San Francisco

I just got back from a SOLO trip to San Francisco to see Jami. It was amazing and so nice to have a break for a few days. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time, we had an absolute blast! I mostly was just excited to do the things I never get to do ... in peace! :) Call me crazy, but yes, on my solo vacation I planned my dinner meals for the next THREE months (ha), wrote about 10 new posts for my crafty blog, AND read a whole book. Doesn't sound super exciting, but I was thrilled to actually sit down and do it.

Here's a bunch of pictures from my trip...

Our friend, Karalee, lives in San Francisco... she was our tour guide for the day :) ... it was sooo great to see her!!

 Jami checkin' out the donuts... which were AMAZING by the way :)

 Drove past the Full House houses on the way out, but didn't want to get out of the car.

Probably my favorite picture from the trip. Poor Indie in the wind :)

 Thanks again for such a good time, James!! Love you! :)

Little Yellow Barn

Sorry for the lack of posting... again. There's been A LOT going on around here! 

I started up a new blog with a friend of mine and we're so excited to get things going. A local boutique contacted us and asked if we'd be interested in selling furniture in their store, so we've been extremely busy with that also. 

Needless to say, we've been busy and on the computer way too much as it is... BUT I'll get back to posting soon I promise. I've been writing down a few Tayaism's so don't you worry :) 

In the meantime, help me out and head over to our blog and let us know what you think! Follow us, Like us, Grab our button, etc. We'd REALLY appreciate it!!

Thank you! :)

Painting Letters on Wood

This is a sign I just finished with super-duper-old-rusty wood that has been sitting in the garage for 5 years. Whoops. If you don't know already, I just started a new blog with a friend of mine so you can check out the HOW TO right .... HERE. And if you're not a follower already, help us out and follow us to so we can get this thing up and runnin'! :) Thanks!

www.littleyellowbarn.blogspot.com

2011 in a nutshell

Where oh where to begin? It's been so long and I've been dreading this post f.o.r.e.v.e.r., but I decided to just kind of sum up the year 2011.  I'll be honest, it was a rough one for us, but we're grateful it's over and hopefully it's made us stronger as a family!

 We started off the year moving to Arizona in February, which we both felt was the right decision. Around September things started changing with Cameron's work and we decided to sell our half of the company in Utah. So so random, but long story short, Cameron is now working full time BBQ and loving every minute of it. We feel like he never would've pursued a career in BBQ had we not moved to Arizona so we know we're here for a reason. We're hoping for the best over these next few months as BAM BAM'S BBQ starts to take off. I'm amazed at how quickly everything has happened and how incredible Cameron has done so far! He is extremely talented and has completely found his niche in life!

The end of October Cameron and I made a decision and he headed to The Biggest Loser Fitness Ridge in Malibu, CA for an entire month. He learned a lot about himself, exercise of course, and has lost somewhere around 50 pounds so far. It was definitely hard on both of us, but we're so grateful he was able to go and experience that. And, believe it or not, my kids survived an entire month with just Mommy. Wait, timeout... I SURVIVED an entire month as a single mommy! :)

I recently started a new blog with a good friend of mine in Arizona- Little Yellow Barn. We live within walking distance of each other so it's SO nice to have someone SO close who loves the same things that I do! We're super excited about it and hopefully we can keep up now that there's two of us!

The kiddos are doing good! Taya is loving preschool and asks to play with friends literally every single day. Apparently I'm not good enough for her :). Dodger has totally become a little annoying brother to her, which is actually pretty funny most of the time. He LOVES to poke her until she screams, chases her around the house until she screams, and taunts her until she... screams. I guess she doesn't realize she's older and much bigger, but maybe that's a good thing. It's just payback for how awful she's been to him the last two years!

That's it for now... sorry no pictures this time. I'm in Utah right now and Cameron is in Texas picking up his new smoker. My little sister is taking pictures of my kids tomorrow, so pictures to come... no pressure Jenna :) For now, sorry this is a picture-less post!

