perfect moments

Halloween and the pumpkin patch

2010-11-18T13:44:00.000-08:00

October was a fun month! We went to two pumpkin patches. Unfortunately the first pumpkin patch Erika wasn't able to come but her camera did....however it was set on manual for a cloudy day and it was a super sunny day and I thought it was on automatic...yah ALL of the pictures were totally overexposed! Since Halloween was on a Sunday the kids went to our ward trunk or treat on Saturday and trick or treating down main street at the shops. They had a blast handing out candy on Sunday though to the other trick or treaters. Ben was SO excited every time someone else came to the door. :)

Ben wanted to be a SWAT guy and Landon was a devil. I might have 'helped' Landon decide on this particular costume... because it depicted this last year so well. It was a toss up between a skunk that said "Little Stinker" on it and a Devil... but the devil costume was cuter.Gabriella was a mermaid.

Don't let his mischievious grin fool you...

Our little pumpkin! She is always smiling...except for when Mom puts her upside down into a pumpkin... :)

Gabriella kept trying to stick the hay in her mouth and eat it. She loves to put EVERYTHING in her mouth these days.
We take so many pictures that there are way to many to choose from therefore to see others take a look at the slide show. There are lots of great ones.

A lot can happen in 3 months....

2010-10-17T20:26:00.000-07:00

So where do I begin... lets just say we loved Oregon so much that we decided to move here! We have now been here 3 weeks and have loved EVERY minute (aside from my perfect San Jose weather I couldn't be happier.) Everything changed so quickly yet it couldn't have felt more right.Out of the blue Fernando got a call from a recruiter from Oregon. He had been working with her right after he got laid off at Price Water house coopers to try to find a job in Oregon. He interviewed a for several jobs out here before he got the CA state tax board job, but nothing ever panned out. I finally decided that it just not right for some reason. Fast forward several months to the out of the blue phone call. Andrea, the recruiter, told him she had found him a great tax position job out here that she wanted to see if he would be interested in. He had the phone interview and it went great. Then they wanted him for a second interview in person, right over Labor day weekend. They said that if he couldn't make it in person that it would be ok, but if he could that would be great. He talked to me about it and I told him that it would be in his best interested to do the interview in person and called up my bff Erika to see how she would feel having an unexpected visit. Turns out they already had plans to go to her in-laws for labor day weekend but offered for us to stay out their house anyway. So...we took a quick road trip and luckily got to see them before we left. The interview went fabulous and it sounded like they wanted him. We knew that if he got the job that they would want him to start soon. I decided to take the proactive approach and had us look for houses to rent in case everything panned out. It just so happened that a house came on the market to rent 4 houses down from Erika. We loved the house, and of course the neighbors, but everything was still pending on the job offer and they already had a application that was being processed.... but they seemed to like us and thought the idea of living so close to your best friend was pretty sweet and kept the option open for us. They were on a time crunch themselves because they were moving to AZ in a couple weeks... I figured most likely since we couldn't put in an application that the place would be gone... Fernando ended up getting the job and they even included a relocation bonus! After that everything literally FELL into place PERFECTLY. We ended up getting the house next door(1700 + sq ft 3 bed 2 1/2 bath with a 2 car garage and a big bonus area upstairs for $50 more a month that what we were currently paying), Ben got into the dual immersion program that I was trying to get him into and the transition went so smoothy (though it pretty much all took place in a 2 week time period).

I love the space! I love my big kitchen with two sinks and a DISHWASHER (crazy to think that we lived in our other place with one sink and no dishwasher and 1 bathroom for almost 5 years....). Erika and I pretty much hang out everyday and our kids just get along so great! Our husbands hang out and have 'guys nights,' we have 'girls nights' we probably eat dinner together at least 2-3 times a week. We take turns cleaning our houses together, and giving each other a much needed 'break' to shower or what not... We swap watching kids for date nights etc. Yah it is pretty much perfect and everything we have talked about and dreamed about for years. :) We have taken tons of pictures and I will post a few tonight and there will be plenty more to come! Erika is a faithful blogger so it looks like I will be MUCH more frequent and consistent with new postings. So there ya have it you know me can't miss any details... :)

Down Town Portland

2010-06-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

Every year "Naval vessels from the United States Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and the Canadian Maritime Forces arrive from around the world for a four-day visit to the City of Roses."

