The Murray's

Half a year

2012-01-30T10:15:00.000-08:00

Vivian
How has it been 6 months? Really a half of a year since you came to our family. I can hardly stand it...actually I can't AT ALL. Too fast, you are growing up too too fast. STOP right now, your are so darn cute right now that I don't want it to change...but I do, but I don't, as you can tell I am conflicted with this whole growing up thing.

Here are some fun facts about you at 6 months

Venus fly trap arms and legs (you will literally hone in on something and snap you grab it with your hands and feet...it is hysterical, we can't get anything past your eyes)
17 lbs!!! That's my girl...putting on the weight and growing so well. (you are now 18+) The DR is always so impressed with your growth and it makes me so happy knowing you are healthy and strong
So far eat: Carrots, Squash, Sweet Potatoes, Avacados, Mashed Potatoes, Prunes, Pears, Mangos, Applesauce and you LOVE it all.
Mimic us saying Hi and Da Da Da Da
A cackling laugh that makes us go crazy
Sit up and are so proud of yourself
Peddle your feet on my arms, pat me on my back and rub our necks when we hold you
LOVE your blankies...Just seeing your blankies makes you so happy and you shake your arms and start smiling so big then we hand it to you and you immediately grab it and snuggle it in your face.
Laugh at Bella and Bear and love to explore them
Smile when I sing to you, you super love music and respond to it with so much joy
Crawl backwards, trying to figure out the forward stuff, you try hard, but in the mean time you roll around in circles over and over and over again and end up on the other side of the room if I just let you continue to roll and roll.
Sleep like a rock still 12 hours. Some days I still have to go in and wake you up and when I do you just look at me and smile so big with your sleepy eyes.

We are completely in love with you and think you are just fabulous. Of course everyone else around you thinks you are pretty darn great too. You love people and light up when people give you any type of attention...you know how to ham it up that's for sure. Church is the best because you go from person to person and you get so spoiled by coos and ahhs and playtime. You play hard and I love listening to you explore, giggle and babble while playing. You don't mind playing alone and are really great at it which is fun to listen and watch but you for sure light up when I come to play with you too, I love that you respond so positively to me and your dad. Your ticklish now and it is awesome. Your neck, under your arms and your bum bum are your most ticklish areas and you go bananas.

We love snuggling with you and you are a major snuggle bug. You love snuggling on our chests with your hands up at your face. Your dad is the master nighttime daddy and you guys love your time together. He gives you a bath pretty much every night and then does the burp and hold upright portion of the evening. Often I sneak on the monitor to watch him tuck you in and it is pretty darn cute to see how tender he is with you making sure you are all snug and tucked in. However, I always get nervous when it is just me because I swear he does bedtime the BEST. A week ago when dad was putting you to bed I came and gave you a kiss goodnight and you cried when I left the room. That was a first time and while it made me sad it melted my heart that you love me so much. Dad assured me though that you stopped right away and it hasn't happened again...darn it, is it crazy that I wish for you to cry for me?

Teething is in full effect!!! You chomp on everything, drool and enjoy sucking on ice in your mesh food container thingies. We are just waiting for them to sprout and while we are anxiously awaiting their arrival I know it also means that you are just growing up more and more and I hate it.

We just love you and are thrilled with who you are becoming already. We can tell you are a people person like your mom and have her love of life and have the patience and sweetness of your dad. We can't wait to see your personality blossom and explore the world with you. We often talk at night about all the places we want to take you, the activities we want to do with you and the adventures we want to take you on. We both hold off on putting you to bed because we just love spending time with you. Thankfully you don't get fussy at all when you are up way past your bedtime. You are good at going with the flow (another quality you get from your dad). You are the perfect addition to our family...our little party girl.

I met FRAN

2012-01-29T21:09:00.001-08:00

Let's just say that I met FRAN Saturday morning and she was as nasty as everyone had told me. FRAN is a beast of a woman and I can't say that I want to ever see her again. Who or what is FRAN you may be asking. FRAN is a crossfit workout that is BRUTAL. It involves Thrusters (with a 65 lb bar you do a full sqaut then stand up and push bar over head) and Pull Ups. It is like a sprint and is meant to be super fast. No joke made my lungs burn...what I would imagine a smoker would feel like after working out. I got to the point where I was on the verge of crying from pure exhaustion and muscle fatigue. But I did it and finished and can now say I met FRAN and have experienced what they call the FRAN FLU.

Want to give it a try here is FRAN

21 THRUSTERS followed by 21 PULL UPS

15 THRUSTERS followed by 15 PULL UPS

9 THRUSTERS followed by 15 PULL UPS

If there are any girls out there who are contemplating trying CROSS FIT DO IT!!! You will not be disappointed. It is so empowering, fun, difficult, and all around a good time.

A NEW YEAR

2012-01-19T16:58:00.001-08:00

Alright so I have to say it has taken me awhile to get back in action since the holidays.

Blogging was the last thing on my mind during the last couple of months. Especially with INSTAGRAM. I find that the easiest way to keep in touch with the world these days, even if it means posting a picture of Vivian everyday!

I literally just breathed in as much of Vivian as possible. I loved all the nights singing Christmas songs to her and holding her warm body all snuggled up next to me while feeling her breath on my neck. Ahhhhhhh I could just swallow her up I fear!

Since it is mid January I decided I should jump back into blogging. Not that you all were sitting at the edge of your seats just waiting for my next post...but I am back nonetheless.

As I have spent time reflecting on 2011 I realized that 2011 was really year of the Vivian. It was the majority of my pregnancy followed by the birth and beginning of Vivian. 2011 brought some big changes our way as Aaron got a new job just 3 weeks before my due date which moved us from LA down to the OC. It is still an adjustment for me and while I love where we are living, hard to complain about being at the beach in less than 5 minutes, I have decided that I officially miss LA and plan on always missing it...it will always have such a special place in my heart. The 2 years we spent in LA were filled with trials that tested us big time and our time in LA ended with our biggest trial being completed...the birth of our Vivian.

2011 was also filled with some of the best memories. Nightly hang outs with Jer, food food food and more food followed by even more food, amazing Young Women whom I still talk to weekly and miss daily, a ward that was unlike any other ward I have ever been in and we have decided is unlike most wards (being in LA created a unique ward experience as you can imagine and it was a perfect example of the Gospel in action), special friends, and an overall feeling of warmth and support in a city we loved.
A pause in my career came as I got ready for our bundle of love which resulted in some bittersweet goodbyes to loved colleagues and resilient kiddo clients that I continue to think about often.
It also brought a new opportunity for Aaron in his career which we are so thankful for. He is happy in his new job with great coworkers and a great experience for him in a workplace that is supportive and understanding of the importance of families.
New cousins to Vivian were born this year too, which makes us wonder if we will hold Vivian back one year as she gets older so we can have her and her twin cousins go to school together and be the 3 musketeers.
There were many visits to family and from family. We are constantly thanking our Heavenly Father for the families we have been blessed with. They are both such a huge source of strength for us and I don't know how we got so lucky!
Grandpa Murray and Grandma Wayman passed away in 2011 leaving us with 2 grandparents total left. What a treat it was for Vivian to be able to spend time with Grandma Murray and Grandpa Wayman over Christmas.

I am thankful for the opportunities a NEW YEAR brings us. I look forward to 2012 with so much joy and excitement. It will be our 10 year dating anniversary, which is absolutely bananas that it has been a decade of US. We already have many things to look forward to already i.e. trips to AZ, UT, family vaca to Newport with Murray's, the Grand Canyon with the Steenbliks, crossing our fingers for a Disney trip with Liam and George (George grow a few more inches please HURRAY so we can go again), a 1st Birthday for Viv, Cass moving to So Cal, me finishing up my licensure in CA, and yes the DIRTY 30 to finish off 2012!!! I know there will be more exciting events and I am sure there will be struggles and trials as usual, but I know with certainty that we will continue in the usual fashion and celebrate celebrate celebrate as we go about this thing called LIFE.

Merry Christmas

We did a lot of snuggling during the holidays...my Birthday was no different. My Birthday gift to myself was having Viv nap on me!!!

My boys!!! These two are amazing. Sweet, loving, creative, determined and love me and I love them. They love Vivian too. They love everyone actually!!!

While Viv is having a bit of a fat kid moment here, no doubt she is a cutie and
she and JuJuBee are buddies.

Look at these 3!!!

Viv is usually caught making this face...not a bad look.

Happy Birthday to me. Doesn't get much better than this.

Vivian did not go without attention over Christmas. These 3 just love her. Emma is the most amazing babysitter in the world. Chase is hysterical and just walks around saying baby V V. Ellie is way to grown up and I can't stand it. They are growing way too fast.

Viv finally got to meet Aunt Ashley and Ash couldn't wait to get some snuggle time in. Viv even got to nap a bit on Ash which Ashley was not complaining about one bit.

First pair of Cowboy boots from Santa.

First Christmas morning. I can't wait for more Christmas mornings like this when she wakes up and heads to the tree in her Christmas pajamas.

Christmas morning at the Steenblik's. U of U gear this year for our Steenblik xmas pjs.

On Christmas we made the rounds from Bountiful to SLC to Malad Idaho to visit Grandpa Wayman. He couldn't get enough of Vivian and just stared at her playing the whole time we were there. It was too cute.

Christmas with just us. She loved it. She kept chewing on all of her wrapped gifts and loved ripping the wrapping paper. She got her first teddy, stuffed bunny, cowboy boots, some wooden blocks, stacking cups, some books for the library, and some other treats from Santa.
It was perfection celebrating with her.

She loves her stacking cups.

Thanksgiving goodness

2011-12-02T12:01:00.000-08:00

It's here...the most wonderful time of the year. I love once Halloween rolls around it is time for some real celebration.

This Thanksgiving was just perfect in every way. There is just something so great about being together with family in a home that is warmed up by all the good food cooking in the oven and stove top.

The boys, including Bear, taking care of the turkey

We were fortunate to have my parents drive over for the weekend and Jer came down too. We just did a lot of hanging out, chatting, staring at Vivian of course, cooking and eating. It was perfect. I did lots of prep work the days before so the actual day was not too busy. One minor mess up was one I had gotten the turkey all put together I remembered I hadn't seen the bag of giblets. I thought it was strange as I had pulled out the neck (which was still frozen) but hadn't seen the giblets. I un stuffed all the herbs and veggies from inside the bird to take a second look. I kept feeling all around checking everywhere (or so I thought). So back in went all the herbs, veggies, apple, oranges, seasoning etc. I kept saying to Aaron I swear the giblets are somewhere and we decided that they must have been with the neck (remember it was frozen still so we didn't see all the parts). So in the oven the turkey went. A few hours later our Turkey looked amazing and ready to eat. As my dad and mom wanted to work on the gravy (I know they love the giblets to help make the gravy, that is why I looked so hard for them) and no giblets to be used. When we got the turkey out to carve sure enough there they were. In the neck hole. So I guess I didn't look everywhere. Thankfully they didn't do any damage no liver tasting turkey and not burnt plastic. But man it was a close call. You would have thought I hadn't cooked a turkey before.

We are extremely grateful for our little blessing in our lives, Vivian. She fits just perfectly into our life and we continue to feel like she has been her all along. Celebrating the holidays has been so awesome with her. I have been just eating up all the chances I get to let her nap on me while we listen to Christmas music, it feels so warm and cozy. I try to take advantage of nap times and have her nap peacefull in her room, however sometimes I just like to hold her and marvel over her while she rests peacefully in my arms. The holidays seems like the perfect time to spoil her even more and just snuggle right on up to her while she naps all cozy on us. I think having her nap in my arms Thanksgiving night during dessert was what Heaven will be like...just DIVINE.

This year I am most grateful for
Vivian
Aaron
Our families
Good friends
The gospel of Jesus Christ
Good health

Growing like a weed...a good weed that is

2011-12-02T11:13:00.000-08:00

My mom is about to die because I am growing up too fast. Lately she has been doing lots of snuggling with me before naps or before bed and I catch her smelling my head, brushing my hair with her hand over and over and sighing in contentment. I think she is loving having me around this time of year. She can barely stand that pretty soon I will be 6 months old, that's A HALF A YEAR!!! She made my 6 month check up appointment this morning and I think I caught her tear up. At my 4 month check up I was in the 95% for weight and 75% for height. I am trying to get ahead of the game as I am sure I will shorten up pretty soon...have you seen my mom and dad?

Bella and I are pretty good friends these days. Of course Bear and I are friends too, but who isn't friends with Bear. Bella is a different story though, she is picky about who she loves...afterall she is a Bichon. She lets me pet her all the time and she even gives me kisses on my toes (not a surprise if you know how much she and Bear love toes). She is even patient with me when I start to pull her hair in my hands, which she doesn't do for other kids I am told. Don't worry I know I look like a boy sometimes. My mom and dad are still not too big on the bows in my head, but I am thinking as I get older and wear more "outfits" I will start wearing them.

This is how I wake up in the morning. If I am not up yet my mom or dad comes in and starts to wake me up and the first thing I do is smile and start to babble and laugh. My mom and dad are trying to figure out how they got so lucky with a baby that doesn't wake up crying ever, but I just say don't you worry I will make up for it with some other trial at some point. So I let them enjoy my 12 hour a night sleeps followed by happy wake ups so they can have energy to face the hard times ahead whatever I decide they will be...but I assure them they will come no doubt so get ready.

I continue to be the happiest baby you have every met. I have had a few grumpy days recently as I have been battling a sniffle of sorts and will give you a hard time if you feed me and then jostle me around (my reflux does not like it that much.) I had a way cool x ray last week where you could see how bad my reflux is. The Docs continue to be impressed I am so healthy and gaining so well with how bad it is. No food aversions here, I love me some food...mom's milk that is, however a little birdie told me that I may be starting food food this week!!! My mom and dad are very thankful every day for my health.

Mom and I listen to Christmas music EVERYDAY. I laugh when she sings to me.

I love a game of Peek A Boo. It always makes me giggle when mom reappears.

I don't last too long on my tummy anymore, once you put me down I roll right on over and I think it is pretty funny and cool. Right when I get on my back I look up at mom and dad to make sure they were watching my cool trick!!!

While I have been a patient baby I am starting to get a little impatient with wanting to sit up and be upright. I have realized that sitting up is much more comfortable on my tummy, but I am not strong enough yet to do it all on my own. When my mommy took me to the beach the other day I wanted nothing to do with laying down I just wanted to be sitting up checking out the surfers and waves.

He loves her she loves him

2011-11-14T12:59:00.000-08:00

So we did it, we made it through the 7 year itch and have made it to our 8 year wedding anniversary (on the 15th). It is pretty amazing when I think back to all that we have done, accomplished and gone through in 8 years of being married. As I was putting together all the photos we got taken at Vivian's birth and her newborn shots I couldn't help but cry with gratitude. I couldn't have married a better man. He is without a doubt my rock and my best friend. He is so tender and sweet and is the best dad. There has not been a night (ok just 1 actually when he had shingles) where he did not help out and do just as much for Vivian as I did. In the first month when she would wake a couple times a night to feed he was up with me and Viv, watching over us and helping. Every night after I feed her before bed Aaron comes in and burps her and holds her upright...I will go in and see what is taking so long and often find him just sleeping with his baby girl. Sometimes I feel like it could turn into a fight over who gets to put Viv to bed. He does it all with her which is so awesome to know when I am gone he can handle everything. I am so thankful for our equal partnership, I think it is what makes our marriage so strong.

I am so in love with my Aaron and for all that we stand for together and work towards together and mostly grateful for the family we have together.

Photo from our Honeymoon

Walking on the Mesa Temple grounds on our beautiful day

Reception in Walnut Creek (nice tans after our honeymoon!)

Here we are now the whole family (taken shortly after Vivian's birth)

Look at what a sweetheart he is, feeding me ice chips as we were waiting for baby girl

This one is a favorite as it is in between contractions and is showing how much Aaron is just praying and putting all his faith in me to get our Vivian here safely...no pressure!!!

Checking out our lil one for the first time

While we went to San Francisco a couple weeks ago to celebrate I was thinking what I would get Aaron as a gift this year. Is a gift really needed when we just welcomed the best gift you could ever receive? It's not like she was the cheapest gift in the world to get so I figure we are probably covered on gifts for awhile!!! (yes aaron I mean it if you are reading this)

1st Halloween

2011-11-10T17:22:00.000-08:00

It's true people I had my first Halloween. Hard to believe that this time last year my mom and dad just found out about my upcoming arrival (remember the pic of my mom with her hippie butterfly on her face with the positive test?). Mom felt so much pressure to have the family dress up since it was the first time with a kiddo and after many ideas and thoughts she decided we should be a western/farmerish family with me as the cow. Funny though cause really I should have been the farmer and my mom the cow if you think about it. Nonetheless we were cute as can be and my uncle Jer Jer even came down to be with us for the party.

Back at it

2011-11-08T10:43:00.000-08:00

You know it's good when I am waking at 5:30 a.m. to get there. Yup I am talking about crossfit. I fell in live right before I got pregnant and now that the babe is here and set on her routine I am back at it once again and it feels great.

There is something so fun about throwing bars over my head, jumping on boxes, running (ok that is not my favorite), rowing, swinging kettle bells, etc. Who said this stuff is only for guys?

If you haven't tried it yet get up and go. I promise there is a crossfit gym near you, no matter where you live.

Baby Bear's Porridge

2011-10-27T15:17:00.001-07:00

3 months post baby and we have found our pocket, our gravy, our BABY BEAR'S PORRIDGE. We are feeling good about things these days. So much happened so fast with be stopping work, Aar getting new job, leaving LA, saying goodbye to dear friends, making new friends, new ward new place, oh and throw in there a BABY!!! It was a lot to take in and 3 months later we are in our groove and it feels great. I am cooking, cleaning, studying, serving in the church, playing, going out on my own, taking Viv with me, traveling etc.

Oh and sleeping....I keep telling myself to knock on wood because all in all Vivian is pretty amazing. I mean no doubt we would love her all the same no matter what but the fact that by 3 months she was and is sleeping 12 hours at night makes her even more of a dream.

I don't know how we got so lucky. We keep waiting for a sickness, teething, or just something to happen to rock our boat. But in the meantime we will enjoy our sleep and rest. I am sure this will all change tonight now that I am feeling it is set, but it is ok because honestly I actually miss Vivian while she sleeps that long. I have even been known to walk into her room during the night just to see her or kiss her or hold her in her sleep. I will cherish those times I spend with my babe in the night when they happen...I loved them when she was first born and will continue to love them in the future.

We are so happy to be in this pocket right now...we are just taking it all in. I think I may squeeze Vivian so hard sometimes...I have to be careful. I love her so much and she is 100% chunk. Already has almost DOUBLED her birthweight and she is not even 4 months yet!!!

I am pretty certain that a baby who is putting on weight is a healthy happy baby. Babies brains need fat to develop, their bodies need nourishment to thrive and grow. I gotta say every time I look at her chunkiness I give myself an AIR HIGH FIVE as it is all momma here giving her her LBS.

She does have reflux which we hear can me super miserable for many which results in babies screaming non stop and no sleep. Thankfully I got right on it as soon as I knew something was up. She always spit up a ton since day 1 and at 2 months all of a sudden my baby who did not cry let out the craziest scream you have ever heard. She turned bright red and just screamed, not a cry. I picked her up and within seconds she spit up the most nasty acid like stuff ever. So I waited a couple days thinking maybe it was a fluke. But it would still happen everyday at least 1x. Always happened during a nap. Of course friends would say "oh let her cry it out", "it's just her sleep cycle, you don't want to rescue her too soon." Blah Blah Blah crap. I know my baby and I knew it was something. So I called the dr and sure enough it was reflux. She had been silently refluxing for the first 2 months then all of a sudden something changed and she started to experience pain. So the doc got her on meds ASAP with the instructions to keep her upright for 30 minutes after eating. So we did just that and things got better. She was still sleeping all night but during the day it would bother her. So off dairy I went, which then turned into off wheat, soy, eggs, caffeine, chocolate plus no dairy. He switched her meds and voila!!! We are working on trying to taper her med down so we will see how it goes in the next few weeks.

