The Bells

this n that

2010-11-30T20:17:00.000-08:00

Here are some happenings around our house (in no particular order)....

Seth had a little accident. He was chasing the neighbor girls around their yard, and ran right into a tree! Poor guy! He really got banged up. He also insisted on having a bandaid for each wound. (I particularly like the 'stache bandaid!)

We had a "pink" birthday party for Mia (can you tell?). She loved it! We decorated cupcakes, got dressed up, painted our fingernails, and played games. What more could 4 year old girls want?

Halloween...
getting ready to go trick or treating.

With cousin Bethany at Grandma's annual Halloween party.

Carving pumpkins

This little guy is now all over the place....I can hardly keep up with him.

Mia on her first day of preschool.

Angie, Seth and I after hiking the Y. Scott likes to hike the Y every year on the day of the first game.

Family hike up Big Cottonwood Canyon. The leaves were amazing. The pictures never quite do the colors justice.

Seth's first soccer season!

At Gardner Village with great friends!

Seth all geared up to cheer the cougars on to victory.

That is what has been going on in our lives over the last little while.

California Pictures

2010-06-08T13:28:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has taken me so long to post these pictures. They are in no specific order. Maybe I'll organize them when I get a moment later...until then, here they are!

A little family time

2010-04-30T21:20:00.000-07:00

Well, I thought I would post a few happenings in our lives lately.

First of all, we moved! We moved from a ward and dear friends that we have grown to LOVE. We miss them all dearly. They have truly touched our lives and made us want to be better people. I feel so blessed to have crossed paths with them. I know that is where we needed to be to first experience parenthood. We had such great examples to learn from and observe.

We look forward to meeting new people and developing new friendships in our new home. It is fun and exciting for our little family to have a new 'beginning' in our lives. We have already met so many kind people. It has truly made me appreciate people going out of their way to come over and introduce themselves. I know that it is often not easy to approach someone new and introduce yourself, but I have realized how unselfish and kind it is.

Well, we are currently on a family vacation in California. It has been WONDERFUL! It has been priceless to have time together as a family. Life has been so busy and chaotic with the move, I feel we have really missed out on quality time together. We have played and laughed and truly savored this time together. We have visited two different beaches, Disneyland, and Sea World. I will remember:

Seth LOVING the beach. His favorite thing was to collect all the seaweed that washed up on shore. He even had to bring two slimy pieces back to our condo with us. Gross! He is a boy, what do you expect?

Mia screaming through the entire mini rollercoaster in ToonTown. After she told me "screaming just means you really like it, mom!" Well, she sure fooled me!

Seth riding Star Tours as many times as he possibly could. He was also picked to be trained at the Jedi Training Camp. He had a grin from ear to ear as he stood up there and received his jedi robe. He was able to have a lightsaber fight with Darth Vader...honestly, a dream come true.

Grady taking his first solo steps in the condo from the coffee table to the couch!!!

Mia saying, "Really, Grad, really????" as he climbed all over her at the beach.

Mia saying "Brrrrd! Brrrrrd!" when she was cold at the beach.

Grad taking advantage of every moment out of the stroller to crawl around and find garbage with his little pinchers.

Those are just a few of our fun moments that I don't want to forget. Despite all the commercialism and possibly some overstimulation in Disney-mania (it is CRAZY!), it has been a great trip. It has just made me remember how truly precious this time is with the kids. Often I let SO many things getting in the way of just stopping and enjoying these precious little souls that I have the opportunity to love. I often wish that the kids were old enough to do this or that. But right now, I just want time to stop so I can cuddle them and nuzzle them while they will still let me.

A Birthday Party It Was

2010-02-06T20:15:00.000-08:00

Here is the Star Wars Birthday Gang! We had a Star Wars birthday party for Seth today. It was great. The kids came all dressed up and had a great time. The weather even cooperated with us. We started out with a Jedi Training Camp in the backyard. They ran through the obstacle course several times. Then we came inside for Galactic Pizza and Yoda Sodas. We played some more games before presents. The big finale was 'Destroying the Death Star' pinata. I think the kids all had a good time. And we had one happy Jedi (see below!).

