour movie. We enjoyed it, but quite a few older folks left before it was over.

And again, dinner was delicious and very enjoyable with just us 4.

We headed to bed a little earlier in order to be well-rested for the next day, our first day at port.

Day 3- Puerto Vallarta

2011-03-15T13:48:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, March 8

I was so excited, I woke up at 4:30AM thinking it was 5:30AM. (we only had my watch to tell time with in our room, and I obviously can't read it very well in the morning) We finally realized the real time when we called to ask where our breakfast that we'd marked to have delivered between 7-7:30 was. Having an hour before getting our breakfast, I headed up to the Promenade deck to watch us pull into the port at Puerto Vallarta and see the sun rise.

We got off the ship around 8AM, quickly found a cab driver to drive us into the city to the office of the zip line adventure we wanted to do. Passing through the "new town" and into the cobblestone streets of "old town," we were soaking up the sights and sounds of Mexico.

We arrived at the office, got signed in, paid and then waited for just a few minutes. We hopped into a big truck with bench seats and a canopy cover and headed up to the mountains.

The old 80's movie Predator was filmed here at El Eden, and they are still milking it for all its worth to attract tourists.

After getting our harnesses and helmets, and war paint in my case, listening to a safety briefing, we headed up the trail. We started out on short, not very high up cables, but ended up on some pretty long, high up cables. It was so much fun! On one of them, they even let us go upside down!!

This isn't any of us 4. It's just so you can see how high up we were.

Can you see the person on the zipline?

We had a blast! The guys who were doing the whole thing were really high-energy and made it exciting and fun.

After riding the same truck back to the office, we walked a few blocks through the city, stopping at a church/cathedral, and then on to the beach and the flea markets.

We got some lunch at a Senor Frogs Restaurant, thankful it was not quite Spring Break time. Flynt and I agreed we would NEVER let any of our children come down to Mexico for Spring Break. EVER.

Before long, it was time to catch a cab back to the ship. Near where the ship was docked, we saw this seal that people were waiting in line to get pictures with.

After a delicious dinner, yet again, and retiring to our room we found our bed turned down, chocolate, our next day's itinerary, and our first towel animal!

2011-02-28T14:43:00.000-08:00

Only 5 more days until this.......

The best vacation ever, here we come!!!

Kitchen Science

2011-02-23T14:28:00.000-08:00

I am reading this book called What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained by Robert L. Wolke. I found it while perusing the cookbook section at the library, read the inside jacket and decided to take it home and give it a try. It's not a novel, but its not boring like a textbook. The author is a chemistry professor and Washington Post food columnist and he really explains food/kitchen science in a fun, easy to understand way.

I am a little more than half way through the book, and have already learned quite a bit. Some of my favorites are:

-Maraschino cherries. I have always loved them, but wondered why they look and taste so much different from regular cherries you see in the grocery store produce department. I found out that they are regular cherries that have been bleached white with sulfur dioxide gas, then dyed a bright red or green (no idea there were green maraschino cherries) and flavored with the oil of bitter almonds, and packed in syrup.

Hmmmm. I don't know that I like them anymore.

-White chocolate is not merely chocolate that is white. WHAT?!?! Nope. Its the fat from the cacao bean mixed with milk solids and sugar. And even some so-called white chocolate treats aren't even the cacoa fat, but they're made with hydrogenated vegetable oils. The only way to tell is to read the label.

-What's the difference between baking soda and baking powder? They are both used for leavening, but baking soda reacts when it comes in contact with liquid in a recipe (like buttermilk, sour cream, water, etc.) while baking powder is baking soda with a dry acid already mixed. Meaning it is used when a recipe has no other acid ingredients. And some ingredients call for both, which would take to long for me to explain, but I'll just say that it has to do with the balance of the acids.

-(This one is crazy.) If you have some leftover lasagna in a stainless steel bowl with aluminum foil covering it in your refrigerator, and the foil is touching both the lasagna (tomato sauce to be exact) and the stainless steel bowl, then wherever the lasagna is touching the foil, the lasagna (or tomatoe sauce) will eat holes in the aluminum. WOW! This happens because the aluminum metal is in contact with another metal (the stainless steel bowl) and an electrical conductor (the tomato sauce) and an electrical or electrolytic process is what eats up the foil.

