Disneyland!

All of Trent's family and us went to Disneyland. It was the longest day at disneyland I think I have EVER done, but it was fun and I think we got our $$$ worth! (except for the 10$ sandwiches. What a rip off!) We were there when the park opened at 8am, and Melissa & I took the little kids home at 10pm but everyone else stayed until 12am! It was perfect weather, a little crowded, but fun!

Kami went on the Matterhorn for the first time. She didn't cry, but I don't think she liked it that much.

Melissa & Heather

Trent & I were able to meet up with 2 of my brothers and their families at downtown disney for a late dinner. (Lindsay is having a baby ANY day). It was good to see them, although brief, we love hanging out with them too! Robyn always gets the hookups - we had a private room!

At the end of the day, my two kiddos were WIPED!!!!

Really, who DOESN'T turn into a kid when they go to Disneyland? I sure do! Thundermountain Railroad is still my favorite ride!
The Bowcutt Family - all 7 of them - drove from Texas for the week. We miss them!

Eric & Sara were loving their suckers!!!

Tanner looks like he should be their kid, not ours!

This is Vanessa - only a few days younger than Tanner. She is such a cutie with those big brown eyes!

Loved the Xmas parade

Tanner loved the rides (the ones he could go on that is). He loves action!

This pic would have been so cute of Kami & Eric (who is Tanner's twin as a baby) except for this random lady in it. Too bad I am not good at photoshop. It's kindof funny though.

We love Disneyland!

Family, Fun, & Feasting

For Thanksgiving we headed to so-cal to spend the week with Trent's family. We had a great time and the cousins had a blast playing together. It was a little crazy with all of us in one house but we wouldn't have wanted it any other way! These are the little girls - Ashlee, Kami, Sara, & Katie. We were all SO surprised at what hams they were for the camera!They had so much fun together! One of Trent's mom's friends made these reversible jumper dresses for all the girls (including baby Vanessa - not in pic) with little Mickey Mouse emblem on the front. Aren't they the cutest? Of COURSE we had to make matching bows for the dresses, and a few more bows just because it is so fun!

Kami got into Ashlee's lip gloss more than once. You can't see it that great, but it was ALL over her face. She was so into the "girly" stuff, dress-up shoes, etc.

On one of the days there we played "tourist." Trent's sister Melissa took her family with us to see Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica. I had never been to any of those places so it was fun to see all of the stuff you always see on T.V.

Chinese Theater

Hollywood "walk of fame". I have to admit - I was totally into it!

Had to take pics of Beverly Hills & Rodeo Drive. Yes, I am embarrassed to say I was looking for a celebrity. Didn't see any.

It was a gorgeous day at the beach & the Santa Monica Pier.

Feeding the pigeons. I ran once they started flying and totally squealed. I wasn't afraid of the birds, I was afraid of them pooping on my head!

A trip to so-cal wouldn't be complete without a trip to In-N-Out. Yummy!!!

Oh, by the way - I totally chopped my hair and dyed it dark. I love it short and dark - so much easier to do but still can pull it in a pony (barely). I don't think I have EVER had hair this short!

Thanksgiving day was great! Michael did the turkey carving duty - doesn't he look cute in this apron? He was thrilled I was taking a pic of him in it, can't you tell?

The kid table minus the babies

The adult table. Homemade rolls, homemade cranberry sauce, divine stuffing, and green bean casserole - it was a feast!

Thanksgiving wouldn't be complete without a little football throwing. I love this pic - Michael and Jeffrey are telling Sara to get out of their game, while Adam and Eric are wrestling on the side and Kami is running, of course.

Like I said, Kami is a fast runner and I'm not just saying that because I am her mom. I sometimes have to sprint to catch her!

Daddy taught her how to catch a football. It was really cute.

First thing Thanksgiving morning some of us headed off to Dana Point for the "turkey trot". With 6000 participants it was more like a turkey shuffle!

Trent and I were going to do the 10K but since I wasn't sure my toe would hold up after running the half marathon a few days before we all ran the 5K (that and I didn't want to get up at 5am!). It was a gorgeous day and even though frustrating because we couldn't run it as fast as we wanted because of all the people it was still fun! I got 8th out of 207 in my age group and Trent got 53 out of 168 for his.

