Johnson Family

Cooper's First Birthday!

2012-01-26T13:03:00.001-08:00

Cooper was born on November 23rd 2010 and he has been such a blessing in my own life and in our family. He is the sweetest child, people cant help but notice how special he is. Everyone in the childcare center at the gym knows him by name and tells me all the time how much the "love Cooper." We've had quite the first year with little Coops. First of all he didn't have any health insurance because we forgot to add him to our policy right away and Larry Miller has very strict rules about things like that. There were many, many tears shed over that situation and after a lot of prayers and faith we made it through, despite the numerous ear infections! You'd never know, looking back on that year, that Cooper had 9+ infections. He has been happiest, easiest going baby I've ever know!

Here are a few pictures from his party.
(The parting lasted all week since it was the day before Thanksgiving and family was all in town)

Yes, the Cake idea came from Pinterest, don't Judge me!

End of Summer 2

2012-01-26T12:48:00.000-08:00

During the Summer we spend almost all of our freetime outside. Its so pleasant here in the summers, especially in the late afternoon when ourside of the street is shaded and temperature is perfect! We have the cutest kids in our neighborhood and Jake and Cooper love them all!

Jake, Cooper and some of the neighbor kids playing with side walk chalk. Needless to say Cooper LOVED it!

Getting cleaned up!

Another thing I've leaned from pinterest is how to make headbands! I know I'm mean to make Cooper model them for me but i wanted to take a picture and their cuteness isn't captured by taking a pic of them laying of the floor! I've had so much fun making these for some of friends that have had girls. I cant wait to have me own girl (hopefully someday) to make these for!

End of Summer

2012-01-26T12:39:00.000-08:00

Summer 2011

One thing I discovered in 2011 was PINTEREST!! Best thing ever! We have had some many delicous and new meals because of pinterest. Often Jake likes to help me in the kitchen.

One thing we've made over and over after finding it on pinterest is pizza balls!
Above is Cooper watching me and Jake make lunch and wait patiently for a taste. (its weird to look at these pictures 6months+ later and see how much my kids have changed.)

finished making them, after the oven and very much enjoying their deliciousness!

This last one is just because Cooper is so dang CUTE!! He is probably 9 month in that picture.

I know, I know...

2012-01-12T13:23:00.000-08:00

It has been way, way, way to long. I Seriously never get on my computer anymore and blogspot is finally working on the iPad so I'll be able to update a lot more! A lot has happened in our family since I last updated. Cooper turned 1, we had an amazing holiday season with our family, Cooper finally got health insurance and tubes put in his ear and much more. We've had some interesting things happen at Cameron's work and some big decisions to make. We've also gotten over some nasty viruses at our house which has given me a lot of time at home to work on my new years resolution of being more organizesd. We've "acquired" more cars then we have drivers in an atempt to earn and save money for a house. Currently all 4 of our cars are for sell! Anyone interested?

With all the things that have come up in our lives that we really didn't expect, it's made we very aware of how very blessed we are in so many ways. I promise I'll post pictures soon, there are lots to show you!

Down Town Adventures

2011-09-13T10:37:00.001-07:00

A few months ago we went to the Salt Lake Temple and visitor center with our ward missionary group and Jake loved every minute of it. He was totally mesmerized by the temple and how big and beautiful it was. He'd been asking to go back for a few weeks so me and my mom decided we'd make a day out of it. We met at the gateway and rode the Trax up to temple square which Jake thought was really cool, he'd never been on a train/trolly before. It was the perfect day to spend outside. Temple Square was as beautiful as ever and Jake soaked up every second.

Jake thought it was so cool that he was on the same staircase that Cam and I took our Wedding pictures on and stood in the same little nook!

After the Temple we road the trax back to the mall and let Jake run around in the fountain. I had no idea how popular that fountain is during the summer time. It was the perfect way to end our Down Town adventure!

7th Anniversary

2011-09-13T10:28:00.001-07:00

Cam and I celebrated our 7th Anniversary in July.. I know I'm late in posting this. We spent a whole weekend in Park City and had a seriously good time! We stayed at this cute Austrian themed hotel, The Goldener Hurst, in Deer Valley that we would highly recommend and would
go back to again. We ate some super yummy food, saw a movie (harry potter and yes I cried,) and did lots and lots of shopping at the outlet malls. One of our favorite things we did was go to Olympic Park. We got to watch the Flying Ace, who are all olympic skiers, do a really cool show. To practice in the off season they go down these wet slopes and land in a pool. The Flying Aces made a show, timed to music, out of practicing and it is incredible to watch. I can't imagine doing all that and landing in a pool much less landing snow.

Over all we had a much needed, relaxing and fun weekend! I had no idea how fun and beautiful Park City was. Needless to say, we've already been back!

Matchy Matchy!

2011-09-13T10:21:00.001-07:00

I might not have girls to dress up all matchy matchy like my mom did with me and my sister but you can sure bet I will match my boys. I feel PJ's are the most appropriate for boys to be matchy, kinda wierd out in public unless its for family pictures. The above pics were from a month or so ago and the ones below are from last night.

This is how they are... Cooper and Jake could care less if they get in each others way. Cooper is so chill that he just goes with the flow!

Pres. Monson's guest post for the Washington post

2011-09-09T09:50:00.000-07:00

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/guest-voices/post/911-destruction-allowed-us-to-spiritually-rebuild/2011/09/08/gIQAbkjKCK_blog.html

Picture update.. all out of order

2011-07-27T12:19:00.000-07:00

Jake's 3rd "friend" birthday party. We went to Air Borne, an indoor trampoline arena. Jake and his friends has a ton of fun!

Cooper hanging out in the climbing gym with Cam. He LOVED the rubber bits on the floor.

In April Cam and I (and Cooper) got to go to Monterey California with the Larry Miller Group because Cam was the number 1 repair tech in the WHOLE company!

The Monterey aquarium is world famous and amazing!

Coop's first time to the beach

The last few months we've been spending A LOT of time outside on our little patch of grass. This picture also illustrates how much Cooper loves his taggie! Can't go anywhere without it!

At the Sandy aquarium.. not world famous but really fun for the kids!

Easter 2011. Jake in his little man suit. He is so cute!!

Oh how I love my messy Cooper!

Sorry they are all out of order but you get the general idea, right?

Let me explain...

2011-07-05T08:21:00.001-07:00

So... I love my Ipad WAY too much! Sadly I can't (or haven't figure out yet how to) update my blog. That is the soul reason why I've been such a slacker! I hardly ever get on my "real" computer. Anyway here the readers digest version of the last few months...

Cooper is growing like a weed! He is 7 and half months and he is the slimiest happiest baby ever! Everywhere we go people comment on how happy/smiley he is and I love it. He has mastered sitting up and rolling over and kind of attempted crawling but I think it will be a while before he crawls.. we'll see. He loves his little voice! He can talk and talk and talk and sometimes sing. He also loves blowing bubbles with his mouth. He thinks Jake is the funniest kid ever! Nobody can make Cooper laugh like Jake can. He has started teething and it has been somewhat torturous, the dang tooth won't just break through and it can make Coop pretty miserable but even still he gives us plenty of smiles through the pain.

What can i say about my sweet Jacob.. He is as feisty and fearless as ever! I'm still convinced that he is pretty brilliant! I have yet to meet a 3 year old as intelligent as Jake (sorry to burst your bubble.) His vocabulary and speech are amazing! He still has his little 3 year old attitude and selective hearing but he is really good kid. The most recent drama with Jake is having his middle finger completely shut in our front door. It was pretty nasty! It took ALL the skin off one side of his finger nail and I'm pretty sure it fractured the tip of his finger. Because of his age and how quickly kids bones heal, there wasn't a whole lot we could do but keep it tapped up. Now, a month later, his nail is falling off and his finger isn't black and blue anymore... I think him and his friend (who accidently shut the door on his finger) learned a lesson on being careful with things like slamming the front door! Jake adores Cooper! Even though he had a difficult time adjusting to a new baby, he has never taken it out on Cooper. I think they will be great friends!

Cameron has been working hard as usual but he's also been playing hard. He loves finding new spots to go climbing and canyoneering and meeting new people to take with him. He has also been really supportive on my new love of the gym. He goes with me to as many classes as he can. Yes, even Zumba! He loves this time of year when its easy for the whole family to be outside. We spend a lot of time BBQing and having Popsicle's on the front lawn. Cameron is the most generous person I know. He has done a lot of little jobs here and there for other people and usually goes unpaid and never complains about it.

Me... huh, what have I been up to?! Still adjusting to having 2 kids. Somedays are easier then others. I've been very aware of my patience level and trying really hard to be better at that. Man its hard!! I really want to make that weakness of mine a strength and Heavenly Father is very good at testing my limits but I get a little more patient everyday. I've been recommited to the healthy lifestyle I had before getting pregnant (sadly it dissapeared during my pregnancy!) I've been thrilled to get most of my baby weight off and start to have more energy!

That's our lives in a nutshell lately... pictures to come!

Jakes 3rd Birthday!

2011-05-03T14:55:00.000-07:00

(Let me just say I know I've been a slacker! Jake's Birthday was April 19th!)
Cam woke up Jake on his birthday so he could see him get his new bike before leaving for work!

Making Birthday cupcakes to take to lunch with Grandma Kimmy (kinda forgot to take picture of the actual lunch date..)

Grandma Kimmy Helping Jake learn how to ride his new bike. He got a new helmet and bell for his bike from G and G Tibbitts and he used his Bday money from G and G Lukens to buy his knee and elbow bad and "racing gloves!"

When I asked Jake what he wanted for his birthday dinner he said "pancakes!" Ok thats easy! So we stuck 3 candles in his short stack.

I sure love this kid! He is so funny, not a day goes by that he doesn't make me laugh. He is such a sweet big brother and absolutely adores Cooper and Cooper adores Jake just as much. Some times when I see pictures of him and realize how much he's grown it makes me cry. I remember so vividly the day Jake was born and the overwhelming joy Cameron and I felt. We waited so long for him to come into our family and I'm so glad Heavenly Father sent him to us!

Jake's birthday party and Easter still to come!

Solids!

2011-04-25T10:10:00.001-07:00

I feel like time has flown by WAY too fast since Cooper has been born! He turned 5 months on Saturday and started solids! So far he has LOVED solids. Most days he doesn't even need a bib when he eats because he eats ALL of it.

If I can't find Jake...

2011-03-16T09:22:00.000-07:00

This is usually where he is!

Mostly Pics

2011-03-05T19:41:00.001-08:00

I can't resist taking pictures of my chubs!! Especially when he's naked, which is frequently b/c he loves to have blow outs!!

He LOVES to smile and I caught him right in the middle of a big one!

Brothers! I Love that I have 2 boys to be best brothers! Jake is so sweet to Cooper most of the time and loves to sit next to him!

These pictures are obviously a little old but I finally edited them. I have pictures of Jake that are almost exactly like this. So precious!

Jake's picture:

What do you think? Can you tell their brothers?

Cooper continues to be a great baby! He did get an ear infection a few weeks ago that really put a kink in our daily routine. The antibiotics were also hard, they gave the poor baby terrible gas and diarrhea but he is finally back to normal and happy as can be and sleeping great. About 2 1/2 weeks ago when he was at the doc office for the ear infection we weighed him and he was 15.8lbs! I'm sure by now he's at least 17lbs. He is one big baby and we love it!

REAL update

2011-01-30T16:42:00.000-08:00

Jake is getting SO huge! He is growing out of 3T clothes and now into 4T and he's not even 3 yet! He is just as fearless as his dad! He went sledding for the first time on New Years day with his cousins and Cam said he didn't even hesitate. He hoped right on and went down the first time by himself. He's been asking to go ever since!

If you ever want a free t-shirt from Texas Road House then just PUKE! Ya, lovely huh, one of our first trips out as a family and the kid pukes!

He is into more mischieve then ever! While I was out running errands one night Jake climbed onto the kitchen counter and gave himself (and the whole kitchen) a shower with the hose from the sink. Cam made him clean it up himself and he cried the whole time! Its hard to tell be he is DRENCHED in this picture!

Coopers blessing day was beautiful! Cam's parents we're able to be there with us and most of our family. Cam gave him a beautiful blessing.

Cooper is also getting huge! He had his 2 month appt on tuesday and weighed 12lbs 8oz. Thats 5lbs since birth! He was 24inchs long. He is now in 3 month clothes and almost out of some of them!

He smiles more and more everyday and its SOO cute!
He continues to be such a good baby. I say all the time that I didn't know babies could be this good!

Cam has actual magical powers! Almost everytime I give Cooper to Cam he falls asleep within minutes!

So cute!!

Thanks for the cute, cuddly, warm outfit Kellee! We miss you!!

I sure love ALL my boys and couldn't be happier!

update

2011-01-18T09:04:00.001-08:00

I promise an update is coming.. I can't say when but eventually.. I'm busy!

