Happy birthday to me!!!

I can't believe that we just booked another cruise and we will be leaving in just over 2 months! I am feeling so spoiled and a little guilty about it, but heck why not enjoy the opportunity when it flies your way? I've got to start working off these holiday pounds so I can gain it all back again eating all the yummy food I want for a whole week! The best part is I won't have to lift a finger to cook it!

I feel so blessed to have an awesome aunt who is willing to take care of Hudson (the terror) and Capri while Kirk and I enjoy some "adult time." Now I've just got to find a friend out there willing to take Bruin (he has already placed his requests), so we will see which great friend out there is willing to help out (could it be you)?

Our Wonderful Christmas

This last week has been a whirlwind of family, friends, fun, giving, love, singing, playing, and joy! Here is a brief overview of our week.

Cookie and Graham Cracker houses with the Hathaways: Thank you to Gena and Laura for putting together a fun evening for the kids. They had a great time, and it was fun to visit with everyone.

Christmas Eve with the Salmons:

This is one of the highlights of my holiday this year. As a family we went and spent the afternoon at 2 different senior homes. The kids were able to pass out gloves that we had wrapped with holiday ribbon and attached a Merry Christmas greeting from our family. We also sang carols, and played a few songs with our chimes. The women were so happy to see the children. The one lady on the bottom corner of this picture just wanted someone to hold her hand almost the entire visit, so we all took our turn. I think we may have begun a new Christmas eve tradition.

Afterward we went over to the Salmon's home and played games, ate some delicious food, opened gifts, played rock band, and did a puzzle. Grandma Salmon spent so much time making matching PJ's for the kids, and next week they all get to have a sleepover with their Grandma and Grandpa (minus the 2 babies). The kids are looking forward to it.
Above:Capri and Julia posing with their matching jammies- so exciting!!!

Below:Capri dancing with her uncle Brandon. He is so good with the kids, I know he will be an awesome husband and father one day.
Then we we went home and the kids decorated these sugar cookies and poured the egg nog. Bruin wrote a quick note to let Santa know that these were for him, and Capri drew a classic picture of Santa with a big round belly and all in red of course.

In the morning my kids were pleased to find their stockings full to the brim with tape, watercolors, and orange, and a stack full of every type of paper wrapped up for them to share. If you have ever been to my house you know how much my children love paper, and love to use lots of it (sorry to any of you who are green). Bruin also received a new pair of shoes, and Capri got some cute pink slippers. Hudson got some diapers, socks, and some new utensils (the kids thought it was great that Santa knew just what Hudson needed).

After opening some gifts from Mommy and Daddy we all traveled over to Grandma Heaps (my mom's) house for some more yummy Christmas food and the kids received several of the gifts they had asked for.

Bruin with his new guitar. Anyone out there willing to teach him how to play it? I'm not much help in that department-although I am trying to learn a little bit so I can help him.

Capri with her new butterfly decorations for her room. She has already decorated these and hung them on her wall in her bedroom. She wouldn't let these things go even when she was opening other gifts. She also received a water baby that she adores. She has slept with "Tinkerbella" the last 2 nights. Its funny that she thinks has declared the baby a girl despite the blue clothes and hat (oh well).

I thought it would be fun to post these beautiful gifts that Bruin and Capri got for me. Try not to be jealous all you mothers out there. I think these might be in the Salmon white elephant gift exchange next year.
Thank you to everyone who made our Christmas extra special. Now we are looking forward to a wonderful 2009 full of more memories and love.

Stress Free the Way to Be

I have definitely been enjoying life without thinking of the paper that is due next week or the upcoming test or final I have. I have been occupying my time with much more fun things. Like going out to eat at BJs with my Uncle Ron (he is the one who took us in for 3 months while our place was being built 2 years ago).

Taking the kids to several Christmas parties, and taking pictures with all of the Santas. This is the best one I have of all 3 of them on a Santa's lap.

