Holidays 2010

We anticipated the holidays for months, they came, we had a blast and now we're back to boring January. It's cold, it's wet, and we're scrounging for reasons to party. That's right... we had some friends over to play games for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Have we ever celebrated that holiday before? Never. We're just still in party mode. Here's the fabulous details of our holiday season!

Thanksgiving was the day after Boston's birthday and the Campbell's were planning on heading to UT for the weekend, but the roads were horrible, and they decided not to make the drive, and it worked out great for Doug and I. We had some of both of our families over to Doug's parents. We combined dinner traditions and had a fun laid back Thanksgiving, with plenty of yummy food, games and the annual tradition of checking out the Black Friday ads.

Speaking of Black Friday... we left the boys at their Grandma and Grandpa Campbell's house overnight while we literally spent the WHOLE night shopping. We stood outside of Target for about 30 minutes in 6* weather waiting to get it. Are we crazy? Pretty much.

December was spent getting ready for Christmas, an early Christmas Party with each of our families, since we'd be traveling for the holidays and making lots of goodies to deliver to neighbors and friends. I always love the month of December and the preparations for Christmas.

We headed to UT on horrible roads on the 18th of December, spent the day hanging out with Mike and Sheila, taking the boys to Temple Square to see the lights and nativities, and then to Uncle Vic and Aunt Nyla's to stay for the weekend. We were able to attend the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Concert with David Archuleta sunday morning with Doug's parents and it was wonderful. So many talented people performing, and President Monson was also there. It was so neat, as always to be the presence of a prophet.

Sweet Uncle Vic drove us to the airport bright and early Monday morning, and we made our way across the country, arriving in Baltimore early evening. We finally arrived at Alan and Amber's house and then the fun began! We celebrated Doug's birthday, made gingerbread houses, went to Hershey World, baked too many cookies, and played game after game. We went to the movies on Christmas Eve, had a wonderful dinner, acted out the Nativity with the kids, then did the Lee Family Christmas Program, written by Amber's dad after the kids had gone to bed. We were reminded of the humble birth of our Savior and the perfect life he lived. It was a fabulous day, and we were so lucky to get to spend it with family far away!

Christmas morning was a blast. The boys all got everything they had wished for and just played non stop for hours. Santa brought Doug a Wii and so we got it set up and played non stop as well. We also got the game Ticket to Ride from Al and Amber, which was played many a time before be left Pennsylvania. The next week we did a little outlet shopping, hit up Five Guys for the first time and then packed our bags to come home. As Al and Amber live so far away, we don't get much one on one time with them, and we were so blessed to be able to take this trip to get to spend time with them. We always enjoy our time with them, talking, playing games, cooking, whatever. So fun! Thanks guys for letting us crash your Christmas, we had a blast!

Digital slideshow personalized with Smilebox

We arrived in SLC on the evening of the 30th and then made our way home on mostly clear roads. New Year's Eve was spent unpacking, doing laundry, picking up the house and helping Blake choose some toys to donate to DI, since he just got loaded up with new toys for Christmas. Becki and Pablo and Mom and Dad came over to play games and the wii. I'll admit, we were lame hosts and fell asleep a little after 11. Oops! My only excuse... we were still on the eastern time zone.

I've been thinking a lot lately about the word I should use to sum up the year 2010. I think the most fitting word to use is memorable. We will never forget sweet Boston's baby blessing, Doug's graduation from college, our family members that left us to return to our Heavenly Father, or the amazing vacations we took this year. Although we said goodbye to so many loved ones in 2010, we will never forget their sweet words and deeds, and our memories with them have helped us to try a little harder to be a little better in 2011, so that one day we might return to live with them, along with our Savior and our Father in Heaven. We live a life full of blessings and priviledges that we don't quite deserve. We are blessed with family, friends and most importantly faith. It's a wonderful life!

Happy Birthday, Boston!

Having Boston last November was perfect timing.... harvest was wrapped up, Blake was potty trained, we had all winter to just enjoy our new baby. Little did we know, we'd have to schedule his next 18 birthday parties around blizzards and Thanksgiving plans. We had planned to have his party the day before, since my parents were headed out of town for Thanksgiving, but then due to the crazy blizzard, their plans changed and we rescheduled his party for his actual birthday, when the roads in Bingham County would be officially "open" again!

We had such a fun party with lots of grandparents and aunts and uncles. We ate pizza and then Boston opened presents to find toys, clothes, books, and his very own puppy blanket, which seemed to be his favorite. Boston got messy with his very own cake, while the rest of us enjoyed pumpkin roll. He wasn't too sure about the cake and mostly ate the frosting, but with his sensitive tummy, I wasn't disappointed that he didn't gobble it down!

And just as any other blogging mom would say when posting about their child's first birthday, "I can't believe my baby is one already." But, it's true. This year has flown by and it's been so fun to watch Bo grow and develop so quickly. His personality is definitely beginning to develop more and he is quite determined. Boston does the stairs like a pro and follows Blake wherever he goes. He's quick on his knees and likes to get into anything he's not supposed to, including the toilet, fridge, and the garbage. Troublemaker and all, we love him so much and enjoy his hugs and toothy grins more than anything. Happy Birthday, Boston! We love you!