She still gets uneasy when she has a burp or needs to spit up and can't get it out by herself but the scream is no longer thankfully and she is not in pain. Just some grunts.

I am so happy I trusted my instincts and that I did not fall into the trap of sticking a binky in her mouth to shut her up or letting her just cry it out. I knew something was up. I love the fact that I know my baby better than anyone or any book out there. I take pride in being good at what I do and while I do know that there will be moments when I feel like I am not doing a good job or when by kids are doing naughty things I may doubt my efforts I am enjoying that for right now I am feeling confident in my abilities to care for the lil babe that she is now. . . . . (to be continued right? my next post could just easily be the complete opposite, and I promise you when I am feeling not so great I will let you know too, cause who likes someone who feels they have it under control all the time?)

I do think what has helped us get into the pocket we are in right now is me trusting my instincts and doing what is right for us and for our baby. A mother is blessed with intuition and I am certain intuition will always beat out any theory or opinion!!!

Practicing sitting up with dad

First time to Disneyland!!!

Oh and did you hear I have 2 new cousins...that's right 2!!!
I look like I am about to stomp on them but I assure I love them and will be super nice to them. I am pretty sure we are going to be the new 3 musketeers!!! Think if mom holds me back a year we could even all go to school together and beat up all the other kids together. OK we wouldn't beat them up but we sure would be a force to be reckoned with.

8 year celebration

2011-10-25T15:06:00.001-07:00

Aaron and I love to celebrate things, ok maybe I love to celebrate things and Aaron has since adopted my way of things. We love any excuse to celebrate, our wedding anniversary is no different. We have tried to celebrate by going to San Francisco. It is I think one of my most favorite family traditions. Last year we went to Hawaii, so I guess I am open for new places, however there is something about going to San Fran that is just the best. I think I am going to have to insist that we continue this tradition!!! We hit up all our favorite places and revisit memories, make new ones and even go to new places. This year was the best because it was just like old times except for this time we had Vivian.

We drove there, left at 4 am Thursday. Vivian was amazing and didn't wake up until 8 (just like clockwork that little one I tell you what). So we fed her and let her stretch her legs a bit at an amazingly classy rest stop (ok that is an overstatement, is there such thing as a classy rest stop? This one was even offering massages, I will let your imagination finish the rest it offered.) We then stopped in Lafayette on the way in to hit up Bo's BBQ. Aaron's most favorite. It did not disappoint at all. We even got a special visit from Bo himself and he gave Aaron one of his nicest cigars to celebrate our little Viv (don't worry it was soon after thrown away without Bo knowing, couldn't really say no to Bo.)

We then got back on the road and made it to SF just in time to miss a 4.1 earthquake...we were in the car at the time so we didn't even feel it, probably driving down Lombard street at that moment. We got unpacked and then made our way to the Ferry Building. The best place ever. Even when it is not the farmers market it is the best. There are little shops of FOOD...ALL FOOD. So amazing.

That night we turned in early to get ready for our big weekend.

Friday we got up and headed to IKE'S to pick up our sandwiches...one word AMAZING!!! Then kept on our way to head down to Half Moon Bay. We went to Farmer John's Pumpkin Patch and it was super cute. A real farm with the real man himself there.

We then drove to Maverick's to check out the spot where all the great big wave surfers have been. I hit the jackpot that day cause on our way to Maverick's I got mixed up in the side streets and ran a stop sign. We got pulled over. Don't you worry I couldn't find my license and our registration was up in September. I was such a mess rummaging through all of our stuff trying to find our info that I think the police officer felt bad so he let us off. Not one ticket. The stop sign ticket alone was $400!!! Then on top of that the driving without a license (left on table in the apartment). Yikes that would have been a hefty price tag to deal with that ticket.

So off to Maverick's we went and walked on the beach. I of course looked for treasure and found some great shells for Vivian. Another tradition is I always collect a couple shells from every beach we go to. I have a pretty awesome collection!!!

We then headed back through Pacifica (the coolest town on the coast EVER) and hit up Golden Gate Park. We strolled around the park while Viv took another not so shabby of a view nap then we went to the Academy of Sciences. Yup we are big kiddos at heart and loved every minute of it. We had been before but couldn't pass up going again and of course had to start Vivian young at her education.

This is what Viv had to say at the end of the day. Aaron and I were just talking on the bed and next thing we know Viv is passed out. So we let her take a cat nap for 15 minutes before we bathed and put to sleep. Stinkin cute right?

Saturday started off with a morning at the Farmer's Market at the Ferry Building. The most amazing Farmer's Market ever. Ok so I love SLC market and always compare every FM to that one, but this one is even better I dare say. It is HUGE. Goes all around the Ferry Building, behind it and it is right on the water. There were tons of U fans everywhere and I made a point to yell "GO UTES" to everyone I saw wearing U gear.

It was then off to the U game for us. Aar had to head down early to pick up our new tickets (yup left ours at home so stub hub credited back the money to us and we got even better tickets at more than half the price, will use STUB HUB again in the future after this incident for sure). Vivian and I headed off to the game walking along the piers all the way to ATT park (Where the Giants play). We met up with dad and got ready to cheer for our Utes. They were sad that day, awful in fact and we were sad that Viv saw them playing so poorly. But we had a great time and it was fun being at the park with Viv!!!

We ended the night by walking home along the piers once again that were all lit up and enjoyed the view of the Bay Bridge at night. While we walked Aaron and I held hands and pushed the stroller while we discussed how fortunate we are and how happy we are to have Viv in our lives and how much we love our family!!! It was a great moment for sure.

Sunday 5 am we headed home back to our doggies who were in great care with our friends the Hunt's and the Raver's.

It was the perfect weekend and having Aaron all to ourselves all weekend was amazing. It made me so excited for future vacations as a family.

10 fingers ... the simple Joys

2011-10-17T10:49:00.000-07:00

Thought it would be good to start the week off right by listing 10 simple joys in my life in honor of Vivian's hands finding each other last week. A simple, yet AMAZING, thing for a baby to discover. She often will fall asleep holding her hands or rubbing them together. It is so stinkin sweet!!!

10 Simple Joys in no particular order

1. Coconut Milk products
In my quest to be off dairy, soy, nuts, wheat, eggs, caffeine and chocolate I am DYING for food. Coconut milk is helping it not be so hard. Don't be fooled it is TOUGH, have you ever noticed how much soy is in all that we eat? Anyway coconut milk and coconut milk ice cream is amazing and starts my day off right with an awesome coconut milk and fruit smoothie and ends my day right with a few spoonfuls of ice cream. It is no secret how much I LOVE good food and this diet restriction for my lil one is killing me!!!

2. Having the blessing and opportunity to be home with Vivian
While not what I would totally classify as "simple" it is a joy that I can't stop being happy about. If I were working my maternity leave would be over and I would be returning to work and leaving my lil one. While I can't wait to get back to work at the right time I am so extremely happy to have the opportunity to be home with her everyday. It is a tough job of course that is demanding and tiring some days, but is AMAZING in everyway. I know my girl as good as one can know anything and it is so gratifying to know that I can be with her and that Aaron has been blessed with a job that can take care of our family without stressing me to get back to work and bring home some bacon.

3. Hearing Vivian breathe
I love when I can hear her heavy breathing in her sleep. It is so sweet and assures me she is off in dreamland peacefully.

4. Getting ready ready.
Like a shave, hair done, make up and all!!! Feels so great...a bubble bath is not too bad either.

5. Pull through parking spot
This one never gets old and we love when we get one. We always think of gpa Steenblik as he liked pull through parking spots too.

6. People ooing and awing at Vivian
This one I am betting will never get old. I love it!!! Our neighbor at least once a day totally oos at her when we are outside and is so cute. All the girls in Young Women's love her too. They come up to her and smile at her and just get so excited to see her and of course say how cute she is, which they aren't lying.

7. Instagram
New favorite obsession. I like way more than facebook and blogging. I really am a visual person so it is perfect for me and I love to see the adventures of others!!! Not on it? Get on it NOW. Then of course tell me so I can follow you.

8. Serving in our church
Not that this would surprise anyone but really I love serving in the church. I love being a part of ward, integrated and all. I love working with others and being busy. I have always found serving in the church is so great. While it can easily feel sometimes like an obligation I have found when we look at it as an opportunity and a joy our attitude changes dramatically. It is so great to be back in Young Women's, while of course I wouldn't say no to any calling, YW is my most favorite. I also feel that when we serve in the church our connections to our ward family increase and it really becomes a genuine family of people who you care for and who in return care for you.

9. Netflix
I love jumping in bed when Vivian is asleep and turning on our computer and getting our show (FNL right now) cued and cuddling and watching it together. I am now understanding why people get into shows when they have a baby...if baby goes to bed around 8 then that leaves a few hours in the evening to play at home.

10. Foggy mornings and nights
I love when the marine fog rolls in. It is so cozy and comfy. It makes me so happy. I love taking Viv on a walk when it is foggy. We snuggle our bodies so close in the Ergo Baby (that could be a post of itself, don't have it get it, it will change your world with a kiddo) and just stroll to the beach, along the beach or harbor and it is the best!

Happy Monday and don't forget to recognize your joys!!!

FHE ideas

2011-09-30T08:58:00.000-07:00

What do you like to do for Family Home Evening?

After listening to Uchtdorf's talk from RS broadcast last week I started to think about all the simple and easy things we can do as a family for our Family Home Evening activities.

Aaron and I usually are all for keeping things low key and we like to remember the whole purpose of FHE...to be with your family and to strengthen your love for each other and the gospel. I feel like sometimes Aaron and I can be anti social, not really anti social, but more into hanging as a family than with others. We love being together after he has been gone all day/week at work. In any given week we are known to go on at least 5 strolls together whether it be at the beach, the harbor, on trails, etc. We find a lot of joy in being together outside with our family. However am up for new ideas of activities to do for our FHE.

This last week we met up with a few couples and just hung out at the beach for sunset for our FHE and it was perfect. I always enjoy a good time with people who share similar values and beliefs as I do. I feel like it strengthens my testimony even more.

I am thinking cooking may be a new thing I consider FHE as Aaron and I both love to be in the kitchen and we have fun when we are doing it. As Viv gets older we can all do it together and make a special yummy treat.

Hmmmmm any other ideas. What do you like to do for FHE?

Need a pick me up?

2011-09-25T21:45:00.000-07:00

Do you just love the light in my eyes? My mom and dad can't get enough of me. Can you?

I am babbling and smiling a ton these days and my mom and dad don't do much other than just stare at me and snuggle with me. If you ever need a pick me up in your day just check out my mug and I promise it will brighten your day.

Missoni Madness and FNL

2011-09-16T09:52:00.001-07:00

Are you as in love with the line for target as I am? I am obsessed and just love staring at it all the items, even all the out of stock stuff. It is just so pretty looking and funky. Just my style.

I am in love and at the same time so sad that I couldn't get my hands on more.

I ordered a tankini online that they still had and am going to be checking out stores in my area for more but man all I can say is dangit!!! So bummed.

I can't believe it was sold out in just a few hours. Had I been thinking clearly and not in my Friday Night Lights daze I would have gone early and stood in line for when the store opened.

That brings me to my next thought FNL!!! Loving it. Aaron and I are totally into it and are stoked to have another series to watch and love together. Kind of an issue though as we end up staying up late watching it not knowing when Vivian will sound the alarm next to eat. Thankfully she is pretty consistently sleeping from 8pm or so until 5am or later (knock on some wood for me), but we still take things day by day and have no expectations of her so I still feel like we are being risky staying up so late. But it's fun how excited we get when she goes to sleep, we get ready for bed and run into the bedroom, load up the netflix and just watch watch watch until one of us finally calls it quits.

Vivian's Special Day

2011-09-08T14:32:00.000-07:00

How has time gone by so fast that we were the people blessing our baby at church this past Sunday? This time last year we were getting ready for our first round of infertility treatments and while we felt super hopeful I was the saddest I can ever remember. Now 1 year later we have a 2 month old. Overwhelmed with gratitude to say the least.

We chose to do the blessing in LA in the Westwood 2 ward. We always thought that's where she would be blessed and that ward honestly has been the most amazing ward we have ever been and couldn't imagine doing it anywhere else. There were so many who came to support us and see Vivian be blessed, friends from the 1 and 2 wards along with friends we made in LA, OC and our families. It was perfect!!!

Aaron gave her such a sweet blessing and focused on what I thought was so important, the attributes that she will need to succeed in life, in the gospel and as a woman. In the circle was Aaron, Bill, Gerrit, Nate, Jake, Matt, Jeremy, Tony, JayBird, Millard, Taylor and Mason.

Vivian was a dream all day. We woke her up at 6 so we could feed and drive to LA in time to get ready and settled. Aaron held her the entire time as I wanted him to already have her comfy and I felt like it was a special day for him and I just wanted him to have all the bonding and sweet time with her on that day. She slept the entire meeting in his arms and it was so sweet to see him just stare at her the whole time.

After the blessing we were able to visit with friends and the YW in the ward. Such a treat. Then we drove back home to relax a bit before family came over for dinner.

Measuring success

2011-09-06T11:05:00.000-07:00

Since becoming a mom I have thought a lot about and been faced with the MEASURING STICK. Not the measuring stick we used in school or the one I use on myself but the societal measuring stick. I have to be honest I think we should throw it out. I have always hated the whole "keep up with the joneses" type of stuff that goes on in the world. Until I had Vivian I felt like I was able to stay away from the measuring stick of life pretty well. Aaron and I just tried to beat to our own drum and while at times we started to do the good old compare and contrast with others we, for the most part, have been able to not get caught up in this too much. However now that we have Vivian I feel like the measuring stick is being placed on us and I can't stand it, in fact I hate it.

Why is it that the first question someone now asks me is

"How long does Vivian sleep at night?"

Do you really care how well my baby sleeps? Honestly does it matter much to you? Or is it more about the good old compare and contrast game that gets played?

It is almost as if people placed judgement on me as a mom (and other moms) or as a person based on how well my/their baby sleeps, eats, naps, sticks to a schedule, self soothes etc. When in reality none of that stuff matters...NOT ONE BIT.

Now it just so happens that Vivian sleeps like a rock, eats probably way too much food (she is already 12 lbs...total chunk), naps well, goes to bed at a consistent time each night, isn't fussy, and is pretty much a dream of a baby. However what if she weren't? What if she woke up every hour screaming? What if she had to be rocked everytime she needed to sleep (check it out studies actually show that rocking a baby has many developmental benefits)? What if she were a total thumb sucker? Or how about what if she screamed bloody murder all day long? Would any of those things reflect anything about me as a mom or as person? Or what about Vivian would any of those things make someone think negatively about my baby?

I think the cat and mouse, keep up with the joneses, and good old compare and contrast game is an easy one to fall into and I am doing my best to not be affected by it, however it is like everyday someone asks one of those measuring questions, waits for my response and then proceeds to respond with their opinion and feelings and it drives me bananas!!!

In my opinion the only thing that matters is how well I teach my child the gospel, prepare her for the world and instill a strong sense of identity as a daughter of God. All that other stuff is just fluff, not relevant at all. I understand people are just trying to find common things to discuss however we all know that the questions are loaded and the answers given carry major reactions with them.

Of course there are the good old parenting debates that come up to, you know the ones I am talking about

Do you breastfeed or bottlefeed?

Does your baby suck thumb or use pacifier?

Do you let your baby cry it out?

Does your baby sleep in your room? What about your bed?

All of this stuff just doesn't matter. How about we let people raise their kids how they want to. How about we not give our opinions so freely and quickly to others. There is not ONE right way to do things in life. Everyone does things the way they feel is best for them.

It's easy to say that the hardest thing about becoming a mom thusfar has not been taking care of Vivian it has been dealing with all these things, the opinions given without invitation, the measuring stick, and such. I think it may be a girl thing because guys don't care about any of this. Can girls please be a bit more like guys?

Birth Story Documentation

2011-08-31T11:33:00.000-07:00

Aaron and I were blessed to have an amazing photographer, one of my DG sisters, photograph our birth and newborn pics for us. It was by far one of the best decisions we made to do a birth story documentation. She captured it all, such raw emotions, and the pics bring us to tears and take us back to that day almost 2 months ago where our life drastically changed.

If you are in the SoCal area or Utah (I know she visits there often) check her out and book her. She does everything as you will see on her site

http://christinolive.com

You can view our pics from the birth on her site too.

How great is UT in the summer

2011-08-30T16:41:00.000-07:00

Last week I was able to make a trip to Utah, a WAY too short of a trip. Being that it was my first trip with Vivian I didn't know what to expect and since I was going without Aaron I didn't want to be gone away from him too long. While it was short it was still great. It was so much fun to be able to visit family and see a few friends and of course show off my newest and greatest addition.

I learned a few things about traveling with my lil one:
Stay longer, if you are going to travel you might as well stay longer. Just when I started settled and chill I left.
There is never enough time for everything and everyone, I didn't even get close to fitting in all that I wanted and visits with everyone.
Travel with Aaron, it's tough work traveling alone.

The BEST...relaxing outside with these two monsters...Amazing lil monsters they are!!! Vivian loved the outdoors and was mesmerized by the trees, breeze, shadows and sounds of the outdoors.

Can you stand them in their matching hats?

Liam was IN LOVE. He wanted to hold Vivian so much and I think no joke every time he walked by her or just in the middle of whatever he was doing he would come up to her and say in the sweetest softest voice "Hi Viv."

Dream in green got to meet lil Viv too!!!

KT was so great and helpful with Vivian while I was there and George loved Vivian too. He calls her by her full name and it just absolutely ridiculously cute to hear him say her name.

Emma, Ellie and Chase got to meet Vivian too. Chase was loving the baby and though she was so cute. Liam and George were spoiled and played with Emma for the entire time we were up at Aaron's parents house.

Breaking Bad = GOOD

2011-08-22T12:50:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder to anyone and everyone that if you are not currently watching Breaking Bad, you must get in on it NOW. Rent the DVDS, Netflix them, Itunes them, whatever you want just do it. Just found out that they have decided on the end time of the series and as a result I am sure it is going to get pretty crazy, as if it is not already crazy.

Yes it is about illegal drugs and all but what can I say it is awesome. The way the show is done is great, so much drama, humor, suspense. It has it all.

Who would have thought that the dad from Malcolm In The Middle could be such a tough guy. We had honestly been counting down the days until it came back on this season right along with counting down the days until our baby was born...no joke it's THAT good.

Formal Introduction

2011-08-14T17:41:00.001-07:00

I am sorry it has taken me so long to introduce myself to the world

I am VIVIAN MURRAY and I am already over a month old. How is that possible you might ask that I took so long to introduce myself to you? I have been busy. Busy eating, sleeping, playing and pooping.

At 1 month here is a little bit about me

Love to track black/white toys and books, and now loving my color books too
Respond to voices of my mom and dad
Stare at Bear and Bella (go figure they are black and white so no wonder I like them so much)
I squeeze hands, can hit faces, hold toys in my hands, and can lift my head all the way up and turn to other side when doing tummy time, which I super love.
I go on lots and lots of walks to the beach. You see I live right at a trail that heads to the beach so my mom, bear and I make it down there usually once a day and I watch in jealousy the junior lifeguard training just dying for the day to do that too with the big girls.
I am liking my voice and love to make sounds of all sorts that are pretty darn pleasant and appealing to my mom and dad
I don't really cry, unless you haven't gotten food to me yet. Sometimes you will hear me let out a lil squeal right before I fall asleep and then I am out cold. It is me just trying to say "don't have too much fun without me guys." I am like my mom that way, she never likes to miss the fun.
I wake up with cat stretches and potato bug rolls along with moans.
I purr in my sleep and my mom and dad think it is the darn near cutest thing in the world
Lots of people stare at me, ooh and ahh at me and I can see why.
I have been to church already and it was a major success which is good cause my mom was a bit worried about going to a new ward with a new baby. She had dreamt about taking me to church for the first time in LA so I took it easy on her and made sure I was as pleasant as can be so she didn't feel sad.
I love baths
I go to bed around 9-10 and wake up just one time in the night to feed then head off to dreamland for a few more hours until around 8 am.
2 hours is my max currently for staying awake until I need a nap, I know I am a lightweight
I have taken a few naps in my crib outside my parents room and I am feeling ready to move on up and out, however my mom is feeling otherwise, she can be a bit sentimental so makes it hard for her to have me leave her side.