Christmas

2011-01-02T12:58:00.001-08:00

This year we spent Christmas eve with my family and had a great time enjoying some of my families traditions! We had clam chowder (I had chicken b/c I'm not eating dairy BOO!) and opened our family exchange presents. Jake and Cooper were VERY spoiled by my parents!

So excited to get Flicker the Flashlight from Handy Manny. I think this was his favorite present this year!

My parents gave us a new set up Wolf Gang Puck pots and pans. Can you tell I'm SUPER excited about this!!

Ty and Cam playing Just Dance on the Wii... very entertaining!

Christmas morning at our house! Jake really understood Christmas this year and it was really fun to see him get excited!

Cam got my Just Dance 2 for the Wii... again, very excited!

Jake got lots of puzzles and Toy Story items that he loved!

Coop has been our greatest present this year!

Hangin with Mr. Cooper!

2010-12-12T16:56:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pics from the last 2 weeks! We've loved having Cooper here with us, he is such a sweet baby! Even his cry is sweet! He's pretty mild tempered and still doing great at night. He's very tolerant of his very loud and sometimes rough big brother and I pray that will last his whole life. As you can see (from his double chin) he is a great eater! Even though I can see a lot of Jake in Cooper, he definitely has his own look. He is growing wonderfully! At his 2 week check up he had gained a whole pound from birth and 2 inches! He has even grown out of a few new born outfits. Cam has been amazing, seriously! He is eager to help however he can when he gets home and many mornings I've come down stairs to see he's done the dishes before going to work. We are still happy as can be!

He's here!!

2010-11-27T12:19:00.001-08:00

Born at 2:46am on Nov 23rd. 7lbs 8oz and 19 inches long!

For a couple weeks we'd had an induction date set for the 23rd and I have never looked forward to something so much in my whole life! I'd been measuring a weeks ahead since my first ultrasound and had a long list of pregnancy related complaints so I was excited when my Doc suggested we induce me 10 days early! The last few weeks I'd felt pretty crummy and had a LOT of pressure so I half expected we wouldn't even make it to the 23rd....

Monday (the 22nd) we went to my parents for dinner and to drop Jake off since our induction was scheduled for 7:30am. We got home and packed our hospital bag and made sure everything was ready for baby boy to come home. Just before 10pm I had filled up my water cup for the night and was getting ready to take my prenatal vitamin and POP!! My water broke! I couldn't help but laugh, honestly! Cam immediately started frantically taking our things to the car while I stood in the bath tub and dripped, dripped, dripped! Cam even got frustrated with me because I insisted that I lotion my legs and do my hair before we lefted! Then contractions hit and I pretty much ran to the car! They came hard and fast (I mean HARD!) By the time we got to the hospital about 10:20 or I couldn't even stand up straight! They took me right to my room and I was already at a 5. Around midnight I got the oh so heavenly epidural ahhhhhhh! Two hours later at 2am I was fully dilated and ready to push but..... my Doc wasn't there, Ugh! We had to wait almost 30 minutes for him to stumble in all puffy eyed and tired looking. I pushed for 15 minutes and at 2:46 Cooper Joseph Johnson was born!

He is SO precious! I have a feeling (I hope I'm not jinxing myself) that he will be the calm one out of my boys. He can get a little fussy but he's very easily comforted. He is a PRO nurser and sleeper! Our first night home was a little rough but now that my milk has come, in our second night was almost perfect!

Jacob LOVES, LOVES, LOVES baby brother!! He has taken to the name Cooper very well even though he was dead set on Carson. He loves to get really close to him and say "so cute" in his best baby voice. He loves to point out all things "tiny" about Cooper, which is pretty much everything... "tiny eyes," "tiny hands," "tiny feet." It really melts my heart. Even though he's very excited about baby brother he has had a bit of a hard time adjusting. LOTS of tantrums! I know the fits will pass and they will be best of friends!

Right now I couldn't be happier. Seriously, I don't remember the last time I felt this much Joy in my life. I LOVE all my boys so much. I know that my heart has grown to hold more love for this sweet spirit. Cooper is the perfect addition to our family!

Wow

2010-10-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

Besides the fact that we've had a virus on our computer, (sorry if you gotten weird emails from me) I've been avoiding my blog b/c of the preggo count down, it scares me! I'm not sure I can handle an energetic 2 1/2 year old AND a newborn!!

Right now I'm 35 weeks and its going by too fast! I'm also measuring a week ahead and my last ultrasound showed me a week ahead so that means Baby number 2 could be here before Thanksgiving!! As much as I'm totally done being pregnant (I won't bore you with my long list of complaints) it is so much easier caring for this baby inside my tummy! Winter is also a tough time for a couple reasons the biggest being Cameron gets SO busy at work. We all know Utah drivers are crazy but add snow and they completely come unglued when it comes to driving so that means tons and tons of work for Cam. Last winter there were many days he went to work at 5am and didn't come home til 10pm or later! Another reason winter is tough is because its major sicky season! Add to that that I'm paranoid and don't want to get sick much less a newborn to get sick. So basically I won't have a life outside of mommyhood for probably 6 months and I'll probably call Cam and/or my Mom everyday crying that I wasn't cut out for this!!

I promise I really am excited to have another baby, we all are! I've really started to feel like this is exactly what I'm supposed to being doing with my life right now and I'll need to rely heavily on my Heavenly Father to help my with the huge responsibility of being a mom of 2!

That was kind of a strange update but there ya go!

Jakes first trip to the ER

2010-10-04T08:57:00.001-07:00

I'm suprised our first trip didn't come sooner!! Here is what happened ...

Saturday afternoon I was getting some a breakfast casserole made for Sunday morning and Cam was out in the garage cleaning up. Jake was getting into trouble as usual so I sent him to the garage with Cam. Seconds later I heard the worst scream I've ever heard from Jake. I rushed to the garage door and saw Cam's Little Giant Ladder on top of Jake while Jake was face down!!! As soon as Cam pick Jake up blood started squirting from the back of his head like a horror movie! The first thing out of my mouth was "Get him in the car, we're going to the emergency room!" We grabbed some rags and Cam kept pressure on his head until I could get in the car next to his car seat and keep pressure on it. His face was also a bloody mess, mostly from his nose. His forehead was starting to swell and his nose was bruised and bleeding. Jake cried most of the way there (luckily they just finished a new ER center like 2 minutes from out house!) He kept saying through the crying "I'm tired, I want to go lay on my beddy!" Ok totally break my heart!! I tried really hard not to cry because I didn't want to scare him even more. Every time he calmed down a little bit he would fall asleep! That really freaked me out so I kept telling to him stay awake. By the time we got to the ER he was pretty calm and laid on Cam's shoulder while Cam held a rag to his head (by the amount of blood you would have guessed it was A LOT worse then it was!) They took us right back and by the time we got to our room Jake was ready to get down and play! He even pushed the Code button and sent a nurse running in, dang kid!! The only time he got a little skiddish is when a nurse or doc would come in. They put some topical numbing on the cut on his head and then cleaned it out really good and the doc told me to leave the room for the numbing shot b/c it was probably going to hurt pretty bad.. Oh great, once again I held back the tears! A few seconds later the doc came and got me suprised that Jake did so well! Jake laid right down and let the Doc put three staples in. We we're out of there in less than an hour! They even let Jake pick out a few toys for doing so good. As soon as we were all done I couldn't hold it back anymore and started crying! Mostly because I was glad it was over and I was SO proud of Jake for being so brave! He hasn't cried about it since! I woke him a few time Saturday night to make sure he didn't have a concussion and he was pretty grumpy with me every time!

Of course I didn't take any "before pictures" because who stops on the way to the ER and says "oh lets take a picture!?"

This is the next day and I would say it looks pretty good! Jake won't let anyone touch his head though so this is the best picture I could get!

This is after we got home that evening. We all had blood all over us so we put Jake in tub. You can't really tell how bad his face was bruised up.

So thats the story in a nut shell. I'm sure this won't be our last experience with the ER but I'm just glad we made it out in one piece!

First Pitch!!

2010-09-09T07:24:00.000-07:00

Giving Bones to Hank the catcher. Apparently this guy is "going places!"

Last week they had sponsor night at the Bee's game for the Company my dad works for, Valvoline. They had asked my dad to throw out the first pitch but he wanted Jake to do it and Jake was MORE than excited to except! My dad decked him out in a full on Bee's uniform and Jake looked so cute!!

Walking out onto the field like such a big boy!

With Hank and the Bee's girls and of course Grandpa Joey!

Hank signed his ball. Maybe it will be worth something someday!

Jake talked all evening about finding Bumble but then he kinda freaked out when we tried to take a picture!

I have more pictures of Jake actually throwing the ball but they need to be edited a little so more to come...

Fishing

2010-09-05T19:41:00.001-07:00

Not much to explain here... Just a nice quite Sunday activity. Jake really is his fathers son.

The Summer of Jake!

2010-08-11T16:07:00.001-07:00

(Jake saw a girl at the park with a cast on her arm and thought that it was the coolest thing so now any time he gets an owie he asks for a cast. He also insisted that Baxter needed one too so we wrapped paper towels around both of their arms. Jake rested his on that blanket for a while and pretended to be really hurt!)

I realized that I hadn't put picures of Jake up in a while so I figures I put a few of summer pictures up.

We spend a lot of time in the pool!

We went up American Fork Canyon one weekend to make tin foil dinners and have smores. Jake LOVED being up there as much as his dad does!

Dad teaching Jake to be a rock climber just like him!

Jake found one of Cam's head lamps and insisted on looking at dad's teeth with it... Future Dentist?

When I went to check on Jake before I went to bed one night this is what I found and I thought it was so cute because that is exactly how I sleep.. cuddled with a pillow or blanket!

Sorry that I look terribly gross but this is the most decent preggo picture I have right now! 24 weeks!

Jake LOVES playing picnic with his blanket and pretend food and asks to play picnic ALL the time!

It took Jake maybe a whole minute to do this to his toy room right after I cleaned up all the toys and vacuumed!

So that's what we've been up to this summer!

Update... kind of

2010-08-09T20:19:00.000-07:00

I have been such a blog slacker lately! Please forgive me, this pregnancy has been a little tougher than my first and not because I'm bending of the toilet every 5 minutes (thank goodness) but because I have thee MOST energetic (almost) 2 and a half year old known to man! He literally wears me out! Other than being exhausted most of the time I've been feeling OK. I still get really random waves of nausea but don't let that fool you into thinking I'm not eating because I HAVE been! Sometimes I feel like I'll be hungry forever!! Its a blessing and a curse... GRRRRRH! My favorite things lately have been tomatoes on pretty much anything and sweets! So i guess the tomatoes would be a blessing because at least I'm getting plenty of veggies but the sweets are a curse!! I can't control myself!! My neighbors either love me or hate me because I'm constantly asking if they want to come over for treats because if I don't share I WILL eat them all!

I'm starting to feel the baby move a TON! If really weirded me out when I felt him move so early on in my pregnancy ( I guess thats normal for second and so on pregnancies) but over the last few weeks I've noticed that this little guy is VERY active! I wake up in the middle of the night feeling him move and I really love it. Its the best reassurance that everything is going smoothly! Also Jake asks about him ALL the time, its so cute! I think he really understands that a new life is coming. He'll ask me when "Carson" is coming to play and "When can I show Carson my toy room? (Just so you know, Jake decided on that name all on his own.. well kind of. Cam and I have been talking about names a lot and Carson is one that I personally like but Jake picked up on it on his own and now calls the baby "Carson".) Last week we had 2 car seats in our car because I had left one at my moms and had to bring it home and Jake immediately told me it was for Carson and was really upset when we took it out because "Where's Carson going to sit Mommy?" SO CUTE huh!!

Ok so I've taken a few preggy pictures and trust me they are NOT blog worthly. I keep telling myself that I'll take a good one on a day when I actually get ready and do my hair and make up but, ha ha, that day has yet to come! I promise I'll TRY and get one up soon.

P.S please forgive any grammar issues... I really have lost several of my (already very few) brain cells!

Sorry

2010-07-08T07:46:00.000-07:00

Even though we found out last week what we're having, I've been so tired/lazy/poopy to get back on a post results so..... We're having another BOY!! I'm a lot more excited than I would have thought to be having another boy and I know Jake and Cam and really excited too. Everything looked great and the baby is doing really well. As soon as I figure out how to get the ultrasounds pictures on here I'll post them!

Place Your Bets!!

2010-06-26T14:02:00.000-07:00

We go in on Thursday for an ultrasound to find out the sex of the baby.. My gut really does tell me its a girl but than again I thought Jake was going to be a girl too! What do you think?

Hawaii

2010-06-18T20:05:00.001-07:00

Sadly we are back from another beautiful trip to Kauai. To say its a beautiful place is a real understatement. My pictures don't do it any justice. Its nicknamed the "garden island" and the "quiet island." Its much less commercialized then the other island which is one of the reasons we've been there 3 time! It is so lush and gorgeous! I took about 200 pictures while we were there so these are just a few.