Landon was so pleased that Sweetie shared her ritz crackers with him.
They had big fences up for security reasons. We had planned on touring the ships however they were 2 days late getting into port...so instead we watched them come into port.
Each time a ship would come in there would be a smaller ship shooting water into the air to announce its arrival. This one shot out red and white water since it was for a canadian Navy ship. Other shot out red white and blue.
The kids really enjoyed watching the bridges go up to let the big Navy ships come through
This was our 1st time in downtown Portland. I love the architech. It was amazing.
Fernando had a interview with a company near the airport down town so while he was doing that we hopped on the max and went to the mall. I SO would have loved to have gone shopping there with out the kids... :)
The babies first max ride
It was once again raining so here are the kids wating undercover for the max to pick us up
Our last stop was the famous voodoo doughnut. These are so delicious. If you ever go to down town Oregon you HAVE to try them.
After down town we headed back to Erika's house, ate pizza and put the kids to bed. Fernando slept while Erika, her husband and I got in one last game and finished off our virgin strawberry daqueri pina coladas. :) At around 11 p.m. we loaded up our kids in the car and headed to UT. The kids were AMAZING for the drive! They woke up around 7 in the morning and we stopped for breakfast. We didn't stop again in Layton to get free Krispy Cream doughnuts and that was it. We had a wonderful time in UT (though I forgot to get pictures....)even though we were only there for pretty much the weekend....
We went out to go to my niece and nephews baby blessings. They looked SO adorable! I am really glad we were able to be there. It is so fun having a niece and nephew close to Gabby's age! It is hard being so far away from family! Know you are loved and greatly missed!

Oregon Coast

2010-06-27T13:00:00.000-07:00

We spend a couple of day on the Oregon Coast in our condo. The sun didn't get the memo that is is summer...and I think perhaps this was our COLDEST trip to the coast yet, but the beach is the beach and the kids got their fair share of sand regardless of the weather.
pSomebody dug a huge whole and left it and it became the kids playground. Hours of fun were had here! Us moms spent most of our time in doors with the babies but when the kids were about this one they couldn't get enough of her and she LOVED all the attention.

I love this pic that Erika took it captured it all... of the 3 days we were there this was the only time Gabby and I went to the beach
The kids found a big hole someone left for them and had hours of fun despite the cold...
fetching water to add to the hole
the Oregon rain didn't stop them from having fun
Gabriella and I lasted about 10 min or so then the moms went in with the babies while the dads stayed out with the bigger kids. Gabby doesn't look too amused...she is kind like me when it comes to the cold. Our condo had a perfect view of the pool and beach so though us moms spend a great deal of door indoors we still were able to see the kids having a great time!

finding seashells
Erika and I stayed up WAY too late one night making bracelets. We had such a great time I think this might become a new tradition. We made matching black and white bracelets for us and then I made Gabby 4 little ones and she made her girls matching patriotic ones.
Us adults played HOURS of games and stayed up way too late doing so... the later it got the funnier everything got and kookier Joseph got. We are all avid game players and can never get enough 'game time' in.

Gabriella got her first taste of oatmeal. She DEVOURED IT. She liked it so much that she grabbed the bowl and I pretty much had to SHOVEL it in her mouth as fast as I could. It is safe to say she is a fan. :)

The kids had a fun time riding the luggage cart back up to the hotel room once everything was loaded into the car.
Yet another fun trip to the coast even if the weather didn't cooperate we still had a blast.

Portland Temple (warning picture overload.....)

2010-06-25T23:02:00.001-07:00

It has become tradition to go to the Oregon temple every time we visit Oregon. It never fails every time we always get so many great pictures thanks to Erika and her mad photography skills. This trip was no different.

