Happy Birthday Connor!

So, this is just about 2 months late.

Better late then never I guess.

I can’t believe Connor is 2!  

They grow up way to fast.

I know all parents say that.

It doesn’t make it any less true though.

Connor has been so much fun.

He gets into EVERYTHING!!

There are some days where 

EVERY. SINGLE. ELECTRONIC is plugged in.

I keep waiting for the day he is going to get electrocuted.

There is no keeping him out of them.

He escapes all the time.

We had to get a lock at the top of our door.

We call it the “Connor lock”

I keep waiting for the day when he 

figures out how to get out even with the lock.

He is OBSESSED with keys.

We got him his own set for his birthday.

He had a ton of fun opening all his presents.

He decided it was fun to throw them.

EVERYWHERE!

Good thing there was nothing breakable.

I found him a toy for outside, off KSL.

He likes it.

I think he would live outside if we let him.

He got a vacuum from uncle Blake.

He decided to vacuum Uncle Blake.

We got him his own lawn mower.

He pushes that thing everywhere.

His birthday theme this year was cars.

I had a hard time deciding what to do for him.

They didn’t really have any themes with keys.

They didn’t have any “electronic” themes either.

So, cars it was.

It makes me sad that the days of him being so little are numbered.

I want him to be my baby forever.

Of course I have said that with all my kids.

Sadly, they all continue to grow up.

I guess I will just have to enjoy it while it lasts.

Our Cruise!

We got the opportunity to go on a cruise with our best friends.  We have been planning this for the past two years.  It’s been a long time coming.  None of us have ever been on a cruise before, so this was all new for us.  The ship was amazing!  It had 11 floors in it!  There was TONS of food everywhere, three swimming pools, multiple hot tubs, a gym, shopping places, a theatre, a mini golf place, a water slide, a comedy club, a casino, etc.  It was like a floating resort!  The staff was awesome!  They were so nice and kind to us, treating us like we were all celebrities or something.

Our first stop was in Cabo San Lucas.  The water there was breathtaking!  We got to hang out at the beach all we wanted, did some souvenir shopping at the flee markets, where we are still laughing at some of the catch phrases these people have learned to try to get you to buy something from them.  We got to spend 2 days here.  On the second day we rented kayaks and made our way across the bay in them over to “Lovers Beach.”  While there, if you cross over to the other side, it is called “Divorce Beach” we thought that was pretty funny.  The waves on divorce beach where HUGE.  There was all kinds of signs posted to not get in the water on that side because of the waves.  On Lovers Beach, it was very calm and nice, so we did plenty of playing in the water on that side.  We got to go to this restaurant called “The Office,” it was so yummy!  Nothing like having authentic mexican food!

Did I mention that we ate A LOT!  There was so much food available to us everywhere, even through room service and it was all included.  Every night at dinner we all would choose like 2-3 appetizers each, 1-2 dinners each, and 1-2 desserts each!  After all was said and done I thought I would have gained at least 10 pounds!  But, luckily it was only 2!  We did do a lot of walking around on and off the ship, so maybe we worked some of it off or something.  We would even try the food that we would normally not dare eat, like alligator, shark, snails, etc.  But, after I ate the shark (so disgusting) my trying new things was over, I didn’t want to try any other weird food, but Jared and Gus sure did.  Now, it’s hard getting back into the swing of things, knowing, that my food won’t just be prepared for me whenever I want it and that I can’t just eat as much as I want!

Our next stop was in Puerto Vallarta.  We had an excursion planned for here.  We were going to go on the zip line.  Can I just say FREAKN’ AWESOME!  I was really scared at first because I am deathly afraid of heights, not to mention that I hate that feeling you get in your stomach when you are free falling.  I didn’t know how fast it was going to be and if your stomach would jump or not.  So going into this, I was very nervous!  But after the first one even I knew I would be fine.  When we first got there they have you get your gear and then sit there to listen to them tell you how it all works and what not.  The group of guys taking us were hilarious!  We were laughing non stop and some of their comments.  So, it wasn’t even just the zip lines but the guides that made this experience so awesome!  The zip lining was so cool to, it was beautiful there and you could see so much and you where up really high.  There was some of the times that they would jump on behind you and spin you around or help you go upside down, which was cool.  They were just fun and joking around with us the whole time.  There was one, that they called Jack Sparrow, that would scare me on purpose!  I would be getting all hooked up to go and he would jump on behind me (without me knowing mind you) and then catch up to me, grab my hands off the handles, while yelling.  Yes, I jumped and screamed.  I am glad we could amuse them for the day ha ha!  So, if you are going to be visiting Puerto Vallarta you have to go Zip Lining and you HAVE to use these guys at Los Veranos Canopy Tour!