"Leave it to Cameron to find "creatures within hours of arriving!"

Hanalei Bay, One of the most popular beaches on the North Shore.

The Trees on the Island are obviously amazing. I can't imagine how old some of them are!

Goofing of in Ching Young Village (one of my favorite places on the island) with Cam's sister Candice and her husband Will who got to come to hawaii with us!

We took Candice and Will to a neat spot we discovered last time called "Queens Bath." This is part of the trail and its just as amazing as queens bath itself!

Queens Bath

We were lucky enough to see a HUGE sea turtle munching on some mossy stuff while we were down there!

We spent a lot of time at the awesome beach where the Hanalei river runs into the ocean. On the river they have a rope swing, Cameron could NOT resist!

Since I'm not an "ocean person" I spent most of my time lounging (gratefully) on the beach and in the shade (the sun was really intense, we're talking 50 spf every few hours and still getting pink!)

While we were there I read, start to finish, Eclipse for the 3rd time before the movie comes out!

Don't ask why but Cameron LOVED getting tossed around by the waves and it was very entertaining to watch.

Sunday we went to the cutest LDS branch and enjoyed a child free meeting!

Sunday Dinner! It was SO nice to have a unit with a full kitchen. We only ate out twice and enjoyed making the rest of our meals "at home." I should have taken a picture of our unit. It was amazing. Newly remodeled and close to the new pool. I could very easily have lived there permanently!

On our last night we walked down to the Princeville Hotel and watched the sunset!

Although we were sad our trip was over, I've never been happier to go home. We missed Jacob way more than I would have ever thought! Almost everywhere we went Cam and I would both comment on how much "Jake would LOVE this!" We are so grateful that my parents took such good care of him, we were sure he wouldn't want to come home! Over all it was a much needed and much enjoyed trip!

Its Time...

2010-05-26T12:52:00.000-07:00

A lots been on my mind lately and I wondered if I'd ever feel comfortable blogging about this but the time has come and I feel a certain sense of peace about making this announcement... We're expecting number 2!

Naturally we are all very very excited but there is a lot of anxiety and fear that comes with pregnancy for me. The last miscarriage I had before Jake was born was terrible. In more ways than one. It was the absolute worst event in my life so far. Not just because it was sad and emotional but physically it was hard to get over, there was more than one very scary trips to the ER and on top of everything I think I had the most insensitive Doctor in the history of bad doctors! That whole experience made my pregnancy with Jacob somewhat hard to enjoy. BUT I'm determined to make this one a pleasant experience.

Everything so far (I'm 13 weeks) has gone very well. We've already had 2 ultrasounds both of which were perfectly normal. I was lucky enough to find an amazing doc that understands all of my fears and anxieties and is very willing to help reassure me that everything is going great! We'll find out at the end of June what we're having and I'm starting to feel really excited about the idea of being a family of 4!

the count down

2010-05-18T15:09:00.001-07:00

22 days til Hawaiian (child free) bliss... enough said.

Jacob's 2nd Birthday

2010-04-26T19:19:00.000-07:00

These are kind of out of order but you get the picture... right?

He was very gracious and gave all his guests a hug!

Look how much he LOVED the attention!

Checking out the kids meal! Wahoo

Loving his new kitchen!

First of all let me say how grateful I am for Jacob. He is so smart, funny, sweet and kind. We love the sweet spirit he brings. He is sharp as a whit!! He will remember ANY and EVERYTHING you tell him!!His has a bigger vocabulary that most 3 year olds and once he warms up to you you'll hear it! He loves Mickey Mouse these days and loves being outside. He is full of energy and constantly makes me laugh. He is so much like his Dad. Not only does he look like him but he acts like him. He would live in water if he could like his dad. He uses humor to get out of trouble like his dad and he is sweet and kind like his dad... That being said...

I've been kind of a slaker! Jacob turned 2 a week ago and I'm just now getting to putting up pictures! We had a fun several days celebrating Jake's big day. Sunday we had my family over for dinner to celebrate Jacob and Jessie's birthday. Jake loves any chance he can get to see grandma and grandpa and aunts and uncles. Cameron and I gave Jake a little play kitchen, which he LOVED, and my parents gave him some kitchen accessories. He has loved playing with his new toys and frequently makes me soup and knows to use the ladle to serve it to me, its very cute! He also got some new cars and a car garage from Tyler and Jessie. He is obsessed with garages!! So naturally he loved that! Monday (19th, his actual birthday) we went to Mcdonalds for lunch and then had Cam's family over that evening to celebrate again! He loved having his cousins over and we all had a great time.

Unloading my Camera

2010-04-11T19:12:00.001-07:00

We've had a few fun things happen since my last post and I'm to lazy to post each individual event so your going to get Picture overload!! I'm also to lazy to rearange them in order but you'll get the gist...

Easter at Grandma and Grandpa's house= getting very spoiled!!

Aunt Jessie helping Jake search for the goods!

We had Easter at home before heading up to Grandma and Grandpa's and Jake got really into it! He's been talking about the Easter bunny ever since. I thought it was really cute when Jake said the Easter Bunny "Popped away" instead of hopped.

We also had a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Lukens!! We always get really spoiled when they come into town!
We went to Jump On It. Which Jacob of course LOVED!!

We made another visit to the Aquarium for the first day of the penguin exhibit! Since Jake Loves Happy Feet I knew he would love seeing real Penguins!!

Jake and his cousin Carter paying very close attention to the guy giving his little speech about the new penguins. So cute!

So that's the latest with us around here!

St. George

2010-03-23T10:23:00.000-07:00

I tried to get some cute pictures of Jake while we were down there since the weather was SO nice but this was the best I could do. Photographing an almost 2 year old is NOT easy!

Nate, Tyler and Jake playing the sand.

Wherever Jake went, Nate wasn't too far behind!

Fun at the park!

By the time we left they were best buds!

Any chance I get to hang out with great friends, I WILL TAKE IT!! My good friend Alisa invited me to come down and visit again and I was lucky enough to be down at the same time as her older sister Angela (another good friend and former roomie!) We played bunco with Alisa's bunco group (Thanks Alena) our first night down there and once again I won lowest score, ha! We spent a lot of time outside enjoying the great weather and letting the kids play at the park and a lot of time catching up. Alisa and Angela, I LOVE you guys! Seriously! I'm so lucky to have had such good friends for so many years! I loved getting caught up and letting our kids become friends too. Friday evening after the kids went to bed (Major thank you to Alisa's husband who stayed home so we could go out) we went to a movie and then Angela treated us to my FAVORITE, Nielson's frozen custard (thanks again, Angela!) Saturday morning we made our way home, sad to go.. Jake did amazingly well on both trips aside from a few whines. On our way home we stopped at about the half way point and I let Jake get out and run around and then I bought him a sucker and let him have it for about 5 minutes before I took it away and told him we'd save it for later. When we got back in the car it was about his nap time so when he said "Mommy sucker" I said "how about binkies" then he said "how about SUCKER!" I had to laugh at how smart and witty that kid is! We made it home safely and I hope we get to make another trip soon!

Aquarium!!

2010-03-11T12:13:00.000-08:00

Jake loving Kellee and Jude being a little protective of mommy=
Kellee holding both boys!

Jude knew exactly what to do with the magnifying glass!

Sting ray petting pond.. I was too chicken to touch one.. ewww

We've found a great treasure in our neighborhood! Well actually my cousin introduced it to me and Jake and we're so glad she did because its a great way to get out of the house on a cold/rainy day. The Sandy Aquarium!! We went last week with Kellee and Jude and Cam even got to come with us on his lunch break. I was impressed with how quickly Jake took to Kellee and Jude since he doesn't get to see them very often. He even wanted Kellee to hold him instead of me! We'll definitely being going back frequently since a year pass is only $18!!

Best in Class

2010-03-07T20:13:00.001-08:00

This last weekend Cameron entered our truck in the 2010 Autorama Car Show and won best in Class for a conservative truck. Needless to say we're kinda excited about it. Hopefully that will give the truck the edge it needs to sell! Any takers... Give me a call!

I survived

2010-03-03T06:31:00.000-08:00

Just real quick I wanted to let you know that I survived teaching my first lesson! Whew! I think it went pretty well, I had several women tell me they were impressed that I handled it so well and that my teaching style was "refreshing." I felt pretty good about myself and how the lesson went right afterward so I think I'll be able to do this now!

Oh dear goodness!

2010-02-27T15:30:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago Cam and I were given callings in our new ward. To say that I was shocked by my calling would be an understatement... Relief Society Instructor! WHAT?? I'm not even 25 yet, I can't teach much older and much wiser ladies anything!! So My first lesson is tomorrow I need all the prayers I can get! Thanks, I'll let you know how it goes.. if I'm not in the ER with a head injury from fainting!

Trip up North

2010-02-22T06:34:00.000-08:00

This last weekend we made our way up north to visit Cameron's dads grave in Richmond and then go to my friend Angela's sons 3rd birthday. We left the house around 11am so by the time we got up to Layton it was close to lunch time and we were hungry! You know the Krispy Kreme sign lured us in!! We got 4 donuts and headed down the street to Crown burger b/c I was jonesin' for a Gyro and Cam loves there pastrami burgers so............. With very, very full belly's we finished our drive up to Richmond to see Grandpa Johnson's grave. I didn't even think about the snow!! The whole cemetery was covered in about 2 feet of crunchy, hard snow and it had been several years since we'd been up there and we didn't know EXACTLY where is was so.....

Cameron started digging.. and digging and digging! Until finally after about 30 minutes..

He found it! It was A LOT closer to the road then we remembered but we will not forget for next time.

It was really a special moment for Cam to show Jake Grandpa Johnsons grave since Jake has never met him (in this life anyway.) I got a little emotional seeing Jake reach down and touch his head stone and say "bumpa Johnson."

Cam was also able to find his grandpa and grandma's grave as well as some thought be be great grandparents. The cemetery was very peaceful and actually very pretty. It had a beautiful view and some nice mature trees. I'm not a professional photographer but I've loved having my new camera and being able to play around with it.. I think i got some good shots!

To continue our adventurous afternoon we stopped at the pepperidge farm factory to visit the "thrift store." You know that's bad news....

We got 2 boxes of gold fish, two bags of cookies and one huge bag of sugar cookies all for 10 bucks!! Needless to say we were pretty pleased with our frugal purchase!

We ended the day with Tyler's awesome 3rd birthday party! We had a great time and Jake loved hanging out with the other kids. Angela and Bobby were nice enough to let us stay the night and we really enjoyed their company! I think I got some great pictures of the party but I'll let Angela be the first to post them!

Funny Boy

2010-02-09T18:41:00.000-08:00

Jake says some funny things these days, so if you need a good chuckle keep reading... He loves to anyone who will listen how much he loves "Grandpa Joey" and how much he loves grandpa Joey's "choppers." (remote controlled helicopters that Jake can't get enough of!) He loves telling people he has a "new house" and that B (baxter) needs a walk to poop! And that we need a "baggy" to pick it up with! Jake will randomly come up to me, pinch my bum and say "pinchy bum!" Don't ask how he knows what boobies are but he does! And he knows that bra's are for boobies but he just calls them boobies too, so when I put my bra on Jake will say "boobies on!" Its hard to capture in words how cute it is when Jake says "Um?" but it is DANG cute. He puts his hands up and shrugs his shoulders and says "Uuuuummmmmm?" For some reason Jake loves Ikea! Whenever I ask him if he wants to got to Target or Walmart with me he'll say "no Kea!" (he likes out the I in Ikea!) What a cute and clever kid we have!

The truck got a face lift!

2010-02-05T18:35:00.000-08:00

The new look (minus the pin stripping.)

We bought this truck brand new in 2007 and have gotten good use out of it but we bought it in AZ and there is no need for 4 wheel drive there so when we decided to move to UT... well you get the point. Anyway so now that we are really close to Cam's work and he has a motorcycle and a scooter its time to get rid of an unnecessary expense! Since vehicles depreciate SO much Cam decided to boost the value a little bit by giving it a custom paint job and putting new 22's on it. Personally its not really my style but I can see how it could be very appealing to someone else and I really hope it is because I'm ready to be rid of it! We haven't decided on a price yet and if it doesn't sell in the next few months it will be entered into the car show.. ANY TAKERS?

Shavin!