All of us at the reflection pond. I love Ben and Landon's faces
This has got to be one of my favorite pictures of Gabriella. You will often see Gabriella snuggled up against my face like this she LOVES it.
Landon's first kiss.....
There were TOO many adorable pictures of these two so you will just have to click on the collage to see them larger... I couldn't figure out which ones to leave out because I love them ALL!!
Ben and Ballerina best of buds
girls being sassy I LOVE this girl! I wouldn't trade my best friend for anything!
Landon was being way too cute! Ben didn't want to cooperate to much for pictures..
jumping...I love his contagious smile!
there is no wonder why this guy ALWAYS has bonks on his head...
being himself in his nice suit and all...
and I can never get enough of this girl!

he he her headband fell too low and was making her ears poke out.
and can't leave out the love of my life! I am so lucky to have Fernando in my life he is truly AMAZING!!!
she loves being in the air

lovin my babes
all of us
Yet tons more memories to add to the other Portland Oregon temple memories! I love that we all get along so prefectly!! Erika did I tell ya how much I already MISS YOU??!!!!

Multnomah Falls Hike

2010-06-18T23:59:00.001-07:00

This was taken at the base of the falls. There are a lower and a upper falls. We hiked up to the upper falls 542 high. I wish we had gotten a picture of both the falls because they were exquisite. I know these pictures are small but if you click on the collage picture you can see them bigger.

I wanted to do something new this Oregon trip and thought this hike looked like fun. The falls were beautiful! The weather even cooperated for us so we weren't rained out! We all had a great time. The kids were troopers hiking ALL the way up to the falls and back (2 miles). Poor Joseph hiked the whole thing with Cpt A in the back pack AND pushing the stroller(intended for Sweetie but she didn't end up riding in it... all the 'extra stuff' ended up there instead. Fernando has a pretty big fear of hights and Landon is naturally a clutz...so he was quite concerned about Landon falling off a cliff or something. There were quite a few part where there were steep edges. Sadly to admit, this is our first real big hike as a family... but most certainly not our last. We are looking forward to using our hiking back pack for Gabriella. She is still a little to small for it yet... For fun we put her in it, before our trip, and you could barely see her head poking out above... but give her a couple months and she will fit it.

Oregon: Day Three and Four

2010-05-29T02:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to the park. Ballerina had her little preschool graduation there. They gave the kids cupcakes and little diplomas. My boys LOVED the cupcakes. I think this picture depicts Landon perfectly. He is just as messy as ever, smiling and offering to 'share' his cupcake.
Ben and Ballerina posing for the camera. The other day they got upset with each other over some dumb little thing and she told him she wasn't going to marry him anymore and he wasn't her friend. Of course 5 min later they were best friends again playing and laughing. Five year olds are so funny.

When we arrived at Cold Stone all of the kids were asleep I mentioned this to Fernando to which Ben quickly awoke and piped in. "I'm not asleep I was just playing the quiet game," as he was still waking up... :) You can see how tired he is in this picture...and clearly wasn't thrilled that someone was taking his picture...but I love his expression!

Landon and Ben got a ice cream to share. As soon as theirs was gone Landon came right over to me to 'taste if mine was good' he then proceeded to rapidly finish mine off!

Later that night Erika and I had a girls night. We went to the movie with a bunch of her friends to see Letters To Juliet. It was a cute chick flick that I would recommend. We went out to Red Robin after where we laughed a ton and had a great time. Her friends are hilarious! We finished off our night (if you could say that since it was past midnight...) by giving each other pedicures. She unfortunately got the short end of the stick and perhaps her 5 year old could have painted better.... but it was fun. Mine on the other hand looked almost professional. I have to say. If only I had an artist hand like her. It has been so great to hang out with her!!

Fun In Oregon

2010-05-27T16:06:00.000-07:00

We decided to take a spontaneous trip to Oregon to visit my best friend Erika and her family. I LOVE her camera and her photography skills so the great news is there will probably be a lot more updates while I am on this trip! :) Here are some of our moments. This is a typical scene you will see with Gabriella. She loves to cuddle me and east my face,
Gabriella attacking me...
We took the kids to a bouncy house yesterday. This is all of us at the bottom of the slide.
Here is ALL of us except Fernando who was taking the picture (two moms, two toddlers, two preschoolers and two babies...) yah call us crazy...but the kids loved it!