After we went zip lining we got to hang out there for a little while.  They have these super cute little monkeys and then they had these nasty bugs!  A Tarantula, a scorpion, and some other creepy bug.  The guys held the scorpion.  Becky and I wanted no part in that!

After all this, we took a walk along the board walk and went to their flee market.  It was so much fun and it was so pretty.  Although, I have to say their taxi drivers there are CRAZY!  There was one that was weaving in and out of traffic, oh and should I mention he was high!  The second we got in his cab we were rolling down the windows, so we could breath.  Becky and I thought we may just die that night!

After Puerto, we were back on the cruise ship for the long trip back to Long Beach.  But since there was so much to do on the cruise ship, it was just a lot of fun to be had.  When we first got there, they told us just to leave our plates, cups, and whatever we used wherever we wanted and they would take care of it.  It was kind of weird getting used to that, but by the end, we were leaving stuff everywhere.  We decided to take pictures of stuff being left out that we would see along the way.  They were pretty fast and coming and clearing out of the way though.

One of the days coming back, Jared and I got to be in one of there game shows they do.  It was called The Ultimate Couple Challenge.  They made the guys get up on stage and do all sorts of ridiculous and embarrassing things.  Such as, acting like Tarzan, walking the cat walk, shaking there rear, and other such things.  In the end we came in 2nd and they loaded us up with all kinds of prizes, which was cool.  If any of you have have been on a cruise, you know that they turn down your bed each night for you and leave a towel animal.  It was fun seeing all the different towel animals they left.  They were super fast to, we would be gone like 5 minutes, come back and it was there, it was so crazy.  We also had the funniest waiter ever!  His name was Sinet and we could only understand part of what came out of his mouth, but what did come out was so funny and SO RANDOM!  One night Jared ordered the duck for dinner and when he gave it to Jared he said “here your duck go quack, quack.”  Now picture that with a very strong asian accent ha ha.  One night he had us all get up and dance.  We loved it!

So, of course it went by so fast for us!  We had so much fun!  We definitely will be doing it again!

Digital World

We live in a digital world now.  It really is a bittersweet thing for me.  On one hand.  I love how technology has come such a long way and the conveniences it offers to me.  I can send a letter to a friend within seconds.  If one of the kids has a report at school, I have loads of information I can find with a few clicks of a mouse.  You can look up an address and get directions just that fast.  There are so many things you can do with all these electronic gadgets out there.  On the flip side.  It has created somewhat lazy and unimaginative kids.  That sounds a bit harsh, I know.  Between, DS’s, I-Pods, Netflix, video gaming, cable, and many more.  Kids in todays time, tend to just want to sit and either watch or play with this digital world.  At the daycare we will send the kids outside to play and within 15 short minutes, they get bored and want to come back inside.  I remember as a kid, I practically lived outside.  We would play outside, using simply our imaginations for HOURS!  We would get plenty of physical activity, running around, or riding our bikes.

This is why, when I see things like this, it makes my heart happy.  They are playing “Duck, Duck, Goose” with some of Keira’s stuffed animals (notice I said some, not all).  I love it, when they are content playing something like this, no electronic devices needed.  We have recently started having “no electronic days.”  This means we have to go the whole day without watching TV, playing any video games, getting on the computer, etc.  My kids at first thought of it as punishment, but by the end of the day, they were having so much fun, I don’t think they even thought about all the electronics.

We need to go back to the days when there was old fashioned fun to be had.