Me and my dad, who sadly got the shingles (I think my arrival along with moving and starting a new job created a tad bit of stress), I don't know why I had anything to do with it because I am the chillest baby you have ever met.

Just chilling on my dad's surfboard trying to get as comfortable as possibly so when the day comes that I get out there with my dad I can pop up right away.

Just waking up from a nap in my crib. For some reason everytime I wake up I wake up to my mom and dad watching over me and laughing. I guess they think I wake up cute.

5 weeks old and heading to church for the first time.

Getting ready to walk out the door to church. And YES we were on time. Mom and dad have been pretty good so far at not letting me make them late, we will see how long that lasts though, I may have some tricks up my sleeve that I may use in the future to turn them in to the late people.

Love holding my mom and dad's fingers.

Here I am with my partner in crime BEAR. For 9 months my mom and him would walk everyday and chat about what it would be like to walk with me and
hear I am finally joining them.

Salt Creek Beach the ending spot of our daily walks. I actually was awake for a little while this time as usually I fall asleep before we get to the beach which makes my mom sad, but this night I managed to be up for awhile and soak in the ocean breeze.

Wise words

2011-08-07T10:39:00.001-07:00

Every night after bath time Vivian gets her last feeding before sleep. While we do this we always listen to primary songs with the lights down low. It is our bedtime routine. Aaron comes in and the family is together getting ready for bed. We like to set the stage for a calm and peaceful night. Every night I sing along to the hymns. I got to thinking...surely Vivian has got a good chance in this world when from the very beginning of her life she hears these words.

My life is a gift
My life is a plan
My life has a purpose
In heaven it began

One of my most favorite things about the LDS church is the programming it has for children and youth. I can't imagine raising Vivian without it. As I served in YW I realized this much more and now that I am caring for our lil Viv I am personally so thankful for the church and the messages it teaches to children. Wouldn't every parent want their kid to hear the above lyrics and sing them as they get older?

With all the negative messages that are out in the world and all the issues I have seen and dealt with with teenage girls I can't think of better words for a child to hear. We all want to feel as if we are MEANT to be here, that we matter, that there is PLAN for us and that we have PURPOSE in the world. I think I may have to get these words done on a print and hang in her room. What a great motto.

10 fingers and 10 toes

2011-07-31T18:37:00.000-07:00

In honor of my lil one's 10 fingers and 10 toes I decided to make two top 10 lists. One is top 10 awesome moments, surprises, etc. The other is the top 10 difficult moments, realities. There is no doubt we are smitten and completely in love.

Top 10 moments, things, etc. since Lil Viv joined our family

Watching Vivian track her black and white toys and book with her eyes. No doubt she is loving her developmental toys. It is wild to see how she reacts to the developmental toys/activities for this age.
Having Vivian respond to my voice and my touch. She turns her head, calms down, or sighs when she hears me or feels me and I completely melt.
Bath time is the coolest!!! When we lay her down to get ready for her bath she immediately becomes as quiet as a mouse and when she is in the bath it is like she has died and gone to heaven.
After her middle of the night feeding Vivian falls asleep on my chest and she is so peaceful and cuddly, I honestly have to restrain myself from squeezing her too tightly.
Old man burps and farts!!! Hysterical and wild that this lil body can create such a stir.
Consistency. So it's funny because her horiscope says that she is a going to be a creature of habit and so far this has been true. She is like clockwork. Of course all of this could change at any moment. But we are enjoying her routine that she has put herself on. She pretty much eats, sleeps, poops and plays at the same time everyday, she even lets us get good sleep.
Waking her up is the raddest thing and watching her wake up...hearing her wake up even. She makes all these cute noises and moans and does all these huge cat stretches. It is hysterical. It is one of the funniest and cutest things I have ever seen. No lie. Would make anyone laugh. Pretty sure we wake up exactly the same way. When I realized this I about died.
Bella and Bear love her. When Vivian wakes Bella runs to her bed right away. Bear peeks over her bed trying to sneak a close up view. They are both so loving, protecting and sweet with her. Poor Vivian has gotten many baths from them, however it is great to see how loving they have been.
I am much more calm than I anticipated. Most know that I am an anxious person, I run a tight ship, and am usually pretty anxious or nervous. However my reaction since Vivian was born is totally different than I thought. I was much more nervous, anxious and uptight trying to bring Vivian to this world that so far the last (almost) month has seemed much easier emotionally than many had prepared me for. Now that she is here I feel this huge cathartic release of tension and feel much more relaxed than I have been in years. I am shocked at how I am responding emotionally.
That she is all ours. I just look at her and love her and can barely stand that she is OURS. Our baby. Every night after her bath and I give her her last feed before sleep I just hold her while she is sleeping and tell her how much I would pray for her to be OURS and how thankful I am that Heavenly Father has sent her to us. I still just can't believe it.

Top 10 difficult realities, moments, etc.

Holy MILK. My breasts feel like the size of watermelons and overflow with milk. I honestly feel like a cow. I knew they would get big and full but never did I imagine how big and full. It is wild.
Doing the dishes, wash, and cleaning feel fun. FUN? Yeah I know I didn't think I would ever say that. But it feels fun and nice to do everyday normal things. On top of taking a shower, getting ready, going on walks and getting out and about the daily chores are a nice change to my day, sad but true.
Back pain. It is getting better as I adjust my positioning, relax the tension when holding or feeding, but WOW. I love stretching at night, rolling out my back on our styrofoam log, it feels so good especially since I couldn't do it as I got farther in my pregnancy.
HUNGER and THIRST. Yes I am hungry way more now than I was when pregnant and thirsty at all times. I down a huge glass of water at every feeding and more in between.
Cutting down on my TV watching. I got the impression from so many that we would be watching tons of TV with a baby and that we should start new tv series as we would be up at all hours of the night and have tons of time. But I was so sad to realize that we can barely fit in time to watch a few of our favorite shows. I don't love to watch TV when playing with her and or hanging out with her as I like to be super present with her.
No more late nights. We do not stay up late at all. We like to get to bed between 10 and 11 so we can get in some good sleep before her nighttime feeding. I feel like I am an old lady!!!
It's much harder than I thought to feel like the family is dependent on me. Vivian needs me like I couldn't believe, which I feel is increased when you are breastfeeding. I literally have all the goods that she needs. Of course Aaron plays a key role however I am the one with her all day, I recognize her cues more than anyone and sometimes I feel a bit overwhelmed knowing I am the one.
My body which I was pumped to get back after I gave birth feels nothing like my own. While the weight melts off and I am fitting back into my jeans and clothes already, I just don't feel like my body is MY body. Another thing I think is a result of breastfeeding. Every few hours my lil one is attached to me like peanut butter to bread. Would I change it? No way, I love BF, however it just can feel difficult at times.
Showering is the most awesome feeling thing EVER. I sometimes take 2 showers a day. It is so nice to just feel warm water and relax for a few moments. A shower feels as good as a day at the spa! You know how much I love the spa.
The morning after OUCH is the best way to describe it. The pain was gone within 3 days, but I was shocked at how I felt that morning after. Completely exhausted and in pain. I had no strength in my legs and arms from pushing and pulling and of course I was in pain downstairs. I never called on so many to do so many favors for me. It was as if every other moment I was saying "_______ (name) can you get me or do this for me?" I was so thankful to feel more capable just a few short days after, but the morning after I honestly thought it would feel like that forever.

Introducing

2011-07-12T10:03:00.000-07:00

She is here and we are in heaven. It is truly incredible.

Here is her story...

The night of 4th of July I started feeling, what can I say, funny. Contractions randomly, sharp pains, and just felt different. I tried to go to bed but there was NO sleep to be had. I was up the entire night.

Tuesday morning the 5th I asked Aaron to give me a blessing as I just felt not right and had the feeling that our lil one was on her way. He gave me a great blessing and kissed me goodbye as he left to go to work. I took the day to hang out. Still couldn't rest though...dang it! So I packed up Bear and drove him to the park. We played a MAJOR game of fetch and he was in heaven. So was I as I knew this may be our last time just us. I then had Young Women's so I picked up some girls and had a fun night of human foosball. I kept feeling just off. I got upset at a couple of the girls and have to give them a bit of a stern talking to. As I was driving them home I joked and asked if they were trying to induce my labor? haha funny....fast forward just 30 minutes. I am on the phone with my mom just chatting, I was sitting at the kitchen table. All of a sudden...a release. I said " mom hold on I think my water just broke." I stood up walked to tell Aaron and I said "yup mom I am pretty sure my water broke, let me call you back." Then it was like the world STOPPED. I told Aaron and I jumped in the shower and he headed straight out to take the dogs out. It was 9:30 p.m. I hurried in the shower as I was group B positive and wanted to make sure I got there ASAP to start the antibiotic IV. We were thankfully all packed, the kitchen table had been the holder of our hospital bag, correction BAGS. We kinda were like "oh my gosh, this is happening." We checked all our stuff, gave the pups a kiss and let them know that the next time we would be home we would finally have their sister.

We got in the car and we were so excited. Thankfully the hospital is no more than 10 minutes from our house, and that is even in LA traffic. We get there and park and head in to the 4th floor and I felt so proud and pumped to walk in and check it and declare "my water broke." They checked me in got me changed and on the admit bed. They tested my fluids and yup that's what it was. I didn't need much convincing as just like they say if your water breaks, YOU WILL KNOW. By 10:30 I had been checked by the Dr, officially admitted and contractions were coming, I was just a 2.

They then take me back to our labor and delivery room. Of course phone calls and texts galore were going out and we were sounding the alarm. At about 2:00 a.m. I decide alright let's get the epidural. I didn't know what this day would entail and I thought there is no way any of us are sleeping if I don't get an epidural. The contractions were manageable at this point, however no sleeping was gonna happen. At this point I have already been up since Monday July 4th and I was BEAT tired. So I get the epidural. Aaron had to leave the room and I felt so calm. I think he was more nervous to leave me. He later told me he paced the halls and actually was jumping up and down seeing if he could touch the ceiling. I worked on arching my back like an angry cat and in went the epidural.

Within a few minutes things were feeling better and the catheter was placed in. Amazing that catheter, it was so cool to not have to use the restroom. I am the pee queen and it was so cool to just not even think about it. Back to the catheter later though.

We turn off the lights, Aar goes on the couch bed and he successfully falls asleep. The heart rate monitor was on pretty loud in the room and I just layed in bed in AWE and EXCITEMENT yet this amazing sense of CALM. I listened to our girl's heart rate all night. I layed there in this dark room, only lit by monitors and just listened and observed my contractions wondering what the day was going to have in store for us.

The morning rolled around and as the sun lit our room the nurses started coming back in to check on me. I was at a 5 at 7 a.m. and then guessed our baby girl would make it here no later than 2. I was continuing to contract every 1-3 minutes on my own without pitocin. I told my nurse, Yvonne, that Dr. Meyers was my dr. She checked and Dr. Meyers was working at the clinic that day, not at labor and delivery though so that meant she would not deliver my baby. Then Yvonne came back in the room and said "so I just called Dr. Meyers and she told me that she loves you so much that she will come and deliver your baby." I just died. Then in walks my mom in the room around 8:30. I was so excited to see her and she was just as excited to see me. She walked in the room with the biggest smile on her face and came right up to me to give me a kiss and a hug.

At about 10:00 a.m. Yvonne came back in and checked me and I was a 10 and 100% effaced. They moved up baby girl's arrival to 12:00. So I called my friend Christin who was going to come and take pictures of the birth and of course called everyone else and updated them via phone calls and text messages. The plan: Dr. Meyers would come over after her morning appts. and help me bring our girl here. It was during this time when they checked me that they realized I was allergic to latex. So the catheter was creating a bit allergic reaction. It didn't hurt but you could see the reaction I guess pretty significantly.

Fast forward to 12:00...Dr Meyers checks me and well lil one is NOT dropping...AT ALL. Dr. Meyers was so sweet and happy and made me feel so calm about everything. She let me know she will check me again after her clinics at 4 and I should then be all good to go.

So the wait was on. It was so cool as we didn't even turn the TV on once. It was like a hang out party all day. Me, Aar, Mom, Jeremy, and Christin (capturing the events of the day) and of course Yvonne.

4:30 rolls around and they check me and guess what? No progress. Baby girl is still not dropping. So Dr. Meyers orders me pitocin, just a "whiff" of it they said. This made my contractions super strong and super close. I felt them and just knew something had to be happening. During this time my sweet mom I swear never took her gaze and focus off the contraction monitor. She was so great. During this time the nurses let me know that my baby is "textbook perfect." She never was showing any distress and her heart rate was PERFECT. Mulberry pizza was ordered and brought by Jer during this time. Of course I was not eating, as I was just having ice chips all day, but the smell was amazing and I was so excited to eat later that night. Nate and Rachel arrived during this time too.

At 6:15 I get checked again and well NO PROGRESS. Dr Meyers informs me that I have just a few minutes to show her that I can push her out else there will need be an alternative plan. I of course ask what she means and she lets me know a C Section. Not that I wouldn't get a C section after all most important thing is a healthy baby and a healthy mom. But I really did not want a c section, especially after 20+ hours of labor. (We later find out the next morning that the dr working labor and delivery that day had started prepping my blood at 2 p.m. for a c section and ordered it at 4:00, however Dr. Meyers called and told the nurses to let him know that she KNEW I could push her out and that he was to not do a c section. I owe it to her for having such confidence in me.) So I almost start to lose it and I look at Aar and I feel tears come but I fight them back as I realized all throughout the day that the minute I got teary I lost all my focus and all my strength. So Dr. Meyers suited up and we got to. Dr Meyers was at my left, Yvonne at my right and Aaron was holding my back and neck. I pushed and pushed for 10 minutes and it was so hard. I couldn't tell if I was doing things right. With every contraction I would push 3 times for 10 counts each. Aaron was right in my ear counting and talking and honestly all I could hear was him. I remember it being bright and him at my right ear the entire time. After a contraction the room became dead silent. All the women in the room would just stare at the contraction monitor and I did not say much. I would keep my eyes mostly closed and focused on my breath to calm myself down and regain my strength. Then I would say "Okay I think this is one coming." They would look at the monitor and say "yup you are right, let's go." Then for the next 30 seconds-minute (aaron counted LONG and SLOW 10 counts) the most exhausting work out would take place. I asked if I was doing it right and Dr Meyers assured I was and let me know that I would be able to do this. I prayed during this time silently, kept focused and just manged my breathing as best as I could. I never let myself go to the emotional part or thoughts of how hard this was, I conserved all my energy for pushing.

About 30 minutes into it the head was coming out and I touched her sweet head, that had BROWN hair!!!

A few more contractions and pushes later and her head came out followed by the rest. I remember them just saying "ok stop pushing." And I was thinking "oh my goodness she is here."

I reached down with my hands and then handed her to me right away. She started crying right away and I was so relieved to know she was healthy and here. They placed her right on me. All covered in her vernix, which was the warmest and softest lotiony substance I had ever felt. I just rubbed her and loved her and kissed her and was amazed. The biggest rush of relief came over me and I just felt calm. For about 45 minutes she just layed there on me and me and Aaron marveled over her. At one point I remember Aaron coming back up to me, as he had walked away for a moment and my mom came in, and when he came back he was just crying and kissing my head telling me how much he loves me. It was perfection!!! He cut the chord and we just snuggled close checking her out. Phone calls were made, my mom held up the phone so my dad could hear her, we called Matt and KT and Aaron called his family.

Finally they took her away from me so they could do all the vitals. Due to her being so healthy they were not worried about her so they wanted me to just hold her as long as I wanted. When they took her off of me I remember just watching everything around the room and sat there so peaceful and content.

Since then our life has been changed forever and we are in love. I honestly feel like she has been here all along. I don't feel so far the big change that occurred in our lives. It feels like the natural progression and feels like this has always been our normal.

We are in love and overwhelmed by all the love and support we have received by so many.

Share the love

2011-06-27T09:32:00.000-07:00

Grandma Vivian

Please let our Vivian come play with us. We are ready to meet her. I am sure you are preparing her for all that is in store for her and I am guessing she is just so darn sweet that you aren't ready to part with her. I know we are 2 weeks from our due date and I know it still could be awhile longer, however I wouldn't be sad in the slightest bit if you kissed her goodbye and sent her on her way. We are thinking that she just loves you so much that she is conflicted about whether or not she is really ready to leave you too. Reassure her though that her parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins will take great care of her and are just twiddling their thumbs waiting to spoil her. Oh and we wouldn't mind if you passed your amazing silver hair to her for when she gets your age!!!

xoxo

changes...transitions...

2011-06-10T16:35:00.000-07:00

I guess I was a little too confident in one of my previous posts when I said BRING IT ON. I didn't know that would take on a whole new meaning other than just bringing on baby.

Aaron and I will not only be experiencing the changes that come with having a new lil one, but we will also be moving. It happened super suddenly and I have not fully digested it all. Last week Aaron was offered a new job in Orange County. While I am so excited for him and for our family to have Aaron at his new job, I have to be honest and say I am not excited nor am I happy about moving. LA has become more our home I feel than any other place we have lived. Crazy I know since we have lived here for only a bit over 2 years. LA welcomed us with open arms, love, excitement and adventure. It is safe to say that I have become smitten with Los Angeles and the thought of leaving makes me sick.

Now the fact that I am sad to leave LA does not mean that I am not excited for our new adventures, being near some of our other dear friends, and lots of beach days. My sad feelings do not cancel out the positive things in store for us. However, I would not be genuine if I told you I was excited to move and since I would rather be authentic and real I just have to express the real truth.

I am sad and it's okay for me to be sad...I don't need fixing, I don't need to stop my feelings or change them.

I felt ready to take on and face the changes that were on the way with our new lil arrival, however I was not ready for the double wammy!!!

There are so many things that make LA feel like home, here are some of my top favorites:

Jeremy living on the same street, laundry, dinner, church, gym, movies, you name it we do it every week with Jer.
Westwood 2nd ward. Can't be duplicated. This will receive a post of its own I am sure at some point.
My Young Women. The strongest, bravest girls I have met to date. Again will receive more of a post when I am ready to fully process saying goodbye to them.
Crossfit gym with our crew
Rancho Park days with Bear
Food Food Food. LA has some of the best foodie places out.
LA temple. Everytime I exit the 10 I drive straight towards the temple and it is always followed by a big ahhhhh I am home.
Friends. Even though it seems like everyone is busier in LA and working later hours and don't have as much time to hang out, you always feel like you have family near by. Everyone is pulled in so many ways yet you never feel alone. It's almost as if everyone in LA is just so happy to find someone else in LA they can lean on and be friends with.

Along with the transition of moving I know I am going to be going through an intense transition of my own identity. I knew it was going to happen when we had our lil one. I stopped work two months early so I could get in the groove of not working and having that BE who I am. However, I had YW which kept me just as busy as my full time job and I didn't have to fully face the transition of being a career woman to a full time mom. Not that being a full time mom is not amazing, rewarding, and of upmost importance, so please do not start to read into what I am saying, it is just for me I knew it was going to be tough from going from my thing that I excelled and was amazing at to something new that meant the other part of me would be put on hold for awhile. Now I am still a therapist and can't wait to finish my CA exams so I can figure out private practice (another thing I had almost all the way figured out here in LA, so gotta start over the connections and plan for our new location) however I am on hold for a bit while I raise our lil one and finish my exams. Now with moving from LA and away from YW (yes there were not plans to release me when baby girl came) I am faced with change in identify. I know I am still who I am, just going to be a little different for some time when everything I am used to, love, and am passionate about is taken away. Of course I am reminded I will have lil viv to be passionate about!!!

Is any of this making sense? If you are still reading then I am impressed. I know I just need to get it out at some point so this post is a good starting point for me.