2010-01-27T08:13:00.001-08:00

Jake makes me laugh everyday! A couple Sunday's ago he watched Cam shave, then the other day while I was getting ready Jake pulled a chair up to the counter and started doing exactly what he saw daddy doing. When I asked him what he was doing he said "shavin beard!" It was SO cute! I can't believe how much he absorbs at this age. He learns new words and phrases everyday. Lately he loves to call baxter a "silly dog" and he's learned mine and Cameron's name. I have to admit its pretty cute when he calls daddy "Cami!" He learned that from me.. oops. He can also ask for breakfast, lunch or dinner (sometimes he mixes them up, like asking for dinner in the morning but it still cute.) He also calls his bed a "big boy bed" and frequently asks to sleep on "mommy's pillow." He LOVES pasta and asks for it all the time as well as peas (um yuck!) and beans (like pinto beans or black beans.) He'll also tells me to get dressed in the morning when he comes to wake me up it usually goes "Mommy get up, dressed mommy dressed." Even though most of the time he's so adorable we've also hit a frustrating phase because he now sleeps in a big boy bed, nap time or bed time sometimes turns into a nightmare. I know he'll get used to it eventually its just being patient in the mean time that will be my trial. He's also a pro at throwing tantrums! I thought I had seen tantrums before but oh man he's reached the next level! We've both been sick this last week and sick tantrums are just about to my limit! Anyways, I love this little boy so much, I can't imagine our lives without him!

Recipe Exchange

2010-01-22T07:30:00.000-08:00

I don't know how successful this will be but I want to give it a try anyway. I LOVE food, especially treats and I love getting new recipes so I thought this could be fun. This recipe is one of my go to recipes anytime I need a quick treat! I refer to them as chocolate, peanut butter rice crispy's but I've also heard them called Scotcharoo's or scotties. They are super yummy and really easy to make and they are always a favorite!

What you need:

6 cups rice crispy cereal
1 cup Karo syrup
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup peanut butter

topping:

1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup butter scotch chips

In a medium sauce pan mix together sugar and karo syrup and bring it to a boil. Boil for 1 minute ONLY (it will get funky after that) take it off the heat and stir in the peanut butter and pour over rice crispy treats. Mix it well and pour it into a pan and flatten out. Melt both kinds of chips together in the microwave and pour it over the rice crispy's. You can put it in the fridge to set up or just leave it out for a couple hours. Sometimes I do a little extra chocolate and butter scotch chips to make a thicker topping.

I hope you guys try and enjoy these treats and hopefully I see some recipes on your blogs soon!

2010 Car Show

2010-01-19T06:35:00.001-08:00

Jake loves being in the front seat of a car and I love when its not my car!

I can't remember what car this is but it was NICE

Ahh the Bentley's! One of them had a tag that said "Car show special 169,000.00"

Don't ask why but I really love the Chevy Traverse. Its so roomy and cute, much better option then a mini van!

Sometimes Cameron working for Larry Miller has its perks... because Larry Miller's family owns pretty much all of Utah we gets free tickets to Jazz games, the movies and tickets to the car show! At first I wasn't to excited about going but it turned out to be a fun night. Jake LOVED it and I got to sit in some of my favorite cars without feeling guilty I wasn't going to buy it!

Moving In

2010-01-11T14:45:00.000-08:00

Ok... (sigh...) I'm so worn out! We're finally moved in to our new place in South Jordan. Lets just say that I hate moving!!! We really loved our little town home in Draper but the owners of the home were having some financial trouble and the home was put on the market for a short sale and we knew that day that we would be kicked out was getting close so... When we found a great place about a mile from Cam's work it seemed like the perfect move. We started about this time last week just taking things here and there and saved all the big stuff for this past weekend. I didn't realize how grumpy moving could make me and lets not forget that Jacob picked moving day to figure out how to jump out of his crib and REFUSE to take a nap! Ahhhhhhh. Anyway I'm so scatter brained right now I can't even blog without feeling frazzled so I'll just share a picture or two of the only thing that brightened my day.

Is it sad that one of my favorite things about our new place is the AMAZING amount of closet space!! Jake climbed into one of the closets and kept saying "new house" it was to cute!

On another note.. PLEASE check out my Scrabble Tile blog, my mom is amazing and has come up with some darling charm designs!! www.scrabblemaniaart.blogspot.com

New Years Party!

2010-01-02T16:53:00.001-08:00

Playing Rock Band!

Getting Crazy with Quelf!

This year one of my resolutions is to get together with friends more often so we thought why not kick of the new year with a party! We've never been the kind of couple that throws parties but we figured it couldn't be that hard so we invited a few friends and had a great time! We had some good food, got to know each other a little better, played one of my favorite games called Quelf and played rock band until midnight! We had such a good time that it motivates me to do much more often.

In other news we'll be moving this up coming week to a new place about a mile from Cam's work. We're really excited to be so close because the winter is so crazy busy for Cam that it will be nice to be close enough for him to come home for lunch (and dinner on the nights he works til 10!)

Christmas Stuff So Far

2009-12-20T07:45:00.001-08:00

We made ginger bread houses after rock climbing for Cam's birthday.

Never again will I try to create my own, I love the ginger bread house kits now!

Jake putting Candy Canes on the tree.

Christmas party with Cam's co workers at the Cheesecake factory.

Jake LOVES "hot coco" these days and asks for it every morning! He's also going through a very independent phase so I can't help him with it so I usually take his shirt off to avoid an even bigger mess!

First visit with Santa...

He wasn't too thrilled!

Gibb Family Christmas Party! We did pinata's this year and Jake loved stomping on the candy... he didn't really get it.

Lower prices!!

2009-12-17T08:43:00.000-08:00

Just to let anyone whose interested know, we lowered our prices on our scrabble tiles! Check out the blog at

www.scrabblemaniaart.blogspot.com

I am Loved!

2009-12-14T06:51:00.000-08:00

Thanks guys, I'm glad to know that people read my blog even if you don't comment! I feel loved... more postings to come.

Hello?

2009-12-12T07:26:00.000-08:00

Hello..... any body out there?? I feel like no body reads my blog. I'll still post because I kinda like to but sometimes its nice to know that people are reading it!

Cam turned 28!!

2009-12-08T14:30:00.000-08:00

Birthday lunch at Cam's new favorite place... Fudruckers

Tackling the 1lb burger... he ate every last bite!!

We went rock climbing with some friends to celebrate over the weekend..
I didn't realize Cam had put a chalk hand print on my bum!!

BIRTHDAY BOY!

Candice and Will

Candice made it to the top of this challenging wall!

Cam talked Zack through this "spider monkey move"

Jacob's new favorite song is "happy birthday" and he's surprisingly good at it!! We had a great weekend celebrating Cam's birthday!

Houston!!!

2009-11-24T11:47:00.001-08:00

Ready to start their lives together!!

Dancing with Sister Mixa! She was a great salsa partner!

It was nice to visit with old friends! Drue's nephew was so fun to hold, we passed him around a lot!

Oh how I miss REAL Bar B Q!! So yummy

Doing Arlena's hair. I was so happy so loved it! She looked so beautiful!

These pictures are all kinda out of order but you get the idea....

Me and Alisa flew to Houston on thursday afternoon and had a pretty smooth flight. Eden picked us up and we went to a yummy mexican resturant, the kind that you can only find close to the border. Then Eden took us back to her beautiful house and I think we sat on the couch and chatted for seriously like 4 hours. When Edens husband got home he wanted to take us to his new fav pizza place (I can't remember what its called) and it was SOO yummy...needless to say I ate WAY to much!! Friday morning I sent a text to Megan to see where she wanted to meet us for lunch and she sent me a text back saying she was on her way to the hospital to have Baby Will which is kinda funny because Alisa and I joked about how funny it would be if Eden or Megan had there baby while we were there!! We spent most of Friday shopping, Eden was such a trooper for being out and on her feet most of the time! OH I can't forget the most hilarious part of our trip, Saturday morning at about 2:45 ish I saw a strange flash or orange light and a weird noise. I must have opened my eyes because I thought it was coming from the TV in front of the bed but I was asleep enough to think it was a dream... It happened again and it scarred the crap out of me, I thought for sure the TV was exploding!! I woke up Alisa in a panic and she quickly clung to me as we were both scared for our lives! I told Alisa to turn the light on and she said "No, I'm scared!" (SO FUNNY, now that I look back) We both get up and the lights don't turn on so we go to wake up Eden. Her and Husband were already up and I think just as startled as we were! Come to find out a transformer blew right behind there house!! Luckily some body came, chopped down a few trees and got the power back on before we had to get up and get ready for the wedding in the morning! Saturday we got up early and went to Arlena's and the girls supervised while I did Arlena's hair. After the wedding (which was a beautiful Ceremony) we went to the Lyons for lunch and then hung out for a little while before the big party of a reception. I got to see TONS of old friends and ward members and it made me miss Houston a lot. After lots of food and dancing Me, Alisa, Eden and David went to see a late showing of New Moon. SO GOOD! Much much much better than twilight! Jacob spent most of the movie with his shirt off and I know this might be inappropriate but it was NICE!! Sunday we went to church and then got ready to come home.. It was really really sad to leave. Eden and David were such gracious host and I hope we have a chance to come back and visit often! Alisa was the best traveling partner, I would take a long trip with her any day! Over all it was an AMAZING trip and I'm so glad I went.

A New Blog

2009-11-11T09:24:00.001-08:00

I decided to set up a separate blog for my moms and mine scrabble tile jewelry. Please check it out at:

www.ScrabbleManiaArt.blogspot.com

We're really getting the ball rolling with our jewelry and are excited to share it with our friends and family! There will be a give away on hiphandmandes.blogspot.com for one of our cute charms so make sure to keep an eye out for that!

New Scrabble Tiles

2009-11-05T10:34:00.000-08:00

Front and Back of Art Work tiles.

The shiny finish made these pictures kinda hard to take because there a little darker but the pictures are very clear in person.

First on the left: Bella and Edward, Middle: the "wolf pack," and the right picture is Bella Between Jacob and Edward.

Here are a few more Twilight/New Moon and some Art Work Scrabble tiles. Twilight tiles are $7 and Famous Art tiles are $14. (New Moon comes out it just over 2 weeks!!!) My email address is ellenkjohnson@yahoo.com if your interested. I will be listing them on ebay but wanted to give my friends first dibs!

Tell me what you think....

2009-11-03T18:52:00.001-08:00

Front and Back of the Same tile.

New Moon/Twilight tiles
(sorry my camera is not the best and the red background probably didn't help!)

With all the creative/trendy jewelery out there I thought I would try my own hand at some hand made scrabble tile and beaded jewelery and it turns out I LOVE it! Its such a fun hobby that lets me use my creative side! I started wondering if my hobby would be liked enough by other people that they would consider purchasing them. These are just a few of the many many that I have done over the past few weeks and each one gets cuter and more fun! There are tons and tons of cute and creative images out there that can make a tile personal or whimsical. I'm just wanting to get some opinions on weather this would be something you could see yourself liking if you saw them in a boutique? The tiles that are just one sided with a jewelry bale would be 7$ and the double sided tiles with a dangle or a few dangles would be 14$. I'm thinking about posting the tiles I've come up with myself once a week and adding new ones every week. I can also do personalized tiles with an initial (the initials are SUPER cute! I'll post some later) or specific images that fits what you want as well as specific bead colors. Thanks guys!

Halloween!

2009-11-02T06:58:00.000-08:00

He waited ALL night for that sucker and he didn't let me forget about it when we got back from trick or treating!

Picking through his stash

What a cute C-ba (Zebra)

Saturday was such a fun day for us not just because it was Halloween but because we had Cameron all to ourselves! We spent the whole day together running errands and getting ready for trick or treating! If it hadn't been so cold up here Jake could have trick or treated all night! As soon as someone would answer the door he would practically yell "Treat Please!" Forget about the trick I just want a treat! It was so cute to watch his big blue eyes as his pumpkin filled with candy! He was very particular about putting the candy in his pumpkin himself, if someone went to put the candy in for him he would nicely take it out of their hand and put it in himself! So Cute. We had such a fun time watching Jake get what Halloween was all about!

18 Months!

2009-10-25T07:59:00.000-07:00

Showing his "stubborn" side by refusing to look at the Camera!

Getting so grown up!

Trying to give himself a haircut!

Mesmerized by the pumpkin!

I've carved pumpkins before but never like this!

I know it could be better but for my first time doing something like this
I was pretty happy with how it turned out!

I can't believe Jacob is already 1 and 1/2! I remember so well this time last year and enjoying how much he was growing and now another year has already passed. It really is amamzing how quickly he has changed, every where we go everyone is amazed at how well Jake is talking. He repeats EVERYTHING we say!! Its made me realize how much I shouldn't say. The other day in the car I forgot something and said "oh fetch!" and next thing I know Jake is saying it all day!! He's getting really good at putting several words together in a sentence and its so cute, sometimes it takes a while to get it all out while he pieces it all together but its still impressive! At his appt on Tuesday he weighed 22lbs! I can't remember what his height was but he's in the 50th %. He's kinda become a picky eater or maybe I should say a stubborn eater. There are things I know he likes but sometimes he just wont eat! He still has just as much if not more energy, yesterday we all ran errands for several hours and he ran everywhere we went and still had plenty of energy to spare when we got home! Since Halloween is nearing Jake's favorite word is Pumkin and he can say it really well! He will see the smallest picture of a pumpkin or a pumpkin on a porch a ways a way and still be able to point it out! He amazes me everyday and I feel so proud of him even at this young age!

