Welcome 2010

One of the hardest things for me to remember to do is take pictures, and then download them, so that they are recent. So these are some pictures of the boys in November at the park.


















Brent also had his first dentist appointment right before Thanksgiving. He did really well, and enjoyed the whole experience. I was more nervous than him. The hygienist let him hold the sucking thing, and she moved the chair up and down several times...he loved it, and wants to go back. Jared and I try to make doctors/dentists seem like exciting places to go, even though they aren't, and Brent seems to respond to it well.

Our 6th year anniversary was on the 27th of December. Jared planned a special surprise for me, and we ended up celebrating on the 26th. He told me to pack an extra pair of clothes that were nice for what we did in the evening. My mom came down and watched the kids for us for our extravagant date. When we got in the car, Jared revealed to me that we were going to live the day like movie stars, and that we were going to Beverly Hills to see New Moon (which I have been dying to see). Before going to the movie, we stopped in at Sprinkles Cupcakes (another star attraction) and each got a delectable cupcake...they were really good!

Then, after Sprinkles and the movie was the biggest surprise and treat EVER! For those of you who don't know, I'm totally into everything culinary. I know all the terms/ingredients and different types of preparations, thanks to hours of reading cookbooks and watching Food Network. Jared revealed to me that we were going to Spago for dinner that night. Spago is Wolfgang Puck's restaurant in Beverly Hills that is regularly visited by the rich and famous and we went there! We splurged and had the Chef prepare us several different starters and several different entrees. Each item was about 3 bites, and plated so perfectly like art. And, it tasted AMAZING. There were things we had that one would never think of going together but it did. It was a 2 hour culinary experience...my life has been enriched. Thank you Jared...you really are the BEST husband for me! Here are some pics, sorry it is so dark, my phone doesn't have a flash on it.


















Christmas and anniversary were wonderful spending time together as a family. Today being New Years day, we went on a little hike this morning and enjoyed our nice San Diego weather. (Sorry to all my friends who live in the cold)



























Jared and I are VERY glad to be closing the book on 2009. We have a had a rough year, but have come out of it with high hopes of the future. We were blessed with another child in 2009, and we have endured a huge trial that has strengthened our family forever. Welcome 2010!

Jamaica 2009

Our trip to Jamaica. Sorry the post is so long, I did not know how to do a slide show. ENJOY!

Jared and I lounging on the beach at the all-inclusive

How Beautiful is this?

This was the really weird place we stayed at for one night...the decor was hideous, Jared was falling off the bed because of the shape.

This is at the same weird place we stayed at. Everything was black and white. We are pretending to be chess pieces.

This was the view from our villa at Frenchman's Cove in Port Antonio. It was amazing! There was no one there...it was like our own private beach!

There was a fresh water steam that went into the cove. It was quite cold, but then it went into the warm water ocean. So when you went into the ocean, there was a cold layer on top and really warm water on bottom.

This was the Blue Lagoon. The water was over 200 feet deep.

Swimming in the Blue Lagoon!

Jared Surfing at Boston Bay Beach. The only surf spot in Jamaica.

Taking a bamboo raft down the Rio
Grande.

Hiking to Scattered Falls

Banana Plantation

Dinner at Woody's in Port Antonio. It was a shack restaurant, we ate real Jamaican food, including curried goat. It actually just tasted like beef. But they wanted us to suck the bones, and I was not having any of that!







Reach Falls...Amazing, almost not real. We were the only ones there.







There was this hole/cave you could go down inside that was in the waterfall. And this is what we saw...


















Reach falls was truly amazing. Jared was like a boy on Christmas day with all the nature around us. As we were there, I told Jared that there was no way to capture it just by taking a picture.



We had so much fun, and enjoyed the break after having a very stressful year. We missed our boys, and so it was fun to come home after vacation and be reunited with them. Just 3 more years until our next awesome trip!

The time change SUCKS!

Jared and I are fed up with the stupid time change. Why do we do it? For the farmers?.....LAME. It is so old school. Arizona and Hawaii don't change time, I guess they are the only 2 smart states in this country. As you can see I'm pretty worked up. The reason for this, is that for a week straight Jared and I, (mostly Jared) have been getting up with our 9 month old Cameron at 4 or 4:30 in the morning. We have never had to deal with a time change with a baby, since we lived in Arizona when Brent was little. Brent had no problem adjusting, but Cameron is having a hard time fixing his body clock. We have deprived him of sleep during the day...let me tell you what a treat that is. NOT! We have tried to keep him up later, but he just wants to be put out of his misery when 7:30 rolls around. What to do? Jared and I are seriously ready to throw in the towel. It's funny, because 3 months ago, I started waking up at 5:30am to go to the gym, and it seemed so early to all of us. But now, Jared says that if he is waking up at 4:30, then I should go to the gym at 5am, so he can do something in the morning. Oh, I remember the days when there was now way I was getting up in the morning to be productive, but now it's the only time for things. Please, please, please let the insanity end!!! I'll keep you all updated! Remember when you are getting up to go to the bathroom at 4am in the morning, if you would like to chat, give me a call, I'll be up!