Taya's Ear Piercing...

Taya had been begging me for a while to have her ears pierced and playing with my earrings and her clip-ons for so long that I decided it was time. Over Thanksgiving break in Pasco me, my mom and sisters took her to get them pierced. She was such a big girl and so brave! She didn't even cry- which was a HUGE shocker!! :) I warned her before they did it that it would hurt a little, and luckily there were two women who did it at the same time, but as soon as they did it, she looked at me wide-eyed and didn't say a word. I could tell she wanted to cry, but I think she was trying to be so brave for her audience. It was so cute, she leaned in and hugged me and just laid on my shoulder until she was ready to put her head up again. She loved them as soon as she saw them and was so proud! Here's a few pictures of the big event :) ...

 

 Oh the price we pay for beauty :)

Cameron's Journey: The Biggest Loser Fitness Ridge

Cameron started a blog while he was at Fitness Ridge, but (shocker) has lost interest and isn't doing it anymore- sorry Cam :). So I decided to transfer all his posts to our family blog because I think his stories are inspiring and something he'll never want to forget....

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, October 23, 2011
First Day at Fat Camp!

I'm going to keep this short and sweet.  I have to go to bed.  I'm going to be blogging about my month here at Biggest Loser Fitness Ridge in Malibu CA as much as I possibly can.  This first week may be difficult since I will probably not be able to stand.  Tomorrow is the first full day here, it starts at 5:45 am and does not end until 7:30 pm.  When everything is wrapped up I will try to give you a more detailed account of days 1 and 2. Night night, Cam

My 4 Year Old

"Mom, take my hair thing out of your hair and go put it back. ....... Or you can buy it from me."

Ok, Little Miss Sassy Pants!! Sheesh!

Tayaism

Taya saved up her money in her piggy bank and got to buy a brand new bike with it... yes, in November :)... that's the beauty of living in Arizona! Today my neighbor asked if she got a helmet too...

Me: "We DO need to get you a helmet, I forgot about that!" (terrible mom, I know)

Tay: "Yeah, so I don't break my head."

Me: "Yeah."

Tay: "Then I'd have to get a new head!"

...Pretty sure it doesn't work that way, but whatever!

California Part 2

After Friday's adventure at Disneyland we were all exhausted so we decided to spend the day at the beach just lounging around. This was the first time our kids have seen the beach, the ocean, that much sand... all of it! They were so excited, a little nervous at first, but loved it. I wish we could've gotten a video of Taya's face whenever a wave would come within 10 feet of her. It was like death was approaching her. H.i.l.a.r.i.o.u.s. That kid is scared of everything, poor thing. Get ready for picture overload...

--Huntington Beach--

 Andrew and Jessica's little girls, Kami, Genna, and Taya...

That night we went to Erik's (Cam's cousin) wedding reception. It was absolutely beautiful and the kids had a BLAST dancing all night!

 Taya, Dodger and Kami...

 Dodger and Taya resting by the fireplace before it was time to go...

Sunday we went back to Huntington and walked the pier... it has to be done, right? :) It was windy and chilly so we didn't make it the whole way...

 And finally, to end our trip, on Monday we went to...

--Sea World--

The kids LOVED it. I think Dodger was in heaven. :) Honestly, Sea World was my favorite place in the whole world... until this trip. Sadly they changed SOO much about it it wasn't even that cool. The exhibits were cool, but the shows were so lame this time. It was depressing. Maybe someday they'll change it back. The kids had a blast though, so it was worth it!

Like Taya's face? ...

 He could've stayed in this spot all day :)...

 Cam made buddies with Shamu. He said the whale was swimming by, came to a dead stop, looked him straight in the eye and blew these bubbles. So cute...