The Fireflies of Florida!!!

2009-10-13T10:36:00.000-07:00

We made it!! Wahoo!! I'll tell you right now, I was really awful at taking pictures, I was too busy having fun!

Thurday night, first time to the Ocean

It was so nice to have a kitchen, we ate "at home" most of the time!

Collin and Grandpa. Our resort in the back groud!

Jake loved looking for sea shells and got really good at saying sea shells too!

Cam and boys built some AMAZING sand castles but I never had my camera around when they were finished! Luckily Jessie took some good ones (I'll post those later)

Saturday night watching Conference!

On our way to Orlando! Jake and Jessie snoozing in the back!

Sunday dinner at Red Lobster!

Jake kept us laughing with his sour lemon faces!!

Being goofy after walking around the mall!

Me and Ty!

Good times at the pool!

Cam and Tyler entered the "Frozen T shirt" Contest! They soaked a tshirt and folded it up and froze it for 3 days! whoever got in open and on first won.... and who do you think won...

Cam was the winner! The hat was his prize and he was pretty excited about it!

Last day at the beach and pool!

Oh how sad I was to leave West Palm Beach, Florida!! We had such a great time. It was so good to spend quality time with my whole family!! I always knew Jacob was a lot like his dad but I learned just how much! He, like Cam, was born to be a beach bum! They both loved everything about the beach. The sand, water, sea shells, fish, boats... everything!! Thursday was kind of a long anxious day but we got there with plenty of day light! We got grocery shopping done and then headed to the beach for our first dip in the atlantic! Friday and Saturday were spent doing whatever we wanted!! Going back and forth to beach and the pool, eating WAY too much and just lounging! Jake did great at wearing him self out and taking good naps! Saturday night we sat around the lap top and listened to Conference and then Sunday after breakfast we headed to Orlando for a few days. The kids and Cam went to universal studios on monday while me, Jake and Grandma and Grandpa went to the very very large outlet mall. We found lots of good buys and then headed back to the hotel to go swimming. After the kids got back we went to the local mall for dinner so we could all get what we wanted and then walked around the mall to burn off the many many calories we'd eaten! Tuesday we headed back to west palm beach and went back to be beach/pool bums! Thursday morning we went for one last walk on the beach and then sadly said goodbye! I don't know that the details of what we did we're my favorite part of this vacation but I really did love just spending time with my family. My brothers make me laugh so hard!! They had us laughing the whole trip! Tyler was always listening to music and the song Fireflies will always remind me of this trip together!!Collin is just goofy, he was rarely serious, he can make anything seem funny! Jake woke me and Cam up early every morning and I loved those early morning strolls on the beach! I loved spending some time with my mom and dad and I alway love hanging out with Jessie. I don't have any complaints!

vacation!

2009-10-03T05:41:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to rub it your face that I'm enjoying the gorgeous west palm beaches and enjoying the sunshine!! We're having a blast together and soaking it all in. I'll post pictures when we get back!!

Final Days of Summer

2009-09-24T15:11:00.000-07:00

My mom taught me how to make these scrabble tile necklaces and they so fun to make and really cute. I turned one over so you can see its actually a scrabble tile!

For the first time since moving to Utah we visited the State fair. It wasn't any more special then any other state fair but Jake LOVED it! Especially the animals!

A very real shark!!

This image is one of my greatest fears!

Everyone knows the best part of any fair is the FOOD!!
We seriously had maybe 3 or 4 bites each and it was gone.

I've never seen a cow SO big!!

I wanted to take the floppy eared bunnies home, so so cute!!

Jake loved the birds!

Jake and Baxter sharing a chocolate frosting beater!

I can't believe Summer is officially over! Its my favorite time of year and it seems every year it gets shorter and shorter! I've loved the beautiful Utah summers as apposed to the scorching phoenix summers. We've enjoyed so much time outside and I'll be sad when it gets to cold to play outdoors. We're leaving for Florida in exactly one week and I can't tell you how excited I am to be on a family vacation!! I'm looking forward to quality family time and some good R and R!!

check it out!

2009-09-17T15:11:00.000-07:00

I'm selling avon now and would really appreciate any support I can get. Check out my website. This Campaign ends on monday so hurry and get your orders in!

www.youravon.com/ejohnson2773

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-09T07:06:00.000-07:00

Over Labor day weekend one of our friends from Cam's work invited us to his families Cabin at Bear Lake and needless to say we had a blast! We drove up Friday evening and the fun got started on Saturday. The boys took out the boat for a "test run" while the girls cleaned up breakfast and Jake took a nap. Later we all took four wheelers down to the beach and once again the boys took off on a ride while the girls hung out at the beach. Jacob LOVED the beach. He loved digging and playing in the sand and trying to eat the sea shells. One thing I still haven't gotten yet is why he kept picking them up and putting them on his head and saying "hat." That evening we all went out on the boat and boys did some wake boarding. I was very impressed that Cameron's still got it! Jake loved the boat, Brit's parents we're so great with him. They loved letting Jake try new things! Even though Jake woke up earlier then everyone else every morning I'm still suprised at how well he did over the weekend. We slept in the loft which was wide open and Jake still went down for every nap and slept through the noise and chatting. He was SO cute with everyone. He thinks Brit is a big teddy bear and loved to climb on him and lay down! We Came home monday afternoon, sad that the weekend flew by but we had so much fun and are so grateful for the Nickel's and being so gracious with us.

Cameron, Kayden and Nick built this "mayan temple" on moday, the picture does not do it justice (Cam's not in the pick b/c he took Jake back to the Cabin for a nap)

Once again the picture doesn't do it justice. Camerson's Aligator!

Holy CRAP I still can't believe I got in the Lake. I have a very unhealthy fear of open water and while it may look like I'm laughing its only to hide how terrified I was!! It only lasted about 5 minutes and poor Amanda pretty much had to hold my hand through it!

FREAKING OUT!!! Seriously.

Steve let Jake drive the boat and he obviously loved it!

With a little pratice I think Cam could be a pro!

Totally in the "sand zone." He walked around like he had a serious mission to complete at the beach, it was too cute!

Jake's first 4-wheeler ride. I don't think there was much about this weekend Jake didn't absolutly love!!

Another LONG but FUN weekend!

2009-08-24T09:29:00.000-07:00

Me and Collin keeping ourselves pretty entertained with my Camera!

Jessie givin the peace sign

Mom and her book as usual!

Jake loving sitting in Ty's racing kart!

Oh and you can't for get the "hat" as Jake would call it!

Another excting "vroom vroom!"

Now that Cam's work has slowed down just enough for us to spend some family time together we really try to get the most out of our weekends. Friday after Cameron got home we headed up to Clinton for one of my high school friends wedding reception, I wish I had taken my camera because there were some Houston peeps there that I hadn't seen in a long time! It was so good to visit and catch up and to get to be a small part of the wedding celebration. Saturday we headed to Miller Motor Sports Park to watch Tyler race. Jacob LOVES being at the race track, hes loves anything (especially engines) that makes a Vroom Vroom sounds and the louder the better! We missed the first of three races but caught the last 2. The first one we saw Tyler stalled at the starting line but it made for an exciting race. Twards the end he caught up the rest of the group, which I think is VERY impressive! There's about an hour and a half or so between races but somehow we mananged to keep ourselves entertained for the 3 or 4 hours we were there! The second race Tyler had a pretty good start and after a couple laps we didn't see him pass us and started look around to see him off to the side and climbing out of the car. We later found out that he got a flat tire!!! BUMMER! Even though he didn't feel like it was his best day, I still think he's amazing!! Over all we had a really fun weekend!!

Everyone watching and wondering what happend to Tyler.

I know its hard to tell but that Tyler (sitting down in the black suit) waiting for the race to be over after he got a flat tire!

Oh its been a long day!

This is mine and Jakes new favorite toy, Its mine because it keeps him entertained for SO long and his because its "noney" and a piggy and he loves both!

Kinda late but....

2009-08-17T10:29:00.000-07:00

Its a little late but o well. So once again I sang the national anthem at the Bee's game and this time I really enjoyed it. Since I kinda knew what to expect I felt like I really "lived in the moment." Even though it wasn't perfect I felt really good about it and I'm so glad I had the opportunity again. I felt really pleased with myself for doing something thats really kinda scary!
This time I invited some of my cousins and there spouses to come and we had such a blast. We mostly chatted (and I didn't pay much attention to the game) and got caught it. It was such a fun way to spend a friday night!
Sorry the pics are kinda big, I copied them from my sister!

St. George

2009-07-31T18:48:00.000-07:00

Bath time!

Nate had this little slide and Jake LOVED it, he'd wake up and the first thing he'd say was "slide!"

At first Jake was scared of this tube but after a while he got the hang of it after he saw Nate go in it.

Slash Pad

ALWAYS playing on the slide!

This year our family vacation isn't until October and I was starting to go a little crazy from the same routine everyday so I decided to invite myself down to my good friend Alisa's house for a few days. It was the perfect last minute get away. Jake and I left Tuesday morning and got there around noon and didn't leave until this morning. Jake and Nate are only about a week apart and it was SO nice for him to have a buddy to keep him busy and entertained. It was also really nice for me to spend some time with Alisa who has been a great friend since high school. Tuesday after we got there we let the boys get to know each other and then picked up some lunch and went to the park and got all caught up, Wednesday we took the boys to a "splash pad." I hadn't heard of a splash pad before then and it was a really nice way to cool off. Its kind of a water play area at the park and they boys loved getting wet and then playing on the playground. Wednesday night Alisa's husband and in laws were nice enough to watch the boys while Alisa took me to one of her monthly Bunco games. I had never played Bunco before but I LOVED it!! I want to start a bunco group up here now. I even won 20$ for lowest score!!! Thursday we did some fun shopping and had lunch with Alisa's mom and then came home and we all took a nap. Jake and I both had such a great time, I think he'll miss having a buddy his size around. I guess we'll just have to make trips down there more often. Thanks Alisa, Skyler and Nate!

5 years and 15 months

2009-07-20T09:10:00.000-07:00

We've taken thousands and thousands of pictures over the last 5 years and its hard to pick a handful that high light some of the great times we've had!

Engagement, May 2004

Coming out of the Salt Lake Temple on our Wedding Day
July 22, 2004

Celebrating our 1st Anniversary!

Our First Trip to Hawaii, 2006

9 months pregnant with Jacob and
the Day he was born. April 19, 2008

This last weekend Cameron and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary. I can't believe 5 years has already gone by. Although there have been some very difficult moments over the last 5 years the amazing moments far out weigh the hard ones. When we got married I was just barely 19, I feel like I've done a lot of growing up with Cameron. We've both become "adults" together and I feel so amazed at some of the places we've been and things we've seen and most of all the amazing things we've accomplished together.

So to celebrate we started by sending Jacob to Grandma's and heading to Texas Road House. Anyone who know Cam knows he's a beef man so our dinner had to include beef and what better place than Texas Road House. We had a super delicious meal and then headed to the Crystal Inn. My sister in law works there so we got to stay there for the night for a sweet price!! Then Saturday on our way home to change we stopped by the Scout car wash that Cameron missed and then headed to Cowabunga Bay. Its a brand new water park really close to our house and we've been wanting to go there for a while so we thought we've give it a try while we had the day to our selves. It was a BLAST!! Cameron was like a kid again, I seriously think he felt like he was 10!! All in all we had a really great weekend to celebrate, I hope this next year is just amazing as the last 5!I was started when I noticed this Armidillo sitting next to me!!

Cameron enjoyed EVERY last bite of his 20 oz Prime Rib!

In other news Jake turned 15 months yesterday and had his appointment this morning. He is doing great!! He's not quite 20lbs but he's 31 inches tall! He is learning and growing so fast!! His vocabulary is expanding everyday and love to hear him speak his own little language. He is such a joy to have in our home and most defenantly the best thing that has happened to us over the last 5 years!

Family Night Out: Alpine Adventures

2009-07-09T09:57:00.000-07:00

We didn't find the waterfall that's supposedly up there but we did find a beautiful spot where the water was easily reachable.

Jake LOVED riding on our shoulders!

He didn't do any hiking but he sure got tired!

On Monday Cameron got home at a decent time and we decided to make the most of the remaining day light. Cameron loves finding great hiking spots and can spend hours at a time looking at maps and finding trails. He took us to this trail that he recently found and it ended up being so beautiful. It was a fairly easy hike with some steep areas but it was totally worth it. Jake LOVED riding on our shoulders and treating us like horses (pulling our hair to get us to go faster!) At one point the Camera fell out of my pocket without my knowing it did and Cameron had to go looking for it and Jake loved sitting and playing in the dirt while we were waiting for him to come back (that's why my white shirt is dirty in some of the pictures.) It was a warm evening but most of the trail was shaded really well with big trees and the nice breezes kept us cool. It was the perfect way to spend the evening together!

Are you Friggin Joking!

