Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was a bit different for us this year. It was the first year we haven't been in Idaho. I had to work Christmas eve and wouldn't get off until 6am on Christmas morning, so it only made sense to stay home.

It was fun for me to get home to see that Santa had come for the boys.

Since we were headed to Idaho later that morning, we woke the boys when I got home. Neither of them wanted to get up and it was 7am. Maybe it's because it took Chandler an hour to fall asleep because he was so excited. Chan kept laying back down even though we told him Santa had been here.



Finally he and Rowan made their way downstairs, and the look on their faces were priceless. Chan was particularly happy to see a Pokemon Wii game by his stocking...the ONLY thing he'd asked Santa for. :)


Since the are into a lot of the same toys, Santa brought them a variety of things to share like Bigfoot, a Chuggington Train Set, Stinky the Garbage Truck, and a Imaginext Batman set.

Meeting Bigfoot

Marshall and his new Apple TV.

The Aftermath...isn't it wonderful?

Bahamas - Part 2

The week that we were there in the Bahamas, we booked a couple of excursions to do. Our hotel concierge was amazing and really funny, her name was Genie. She was the one that told us about day trips and we booked through her. We decided to book an Island tour on Monday and an authentic Bahamian bonfire party on Tuesday. We only booked out that far as we weren't sure what else we wanted to do.

The Island tour was very informative, and one of our favorite stops was Garden of the Groves. It is a fabulous garden that was made to show thanks to a man that really got the Grand Bahama up and going. He put a ton of money and time into it and even negotiated a 100 year tax free deal with Britain. The garden was full of tropical flowers and plants, ponds, waterfalls, and more.

After the garden, we went to some liquor store which I thought was odd since we have those all over in the US, but others seemed to be excited. We also saw a lot of the homes and how the people lived.
Next, we headed off to a small market to have lunch which was Conch. Conch is a type of snail that grows in a really beautiful shell.

They are a lot of white muscle and live on the bottom of the ocean. It's one major thing that they eat in the Bahamas. We got to see how they got the Conch from the shell and were able to eat it grilled. It was actually pretty interesting and tasted quite good. We ate it almost every way you could prepare it while we were there. (The picture below is of Genie, our concierge. She actually met us there since her friend owns this little place and helped show us about the Conch.)

Holiday Letter

I didn't include a holiday letter in our Christmas cards, but thought that I would journal the happenings of the year and post it here. (Note that I said I would journal it here, and none of it is new news to you that read this blog, so if you get through this lengthy "letter," kudos.)

2010 has been one rollercoaster of a year, but then again, when is life not?

Chandler has grown and developed so much and has actually become quite witty. We are constantly laughing at the funny and cute things he says and I need to be better about writing them down because it seems like I forget so easily. He really loves to play video games, and we have to watch him sometimes that he doesn't play too long because he'd play all day if you let him. He also really loves arts and crafts and when he's doing them his attention span is quite good. He loves to paint and help me cook. In fact, I find when he helps me cook, he's better about eating his dinner because he feels like he made it too.
This year was his second year in primary, he was in the CTR4 class. We really struggled a lot of the year, and it finally seems like he's gotten better but it's been a long time in coming. I don't think that it helped when I got put into primary at the first of the year and it triggered his emotions even more seeing me standing at the back of the primary room.
He's very independent and can make his own corn dogs and cereal, has finally started to have an opinion about what he wants to wear, and is great at picking up after himself a lot of the time.
He's still very active, likes to run and jump, play battle with dad, and just flat out be a boy. Toys he likes are transformers, puzzles, games, and trains. He's so sweet and loves to cuddle and show love. It's interesting because he was SO not cuddly when he was younger, and now if we are watching a movie, he wants hugs and to snuggle. I love it. It's amazing that he's already 5 and how fast the time goes. He and Rowan are starting full time 2 day a week preschool in January and it will be great prep for kindergarten next fall.