So you may be wondering when is all this taking place? ha GOOD QUESTION!!!

We are thinking after the baby is born we will make the move down south. We will be checking out places this weekend and see what we can find and then after that I will put it all in Aaron's hands to finalize. Number 1 priority for me is to take care of our lil one in my belly for the next 4 weeks and have a healthy delivery. I did pack a ton this week (kitchen and all my clothes) and all the baby stuff is organized, washed and ready so I am not feeling overwhelmed with the physical act of packing, loading up and such. It is the emotional part I am most concerned about.

Here's to the next wild 6 weeks or so.

Fun as of late

2011-06-06T21:18:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have had lots of fun packed in and it really has been nice. I am for sure enjoying these last few weeks before our baby joins our family.

My parents came to visit for Memorial weekend and it was great having them here with us. Here we are at one of my most favorite LA spots...the LA temple. I have to be honest, I love my parents. I love them more now then I ever loved them and I think me becoming a mom has a lot to do with it. I just am realizing all the love that they have for me and my brothers, even though I am not a mom yet, I am already starting to feel a titch of what they feel for the 3 of us.

Me, Bear and Bella have loved having all day everyday with each other lately. I know they are going to be such good big siblings to our lil Viv and it makes me so excited that they will be here to look out for her.

This last weekend my dear friend Amanda threw me a shower down in the OC. It was the most beautiful day as you can tell from the picture. The treats were yummy, no joke the best cake pop I have ever eaten, but more than that it was so awesome to have our friends all in one place. Aaron and I are fortunate to have friends from many different places in So Cal and to have them all in one place together to celebrate was perfect. We took the pic in the end after many had already left, which was my bad (I feel bad ruining the party to take a picture). But you can see a good portion of the group (missing Mia, the Williams, the Palmers, Paige, Campbell's, Laurel and Anna sorry guys I should have just taken it sooner) The best of friends. Aaron and I were so thankful for our friends who came to celebrate such an exciting even with us.

Amanda did a fabulous job and put all this on even with having her lil one to take care of. She is a "get things done" girl and I love that about her. She can take on so much and still get it all done with such grace. She has been one of my biggest supporters since getting pregnant...she has been excited and genuinely happy for me since the beginning. Love her!!!

Me and my Aar Bear!!! Man I freaking LOVE him, like A LOT. I am so excited to be a mom with him and to have him be the father of our Vivian. He is going to be the greatest and I am just dying with excitement to start this adventure with him. Not only is he going to be a great dad but seriously he is a CUTIE. I just love him so dang much and could just squeeze him to death.

BRING IT

2011-05-27T16:39:00.000-07:00

As I am getting more and more ready for our lil one I am getting more and more excited. We haven't had the freak out yet of "what are we doing?" "can we handle this?" "are we ready?" etc. I do have to say that I laugh every time someone tries to warn me about how much my life will change and they ask "are you guys REALLY ready?" I think to myself A. Do I look like a teen mom with no clue about life? B. What makes someone REALLY READY?

I have to say I am thankful for all my family and friends who have already had kids to get me comfortable with the changes that will come. Sure it is much different when it is your own, do people really feel the need to explain that? Isn't that common sense? While I have witnessed many of these changes happen to those around me, heard the issues, seen the exhaustion, listened to the frustrations and concerns I know it will be on a much more intense level when it is me going through it. Yet I still say to myself "Bring it on, I am so ready for different." It's not like Aaron and I got married yesterday (almost 8 years) and we have been ready for "different" for awhile now.

I am excited for the SLAP IN THE FACE CHANGE that is about to happen in 6 weeks or so and you can remind me that if you ever hear me saying anything of the contrary (promise I give you 100% full permission to quote me).

The crib was delivered today (Nursery is in process)
Carpets get cleaned next week
Hospital bag is packed
Head is down

and with that I say BRING IT, let's get our baby girl here in the next 6 weeks.

Few more weeks to go so few more inches to expand!!!

A year....what?

2011-05-04T15:37:00.001-07:00

Crazy what can change in just ONE year. Here Aaron and I are last year this time, enjoying at day at the beach. While it was a difficult year in terms of us starting a family and we dealt with all the emotions that came with it, we look happy. The human soul is pretty incredible, it can deal with so much and be still so strong and resilient.

Here we are this year just last week and even though I was happy in the picture above, you can tell that I am much happier in this picture. My face says it all I think. I am ecstatic and can't wait for what is to come for us. Even though I felt happy last year, I didn't feel like my total complete self. Yet here I am a year later and what a difference a year has made!!!

This last week was CRA CRA CRAZY and I have to be honest that I am still overwhelmed about it all. My friend Pam and I went to the Ellen Mother's Day Show. It was amazing and so much fun. Imagine a room full of 300-400 pregnant woman receiving amazing gifts. It was out of control. I was hoarse by the end of the show and was completely exhausted both physically and emotionally. What a great help it was to receive the gifts we received that day. We know this next year will be tight with me not working for awhile and the giveaways from Ellen are for sure going to lighten the load. We were not allowed to take photos inside the studio but here we are waiting before. And NO we did not plan to match.

Below are the beautiful flowers my Aar Bear got me for Mother's Day. He walked in the door tonight (Saturday) with them and I died. So beautiful and completely my style. I love him and am so thankful to know that we are about to start a crazy amazing adventure.

Our weekend has been full of baby shopping and organizing. We have re arranged some of our furniture and our place is on its way to being ready for baby. This next week I will be heading to Arizona for my last babyless trip home and for a baby shower thrown by mom's dear friends, most of whom have witnessed me grow up. I am so excited to celebrate the blessing that is on her way with them and continue to overwhelmed with gratitude for the generosity, love, support and care of those around us.

They make it look so easy

2011-04-23T20:29:00.000-07:00

How do all the woman out there do it?

I have to say being pregnant has been the coolest thing in my life up to this point, something I am extremely grateful for. However I feel like there was not enough heads up about how emotionally difficult it is.

Please do not get be wrong, I am in NO WAY complaining, as it really is incredible and I feel extremely blessed.

I have got to say though that I don't know how many more nights I can handle waking up in extreme fear and worry for our lil one. While being pregnant is the greatest thing I have experienced it is the scariest thing I have ever been through.

I remember thinking having my brother Matt leave on his mission was the hardest thing ever.
Then it was when Jeremy left on his mission, I would stay up at night and just bawl in my bed.
Then my parents left on their mission to Africa where they experienced a civil war and some of the craziest, uncertain situations ever.
I then remember applying for graduate school and being so anxious about not getting in I felt at times I couldn't breathe.
Then it was the decision to move to CA for Aaron to go to school where we up and left our home and our friends and family, everything we had established ourselves on since being married.
Then came the time when we wanted to start a family and couldn't and we felt discouraged and started to process the possibility of not being able to have children.

Now here we are and we are pregnant and I have to say it is freaking scary. I have never felt more vulnerable in my life. Not just vulnerable as it relates to our lil one but also Aaron and my family. I worry more about Aaron when he is traveling for work and I worry and pray all the time for the safety of my family. Here we are so close to what we have wanted for so long and I feel like at any moment my life could just crumble.

Last night was one of those nights where I could not sleep (not really a new thing) and I woke up to feeling our baby going nutso in my belly. Something I really and truly love. However I have been having crazy intense pelvic pain over the last couple weeks which results in my feeling as if I can't even stand up (broke my tailbone and messed up my pelvic area pretty good when I was 14 and I am repaying for it now). So here I am just uncomfortable, deprived of sleep and left alone with my worries. Needless to say I totally became overcome with fear. Really and truly the way I think Satan shows up in my life. I am not tempted by other things or feel satan's power in my life except for when he shows up as FEAR. I should know better, my mom always has taught me that any prompting or feeling from our Heavenly Father would not present as FEAR, yet in the moment at 2:30 a.m. last night I just couldn't shake all my worries.

I woke Aaron up and thankfully he was there for me and completely helped to bring me back to comfort and security.

I am okay with discomfort, it is not the hard part for me at all while being pregnant. Sure I can't stand or walk at times cause I feel like I will buckle at my pelvis, yes throwing up is still an all too familiar occurence, gaining weight is not necessarily comfortable, but really I don't mind all that stuff plus all the others. I really don't. I celebrate the physical discomforts. However I gotta say the worry and vulnerability is the hardest for me.

Thanks for reading, that is if you made it this far, I just had to get it out there.

Freaking out

2011-04-19T12:43:00.000-07:00

Got the call this morning...it is official. I have tickets to the Mother's Day show on Ellen. I am freaking out...seriously dying. Can't wait. I honestly love Ellen. Her show brings me so much joy and is my go to everyday. She is not only hysterical but such a nice woman...I know right like I actually personally know her. But for real she does so much good and I am so excited to celebrate the arrival of our lil one with her and all other pregger mommas!!! Thanks ELLEN ahead of time.

Preggers at the park

2011-04-12T15:23:00.000-07:00

We heave kinda been slacking on the pregger pics. I think cause I went through a phase of just feeling plump all over rather than baby bump. However I am feeling like I have made it to the phase of THERE IS ACTUALLY A BABY IN THERE NO IT IS NOT A NEW YEARS RESOLUTION GONE WRONG!!! This week I will be hitting the 28 week mark. I am feeling great and she moves constantly and I freaking LOVE it. I have major pelvic pain which is not cool and often leaves me struggling to even walk and move for a few minutes after getting up, worth it though OF COURSE.

ellen

2011-04-08T09:02:00.000-07:00

Shout out to my most favorite talk show host EVER. Aaron and I were joking the other day how when we first got married he used to get calls in the afternoon and I would be on the other end of the phone crying because I was watching Oprah. Now while still an Oprah fan, I have to say over the years I have needed more and more Ellen in my life. For the last 3 years it has been a MUST everyday after a long day of work. Now Aaron hears laughter from the other room or is told he HAS to watch something from the show. I really love Ellen and I am gonna just say if you are not watching it regularly you and are going to have to have an intervention!

I have put in for tickets for awhile now and never have gotten called so last week when my friend Pam asked me if I wanted to go with her I of course jumped at the chance. Then I looked it up and found out my main man Timothy Olyphant would be on that day. Another MUST watch is Justified. Aar and I love that show and well Timothy's character RAYLAN GIVENS is my main star squeeze.

We went to the riff raff room in hopes we can get into the MOTHER'S DAY show as no lie I have checked the site everyday since I found out we were preggers. I have been dreaming of this show forEVER!!! I have written in 2x, Aar wrote 2x, Ash wrote for me, Katie wrote for me and others were planning on it. Hoping it all works out and we get in. I coulnd't sleep the night before the show because I was thinking of how I can get to the Mother's Day show and if you know me my mind tends to race and with that combined with the struggles of sleeping that come along with being 7 months pregnant resulted in no sleep for me. But I was on cloud 9 when we got to the show. Everyone was so nice, I couldn't believe how awesome the staff was. Never annoyed or upset with the hundreds of ELLEN fans.

LOVED IT.

Can't wait to hear back about Mother's Day show. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh yup freaking out.

Missing you

2011-03-16T20:59:00.000-07:00

So Ash you may kill me for this pic, as it is a great classic pic of you after 3 days camping in Idaho. But I love the pic, because it makes me smile, just thinking of you looking like this all smiley and cute. I have to say I am FREAKING out. I haven't seen you since Idaho in August and I don't know if I will be seeing you before baby Murray makes her way here and it is KILLING me. Thankfully you and I talk pretty much every day either on the phone, text or gchat and that is the only thing that is making it not seem as long as it has been. But then I think about it and I am like "seriously it has been that long!!!" Anyway I just miss you, like in person. I love that nothing ever seems to change between us, we pick up right where we left off, you would think we don't live on complete opposite sides of the country. I LOVE YOU!!!

And then my better half Aar Bear. He has been on his monthly east coast trip and I can't wait for him to get home tomorrow night. I had a dream, no lie, that we were living in the Jersey Shore house and we were dating and best friends and then he decided he didn't want to be my best friend anymore. I didn't care much about him not wanting to date me, but he didn't want to be my best friend and it made me so sad. He was making fun of me and playing pranks on me with the rest of the Jersey Shore guys and I woke up at 5 am so sad. I had to text him right away (he was up since it was 8 for him east coast time) Anyway I love him it's true. And yes I should probably not watch so much "T SHIRT TIME" goodness.

I am pretty stoked because I get to see my Liam, Georgie, KT and MOM and DAD next week in AZ. I am going for a whole week!!! Can't wait...ahhhhhhhhhhhhh get me there. Actually get Aaron home for a few days first then get me to AZ.

Hollywood Hike

2011-03-12T21:31:00.000-08:00

Today we took our Young Women's group to hike to the Hollywood sign. We actually hiked to above the hike. It was a blast and so much fun to do with our awesome group of girls. It was a nice day in LA with a bit overcast on the way up with some light fog which made it super enjoyable. The sun came out on our way down and along with a couple detours we made it down safely and all together. I was so nervous taking our girls on this as it was the first time I had done something like this with all these girls. And as we know girls are girls and start chatting and they just like to wander a bit, and needless to say I was a tad bit anxious, but everyone made it safely and in one piece with no injuries. Here is some of our group at the top.

Aar joined with along with other spouses and it was nice having him there with me along with our Buddy Buddy Bear oh and don't forget the lil one in the belly. Here I am at 23 weeks. And yes if you wanted to know if I am feeling huge I AM. While I have not gained too much weight I am for sure starting to pop out. Two weeks ago I was in the worst pain of my life, thought I needed to go to the hospital intense pain. The next day I literally was double the size I was the day before in my stomach. I went to Dr to get checked out and it was just stretching pains...actually not JUST stretching pains cause it was intense. I just describe it like someone took a knife and cut open my stomach from my belly button all the way across both sides. My dr said I was going to have some uncomfortable weeks stretching but that hopefully I am part of the lucky people whose stretching pains are more painful than labor. Fingers crossed. I am telling you what it was intense for about a week straight and I am happy to report I only get the pains every now and then rather than all day.

I am loving being active still. And to all those who say I should take it easy and not work out too much I say "um are you remembering I have to push this kiddo out? That takes endurance and strength so I am pretty sure not working out would not be the best idea, but thanks for looking out for me." Really and truly drives me nuts I can't tell you how many times a week someone tells me I should not be working out.

Mama Roo

2011-03-05T21:29:00.001-08:00

I am just saying check this thing out. I tried to get pics uploaded but the blog was being lame. It is amazing and I am pretty sure I only see Aaron get this excited when he is looking at surfboards. He loved it and I have to say I had not seen it ever and was thinking I had already decided on the swingie item we were going to get until we saw this.

It has 5 different motions to chose from:
Car Ride: which is a figure eight movement
KangRoo: Which moves up and down
Tree Swing: swings in a downward motion, high on the sides low in the middle
Rock A Bye: Swings in a upward motion, low on sides, high in middle
Ocean wave: Around in a big circle

You can adjust speed to faster or slower

It has a fully adjustable seat that you can recline or sit straight up

You can plug in your Ipod and it can play your own music or chose from the sounds provided

I really love it...really and truly love it and you know me when I love something I am like a missionary for it. I am pretty sure that with how much Aaron loves it we will end up owning this amazing thing.

Yum yum

2011-02-27T19:54:00.000-08:00

After our yummy salmon dinner tonight (cooked by aar bear) I made us shepherd's pie casserole for Monday-Tuesday. I love cooking yummy meals and I love cooking two meals on Sunday so our meals are taken care of for the start of the week. My shepherd's pie was different tonight, and no I don't have a recipe... You can blame my parents for that. It has steamed sweet potatoes on one half (chunky not mashed) and steamed yellow potatoes on the other half (chunky not mashed). It's so easy to make and is and healthy. Loaded with ground beef cooked with diced onion, rosemary, thyme with some salt and pepper, then mixed with fresh carrots and green beans lightly steamed (I am not a big fan of mushy vegetables as you can tell). Throw in some beef broth and lil flour to thicken it up and d o n e! I am excited to get home from work tomorrow to eat it, Aaron asked if he could have a second dinner tonight, but I am making him wait.

On the menu for the month so far is (yes I make our meal schedules every month, gives me yummy things to think about all week)
-parmasean chicken
-spaghetti made with spaghetti squash substituting noodles
-lamb
-basil pesto tilapia
-trout with balsamic reduction sauce
-carne asada tacos

Making anything yummy? Let me know as I love a good meal. What are your go to meals? Always looking for ideas.

Baby girl!!!

2011-02-09T21:37:00.000-08:00

We are dying with excitement. So much that we are ready to go to bed and it is only 9:43.

Today we were told "it's a girl."

She for sure is a SHE, you can totally see her lil girl parts and all. I have to say it was amazing. Aar and I both cried with joy and thankfulness to see our lil one today who looks like she is growing well so far. We did our full anatomy scan so won't know all results until next week but she was measuring on track and even gave us a big yawn. She is either already bored inside there and impatient like her mom or was really tired from all the working out she has been doing lately inside me.

I just can't stop thinking about what she is doing right now and what she thinks about the family she is coming to. Does she think we are crazy and thinking "ahhhh man" or is she jumping for joy? I know we are as thrilled as can be and are so ready for this bundle to get down here safely and in our arms. We daydream about her non stop and love thinking about all the things we are excited to do with her.

What about though one day she will go on a date with a BOY and we will have to take a deep breathe. That is freaky. Makes my heart skip a beat just thinking about it!!!

We both keep saying how ready we are for this. We are so ready for this next step and yes even though there will be long nights, worries and all that stuff we have never felt more ready. I am so happy we waited until the right time for us and did what we knew would be best for our family. We are as a result ready and up for it 100%. Can't wait to be parents.

I hope she is listening to the advice of our loved ones in heaven getting ready to come here.

Sick day=Sew day

2011-01-31T10:26:00.001-08:00

Today I took a "sick" day. And am I sick? Nope! But I am sewing and loving it. My mom surprised me with a sewing machine for my birthday and I finally had a moment to while it out. I was so proud of myself because I threaded the needle and got it all set up without help. I did have my mom, aka best sewing teacher ever, teach me all the tricks but I for sure thought I wouldn't rememeber it all on my own. I already made one table cloth this morning and am gonna get a baby blanket completed after I wake up from a nap. Not much is better than taking a sick day when you are not sick!

16 week bump

2011-01-21T09:15:00.001-08:00

Really can I have a bump already? This is nutso to me. I am 16 weeks today and finally figured that I should start taking pics of this lil one growing inside of me. I am feeling AWESOME finally which is a great relief. I still throw up a few times a week which is usually a pretty violent episode that I feel from the deepest part of my gut. Feeding the dogs is usually the biggest trigger however public bathrooms still are extremely daunting and usually end in not so great way. I am still doing crossfit and I shoot for at least 3x a week with lots of walking around the park with bear along with Bikram pregnancy dvd at home. So far everything is looking good. When we went this week for our appt the baby was staring straight at me, head on. It was so amazing. Early February we are hoping to find out if we are having a baby Aaron or baby Kristen. I am pretty sure I have started feeling some movement down there every now and then, almost like lil fish are swimming inside or a potato bug is rolling around. The stretching pains were not so fabulous this week but a few days after them popped out a lil bump so it is all worth it. I am just dying to meet this lil one and I know I still have a ways to go. Here's to getting bigger and cooking a new Murray.

Baby on the way and Xmas=Perfection

2011-01-02T19:32:00.000-08:00

We had a great holiday and I honestly enjoyed every minute of it. It was magical in every way. Maybe it's cause this was the last holiday season without a little one around. Many of you already know but if not WE ARE HAVING A KIDDO!!! We couldn't be more thrilled. We have been so hesitant to get the word out but finally started to spread the good news. Fingers crossed that all goes well from here on out. We are 13 weeks preggers. Week 6-9 was brutal, lost 8 lbs from throwing up so much. Back to my normal weight now, maybe even plus 2. Eating more than just mashed potatoes and I may just be feeling a bit more like my self...knock on wood. It has kinda been a roller coaster of emotions as the time line went a bit like this 1. Get called as YW president, 2. Head to hawaii, 3. 3 days after we get back from Hawaii Gpa Steenblik has massive stroke, 4. The next day we find out we are preggers, 5. The following week gpa Steenblik dies. It really was just a bit nuts and hard to take it all in. We really are just dying knowing we are going to have a kiddo. We have already started preparing Bear and Bella about the addition on its way. Thankfully we got some awesome family pics done in December to celebrate our family as we are now before things change. For some reason I can't upload them which is annoying the heck out of me because they are so dang good!!! Brooke Palmer did them and we love them.