2009-07-01T21:16:00.000-07:00

I have to say since moving to Utah there have been many things I've noticed that have been less than pleasing. For the most part I just deal with it, that's life, o well. But today was the last straw and now its all coming out.

For starters, Utah drivers are THEE most inconsiderate commuters I have ever encountered and I learned to drive in HOUSTON!! Have you ever heard of a blinker? Its that little light that signals to other drivers that your going to swerve into there lane nearly knocking them off the road with hardly any notice... but the notice would be nice people. All common curtousey fly's out the window when Utahans get in the car. When I, who knows what a blinker is, decide I need to change lanes find that all most all the time people speed up so there not the ones who has to ride behind me or they get really ticked and ride my tail. Hello your not the only ones on the road!! Besides not knowing basic driving skills a lot of them are, sorry to say ummm stupid. You don't stop in the middle of intersection and you are required, by law, to pull to right when an ambulance or police is flashing there lights. Its not an option!

Ok now that that's out of my system let me share my less then pleasant experince with you from my trip to the DMV. Ok so NO body likes going to the DMV, especailly with a child but its one of those things you have to do.... Jake and I get to the DMV, both in a fairly good mood and ready to get this experiace over with. Now that our house in Arizona is sold I have to register my cars in Utah and get a Utah license. Most of my experiace was toralable with short waiting periods and I'm glad its almost over. The last thing I have to do is take a 25 question, open book test to finish getting my lisence. Up until now Jake was doing really well. He was being kinda loud but a happy loud. He just wanted to talk and play but I was proud of him for doing so well. So I get to the counter to start my test and the lady working the counter is very very visibley annoyed with me and I guess its because I have a 14 month old with me. I think "whatever lady, get over yourself. Theres atleast another dozen kids in here, one more isn't going to kill you!" I forget about it and sit down to my computer and let Jake sit in the empty chair next to me. He quickly starts playing around the chair and pulling things out of my bag for the most part being pretty good. After a while I will admit he was getting loud and I was a little distracted only because I was trying to read and keep and eye on him. I honestly didn't think anyone else was bothered. They same lady passes by several times and finally stops where Jake is playing and looks at the empty computer like he's destroyed it (he hasn't even touched it) and then puts her hands on her hips and very rudley and loudly "sushes" him. I'm thinking "um are you joking right now, don't sush my kid." Again I think "whatever" and hurry to finish my test but before I can answer the next question the Lady comes up to me and tells me people are complaining about "my kid" being a distraction and I need to "get him under control." Ok lady now you've done it, I've had about enough of you. So I say "what do you want me to do, stop taking my test?" she says "I don't know just keep him quiet!" I think to myself, fine I'm out of here and say "ok, If its bothering that much I'll leave" and she very firmly says "no ma'am I'm not bothered, other people are complaining." Ya right lady, you've acted annoyed from the moment you saw me, don't blame it on other people. So I stand up and say "stop my test then" and they guy behind me says "thank you!" ARE YOU FRIGGIN JOKING!! Its an OPEN BOOK test you moron, you don't need to consintrate that hard!! this isn't the libraby and even after I leave there are a handful of other kids in here that are still going to be making noise. At this point I'm TICKED, I mean really really mad. I'm shaking and I get all my stuff and leave. As I'm walking to the car I realize the "counter lady" has my license! OH CRAP, now i have to go back in there and face the monster!! So I go back to the other counter (not the test counter) and file a complaint about this whole situation and tell the manager how I understand its annoying to have a loud kid while your taking a test ok some people don't have any tolaroce but this lady handled it SO poorly and had absolutly no sense of basic human interaction! Anyway.... so now I have to go back at 7am tomorrow morning before Cameron goes to work so that I can get it over with without WWIII!
I wish I could have made this picture bigger but the "lady" kinda made me think of the mean principal from the movie "Matilda"

Perfect Weekend

2009-06-30T16:19:00.000-07:00

Just like his Daddy, Jake LOVED sitting by the creek and tossing stuff in.

The boy knows what he wants. SMORE'S

Jake loved picking up wood and helping Dad toss it in the fire pit!

Cameron has been working SO much lately that we hadn't had family time in a while. I'm not complaining because I'm so grateful he has had so much work to keep him busy. Last summer was really slow and tough for our family. But anyway, Cam finally had a whole Saturday off and we packed it full. We got up early and had a yummy flap jack breakfast then went down to the Draper park and Cam played with Jake on the playground while I went for a jog. We came home, put Jake down for a nap and then Cam and I napped too. When we woke up we ate lunch and headed down to the Draper pool for a few hours, came home and we all napped again. We woke up and ran some errands, ate dinner (chick fil a, one of my fav's!) and went to my nieces birthday party. Sunday after church we decided to make the most of the gorgeous weather and made up a picnic and headed up the canyon. Ahh it was SO nice to have some quality family time. I just wish I had our camera on Saturday. I didn't even think to tote it around with us but Sunday I made sure I had it with us.

Bee's National Anthem

2009-06-26T15:09:00.000-07:00

For those of you who remember a post back from March about singing the National Anthem at the Bee's game, I got asked to sing again. How cool is that! I must have done an alright job for them to think of me again. I'm really excited and I hope more of my family and friends can make it to this game. August 7th at 7:05pm!! See you there

Family Pictures

2009-06-25T13:25:00.001-07:00

Last week we had family pictures taken with all of my family and I'm really excited about them because they turned out SO cute. It was kinda strange how I found this girl that took them. Kinda a cousins friend of a friend but anyway I was really impressed with her amazing eye for photography and she did so well giving us directions and finding the perfect place to put us. Here is a copy of her blog, you might have to scroll through some older posts but until I get our cd here is sneak peek.

http://hatchphotography.blogspot.com/

Love these girls!

2009-06-25T13:22:00.000-07:00

For those of you that read my previous post about the crazy lunch with my old roomies, here is a picture that I stole from Angela. We really did have a good time despite my crazy son. I love these girls and I'm so glad we got to get together!

Advice Please!!

2009-06-23T13:36:00.000-07:00

To start off let me first say that I LOVE Jacob more than I ever thought I could love anyone. I'm sure all mom's know the overwhelming love I'm talking about. He is the sweetest, smartest little flirt I've ever known and I would give my life, without thinking about it, for him.

Ok so now you know I'm not intentionally being a bad mom let me vent and little and ask for some real advice.

So being a mom is HARD, duh. I know now truly how different all babies/children are and I realize more and more everyday what kind of personality Jake has. He is FULL of energy and thats an understatement. I'm not just talking about the child like energy, he is above and beyond! I think naturally some kids are more mellow and content to be still and some need to be moving all the time. Please tell me how to live with a child that hardly ever holds still!! Seriously. For example I had a great lunch date with some of my old roommates planned for today and I'm always excited to get to see them and catch up. Jake took a really great nap this morning so I was sure he was be happy sitting in a high chair and snacking on french fries but oh man was I SO SO wrong. It was the most embarrassing outing to date. He started off by splashing everyone at the table with my diet coke and throwing all of the crayons on the floor and then screamed to get down and go outside for the remainder of the meal. I don't think I've ever seen such a huge mess underneath our table. Every time I forced him into his hair chair he would climb out, I tried holding him but he would arch his back and try to slide out of my grip so most of the time I was chasing him through the restaurant. I felt so awful for everyone else, especially my friends, who were trying to enjoy a nice lunch. I felt so out of control!! I've learned to roll with the punches a little bit better since becoming a mom but this was way out of my comfort zone!! What do I do? Hes to young for time out and discipline, he doesn't understand why he has to sit still and behave so how do I deal with it. I don't wont to be someone who never does anything because I'm afraid of how my child will act but I also don't want to be the mom who everyone wishes would leave because she can't get her child under control! ARRHHH I seriously need a nap now. I wears me out!! Its one thing when he gets like that at home (and trust me, he does) but when it effects other people I don't know what to do or what other people expect me to do. Cameron's reassured me that most likely everyone (especially the ones I care about) how forgotten all about it and its not a big deal and he is probably right but I'm still a little traumatized by the whole thing! I didn't even get more than 3 bites of my meal, I ended up taking it to the park to eat while Jake ran around!

Well I appreciate anyone who was willing to read about my drama today. I'm sure tomorrow will be better.

What a BOY!!

2009-06-14T16:12:00.001-07:00

Jake loved all the water that collected in his truck from the rainy weather this past week. He loves splashing in water!

Jake got a play tool set for his birthday and Cam wanted to show Jake how to use them on his car!

Last weekend at Tylers race it was kinda windy and apparently my hair was pretty entertaining!

Jake was rolling around in the trailer at the race and when I went to go check on him he had squirted his bottle ALL over his face and thought it was funny.

Well I don't have much to write about this time, life is pretty much the same ol' same ol'. Cameron did just get back from a 3 day Grand Canyon trip that he absolutely loved and I spent the weekend with my family but I'm glad Cam's home and life is back to normal.

What a RELIEF!!!

2009-06-06T09:02:00.000-07:00

This will be short and sweet... Our house FINALLY SOLD!! Yay yay yay, happy dance, happy dance!! We signed closing documents Monday and the Realtor called on Friday to tell us it was all a done deal and we could finally move on! I am so so thankful for so many people that have said prayers on our behalf. The situation with our house has been one of those life changing trails and we are so happy to have worked through it and to be able to move on.

Memorial Weekend

2009-05-29T19:56:00.000-07:00

I was too lazy to rearange the pictures to go in order but you get the drift right....

I made brownies today and I let Jake lick the spoon and oh boy was he in heaven...
til I took the it away!

It was time for another haircut yesterday and he looks older and older with every one!!

Memorial day. Jake had WAY too many treats!! We let him go at it with the Popsicle and he got it EVERYWHERE!

I think he had 3 baths that day from all the treats!

Me and mom making cinnamon rolls for breakfast!

Sunday morning I made waffels with fresh whipped cream and Jake got one of the beaters!

Enjoying Camping while it lasted

Its hard to tell but Jake was squashed in between all the camping stuff and perfectly happy!

So we had been planning on camping with Cameron's family for memorial weekend near Cedar City for a month or so but we had a few wrenches thrown into the gears and we changed plans a bit. We ended up going camping near Strawberry lake with Cameron's brother and his family for friday night. We had planned on staying til Sunday but after a very very long and cold night on friday and lots of rain on saturday we left around 1:30 on saturday to come home and catch up on lost sleep! We had dinner with my family on sunday and stayed the night to go with them to the Gibb annual family picnic on memorial day. After the picnic for lunch we went back to my parents to have a BBQ with some neighbors. It was a busy but fun 3day weekend!

Okay Fine!

2009-05-24T06:22:00.000-07:00

O well, less work for me! Your loss guys, I make really really good "grandma Hazel" cookies and icing. I guess since you don't like "free stuff" you won't get to try them!

Free Stuff

2009-05-20T20:06:00.000-07:00

DO YOU LOVE FREE STUFF?

OK! So this is how this works…The first five people to respond to this post will receive something made by me for you. My choice made especially for you. Of course there are some restrictions and limitations:

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make! (Of course, I will try to make something that I think you would like.)
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It will be done sometime this year.
4. You have no clue what it will be… it may be a story. It may be poetry or an article on properly cleaning your face before a masque. I may draw or paint something. I may bake something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that’s for sure.
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange. (This will be fun :)
6. I will send it anywhere! It doesn’t matter where you live!

The catch is that you must repost this on your own blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on their blog. The first five people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did will win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me!!
(copied from Brittany's blog)

Latest Happenings

2009-05-16T20:51:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday Cam, Jake and I enjoyed the nice weather on a walk. Jacob LOVES being outside but finds the oddest things entertaining. He loved trying to pick the dirt out from between the cracks in the sidewalk! He also loved crawling down the hills backwards, I guess he learned that from crawling down the stairs!

We had a great mothers day which we spent with family. We had a small birthday for me at my parents house before heading to Grandma Bonnie's for dinner. Grandma and Grandpa recently took a 2 week cruise to Europe and after dinner my Grandma brought out the goodies, mostly from Jerusalem. Jake and I had a good time playing with them!

Even though I've been sick for the past few days I couldn't pass on free tickets to the La Mans practice and qualifying races today at the Miller Motor Sports Park. We had such a good time! Jake was mesmerized by the cars and the noise. He kept saying "room, room" which is his version of "vroom, vroom."

24 Things to be Proud of!

2009-05-07T10:32:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is my 24 birthday and I can't help but wonder "what the heck happened to 23?" Its so weird after spending most of 22 pregnant and it being one of the SLOWEST years of my life to have 23 fly by so quickly! It makes me wonder if the rest of my life will go by as quickly as this past year? At 24 I wouldn't say I have accomplished a lot of things but I think its important to recognize the few things I have, no matter how big or small they are.

24 of my life's accomplishments!

1. I survived a moving to Houston, which was one of the biggest culture shocks of my life. Even still I had some of the best times of my youth in Houston and it will always always be a special place to me.