Okay, so Trent might get mad at me for posting this, but it's too funny to not write...so Trent REALLY wanted to beat me on the race, but he has not been running like I have (he has been biking more than running) because I was training for that marathon. So on the race the last mile I was right behind him, but he didn't know it. I ran behind him for a while and was debating whether or not to pass him or let him beat me. The competetive side of me got the best of me and when he started losing steam and I was able to actually run fast without running into hundreds of people, I passed him the last 1/2 mile. He was so mad! It was all in good fun, though. I told him it's okay - he would smoke me on any bike race!

It was funny this lady was recruiting kids for a talent agency, including Jeffrey, and she was talking to Jason like he was Jeffrey's dad so he totally went along with it and she was saying how much he looks like Jason (they aren't related except by marriage). It was hilarious! We were all trying not to laugh.

We took a sunday stroll with our family up through the hills of Trent's hometown. It was a gorgeous day - and made me MISS the great weather in Cali.
There is something about Trent going home that makes him turn into a teenager again. He decided to lead his nephews and niece in a foot race and a trek up a hill. As you can see he was totally into it...it was pretty funny!

It was great to hang out with family and have a vacation from the cold of Utah! Disney Pics to come soon!!!

The Race

We headed down to southern california for thanksgiving this year. It was the first time we had actually spent thanksgiving in so-cal since we have been married, and we certainly enjoyed the nice weather, family, and fun! On the way down we stopped near Las Vegas so I could do a half marathon. I was super nervous, but was fairly confident since I had trained well for it.

BUT I had not trained for hills, and this course was ENTIRELY HILLS!!!! It is probably a good thing I didn't know it was that type of a course beforehand, because I probably wouldn't have done it. After the fact I realized why it wasn't a popular race or a qualifying course - because it was such a difficult course! (If any of you have done this race I am impressed!!!) Minutes before the race we were talking to a marathoner (he ended up winning the race) and he said he had done lots of races before and this was going to be the toughest for him and his slowest time.

"Great," I thought. Too late to back out I guess.

So off I went - and the first mile was completely uphill! I knew I was trouble when I got to the top of the hill and saw nothing but steep hills for miles in front of me! But considering, I was feeling pretty good until about mile 8-9 when I started cramping up BAD in my calves. (And I NEVER cramp up) So I had to walk a bit and drink some sports drink, and was able to get back on track. Then around mile 11 I was DEAD. Totally hit the wall - big time - I was so not ready for those intense hills. But I saw a girl and guy in front of me and made it my goal to pass them by the end of the course. At mile 12 I didn't think I was going to pass them, but I kicked it into high gear and was able to pass the girl at least and finish 3rd in my age group.

It was the hardest athletic event I had ever done - probably because I was pushing myself pretty hard and wanting to get a decent time - but I have NEVER ran 13.2 miles all at once let alone 13.2 miles of hills! My quads were pretty dead for a couple of days, but the worse part was my 2 pinky toes were seriously damaged from the downhill trauma. I was going to take a picture of my toe but it's pretty gross - all blistered up and bruised and looking like my toenail is going to fall off. Nasty looking, trust me.

Anyway, it was a good experience for me and makes me want to run a non-hilly marathon now, to see what it is like. The scenery was GORGEOUS which helped to distract from the hills, and it was perfect weather. Was it fun? Sort of - in a painful but accomplishing sort of way. I love to run, don't get me wrong, but would I do that course again?

Probably not.

Kami along one of the trails.

Kami came up to Tanner at the visitor's center and gave him a kiss. Love those kodak moments.

Trent was able to mountain bike on one of the trails in the park and had a blast.

Kami & I before the race.

Me on the home stretch.

Trying to hide the pain right after the race.

The supportive hubby and the tired runner after the race.

Trent gave the kids bagels to keep them occupied during the race. They obviously were enjoying the goodies.

Big sister pushing little brother in the stroller. Today I caught her somehow convincing Tanner to push HER in the stroller in the house. It was too funny!

At the hotel Tanner would grab a tissue, hand it to Kami, and she would "wipe" his nose, and throw it down. They did this for probably a hundred tissues before they realized we were watching them and cracking up. It is pretty cute what little friends they are becoming!

Stay tuned for more thanksgiving pics!