Rowan's year started out rough. He's battled with asthma since 7 months and was hospitalized in February with RSV. We stayed there for 2 days while he fought to keep his oxygen up. I guess I should be grateful he didn't get it as a baby, because I'm sure it would have been much worse. Most kids are fine with RSV at home when they are 2, but Rowan wasn't. He was on a ton of meds at the first of the year, and he's slowly been weaned off of them. I haven't given him a neb treatment in probably 6 months, but then again he hasn't really been sick which is when he really gets wheezy. I hope this winter will be more mild so he can breathe well.
We watched Rowan go from very cuddly to also independent over this year. I think a lot of it had to do with his pacifier. He's always had a hair fetish, and had to hold hair while he had his paci in, but once we got rid of it in September, he didn't want to cuddle or hold hair anymore. Kind of sad. Row's been a bit of a slow talker like Chandler was but is saying more and more. It's nice that he's able to express himself better, but has always been a screamer and still is. He likes to play with Chandler, but also fights with him about half of the time. He's started to really fight back and Chandler often has lots of scratches from Rowan. We have introduced the naughty spot, but I don't think it's quite clicking yet that he can't scratch. He's not potty trained, but I'm not rushing anything. When he shows more interest, we'll pursue it.
He's so adorable, growls when he gives bear hugs, and is quick to give kisses, which I love. He likes to sing nonsense to himself and enjoys watching shows and playing outside. He also loves loves animals and we've contemplated getting him a cat. We're still on the fence on that one.

Marshall started the year pursuing his business, Pivo Web Marketing. He had some clients but wasn't making as much as he'd like so he looked for a job elsewhere. In February, he got hired at Speed of Trust, which is under the Franklin Covey name. He does e-mail marketing for the book "Speed of Trust" by Stephen M.R. Covey. He really likes the people he works with but sometimes feels like he doesn't get to contribute as much as he wants. I think it's something that will come with time. It's really amazing how motivated and how much initiative he has. I think if half of people put as much into their job as he does, this world would be a much better and efficient place. It's been a great company, and we've seen tons of blessings from it. He's also got another business, ACN that we are doing on the side and it's been fun to see him excited about that.
He's the most amazing dad to his boys, cooks when I don't want to, and cleans like a mad man. :)
He was serving as ward missionary leader most of the year, and was recently called as Sunday School President. He's loving the calling so far!

It would be an understatement to say this year has been amazing and full of opportunity for me. I started seeing so many doors open on my blog, Babes and Kids Review, and it's been such a huge blessing. I've reviewed everything from toys to vacuums, received numberless gift cards, and even made a few thousand this year. I also got to attend two movie screenings - one in New York City, and one in Austin, TX for Walmart & P&G. In May, Pampers flew our entire family out to Cincinnati, OH. I toured headquarters while the boys and Marsh went to a fun museum. In November, I went to Boston, Massachusetts to TJ Maxx/Marshall's headquarters for a holiday preview and it was fun to meet new friends. I love blogging, having a voice, and the opportunities it's given me. Plus I've been so many new places this year!
In March, I applied to an ultrasound program partnered with Intermountain Health Care and Salt Lake Community College. It's something I've wanted to do, but was put on hold as I got pregnant with Chan when I was finishing my 4 year degree at BYU-I. I decided to apply and out of 300 applicants, and 100 that interviewed, I was one of 16 that got in! I started this Fall, and it's been an adjustment getting back into school mode but I love it so far. I will be done in August of 2012 and start clinical next semester.
I took up running this year, and surprised myself at how far I could go. I ran a half marathon in June with my mom, sister, and two brothers. In September, I ran a FULL marathon with my oldest brother. It was hands down one of the hardest things I've ever done, but so amazing to me that I was able to accomplish it. I plan on running more races, but probably not a full marathon.
I'm still working in the ER as a clerk 2 nights a week and will cut back to 1 come January so I can focus on school and have some time with the family.
I'm serving in the Primary Presidency as Secretary and it's been a challenge for me to stay organized, but I love it and the women I serve with.
I know you are looking at everything I have going on and think that I have it all together, but I definitely have my breakdowns. Luckily I have a very great hubby that will listen to me blubber and cry until I feel better. :)

Marsh and I were also able to go to the Bahamas at the first of December for 8 days. It was so amazing, and definitely needed.

From our home to yours, Merry Christmas.


(Our attempt to get a picture of the boys in their Christmas jammies....yeah right. At least Chan tried. :) )

Today

I'm having to remind myself to live in the moment lately instead of looking ahead, or overwhelming myself. It's hard not to think ahead, when things are settling into place for next semester. I found out last week that the boys got into the Eccles lab at my college, which is basically like a preschool. I'm really excited because it's structured well, they feed them 2 meals and a snack, and I feel like it will especially be good prep for Chandler for kindergarten next fall. Next good news- tuition is based on income, so we will only be paying about $400 a month for the two of them and they are going 2 days a week from 8am-5pm. So that takes care of two of my school days. Avry will be taking them my other clinical day, and I'm hoping my friend Sara will continue watching them Monday mornings while I go to class that day.
Anyways, now that I'm focusing on the future again, let's get back to the present. We got dumped on last night with at least 6 inches of snow. It's absolutely beautiful and Chandler told me Santa must be getting closer if we are getting this much snow. I agree. And to top it off, it's the most perfect snowman snow, so we set out to build a snowman.