Our trip was a blast. I know I've used that word probably 10 times in this post, but it was really fun. Everyday was extremely full and exhausting, but we had fun and were able to see a lot of family and friends we haven't seen for a while. Maybe I can convince Cam to take us again in the next few months...? :)

Trip to California Part 1

Yep, I'm breaking it into parts. Sorry. I'm tired, but have been needing to blog for far too long, so maybe it'll be easier this way...

Cameron's cousin got married a couple weeks ago in California so our family decided to make a trip out of it. This was our first official family vacation, with the kiddos and all. They were hilarious. As soon as we got in the hotel room Taya found the phone and "talked" all night.

We drove on Thursday, October 13th, and went to Disneyland the next day.

The kids were in heaven. We met up with our friends and all the kids were able to play all day. Cam, luckily, was willing to do most of the rides with Taya since I'm a pansy and get motion sickness on pretty much everything :). Tea Cups? No thanks! 

Taking a break, watching the ducks...

 Dodger was SOOO excited to see "Me Ne Hooouuussee", but didn't want anything to do with him as we got closer :) At least we got to hear him say menehoooussee all day :)...

 Carousel...

 Taya LOVED the castle!! ... and so much smaller than Cam and I remember, haha!...

 Kami, Genna, and Taya...

 By the time we got to the princess area the line was soooo long so we decided not to even attempt it. I was so sad because I knew that's the one thing Taya was SO excited for. BUT prayers are answered, and on our way out of the park a parade was starting just then! She got to see everything she wanted and all the princesses were just as beautiful as she had imagined. Peter Pan walked right in front of us and I thought she'd have a heart attack (we were so sad he didn't talk to her though). ...

 I LOVE this picture! It's not very often that we get picture from Taya without a funny face or a real smile and the smile she has on her face here makes me want to take her back to Disneyland everyday... or maybe just once a year :).

We were ALL exhausted by the time we left! Dodger fell asleep about .2 seconds into being buckled into the car. He had probably more fun than all of us at "Ne Ne Naand". We had a blast though and are excited to take the kids back someday.

Tayaisms

These always come in spurts, but when they do it's always one after the other. I usually try and remember to write them down as I hear them.  Enjoy...

*  Went for a walk the other day: "Why do we live in this area? It's toooo hot here!"

*  She walked into the kitchen a couple weeks ago, sighed, and said slowly, "Cam is adiculous". (ridiculous)

*  We carved pumpkins yesterday after she had been begging me every single day to do it, and this is how it turned out: "This is NOT fun, it's just yucky and stinky!!"

*  Taya asked Cam for something a few weeks ago and he said no so I told her, "Taya maybe if you make a puppy face he'll let you". She looked at Cam and said, "ruff ruff". We both died laughing. :) 4 year old minds. :)

*  As we were eating at the dinner:

"Mom, you're the best cooker I ever saw."

"Thanks hun!"

"Dad, you're the best cooker I ever saw too."

"Thanks honey."

"You guys think I'm the best cooker with you guys?"

"Yep, you're the best helper too."
"I love you guys."

Happy Birthday Kiddos

Wow where has the time gone!? Yes it's been forever since I've posted anything. I should be ashamed. Where to begin? ... Guess I'll start with birthdays...

................

Taya turned 4 on September 1st. She LOVES her birthday. Let's be honest, every kid loves their birthday, but this kid talks about her birthday almost every single day of the year. For Christmas she asked Santa for a birthday cake. So yes, she was excited to say the least. I was a little sad we weren't in Utah to throw her a huge 4 year old birthday party :) but we had a good time here and had a little party a few days later.

 She started preschool the middle of August and has loved every minute of it. She sings preschool songs all day long and always hopes for homework! Dodger and I have loved it also :). Whenever I say, "Dodger, let's go pick up Taya" he always says, "no!". That's how well they get along. :)

Dodger turned two on October 22nd and I'll be honest, it was a rough one. Sister had a hard time remembering his presents were HIS presents. :) Taya said the breakfast prayer and blessed that it would be her birthday soon. Dodger REFUSED to take a nap that day so he was a bit ornery all day. We didn't get to celebrate too much (with Cam leaving the next day), but he had fun and LOVED his presents. We even got him to say "happy burtday". 