Grandpa Turns 80

A couple of weeks ago Grandpa Christensen turned 80! Trent's dad came out for the week to celebrate and spend time with family. It was fun having him here and him & Trent had a great time together!We took Grandma & Grandpa out to dinner. Isn't this the cutest pic of them? I hope my hubby is this affectionate towards me after 50+ years of marriage! (no pressure babe)

Trent & his dad. Check out the size of that meatball!

Singing Happy Birthday to Grandpa. Kami thought it was for her, of course.

Like I said, Trent and his dad had a great time together. They decided to ride to the gym and back, which is no small feat, but on the return trip they got caught in a major downpour & hailstorm! This pic of their return home says it all....
Trent's cousin who is barely 16 wears a size 13 shoe. Tanner has big shoes to fill...

We had a good time with family and are glad we have such supportive & loving family in our lives.

Halloween Activities

The week before Halloween was filled with lots of activities, of course, and Kami was obsessed with her costume. I made the mistake of letting her try it on and she threw a tantrum whenever I made her take it off. Lesson learned. Above was from the ward "trunk-or-treat" which was super speedy when it came to the trunk-or-treating because it was FREEZING that night! It was fun and neat to see all the kids dressed up!

One day, Kami thought she was so funny when she called over to me and said, "mommy, look!" She had put her minnie ears on her little brother, who didn't seem to mind. What a trooper!
We had a little carnival at our gym, which included riding horses, her favorite. And petting animals, NOT my favorite. I really don't like reptiles. They had this huge snake there - and I took a pic of it but it grosses me out so I refuse to post it.

Trent had a blast taking her on the jump house obstacle course & slide. I think he had more fun than she did!

See what I mean?

Trent explaining to her how to get to the next objective.

Nice catch babe....

She wanted THIS pumpkin...

And we had a Halloween playgroup with decorating (and as you can see, EATING sugar cookies)

I had to post this pic - because Kami & Tanner's expressions are so funny. I think Isaac was a little excited for the picture...

The only pic I have of the two kids together in their costumes.

Miss Minnie Mouse herself.

Halloween is so much fun with kiddos around!

Kami's Activities

Kami is my fun-loving, headstrong & energetic two year old! It's a challenge to keep her stimulated with different activities. She gets bored easily so more often than not I neglect the house cleaning to go out or read books or just play. But I figure the house cleaning will always be there, but my two-year old is only two once!

She is doing pretty good with being a "big girl" and being potty trained. She still has accidents now and then, but not bad considering she's not even 2 1/2 yet.I went with a few friends with toddlers to Wheeler Farm. They had fun picking out pumpkins, playing on the tractors, looking at animals, and just running around enjoying the beautiful fall weather. I think it was the last semi-warm fall day - it was gorgeous! (I don't know how Kami was let on the tractor seat by these two boys - her best buddies Andrew & Isaac)

They had this little maze for the little kids out of hay bales. They actually figured out how to get out a lot quicker than I thought they would!

Kami is such a mooch. Isaac's mom and I asked them to put their arms around each other and Kami does a hand sneak for one of Isaac's snacks!

She was determined to have THIS pumpkin. There were bigger pumpkins, but she saw this one and that was it! She is very protective of her pumpkin - and won't let Tanner near it.

Kami & Isaac running through the pumpkin patch

Kami has NO FEAR when it comes to animals. She LOVES to ride horses, and does not need my help at all. I was so NOT like that as a kid.

Isaac, Kami, Mia, & Andrew on the wagon. For some reason Kami thought we were saying a prayer or something. Speaking of prayers, she's doing so good at saying her prayers, and knows several primary songs after me singing them with her just a few times. She has a great memory, unlike her mom.

I know this a random pic, but this was the last of the swimsuits this summer. For one day it was in the 80's so I busted out the frog pool and let the kids enjoy the warm weather & play with the water. This is the one pic I think I have that Kami is actually SHARING with Tanner. She is getting better and being a good helper and being nicer to him instead of constantly taking toys away from him.
My friend Katie came up with her son Ryan and we went to Ikea and as we were heading out Kami grabbed his hand and said, "c'mon Ryan". It was a kodak moment.
Kami is my blueberry girl! She LOVES blueberries! She would eat them for every meal if I let her, that and yogurt. I went to check on how she was doing with her cup of blueberries and saw some serious blue teeth!