Since I haven't posted in FOREVER I decided to add some fun pictures I found today. Here is Mia's "excited" face. She does several faces...but I think this is my favorite. She is such a little ham!

Here is Grady enjoying his solids!

This boy LOVES the bathtub. It is so fun to watch him splashing all over!

This is when you know your kids got a hold of the camera!

Back to School

2009-09-20T17:06:00.000-07:00

I love this picture of Seth and Mia in the backyard. They love their little table....and they are both hamming it up!!!

So, this is Seth's first day of preschool....broken arm and all. Story: He was playing outside on the monkey bars and fell down. I happened to run in the house to get Grady at the precise moment of the fall. He came in the house crying. I looked down at his arm and it was obviously broken (I won't go into the gory details). I told him that we needed to go to the hospital so they could fix his arm. He wailed even louder and said, "But mom, I don't want them to cut off my arm!" Oh...I almost started to cry as I quickly reassured him that they wouldn't cut off his arm. So, like a good mom, I remained calm as I loaded all the kids in the car and headed to the hospital. (It just so happened that this is the very weekend Scott was in Dallas for his annual guy trip to a BYU Game.) I pulled up to St. Mark's Emergency Room and ran inside to see if I should stay there or go to Primary's. They assured me that I could bring him in. So, I carried Seth in and laid him down in the waiting room. Then ran out to get Mia and Grady and brought them in also. Then ran back outside to park the car. PHEW!

Well, after all the commotion, poor little Seth was all tuckered out to the point that he was almost non-responsive. The doctor started getting extremely worried that he may have hit his head and have potential bleeding in his brain. They ordered a CT Scan. At this point they informed me that they were transferring him to Primary's either by life flight or by ambulance depending on the results of the CT Scan. I started to get a little nervous, because I still had the other two kids that I wouldn't be able to bring along. It also just so happened that Scott's parents and my parents were also out of town and I had a new cell phone that had NONE of my numbers in it! So I started calling anyone whose numbers I could remember. No answers. I called my dad and he gave me the phone number of my sisters' in-laws. I called them and as soon as Starr answered the phone, I broke down and started to cry (a not so good mom moment). I explained the situation and she said they would be right there to get Mia and Grady.

After that, everything turned out great. The CT Scan showed no bleeding. Rick and Starr (my angels!) came and picked up Mia and Grady. I rode with Seth to Primary's by ambulance. They reset his arm and splinted it. He was SO brave. He hardly cried at all and was more worried about making sure that I paused Return of the Jedi than he was about them resetting his arm (they sedated him and he didn't want to miss a moment of his movie). So, here he is....ready for school with a broken right arm! He has been doing great coloring and writing with his left hand. I am so grateful that everything turned out great. It was pretty scary for me for a little bit there.

Here are the kids getting ready to take Seth to preschool!

Grader-Raider

2009-07-25T13:01:00.000-07:00

Seth and Mia have lovingly adopted the nickname 'Grader-Raider' for our new little guy. It is so fun to watch them talk and laugh with Grady. They are so cute with him.

Here are some updated photos of our newest little guy:

Check out these cheeks! We knew from looking at these cheeks on our ultrasound at 37 weeks, that this was no ordinary size baby!

I came home to this Kodak moment the other day. Oh, precious!

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-15T15:07:00.001-07:00

On the 4th of July eve, we enjoyed a barbecue with the Trujillo clan...including Isaac, Kels and new baby Adlee in town for the holiday!

Here is Grady, Harper and Adlee accompanied by their dads.

Grady's introduction to his new cousin Adlee.

Seth enjoying his sparkler.

Kels and me at the Murray Days parade.

Mia hamming it up at the parade.