Rowan didn't last too long in the snow, he mostly laid there and ate it, and then cried to go inside. Chan and I however built this awesome 3 foot snowman...named Frosty.

After that, I had some fun taking pictures of him. This is how he feels about the snow.



And I love this picture. I know you can't see his one eye, but I love the angle, the black and white, everything. Did I mention I am learning more about my camera, and I'm in love? Now I'm starting to realize that I want a telephoto lens to do some other things that my kit lens doesn't do.

After we came inside, I started making goodies for the neighbors. We went with chocolate chip cookies w/Christmas sprinkles, Peppermint Bark, and Oreo Truffles. I think the boys must have eaten their weight in chocolate, and I'm not far behind them. I keep waiting for either of them to say that they feel sick, but I guess they have my tolerance for sugar. :)


One last thing I must mention - we've had all of the presents wrapped under the tree for over a week, and not one piece of wrapping paper has been ripped off. Instead the boys pet the wrapping paper, hold the packages and Chandler looks for his name. It's adorable and brings back great memories from when I was a kid.

The Bahamas

So going to The Bahamas was absolutely heavenly. We left on a Friday morning VERY early and spent most of the day traveling. We had layovers in Dallas/Ft. Worth and also in Miami. It was a first being to both of these places for me, even though we were only in the airport. We flew out of Salt Lake at 6 am and got to Freeport, Grand Bahama at about 8 or 9, I can't remember exactly. My first impression was how friendly all of the people were. Our shuttle driver gave us a little tour as we were on our way to the hotel. They drive on the left side of the road there, which was really weird since it's something I'm not used to. We got to our hotel, and it was pretty simple and outdated, but perfect for what we needed. I wasn't expecting a lot as the trip was so cheap to book.
We had a fabulous view of the Channel, alas why our hotel was probably called the Bell Channel Inn.

Saturday we slept in, ate breakfast at the restaurant upstairs, and walked to Port Lucaya marketplace which was about a 15-20 minute walk from our hotel. There was a beach right close by. That first day we ran into a man who was dressed in a floral costume and started telling us all about some customs and traditions around this time of year. Then he said something like, "And most people tip me $5." It was so out of the blue and we didn't realize he would just flat out ask us for money. We gave him $1.




The weather was pretty nice for the most part when we were there - high 60's to high 70's depending on the day. The water was coolish, but warmer on days when it was warmer.



That next day we didn't do too much. We had booked other things for the week, but decided to lay low on Sunday. We spent more time at the beach and just exploring a bit. I found this fantastic Goombay Punch drink down in our vending machine and had to have it. It was basically pure sugar, and tasted like a mix between pineapple and sprite. It was really good and definitely not the last time I had it while I was there.



To keep these posts from being incredibly lengthy, I'm going to break them up. Bahamas trip: To be continued.....

Temple Square

Would you believe that in the 3 Christmas seasons we've lived near Salt Lake, we've never been to Temple Square to see the lights? We decided that we definitely needed to do it this year, and I had a meeting for work in Salt Lake yesterday so it worked out quite nicely. I definitely wasn't very prepared, only had a light jacket, and the boys only had their coats. Wish I would have packed hats and gloves.
The lights were absolutely beautiful, and we happened to find someone selling hot chocolate which we jumped on. I also got the chance to try out my new SLR camera, and I've realized there's a big learning curve to taking great pictures. For some silly reason, I thought that just because I had a great new camera, I would be able to take amazing pictures. I'm only about 10 pages into my instruction booklet, and I'd definitely like to take a beginner course to get to know a little bit more about photography, but I'm having fun experimenting. Some pictures actually turned out quite well!

Riding Trax around Salt Lake. The boys love riding the train!

Temple/Christmas lights

Nativity on the water, isn't it pretty?