2. I survived the "teenage years" and loved them. I LOVED High school probably more than most but even though some of my favorite things happened in high school my home life was really crappy at times. Me and my dad and a tough relationship and I remember feeling like that would never end. Thankfully it has and I'm a better person for it.

3. I decided by16 what I wanted to do after high school and was accepted into the Cosmetology program. I had my License right after my 18 birthday and passed the (8 hour) exams the first time which apparently doesn't happen that often.

4. I married a wonderful returned missionary in the House of the Lord at 19 and started a great life with my night in shining armor!

5. I started, what I consider a successful career, as a Hair Stylist at 19 and in my first big salon moved from Jr. Stylist to Sr. Stylist in 3 months, breaking the record for my salons location (and making way more money!)

6. I bought my first house with my husband at 20 and lived there happily for 2 and half years!

7. I endured a lot pain and heartbreak from not one but two difficult miscarriages. Not only that but when I look back at those difficult experiences I feel proud of the growth and strength that I was determined to get out of them.

8. I survived 2 and half years away from my family. During those 2 and half years Cameron and I learned to relay on each other. We celebrated some amazing miracles and embraced some overwhelming trials together, away from the strength of family.

9. I grew a healthy baby! Enough said.

10. I delivered a healthy baby, again.. enough said!

11. After almost 2 years of lots of tears and stress fighting with our mortgage company, who took advantage of us and put us in a loan that along with many other Americans, destroyed our economy, we stuck in there and will be able to say (in about 3 weeks) that we sold our house, instead of giving up!

12. I packed up all my things, took a huge risk and moved to Utah.... with a 10 week old!!

13. (now its getting tough to come up with anymore so they might get a little cheesy) I've kept a pretty steady Journal since I was 8 years old!

14. I served in many numerous callings for our church and never turned one down.

15. I've never ever in my life tried any drug!

16. I paid off my first car!

17. I've been (I think anyway) a loyal friend. I've never walked away from a friend. I have and would do anything for my friends (even though some of them didn't do the same for me.)

18. I always apologize. No matter how hard it might be sometimes, no matter who it is, I will say I'm sorry and to the best of my knowledge I've righten every wrong that I've ever been a part of.

19. I've made lots of people laugh! Even if its at my own expense!

20. Its hard to think of very many times when I haven't said my prayers. I made a good habit of that when I was really young and its stayed with me.

22. I've developed a personal relationship with my Savior. I'll admit that there have been times when my efforts weren't what they should be but I will ALWAYS come back.

23. I've taken as many opportunities that have been given to me to Share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I've taken some low blows for being a member Of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints but I have never and will never be ashamed no matter how much the world tells me I should. I don't know if I ever made an impact on anyone but I've always tried.

24. I'm a wife and a Mother! I know I kinda already mentioned those but they are worth mentioning twice!

Latest Mischief

2009-05-03T09:21:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pictures of Jake and some of the trouble that he is learning!

This is one I had to blame myself for. Jake and I had been running a lot of errands on this day and by the time I got to the bank (my last stop) he was getting really tired of being in his car seat. I remembered I had some suckers in the glove box and picked out a green one (least likely to stain) and gave it to Jake to keep him happy. He was quiet the whole way home, when I went to go get him out and he didn't have a sucker in his hand I thought "oh crap there is a sucker stuck somewhere in my car." Then I saw it!! I had to take pictures and just laugh.

He loves to get up and run away before I can get a clean diaper on, I'm lucky if I can get him clean before he takes off!

Jake LOVES to go outside. The other day was pretty rainy and very soggy outside but Jake was throwing a tantrum because he wanted to go outside SO bad, so I finally gave in and within a few minutes he had found a gutter full of muddy water and had a blast. Cameron was so proud, he had to take a picture!

Jacob also loves climbing! The dishwasher is one of his favorites! Lately I have to wait until he's asleep to do the dishes otherwise it either takes me forever because I have to keep Jake away or half the dishes need to be washed again because he put them in his mouth or thrown them into Baxter's drinking water (another favorite, I just haven't gotten a picture yet. He also loves to taste Baxter's kibble!)

A few thoughts

2009-04-23T10:35:00.000-07:00

Our first house in Maricopa Az

(above) One of the best decisions I've ever made

Just a few of my Arizona memories:

Horse Shoe Bend near Page Az where Cam and I lived for 6 month after we were married. This is when my family came to visit

Water Holes Canyon. Mine and Cam's first adventure together

Kayaking the Salt River was a weekly event for Cam in the Summer and occasional I would take the weekend off work to go along and enjoy the SUNSHINE of Arizona.

It was apparent from the very beginning it was going to be a tough Job

I've had a couple thoughts over the past week or so that I've thought about blogging about so your going to get a jumble of different things.

First... I LOVE the SUNSHINE!! I'm like another person when the weather is nice. I'm so much more pleasant and easy going. I swear when I'm grumpy its all the clouds fault! (Light deprivation syndrome MAJOR!) Since I was 11 the majority of my life has been lived in warm weather places. I never knew how much I really enjoyed it until we moved to Utah last summer. The cold weather and snow was a little refreshing but after about a month I was done. I've been anxiously waiting for the time to get out my shorts and flip flops and I'm SO SO SO glad its hear. I'm sure we will have a few chilly days before summer is really here but I don't care I love the Sun. Jake, Baxter and I spend a lot of time on our back deck and I think Jake loves it as much as I do!

Second... I never thought I would say this but I miss Arizona. I didn't dislike it while we were there but it got really hard after my family moved away. I saw a picture of the Mesa Temple on my friends blog the other day and I was surprised when I got a little emotional and teared up. When I think about my life during the 4 and half years I was there, it was filled with lots of learning and growing and soul searching. I moved to phoenix when I was 18 after spending 10 months in provo. Provo proved to be a mistake and a learning experience, so when I moved to AZ to move back in with my family I was so glad to be "home" (home being anywhere my family is.) I also realized how much I needed good people around me and missed having my amazing group of high school friends around. I think I would have spent a really long time looking for that one person that made me feel like the "old Ellen" again. Luckily I didn't have to look for long because Cameron came into my life pretty quickly. He was a breath of fresh air for me, he felt like my security blanket right away. Heaven knows that after Provo, I needed him SO bad. I think it was hard for some people to accept mine and Cam's quick courtship and engagement but I knew I had to be with him forever. ok.. thats enough about that cuz I'm already crying! (I could go on and on about how Cam's saved my life!) ....... I learned so much about myself while we lived in AZ and I have so many amazing memories that took place there. Arizona will always have a very special place in my heart.

third... I am the only one who feels like being a mom is IMPOSSIBLE sometimes!?! I know I can't be. Nobody ever tells you how hard it really is, and if they did, you don't believe them until you are a mom yourself. I mean good heavens its hard, and I've only been a mom for a year!!! I am so extremely impatient sometimes I feel like I couldn't have been meant for this job! I very much like to be in control. I know its not a desirable quality to be a control freak but I'm not in denial about this weakness I have. That being said, I feel so out of control!!! Just when I think my everyday routine is finally getting a little bit more "controllable" something happens that throws it out of whack. That's life I guess, and someday I will have the patience needed to be the perfect Mom but right now I'm struggling. Don't get me wrong I LOVE Jacob so much and he is the source of the all the Joy Cam and I feel but its so hard not knowing what I'm doing most of the time. It's hard not knowing what Jake wants or what he needs 24/7. Most of the time my frustration isn't anyones fault but my own. I get so frustrated that I'm naturally frustrated (does that make sense?) Someday I will get this all right.

Those are the thoughts that have been going through my head lately. Reminiscent, Happiness and Frustration. Over all I feel pretty lucky to have such a good life. I feel so blessed to be so closed to our families and to get to spend a lot of time with them. Thanks for letting my vent.

Jacob's First Birthday

2009-04-19T19:25:00.000-07:00

Today my baby turns one!! AHHH, where did the last year go? I can't believe how much he has grown and changed. He is such a joy in our home. He learns something new everyday and its so fun to watch him discover something different and say new words. I'm amazed at how quickly he picks up on certain words and what they mean. He LOVES waving and saying "hi," he can also say bye, ball, hot, down, B (for baxter) and of course "no" is his favorite and he knows what it means believe me! He also has mama and dada down pretty good. He loves cuddling with baxter and his stuffed animals, we tell him "give it loves" and he hold it up to his neck and leans his head over and says "ahhh." It is way too cute! He loves making new friends and touching their faces, especially the cheeks!

We had a great birthday weekend with family and friends. Saturday we had a crowd in our little living room, all there to celebrate with us. We all had a really good time, especially Jake. He walked around waving and saying "hi" in his cute little voice. Just as we suspected Jacob didn't hesitate one bit when it came to his cake! He dove right in, getting baxter (waiting patently by the high chair) just as dirty! He even shared with grandpa!

I did it!! Wahoo

2009-04-13T20:26:00.000-07:00

Anxiously waiting for the moment to finally arrive!

Jake had SUCH a good time at the game. He loved when the crowed would cheer!

Me and Mr. Bumble after my performance!

I guess Jake was being loud!

Me and the kid who through the first pitch and his Dad, Bob Harmon. 3rd Generation owner of Harmon's Grocery Store.

So tonight was my big night (with singing the National Anthem at the Bee's Game) and I'm honestly sad its over. It was so fun! Yes, I was a little nervous but I surprised myself with how calm I stayed. I feel pretty proud of myself for just doing it at all. I think it sounded pretty ok. Obviously had I not been nervous at all it would have sounded better, and there was a delay with the speakers so in the beginning of the song it made me nervous because I thought I was off but it was just because the speakers were a second or 2 behind. We stayed for most of the Game and it enjoyed it with family and it was a great way to spend the evening.

I finally figured it out!

2009-04-11T20:27:00.000-07:00

So after 3 days of a low grade fever I took Jake in to see the bro in law (pediatrician) and he said that a Gastro Intestinal bug had been going around and that it would just have to run its course but just to make sure Jake stayed well hydrated. Ok, I can deal with that! So I got some gateraid on the way home and have kept an eye on the diaper's and such... Since Thursday, when I took Jake in, he has been much better, still a little uncomfortable but much better. (Before I go on I need to mention that while I was sitting in the waiting room at the doc's office I noticed Jake's face looked a little blotchy, almost like barley there little zits and thought that was weird but didn't really think anything of it.) This morning while I was getting him dressed I was shocked to see his entire torso, front and back and also his neck and face COVERED in this blotchy rash. So after a brief moment of panic, I do a little digging and discover that all the symptoms of Roseola match perfectly with Jake's the past week. Fever for several days, up to a week. Fussiness and loss of appetite and when the fever breaks the "trunk" of the body is covered in a flat red rash. It usually clears up within a few hours or days. Its a contagious air born virus with rarely any serious side affects but it can cause seizers if the fever gets too high, luckily that parts over and Jacob is on his way to feeling much better! Whew

Poor Baby

2009-04-07T19:46:00.000-07:00

Jake is sick.... URGHHH!! I assumed when he started feeling warm last night it was because his top teeth are coming in, I honestly don't know. At about 1 AM this morning he woke up fussing for about the 4th time and when Cam went to go check on him he was really hot, so we stripped him down, gave him some medicine and let him sleep in our bed (not a usual thing at our house.) By morning Jake seemed a little better but still uncomfortable. Since then he has been on medicine every 4-6 hours on the dot. He has had a constant low grade fever and I have honestly never seen him SO miserable! I think there is a good chance it is teething but I'm not ruling out an ear infection or virus. Its so hard to see Jake so uncomfortable. He hasn't been himself at all. Usually he is going a mile a minute, never sitting still but the past 36hrs he has been extremely sleepy and clingy. He has fallen asleep out of no where a couple time (something that hasn't happend since he was a new born.) Poor Kid. The bottom teeth weren't anything like this, ya he was a little fussy and warm but never to the point where I felt like I needed to call the doc but this time has me a little worried. I wish he could tell me what's wrong, what hurts, what he needs. It almost makes me cry to watch him.

On a lighter note, Jake is walking all over the place. He can now stand up on his own. If he falls down instead of crawling he stand back up and keeps going. Soon it will be running, no doubt! He gets great satisfaction out of picking up heavy pots and pans and carrying them around the kitchen, its so cute! He also LOVES the stairs!! Since we have 2 sets of stairs he stays plenty busy! He is getting really good at mimicking us. He says "ball" a lot and "Ha" which is hot. Its so cute to see him try to enunciate, he opens his mouth really big! He has also learned "mine." I don't think he knows what it means yet and I hope he doesn't anytime soon. I think that came from playing with cousins and friends who don't like to share and say "mine" a lot. For now its still cute when Jake says it. We've also started brain storming for his 1st birthday. Most likely just a small gathering of friends and family and local park and grilling up some burgers. If the weather stays like this it will be perfect!

I promise I will post pictures soon, really there isn't much to see when the poor kid is sick!

National Anthem!!