Mia and Grandma Bell

Seth all tuckered out from holiday fun.

Grady Michael Bell

2009-06-28T09:54:00.000-07:00

Introducing...

Grady Michael Bell

Born June 15th

Weight:10 lbs 4 oz

Length: 20 inches long

Seth had a little cold so he was a good sport about protecting his brother from the germs. Seth and Mia catching their first glimpse of their new brother. Poor guy doesn't even know what hit him yet.

The Happy Family

Spring Training

2009-03-31T14:41:00.000-07:00

So, this post is a little delayed. We went to Arizona earlier this month for Spring Training. This is an annual tradition for us, ever since my bro, Isaac and his wife Kelsie moved down there. We drive, camp out in their house and watch Spring Training Baseball Games. This is Scott's dream trip: baseball, hot dogs for 3 meals a day, and family...what more could you ask for?!? Here are some of our pictures:

COUSINS! We were able to visit the zoo with our cousin Bethany (and her parents Eric and Lilibeth). The kids LOVED it!

This is the Noah's ark playground we found overlooking the splash pad. It was at this point that Seth stood at the top yelling, "EVERYONE GET ON THE ARK!!! THE FLOOD IS COMING!" I finally had to put my foot down when he started singling people out to tell them to get on the ark.

The kids brushing the goats at the petting zoo.

Seth and Mia waiting for the game to start while dad tries to catch some BP baseballs.

Seth proudly displaying his arm painting (since he didn't want his face painted).

Seth and Mia riding the merry-go-round at the ball game with Uncle Isaac.

Enjoying snow cones and hot dogs!

My brother Nick and his cute wife Megan!

If you can't tell, it was nap time at this point.

The Evolution of Captain Hook

2009-01-29T15:23:00.000-08:00

So, Seth has been obsessed with the movie Peter Pan lately. And, who does he choose to emulate, the fun-loving Peter....oh, no, no, no. Rather, the mean-spirited Captain Hook. I don't know if I should be concerned that he always idolizes the villain of every movie. Anyways, it all started with a wire hanger. He would pull his arm up his sleeve and hold onto the hanger as his 'hook'. Well, since then, we have upgraded to an actual plastic hook (a little safer for his poor sister).

So a funny story....the other day Seth was playing with his Captain Hook and Peter Pan toys, and one says to the other, "Say your prayers." So Mia said, "Dear Heavenly Father..." and proceeds to bless our food. It was pretty funny. She takes everything literally.

Here is a collection of our hook pictures.

Mia even pretends to be Captain Hook now (although, she much prefers Tinkerbell).

The Ultrasound

2009-01-15T16:01:00.000-08:00

So, we had our ultrasound yesterday and we are expecting a.......healthy baby! I am so grateful that our baby is healthy. But, we are not finding out the sex until the birth. We (okay, I) figure that we have one boy and one girl...so why not be surprised. Scott is going along with it....somewhat happily. The only "news" is that they moved my due date back 8 days! That wasn't the best news, but after seeing a healthy baby, I can't complain.

It was a great spiritual experience, as many of you know. To be able to see the baby move, made it all so real. Honestly, I have been a little overwhelmed thinking about baby #3 lately. But, yesterday I felt so content and grateful. So come June 19 or so, our house may be quite chaotic, but....blessed!

So, how 'bout a new post!

2009-01-10T12:01:00.000-08:00

I know, I know...I have been horrible updating this. My sister, Angie, just left to study at the BYU Jerusalem Center, and informed me before she left that updating my blog was no longer an option. So, here it is!

I thought I would add some Christmas photos. We had a great holiday season, full of family, friends, and lots of good food.

Our little shepherd boy, Seth.

Poor Mia had an eye infection, so her eyes are all swollen during our Christmas party.

Scott and all his single, gorgeous cousins at the Bell Family Christmas Party.

Scott and the kids having a "sleepover." They were so excited that they didn't have to sleep in their own beds.