The picture below is Capri in the front row of a Christmas performance. She cracked me up when she wanted to go up on stage at my mother-in-law's ward Christmas party. She stood right in the front and performed the ultimate lip sync. This is not the first time she has lip synced either. Almost anytime she sings in front of a big group it is so obvious that she is pretending to know all the words. Kirk and I can't help laugh when the primary performs in our ward because Capri is right in the front opening her mouth so wide, but not singing a thing. Its quite entertaining to say the least. The best part is when she comes down and asks us "did I do good?" Of course I have to say, "you were the best one up there, you knew all those words!" She will just nod and smile... until next time.
This is the kids playing the Christmas cake walk game at the Salmon family Christmas party. Kirk's aunt had this game and a game of pin the star on the Nativity scene for the children. She is going to be a fun grandma one day!

We also had a great time last week at Knott's Berry Farm with our friends the Jenks. We didn't really take any pictures at Knott's, but here we are afterward at Outback. Tiff and I sat together so our husbands wouldn't be staring right at the basketball game that was on, but it ended up that doing so caused them to be straining harder to see the television a little further away. We had some an evening of crazy rides & screaming, delicious food, and some good laughs.
This is the one picture that got us laughing pretty good. These two are so funny when they are together. They will do just about anything to get us girls laughing- including posing behind this chicken with their faces only inches apart.I love this stress free life. I am not looking forward to January when I start my 3 week intersession course. On the other hand, I am looking forward to getting my bachelor degree. If all goes as planned I should be done by this time next year... HOORAY!!!!

My baby is 1 already?

I can't believe that this last weekend has been filled up with birthday celebrations for my baby Hudson. One year ago my Hudson arrived 11 days early, just hours after finishing my semester finals!
He was a great newborn, and a great sleeper. He was a very observant baby, with a mellow temper. He neither cried a lot, nor laughed a lot.

These are 2 of my favorite pictures of him (before he lost the curls). I waited as long as I could to cut them. I finally gave in when he started to be mistaken for a girl. I was so sad to see them go because then he looked like he was a big boy, and not my baby.

Below is one of his classic faces-the lip sucked in.

His true personality has come out over the last 6 months, and we have been loving every minute of it! He brings a spark of joy into our lives each time he smiles and laughs. He loves attention, and needs a lot of it because he is sooooooo busy!!! When I lose track of Hudson it is almost definite that he is up to no good somewhere! All babysitters and family know the drill, don't leave anything breakable within arms reach of Hudson, and make sure to close the bathroom door behind you! His all time favorite is the toilet water and toilet paper. My mom got him a few toys that he seems to enjoy, so hopefully those will help him decrease his mischievous acts.

Here are a few pictures from his weekend parties. Grandma Heaps' cake.

Hudson was so upset when that cake was gone! My big boy!!!

When we were out in San Diego for thanksgiving we had a random photo shoot with my aunt who is taking a few classes on photography. I had not planned to take their pictures, so the clothes they were wearing were not what I would have chosen for photos, but my aunt made them work by making the pictures black/white, and by photoshopping out drool marks, dirty spots, etc... Here were a few that I thought turned out really well considering the circumstances. Thanks Aunt Michelle.... you are the greatest!!!

Don't ask me where he got this fair skin and gorgeous blue eyes from... aren't they to die for?!?!

This is Lauren and Hudson and they were just randomly playing like this. They were more interested in the grass than in eachother obviously. Love the quote my aunt found.

Another cute quote, and a fun picture to have of Bruin missing his two bottom teeth.

I just love Capri's smile here- she really is a ham for the camera!

A Unique Thanksgiving Week

Our planning for a unique thanksgiving began when my in laws offered to pay for everyone to stay in a nice hotel down in San Diego over thanksgiving. After the plans had already begun I realized that my cousin Melanie was being sealed the Tuesday before thanksgiving also in San Diego. It was silly to make the trip down twice in a week, so we gladly decided to extend our 1 night stay into a 3 night stay. It got even better when my dad offered to pay for one of the nights so that we could visit him!
Our plan changed into 4 nights when I received a phone call notifying me that the reception was going to be a night early due to predicted rain on Tuesday night. My sis and I decided to take off a day early to make it for the reception, while our husbands stayed home to work. We took the babies and the girls, and left the boys with Darin for the night.

