california adventure baby-

True to our character and current lifestyle we decided last Wednesday night to take a quick trip to CA. Brent was able to take a couple of days off (work was more manageable for the first time in a few years) so we got on the computer at 10 pm and found a hotel in CA. We packed like crazy and loaded the girls in the car at 430 am Thursday morning and took off. Brent is taking after his dad insisting that it is easier to drive when girls are asleep...the only problem was Taryn and Jocelyn were too excited to go back to sleep...at least they were happy and not unpleasant. With about an hour left to drive Cami busted out with our first family "Are we there yet?" and Brent and I just busted up....just the way she asked in a nice polite but ready to be done with the car voice was sooo funny.

So we got to CA with plenty of time to hit the beach on Thursday. The girls had watched a Barbie surfing movie and had been talking about being mermaids and surfing and finding magic seashells for a couple of weeks so we thought they would really like this. Well it was about half the temperature there (68 vs like 105) so we opened the car doors and Cami said "wow it's kind of freezing here!" BUT we did persevered. The girls enjoyed getting buried and making mermaid tails looking for sea shells and watching the train rumble by. They were a little afraid of the water and that was ok with me-the waves were huge and it was a surfer only day. Jocelyn enjoyed eating tons of sand and rolling all over in it. It was a really fun afternoon and I didn't have to clean any sand out of the shower and only felt a little sorry for the hotel staff.

The next morning we went to Lego land...I thought it was just a big park with a lot of legos to play with...not so. WE LOVED LEGO LAND!!! The rides were perfect for the ages of our kids and it wasn't crowded (no time wasted in long lines). Both Cami and Taryn rode roller coasters for the first time. Brent didn't think they would at first. Then I told him to be a little sneaky and not tell them what kind of ride it was and see if they liked it. At first they were terrified and then when they got off Cami wanted to ride again and again.

One funny thing that happened was at the end of the day we walked through a new water exhibit with tanks of different fish. In the first one there was a big puffer fish like on The Little Mermaid. Taryn walked up to it completely serious and yelled "HEY puff puff! Can you do me a favor? Go find Aerial for me!" and then she waited....

Also at the end of the day we walked past a flamingo enclosure and Taryn said "oh no mom, don't get close!" I asked why and she said "They're FLAMingos...they will shoot flames out their mouths and burn us!" and she quickly ran away...

Jocelyn was a champ and took a nice long nap in the stroller and just enjoyed the crowds with her usual happy go lucky disposition. And the best part was I don't think I heard any whining the whole day even though everyone got to bed hours later than normal.

Saturday we told the kids they could choose what they wanted to do (beach again, zoo, wild animal park, Disney land, sea world, etc)...they choose Sea World. Cami is such a good sister. She really wanted to go to Disneyland but she knew Taryn wouldn't be tall enough for a lot of the rides and she said "Mom let's go to Sea World because I want Taryn to have fun too." I love her good little heart. She truly unselfishly wants her sisters to be happy.

Sea World was insanely crowded. The shows were good and much different than we saw there 2 years ago (no people in the water with the animals). They added birds to the dolphin show and Taryn danced around like a bird for the rest of the day. She begged and begged to be in the splash zone at every show while Cami begged and begged to not be in the splash zone. Towards the end of the day Taryn got her dream come true and got soaked at the fire show while the rest of us stayed a safe distance back (there weren't a lot of people so she could go sit down a couple of rows and we were able to see/talk to her still). Again Jocelyn handled the day phenomenally and we all had a good time.

Sunday we left again at 4 am (just for the record I REALLY don't want to make a habit of this and Brent REALLY does....) and got home in time to take good Sunday afternoon naps. Anyway it was really fun to hang out with Brent 24x7 and watch the girls have so much exciting fun.

I have the best family ever.

So I had issues getting pictures on here for some reason so they aren't too organized or centered or whatever...sorry.

Lego land

The first roller coaster...they don't know what's coming...

Jocelyn snoozing away...good girl!

The entrance

Jocelyn well rested post nap...

I said go pose by those pretty flowers and I'll take your picture...this is how they posed...