Here are some of our sledding adventures lately. We have been going to this little hill by my parents house. Seth loves hitting the jump every time he goes down. Mia enjoyed going down and even went down by herself. When we go too fast, she starts to squeal a little. But, then she always wants to go again. The first time we went it was snowing and the kids kept getting snow in their faces on the way down. So, we found some old ski goggles to keep them dry.

The Best Halloween Ever!

2008-11-05T14:17:00.001-08:00

Here is our little shark and doggie (or as Mia says, "goggie").

We had a full day of visiting grandparents, neighbors, friends, and heading to our annual ward trunk or treat. The kids got way too much candy (it was evident about 8:30 p.m. when they are running around screaming at the top of their lungs, that the sugar had hit the bloodstream!). Gotta love it.

Here is a picture of all the grandkids on the Bell side. This is as good as it gets with 5 young ones.

Mia, Bethany and Seth.

Here is Seth with his "best" friend, Macy, at the trunk or treat.

Pumpkin Carving

2008-11-05T13:58:00.000-08:00

Just some pictures of us carving our HUGE pumpkins we plucked from Grandma Bell's garden. The kids loved it! Scott and I had to guard the knives carefully with 2 independent kids thinking they can do it all! (They can, by the way, just in a couple of years!)

Seth-isms

2008-10-15T18:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Seth was singing "Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam". Then he suddenly stopped and said, "But Mom, we are not beans!" I was caught off guard, and started laughing.

He has been telling Mia, "I will put you in time-out, Mia. One....Two...Three. Okay, Mia you have to go to timeout!" This is where I jump in to explain who the parent is in this situation. He is so bossy...I wonder where he gets it:)!

A couple of weeks ago, we were leaving our little playgroup at the park and he said, "Mommy, Macy sure looked pretty today at playgroup." I was stunned...he is 3! Isn't this a little young for a first crush??? However, I must say that I am proud of him for finding one friend that he doesn't growl at (while pretending he is a T-Rex and they are his prey).

I am sure there are more...I will have to update this!

Pumpkin Picking

2008-10-08T18:51:00.000-07:00

Okay, so nobody pass out....I have updated my blog for the 3rd time in less than a week! This is a remarkable accomplishment!

I just had to post these cute pictures of the kids picking their own pumpkin out of Grandma Bell's amazing garden. They loved it!

Seth and Jacie sitting on their pumpkins!

Mia watching Grandma Bell cut her pumpkin off the vine.

Seth and Mia enjoying the company of their cousins, Jacie and Maddox.

The Marathon

2008-10-07T17:11:00.000-07:00

Here is Scott at mile 16...looking strong!

Here are the kids staying warm and waiting to cheer dad on.

Here is Natalie (in the red shirt), Scott's cousin, at mile 23.

Scott at mile 23....almost there.

I thought you said this was 2.62 miles!

2008-10-04T16:03:00.000-07:00

We are just chilling in St. George after watching Scott run the MARATHON! For those of you that are not familiar with the marathon, it is 26.2 miles (I emphasize the .2, because after 26 miles that .2 is KILLER!). It is a grueling test of mental strength, physical endurance, and sheer will to finish. I am so impressed with him! He did awesome despite St. George record lows and pouring rain for 5 hours (we finally saw blue skies as he finished!).

The kids even endured the rain to watch "daddy" run! Scott's parents and my parents and sister were the rest of our cheering squad.

We also cheered on Scott's uncle, Brent, who qualified for the Boston Marathon by running a 3:31!!! Also, Scott's two cousins, Natalie and KristiAnn ran the marathon strong (even despite injuries for KristiAnn). We also cheered our fellow Crosspointe Ward members: Kevin, Ron, Maurice, Eric, and Ray! Good work all!

I am seriously so overcome with the determination of the runners I saw. They all set this goal, worked towards it, and attained it today. I am inspired by them and their examples!

