a little talent and a little getaway

This past week Wildwood had its annual talent show.  Avery once again was willing and excited!

Last Friday we took the kids out of school and tagged along with Nate on a business trip to San Diego.  We spent the afternoon down at Sea Port Village and then that night went to the Mormon Battalion Museum.  Loved it and is a definite must see next time you are in San Diego.   At the end of the tour the kids get to pan for gold....Avery loved it.

After that we went down to Old Town and ate at a fun restaurant.  As you can see we were entertained by Jake.  Notice no more braces!  

 On the way home Saturday we hit Laguna Beach, Ikea and then the J Paul Getty Museam.  

As you can see these two were less then thrilled about going to the Getty. 

 How amazing is that view!  It is such an impressive place to visit.

 Avery has Art Masters at school where they study a different artist each month.  He was very excited to see a real Monet & Van Gogh.

It is amazing all you can cram into two days and one night!  Thanks to dad for the little getaway!

Counting Down!

So in my last post I mentioned Jane's little obsession with Taylor Swift and how there is no doubt about it when you look at her side of the room.   I thought it would only be fair to share with you Aubrey's latest obsession.....  

This daughter of mine has been reading the Hunger Games books, all 3 of them over and over for about a year.  Since the announcement of the movie and the trailer (click to watch) coming out she is over the top excited.  I think she may even have a little crush on that Peeta Mellark/ Josh Hutcherson.  What 15 year old girl wouldn't??    Jake, Jane, Aubrey and I WILL be at that midnight showing.  I promised:)

Goodbye Strawberry, Hello Swift

We officially have another teen in our home...yikes 3 at a time.  You can say we have many emotional ups and downs in our home!  Our sweet baby Jane has now entered the teen years.  So sad.  Most of you remember Jane's obsession with Strawberry Shortcake.  Starting at about age 4 her life revolved around her and her sweet smelling gang.  Birthdays, Christmas gifts and Halloween costumes always revolved around that freckle faced doll.  Now that she is 13 Strawberry Shortcake  has been put away for safe keeping and a real life girl has taken her place.  Jane's side of the room is now filled with pictures, Cd's, perfumes, bags, necklaces and t-shirt's of Taylor Swift.  She had the chance to go to her concert this past summer and since then it has been all about her.  For her 13th (Taylor's favorite #) Jane decided to have a Taylor Swift themed party.  She and her friends....the 13 of them watched the concert on DVD, jumped on the trampoline and just had a good time.  

she still loved her at 11 years old:(

Jane really wanted a cake shaped like a guitar so while I was the soccer mom Nate stayed home all day working on this fabulous cake...... I told him he should quit his day job:)

I found these perfect cupcake toppers on Etsy..they were a hit!

Jane is lucky to have such a great group of friends....such thoughtful cards and gifts.  They all know Jane so well.

On her actual birthday we had a fun girls day shopping with Grandma Bluth

It will be interesting to see what comes next....

A little dizzy from December

What a December we had!  I know it is always a busy month but for some reason this year seemed EXTRA busy....here is some of what we were up to!

To start, basketball season officially started for Jake.....6 days a week!!  Our life will be filled with practices and games the next couple months!  We wish him luck!  

Jake's teammate who is 6ft 7!

The month started off with a trip to the LA Temple and to Diddy Reese with the Zeediks.  This is a tradition we hope to keep going every year!

 Next, we had the most fabulous "Back to Bethlehem" ward party.  This one was extra special because it was on a ward members property.  We had week old baby goats, bon fires, candle making and story telling.  The last 20 minutes they played out the nativity with a miniature pony/donkey and a host of angels/ young women in a tree house above the manger scene.  It is a memory that no one there will soon forget.  It was such a great way to start the season.

2 of the 3 wise men

candle making

 After the ward party we rushed over to get a Christmas tree....it was very hard to find a night to fit that in!

 Something that added to the craziness of the month was that our stake put on a play called Finding Christmas. It was a huge production that was advertised throughout the community.  It had 5 shows and tons of participants and volunteers.  Jane and Aubrey were lucky enough to be in it.  Jane was in a cute little elf dance and Aubrey was in the youth choir.  I was on the hair and makeup committee that was quite fun. We have heard that the response was amazing and that many members and MANY non members attended.

 For Christmas this year we decided to head to Utah and spend it with Nathan's family.  We always have such a great time with everyone there.  We went to the lights at Temple Square, hit the BYU Bookstore and mall and had dinner at Sundance.  I even surprised Nate with a night away at the Sundance Resort...good times.