Daisy dukes, bikinis on top!

That's right, we took a little vaca to California. We did not sport any daisy dukes or bikinis but we did have a fabulous time! We booked this vacation back in April so we've been anxiously awaiting it's arrival. Not sure how, but we convinced our wonderful moms' to watch the boys for 3 days each, so we could take this trip without them! I'll try to keep it short, but here's our best memories from our trip, day by day.

Another photo slideshow by Smilebox

Day 1, Saturday: We drove to St. George, checked into our hotel, played a little 3D glow in the dark minigolf at a local arcarde, went to the St. George temple grounds, ate at the cute cafe, 25Main, did a little outlet shopping, went for a dip in the pool and called it a day!

Day 2, Sunday: Our day started with breakfast at a local place, The Bear Paw, which was recommended by tons of friends and was super yummy. We got on the road and left UT into Arizona, Nevad and finally California. After stopping for lunch at the first IN-N-OUT we saw (it was Doug's first time eating at one), we headed straight to El Segundo, where my cousin Amy Jo and her family live. She took us to the beach, where her hubby is a lifeguard, and we had a picnic, while Doug swam in the ocean. We went back to her place and visited for a while before heading to Anaheim. It was so fun to see Amy Jo and see where she lives and works, it's so different from little Blackfoot.

Day 3, Monday: We got up nice and early and hit the IHOP right across from the Disneyland entrance before getting in line for CA Adventure. We got our Fastpass for the World of Color water show and then went on all our favorite rides: California Screamin, Soarin Over California, Tower of Terror, Bugs Life 4D show, and Grizzly River Run. We also watch the Musical Spectacular: Aladdin, which we've seen before and was amazing as ever. That afternoon we went to Disneyland and went on all sorts of rides, our favorite's Indiana Jones and Space Mountain. We watched the Holiday Parade and the fireworks before heading to the World of Color show at CA Adventure, which was amazing. They spray water in the air from the lake and then project a movie on it. So cool, we didn't hardly blink during the 30 minute show! We went to Dowtown Disney and had a late dinner at Tortilla Joe's before heading back to the hotel.

Day 4, Tuesday: Exhausted from our first day at Disney, we took it easy, took a different route through Downtown Disney, grabbed some breakfast and headed to Disneyland. We hit some rides we had missed the day before (Nemo, Small World) and went on our favorites again. And again. And again. There were hardly any lines and if there were, we grabbed a fastpast and would come back later. We walked through the Innoventions building, and saw all sorts of cool things. Doug now thinks that if we build a house someday, the curtains should be controlled from the lightswitch panel. We hopped back over to CA Adventure, did a few more rides, and went to dinner at the ESPN zone, and then came back for the World of Color show again. Disneyland is always so much fun. I swear it's magic there. It was exhausting just watching all the moms push around their strollers with their little ones, but I can't wait to go another time and take our kids. I know they would love it, who's kid doesn't?

Day 5, Wednesday: We sorta kinda slept in and left the hotel at 8:15 to make it to the 9:30 session at the LA temple. Did we make it? Nope. We ended up getting there too late, so we went to the visitor center, met a sweet Sister missionary from Idaho and went to the 10:30 session. The LA temple is so big and very pretty. It totally stands out up on the hill in a city that is so busy. I loved the warth of California, but it was so nice not to have any traffic or chaos for a couple hours. We left LA and made our way to Vegas, stopping again at IN-N-OUT burger on our way. So yummy and so glad they have some in UT now! :) We walked around the strip a bit, ate at the Hardrock Cafe, and stayed at the NY NY hotel, which was very nice!

Day 6, Thursday: We were anxious to get outta Vegas and to get home, so we grabbed McD's and then headed for home. We stopped again in Brigham City to have dinner at Maddox, another place where Doug had never eaten. The boys were anxiously awaiting their gifts from Disneyland so we went out to Doug's parents to see them and give them their toys, got them in bed, and then headed to IF to see the midnight movie premier of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1! :) Becki scored some free tickets and invited us to tag along! Thanks Becki and Pablo for taking us! The 9 hour drive plus the midnight premier had us exhausted by Friday a.m. but was all worth it!

Of course, I can't talk about our trip without mentioning how thankful we are to our families for keeping the boys while we were gone. We never would have been able to go on this trip if it wasn't for them! They did all sorts of fun things with the kids while we were away and the boys were spoiled rotten, literally! :) Doug and I both agreed that when we do take the boys to Disney, we're bringing Grandmas and Grandpas to help! Thank you all!

Mr. Blake turns 4...

Can you believe my Mr. Blake is already 4? His birthday was October 14th (I realize I'm a bit behind) and we had a fabulous time celebrating! We hosted Blake's first friend party and he requested a Star Wars theme. We made fabulous Star Wars invitations, ate Comet Cupcakes and Yoda Soda, opened presents, and played lots of games with the lightsabers (pool noodles with some fancy tape work)! The weather was beautiful and the kids completed their Jedi Training obstacle course outside and then had lightsaber wars for almost an hour! Blake has great friends and they were all so excited to come party! We walked the neighbor kids around the block to their houses and then had dinner at Hong Kong, per Blake's request. We had a little family party at Grandma Campbell's house and she even made pumpkin pie. He got loaded with presents all perfect for a preschooler, and told everyone all about his Star Wars party. Thanks to all those who celebrated with us, it wouldn't have been near the fun without you!