Anyway, the book is really interesting and it talks about all sorts of things, like why brown sugar goes hard and how to soften it up again, why we add salt to the water for boiling pasta, why some recipes call for unsalted butter and then have you add salt later, and how a pressure cooker works. If you cook or like to bake, I suggest reading this book. You will have a better understanding of the things in your kitchen, and you'll feel pretty smart too!

I'm Just Sayin'

2011-02-17T08:51:00.000-08:00

I don't know what its like where you live, but it is definitely baby season around here. It seems like everywhere I turn, someone is expecting a baby soon.

With that...

I don't want to offend anyone or make anyone upset, but I do want to share my feelings on issue.

What is with the baby showers for 2nd and even 3rd children? To me, baby showers are for the newly married, or still-going-to-school-and-struggling-to-survive expecting couple who don't have any baby things. For first time parents-to-be, (or mom-to-be). The shower is a chance to get together with close friends and family who help them get started with the things they will need. It is not for those who are well-established, married for many years and already have one, or especially two children. Even if the baby they are expecting is of the opposite sex. If friends feel so inclined to give a gift, then that is great. But to have an all-out baby shower?? Really?

There are some instances, very few, that I can understand having a shower for the 2nd baby, like if the parents are still struggling to make it through school, are enduring some other hardship/trial (deployment, moving, etc.), if the baby comes right on the heels of the first baby or other cricumstances such as those.

Don't get me wrong, I think its great if some close friends and family want to get together to celebrate the birth of a second or third child, but do you really need to have a "baby shower" where guests (who may not be close friends or "family" but church acquaintances) feel obligated to bring gifts? And if the guests choose not to go or don't bring gifts are looked down upon?

I'm just sayin' its just a little ridiculous if you ask me.

Do you agree/disagree?

Sweet Treat

2011-02-14T15:03:00.000-08:00

Hmmm... what could be in this lovely little box?

With such a cute little sticker?

Oh yeah, baby!! Thats what I call heaven in a box!

Chocolate with cookies and cream buttercream frosting and a little mini-orea topper

The flavor of the month: Chocolate raspberry with raspberry cream cheese frosting

And this beauty: Chocolate with caramel buttercream and toffee.

(don't worry, I shared)

I was then inspired to make these:

Red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting with cake crumbles on top

Perfect for a Valentine's Day treat!

Cap'n Jack

2011-01-24T14:57:00.001-08:00

I got this pirate costume back in October at the base yard sale (for $2). I put it away, knowing that I would get it out at a future time. Well, that future time was about a week ago, and Ethan has loved being Cap'n Jack Sparrow ever since.

(complete with a scar on his cheek a.k.a a scratch from one of the puppies. I think it adds to the look, don't you?!)

On Christmas Eve the four of us went and saw Tangled. After that, Ethan had been asking me what it felt like to have long hair. After having the "wig" (or bandana with little pieces of long hair on either side) on with this costume, he told me that he didn't really like long hair. It got in his way and was scratchy. Yep, thats about right buddy.

Harbor Fire Museum

2011-01-19T14:57:00.001-08:00

On Saturday, we went down to the Harbor Fire Museum. It is run solely by volunteers, and therefore is only open for a few hours on Saturdays. It takes up the bottom two levels of the (old?) San Pedro city hall.

One of the volunteers gave us a tour, and we learned some interesting things.

Like this, at least one of these old fire engines (maybe all, I can't remember) was used way back in the early 1920's to the '60's (?) and after that it was pretty old and beat up and in a junk yard for a while. Well, someone got it out of the junk yard and the station and volunteers began work restoring it, fabricating some of the parts on their very own, and a few years and $100,000 later, it looks AMAZING! Shiny chrome, nice bright fire-engine red paint, etc.

And they take them out "for a spin" at least once a month to keep the motor and all the parts in good working order.

I was surprised at that, because I just figured they were "museum pieces," not actual running vehicles.

I've often found myself wondering (I'm weird I know) if anything big and scary has ever happened down in the harbor, being that it is one of larger ports in the country, and possibly the world.

Sure enough, the museum had a newspaper article and a big picture of when a tanker blew up. I can't remember the year, but it did quite a bit of damage.