I know right, you are thinking seriously this is the picture she took of her getting a positive pregnancy test. We were running out the door to our ward halloween party and well it is what it is. I honestly laugh that this is the picture I have and think our kid is really gonna think we are crazy hippies now. Oh well. It does the trick right.

Xmas was fabulous. We headed to Arizona to be with my family. We had a blast and just went non stop. Not much relaxing goes down when I am with my family because I want to do it all and spend time with everyone. Napping seems wrong when I have all these people around that I love. Enjoy some pics of the week.

George and Bear just being buddies. George is fearless, I guess having a 200 lb doggie at home makes him prepared for Bear.

Liam went for a drive in Punka's truck. I love the pics I can get of this kiddo in Punka's truck.

My parents. Man I love them. They really are the greatest. They are so in love still and sweet to each other, I love the example they have set for me.

Me and my Aar Bear the day after xmas. I love taking pictures in my backyard. My dad does such a great job with the landscaping and it makes for a perfect background. Oh and I love Aar Bear too!!!

The BOYS of the family!!!

Me and my mommy!!!

The whole family.

Xmas eve wrapping central. We all keep our backs turned away so we don't see the gifts. We spend hours wrapping and wrapping all of our goodies for each other. So magical and fun.

Most favorite time of the year

2010-12-19T21:16:00.000-08:00

It is here...and I am already mourning next week when it will be over and I will have to wait a whole other year for my most favorite time. Where has the time gone? How is it already the end of 2010? I can't stand it.

I am so excited for this coming week where Aaron and I will pack up the dogs and head to AZ for xmas with the Steenbliks. It brings me pure JOY. My days will be filled with playing with my nepwhews, UNO, Punka's crepes, peppermint ice cream, dinners that will stuff my face and belly, hikes up camelback mountain and just the joy that you feel when you are HOME. I am dying with anticipation.

Of course I can't forget the REASON FOR THE SEASON. More than ever I feel so grateful for He that was born for us and has forever shaped and altered my life for the better. As I reflect on the blessings of my life that are directly related to Jesus Christ I am humbled and overwhelmed.

Alright so here it goes....the week of the year....BRING IT. Only 3 days of work this week then we are out of here and on to celebrate. Couldn't happen fast enough...except I will be so sad when it is over.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and of course a bright New Year. Enjoy your loved ones and soak it all up!!!

Thanksgiving goodness

2010-12-05T16:54:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was a great week. Started out with Disneyland with Aaron's mom, sister and her kiddos along with Nate, Rach, and Luke. It was PACKED...honestly as packed as I think I will ever see it. We went the day before thanksgiving. Thankfully I was able to go on a ride...Haunted Mansion which was all Nightmare Before Christmas decked out and I loved it. New favorite ride at Disneyland for sure.

Thanksgiving day Aar went down to the OC to run the 10K Turkey Trot with his siblings while I enjoyed a nice relaxing sleep. We then met up with his family for dinner. The night ended with some Harry Potter which I loved as always. We continued to have a great weekend with the family and we were super thankful for them coming out to California so we could stay put.

So many things to be thankful for this time of year and as we start my most favorite month of the year I find myself to be extra grateful and appreciative.

Our families are THE best and I am so thankful for the families we come from.
My parents are some of the greatest examples in my life and I love to notice the things I do that are like them. I am thankful for the examples they have been to me in my life of love and service.
My Aar Bear what can I say...I love him. I love that 7 years ago I made the decision to marry him for eternity. One of the best decisions I have ever made and has made my life exactly how it needs to be.
Bella and Bear our kiddos are the loves of our life. We just adore them and love when we walk in the door and they run up to us so excited and happy to see us. Best cuddle partners ever.
Gatorade and sparkling water have been saving my behind lately. I have been sick with a nasty infection we all got over thanksgiving and I have been downing so much of this stuff lately I am sure I will turn into yellow bubbles.
LuLuLemon, what would my wardrobe be without it?

While these are just a few there are a ton more, however I will just leave it at that.

Hope you are all enjoying the holiday season!!!

GPA STEENBLIK

2010-11-11T15:07:00.001-08:00

The most awesome threesome ever enjoying some pumpkin picking with our Gpa. I have to say this is one my most favorite pictures from my childhood.

Of course showing his UTE pride with his Utah hat on.

X mas last year with Gpa.

I love this picture, Gpa kept tickling Liam's feet during the photo. It was so cute to see him so interactive and playing around with Liam. For sure something I will miss when I have kiddos.

I will be forever grateful to the man he is and was as he helped to shape my father into the man he is today. I am so thankful for his example of service and kindness. He was known for going to grocery stores to get their day old food, which was often not even expired and would drive around and deliver to those in need. This delivering of food and goods has been something he has done ever since I can remember and still was going on even in the last few months leading up to his stroke. Gpa Steenblik was the only grandpa I had ever known as Gpa Howe died just a few months before I was born. I am sad to not have him in my life here on earth and while I know it was the right thing for him to join my gma and others in heaven it doesn't take away the fact that it sucks to not have him HERE. My gpa died today, Veteran's day.

YW President

2010-10-31T19:23:00.001-07:00

Am I really old enough to be a Young Women's president?

I guess it doesn't matter much cause I am officially as of today.

I am super excited and totally humbled to have this opportunity. The girls I work with are so awesome and I really can't think of a better calling to have. I am taken back that people have the faith and confidence in me to serve this role. Of course with the help of some amazing leaders I know our YW will be great.

And we're back

2010-10-24T22:12:00.000-07:00

In true Murray Steenblik fashion Aaron and I did Oahu right. We were able to see all the island has to offer. We loved every minute of it. We both have never been big on going to Hawaii, I had never been and I have to admit I always wanted what I thought was more adventurous. I have always thought if I am going to pay money I want to see a new culture and get a totally different experience. With that being said I LOVE OAHU and I want to go again...NOW. I loved how easy everything was. We rented a jeep and went around the whole dang island many times. It was clean, good food, and accessibility. It would be correct to say that Oahu changed my mind, sometimes it is nice to be a bit more comfortable while traveling.

We flew in on Saturday and spent the day at the hotel settling in.

Sunday we started bright and early (let me just say our plan was to do nothing that day) and headed to Haunama Bay to snorkel. It was fabulous. We saw tons of amazing fish, a 6 foot moray eel (not my highlight but Aaron was stoked), and of course a nice Hawiian sea turtle. We then hiked Diamond Head and soaked in a great view of the big city.

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Monday we went straight to the North Shore and how happy I am that we did. We snorkled at Shark's Cove which was incredible. I thought Sunday was the coolest until I snorkeled Monday. Again huge fish in this amazing cove that honestly looked like a movie set underwater. The ocean was FLAT, like a bay and we couldn't have hit it right on the money that morning. After snorkeling we got some treat's at Ted's Bakery, which we frequented many more times. Then to Waimea Bay we went. Again some snorkeling with a ginormous sea turtle which we just hovered over for about 15 minutes watching it eat on the bottom of the ocean and then it decided to show of a bit and swim around us. We went to go out to these spinning dolphin but when we had swam out they had left. They were putting on an amazing show. We spent the night in the North Shore until just after Sunset which we enjoyed at none other than Sunset Beach.

Tuesday was another filled day again, which I am sure does not surprise you. We hiked Maunawilli Falls which was excellent, hot, sweaty and fun. We then went continued our journey in the area to Lanikai beach. We rented stand up paddle boards and played in the sun for the good part of the day. We paddle boarded out to an island which was pretty rad. The ocean was so clear and beautiful. Most of these pics are on waterproof cam so will upload at a later date.

Wednesday we actually did chill a bit in the am at the hotel and went to the beach at our hotel for a little while. Then it was time to head up to the Laie to the Polynesian Cultural Center. This was super rad. We went 2 hours before our Luau which was the perfect amount of time. After the Luau we had the most excellent surprise. We took the tram to the temple which has been completely renovated and was going to start its open house on Friday. We went up the steps and a man offered to give us a private tour right then and there. Truly amazing. The temple was beautiful, absolutely gorgeous. It was such a treat to get a one on one tour with the man who oversees every temple construction and remodel, he shared all the little details with us. After that he drove us back to the polynesian cultural center so we would not miss the show. We watched a great show and enjoyed the evening. We decided to take the round around the top of the island past the north shore as swell reached 15 feet that day (remember monday the swell was 0 feet). We sat on the beach in the dark with the moonlight and watched huge waves crashing.

Thursday we headed to Pearl Harbor which was pretty interesting. Did you know that the USS Arizona still leaks oil (tears of the victims as they refer to it), they say it could take up to 200 years after the attack to completely drain. It was really cool and they told us that those who did not die the day of the attack on the ship have their ashes taken into the boat when they die to be with their friends. Love the loyalty. After Pearl Harbor we went back to the hotel and relaxed a bit and went to a movie.

Friday we hit up the North Shore again as it really is I think one of our most favorite places on this earth. We checked out Sharks Cove yet it was still too big of swell to snorkel. So we went back to Waimea Bay which still had waves but calm enough to still play around, which we did. We then drove to the other side of the North Shore near Laie and went to this awesome secluded beach park that was kind of tucked in the woods. It was crazy cool. We then picked up some treats from Ted's and watched sunset at Sunset Beach.

Saturday was our last day and we decided to vedge out at the pool. It was a brilliant way to end our trip. We hit the island hard for 7 days so it was good to end with some relaxation. We went to another movie and headed into Honolulu for some excellent food and SideStreet Inn and got back on the plan to our life back in LA.

Not mentioned in here are the fabulous meals we had. We really did eat good food, which of course should not be much of a surprise as we are foodies. We went to some of the most yummiest places we had ever eaten thanks to Food Network Suggestions and those from friends. Ted's, Helena's, Motsumoto's, Side Street Inn, Grass Skirt Grill were all excellent!!!

I am so thankful that we were able to go on this vacation. We really did need it. We figured that 2 years is the point where it is time for a long break. Of course weekend trips help but a good week away from work and responsibilities does the body good...pretty sure is better for me than milk. I have to give a special thanks to the Murray's for giving us a week of their timeshare (Marriott Ko Olina, it was great with the most excellent lagoons and pools) and to Jeff and Rachel Nelson and Jer for taking such good care of our kiddos so we could get away.

I feel like a new person.

Countdowns

2010-10-02T23:25:00.000-07:00

In 5 days we go to the ARCADE FIRE concert (a Kristen favorite band) at the Shrine
In 13 days we go to the LCD Soundsystem concert (an Aaron favorite band) at the HOLLYWOOD BOWL
In 14 days we go to Oahu
In 44 days we will have been married 7 years
In 49 days we see the Utes play San Diego

Excited much about all of this? You betcha. Not that it takes much with me, I get excited just about anything...Case and point (these are just the things I was excited about from today) I was pretty stoked tonight when I downed one my most favorite treats ever a Beard Papa cream puff, I got pumped earlier today when I cleaned out a purse and found many many many quarters (awesome for parking), loved it when I lit my first fall candle of the season, grinned ear to ear when I head my Liam and Georgie on the phone today, laughed with joy when I got the fish report from Aaron and the rest of the Steenblik crew who fished the Green, and am dying to wake up in the am to see my bugga boo Aar Bear even though he has only been gone for 36 hours.

new love

2010-09-18T20:35:00.001-07:00

This last week I have been completely taken over by CROSSFIT. As most know I have been a Bikram yoga junkie for 7 1/2 years and I never thought something else would take its place. However, I am hooked. This last week I took my first class Monday night and by Saturday I had already taken 4 classes along with Bikram classes too. I am thinking I will shoot for 3 crossfit a week and 2 Bikram a week. I thought I would share with you what all this madness is about. I will post the workouts I did this week, the workouts change every day, called WOD (workout of the day). They are brutal and YES I went to vomit in my first class from pure body exhaustion. I am sore everyday and feel as if my arms are dead arms constantly. It is incredible though. It is all timed, so you are always trying to go faster. Of course form is most important but you are constantly pushing yourself to go faster and harder. I LOVE IT, it totally fits with my intense personality.

These are the WOD I did this week. Check them out. I can't wait for next week to just be worn out again. I remember when Aaron started this and it was all he could talk about, I did not get it. Now it is all I talk about, I get so pumped, big smile on my face and can't stop thinking about the next time I will go.

WOD

5 Rounds of Cindy

500 meter run

5 Rounds of Cindy

500 meter row

5 Rounds of Cindy

100 Sit-ups

*Cindy = 5 Pull-Ups, 10 Push-Ups, 15 Squats

WOD

For time:

500 meter row

21 Pull-ups

21 Handstand Push-ups

18 Pull-ups

18 Handstand Push-ups

15 Pull-ups

15 Handstand Push-ups

12 Pull-ups

12 Handstand Push-ups

9 Pull-ups

9 Handstand Push-ups

6 Pull-ups

6 Handstand Push-ups

3 Pull-ups

3 Handstand Push-ups

500 meter row

WOD

Three rounds for time of:

60 seconds tuck-sit

30 Deadlifts (155/105 lbs) No I don't do that much weight

60 Sit-ups

30 Back Extensions

40 X 4 WOD

40 Push-ups (release hands)

40 Box jumps (20″)

40 SDLHP (75/55 lbs) Sumo Dead Lift High Pulls

40 Pull-ups

4 Rounds for time

Wherever you live check out the nearest cross fit gym. Or if you don't have a gym near by just check out www.crossfit.com for WOD you can do at your local park or home even. You don't need much to be able to do yourself, just a few weights and such and you can make your own home gym. I promise you will LOVE it. If in LA check out www.kmwtrainingcenters.com for the gym we go to, it is mainly a KravMaga gym but crossfit is becoming huge there too.

Weekend of Perfection

2010-08-31T17:53:00.000-07:00

We are so thankful to our friends the Beck's for another fabulous weekend away in beautiful Idaho at their cabin, VINHAGEN. Last year when we went we couldn't stop talking about how it was so great for our souls...rejuventating. Well this year was no different. The awesome thing about this year was that not only were we there with our friends but my family was there as well (minus mom and dad that is). I don't think it could have been more perfect if we had tried.

We enjoyed amazing home cooked meals, chats, nights by the fire, wood burning hot tub under the stars, canoe rides in the pond, fishing, relaxation, laughs, and the amazingly fresh open air. It was just incredible and I once again find myself trying to explain in the best way possible... not much can be said other than that it was perfection in it's purest form.

***Thanks to the Hunt's for taking such good care of our kiddos here back in LA so we could get the R&R we were in need of.

Hoping to get some more pics from those who went, so there may be a round 2 of pics of this trip.

Lately in LA

2010-08-04T14:12:00.000-07:00

Here's another LATELY IN LA post.

The Annenberg Space for Photography next to our place is an all time favorite of ours. They are hosting the Pictures of the Year exhibit again and it was truly amazing. This is just one of the pics I loved. This lil kiddo is just loving life, soaking it all in, and enjoying the rain. Love how the simple things can make some so happy. It was an incredibly moving exhibit and I encourage everyone anywhere near us to make the trip. We have already been 2 times=lots and lots of tears.

I am really loving living in LA. One of the great things about LA is that there is always something fun to do. When Toy Story 3 came out we went and saw it at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood. Truly a MUST DO. Before the show started this man was playing Disney songs on the Organ.

Neptune's Net fried shrip and halibut basket is to die for. I crave it often, it's about a 45 minute drive up the coast to Ventura County but well worth it for the food and the scenery is nothing to complain about either.

Loving Peonies these days. I get a bunch of them at Trader Joe's (another favorite). They brighten my house and my mood right away, they seem to last a long time too.

This guy while I love him like crazy has been making me a bit crazy. We had him allergy tested as he has been miserable for almost a year now and we found out he is allergic to 31 of the 75 things they tested. So we have started his immunotherapy shots and keeping our fingers crossed that it will work. Oh and he swollowed a peach pit last night which has made me nervous all night and day waiting to make sure he passes it.

A couple weeks ago I started to sew and quilt. I gotta say I am loving it. My mom has been teaching me and I am addicted. It does not help that the best store ever is down town near where I see a lot of my clients, so I sometimes sneak in and buy stuff during the day and dream away of all the things I want to make. Here's my first quilt I made, no not for anyone specific if that's what you are starting to think, just cause I want to start getting a good collection going for one day.

I am sure you are not surprised I have another pic of food. I know I LOVE food what can I say. This puppy is from a cart in downtown LA in the fabric district. Bacon wrapped hot dog with sauted onions and peppers with fresh avacado and pico on top. Brilliant.

The Perfect Heart

2010-07-12T09:38:00.000-07:00

Heard this this past weekend and loved it to death. Wanted to share with all of you out there. You may have read before but enjoy again.

One day a young man was standing in the middle of the town proclaiming that he had the most beautiful heart in the whole valley. A large crowd gathered and they all admired his heart for it was perfect. There was not a mark or a flaw in it.

Yes, they all agreed it truly was the most beautiful heart they had ever seen. The young man was very proud and boasted more loudly about his beautiful heart.

Suddenly, an old man appeared at the front of the crowd and said “Why, your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine.”

The crowd and the young man looked at the old man’s heart. It was beating strongly, but full of scars, it had places where pieces had been removed and other pieces put in, but they didn’t fit quite right and there were several jagged edges. In fact, in some places there were deep gouges where whole pieces were missing.

The people stared – how can he say his heart is more beautiful, they thought? The young man looked at the old man’s heart and saw its state and laughed. “You must be joking,” he said. “Compare your heart with mine, mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars and tears.”

“Yes,” said the old man, “Yours is perfect looking but I would never trade with you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom I have given my love – I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them, and often they give me a piece of their heart which fits into the empty place in my heart, but because the pieces aren’t exact, I have some rough edges, which I cherish, because they remind me of the love we shared.

Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away, and the other person hasn’t returned a piece of his heart to me. These are the empty gouges – giving love is taking a chance.

Although these gouges are painful, they stay open, reminding me of the love I have for these people too, and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have waiting. So now do you see what true beauty is?”

The young man stood silently with tears running down his cheeks. He walked up to the old man, reached into his perfect young and beautiful heart, and ripped a piece out. He offered it to the old man with trembling hands. The old man took his offering, placed it in his heart and then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the young man’s heart. It fit, but not perfectly, as there were some jagged edges.

The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore but more beautiful than ever, since love from the old man’s heart flowed into his. They embraced and walked away side by side.

Trials and Tribulations

2010-07-03T21:04:00.001-07:00

A couple weeks ago the cutest lil girl that I work with right now asked me if she could sing me a song. I of course said "yes." She started to sing a song that she made up and she was singing about her "momma." Momma in this situation being her maternal grandmother as her mother is living on skid row. She started to sing about how her momma took her under her wing, gave her shelter and takes care of herself and two brothers so she does not have to live in foster care. To be honest it was really sweet but also really sad to listen to what she was singing about, her reality is just one that should not be. She sang about how her momma has helped her through her trials and tribulations. Really a 7 year old singing about "trials and tribulations" cute to think of her using these words, not cute that she already knows this saying. So of course this made me think...and think...and think...and think.

I don't know about you but sometimes I find myself thinking "poor me" type thoughts, which is absolutely ridiculous considering the life I have lived and I have to say it is embarrassing to admit that I have those moments where I think "why me," or "come on now really?" As I stumble, fall and occasionally rise through this life I continue to learn major life lessons. One of those lessons, or I guess observations, I have been noticing lately is that everyone has their moments, both good and bad. I reflect often on the course my life has taken, the challenges and the successes, and realize that I am never alone. While I love the life I live sometimes it gets the best of me and I hate admitting that. However, when I think about it, it's really lame that I hate admitting it, because I know you too have probably had a day, week, month, or moment where you felt like life was just beating you up a bit too. I always try to keep a positive attitude and am constantly practicing having more faith, patience and trust in the Lord. As I know without a doubt he is one of the most reliable people who helps me through my own trials and tribulations. Afterall he has never left me feeling lonely when I have prayed for comfort and has never lead me the wrong way when I needed direction. That's not to say that there was lots of work on my end, nonetheless he has never not stood by my side.