Let me explain the title. My friend, Camille (her husband Kevin ran the marathon also) and I got together this week to make posters for our running husbands. Camille found this quote online that said, "I thought you said this was 2.62 miles!" I thought that was pretty funny, so I put that quote on one of my posters.

I have pictures I will post later. I just wanted to update you all.

Star Valley

2008-09-23T13:18:00.000-07:00

We took our annual trip to Star Valley, WY. My cousin has some property up there, so we pack on up for a weekend getaway usually every September. It is beautiful up there this time of year.

We had a great time! The kids ran around all weekend. Seth and Mia loved playing with all the kids. My cousins' boys LOVED Mia, and lugged her around everywhere. They even spoon-fed her at meals. She was like a little princess that didn't have to do anything for herself! Seth LOVED having all these kids to growl at and chase around (hmmm...I hoped they liked being chased?!?).

Anyways, here are a few pictures...compliments of my dad (since we forgot our camera...okay, I forgot our camera!).

Seth and his first catch. He has been so excited to go fishing ever since he saw Caillou (a cartoon on PBS) go fishing. So Grandpa Trujillo bought him a SpongeBob fishing pole...and what do you know, he caught a fish! The poor little fish was only 10 inches long (if that), but he swallowed the hook....so we had to keep him. I am sure him swallowing the hook had nothing to do with Seth violently yanking the line while reeling him in! Here is Seth, Grandpa Trujillo, and Taylin.

Here is Seth on the paddle boat with Brody and Kaysea.

Here we are after a little family ride on the 4-wheeler.

First Day of Preschool!!!!

2008-09-04T08:27:00.001-07:00

Today was Seth's first day of Preschool! I can't believe we are at this stage already. He LOVED it. He walked right in and was so excited to "stay by [him]self."

Here we are getting ready to leave. Mia had to be a part of it all too!

There he is...the scholar!

On the ABC rug.

The Farm

2008-09-04T08:20:00.001-07:00

So, we visited the Farm at Thanksgiving Point last week. The kids had a great time seeing all the animals. Mia especially LOVED this calf. He stuck his head out of his fence and started licking her. She instantly lifted her shirt so he could lick her belly. I started laughing. Silly girl!

Seth was quick to follow.

Ticklish???

Mia Mia Bo Bia

2008-08-01T13:14:00.000-07:00

This is Mia's new favorite place in the house. She is such a little climber. If I leave the bathroom door open, she climbs up the toilet seat to the back of the toilet, up into the sink...and then just hangs out. She could be there for hours....well, okay minutes...since I usually make her get out. I know I am a pretty boring mom, but I am just nervous that she is going to fall out on her head!

Anyways, Mia has kept our lives pretty entertaining lately. She squeals, screams, whines, and squawks her way through life! I don't remember Seth being quite so vocal. She squeals at glass shattering decibel levels when Seth walks in her direction (it usually means he is going to torment her by taking a toy from her or, heaven forbid, touching her!). Poor guy. As soon as I hear Mia scream, my instantaneous reaction is to yell, "Seth!" Often, he is not even near her!

Mia's latest saying is "I do." This is in response to anything from "Who wants some ice cream?" to "Let's go outside." "I do" is her quick reply. The other day we had to go pick up some cheesecake from my parents house (left over from the night before...when we were waiting at the Cheesecake Factory FOREVER...and the kids refused to wait anymore, so we left without our cheesecake and my parents took it home with them...LONG STORY - sorry!). Anyways, I said "Let's go to grandma and grandpa's to get our cheesecake." Mia practically bolted for the door (as quickly as 21 month old legs can bolt) and yelled "I do, cheesecake." I laughed pretty hard. The funny thing is you could use that phrase as a mantra for all the women in our family!

Here is Mia as we were getting ready for our Bell Family Camping Trip. I decided to try on her old pants to see if they fit. Well, they were a little short, but she refused to take them off. So, they went camping with us! And you gotta love the pink sunglasses. I still can't believe she will wear them!