I feel pretty lucky to be so close to a fire station that has 5 fireboats! (why? its just pretty awesome for a girl who grew up chasing fire engines with her dad and brothers, whom which one is a firefighter. And a fireboat is not something that you find in any regular fire station.)

Ethan and I thought this old engine looked a lot like "Red" from the movie CARS.

On one side of the museum, they had a little section on remembering Sept. 11, and there was this giant painting on the wall. Our tour guide said that a lady got all the pictures of all 354 firefighters that died that day, and painted each and every one of them, including what station or company they were with. It took her a whole year to finish it. Pretty impressive, yet very sad to look at.

This cross was made from one of the beams from the 87th floor in Tower 1 of the World Trade Center.

We had a great time, and the boys even walked away with little red firefighter helmets.

Puppy Videos

2011-01-13T14:38:00.000-08:00

Enjoy!

Holiday Highlights

2011-01-12T14:46:00.000-08:00

We had a great holiday and hope you all did, too! We just returned on Saturday from our trip home to Utah. Here are some pictures from our adventures!

Our tree shortly after the Christmas morning mayhem.

Santa brought Hunter his very own punching bag and "bop-it" gloves. They were an instant success (with all three boys!)

We had a few days after Christmas to enjoy our gifts, and then we headed to Utah.

Our drive went amazingly well, and we made it in record time- 10 hrs. 45 min.!Our new behind-the-headrest dvd players we got for Christmas worked exceptionally well keeping the boys entertained.

The day after we arrived in Utah, a big snow storm hit! Ya baby, bring on the snow!!

Hunter could hardly wait to get out and check that white stuff out! (Don't worry, he came in shortly after and I bundled him up good!)

I miss the adventure of driving through this:

Grandma & Grandpa Bailey had 2 golden retriever/Husky mix puppies, and we couldn't get enough of them. Ethan and Hunter kept asking if we could take them home.

Enjoying a story with Grandpa and cousins,

Horse-drawn sleigh rides with Grandma & Grandpa Bailey and cousins (and good 'ole lazy dog Cooper),

Flynt was very happy he was able to go snowmobiling with his brothers.

and I'm glad we were able to enjoy a perfect, BEAUTIFUL day of skiing,

and go to the Bountiful temple again, 7 years after we got married there, with some of my family.

Some of the other things we enjoyed were:

-Getting together with my roommates from college! Even though we are older, starting families of our own, and spread out across the country, I love that we are still really good friends 9 years later!

-enjoying delicious dinner with my family, and laughing and playing games

-playing outside in the awesome snow, and going for tractor-bucket rides!

-playing the Bailey version of Minute to Win it for our New Years Eve party and kicking Flynt's butt in the Pong Tac Toe game, and then listening to Grandpa be an auctioneer as we fought over who had enough money to buy the delicious Butterbraid

-watching Flynt, his brothers, brothers-in-law and nephews shooting competitions

-taking Hunter sledding for the first time and hearing him laugh as he went down the hill

-seeing Ethan wide-eyed as he enjoyed school lunch and recess with his cousin Bryson, and again when we went to Carter's Kindermusik class

-enjoying steak at Maddox with Flynt's brothers and their wifes

And before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye again and head back down to LA-la land. :(

2010-12-22T14:01:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We wish all of you a wonderful holiday season. May you and your family be filled with love and peace as you reflect on the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

No Snow? No Problem

2010-12-15T13:34:00.001-08:00

No "white stuff that falls from the sky" where you live? No worries. Here are some fun OTHER "white stuff" activities for you and your kids.

White stuff #1 Shaving cream.

Perfect for sensory play (both touch and smell), shape-making, letter-writing...

..and snowman-making!

I've got a young Picasso in my house. (Hunter)

And a traditionalist. (Ethan)

White stuff #2 Packing peanuts.

Very prevalent this time of year. Perfect for toy hide-and-seek. Also can be used as another art medium. Simply get it a little wet and it will stick to paper. Repeat and arrange with many peanuts to create a 3D picture.

White stuff #3 Flour

Use with bowls and kitchen tools (sifters, measuring cups/spoons, beaters, mashers....) for pretend-play. Mix in a little cinnamon, ground cloves and other delicious holiday-smelling spices for a great sensory experience. It really smells like they are baking!