Girls Weekend

For my best friend Becky’s birthday this year I decided to something extra special.  She was going to be turning 30 after all.  Although, if you ask her, it’s her first anniversary of turning 29 (she might be in denial, shh, I won’t tell).  You see, last year in September was when I turned 30.  Becky made it a big deal of course.  We got massages.  She took me to Park City for the night.  We sat in the hot tub.  Painted our nails.  Went out to eat.  Went shopping of course!  Watched a movie.  It was so much fun.  So, it worked out well that she would be turning 30 just over 5 months after me.  So for her surprise, I decided to take her to...VEGAS of course!  I was so excited planning it.  I knew it would be so much fun!  Then, our other awesome friend, Jenn had asked me what we were going to do for Becky’s big birthday this year.  I thought, oh, that would be fun to have Jenn come to!  So, I let her in on the surprise and she was excited and all for it.

So, our plan was to leave on Tuesday morning (her birthday was on Wednesday) and then we would stay until Thursday, when we would head on home.  Of course, Becky couldn’t make it easy for us.  There was a lot of hoops we had to jump though, to make this work.  First was, she was in charge of the book fair at her kids school, which happened to be that week, so her awesome husband called and got that all rearranged and taken care of.  So, our plan was to see if she would want to come to breakfast with us  on that Tuesday morning.  Of course, she said she had the book fair that morning to do.  So I just figured, well, okay we will just show up to your house that morning BEFORE she had to go to the book fair.  THEN, I find out, that before the book fair, she was planning on going to the gym that morning.  So, I had to rearrange some things.  Then, I was going to go with her to the gym and take her from there.  Then I find out, that she wasn’t going to shower at the gym, just go straight to the school to set up for the book fair.  I couldn’t take her to breakfast all STINKY!  Ugh!  So, then I had to make even more arrangements.  Then, she DID decide to shower at the gym.  At, that point I was thinking, seriously!?!?  So, the day came, we went to the gym and on our way out, I took her keys, told her she was being kidnapped for the day and to get in the car.  She of course was panicking, about all her obligations.  I had to assure her several times, that everything was taken care of.  So, we met up with Jenn, went to breakfast, and oh ya, while we were in the gym, Becky’s husband (who she thought was at work) and Jenn were at Becky’s house packing a bag for her.  So after breakfast, the plan  was that we were just going to get on the freeway and start driving and see how long it takes her to ask where we are going.  We actually made it all the way to Payson before she finally asked.  That was when we finally told her that we were actually going to Vegas.  

We had a TON of fun there!  I brought a DVD player and all my F.R.I.E.N.D.S. dvd’s to watch at night.  We had magazines, a TON of junk food and NO KIDS!  We walked around on the strip, we were completely entertained by watching all the different kinds of people.  There was a man dressed as a tree, he would stand up against a tree, and he would blend right in, then when people were walking by he would move and scare the crap out of people, oh, I should probably also mention he was on stilts to.  We went shopping at all the outlets they have, and got some awesome deals.  We went to the show called Mystere’ by Cirque Du Soleil.  It was amazing!  Some of the acrobatics they do and the muscle and talent they have to have to do these things.  Such a good show.  We got to sleep in (my favorite part).  Then, of course there was plenty of girl talk going on the whole time.  It was so much fun!  Makes me want to go again!

Merry Christmas

It’s amazing how fast Christmas can come and go as an adult.  I love the anticipation leading up to it.  The spirit that is in the air.  Drinking eggnog or hot chocolate.  Making yummy treats and then giving them to others or enjoying them with your family.  Listening to the Christmas music or watching the Christmas movies.  I get so excited the entire month of December.  The anticipation of watching your kids open up exactly what they asked for and watch their eyes light up with wonder.

Like most families we have our traditions we like to do every year.  I like having traditions, it gives you fun things to look forward to.  Some of ours are the kids get to open up one gift on Christmas eve, it’s always pajamas.  We have a Christmas book that has a scripture, song, and a Christmas story for every day in December leading up to Christmas.  I love reading those stories, all of them have lessons about what is really important and the spirit of Christmas.  The story on Christmas eve is the scripture account of Christ’s birth.  I love making cookies with the kids, every year we get together with a group of our friends on Christmas eve day to decorate cookies for santa and to make “Reindeer Dust” for santa’s reindeer.  Every year I get them a new book of some sort to add to their collection of books, I need to add more Christmas books.  We get out all the Christmas movies and watch them all month long.  This year we added a new tradition of a “Secret Santa” we put our names in a hat and all of us drew out a name to get a gift for, we weren’t supposed to tell who each other had, but obviously Keira and Jayda didn’t really follow that, so we all knew who they had.