 He could NOT keep his hands of those cars, or the frosting, hence the scoops out of the front of the cake :) ... Glad he liked it! He's OBSESSED with Cars and asks to watch it every single day.

Happy Birthday to my sweet kids! Love you love you love you!

Tayaism

"Taya, we need to have a bath."

"Hane on, I'm gonna get a baby doll in the bath."

"Sweetie, those babies can't go in the bathtub."

"But... they're not gonna die in there."

Taya's Prayers

Just had an interesting conversation with Taya after prayers tonight...

"Taya, do you know who Heavenly Father is?"

(Blank look.)

"We can't see him, but He's always there to help us."

"Why we can't see him? Where is he?"

"He's in Heaven."
"(gasp) Is he DEAD?"

"Uh, well, no. He just lives in Heaven to watch over us."

"Why Grandma's doggie died?"

"She was just old, honey."

"What's her name?"

"Pheobe."

"She's in Heaven with Jesus?"

"Yep."

"Heaney Fadder makes us alive again?"

".... yeah.

Wow. The questions that come out of that girl! I was just trying to teach her to be reverent during her prayers and that's what it turned into :). Glad she knows what the resurrection is... at least the 3 year old version of it!

June, In a Nutshell

It's starting to feel like we actually live in Arizona now. This week we've been graced with the presence of 114 degree weather, 105 degree nights, and we welcomed our first, very own scorpion into our house. Ok, it was already dead when I found him, THANK GOODNESS, but still. Cameron has officially been warned if he ever hears a death scream from me, not to panic, it only means I've seen a scorpion. I got 5 jars of tomatoes bottled before the heat got the rest of them. Next year I'll know to plant sooner :( . So far, and maybe ask me again after the summer, I'm LOVING this weather. Am I crazy?? I LOVE being at the pool almost every single day, wearing shorts and flip flops everyday, warm nights, warm house, tan skin. Love it. In fact, sometimes the house gets too cold for me (yes, our 77 degree house) so I have to go sit outside for a few minutes to warm up! I think I need a hammock! Maybe next month I'll change my mind about all this though. I'll keep ya posted.

Taya finished her first set of swim lessons a couple weeks ago and thank goodness, she's still alive. It was a battle almost everyday, but we made it. And by we, I'm including myself. It was rough. :) ...

Dodger is now our little fish. He LOVES the water. Every time we go he gets better and better, it's so cute. He got his first buzz the other day, thanks to Daddy. Cam disappeared for a while, came back in the room and said, "Uh, I need help", with a partially buzzed little man. I LOVED his little toe head so I was a bit sad, but he looks like a stud with his shaved head. Guess his name fits him a little more now for some reason :).

A Few Random Tid Bits...

Aunt Jami was here for a visit and completely spoiled my kids with attention. She just left today and my kids are already wondering where Jami went. I asked Dodger where Indie was and he walked right to the room she'd been sleeping in and came out with a confused look. He absolutely LOVES Indie! He gave her loves and kisses every time he saw her, so cute...

Jami bought Taya a new friend from Costco while she was here. Taya named her "Taya". Shocker...

I came in the family room the other day and found Dodger watching T.V. like this. I almost wet my pants...

Taya's underwear was pulled so far down he could barely even open his eyes. So random.

We've been doing a whole lot of this lately. Pool and popsicles, what more could a kid ask for? ...

That's about it for our month of June. It hasn't been filled with anything crazy, but after everything my brother and his family have been through I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for even being able to do the things we've been doing. If you haven't read their story yet, go here to their family blog. It will change your life and allow you to appreciate the things we take for granted every single day. Keep fighting Clara, we love you!

www.loveforclara.bbnow.org