Don't eat me...
oh no I've been eaten...
Daddy taking one for the team and riding on the water ride with the girls...

Doesn't she look like a rodeo queen or something?

Its all about speed for Taryn

Getting back to the hotel REALLY late (around 11 pm)

The Beach (San Clemente)

Mermaid tails...they are hard to see.

Working on sand castles..

Hmmm... I like this sand stuff...

Nope, nope I don't....It doesn't taste as good as I was hoping.....

Sea World

Taryn pretending to be a bird after the dolphin show...

Cami was very impressed with the pet show...they have been begging for a cat...not gonna happen.

We walked in the gate and saw cotton candy...they were so excited they couldn't wait! Glad to see my girls are really my girls.

Love those baby teeth...incidentally Jocelyn did get a new tooth one of the nights we were there and another one last week so her grand total is 5 chompers....

Prayer time

We had a little chat about how to say prayers tonight...this is what followed.

Taryn
Dear Heavenly Father, please help me to be good. Please help baby Faye not to bite mommy's boobies when she eats... especially because she has teeth now. Amen

Party in the USA

Time and Date: All day baby, 4th of July 2010
Destination: Ton-o-patriotic fun
Itinerary: Treasure Hunt Breakfast
Park Festival
Grandma House for swimming/slip 'n slide fun
BBQ with family and friends
Fire works



I love this family tradition of the annual treasure hunt breakfast and my kids do to. Each year we come up with clues that end up with a doughnut breakfast. This year Rebekah (my sister) came up with the idea of using song lyrics in the clue and having the kids bust out the song before they are allowed to move on. We of course used patriotic songs and I was honestly amazed at how well all the kids new the words. This is most of the kids cheering in anticipation of the hunt.

The first clue.

Another clue.Jocelyn hunting for hair to match her red white and blue bows....She is soooooo CUTE and LOVABLE!!!

At the park around the corner from my mom the community puts on a big festival every year. Every year we go and get stinkin' hot and heat strokey....BUT the girls have a blast for a couple hours.

Taryn waiting ever so patiently and girlish for Cami...tried to convince her to wear her red dress but apparently that wasn't special enough for the holiday and we had to go with pink...

Cami gone dare devil...not really but she actually wanted to ride rides and have fun even despite the noise this year so we are all happy for her. I must say she watched the fireworks excitedly this year and I feel like she is getting braver and bolder and enjoys life a little more than she used to. I love her good heart.

I let the girls do the ginormous slip n slide this year even in their clothes. Taryn was very lady like about it in her dress. She kept it down the whole time. Way to go buddy! Girly and player at the same time!

We spared Jocelyn the heat at the park and this is what I found when we got back to my mom's house. Looks like Jocelyn didn't really miss out on the spoiling after all...Neither did daddy. I love this cuddley kiddo!

My sister brought this really cool blow up water slide and we set it up in the shade and went crazy for several hours.

Jocelyn got to taste her first otter pop and promptly barfed it all back up...It was green and her clothes all ended up nice and emerald....This is the after shot...She doesn't look to upset about the barf...just victorious about the otter pop.

I love this kid. She has such a happy little firecracker spirit...She is very much like the 4th herself-sparkles and noise and fun and definitely something unique in all the world.

Cami decided to try her hand at surfing and got up... just prior to popping the slider thing for the slip n slide...oh well. it was fun. and just look at her face-how could I not be happy for her surfing success?

Taryn and Cousin Anna warming up in the sun...it didn't take long. They are such kindred little spirits. They really enjoyed their time together.

Brent's theme from the day was taking a lot of naps with Jocelyn...sometimes she was asleep and sometimes not. This is how we watched the fireworks-with friends and family on grandma's lawn.

Thanks to Uncle Mark the kids got a pre show show...Good times.