This last week I taught the Young Women a lesson on Counseling with the Lord. I was talking to them about how so often we hear people say "just pray about it and it will be OK," or "you just need to turn your life over to the Lord." So easy to say, not so easy to do. I am really trying right now to believe in the timing that my Heavenly Father has for me and trust that he knows what is best for me. Even though I feel confident I know best, the truth is I don't. As I pray to my Heavenly Father for the things that I am in need of i.e. patience, comfort, guidance, strength, etc. I am also trying to have more faith in him. As the YW and I were talking about how we are to counsel with the Lord they all talked about how their answers don't come as they sometimes think they will, how you don't get answers by not taking opportunities to receive the help you need, and how at the end of the day God knows best. It was so great to talk to them about prayer as I feel people often treat it like it is the easiest thing to do, yes the act of praying may be easy but the waiting, patience and trust is the hard part and is that part that really makes our prayers what they need to be. They each had such great words of wisdom i.e. talk to God like he is your parent on Earth (maybe even more so since some of them are going through the teenage stage of not talking to their parents), pour out your heart, he wants to know everything about us our good things during the day and the hard things.

So here's to trials and tribulations and trusting in the Lord.

P.S. The week after this cute girl sang me her song about her Momma she and I sat in my car (just imagine this for a moment, on a crazy street in South Central LA, cops on each corner, gang affiliates walking up and down the street) and I taught her the lyrics and meaning to Lean on Me. We then proceeded to sing Lean on Me in my car to the Glee soundtrack. It was as cute and as special as it could have been. Me and my lil 7 year old Belizean client belting it out and swaying side to side singing Lean on Me to each other. One of my most favorite moments yet.

What do your shoes say about you?

2010-06-21T20:24:00.001-07:00

Here is a pile of the shoes that get the most wear in my world. Shoes have always been my most favorite part of an outfit. Ever since I can remember I always loved picking out new shoes and shoes were always a way I expressed myself. I remember when I was younger I used to get so excited about getting shoes. When Doc Martens were popular, don't lie they were and you know it, I tried to get the most unique pairs. My most favorite pair were the ones I got in London, short boot, red patent leather! I LOVED them. I have this crazy thing with sneakers...I love sneakers and always can think of a reason to get more. Afterall pure white pumas were my wedding shoes. I think shoes are such a perfect way to express yourself. The shoes above are the ones that right now have me smitten. The funny thing is is that the shoes above I have always been in love with.

RAINBOWS: I started wearing Rainbows in high school and since then they have always been my most favorite flip flops. I dread having to get a new pair, in fact am currently breaking in a new pair, after the ones I had before that finally got busted and the strap broke off, with the help of Bear (the only shoes he has ever ruined). I love reminiscing of all the places my rainbows visit. My last pair had been to AZ, CA, UT, WY, St. Lucia, Galapagos, had gotten red paint splattered on them from when I painted our front door in Sugarhouse, been on lots of walks with our dogs, the beach, the snow, you name it they had been there. Oh the places you'll go my new Rainbows...can't wait.

CONVERSE-Jack Purcell's: Have these shoes ever been unpopular? I doubt it. They are the perfect class sneaker. I just love them like crazy. I have owned numerous pairs of Converse throughout the years, white, black, blue, high top low top, and now my new favorite ones, the vintage Jack Purcell's. I currently have 3 pairs in my closet...obsessed much?

Gladiatorish Sandals: Alright I have to admit these ones have been a new comer for me. I have always been a bit intimidated by them. Am I hip enough to wear them? What do I wear with them? I finally did it and bought a pait a couple of months ago. I think they are perfect, not to overstated with lots of bells and whistles, but still have the look.

BOAT SHOES-Sperry Top Sider's: I have been a fan of boat shoes for awhile now and have for sure gotten lots of use out of the classic brown. However, this past year they did metallic ones and I could NOT pass them up. I love them and always look for a reason to wear them. However, I am a bit protective of them so I get nervous wearing them out where they might get scuffs and dirty. A bit of a predicament since I love them and want to wear them all the time. So count yourself lucky if you see me in them.

TOMS-I saved my most favorite for last. For the last 3 years these have been the GO TO shoe. The best, my best friend of shoes if you will. Since my last pair of Rainbows had been ruined, these guys made the move at the right time and stole my heart. The ones above are my very first pair and well they are getting ready to retire. There are holes in the toes, sides and heels. I just can't part with them though. Even though I have other pairs these ones are the most dear to my heart.

I think my shoes get the point across that I am a pretty casual laid back girl. I like a little bit of sparkle, but never want to sacrifice comfort or the option to be able to jump and run. I like to have fun, get dirty every now and then. Hey I even like to help people out and care about others (TOMS). I have always had the a tom boy side to me so flat and comfy will most always win over the high heels or girly look.

What are your shoes saying???

Summer is off to a good start

2010-06-06T10:19:00.000-07:00

My most favorite view at the Montage in Laguna Beach

The last two weeks we have been already starting to get into the summer mode. Over Memorial Day weekend we stayed down in the OC for 3 nights with Rach and Nate and Amanda and Mason. We were so happy to have our family and friends put up with us and our 2 dogs. We enjoyed lots of time at the beach, movies, eating yummy food of course, and just hanging out. It was a mini staycation for us and it was brilliant! Easy, cheap and fun.

Luke is giving GRIZZLIES these days, best hugs ever!

Jeremy, Aaron and Mason doing their HALOTHON

Mand and I at the Montage, and she is 5 months preggers still looking as good as ever.

This last weekend we were hosting our dinner group up here in LA. It turned out to be a great day at the park. We did an Argentine theme and I made dozens of empanadas, 4 dozen to be exact. I then made a chocolate cake with dulce de leche buttercream, I wanted to bathe in the frosting it was so yummy. After playing in the park and chatting up with our bunch we headed off to the Dodgers game with the Waite crew.

The dinner group crew enjoying a night at the park

Mase, Mand, me and Aar enjoying an all American summer evening LA style.

I am so happy summer is here. Even though I don't get off work, no long summer break like when in school, there is just something about knowing that summer is here that makes me happy. I really can't believe it is JUNE...where does the time go? I feel like I will be planning for the holidays in no time.

Dream's Weekend

2010-05-23T15:51:00.000-07:00

The view at the ring ceremony.

I just got back from a great weekend in SLC. It was fast and quick and over way sooner than I wanted, but nonetheless fabulous. I went to SLC to celebrate and be part of Aimee's wedding. The weekend started with a visit to Hires, what visit to SLC is complete without that? I made a stop off at my hair lady in SLC whom I love so much and love her pampering. I did lots of building, playing, reading with my lil buds Liam and George.

This lil Georgie would just walk right over to me and climb on top of me. He goes around hugging Liam all the time and blowing kisses. Pretty much the sweetest lil dude ever.

Liam and I had a great time playing around. The best is when he just out of nowhere said
"I just love having you here." Too cute.

The ceremony was at the SLC Temple Friday morning and although there was a crazy accident on the freeway that got in the way of people being on time, they held the ceremony so not one person missed the special occasion. It was the most beautiful day with clouds hovering with sun peaking through. After the ceremony we were off to Midway for the ring ceremony and the wedding dinner at Aimee's dads home. We spent the afternoon and evening celebrating and had just a blast. I loved being able to hang out with so many friends I don't see nearly enough. Saturday was the reception at the Wetzel's home (grooms family) and it just could not have been more perfect. Taylor and Aimee just happen to be the cutest couple ever and it was so amazing to see them so happy together.

I also got to spend lots of time with Ash and meet lil Taylor Beck. It was so funny to be getting ready at the Peterson's home as it was a flashback to when Ash and I were getting ready there for her own wedding. It was wild to be talking with Ash and Clay about their upcoming adventure back East. Aaron and I are so excited for them and can't wait to get out there to visit them. Even though we already live away from them I was emotional about them moving. Crazy to think Aaron and I were in a similar spot 2 years ago.

Little Taylor Elisabeth Beck, I could just hold her all day long.

Overall the weekend was a blast. I missed having my best friend Aar with me, as he was out of town for work. I loved celebrating an eternal marriage and reflecting on the importance and sacredness of such a union. Attending a temple wedding is one of my most favorite things to do. Being that I was one of the first in my group of friends to get married I have had the opportunity to witness many of my dear friends join in the greatest blessing.

Lately in LA

2010-05-09T22:01:00.000-07:00

While work is crazy nutso for Aaron and I we try to fit in as much fun as possible. I must say we do a pretty great job living a fun life together. The last couple of weeks have been filled with excitement.

Two weeks ago we celebrated Jeremy's 30th BDAY with a BBQ at his place with friends. But the real celebration took placed 13, 000 feet in the air when he, Aaron and his friend Jake went skydiving to ring in the 30th year. Aar and Jer have been talking about this one for a long time and it finally happened. I need the pic from Jer of the guys before the jump, but here is Aar's certificate he got. I swear I felt like I could not breath all morning while they were doing it and now I am crazy jealous I did not join in on the fun!

There is doubt we have been having a great time cheering on the Suns the last couple of weeks too. So much fun to cheer on your home team and I love cheering against the Spurs any chance I get. Now I get to cheer against the Lakers which is even better!!! While some may think they don't want to cheer on the Suns due to their political position on the illegal immigration law in AZ, I say even more of a reason to cheer them on. I get there is an issue and something needs to be done but come on AZ, so embarrassing to see how they are dealing with things right now. I guess what can you expect though from a state that did not want to celebrate MLK day. I am still holding out faith though that my home state will come around. In the meantime though I will stay distracted by the SUNS and keep cheering them on. Did you see Nash's Eye????? Gnarly, rest up Nash we need you and you deserve this. This next round is gonna be tough but I will be right there cheering them on.

Lucky for us Mand and Mase had tix to Chicago at the Pantages in LA that they wanted to sell off so I jumped right on the opportunity. I had been dying to see this forever and it just worked out perfectly. Aar and I went closing night and enjoyed the most EXCELLENT seats dead center. I love a good broadway show. I swear from the start of the show all the way to the end I had a smile on my face. I have always loved the music and the dancing of Chicago and the Fosse Era and I was just in Heaven!!! Thanks Waites.

We have also enjoyed some much needed time at the Beach with great friends. I swear to all those southern cali friends of ours, Saturday was the most perfect beach day. We headed down to Trestles in San Clemente for Aar to take out his new short board. Mand and I chatted the day away while our boys surfed away. It was lightly breezy with a mild sun...the most perfect temp for a long beach day. Of course we ended the day with food from the Argentine market we love down in the OC.

Now it is Sunday night and our work week is approaching...always sooner than we would like. But on to the next couple of weeks with again some fun activities to look forward. The biggest one of course being the wedding my DREAM. Can't wait to get to UT and celebrate!!!

On another note I am pretty much freaking out with excitement that in about 4 months I will be completely done with all my LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Work) hours for the state of California and will therefore soon be Licensed in CA. This is what I have been working so hard for since undergrad and I am so excited that I am almost all the way there.

Here's to another week in LA and living life.

Some mobile pics

2010-05-03T21:23:00.000-07:00

Bella and bear just chilling in the sun together. They play fight like crazy and sometimes I have to break them up but they really do love each other and I love when I find them just relaxing together.

This is how I found Aaron one afternoon. The best is that shortly after I shot this pic Bear laid down and started licking Aaron's hand. They all three were snuggling together.

My DEEBEE. Diva is my lil girl, well my mom's girl now. But I love her still all the same. She is for sure crazy and neurotic but I love when I get to visit her in AZ.

These pics of flowers are from my dads cactus in his yard. Each flower bloom lasts for 24 hours. They are absolutely stunning!!! While I was in AZ this last weekend I was able to catch a few right when they blossomed.

This is my awesome sock monkey I made about a month ago. I have to admit I am pretty impressed with myself.

This is a sample of the doodling I do during work meetings. I get pretty stressed when I am sitting in a meeting unable to do work that I need to get done. The only thing that helps me focus on the meeting is to doodle. Every Tuesday I make 1-2 sheets that look just like this. I actually listen a lot more when I am doodling.

These guys are just the BEST. When I was in UT back in March we went to the zoo one day. They are the bestest of buddies.

Do I need to say much about this guy? I mean check him out, just cuteness all around. Can't help but smile when you see his little face!

And then there is this lil fella. He is always so happy and smiley. I can't get enough of him. I pretty much want to eat him up .

Here I am one afternoon up at the Bu. After getting some yummy eats at Neptune's Net.

This is a classic shot of my Aar Bear. Always checking out the waves and surfers. He just loves the ocean and I swear he could watch over the ocean all day long, except for when he is in it of course.

Huntington Pier one sunny afternoon after treasure hunting. This is the best beach for sand dollars. I always find at least 3 full sand dollars every time we go to this beach.

Got to uploading my phone pics tonight and thought I would share some good ones. I love having pictures on my phone so if I am having a rough long day I can just scroll through and smile.

These girls rock

2010-04-26T20:20:00.000-07:00

I spent the last weekend with these fabulous girls at Youth Conference. I can't say it enough that the girls I work with in YW are so incredible. Such strength and such courage. Each and every one of these girls at the conference demonstrated such spiritual growth and strength. I was absolutely impressed. It is so incredible to know that they hear and listen to what we say to them and that they recognize the importance of spirituality in their lives. I loved every minute of it. And yes at the dance me and the other leaders were like teenagers again, dancing the entire night away screaming along to the songs. What a treat it was to be with them this weekend and every time I am with them.

No I didn't

2010-04-19T21:15:00.000-07:00

I didn't wake up this morning to Bear hacking and hacking and then finally vomiting and I did not find a chunk 1.5 inches round of nylabone all melted together surrounded by hair in his throw up.
I didn't just order a new sleeping bag, which I am FOR SURE NOT excited about having, which I will not need this week when I go on an overnight camping trip with the young women this weekend which I am not freaking out with excitement about.
I have NOT been day dreaming of taking time off work, and the time I am NOT dreaming about taking is not A LOT of time.
I am not sad about the fact that Aaron will be going out of town tomorrow then me on Friday and I won't see him until Saturday night.
I did not go buy LOTS of yummy cookies the other day from a NOT SO FABULOUS place that is not cheap and is not called Diddy Riese.
I was not super excited when Obama flew over my work today and I defintely did not think of how I could sneak away from work and try to get a sneak at home, because I do not have a star crush on him at all.
I haven't been thinking a lot lately about how NOT SO CRAZY it is that Aaron and I have lived in California for almost two years and I have not been remembering how I was NOT an emotional wreck when we moved.
I didn't try the double down this weekend from KFC with Aaron and when I did not try it I did not love it and think it was just FABULOUSLY awful.

So that is what has not been happening with me the last couple of days. Thanks to Allison for the not so great idea. What have you not been doing, thinking, etc?

BDE (best day ever, the acronym is for you Ash)

2010-04-16T14:17:00.001-07:00

This last week I spent a day at Disneyland with some of my most favorite people in the world AKA my family. It was such a treat to be at Disneyland with my siblings. It had been years probably a decade since I went with both of my siblings there and it was so much fun reliving my childhood. Of course our family has grown since me, Jer and Matt were kiddos and now includes my sister in law KT (whom I love dearly and am so blessed to have such a close relationship with), Liam, George and Aaron. While Aaron could not join us for the fun day the rest of the crew was there. I can't tell you how cool it was to be there as a group and to watch the pure joy that Liam had. He might just be, actually IS, the coolest 3 1/2 year old in the world. He went on all the rides, yup Splash, Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Pirates and of course all the other kiddo rides Small World, Peter Pan, Snow White, Roger Rabbit, Nemo etc. The day I was there with them I think Liam did Space and Thunder 5 times. It was not hot or cold and the lines were almost non existent. They went for another two days in which he did the rides over and over again and again. George was so content sitting on the rides watching everything around him. It was just pure bliss. It made me start to wonder if I will get the year pass when we have kids or not. Liam was just in pure joy as this was his first time and it made me think about how when I take my kids I want them to just L O V E it and not think it is a normal day at the park. Who knows though, maybe it always has its magic no matter how many times you go. All I know is I loved every minutes of it. It was a blast!!!

Here we are after the CREEPY house, as Liam would call it. He was so cute when we were on the ride and inside he would say "it's not scary Krissy." I have to admit he was using some really good self talk, the kind I teach kids about everyday. I am so thankful for my family. All growing up I thought how badly I wanted a sister but as I have gotten older I could not imagine my life any different. I have the 2 best brothers in the world I love how close we are. When I tell people that I don't have sisters often they say that they are sorry for me. But really my brothers are the best and we are as close as you could be to your siblings. I never feel left out being the only girl. They are so good to me. I have the most amazing sister in law who is so caring and loving and is as much a part of the family as a sister would be. Then of course I have the 2 cutest nephews ever. Let's not forget my parents whom I love dearly and I still miss like crazy even though I am an adult (I am visiting them in 2 weeks). Aar Bear isn't too bad either and fits right in.

So happy I had this day with my family this week. It was just what the doctor ordered.

I have some competition

2010-04-14T21:18:00.001-07:00

It is no secret that Aaron loves to surf, which I love how much he loves it. It is so great to have an activity that you are passionate about and I love that Aaron has his love affair with surfing. The lucky man got a new board this last weekend and well it is L O V E. Aaron loves surf boards, no joke they make him so super happy. I love to see how excited he gets. I missed out on the purchasing fun this last weekend and I have to admit I was a tad bit jealous I was not there for the purchase of my competition. She is gorgeous and at 6 feet even she has a few inches on me. She is slender, firm and sparkling clean, and well I got my work cut out for me.

This last weekend Aar and I had a visitor for a surfing weekend. It was such a fun weekend. Aar, Clay and Jer headed out to surf all weekend and they pretty much went non stop for 2 days. Jer treated us all to the Clippers game Saturday night and we just had a blast. While Clay could not bring his other half, whom I love dearly (she happens to be putting the final cooking minutes on her new little bundle), it was still a blast and I was so happy that the boys were able to hang out and play. Happy surfing to all, hopefully Aar will get his new love out in the water this weekend!

Spring in my step

2010-04-04T18:26:00.000-07:00

How much do I love Spring. I love it everywhere. In AZ I love it, UT I love it, and CA I love it. It is just the best time of year I really do think. Everything is blossoming and coming to life and I love the self rejuventation that comes with this time of year. It is getting close to beach days, granted we do beach days all year but summer beach days you can't really stay covered up the whole time, so getting back in shape is for sure on my mind more so than other times of year. I love having the cool breeze with the warm sun and feeling so ALIVE. It just has such a great energy about it don't you think?

Luckily I found my camera just in time to capture this beautiful time of year.

Easter Sunday after a yummy brunch at Nate and Rachel's.

Easter Sunday we headed to Salt Creek after brunch to relax on the grass. We fell asleep for an hour or so and just enjoyed the most beautiful day, I love being able to head down to the OC and just chill.

Aar checking the view over the sandstone rock we hiked too. It is a good straight shot down from up there.

The view from our hike in Malibu, Easter weekend. Really though Southern California is beautiful. I know I could say this about so many places, which is such a great outlook on life. But really for all those non believers of So Cal I promise I could make you a LOVER real fast.

Aar and I in Manhattan beach. We did some mega treasure hunting that day and I came home with a handful of beautiful shells and full sand dollars. I love a beach where I can find great treasures.