R&R

Hi from the Bahamas! I can't believe how relaxed and wonderful it is to get away. We got here late Friday night and have basically been kicking back. Sleeping, eating, laying on the beach, talking. I can't remember the last time I had this much time just to focus on Marshall and me, it was probably before we had kids. We have some fun excursions planned for the week, and the weather has been perfect so far - mid 70's. I miss my babies like crazy though. It's funny how you always feel like you need a break from your kids, and when you finally get one, you think about them and miss them. Oh well, they are in good hands up in Idaho with puppy & papa. I'm going to try to update our trip as we go so I don't have a ton to blog when we get home. Wish I could share the warmth with you all back home. :)

Merry Christmas

To me....

Thankful

I am thankful for.....

My awesome sister Avry who hosted Thanksgiving dinner and did a mighty fine job.

Family, and the chance to get together with them.

Thanksgiving dinner and turkey comas.

Avry's 15 foot Christmas tree - wow. Let us not forget brother Jason hugging it.

My mad Vanna White skills. (Can you tell the pictures I took were a bit random and sporadic?)

And everything else I didn't get a picture of. My loving parents, amazing siblings, wonderful husband, beautiful children, health, happiness, and home.

Rowan's Kitchen

Welcome to Rowan's Kitchen, where everyday is a new gourmet treat. His specialties are concoctions, so you never know what you'll get. We're not guaranteeing that it will be good, but it will be an experience you won't forget.


Today's Concoction:
Italian Celery Egg Soup

Ingredients:

• Italian Dressing
• Diet Pepsi
• Mushrooms
• Hard Boiled Eggs
• Cheetos
• Water
• Celery
• Bread

Who wants to come for dinner?

Product Reviews

You know your mom is a product review blogger when:

• You get a package every day and know the UPS or FedEx guy by heart.
• You yell "yay!!" when you see a brown box. (Who knows, it could be lima beans inside?)
• You get get a new toy, and after you ooh and ahh over it, proceed to climb up on the couch and strike a pose, knowing she's going to need pictures to blog about your new toy. (Chan was especially cute today.)
  

And the adorable monkey? He's from Aurora.

Yo Gabba Gabba Live

Back in April, I got a contact for my Babes and Kids blog asking me if I wanted to cover Yo Gabba Gabba Live, and get free tickets to the one here in Salt Lake City. I said yes because I knew my boys would love it. They don't watch Yo Gabba Gabba often, but they know who they are, and we all watch Party in my Tummy often on Youtube. After all, that is the best song. :)
So the show was last night. We sported some awesome DJ Lance glasses that they gave us, and got up to dance at every song. It was super fun and I think the boys really liked it. Of course my camera went on strike, and I didn't bring my flip, so the video I took didn't save right. I was bummed because Party In My Tummy was the last song and they had the food come down a giant slide. It was so fun to watch the boys dance and really get into it, but I was into it too, lol. It lasted about an hour and 20 minutes. After it was over, Rowan kept saying "You like it? You like Gabba Gabba? Chandler, you like Gabba Gabba? Dad, you like it?" It was super cute. I think it's definitely safe to say that we're fans now.

Chandler's 5th Birthday Party

We've never really had a birthday party for either of the boys. We've celebrated with family and a few close friends before, but haven't ever done a real party with lots of friends. Since Chan was turning 5, I decided he would love having a party. I started planning it the end of September, and I shouldn't have told him a month before it was happening. Since he doesn't have a lot of concept of time, he would ask me frequently when it was. I whipped out my mad photoshop skills and made his invitations. They turned out pretty cute, don't you think? (I must also mention that I got 15 of them printed in a 5x7 size for less than $3 and that included shipping. I refuse to ever pay full price for anything. :) )


The day of the party, Chan and I headed out to do some last minute shopping. We picked up Chan's cake, a batman one, and headed home. I must say it was totally worth the $17 that I paid Walmart to make it.No headache, no trying to be creative, and Chandler was definitely impressed.


We had a superhero/hero theme. Chan wanted to do superheros but since we invited girls, I thought we'd just make it dress up. That way kids could dress up as superheros if they wanted, or just in their Halloween costume.


The guests started arriving right before 1 pm. We had 10 kids total, including Chan and Rowan. We played lots of games, did a small craft, had cake and ice cream and then played. It turned out really great! One of the games we played was "Wrap the Mummy" We used toilet paper and I thought this picture was hilarious.

All of the party guests

I also did a short movie with video we took that day as well as a few other pictures I didn't include in the post.