 Every year Grandma Sue has a day called "Grandma's Baking Day."  My kids each year see the pictures and are a little sad that they don't get to participate in this fun day.  This year because we were coming they waited so that the Caif. cousins could be there.  What a fun and crazy day!  Gingerbread houses, cookies, crafts and more.  I am sure you can imagine the amount of sprinkles on the floor.  What a fun tradition Grandma has!

 Can't forget the Christmas Eve jammies!

Christmas day was so fun with everyone.  The only bummer was that the stomach flu was going around and Jake spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day throwing up.   Poor guy:)

On our last day we hit Sundance one more time and the kids spent some more time with their longtime friends the Nelsons! (pics to come)

Thanks to all of you who made our December so memorable!  We had such a great time and felt so much love from you all!

We came home to a Christmas tree that was still very much alive and 70 degree weather!  We even spent today at the beach!  We sure went from one extreme to another!  Happy New Year!!

Scenes from a fabulous Thanksgiving

We had a great meal and great company at our house this year!  We were just missing Chris and Megs family who were in Utah and Wendy's kids who were with their dad.  It was a quiet year! We are so thankful for all our family and all our many blessings!  Love to all the rest of our family....see you at Christmas!!

another yummy bird done on the barbecue!

I LOVE these birds!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Halloween and a birthday

Nate and I celebrated birthdays in Palm Springs with our dear friends the Zeediks.  Nate and Mark planned a little overnight getaway.  We had such a great time with such great friends!  We started in Palm Springs where the weather was about 104.  The next day we made a stop at the Redlands temple and then headed down to Santa Monica where the temperature dropped to 60!  This is what I love so much about Calif.  You can be in the desert and then in 2 hours be at the beach!  Good times:)

Redlands temple

 Another year older.....Jane made a sign for me that said "Your not 40 yet!"  sigh......I am 39 and holding:)

For a friends party Nate and I dressed up as Flo from the Progressive Ins commercials and Nate was Mayhem(click to watch) from Allstate...funniest commercials!

 For the ward Trunk or Treat Jane didn't want to go alone as a Hot Dog on a Stick worker so I decided to join her!

 Our "Scary" trunk.....

Halloween night.....a Celtics fan and yes that is Jake as a ghost.....being his usual weird self!  Aubs didn't trick or treat this year so no cute pics of her:(  check out her blog here for pics.....

She's a Beaut!

The kids bathroom remodel is mostly done!  There are a few little things left to do but overall it is great!  These picutres do not do it justice but it will give you an idea of the transformation.  So hurry and book your next trip to stay with us!  

Still trying to decide on paint color.....

Love the shampoo holder!

awesome river rock bottom!

little shoes.....big dream

Most of you who know Jake know that he has a love of basketball.  Not only does he love to play the sport but he loves all that goes along with it.  Meaning....the shoes, the shoes, the shoes.  This kid LOVES his basketball shoes. He loves the smell of a new pair.  He even goes so far as to keep a magic eraser close at hand to wipe off any marks.  His hope and dream one day is to own his own shoe store.  He spends plenty of time researching and looking at all the shoes online.  He is more knowledgeable the ANYONE at Footlocker:)  Nate and I didn't realize what we started when he got his first pair of Air Jordans at 2.  If he had the choice,  every gift he receives and any money he makes goes towards shoes.  The other night he was describing to me how he wanted to display his shoes in his room on the wall.  Who displays their shoes on their wall???  Well, when he came home from school I surprised him by putting together a display. I tried to do what he described but of course I was needing this to be cheap. He was pretty excited and now has plans to buy more shoes and add more cubes......uh oh.  It is nothing special but I am sure tonite as he lays in bed with the little dimmer light shinning down on  his shoes he will dream about the shoe store he will one day have.

Demo has begun!

When we moved into our fixer upper house 61/2 years ago we had BIG plans.  Before we moved in we did some major home improvements like new windows, floors and paint inside and out.  Kitchen, bathrooms and roof were going to have to wait.  Well, the wait is over for a least ONE bathroom.  Having three full bathrooms is great except when you find out how much a bathroom remodel costs.  Ouch.  We have begun the demo, which we did ourselves to save money.  Fun, Fun!  Thanks to a great husband who suffered injures to the feet and legs and breathed in who knows what for 2 days while demoing this 35 year old bath!  To all those who have stayed at our home and have had the pleasure of using the lovely bathroom upstairs, this is for you!  Next time you come you will have a beautiful place to get yourself ready for the day!  Yay!  I will keep you posted on the progress......

can't be good for the lungs!

New river rock bottom