This is Mia in her new life jacket that she refused to take off...we are seeing a pattern here. Once she sets her mind on something, there is no convincing her otherwise (and it usually has to do with clothes...she is not even a teenager yet!).

The Wasatch Back

2008-06-26T20:52:00.000-07:00

So, Scott and I finished our second Wasatch Back! Let me explain. It is a 178 mile run from Logan to Park City, Utah through the mountains. We have a 12 member team and each person runs 3 legs varying in length of 3 to 8 miles. We started on Friday at 12:40 p.m. and finished on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. or so. It was brutal, awesome, fun, exhausting, excruciating, and exhilarating all at once. We ran through beautiful scenery, and fully enjoyed the company in our car! Thanks Alisa, Angie, Lance and Jen!

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This is the "pre" picture. Don't we look cute (and we still smell good!).

Scott at the starting line.

Me and my sister Angie trying to catch a little shut-eye at Snow Basin Ski Resort.

Scott passing off to his cousin Natalie who was in the second car.

Van #1 (we took this picture while Scott was out running).

A little water for Scott on his last leg.

Running my last leg.

The Trujillo sistas!

This was definitely our favorite landmark all weekend....one mile to go!!!

Here we are post race....still cute...but a little smelly!<>

Here is the entire team! Way to go Road Warriors!!!!

ALASKA!!!!

2008-05-29T13:42:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay....I have been holding out on the Alaska pictures (according to Isaac). For those of you that don't know, we just returned from a cruise to Alaska and had the greatest time. It was an unforgettable experience. We saw some of the most beautiful views and met some great people. Here are some of our photos:

We went on a little run in Ketchikan and spotted this Kodak moment.

Shopping in Ketchikan.

We rode in a seaplane over the Misty Fjords. It was spectacular. Here are some views from the plane.

Scott taking some video on the cruise ship.

This was on our whale watching trip.

There is the tail of a humpback whale! Only after several dozen tries to catch it on camera.

Scott in Juneau. All of the cities were built up the hillside from the ocean.

Back on the cruise ship.

This is a lighthouse that Scott took about a dozen pictures of.

In Victoria, B.C. It is such a quaint, beautiful city.

Let me explain...this was a street performer who is, yes, juggling swords over two people (from the audience, mind you) and over the torch. Scott was astounded at the lighthearted way the street performer accepted liability. That was the lawyer in him (I guess he can't leave it at home even on vacation:)).

Pike's Place in Seattle.

So, we had a fabulous time, but were definitely ready to get home and hug our babies.

Nick and Megan's Wedding

2008-05-15T15:40:00.001-07:00

I know...this is unprecedented. I am actually blogging something the day it occurred. My brother, Nick, was married this morning and here are some of our pictures of the day.

Seth and Mia in their wedding attire. Mia is not too happy that Seth is touching her.

This is not the best picture, but I wanted to include of picture of the bride and groom.

Here we are at the water fountain.

Seth and Mia in front of the temple.

Mia had her own bouquet of flowers and LOVED them. She wouldn't put them down all day. In fact, on the way home she fell asleep in the car with her fingers still clutched around her flowers.

From A to Z

2008-05-08T13:13:00.000-07:00

After some intense prodding from my sister (who claims she checks our blog everyday at her less than busy job), I have finally decided to update you all. We haven't really been up to much, just the day in and day out "stuff". But is has been good "stuff". Just not too exciting...so I think I will finally do my A-Z list that my sister-in-law, Kelsie, tagged me to do like 2 months ago (not an exaggeration). Even though this is our "family" blog, I will be so bold as to answer the following questions for myself only (Brittany....in case some of you thought that Scott posts...not that he wouldn't, just that he hasn't).

Okay, here goes:

A - Attached or Single: Definitely attached (with two toddlers to prove it:))

B - Best friend: Besides the obvious, Scott (who is my best boy friend or boyfriend), I would have to say my best girl friend is my old USU roomie, Kel. I can always call her on a bad day and she doesn't make me feel guilty for finishing off the pan of brownies in my kitchen.