We were right on time (which is pretty unusual for us) until we hit major traffic because of this on the side of the road. At first we smelled fire and were really worried, but come to find out it was just the firemen setting small control fires. Luckily it didn't take too long, and before we knew it we were.... At the beautiful reception visiting with tons of family, all while keeping track of these princesses and....
These cute babies who wanted to take a dip in the pool. It was such a nice reception in my aunt and uncles backyard. We had yummy catered panda express food, good company, beautiful/unique decorations, and fun music. Janell and I were so glad that we decided to go down early even though it let to quite an interesting night.

This picture says it all! This is the result of Janell and I trying to save a few bucks and sharing a hotel room for one night with the two babies. Hudson ended up in the most unique of sleeping arrangements. Janell and I are very proud of our ingenuity! It was a desperate attempt at 3am to get Hudson back to sleep without waking Lauren.

The next day we attended the sealing while two of my younger cousins cared for all 7 of our children at her home. I felt so blessed to be there with so much of my family and to be reminded of my own temple marriage. Melanie looked beautiful as she knelt across from her wonderful groom. Below: Janell, cousin Ashley, me, Aunt Michelle, Aunt Kathy
The boys (Kirk and my cousin Greg) having a serious chat outside the temple.
What a beautiful place to be married! That's why Kirk and I chose the same place :).
The next day we spent the day with my dad and Grandma at their place, then went to Point Loma near our hotel and visited this light house. The kids had fun looking through the binoculars at the passing boats.
Hudson had fun checking out the display
This is a view looking down from the second floor of the lighthouse.
After the lighthouse my camera died, but that evening Janell and I went over to visit my Grandma Kirkpatrick. We just sat and talked, looked at pictures, and talked about her thanksgiving plans. It is really hard to leave there because I never know when the next time will be.

The next day we had a yummy breakfast, and then the Salmon clan joined in the fun. We went in the spa, played pool, ping pong, miniature golf, shuffle board, and some mean connect four. Our unique thanksgiving dinner was at Panda Express (the only place in town open). We had a fun night playing games until it was time to put the kiddos to bed.

Finally, we ended our week with another yummy meal at the hotel restaurant, and a few bike rides along the harbor.

I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed not eating a thanksgiving feast, but I was totally satisfied this Sunday when we got together for our feast- delicious!

I feel so blessed to have so much wonderful family who loves me and my children. I also am so thankful for the gospel in my life that guides me in my life choices. I am thankful for all that I am blessed with, and I am grateful for the holidays that bring family together and remind us of what is truly important.

A Sad Farewell

Tonight as my in laws were leaving my house I was showing them my new lights and electrical outlets in the garage that I am so proud of (weird things that I get so excited about as a home owner). They decided to go and see Buddy, our pet hamster, really quick (he lives in the garage because of his stench). When they went over to see him he was curled up in the corner and definitely dead. When grandma said the words "I think he's dead." Bruin ran into the house obviously upset. After a little talk about heaven, and some hugs he was a little better. I asked him if we should bury Buddy, and he thought that was a good idea. So we dug a hole and buried him next to our house. I had each of the kids say their favorite thing about Buddy. Bruin's favorite thing was when Buddy played in his tent with him (I think that happened once). Capri's favorite was when Buddy went down his slide.
It was really hard for me because I have hated this pet all along, but I never realized how much the children actually liked him. His life was definitely cut short- probably because of my lack of interest, and because I made him live in the hot garage. So, farewell Buddy, I hope the kids are right and you are in heaven running on the grass and running on your giant hamster wheel with all of your friends.

Special Bruin and Mommy lunch

Since we have had fires here very close to our home (we could see the flames from our upstairs windows), Bruin has been home from school for the past two days. It has been nice to be able to spend some extra time with him that we haven't been getting enough of with our busy schedules. Today the kids and I met up with some friends at "Jumping Jacks" so they could get some energy out (being inside is difficult after a few days). Hudson even had fun there crawling and walking around- yes, my little Hudson is walking!!!

Next, we dropped off Capri at Tiny Tots and headed home to lay Hudson down for his nap. Kirk has been at court for the last two days, so it was just Bruin and I. I told him he could choose whatever he wanted for us to eat for lunch, and it would be our "special Bruin and Mommy lunch". He chose pancakes, eggs w/ cheese, and bacon. I let him help me do everything, and he loved it! He gave me so many hugs and smiles that it just made me melt. Here he is getting ready to eat his special lunch with mommy. ALL SMILES!!!