Toenail

You might think I'm weird, or even a little gross for posting this, but oh well. Of course if you are reading this blog, chances are you are already my friend or a family member and read even when I post dumb/gross/weird things. On with it already, right? When I ran my half marathon in June, my one big toenail was just a tad too long. It throbbed for 2 days after. Turned purple, and it's been in the process of coming off for 5 months now. The other day before church, I dropped a binder on my toe and the nail pretty much came off. This is what was underneath. It looks like I had another nail growing underneath the nail. Pedicure anyone? (I made sure to make the picture super big for your viewing enjoyment.)


Reminds me of a sign I saw when I ran my marathon, "Toenails are for sissies." I agree. It is quite pretty as well. ;) Now that it's getting cooler, I haven't been running much. I so want a treadmill and find myself dreaming of one...
I promise I won't leave this post up at the top for too long. The picture is quite beautiful, but there's some birthday pictures and videos I need to edit.

To Chandler

Dear Chan,
You are 5 today! The last 5 years have been some of the best of my life, simply because you are in it. You've been a headstrong boy since day one and have always wanted to do things for yourself and be independent. At the same time you are compassionate and loving, and quick to run and give me a hug if I stub my toe or feel sad.
You are really into transformers, action figures, trains, video games, and crafts right now. You also love to dress up like a super hero and play "battle" with Rowan and dad. Your favorite movie is anything new that is out. Favorite foods are corn dogs, Chinese (Kung Fu Panda food), Ice Cream, and cereal. You also love to drink water. If we give you a choice of any drink, you will always pick water.
I'm not sure how tall you are, (we'll find out when we go in for your yearly checkup) but are wearing 5T clothes and weigh about 40 lbs.
You say the funniest things lately and I'm not as good as I should be about writing them down. A few weeks you asked us if Jesus had feet. :)
When dad decided to grow a beard, you told him that it might grow as big as the house.
You ask lots of questions and are so smart. You can count to 100 and more, know all of your colors, shapes, and are starting to sound out words.
Your smile is contagious, and I'm so happy and proud to be your mom.
I hope you have a Happy Birthday, we'll do something fun today. :)
Love,
Mom

Fishy

These last couple weeks, Chan has been in swim lessons. He's never done any lessons or had an outlet like this, and it's been great! I put him straight into a level 2 because I looked at what they learned in level 1, and he could already do everything.


He's done really well and only has a few days left. They've learned to bob 5-10 times in a row, float on their backs, and basics of the front and back crawl. It's pretty cute to see him attempt to do the front crawl. I took these pictures and video this last Monday when he was halfway through the session. I didn't get him doing anything exciting, but it's still cute. There's only 3 kids in his class, and he loves his teacher, Grace.


I'd love to put him in the next level, but I'm still not sure what's going on with clinicals next semester so we will see....
But for now, here is my little fishy!

Holiday Traditions

I saw a contest on a couple blogs that I frequent, sponsored by Sam's Club. It was a video on a holiday traditions, and I decided to enter. Mind you, some of this was recorded at 2am when I got home from work because I was trying to meet the deadline. But it was all worth it in the end.

I entered this:

And won this:

Crafty

I am not crafty. I'd say it's just not in my blood, but I look at my mom the amazing seamstress, my oldest sister who is awesome at crocheting, knitting, and re-doing furniture, or my other sister who has a knack for crafting and decorating.
Obviously it's in the blood, I just am not the artsy/crafty kind. I'm more of a science minded girl obviously from what I majored in for my 4 year degree, and what I'm studying now.
However, I took on a cork board that was 15 years old and became a bit crafty. I'm not saying it was super hard to do, although Marshall helped me do it, but I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.
I've had this cork board since Jr. High. It was on the wall right by my door, went with me to college, and has been in our home ever since. About a month ago, we painted an accent wall to cover up a beautiful permanent marker job Rowan had done on one of our kitchen walls. Marshall suggested we get a new cork board for pictures. I started looking around, and all of the ones that I liked were $30-$40 for cork boards that were half the size of mine. After finding a few patterns, and getting a feel for what I liked, I headed to JoAnn's to get fabric, ribbon, etc. I painted the outside of the frame, and then did the inside with fabric and sheer ribbon. It took Marsh and I about an hour to do, and I only spent $14 out of pocket. Not too bad for a board that is 15 years old. :) (If you don't see your picture on the board, chances are my 2 year old poked your eyes out with a push pin. Sadly, that is the truth. I couldn't justify putting pictures up with holes all over them. All the more reason to send me a Christmas card this year!)