We went down to BYU last month when my two brothers were in town for a BYU football game. We went to a tailgate and Kami had her FIRST ice cream cone - all by herself! Nothing but the good stuff - BYU Creamery ice-cream!
I am trying to survive life with a two year old! She is such a joy, but such a challenge at the same time. She is very smart and remembers places, names, and things after me just telling her once! she can count to 10, is starting to color in the lines and still loves to read books & knows many letters. I think we are going to start her in a pre-school next semester because she needs more than just ME I think for stimulation.

The Chickens

Yes, we have chickens! Trent ordered these baby chicks who are only a week or two old online (what CAN'T you buy online?) and they arrived last week. I have to admit I wasn't thrilled about the idea, but they are pretty cute (right now, at least) and we don't have to do much for them right now. Already they are growing and Kami is totally LOVING them! She asks about 10 times a day to see the chickens in the garage, where they are incubating under a heat lamp. She actually is pretty good with them.


So we shall see how long this chicken raising thing lasts. Soon we will have to get them a bigger coup to live in for the rest of the winter, then in the spring they will move outside because they will be old enough and start laying eggs! We are totally rookies at this, so if anyone has any advice, let us know! Trent calls this part of our "self-reliance". If we were allowed to have a cow, he would probably want to get one of those too!

My Blue Eyed Boy at 10 months

I have so many pictures from the past month - I don't even know where to begin! Somehow blogging has been put on the back burner, but know that since I'm not a super "scrapper" (anybody seen "New In Town"? Don't - it was so boring I fell asleep) this is the best I can do these days to keeping a journal/scrapbook. So, I will be busting out the blog posts - I know you are all so excited!

My little boy is 10 months old and is getting cuter every day. He is so so HAPPY and easygoing, but growing up too fast! He no longer wants to cuddle much with me, which is sad, so I kiss him all the time and he knows how to give mommy kisses now. He gets SO excited when either me or Trent come home - and does his super turbo crawl to the door to greet us. He waves hi/bye with both hands - adorable! I gave him his first official "haircut" the other day i.e. the clippers to the back (so much easier than girls - I want more boys because they are easier to maintain!), but didn't have the heart to chop off the top of his blonde locks quite yet....

He drags his blanky with him everywhere - and shoves it in his face like this...

Nasty pic of me, but cute of him right before I put him to bed. I decided I didn't have enough pics of me with him so I did an awesome self-portrait...

He LOVES food (as you can see) - and insists on eating whatever we eat - especially what his sister is eating! It is really quite funny - he will follow her around and whine/cry until she shares with him. It's the only time he gets insistent on anything is if he wants to EAT!!! He wiggles out of his high chair though - no matter how tight I do it - he finds a way to stand up and scares me all the time! It's kind of a problem right now, I'll have to figure out someway to keep him seated! This first pic was him at 9 months, and the next is at 10 months. You can see he is starting to put on a little meat - because he has a healthy little appetite!

He is also accident prone. It doesn't help his sister is kissing him one minute and chucking toys at him the next, but one week he split his lip open not once, not twice, but three times! The poor kid couldn't even take a bottle his mouth was so sore and he had a fat lip. Notice the nice little outline of blood from sucking on his binky after he hurt his lip....

The boy LOVES the bath! I have gotten to the point where I can hardly take a shower without him trying (and sometimes succeeding) at climbing in the bath! He gets mad if he's not involved in the fun - but it's great he's at the point they are starting to have fun together, especially in the bath....

Could these two munchkins have more opposite coloring?

I could leave them in for hours and they would be perfectly happy (don't worry - I don't)

He is also the FASTEST crawler - so I think he won't be walking for a while because he can get around so incredibly fast on all fours! He can take off in an instant, be up the stairs, or into trouble faster than it takes me to take a quick potty break! He goes to the bottom of the stairs, starts to climb up and looks at me waiting for me to chase him. It is funny - it's totally a game for him - he giggles and tries to climb up the stairs as fast as he can before I catch him. I need to get it on video one of these days.

More updates to follow shortly!

I'm Done

With b-feeding my baby, that is.

So yes, it's past midnight right now as I type, but what am I doing? I am PUMPING after working a short shift at the hospital tonight - which is supposed to end at 11:30pm but inevitably ends much later than that - and I leave STILL feeling like I need to tie up loose ends. Anyway, so I come home ready to hit the sack, when I realize I really HAVE to pump - so I don't wake up in the middle of the night dying of pain from "the girls".