Bruin really is a special boy. He is a very sensitive- very different from most boys his age. He is also very intelligent. For example, last week as our family drove by our own condo he was trying to say how old all of us were when we lived there. He figured out that I was 23 when we lived there. Kirk asked him how he figured that out and he explained, "well, mommy had me when she was 21, and I was 2 when we lived there, so that means she was 23." He had a little smirk on his face when he was talking because he knew Kirk and I were impressed. Sometimes I have to ask him how old I am because his memory is much better than mine! He is also very well behaved, and I love him to death for that! He is a good example to his younger siblings, which makes life so much easier. I am so grateful that he was sent to our family.

Thank you Bruin for sharing this special lunch with me today. I love you so much!

A San Diego Visit to Remember

My Grandmother has been very ill and is currently restrained to her bed at home. She was in the hospital for the good part of a month, but decided that she would rather spend her last days in the comfort of her home. I took the kids down to visit with her last week. It was difficult seeing her like this, but I definately don't regret the trip. I feel so blessed to have the gospel in my life at times like this. I am grateful to have a testimony of heaven, and of the plan of salvation. I can't imagine the depth of pain I would feel being unsure of whether or not I would see my grandma again. Here is the best picture I got of her.


We stayed for the afternoon, and for lunch. Here is Hudson with his great grandpa.

I am amazed to see how much my grandfather loves my grandmother after all the years they have been together. He spends every waking moment making sure she is happy, comfortable, and has anything she may need. At night he is sleeping right there on the floor next to her hospital bed so that he is always available if she is in need. I hope that when Kirk and I have grown old together that our love can be as strong as theirs is, and that we will be there for eachother until the end of this life.

Enrichment night a success!!!

I am still all worked up over my enrichment night, so I thought I would blog about it. It's not been easy for me with my calling lately. I've had a very hectic schedule between, school, internship hours, cleaning kids, cleaning house, and planning enrichment. To say its been a struggle is a bit of an understatement..... but enough boo hooing. I want to announce that Enrichment was a success, and that all the planning meetings, phone calls, stress (breakouts to prove it), counseling with family members, and fervent praying were all worth it.

We had a wonderful speaker who spoke about service, and focused on Christ's Life of Service, followed by a dinner. Our activity was a oh so fun service auction with great items up for auction. I have a ward filled with talented and creative women. We auctioned off quilts, scrapbook pages, dinners, desserts, FHE lessons, babysitting, hours of present wrapping for Christmas, Family Research sessions, brow/lip wax, a painting, photography sessions, dance class, and more!!!! The women were hilarious to watch! I can't believe I forgot to take pictures! I was cracking up when there was a bidding war on the homemade cinnamon rolls and also on this "love handler" exercise machine that someone offered to lend out for 2 weeks and also offered to demo. I'm looking forward to hearing about some of the services that go on in the next couple months between our sisters. I hope this unites our ward, and makes us a stronger unit.

I am looking forward to my free night of babysitting and freshly baked bread on a Sunday afternoon . Those are the things that I won-and I'm oh so happy about that! Anyone who is looking for a fun enrichment night, this is the one!
A shout out to anyone who reads this and helped out with the evening. It was definitely a group effort. Unassigned people were helping set up, clean up, and even assist with cooking! I am surrounded by a wonderful group of women. I love the Relief Society, and feel so blessed to be a part of it. I also can't overlook the support from my husband. He is the one who enables me to seem like miss wonderwoman sometimes. When I got home tonight the kids were in bed, and the house was spottless! He spent all day with the children while I was out preparing enrichment and taking an exam for my wonderful Biology course. If you happen to read thing-thanks hunny!

Boo Boos and BOOS!!!

FIRST- THE BIG BOO BOO

It all began last week when Capri was testing out the pumpkin. She began by using it as a drum, then moved onto rolling it, and ended by taking a big kick at it. She nailed her big toe right on the button. I thought it was just a cracked toenail, so I paid little attention to it until 2 days later when it was beginning to swell, with redness all around, and not to mention Capri limping and hobbling all over the place. It was quite a hoot telling the various doctors and nurses that the culprit was a pumpkin! After a few visits to the doctor, a giant shot in the rear, 10 days of antibiotics, a cut into her skin to release pressure and possible puss from infection, many foot soaks, and a dismantling nail..... she is finally about 85% recovered.