The last couple weeks have been pretty good to us. I of course missed my fam on Easter as I am just such a home body and holidays feel so different without all of us together, but really I am the luckiest sister, daughter and aunt in the world because I really do get to see my family an incredible amount, it is just I want to see them ALL the time!!! It is a good thing I love them all so much. Aaron and I have been enjoying the outdoors and have been thinking of different activities to do in the area. We are both working like crazy which puts even more pressure on us to have fun and relaxing weekends together. Oh yes I even sewed a sock monkey this last week with my twin Kristin, I work with her and she basically rocks. I was pretty impressed. I will have to get a pic up on here for you all to see. This was a big thing for me being that I do not sew really and don't own a sewing machine. Thanks to the help of friends I have been able to make a few projects and I think the time has come so I will be telling my mom I am serious about sewing now so hopefully she will help me find a good machine.

Be strong my friends

2010-03-28T21:08:00.000-07:00

BE STRONG AND OF A GOOD COURAGE
BE NOT AFRAID NEITHER BE THOU DISMAYED
FOR THE LORD THY GOD IS WITH THEE WITHERSOVER YOU GOEST
(Joshua 1:9)

Really and truly this is such an amazing scripture from the Bible. This is the theme for the LDS Church Young Men and Young Women's organization for 2010. I am super blessed to be in the Young Women's as it really keeps me thinking and pondering life and the gospel.

While nothing super challenging or difficult is going on in my life right now besides the daily grind of life, there have been times when saying this scripture I think would have helped me out in the past and brings me such peace now every time I say it. I just wanted to put this out into the BLOG world this week as I know all of us have challenges that we have faced, are facing and will face in the future and this scripture is something I have found to mean a tremendous amount to me. Just read it once out loud and I think it will ring as a great comfort to you too.

Life is good

2010-03-23T20:07:00.000-07:00

So I know I am really in need of some updated pics on this blog, but you see I have misplaced my lil camera, and well we have our bigger nice one but it is a pain to take around so I have not been taking pictures lately, promise though I will get some up here soon. In the meantime just wanted to write about the things that I have to be so happy about right now

It is SPRING. It is so pretty right now, while my allergies are kicking my trash, it is just beautiful and I am loving it.
I visited my nephews and Matt and KT two weeks ago and honestly was crazy perfect. I needed time with those lil fellas and they were so loving and sweet. I loved not having any plans and just being able to be with them. I miss being so close to them. It was so fun too cause Matty did not work the entire time so I got to spend time with him too. I just love them and am so thankful for the relationship I have with them, all of them Matt, KT, Liam, and George.
My mom and dad were out here this weekend and it was such a treat. Just to play, relax and have fun. I really just love my mom and dad and can't get enough. I love that they make time for us and come visit us. Jer took us all out to diner to this to DIE for place in LA called Lucques. Pretty much an amazing French place that is out of this world. Was recently featured in the latest Saveur that was dedicated all to LA.
My friend Kim is coming in town tomorrow for the rest of the week and we will be spending 2 days at a conference for my most favorite therapy modality. Can't wait. We will get edified but then also have fun together and most likely eat a lot of good food.
My dear Dream (Aims) is getting married soon and I am dying with excitement
Our friends the Beck's (love that I can say friends since Ash is my friend and Clay is Aaron's friend, so awesome how that worked out) are going through some changes and I am so happy for them. I know how is to be where they are (minus having kids) and well I just get how crazy it is, but know what an awesome adventure is in store for them. Can't wait to see where their adventures will take them, of course I am hoping here in LA, but even if they don't end up here I know we will still be seeing them and supporting them.
LIFE, on Discovery is blowing my mind. Just crazy. I am learning of all these crazy animals and all these crazy facts about them. The world is fascinating, just nutso I tell you what. Watch it NOW, you will L O V E it.
Upcoming visit to Disneyland is also on my mind with the fam. How fun it will be.

Alright so clearly lots to be happy about and keep me motivated and going during my challenging days at work.

Hope you all out in the blog world are doing well and are enjoying the start of Spring. What is making you happy these days?

Heart to Heart

2010-03-09T21:09:00.000-08:00

Tonight I said goodbye to my "buddy" that I mentioned in the previous post. We started our time together by doing the hard stuff, the saying goodbye part. I do a little goodbye ritual with my kiddos and to be honest I think maybe I should revise it cause it often leads to a good amount of tears and heartfelt messages (okay I know I won't change it, but it is tough sometimes). So this is how it went.

I reminded him that we were going to say goodbye tonight. I asked him how he could remember me and he said "in my heart." (I had previously talked to him how he would always be in my heart and that he could think of me in the future even though we don't see each other again and if he every was feeling sad he could just think about me and that his heart would feel better etc.)
I then taught him how we would say our goodbyes which included putting our hands on each other hearts and then sharing a message of any kind to the other while our hand is on their heart.

I went first, I put my right hand on his heart and looked into his eyes and I explained to him how he has left a handprint on my heart and how that handprint can never be taken away. I told him about how I will always remember him, how proud of him I am, and what a great little kiddo he is (he is 6). I told him how he can think of me and reminded him of what he has learned in therapy. I wished him goodluck and said goodbye.

He had tears in his eyes, me too, and then his teacher at school walked in. It was his turn and he just froze. I then asked him if he wanted to continue with our goodbye with his teacher in the room or if he wanted her to leave. He then said that he wanted her to leave because what we were doing was "special, just for us."

After she left the room it was his turn.

My little buddy then proceeded to put his hand on my heart, his cute little tiny hand, looked straight into my eyes, with glossy little brown eyes, and said "I will never forget you."

********************

And this is what it is about.

I could not believe it. This kid, a six year old boy, did what so many adults can't even do. He spoke the truth, from his heart, stared me straight in the eyes, dealt with some big emotions and one of the hardest things to do in life...Say goodbye. Man I couldn't be more proud, so touched and so happy. I of course have cried a handful of times tonight retelling this story and just thinking about it.

I will always remember this little buddy. His cute face, sitting on his grandma's front porch stairs playing games, his puffy spikey hair, his grumpy face, him always talking about my TOMS shoes I wear, his smile, the way he would smirk when I would catch him lying, him running up from behind me and surprising me with a hug, how he once asked me right after we met if I was a boy (I had my hair in a pony tail and was wearing a polo...note to self get ready more for work), and of course his last meaningful words he shared with me.

I needed tonight with my little buddy.

My soul is smiling

2010-02-28T18:46:00.000-08:00

Things lately have been...well...crazy. No complaints as things have been good, but busy nonetheless. Aaron started his new gig full time here in LA, and we couldn't feel more blessed. It just so happens that his new job is right around the corner from where we live and has made us feel more at home here in Los Angeles. While we could live a few different places and be super happy we have really felt such a connection to LA and feel that this is where we need to be at this time in our life. Of course that means continuing to trade in our home in SLC for our apartment in the city. But what a wonderful city it is. I know for some LA may seem like the complete opposite of where they would want to live. Afterall it is busy and crowded. However, the neighborhoods in West LA where we live are as charming as could be. Tree lined streets, park, community rec centers, museums and of course amazing lil eateries. Needless to say we are pretty smitten with LA and are so thankful to be able to call this our home for now.

So here we are living our lives in LA. Aaron is working his 10+ hour days, me my 10 hour days, Aaron is doing scouts, me Young Women's, and trying to fit in as much time to enjoy the great city we live in with friends, family and our dogs.

In the midst of all this business I have had some great moments lately that have rejuvenated my soul:

I have been working with this 6 year old little boy and well the time has come for us to part. He has made so much progress in therapy and he is ready to move on and spread his wings and fly. I had to break this news to him a couple of weeks ago and even though I tried with my cheer and attitude to help him understand what a good thing this was for him, he was not having it. He started to cry and got pretty upset. When I asked him why he thought he was so sad and angry he replied "you are not supposed to split up buddies." True my little one, you are NOT supposed to split up buddies. How do you reply to that one. He is right. You may be wondering why this is on the list of great moments, well it was just a sweet tender moment and made me feel so lucky to be considered this little guys buddy.
I have been spending lots of time with the young women of LA at our church and I must say this is one of my most favorite things. Last week I had two great moments with them. One was at our weekly activity on Tuesday night where one of the girls talked about her receiving her Young Womanhood Recognition (Personal Progress awared, the Eagle Scout to girls) and she talked about one of her favorite activities was when she imagined that Christ was with her at all times for 1 week. I love that she said "I am a good girl and it was still hard." Could you imagine if we lived more like this, imagining the Savior by our side all day. I just loved that she did this as one of her projects and it made me really think about how different we would all treat eachother, act, and do if we did this.
Last week I went and supported our ladies doing baptisms at the temple. It was such a treat. I got to help the ladies when they were done and just look after them. I loved sharing such an intimate experience with them and being there to great them after they did work for the Lord. It was so great to see the ladies who work so hard to keep themselves clean to entire the Lord's house and to be there with them as they sacrificed their time to serve the Lord.
I booked a flight to visit my lil nephews and that alone has filled me with so much joy I can barely contain myself. I have missed them and Matt and KT so much lately. They are coming out here in April, but I just could not wait that long. It is lil Georgie's 1st Birthday this week, and although I can't be there for his Birthday celebration, I will be there the week after, similar to last year when I had the privilege to spend time with them after he was born. I can't wait to see them and squeeze them.
The beauty of LA has been amazing lately. It has rained off and on and it has been just stunning. We visited Griffith Park and the Observatory the other day and took in the breathtaking view of LA. The coolest part is that this is a canyon that makes you forget you are in LA, it looks like a canyon in Utah, all lush and green. I love being able to explore trails in the hills at one point of the day and the beach at another. It really seemed like we were somewhere else. We even got to see a coyote run by our car. We stopped and ate this to die for apple pie at this little cabin on our way down the canyon, it was simply divine.
Homemade bread!!! Aaron's parent got him this book How to Make Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, and it really and truly is incredible. He makes the most beautiful loaves of bread every week. We deliver them to friends and neighbors and enjoy some fabulous grilled cheese too! I love that my Aar Bear loves to cook so much. He finds so much joy in it and he is pretty fab at it. We have so much fun in the kitchen and exploring all the eateries around town.
My Dream is getting married in May and I can't wait. Aims is so great and I am so happy that she has found such a darling man to marry. I almost feel as happy as I did when I was getting married. It will be the ultimate celebration.

What is making your soul smile these days?

Olympians

2010-02-17T21:58:00.000-08:00

What am I going to do when I have kids to make sure they go to the olympics. I mean of course I would want them to get a medal, but I would be cool even if they just made it there. Does this seem like too much to ask and hope for? Are kids will be short though so I got to think about the sports they would be good at. Gymnastics, ice skating (I am flexible and let's be honest much better when they are super flexible), snowboarding, surfing (maybe by then this will be in the olympics), soccer.

Our kids have a lot of expectations, dreams, and hopes already so they best be ready.

Modern Family

2010-02-03T22:55:00.001-08:00

I just want to put it out there that I LOVE Modern Family. It is so brilliant. Anyone else find as much joy in it as I do?

Some favorite holiday pics

2010-01-29T09:48:00.000-08:00

I finally got around to going through the abundant amount of pics from the holidays. I came across some adorable ones of my nephews. I have to say I love them. It is true, I love them like crazy. It was so much fun spending time with them at my parents house. A few things about Liam: He loves his Peppermint Ice Cream, is in love with his trains, likes to fix things, and is the sweetest brother in the world. A things about Georgie: he moves fast, is super smiley, and a big cuddle bug.

Liam enjoying his Peppermint Ice Cream. I think it is too funny that this kid loves peppermint ice cream, york patties, and candy canes.

See the smile on this kiddos face. How adorable is lil Georgie.

Me and my buddy Liam. We would go on mini adventures in the backyard. So cute he would say "Krissy you want to go on an adventure with me?" How could I say no. He loves to explore and is so interested in the world and how things work.

Liam checking on his train that Punka puts out for him. When the train would not start or would get stuck you would hear Liam say "I think it's out of gas," "I think the engine is broken," "I think we should call Punka and have him fix it." Too cute. He loves to work on his train.

This lil guy was moving around the entire time. Crawling super fast all around the house. He even started to walk while in AZ over Christmas. You can tell he wants to be right there with his brother.

Me and the kiddos on the morning of my birthday.

Some of my most favorite ladies. I used to work with this crew in Salt Lake. I had some of the best memories, learning experiences and crazy days with them.

Great friends is what makes life even better!!!

Mr. Murray with his buddy Bear.

Our family on Christmas Eve.

Stir Crazy

2010-01-15T18:45:00.000-08:00

I don't know where the saying comes from, but I have been going stir crazy the last couple of days. On Wednesday I got a minor surgery done on a mole I had removed a month ago due it coming back precancerous...YUCK. So since it was on my tummy I haven't been able to do much for the last couple of days. On top of this I got a cold...super rad I know. So I have been in bed pretty much for 2 days. Today I started to feel a little better in terms of my tummy soreness, so I took some cold medicine and Aaron took me to Malibu for a few hours. We finally ate at the dive on PCH Neptune's Net. I had been wanting to go for awhile now. It was pretty yummy. The shrimp basket was delicious and I am for sure going to head back there. Such a short drive from where we live so why not. After we ate we headed to watch surfers and the ocean for a bit. We stopped at El Matador State Beach and walked around a bit and enjoyed the scenery. Of course the natural beauty was amazing, but the homes honestly were NUTSO!!! There were starfish everywhere and I was like a little kid running around, pointing to them and being super stoked. It was a great lil getaway and helped me not feel so cooped up. Now that I am home I am ready to head back to bed. But thought I would get back to being a bit more regular on our posts. So check out a few of our pics from the day. Speaking of pictures I finally started clearing off my pictures off my computer onto my external hard drive. I moved 4, 000 over today and still have 5, 000 to go. Needless to say it cleared up some extra memory space on my computer.

Thanks to my Aar Bear for getting me out so I do not loose my mind.

Holiday Time

2010-01-14T18:02:00.000-08:00

No lie it has been tough to get back to life the last few weeks after the holidays.

It was a great time away. Aaron and I started our break in Utah and then ended it in Arizona. We were able to fit in time with family and friends and it really was the perfect holiday. It was cold in Utah, but I feel like we timed it perfectly and had pretty skies and no driving in snow. I loved it, I really did. Nothing beats AZ in the winter it was so green and beautiful and we got lots of time with my buddies Liam and George...really if I love them this much I can't imagine how much I will love our own lil ones someday.

While we took lots of pics, most are on Aaron's computer which has recently run out of battery and his charger no longer works...well it sparks, so it is a hazard. So not a big photo post, but I will post a few. Of course the best pics, with the lil guys, are on Aaron's computer

It really was a great trip. It was nice to have 10 days off work where I did not have to worry or look at my computer once. I turned 27 and started to feel pretty old I must say. One thing is for sure, we are ready for 2010.

Aaron and I on my birthday, Christmas Eve. We did a birthday breakfast in the morning and then spent the evening at his parent's house. I love being able to be with those I love on my birthday every year.

Since we stayed at Matt and KT's while in UT we were able to take Bear to the park everyday to play some fetch. He was in heaven and it was so cute to watch him go crazy in the snow.

Events from 2009

2009-12-20T09:05:00.001-08:00

January afternoon. Aaron and I at one of our most favorite places in the world, The Montage

A January evening at Salt Creek Beach

February getaway to St. George thanks to the Beck's.

Ash, myself and Rach with their two boys in St. George before a stroll.

February afternoon up at the Getty. Right after a rain storm so the views of LA were amazing.

In March I took a trip to SLC to spend time with KT, Matt, Liam and George. Learned a bit about motherhood while I was there.

Aaron and I went on a whale watching trip together in March.

April was a fun month, due to knowing I was going to start working full time again I wanted to get in a trip to the happiest place on earth.

Mom and dad came and visited us in April.

The whole purpose of our move to California ended with Aaron's graduation in May. We have since found other purposes for being out here and love it. After graduation we moved up to LA.

Lil Georgie was blessed in May in Arizona.

We also had a killer dinner group at Aliso Creek beach.

June had lots of fun times outside with the kiddos at the parks.

We even took Bear to a lake to try some water trials.

July we headed to SLC for the 4th of July. We did some fishing while we were there.

The best part of the trip was hearing Liam go "up up up up up up up BOOM BOOM."

A nice hot August day at Salt Creek with the Waites. These boys love to surf.

August included the most epic trip ever, Vinhagen with the Beck's and a few other couples.
It was perfection.

September we had a few getaways with my family. We did a weekend trip to Santa Barbara with everyone and it was fabulous.

Stroll in Santa Barbara

Family pic in AZ.

In October we headed back to AZ for a lil getaway. It was awesome because it went from a trip where it was just going to be Aaron and I with Liam and turned into a full on family reunion with everyone there.

While in AZ in October Aaron did some shaka brah session with Liam in the pool.

The Beck's paid us a visit in October and we hit up the U2 concert.
This was a first for Aaron and I. Ash and Clay are big timers.

While Clay and Ash were here we made lots of trips to the beach of course.

Aaron and I celebrated our 6 Year Anniversary in San Fran in November.

Ash, Aims and I did our 6th annual ornament exchange and had a fab girls weekend.

The end of 2009 is almost here. I really am shocked. I must say we had a blast this last year but I am also looking forward to all that 2010 will have in store for us.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Really and truly

2009-12-11T21:14:00.000-08:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

I love this time of year. I love everything about it. Yes, while xmas is a bit commercialized and some get really upset about this, I do not care I love it all. I love the lights, the decorations, the sales, the music, the food, the presents, the parties, basically ALL OF IT. I love walking around the streets and shops and just humming along to the music while I look for the perfect gifts to give. Of course while I love all this fun stuff I keep the real meaning of Christmas in mind.

It has been so much fun this last week here in LA. It has gotten to the low 50's which is FREEZING for us in Southern California, I know that will make my Utah readers cringe that I am saying 50's and 40's is freezing. It has rained a bit too. I have turned on my heat a few times this week and have had my holiday candles burning non stop.

I am in the HOLIDAY mood that's for sure.

While I was out and about today I decided I would like to purchase a Menorah. I really think Hanukkah has got to be one of the greatest Holidays and I think that a Menorah would be the perfect addition to my home. When I was younger I had dear friends that are Jewish and I loved going over to their home to celebrate Hanakuhh with them. I am going to be on the hunt this year for the perfect Menorah so when Aaron and I have a family we can celebrate that tradition in lighting the candles on the Menorah and remembering the miracles and story of the holiday.

Of course while for me the holidays are very joyful, exciting and full of love for many they are the opposite. I am so excited to start shopping for those that are not as fortunate as I am and are finding themselves without the comforts of food, clothing, toys, love, peace, etc. There are few things I love more than giving to those in need. I can't wait to give to the individuals I have in mind and be able to see the smiles and gratitude on their faces. I really love just passing love on.

We watched ELF tonight, which is my FAVORITE Christmas movie. I can watch it over and over and laugh just as hard as I did the first time. It is brilliant.

Tomorrow we will be doing some more shopping, a Christmas lunch with friends and will end the evening at the Los Angeles Temple.

I am pretty stoked for the next few weeks and am happy that I am 100% into the holiday mood.

Merry early Christmas

Trying to get my spunk back

2009-12-07T18:15:00.000-08:00

So if you know me well you know that I am pretty much an optimist. I really try to look at what is positive about a situation. However, lately I am feeling a tad bit not like myself. I got sick 2 months ago and it really took a lot out of me. While I am not sick anymore I still can not sing (no I am not the greatest singer, but I do not have the part of my voice back). I avoid phone calls cause it strains to talk on the phone. It is driving me nuts. I drink tea with lemon and honey so much to try and help it, but still no luck. Then 2 weeks ago today I got 3 moles on my stomach taken off. Lucky for me skin cancer is pretty big and real in my family so they needed to come off. But one of them has gotten infected which resulted in another visit to the doc this afternoon. Then my dermatologist called me tonight to let me know that one of the moles came back as having atypical cells. Now while the cells did not come back as cancerous when they are atypical they turn into cancerous cells later in life down the road. At first I thought no biggie, that is pretty TYPICAL. But then he said that he would be referring me to the general surgeon to take more skin off. I have been changing bandages on my stomach two times a day for the last two weeks and still have at least another week left. Then when I can get into the surgeon I will have another wound to take care of. The best part of this is that I still need to get 4 more moles off my back that look atypical. Fun times for Krissy. Anyway so I am just not feeling like my spunky self. I am in no way writing this to get attention, so please do not think that, I just had to let it all out, and thought some of you out there would find some pleasure in knowing even the super positive Kristen has her days too.