Halloween 2009

Halloween was more fun this year than any other year, because Brent fully got the WHOLE concept. He wanted to be a witch/warlock (since he is a boy). He was not going to be anything else. I tried to suggest several things, but it always came back to being a witch. I got Jared a wig a Walmart titled, "The Mullet". So, he was white trash, and still looked good to me. I laughed all night while he had his wig on. The lights on the street made his sick blonde hair glisten, and the silhouette was priceless. Cameron got to be a dragon, since that is the costume I have for his size. I went easy, and put some cat ears on. Brent was very excited to go door to door and say the magic words. He would ask some of the people, "Just one more?". As in just one more candy please, after they had already given him some. That night Jared and Brent did the candy sorting, and Jared let Brent have a generous amount to eat. It was kind of freaking me out, since I rarely let Brent have candy. Overall, it was a fun holiday, and Brent is at the PRIME age where holidays are a really fun, exciting event.

Spa Weekend

This last weekend, I had the most amazing, relaxing time. On Friday night I left the kids with Jared and went up to my parent's house in San Clemente. My parents were out of town, and my sister Jenny and I had the whole house to ourselves, to lounge, and relax. It was so nice to go to bed when I wanted, and to sleep in as late as I wanted. (Too bad I could only sleep in until 8:30am.) Then, my sister and I did a run along the beach trail in San Clemente, and went straight from there to Burke Williams Day Spa in Mission Viejo. OMG! Words cannot describe how nice this place was. From the moment you stepped in, it was like you were in a dream world. We got there at 11am, and our actual spa treatments were not till 1pm, so we were in the steam room, sauna, jacuzzi, mist room, relaxation room (reading US weekly :)), etc. This spa had EVERYTHING! Vegetables, fruit, flavored water, aroma therapy face towels, iced towels, facial cleansers, masks, brushes, razors, deodorant, plush robes, slippers, candles, music, waterfalls, and constant assistance from their staff. When I was in there I thought to myself, "so, this is how it feels to be rich!" It was truly awesome. My sister Jenny gave me the spa day for my Christmas present and Birthday present from last year, and I was finally able to use it. We had a great time together. She kept on telling me, "it's not just about how you are feeling on the outside, but the spa experience also works on the inside". At first I didn't believe her, but as we were there, I completely forgot about everything, except for relaxing and enjoying myself. My massage was awesome and it was nice to have a full day without kids, and without a worry. What a blast! I will remember it forever! Time to save up for next year!

My little man

2 Days ago, Brent, Cameron and I went to Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas, because it was a free day. They have a really cool tree house play thing, and rocks, logs, instruments, and all this hands-on stuff. We were there for 45 minutes, and Brent slips off a log, falls head first onto a rock, and bonks the back of his head REALLY hard. He was bleeding a little, but not enough to where he need stitches. The bump seriously looked like a golf ball on the back of his head. I was thinking to myself, how do I know if he's OK? He was worn out from a long day of playing, so being sluggish was normal. Jared and I put him to bed early that night, and he woke up a couple of times, because his head would hurt when sleeping on it. That night both Jared and I were stressing that we would wake up and find him brain dead or something in his bed. These things are so scary. I realized that night how incredibly hard it is to be a mother. I usually don't worry so much, but when something happens, like sickness or injury, it really takes me back. I told Jared that I know I could handle things if something were to happen to him (as I did, while he had cancer), but when your child is hurt, it is the most stressful thing EVER! I'm sure all of you moms would agree with me! :)
The next morning Brent woke up, and he was fine. The lump had gone down, and he was ready to continue his normal routine. Smart, energetic, and sweet...my sweet little Brenty. I love him and who he is becoming each day. He is going to be one incredible man someday.

The End of Summer

It has been awhile. We have had a very busy summer. As it is coming to an end, I need to remember all that we have been up to. In the beginning of August we moved out of our smaller home into a bigger home just a mile and a half away. We are loving it! Way more space, and a cute neighborhood. I'm very happy that I pushed and pushed to get Jared to agree to let me move.







At about the first part of August the water at the beach became very warm. We had many family late afternoon dinners and dips in the ocean. It was alot of fun, and good to be enjoying our summer as a family, without any illness. We then packed our bags and headed to Utah to visit Jared's family over Labor day weekend. We stayed in Utah for a week, hung out with family, ate lots of food, saw old friends, and relaxed together as a family. We had a great time visiting the land of our college years, but we were glad to get back to our new house, and beachy climate. When we got back from Utah, Brent started Joyschool Preschool. Brent really enjoys having friends over for preschool, and learning, dancing and making crafty things.

The other day he said something really funny. He was snacking on some fruit snacks and I asked him if i could have one. He looked around and saw a glass of water and said, "Mama, I think your thirsty, have a drink." I said again, "could I have one Brenty?" He said, "Ummm, I think there are alot more over there, you can get your own." I just thought it was funny how he was giving me other suggestions to have, he eventually shared and gave me one.
Cameron is started to crawl, but mostly crawls backwards. He doesn't get the forward motion yet.
He is such a calm, happy baby. He loves to be around people, and is crushed if you leave him alone to play by himself. He has a sensitive side, and I can't stop kissing his sweet cheeks!
As the beach weather kind of diminishes, we are getting back to our routine of going on walks to the park. Brent loves to walk and it almost over riding in a stroller. He hates it when Cameron touches him as they are riding in the stroller, but how do you explain to a 3 year old that he really isn't touching him to bug him. Oh well!