This sad face persisted for about a week!

And this is the reason... YUCK!!!


Moral of the story... Kicking a pumpkin is not a good idea. Do not let this be your toe next Halloween.

Despite the toe incident Halloween was a success. Halloween came and went in a flash. I started the day off bringing Bruin and his fellow classmates to school. They all dressed up as rustlers (aka. cowboys), since that is their school mascot and is the only thing they are permitted to dress up as. Bruin's class had a full on breakfast and fun pumpkin decorating craft.



In the evening we went to our ward's trunk-or-treat where we kept Hudson corralled in his playpen, and he didn't seem to mind... Thank goodness!!! If you were wondering, yes that is the same pumpkin that Capri kicked. We never did get around to carving it.



The kids grabbed up a ton of candy and then posed for some shots. It was so nice to have Janell and Darin's family join us, as well as my Dad. Don't all the kids look adorable!!! Janell's kids were all along the Peter Pan theme- so cute! Why can't I be that creative?



We ended the night with a nice relaxing party at a friends house. We had some yummy food, and took the kids around to get more candy. Hudson sat in the stroller for the entire trip around the neighborhood. Capri's toe slowed her down a bit- just enough so that I could keep up. Halloween fun is over, and now I feel the year coming quickly to an end. With that comes many things including time with family, Hudson's 1st birthday, an end to the semester (hooray!!!), and many holiday memories.

Cruisin' with my Babe

We have returned from what I consider one of our top vacations ever as a couple. We cruised for 5 days down to Mexico, and it was just as good as I had imagined (which isn't easy because I am quite the dreamer). Some of my top memories are...

#1-Eating tons of good food, in the company of some great friends. My favorite dishes were the lobster, prime rib, and enchiladas. Favorite dessert, chocolate melting cake which I ordered 4 of the 5 nights. Maybe that explains the major break out problem I am having and not to mention the few extra pounds (totally worth it)!!!

#2-ATV riding on the beach in CABO San Lucus

(This reminds me of a wedding announcement, minus the cute hair and nice clothes)

Tiffany and I were placed in the front of the line, so this is our view looking back at Steve having a malfunctioning ATV for the 2nd time. We did join the boys in the back of the pack after this picture, which was much more fun!

#3-Making my husband enter the 2 on 2 volleyball tournament with me. We received a wonderful water bottle and waterproof carrier when we won the tournament. I have to admit the the competition was pretty bad, but we still had a good time and made a memory.

#4-Kirk, Steve, and Andrew entering the speed slide competition. Steve won the competition by 1 second. The guys debated afterward for quite a while whether or not the time was accurate, which was quite a serious matter.

#5- Having a little fun with the girls in the jewelry section. We put on almost every ring in that shop- we were wondering where the workers were.

#6-Playing lots of card games, and gambling with jellybellys. Here we are playing blackjack, but we of course had quite a few serious hands of uno and phase ten as well. Kirk and I taught a few of the group how to play Nertz, and I think we have a rematch with Steve and Tiffany coming up in the near future.






#7-Shopping in Ensenada. I loved watching Phil bartering with the people. He did help us get a great deal on a cute Mexican dress for Capri.


#8-Steve and Phil cheering on the dancers and getting beads thrown at them. We love your dance moves guys!


#9-Having a clean room and made bed! Our bed in rarely made in our home because of Kirk's work schedule, so it was extra nice having it made and not having to make it was just a bonus!



#10- Returning home to these guys (and Hudson) too. I was surprised at how much they had missed us while we were gone. Bruin was so giddy when Kirk and I picked him up for school, Capri had been crying for mommy all morning, and Hudson did what any 10 month old would do: he clapped his hands, smiled, then crawled away to find the next thing he could get into his hands and mouth before someone caught him.

Thanks to all our friends who made this trip so fun and memorable. I am looking forward to our next adventure. Also, a giant thanks to all my family who helped with the kids and took such great care of them!