And to Blake- thanks for being the most awesome 4 year old! You are so polite, so creative, so articulate, and so much fun! We love you, Blake and love watching you grow up.

The Prophet said to plant a garden

So that's what we'll do,
For God has given rich brown soil,
And rain and sunshine too.
And if Doug plants those plants just right,
And tends them carefully,
Before you know, Tomatoes will grow......
And drive me CRAZY!!!

We like to call it Doug's garden at our house, cause that's exactly what it is. He plants it, tends it, waters it, weeds it, fertilizes it with who knows what he got from the farm, and then I cook it.

Doug had full intentions this spring of growing a full salsa garden so that I could can all harvest long, since i'm not driving truck. Well, he stuck with it and has been keeping me busy for the last few weeks.

We picked up some beautiful peaches from my mom's cousin in Utah and canned like crazy one day and had plenty of peaches for my family, Becki and Pablo, and Mom and Dad. The next day: Salsa. 12 pints for now. Yum!

Today, while I listed to the first wonderful session of General Conference, I got the spaghetti sauce on to cook. One hour down, 2 more to go. And then to fill the jars and steam can them to get the lids to seal. Whew! Cannings a lot of work, I'll tell ya what!

Is it worth it? Oh yeah...

Teething bites...

Yep, the pun was intended. Just a few thoughts on teething for all my blogging mom friends. I'd love to hear any amazing remedies.

*First of all, teething of any sort should be outlawed during harvest. It's just not fair that Doug has to miss out on all this fun.

*Why in the world does teething have to come with fever and diaper rash? Isn't aching teeth enough?

*Boston was crying from his teeth hurting until he started chewing on my house slipper... while I was wearing it. Did I stop him? No way.

*On the bright side of things, the more teeth he gets now, the less he'll have to get later right?

*Current tooth count: 8, working on 2 more. I think he's trying to hit double digits before his birthday. He told me he doesn't want birthday cake for his birthday, he wants steak.

Boston gets his own post...

Let's go back a a few months ago, when Bo was six months old. He was perfectly healthy, and weighed in a 13 lbs. 14 oz. and had just 2 teeth. And thats when the fun began. He starting crawling, spitting up, getting more and more teeth, spitting up some more, crawling through his spit up, and getting smaller and skinnier. Right around 8 months, I took him in to see his Dr., mostly concerned about his spitting, but the scale told us the truth, 13 lbs. 8 oz. He had lots 6 oz in 2 months. And two weeks later, he'd lost another 2 ounces. The weirdest part of it all, Boston didn't seem to be bothered by the spitting up at all. He never acted like his tummy hurt, never refused food, and continued to develop normally, crawling and starting to jabber and whatever else. But his tummy was not handling food at all. We tried a couple of med to help with the reflux but it just wasn't enough.

We've put him on zantac, switched him to soy formula, and gona completely back to the basics. We started with just rice cereal, and then added in everything else one at a time, just like we did a few months ago, so figure out what his tummy can handle and what it can't. His diet pretty much consists of soy formula with instant breakfast to add calories, cheerios, wheat bread, crackers, mashed potatoes, bananas, applesauce, and anything neutral colored. His tummy does not handle any bright colored veggies yet, but hopefully soon. I can imagine the kid will hate all vegetables, but he'll get through it. At 9 1/2 months, he weighed 15bs. Wahoo! He has outgrown some of his 6-9 months clothes and looks slightly chubby. I love it! I'm so glad he's keeping food down. We get a lot of "he's really small for his age" comments and in the back of my head I'm thinking "Oh, really, I must have failed to notice, since I was too busy scrubbing and scrubbing and scrubbing the baby puke out of my carpet. Thanks for informing me." But I know people only mean well. Blake wasn't a big baby, and I don't expect Boston to be either, especially with this little weight set back.

Okay, now a little about Boston himself, and not just his puke and his weigh ins. This baby is too cute. His hair is filling in and right on top of his head, it sticks straight up. He has a full mouth with 8 teeth and I think he could be getting more.

He loves his teddy bear, his brother, his pacifier, a bottle of formula, being read to, seeing animals or even just puppets. Boston spends his time following Blake around, getting into things he's not supposed to, slobbering on everything, making a mess of the whole kitchen from his highchair, and napping. He is a little dare devil and has climbed up our two porch steps a few times. He googoo's and gaga's all the time and will say "dada" but not "mama." Of course. He loves his dad, but is a mama's boy. Hopefully when harvest is over and things settle down, he'll have more time with Doug and will give me a break. Bo's smile and laugh can get him out of any trouble and he knows it. Boston doesn't mind strangers and totally "goes with the flow" of our crazy life. Puke and all, it was worth it. This little guy is so handsome and I love rocking with him, singing or reading stories, it makes it all worth it. I think we're gonna keep him. :)