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. :)

A Blake Update

It's been a while since I gave an update on these two little boys, so I thought I'd share the latest happenings. We'll start with Blake.

Blake is so smart. He talks like an adult and articulates all of his words. He speaks very well. Blake loves learning and reviewing his letters. He knows all the letters and we're working on numbers now. He loves to sound out words or have us tell him a word and then he'll spell it on the fridge with his magnet letters. He'll spell words like elephant and cantalope. Okay, just kidding. More like mom, dad, cat, dog, cow, and his name. Blake loves to write his name and only likes to write in capital letters. Blake will be going to a little preschool at Blackfoot High starting in November and he's so excited to go to "school." Now that uncle Pablo is here, he loves learning words in Spanish. He can count to about five, and will say please and thank you in Spanish sometimes. He loves playing games like uno moo, jenga, memory, and his most recent favorite "primary song freeze dance" where Doug and I sing and he dances.

Blake loves his little brother and looks to be "in charge" of Bo when I ask for his help. He makes sure Boston doesn't go down the stairs and will even pack him around the house to keep Boston out of trouble. He doesn't mind his jobs of keeping his room clean, picking up toys upstairs, taking diapers to the garbage, and simply cleaning up after himself. These two will get the giggles and just laugh back and forth at eachother. Sharing isn't his favorite thing to do, but he's getting the hang of it. Blake loves going to grandma's houses', storytime, and to a friend's house. He sings all the time at home, but won't make hardly a peep in Primary. Blake never lets us forget to read scriptures, say prayers, and give him a gummi vitamin before bed. His is such great kid, we're so lucky.

If I can get my videos to upload, there may be some soon, so cross your fingers and check back soon!

Sondra Beth Tyler

Sondra Beth Tyler, 67, of Idaho Falls, dies August 2, 2010, at her home.

Sondra was born Deceber 17, 1942, in Idaho Falls, Idaho to Stuart C. Tyler and Rhoda Marie Stucki Tyler. She grew up in Terreton, Arco, and Rigby and graduated from Rigby High School in 1961. She lived in Terreton for 28 years and moved to Idaho Falls 18 years ago.

Sondra married Gerald Messerli August 23, 1963, in Idaho Falls and they were later divorced. She worked in the Security Department of the INL for 35 years and retired four years ago. She was a member of the American Business Women Association and served on the board on her condominium association.

An active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Sondra served in many capacities over the years, most recently as Relief Society Compassionate Service Leader and Visiting teaching Coordinator. Sondra loves making crafts with seashells, readying, and serving her friends, family and loved ones. She had an unconditional love for everyone she came in contact with and freely shared that love. Her faith in the gospel was unwavering, and she lived her life as a disiple of Christ.

Surviving are her father, Stuart Tyler of Blackfoot, ID, Sister, Janet (Dale) Armstong on Zephyrhills, FL, a brother, Victor (Nyla) Tyler of Sandy, UT, sister Cindy (Scott) Campbell of Blackfoot, ID, adopted sister Linda (Ed) Andersen of Blackfoot, ID, 19 nieces and nephews, countless adopted kids, grandkids, and neighbors. She was preceded id death by her mother, Rhoda Tyler and a brother, Stuart Stucki Tyler.

Funeral Services will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday, August 7, 2010 at the Idaho Falls, LDS Mountain View Ward 1450 Mountain View Lane, with Bishop Michael Hays officiating. The family will visit with friends Friday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Wood Funeral Home, 273 N. Ridge, and Saturday from 1 to 1:45 p.m. at the church. Burial will be in the Ucon cemetary under the direction of Wood Funeral Home.