The good thing is that XMAS is almost here. And I LOVE ME SOME XMAS. We are going to be heading to Utah for 5 days and then to Arizona for 5 days. It is going to be so much fun. We will be taking the dogs and staying at Matt and KT's while they are in AZ, sadly won't be with them, then we will be driving from UT to AZ and stay with my parents. I really can't wait. We have a fun weekend planned coming up filled with fun with friends. Jer is on his way over for a yummy steak dinner that Aaron is going to make. It has been raining all day here which has been pretty fun for a change. I have a work xmas party tomorrow and another one next week. So I really do have lots to look forward to. My dogs are the best dogs in the whole world and honestly just looking in their eyes melts my heart. Not to mention just talked to Liam on skype which let's be honest makes my day anyday. There I go again, even when I try to be negative the positive just comes out. Dang it, I really just want to lay in bed and feel sorry for myself, but that I can't even do.

Seriously 6 years

2009-11-15T16:00:00.001-08:00

I really can't believe we have been married for 6 years. I will spare you all the corny gushy stuff, but know that I really am so blessed to have my best friend as my partner. We have such a great time together and this weekend was no different. Thanks to Rach and Nate for taking our pups for the weekend we were able to get away to San Fran. We got there Thursday night and tried to get a few hours of sleep in before our weekend adventures. We got in lots of fun which included: Union Square, Beard Papa's Cream Puffs, De Young Musuem (King Tut exhibit), Academy of Sciences, Roti (amazing Indian Food), Great views of the Bay and Golden Gate Bridge, Foggy morning walk, Farmer's Market, Alcatraz, Fog City Diner and of course finished it off with breakfast at Dotie's. The weather was incredible, sunny and crisp air. Saturday morning started off foggy which worked out perfectfly for a stroll along the piers but other than that it was sunny and so enjoyable. It was so much fun running around the city together.

GIRLS WEEKEND

2009-11-15T15:55:00.000-08:00

Two weekends ago I was able to fly up to Utah to spend a couple of days away with two of my most dearest friends. Over 5 years ago we started a xmas tradition of giving ornaments as our gift to each other. We each buy 3 ornaments, give two away and keep one of our own, so every year we get 3 new ornaments. It is so fun to have this collection of ornaments with my friends. We only got a few pics of us due to not having people around to take pictures for us. We hit up Cafe Rio, the Spa, Park City outlets, Zin Bistro, Hot Tub and had some fun late night conversations. Love these girls bunches.

Staycation

2009-10-27T20:12:00.000-07:00

When I think about who I want in our lives forever I automatically think of the Beck's. They truly are the greatest people and friends. Lucky for Aaron and I they came to visit this last weekend. Last April Ash and I bought tickets to the U2 concert and I had been looking forward to this weekend ever since. The weekend was full of great times. Aaron and I were so excited to show them around LA and take them to some of our favorite spots i.e. Kogi, Sprinkles, Yogurtland, and Mulberry. We made some trips to the beach and the boys got to surf to their hearts content. We went to U2 and enjoyed such an incredible treat, I had been wanting to see U2 for so long and it really was amazing. The short of it all is that we loved it, just hanging out was perfect. Aaron and I felt like we were on vacation for the last 4 days. This evening when I got home from work we were cuddling up and just chatting about the weekend and both said how great it is that even though we have moved away from our friends we feel just as close as ever with them. What a treat to have life long friends.

Moving

2009-10-10T19:13:00.000-07:00

No we are not moving, but experienced a moving photo exhibit today. It is called POYI (Pictures of the Year International). This exhibit is currently at the Annenberg Space for Photography just a mile away from where we live. The photos are of 2008 telling stories of all over the world. It was emotionally overwhelming as many of the photos were of people who are in despair, yet it was also such a gift to be a witness of what was captured. I gained a lot of respect for photo journalists as they often put themselves in such dangerous and devastating situations in order to deliver to the rest of the world the truth that is occurring. For those in SoCal the POYI 2008 exhibit will be on until Nov 1st. However the KONA gallery in San Clemente which just opened Oct. 7th is the POYI archive and they will be having shows as well. I highly recommend if you are in the area you check these out.

This pic is of Obama at a high school gym getting ready for a rally

Photo left: Is of the lawer revolt in Pakistan they were getting covered in tear gas and the photographer just captured at the perfect moment this lawyer jumping away from an explosion behind him.

Photo right: A man in Afria is surrendering after being beaten by the police

A beautiful African kid at a refugee camp

This picture is of the "untouchables." They are preparing a man to be cremated.

A police officer in Ohio clearing a home that had received an eviction notice.

A recent Vet who had both of his legs amputated watches tv with his son.

While these are just a few there are so many more that give you at least a paragraph story about the picture and people. They are incredible, be prepared to shed some tears as it is extremely moving. There is a 30 minute film about the photographers and the different situations captured that is for sure a must see while there.

Rack of Lamb goodness

2009-10-04T20:37:00.000-07:00

Well it seems that my last post has brought some fall our way here in Los Angeles. The weather has turned a bit cooler the last couple of days and today was an absolutely beautiful day.

To bring in the fall we made a yummy dinner. We both love cooking so much and never have time during the week to make super yummy meals. We do the usual grill a meat, steam some veggies, maybe a rice dish here and there, but nothing too inspired. So while we were out the other night Aaron thought for us to start doing a Gourmet Dinner Night, where we take turns choosing what we want to make, usually some amazing recipe from our favorite cooking magazine SAVEUR.

Tonight was the first night (Aaron's night) and we started it off with a RACK OF LAMB, with red potatoes and spaghetti squash. While the red potatoes and spaghetti squash were not the gourmet aspects, the RACK OF LAMB was. It was incredible and as you can see a pretty easy recipe. If you are not a big lamb person I think this is a great mild introduction. We used a rack of Australian Lamb, can be found at costco, which is known to be a milder flavor. Recipe is from Saveur this month. Can also be found online and you will find that their website is incredible however may result in you wanting to stay home all day and just cook and cook.

1 1 3⁄4-lb. frenched rack of lamb
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper,
to taste
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. roughly chopped fresh rosemary
1 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme, plus 4 sprigs
10 cloves garlic, smashed

1. Heat oven to 450˚. Season lamb with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 12" cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add lamb fat side down and cook, using tongs to flip and sear the bottom and sides of the rack, until browned, about 10 minutes. Turn lamb fat side up in the skillet and scatter herbs over the top.

2. Add garlic to skillet and transfer to oven. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of the meat reads 130˚ for medium rare, about 10 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before slicing into chops and serving.

Here is a pic of the final product. Aaron did a fabulous job, I must say having a husband who enjoys cooking and is great at it is a great bonus.

Now off to decide what I will choose to make this next week...if you have any ideas feel free to send them my way.

It's that time of year

2009-09-20T21:01:00.000-07:00

We got a problem people...a big one. What is it you may ask. I MISS UTAH. It is official I am going through the usual it is fall time in Utah, but not in California, withdrawals. In Southern California Fall does not really exist. It comes around December. Sept/Oct are actually the warmer months of the year due to the Santa Ana winds. Anyway, so I am missing Utah as a result of this. And the problem is once I start thinking about one thing I miss about Utah the list starts to get super long. I was talking to Aaron tonight and I think the problem is that my heart is still in Utah. It is where I moved after high school and started out with such a rough start in terms of liking Utah. But then I made it my home, grew so much, fell in love and started my life with Aaron there.

So just to rub in my sadness as much as possible I am going to make a list of all the things I miss tonight about Utah.

-Our house
-Bombay House
-Matt, KT, Liam and George
-The crisp fall air
-Sugarhouse Park
-Eggs in the City
-Our neighborhood
-Dilworth elementary park
-Walks through the tree lined streets
-Leaves changing
-BBQing in our back yard
-Playing in the front yard with neighbor kids
-Bikram Sugarhouse studio
-Ash
-Mazza
-Mountains
-Watching the dogs play in the backyard
-The charm
-Aims
-Utah Utes Football
-ARTEC and my friends there
-Snow

(okay not a ton of it, but I do like the change, I know remind me of this if I ever move back)
23. -Cutler's
24. -Great Harvest
25. -Rivers
26. -How close everything is
27. -REI on 33rd

So I know this list seems long and may make it seem that I do not like Los Angeles at all, which is not true at all because I really do love Southern California. It's just the fall is a really hard time to not be in Utah. Luckily me and my girls, Ash and Aims, have a girls trip coming up in Utah in November so I can squeeze some Utahness in to hopefully fill me up.

Santa Barbara with the fam

2009-09-17T20:30:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we took a Steenblik vaca up to Santa Barbara. I must say that I had been wanting to go to Santa Barbara ever since we moved to cali and I am so glad we finally made it there. The town of Santa Barbara is just as charming as can be and the scenery is not too shabby either. We stayed in a home that was on top of the hill overlooking all of Santa Barbara and the beach. The location was just perfect and the home was beautiful. We made trips to the beach, the local farmers market, the old Mission, the Natural History Museum, the Pier, and played many of games of Hide and Seek with Liam. It was just great being with the family and I will admit I cried when I got in the car to drive home. Life is stressful right now and our weekend trips are making things more manageable. I am so happy that we were able to do this trip together.

I am so glad we were all able to get together for a few days. I know I say this often after time with my family, but really and truly spending time together is the greatest.
I am so thankful for the family I am a part of.

Weekend away in AZ

2009-09-08T22:37:00.000-07:00

Aaron and I headed to Arizona for this past weekend to enjoy some time away. It was a great weekend to head away from Los Angeles, as the fires have been making the air here so nasty. I really wanted to have a nice lil summer monsoon while we were there and my wish was granted Saturday morning. We had a great weekend away with my parents. We hiked Camelback Mountainn 2 times, which is a crazy nice workout. It is the mountain (like a hill when compared to the Wasatch Mountains) that my parents live at the base of. We were able to meet up with the Johnson's who moved to AZ this last year from grad school. It was great to catch up with such great people. We of course spent time in the pool, one of Aaron's favorite things to do. Bear became proficient and retrieving his bumper from the pool and he loved playing fetch to his hearts content. The only problem was on Sunday it was pretty hot, so we found him laying down in our shower to cool off. We went to the Hale theatre in Gilbert and saw a nice local production of She Loves Me, which is the broadway show that You've Got Mail was written from. We took a nice 3 hour nap on Sunday and it felt so great. We didn't come home until the early evening on Monday so we were able to enjoy almost 3 full days in the Valley of the Sun. I always love going home. Now it is back to life again meaning back to work. But I am not feeling too bad for myself since I had Monday off and we leave for Santa Barbara on Friday for a weekend getaway with my family.

Heaven

2009-08-20T18:35:00.000-07:00

I have found myself writing and then rewriting this post as I just don't know how to do this experience justice. We will see if I can get close, however I am certain I won't.

Aaron and I were fortunate enough to head up to VINHAGEN with our dear friends the Beck's. After a late night road trip, got in at 4 a.m. we arrived. Since we unpacked during the evening we did not know what we were in for. When the sun came through our screen windows the next morning (two hours later) and I took a look outside it was clear that we were set up for a weekend in paradise. Our weekend was full of incredible views, fabulous meals, some excellent company (Ash, Clay, James, Attitcus, Megan, Greg, Jessica, Matt, and Fergie), great fishing, a wood burning hot tub (enjoyed at night underneath the magnificent stars), canoeing in the pond, walks, cows, magic, Henry's Lake, Mesa Falls, late late nights, UNO, smores, warming up by the fire, the Continental Divide, wood chopping, lounging, talking etc. It was such an awesome camping experience. The cabin was built in the 1920's and is in its original form. No electricity, no phones, no internet, no lights, and no crazy world getting in the way of our relaxation. This really was the ultimate escape and respite that Aaron and I were in much need of. Aaron and I are forever grateful to the hospitality that the Peterson's and Beck's have extended to us and have some fabulous memories due to their generosity.

Swinging enjoying the beautiful summer day.

The cute lil rainbow's.

Up at the Continental Divide. Snuggling close due to it starting to do a summer snow/hail.

Aaron and Clay toasting to a great weekend. With a favorite drink of Clay's, Henry Weinhard's Root Beer.

The walk down the road.

Roasting marshmallows for the smores.

On our way out on our last day.

The girls of the weekend.

Mesa Falls

Me and the Mr.

I am so thankful that a couple of months ago, one late night, this plan came about and that Aaron and I were able to enjoy such an amazing weekend. It truly was an unforgettable experience that is dear to me and has filled my cup. It has entered the top 10 list for sure.

I can't finish this post without a big shout out Thank You to Laura and Courtney for taking such good care of our kiddos while we were gone. I never worried about them once and I can't say enough what a great blessing that was for us.

THANKS BECK'S!!! We love you much and can't wait to see you soon in Cali.

Roaches

2009-07-29T19:28:00.000-07:00

So my job in LA is great and I am in love with what I get to do every Monday through Friday. However, I did not love the baby cockroach that walked right across the top of my foot today while I was meeting with a client on their floor. Yup it's true. I was on the floor working with this client on a project and I felt a little tickle across the top of my foot, thinking it was just a fly I ignored it. But the tickle kept going so I looked down and sure enough a baby roach just walking across my foot. No biggie really!!! Right. You might be wondering what did I do? I brushed it off like no big deal and kept on talking with my client as if nothing happened. Don't you worry though I did not show that I was freakin out but my heart was beating so fast. After I brushed it off it continued on its path and walked across the room. Fun times in South Central.

A perfect holiday

2009-07-05T20:27:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend of the 4th Aaron and I were lucky and got to escape to Utah together. Thanks to our friends the Nielson's we were able to leave our doggies in California and enjoy our first trip to Utah together since we lived there over a year ago. It was such a treat to be together in Utah. Utah will always have a special place in my heart, afterall it is where Aaron and I fell in love. We were so happy to be there together enjoying the beauty that is everywhere in Utah during the summer.

Aaron and I headed up to Logan one day with Jeremy and Aaron's dad to do some fly fishing. It was, as you can see beauiful. It was so great being outside doing something so fun together.

This lil guy has got to be one of my favorite buddies in the world. He is so happy and full of so much joy and love. Spending time with him is just fabulous and makes me so happy.

Here are some of the boys (minus our Matty cause he had work) Jeremy, Liam, Aaron and George enjoying the summer afternoon on the front porch.

The night of the 4th we headed to Sugarhouse park to enjoy the show. I can't believe that after living in Utah for almost 7 years I had never actually gone to Sugarhouse for the firework show. Liam was going bananas for the fireworks, it was so cute to hear how excited he was "up up up up up up BOOM BOOM," "did you see that?" "oh my gosh!" He was too cute that night.

BOOM BOOM BOOM

Check out the rad snake on my cheek. Jer did it as I was trying to get Liam to be cool with getting something pained on his face, he was mostly interested in painting on Jer Jer's arm though.

The morning of the 5th we headed up Little Cottonwood to go to Lisa Falls. It was a short beautiful hike and once again reminded me how gorgeous Utah is.

Our 4th Holiday was great. Utah was wonderful and we enjoyed being with our family and friends. We got in my favorite sugar cookies, a snowie, visits to family and friends and some much needed relaxation. We are excited to get back there soon.

Weekend Fun

2009-06-27T19:40:00.000-07:00

Weekends really are the greatest. I am so thankful for Saturday and Sunday and look forward to those days the whole week long. Aaron and I really try to take advantage of the weekends as much as possible. The last few weekends have been no exception. Unfortunately I only have a few pics of our recent happenings, but the memories are there.

The last couple of weekends have included:

Heading up North about an hour to take Bear to Castaic Lake, it is a bit passed Magic Mountain. We took the kiddos up there so Bear could take part of the Southern California Portuguese Water Dog Club water practice. It was so great to get him in the lake and watch him practice swimming and retrieving. While the people there were pretty much a bit crazy we still enjoyed watching Bear have at it in the water. Thomas and Kate went with Nico and we enjoyed the afternoon with them.

Later in the evening the day we went to the lake we headed to the Getty for a picnic dinner with friends. The day had cleared up to be beautiful and sunny. The view from up at the Getty was fabulous and the company was not too bad either. We enjoyed laying on the grass, eating and chatting with our friends and strolling around the Getty.

This weekend Aaron and I planned that we would enjoy the sunny weather and company with friends. Saturday we headed down to Laguna to have a nice beach day. Aaron dropped me off at 1,000 Steps so I could enjoy one of my favorite work outs. (kicked my butt as usual but so fabulous) We then set up shop at Salt Creek beach at 10:30 and stayed there until 3:30. It was sunny and hot and a perfect day for the beach. The Waites, Murrays, and Williams met us there and it was just nice to be relaxing together. There was some playing in the waves of course. I have to say that diving in the waves is one of the most awakening and refreshing things ever. I absolutely love the feeling!!! After some fun in the sun we went to Villa Roma with Amanda and Mason for one of my favorite sandwiches, empanadas and Guarana.

Sunday we were surprised with a visit from our buddies the Waites. Aaron recently bought a new surfboard and Mason tried it out at the beach and could not stop thinking about it. So they headed up here to get him the board. It really is one of the funniest things watching these boys get so excited about new surfboards. Even though Aaron wasn't buying a new one today he was so stoked for Mason and just kept smiling and being pumped. At one point it was said that they think surfboards are sexy. After hanging out at the surf shop we went to Mulberry Street Pizza to enjoy dinner with some Pinkberry after. Passionfruit...SO good. We pretty much big fans of Amanda and Mason and think not only are they great friends but a breath of fresh air. They are so real, honest and refreshing.

I really love the weekends and think the 5 day work week is brilliant. I really need my weekends and find it is the perfect time to rejuvenate. Anyone want to join us at anytime let us know. We are always up for visitors and would love to play anytime, so let us know.

Summer weekends to look forward to:

Salt Lake City for the 4th of July, can't wait (Liam, George, Matt and KT, fly fishing, sugar cookies)
Some more LA fun with friends
Hopefully a visit from mi madre (need to make some trips to the LA fabric mart stores)
Idaho with the Beck's (I have missed my Ash, what can I say it's true)
Murray's are coming out to their timeshare in Newport in August
Sunny beach days

CHEERS TO THE WEEKENDS.

What I am loving these days

2009-06-24T20:47:00.000-07:00

Dreyer's slow churned Yogurt Blends, Tart and Honey. I cut up some hershey's chocolate bar and sprinkle it in there. I find myself having this treat often, at least 3x a week, is that bad? I would be doing sprinkles but I forgot them last time I did my grocery shopping. So next month it will be Tart and Honey with sprinkles. Yum yum.
Our community park a block away from our house. It is the greatest. We go in the mornings, afternoons and evenings. We work out there, take the dogs and just walk around. On any night there softball games, soccer games, kids soccer camps, work out bootcamps, dog park area, archery, swimming, rec center workouts, etc. I imagine that when the city planners planned this park they had the dream it would be hustling and bustling with locals using it to its capacity and well they did a great job. We are there almost every day (no exaggeration) and love the feel it gives the urban area we live in. It is cool to be in this huge park, surrounded by a golf course, and look up and see the city skyline.
Bella and Bear. I just love them, I really do. They are so loving. There is just something so great about a dog who walks up to wherever you are, sits down and just looks up with you with the most loving eyes. Or a dog that when he wakes up in the morning walks up to the bed and just puts his head on the bead and stares at you until you wake up. And a dog that snuggles like no other, almost as if it is her job and duty in life.
Allergy medicine. It is what is getting me through my day right now. My allergies are crazy out of control the last couple of weeks and I seriously for no joke feel like I can't function without taking my medicine.
The anticipation of seeing my family next week when I visit UTAH. I am so excited to see my nephews and give them so many loves. I can't wait to see their parents of course too.
Our plans for a full beach day on Saturday. We will be heading down south a little on Saturday. I am going to run the stairs (one of my most favorite work outs) head to San Clemente, and then end the day with one of the greatest sandwiches from the Argentine market we love.