Swimming lessons

So after last summers bad teacher experience and kids not learning squat at swimming lessons I opted for a different approach. I found a lady who teaches in her backyard. She had small class sizes, a teenager helping her, and she does the water certification classes for the scouts so I figured we'd give her a try. WOW! What a difference a year and a new teacher makes. She is a very "firm" lady who is not for the those without a stout heart; however, she wasn't unkind at all and my kids learned A TON! We took from her all of June and we will in August again. Taryn totally bonded with Keith and Kennedy (her helpers). She wants to have them over for play dates. It was a good experience this time. The only down side was the pool was stinkin' cold the whole time...which is usually great since this is St George but summer was slow getting here and I was pretty sure my little no insulation girls were having hypothermia. Anyway it was all good by the end of June.

Taryn in the back float death grip...actually it looked like holding someone in c-spine for those of you familiar with that. But they did learn to float better this way.

Taryn advancing past the death grip back float.

Taryn actually swimming (for reals) across the pool under water.

Cami being brave enough to swim across the pool too.

Cami working on keeping her head between her arms. This is totally a way more effective way to swim/teach kids to swim.

This is what Jocelyn and I did during the lessons. She is such a happy go lucky kiddo...and yes she is very fair and sunburns at the drop of a hat....

Sleeping Beauties

The other day while looking at pictures I noticed that when my kids are babies I take a lot of pictures of them sleeping. I just love a sleeping baby all peaceful and innocent and secure and quiet. I wonder what they dream about and I just feel really happy that they can have such a peaceful childhood without worries. Then I noticed once they graduate from the crib I hardly even have any pictures of them asleep and they still are so beautiful and pure and innocent. SO I decided to go right in and take pictures of them and this is what I found.

Isn't life good?

Father's day weekend

Why have fathers day for one day when you can make a weekend out of it. That was our thinking anyway. Brent was able to take Friday off and we headed to Heber so we could spend the weekend with the Weight family. The kids had tons of fun with water fights, swing sets, the customary train restaurant dinner, lots of scoobie doo movies, penny rockets, and flying dad's new remote controlled air plane. I hope Brent did have a great father's day weekend-he deserved every minute of it! Here's some highlights.

Although this picture is hard to make out this is every cousin who was at Grandma/Papas for the weekend ganging up on Brent to soak him. Don't worry-he really asked for it and loved every minute of it. This is the second summer of the Brent vs everyone water fight and I think it has become a tradition...

This is the engineering table for the penny rockets. You roll up paper and load the tip with pennies. There were some great variations and it was fun to see the creativity (tail fins, spinning tips, cone tips) that people came up with. Papa even got into it. It was also fun to watch a few of them explode in mid air (if the tape doesn't hold or seal off the end).

Brent manning the air compressor used to fire the rockets and watching them fly. Good thing papa has a lot of open space around his house...

Its too hot!

The other day I was trying to get the girls to take their own shower...without me. I turned the water on got out all the shampoo and stuff then told them to have at it. Cami was not really excited about the idea. I sat on the couch to feed Jocelyn and this is what I heard...

Cami whining over the hot water "Its too hot!"

Taryn "No Cam it feels good!"

More whining and in a very insulting tone "You're just like MOM TARYN!!!" (meaning to totally insult Taryn)

It is true though. Taryn has my extreme heat tolerance and Cami (like Brent) likes things a little on the cool side.

What did you say?

Taryn's latest funnies:

"Mom Guess what?"

"What?"

"I so so so ungry I eating my boogers...."

"Mommy I wish I was the oldest one so I could be the bossy one"

Taryn busts in running to me like there is something wrong..."Mommy! OH NO!!! My legs feel like they need to turn into fins"...(humming something nondiscript and spinning around the kitchen) THEN "Ah ah ah...(mermaid Ariel's theme song with arms outstretched and body spinning)

Taryn discovered "night dresses"....and was devastate she didn't have one. She loves wearing dresses every second of every day but I had never in a million years thought about getting her a night gown. I am all about comfort NOT princess when it comes to clothes. Brent picked her up from her buddies house and she started crying. He asked her why and she told him Caroline gets to wear dresses to bed why don't I? He took her on a special date that week to buy her a "night dress." She has worn it pretty much EVERY night since.