C- Cake or Pie: I would have to say cake, specifically chocolate cake with pudding filling and whipped cream icing from Schmidt's Pastry Cottage (I worked there and have ample cake-sampling experience).

D - Day of choice: Saturday because Scott is home and we can all be together as a family. Unless he has to work on Saturday, then Sunday would by my favorite.

E - Essential item: My sports bra, I don't leave home without it.

F - Favorite color: Blue

G - Gummi bears or worms: Bears for sure, the worms make me gag.

H - Hometown: Murray, Utah....Yes, just like David Archuleta!

I - Indulgences: Angie's Almond Joy from Leatherbys, running (to burn off all the calories I just ate), Dove Dark Chocolate Squares

J - January or July: July

K - Kids: two...and may I add, the two cutest, most adorable kids ever.

L - Life is incomplete without: Date nights, stroller rides, and four little hands.

M - Marriage date: June 24, 2003

N - Number of Siblings: 2 brothers, 2 sisters

O - Oranges or Apples: oranges

P - Phobias or Fears: Something bad would happen to my kids and snakes

Q - Quotes: "Cleaning and scrubbing can wait for tomorrow,
For babies grow up, I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs. Dust, go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep."

R - Reasons to Smile: watching Mia talk on the phone, watching Seth wrestle with dad before bedtime, breathing in the fresh air on an early morning run.

S - Season: Spring

T - Tag Three: Kara, Tina, Tiff

U - Unknown Fact about me: I can fall asleep within seconds of my head hitting the pillow, and stay fast asleep during a variety of loud disturbances, but wake up the instant one of my kids starts to cry.

V - Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: Oppressor

W - Worst habit: I am fanatical about cleaning the wax out of my kids ears.

X - XRays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasound for sure, that usually means good news.

Y - Your favorite food: Besides chocolate...pasta.

Z - Zodiac Sign: Aries

Sorry I was so long-winded. I hate to presume that my life is so interesting that you all spent your time reading about me, but if you made it through to Z...thanks for reading!

ARIZONA!!!!

2008-03-25T10:16:00.000-07:00

Well, we just returned from a roadtrip down to Arizona to see Isaac and Kelsie and Eric, Lilibeth and Bethany (and to watch spring training baseball games:). We had a great time. It was great weather, in fact too great on Saturday at the ball game. It was HOT! Seth and Mia did great in the car and loved "Arizona". Seth thought Arizona consisted only of Isaac and Kelsie's house. When we went to the ball game he said, "I want to go back to Arizona."

Here are a few pictures:

We stopped at the Golden Nugget Hotel in Vegas on the way down to see the shark aquarium....Seth was LOVING it.

Seth playing a little Guitar Hero with Uncle Nate.

Sushi anyone? Isaac, Nick and Marci tested out their culinary abilities with some sushi making. Not too shabby, eh?

Seth and Mia enjoying their Easter baskets with their new sunglasses.

Seth and Grandpa at the ball game.

Seth and Bethany at the game.

Long Overdue!!!!

2008-02-26T17:46:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I never said I was going to keep up with this blogging thing. I know I am horrible about posting! Well, here is our update:

1) Angie is HOME!!!!

My sister has been serving a mission in Romania for the last 18 months, and she is HOME! It is so good to have her back. I was more trunky than she was.

She was actually gone when Mia was born....so here is her introduction.

Here is the gang at the airport:

2) Seth is now 3!!!! First, he wanted a shark cake, but then decided he would rather have a "long neck" cake. So, here is my best attempt:

Mia even loved Seth's party!

Seth with one of his favorite toys...compliments of Great Grandma Trujillo! Wouldn't ya know it (her gifts get bigger and bigger every Christmas and birthday!)!?! Love ya Grams.