Okay, so let me take you back a month or so ago when I went on my fun weekend with my fun friends from high school. I "pumped" the whole time to be a good mom and keep nursing my baby until he is a year old.

What I didn't know was that I would have one (stop reading if you don't like hearing girly female stuff details) cracked, bleeding, PAINFUL nipple from the pumping trauma. I kept putting stuff on it to make it heal, tried just pumping, tried just nursing. Nope - each time I nurse it hurts - bad - and yes, still sometimes bleeds.

To make matters worse, my baby will NOT focus and nurse unless it's first thing in the morning or last thing at night - so I have ended up pumping during the day.

Can you tell I was DETERMINED????? I wanted to be one of those moms that nurses their baby for a YEAR!!! No matter what I had to go through, I would do it! (With Kami I lasted about 9 months, but lost my milk & she wasn't growing, so I had to stop)Even if it meant cringing every time he latched on that cracked, bleeding side and I wanted to scream in pain. Even if it meant pumping during the day.

Last night was the LAST straw.

He has not been sleeping the best at night - waking up a lot - I don't really know why - but he has. And the only thing most of the time that gets him back to bed QUICK is a little mommy nursing time. But last night I think he was having a belly ache or something, and wouldn't settle down. He didn't want a bottle, or to be cuddled, so I try b-feeding him and he just screams! It was kind of dark so I couldn't see what was going on - but I look down and see blood coming out of his mouth - so I get a tissue thinking he hurt his mouth or something.

Oh no, that blood was MINE!

So, that was it. I am DONE!!! Over a month of this painful, cracked/bleeding thing, pumping during the day, not nursing good thing has overtaken my desire to be one of "those" moms that checks it off her list of doing in her life - nursing my baby for a year.

Anyway, can you tell I feel kind of guilty about it?

Well, I'm sure he'll survive (I do have like a month of frozen milk in the freezer), and I'm sure I'll get over the guilt once I no longer have to PUMP!!!! I mean, he is turning one in december, so that's close enough.

So here is to having no more blood coming out of my baby's mouth!

(It's kind of liberating to be perfectly honest)

p.s. I promise I will post some fun pics of the fall festivities SOON! (that stuff is way more interesting anyway)

How Pathetic!

This morning as I was getting the kids dressed & fed before we were to head out the door, I got a knock on my door from a neighbor. This neighbor NEVER comes by my house, so I knew something was up. She told me her car was dead because she had accidentally left a light on in the car overnight. She had to pick up her daughter from pre-school and her husband was at work.

So I thought to myself, "No Problem - I can fix this problem in a jiffy!" So I told her I'd be at her house in a minute after I called my friend I was to meet for a playdate and told her I would be a "few minutes" late. Hah! If I only knew....

First off - I didn't know how to OPEN my hood of my car! Yep - so pathetic - I had to call Trent and ask him how to open my car's hood - the car I drive daily! After several minutes of my neighbor and I trying to figure it out, and me calling my husband in frustration, I FINALLY figured out how to open the hood. Obstacle one, check!

Turns out my neighbor had never popped her hood either, so as she was busting out the user's manual of her car she's had for years, I found the hood button and we were in business. Obstacle two, check!

Next, jumper cables. Hmmm, time to call the hubby again. My neighbor had the cables, but I had never jumped a car (that I can recall) and neither had she, so after Trent talked me through it, I see my friend who I was supposed to meet up with THIRTY minutes earlier show up! She acted like an old pro - and confirmed our position of the cables. Obstacle three, check!

As I turned my car on, and my friend turned on our neighbor's car - NOTHING! We tried several times to start her car, but her battery was obviously TOTALLY dead! "What a bummer," I thought. Especially after ALL that effort! I revved the car, re-positioned the cables, but to no avail. Obstacle four, no check!

So as we were about to give in the towel, I had a thought to try myself at turning on my neighbor's car. So my friend turned on my car as I got in my neighbor's car and turned the key. Instantly the car turned on! Success!!!

My friend had forgotten to put her foot on the brake while trying to turn on the car - a minor detail that prevented the car from turning over. Oops.

Anyway, I was thinking about this tonight and realizing how pathetic us three women were, myself especially, in accomplishing such a minor "manly" task. Goes to show how much we rely on our men, huh?