She is getting a lot easier to understand and it kind of makes me sad. I want to understand her and communicate with her without so much effort but I really have loved her high pitched funny baby voice. The way she says things....I am in love with it and it is sad/good to see it go. She finished preschool and will totally miss Miss Megan and her friends over the summer. She is doing better with letters and sounds and has incredibly neat handwriting....I am glad she missed the school deadline and has one more year to get ready for kindergarten...one more year for me to enjoy her before she is gone for half the day.....

Not sure what this picture was for now but isn't she cute?

May 12 Jocelyn popped out her first tooth...tooth number two arrived a couple weeks later...She looks so cute with two little teeth nubs sticking out of her big smile. She also sits really good now and screams really good now too-not in anger-mostly just to hear her own voice I think...usually it is kind of funny but not so much today during the middle of a prayer at Church with no warning or provocation...She loves to drink water from a cup and does a great job. She also does a great job spilling water in a cup as she grabs for it to drink herself...She loves sweet potatoes and yogurt and tolerates other food. She will be eating stuff (peas for example) that she thinks is nasty and making faces but if we are smiling and telling her "yummy oh that's good!" she eventually stops the gagging and grimaces and eats it. She is still really bald but has enough hair for a faux hawk.....if her hair is slicked with baby lotion. Oh we love this girl and have so much fun with her.

If you look closely you can see one of her new teeth nubbins'

Cami finished Kindergarten with a bang. At the end of the year testing she tested to a 4th grade reading level with 99% accuracy and comprehension (her teacher ran out of time to finish testing her) and her favorite thing to say is "I love to read. I'm a good little reader." She will follow me around the house reading rainbow magic fairy books while I clean. A few months ago I walked in and she was reading Taryn the secret garden...She also really likes Cam Jansen books...She was one of just two kids in her class to win a Radiant Roadrunner award at the end of the school year. (She turned in all her homework and reading lists and a bunch of other stuff.) She will really miss her fantastic teacher Mrs. Bruschke. She can get Jocelyn laughing harder and faster than anyone else and she is a VERY good big sister. I love her good heart.

The family at Cami's award night...

Cami by her super citizen award in the lobby at school, wearing her radiant roadrunner award...

Cami and Mrs Bruschke on her last day of kindergarten...big smiles for kind of a sad day...must have been the ice cream Sundays that cheered everyone up.

Both older girls are in swimming lessons and Cami has been doing "Safety Town." She showed me how to stop drop and roll the other day. Last night was their last dance recital and Cami got all the moves down and Taryn loved every minute of it...Other than that they are hoping to go camping a lot and play with cousins a lot...

Brent is busy with work as always and these have been really stressful days (more than usual) BUT the good news is his machine is working great and they are filling orders. He just got back from youth conference and survived camping with lots of teenagers for three days. He has scout camp in a few weeks and lots of stuff in between. I am thankful he is a hard worker.

6 months old BABY!!!

I can't believe that my baby is cruising right through her babyhood. Time is really flying and that definitely means we are having fun. Jocelyn hit her 6 moth milestone last week and celebrated by getting her shots. She weighed 14 pounds 2 ounces and was 26 inches long. Yes she is SERIOUSLY chunky and I love every big old roll. Speaking of rolls she can roll over but doesn't really like to. She is learning to sit pretty good but still has great wipe outs. Her favorite toy is her johnny jumper-she really has the jumping spirit. BUT she is also really fond of her exersaucer, particularly the piano part. She readily laughs at any crazy thing Cami and Taryn do and is really very patient with all the lovin' she gets from them. She is still a cuddler and I love that. She recently started eating "real" meals. She LOVES prunes, tolerates carrots and rice cereal, and LOVES water out of a cup. Everyday she is growing and learning and changing and it is so much fun to have her in our family. We love love love her!

She gives the best suck on your face kisses ever!

Before her first "real" meal.During her first "real" meal. She was grabbing and helping shovel as fast as she could. After her first "real" meal she was still pounding for more.

She was not sure what hit her-talk about flavor assault. Despite the look prunes are this girls best friend.

Jumping for joy!
Working on the sitting.
Snuggling with her bear friend for a long afternoon nap.