3) We enjoyed a spectacular weekend skiing and relaxing without the kids at Snowbasin with the Shills! It was a much needed getaway. We skiied all day, and then came home and sat in the hot tub with beautiful scenery.

Yes, this is Scott sitting in the snow (after which he jumped right back into the hot tub.

Bedtime

2008-01-28T20:32:00.000-08:00

So, Seth has discovered a few little ploys of avoiding bedtime.

Ploy #1: He has started potty training, so, of course, 5 minutes after he goes to bed he has to go "potty" (even though he just tried before going to bed). But, what can I say, I am a sucker and I hate to discourage the potty training, so I usually truck on up there and take him to the potty. And it's a HOAX! As hard as he tries, he doesn't have to go. He tries standing up, but when that doesn't work he tells me, "it's better if I sit down". At this point, I know he is not going, so back to bed he goes.

Ploy #2: "I need to brush my teeth." I tell him that he just brushed his teeth and go back to bed. To which he replies, "but I will get cabities!" That guy! So, back to bed he goes.

Ploy #3: If by some chance I forget to put lotion on his cheeks before bedtime, he will undoubtedly remember 5-10 minutes after he goes to bed. He yells down the stairs, "Put medicine on my cheeks, so they don't turn like raisins!" We are still not quite sure where he got the raisin thing?!? We lotion him up and then back to bed.

These three ploys are usually accompanied by, "I am thirsty." "I forgot my sharks." "I can't find my toucan." (In case you are wondering, yes, he sleeps with a bed FULL of animals.) "I am stuck." (He is usually stuck between the bed and the wall and can't get out.) "Put my covers on." Etc., Etc., Etc.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight!

2008-01-08T15:13:00.000-08:00

Okay, here we are on January 8 and Seth still tells everyone, "Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight!" What can I say, we had a memorable Christmas.

I guess it is about time that I start to jump back on the blog bandwagon...wouldn't ya say??? Well, we had a great Christmas with lots of food, family, presents, time off work (for Scott), and fun. It was so fun this year to have Seth understand and actually appreciate the season. Although, he did learn quickly about Santa, we also tried to teach him about the true meaning of Christmas. It was fun one day to catch him carrying up all his stuffed animals to show the the "baby Jesus" in our nativity. It is amazing how quickly he learns. Scott is convinced that he is brilliant. I, also, believe he is brilliant, but tend to think that every parent thinks their child is brilliant.

Here are a couple of cute shots on Christmas morning.

We also had our annual Orvin Family Christmas Party at Sherwood Hills in Logan Canyon this year. We had a great time eating (that is what I call a good time!), visiting, and seeing Santa. We showed up a little early so we had some good swim time. Here are a few pix.

Overall, it was a great holiday season. Scott was home a lot and we were able to spend lots of quality time together. Tyler and Deb, Nick and Megan, and Isaac and Kelsie were all in town during the holidays, so we were able to spend time with all of them. We are so blessed to have wonderful families and friends. Thank you all! We sure love you. You enrich our lives!

Here comes Santa

2007-11-29T13:13:00.001-08:00

So, we made a little trip to the Festival of Trees today and saw Santa. Seth was actually pretty excited. I think he did get a little stage fright because the only thing he could think of to ask Santa for was a candy cane from the basket sitting next to him (if that is all that makes him happy, I am going to the returns department!). Mia, on the other hand, was a little more blatant expressing her opinion about sitting on Santa's lap. Yes, I have become one of those ridiculous parents that allows their child to scream in fear and anger for a mere photo opp(although I can justify it by saying that I only took one shot...as you can tell...I couldn't even wait for Seth to look at the camera)!

Anyways, Happy Holidays!!!

Here goes!

2007-11-20T16:16:00.000-08:00

Ok, guys! Here it goes....my first "official" post. I am excited to get going on this...but somewhat fearful that it will take over my life. Hope ya'll enjoy it!

2007-11-15T13:54:00.000-08:00