Here is all the cookie making fun we have had.  Keira REALLY enjoyed the sprinkles!  We had a lot of cookies to decorate if you can’t tell, we didn’t even decorate them all.  We had a ton of fun as usual.

On Christmas Eve, the kids got their new PJ’s and then we went on up to the Runia’s for the festivities.  We acted out the nativity, ate food, and had lots of fun.

Santa came!  Let the unwrapping...begin!  The kids were so excited to open up all the presents.  Nyah was so excited about getting an IPOD Touch that she started hyperventilating and was saying “I need to come down” she then started to take deep breaths it was so funny.  After they opened all of the gifts that were for just them, they all seemed satisfied.  Nyah got her IPOD Touch of course along with some new black boots (they look similar to UGG’s only the brand that is in our price range ha ha), a webkin, DS games, etc. Keira added to her collection of stuffed animals with a my little pony, yoshi backpack, giraffe, dog, etc.  Jayda was so excited to get a DSI, an Ariel doll, Tiana doll, and then a HUGE collection of coloring books, crayons, etc.  Connor, didn’t care about opening his presents, once he opened the vacuum that was for him, it was all over, he just wanted to play with it, he did like his light saber, he also got a ride on tractor, some swords, and of course some tools, etc.

After all that, it was on to some family gifts we got.  The first one was a WII.  I think we just might be the last family on earth to get one of these ha ha.  The kids, especially Nyah was super excited.  It was a blue one, then we got three more remotes for it, one more blue one and then 2 pink ones.  We also got around 6 games.  We have played most of them now and they are all pretty fun.  We got the Just Dance 3 and then the ABBA Just Dance and all I can say his HOLY WORK OUT!  Although, I am not the best judge, I am really out of shape, but I do know that I am pretty sore after all that dancing around I did with them.

Then came the BIG surprise!  We got a new puppy!  It was mostly for Keira and to help her with some of her issues, but we call it a family pet, since everyone will get to enjoy the dog.  It’s a girl, she is a Mini Goldendoodle, which is a cross between a Golden Retriever and a Poodle, since she is mini she will get to be around 30 lbs, so about a medium size dog.  Santa had brought Keira a stuffed dog and it was in a wrapped box with a lid that comes off, then some of the presents she unwrapped were things for her “stuffed” dog.  After we opened up all the presents I “found” a note from Santa, that said something like he had another surprise and to follow the directions, the first direction was to put Keira’s new dog in the “magic box” then it sent them on a hunt, first it told them to go where “Nyah does the dishes” then it said “go where Perry and all Keira’s friends are” (which is in Keira’s room with the stuffed animals) then it said to “go where Connor’s favorite shopping cart is” (it’s where we keep the toys, there is a shopping cart we have that Connor loves to push around) then it said to “go where Jayda is Sally the Mermaid” which is the bathtub, when taking a bath, Jayda always says she is “Sally the Mermaid” then that one said that he did his magic and to check the box to see what happened.  They came upstairs and inside the box was the real puppy, they were so excited and then all other presents were forgotten for the time being.  They immediately wanted to name it and of course Keira wanted “Sprinkles” no surprise, but I was like, “well there is the dog book that Keira has and there is a dog in there named Bella, what if we name her Bella Sprinkles”  and Keira was like “ya, Bella Sprinkles!”  So that is her name, we just call her Bella.

This is our house in the aftermath of the mad house that is Christmas morning.  The disaster zone our living room turns into.  I think Jayda spent the majority of the day coloring.  Connor was mostly vacuuming, but he did like playing with some of his other toys, like his light saber.  Nyah alternated between playing with her IPOD and the dog and Keira spent all day with the dog and trying to cart her new stuffed animals along with her all day.  While this was all happening, Jared and I traded of taking naps!

We had a great Christmas, in Keira’s words “best...christmas...ever!”  She said that before they got the puppy, so you can only imagine how over the top that was for her.  Now we have been winding down, I took down all the Christmas decor, which is bitter sweet really.  I am sad to see the holiday come and go so quickly, but I also ready to move on to our regular routine.  Which I don’t even know that is yet with the new puppy, we are still figuring that out.  Well...on to 2012 I guess.