2009-03-31T09:34:00.000-07:00

Hey all my local peeps, I'm singing the National Anthem at the Bee's Game (minor league baseball) on Monday April 13th at 6:30pm! Its the Monday after Easter and I don't think tickets are too much so come if you can!!

Anyone who wants to come can get ticket for 3$ per person!! You can go to slbees.com to find out where to get tickets!

MOSTLY relaxing Saturday

2009-03-22T16:21:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning we got home after a week of being away and it was nice to just chill for a few hours. Cam's sister and her family came up from St. George, so everyone got together and decided to go to a local indoor pool with the kids. I hate to say that Cam had to drag me kicking and screaming. Not because I didn't want to go but I just wanted to stay home! On top of that I don't have a swim suit that fits and I knew that if we were going to get Jake in I would want to be in the pool too. Well, after showing up an hour or so late Cam and Jake got in and I did have fun taking pictures BUTT (pun intended...) after about 10 minutes I see a lifeguard across the pool holding a scooping net.... OH BOY. I knew that couldn't be good. Pretty soon after that everyone was asked to get out of the pool. Not only did someone POOP in the pool they had diarrhea!! YUCK!! 2 summers ago tons of people got really sick from that same situation, needless to say we were done! So Cam, Jake and I decided to kill some time at Target before dinner at his sisters house. After dinner the girls pilled into the theater room at watch Twilight. The second time around with that movie wasn't as good. Honestly it doesn't do the book ANY justice. I don't want to be one of those people to bags on the movie because it was different but not only was it different it was VERY cheesy. I guess the first time I watched it I was just so excited I didn't notice the cheesyness! My sister in laws and I all agree that the guy who played Jasper is so weird looking!! I don't know how excited I am about the New Moon Movie... Anyway, after the movie we sat around laughing really hard like we always do, but after a taco/burrito dinner we couldn't handle the nasty toots the men were letting out so we went home at about 11:30. It was nice to sleep in our bed!

I'm still alive!

2009-03-18T13:40:00.000-07:00

Its been about 5 days since I came to watch my cousins 3 girls and I'm still alive! Jake doesn't adjust easily to the pack and play but after about 2 nights he is sleeping well. For some reason his sleeping situation will make or break me. If he fights going down for a nap its like the end of the world, well to me anyway. It stresses me out so bad that it can ruin my day. Luckily it didn't take too long for him to adjust so I can be happy Ellen. Other than breaking up a few spats here and there the girls pretty much govern themselves making it easy for me to be "in charge." Cameron on the other hand needs more supervision! Sometimes I feel like he wants to get in trouble and since we've been babysitting there are just more kids around to recruit into his trouble making!!! All joking aside, Cam has been really helpful. I've been able to catch up on all the classic Disney movies. I've seen them all but its been so long that I didn't realize how much I'd forgotten. During both Beauty and Beast and The Little Mermaid I've found myself watching intently wondering what was going to happen next. Now I feel like I need to go out and buy all of them because they are really good! I will admit (just a little bit, because I know my cousin reads my blog) that I've spoiled the girls just a tad! Staying up a little past bed times, movies and popcorn almost every night, 2 cookies instead of one and best of all... Captain Crunch!! Wahoo. Who doesn't like captain crunch? I know its WAY WAY too sugary and I usually don't eat that kind of cereal but we could all use a little indulgence once in a while. Hopefully the girls don't rat me out because we have LOTS of secrets that they aren't supposed to tell Mom and Dad. I also left them a little St. Particks Day treat. Phoebe asked me yesterday morning why the milk wasn't green and I had no idea what she was talking about, then she told me the leprochauns usually turn the milk green. I thought "Oh Crap, I forgot about St. Patricks Day!!!" So I got them yet another sugary treat and left it on their beds with a note from "Mr. Leprochaun," in tiny hand writting. I thought I was too cute when Phoebe told me it was "the best day ever" after she found hers after school.

Anyways, so far I'm still alive and not stressing (too much anyway.) Jake and Sydney are both napping and I'm enjoying some peace and quite!

Here comes TROUBLE!!!

2009-03-13T20:37:00.000-07:00

Jake is walking... need I say more? Over the past week he has taken more and more steps and then all of the sudden he decides to be brave enough to just go for it!! He still stumbles a lot but he can walk!! We are staying at my Cousins house while they are out of town and watching their 3 girls, and just during the first day Jake has managed to tackle Sydney (the youngest of the 3 girls) who is 2, all the way to the ground. Luckily it didn't end in tears even though Jake bonked his head really good. He has also learned how to throw a tantrum!! Is that possible, a 11 months old throw a tantrum? I hope this isn't a sign of years to come. Instead of crying loudly and screaming at the same time he clenches his fist's and screams. Not cries, just screams! He throws things if he doesn't want them and then yells at me. Oh boy. Not to say he isn't my little sweet pea anymore but when he is tired you know it. On the flip side he is really good at giving kisses and loves and can now wave "bye bye." He gets SO excited when I come get him after a good nap and that, for some reason, is the moment when I feel like a good mom. Everyday he look a little bit more like Cameron and acts a little more like him too, and I'm not complaining. If ended up just like his dad I would be a proud mama.

Enough Hair Cuts Already!!

2009-03-10T21:11:00.000-07:00

I love how Jacob has his hand on his cheek. Too cute!!

First off I just want to say thanks to Megan for being the ONLY one to comment on my last post. To see "O comments" day after day is really sad and depressing and Megan was the only one to think of my sensitive feelings and comment on my last blog! Thanks Girl!!

We finally gave Jake a "big boy" hair cute. The trims here and there just were not cutting it (no pun intended.) He did pretty good although he didn't like sitting still or the buzzing clippers but he got through it and he look so grown up!

These are for all my friends who have asked me to post pictures of the "post weight loss" Ellen. Now down 30lbs!! WAHOO. I couldn't decide which one I liked so you get both!! These were taken before the Jazz game we went to the other night with my family and some friends. We had SUCH a good time!!

JAZZ vs Nuggets. Jazz won!Jessie and her friends

Collin and his buddy

Tyler and his friends

Mom and Dad
(below, duh) Cam and I. Oh ya we were in a suite! Thanks Dad

Having a good time

2009-03-06T06:33:00.001-08:00

These first few pictures are of the first adventure Cam ever took me on. It was right after we met in april of '04. We went down Water Holes Canyon just outside of Page, Az. Cam's friend Otis took all of these pictures for us, he is usually the leader of all Cam's crazy adventures and the one that convinced me that I wasn't going to pee my pants or die while trying to repel!

The 2 pics above also include Otis. Cam and Otis went to Salami Jug just outside of phoenix.

These last 2 are of when Cam and I kayaked 6 miles up Lees Ferry. If we had gone up just a little further we would have reached the Glen Canyon Dam. It was a scary but breathtaking journey. We went with our friend Kib, who has also gone on a lot of adventures with Cam.

Can I just say how FUN Jake is!! This age is so fun, he is constantly entertaining me! Not that being his mom hasn't been great from the start but now its really fun. He responds with such personality to everything. He is the perfect mix of Cam and I. He is adventurous, fearless, and a complete busy body just like Cameron! He is really silly, loud and impatient like me. It will be interesting to see what he does with all of the qualities and personality as he gets older! I can totally see him being everything that Cameron wants to be like a tour guide of some place really adventurous or someone who teaches people to repel, rock climb and cayonear. Or maybe a snowboard or ski instructor. Who knows but I'm sure it will be something that requires physical activity. Cameron (and Jake I'm sure) could never do a desk job, he has WAY too much energy that needs a good outlet.

I'm so grateful for Jacob and I know every mother says that about child or children but it means something unique and special for each mother. My life long lesson with be one of patience and Jake has been a great teacher for me. I've learned so much about myself over the past year and I think for the most part I'm a better person for being Jacobs mom. I can't wait to share all the experiences this life has to offer with Jacob!

Cookies and Milk!

2009-03-04T07:00:00.001-08:00

The beginning of a new love!

The only bad thing about an oreo is that eventually its gone!

Since Jacob's 9 month doc appointment I've started to incorporate more dairy into his diet to try and "fatten" him up! The last few appointments he has been in the 15% for weight even though he is usually in the 75% for height. So as you can imagine his is pretty skinny. It never worried me because I know Jake is a pretty good eater and has always been healthy but my brother in law (the doc) told me that I could try adding more full fat dairy products into his diet to try and fill him out a little bit. Since then Jake has discovered how much he LOVES yogurt! They were giving "gogurt" samples away at costco the other week and Jake pretty much swallowed it whole so we bought a huge pack and he can't get enough. I tried giving him bits of cheese and he never seemed to like it until I tried string cheese, which he now loves. I also started to slowly add whole milk into his diet and he didn't seem the least bit phased by the switch. I'm still giving him plenty of formula but I don't want to switch him cold turkey ya know. He has also developed a love for oreo's. Call me a bad mom if you want but I could never be one of those mom's who refuses to give her kids a little indulgence once in a while and plus it keeps him happy for quite a long time and what mom doesn't love that!! He is also a pro at his sippy cups. He can put it in his mouth from any angle and still manage to get a good drink, he can spot a sippy cup from across the room and know exactly what it is and go for it! It really is crazy how quickly time has flown by and changed Jacob so much!

The New "Do"

2009-02-27T15:01:00.000-08:00

My mom got to be the grandma of two for a few hours!

My sad attempt at a cheesy "before" picture

"Cam I'm not ready yet!"

OK, ready... Tada!!

I finally gathered the courage I need to cut my hair and I'm really glad I did. My cousin Kellee did a GREAT job and was patient with me while I was explaining all my fears and concerns. I feel like a new person, in a good way. The new bod needed a new hair do and I think they go great together!

Sneaky Sneaky Little Boy

2009-02-25T19:26:00.000-08:00

Me and Jakie POOHS!!

So today Jake and I ran a lot of errands and when we got home Jake was a little cranky and I really needed to get some things done so I put Jake in his high chair with some Trix cereal. That seemed to keep him really happy so I just kept giving them to him so I could get the dishes unloaded and load and yada yada. After a few minutes I noticed that he was giggling every once in a while and I figured it was the cartoon he was watching or that Baxter was making him laugh. Well.... this little clip shows what was really keeping him happy. What a STINKER!!

BUSY BUSY BUSY!!

2009-02-23T19:24:00.001-08:00

Ahh I finally get some quite time to sit down and update my blog.... Let me just take in this precious moment....... AHHHH.....

So it seems my life is going 90 mph lately. I don't know what it was about last week that made me feel busy (other than babysitting) but for some reason I did. Thursday thru Sunday we're spent watching my sister in laws 4 kids while they were out of town. So all together thats 4 days with 5 KIDS!!! Not only did I watch the kids but we had 3 house guests (at my sis. in laws house!) The kids were really well behaved and we had a lot of fun for the most part. Thursday was all homework, choir practice and dance lessons and off to bed! Friday all 4 kids had school so I had time to run home and do some laundry before the yougest got out of preschool. Then it was off to a birthday party for the 2 youngest and b ball practice for the oldest. Saturday we took everyone to Jump on It. Its a huge area with wall to wall trampolines and big blow up jungle gyms. The kids wore them selves out, including Cameron. He claims that in order to keep a "good eye" on the kids he needed to buy a wrist band and jump also... ya sure, but he had a great time too. Then off to wendy's for lunch and then to the park, then to my other in laws for a family birthday party, home to watch a movie and then bed! Sunday was filled with 100 questions an hour about when "mom and dad" are going to be home!!! I've got a lot to learn and patience to gain before I have 4 kids!! Oh boy was it a lot of work and running back and forth! Now we are home and trying to get back on our own schedule.

Jake also turned 10 months over the weekend and surprises me everyday. We can now add "no no" to the list of things he likes to mumble. He can also clap his hands and LOVES doing it, especially if I say "yay Jakie!". It seems like everyday he learns something new and it totally catches me off guard. Its hard to believe he is only 2 months from being a year old!! We didn't have time to even think about taking pictures over the weekend but I'm sure there will be many picture perfect moments this week... I will have to add those later but for now I'm just relaxing...ahhhhh

Valentines Pictures

2009-02-16T07:12:00.000-08:00

My home made Valentines Dessert, It was so yummy!

Jake got a Lightning McQueen Car for Valentines. He loved it!

My boys enjoying a pancake breakfast!

Happy Valentines Day!

2009-02-14T18:52:00.000-08:00

I just have to quickly say, you all MUST see Confessions of a Shopaholic!! It was Cameron's idea to take me for valentines day and we both liked it. It was really funny, Ila Fisher is so cute! I have a feeling she will be in many more romantic comedies! I love how a lot of good movies are PG lately, this movie was really clean and a good movie for Mommy Daughter date or girls night out or (best of all) too see with you loving husband! Jake got a Lightning McQueen Car that his can sit on and scoot around on for his Valentines Day gift and he LOVES it!! He was so grumpy when Cameron had to stop pushing him around on it! I hope all of you enjoyed a wonderful day with the ones you love!