Ben and Lydia were the first to have the idea to go down together.... and it just escalated from there.
These two have been the best for friends

Gabriella reached a new milestone! She had now hold her own bottle. Not that she has one very often but I pumped one to bring with us.
Here is Ben trying to talk himself out of his 'pretend' ticket that policeman daddy was giving him. He is convinced he is quite persuasive.
I just love this little girl!!

airplane with mommy

playing with Cpt A who is now 9 months
She was trying to eat the ball that was practically bigger than her!

Ben chillin
hanging out on the chair...we hardly see them since they are always off playing pretend something or other... but who's complaining we are all having a great time as always visiting my best friend and her family. It works out so well that our kids are so close in age. Ben and Ballerina are 2 months apart. Landon and Sweetie are 3 months apart and Gabriella and capt A are 5 months a part. So fun!!! More pictures to come

FUN IN THE SUN

2010-05-13T22:05:00.000-07:00

HAVIN A GREAT DAY!
SPRINKLERS

POPSICLES

MILK BUBBLES

FLASHIN THAT DIMPLE GRIN... MOMMY'S DOLLY

NOT A CARE IN THE WORLD...

YA I KNOW I'M COOL!

PLAYING IN THE DIRT...

I CAN'T HEAR YOU....

WHAT A DAY!!

Family Photo Shoot

2010-05-12T22:33:00.000-07:00

I had this great idea to get family pictures taken to send out for Christmas cards...I was 7 1/2 mo prego with Gabriella. I loved how the pictures turned out (unfortunately hated how the Christmas cards were-the pictures were tiny and the writing was huge...)luckily they were free because I have 50+ Christmas cards that never went out. So if you are wondering why you didn't get a Christmas card from us ya know anyhow... better late than ever right! These are some of my favorites.
kisses
Peek a boo!

take time to stop and smell the flowers

little tough guys
ALWAYS climbing on something
loves...

Best buds

Landon the mischievous...
Ben my sweetheart
When I get time I will try to post the others on the side bar as a movie clip of something. Thanks Kathleen for capturing the moments!

Gabriella 3 months old!

2010-04-19T21:50:00.001-07:00

I just love this little girl!! It is crazy that she is already 3 months old! She is such a petite little thing (can even wear some new born outfits and a lot of her 0-3 months clothes are big on her still ), but she is FULL of personality and though we don't hear it a ton, she has a powerful set of lungs. :)

She is a super easy baby and such a little sweetheart

This cracked me up. She was sitting in the bumbo seat but her short little leggs barely touched the end of the bumbo seat let alone the floor...

beautiful sleeping princess!! Did I mention she is ALREADY sleeping through the night?! She usually sleeps 7-10 hrs. The only problem is she wants to go to bed earlier (no later than 9) so she wakes up earlier than I like but luckily she will nurse and go right back to sleep.

At the park. It was 81 degrees on Sunday when we were at the park at 5 p.m. I love it!

All of us swinging on the tire swing. Both the boys wanted to hold her hands at the same time but I finaly convinced them to hold on to the swing instead of her hands...

We can't get enough of her! She is so happy and cute. Here are some of the things she is now doing.

She loves to smile, giggle, squeal, coo and have little conversations with us. She loves the tub. She is now gripping and playing with little toys. Ben loves to interpret everything she says and does, and Landon is OBSESSED with holding her hands and now also her feet. Here is a conversation that I had with Ben the other day.

B-Gabriella is so cute huh mom I'm going to marry her when she gets big

M- Yes she is cute but you can't marry her, but you can marry someone like her

B- no I want to marry her

M-We don't marry our family it isn't right but I am sure you can marry someone just as cute as her

B- But then I won't be in the family anymore

M-Yes you will always be in our family

It is so funny to see how their little minds work. We are always having crazy conversations. I need to be better about writing them down. He cracks me up! Here are a few new pictures (sorry I am addicted to my Iphone an it is so easy to take pictures with it so my camera hasn't been getting its use... and the pixel isn't that great...)

The little dare devilI

2010-04-19T20:59:00.000-07:00

Landon is quite the little thrill seeker. These are some of his latest favorites. He LOVES to swing the higher the better. Fernando will lift him as high as he can and let go (I am not strong enough) so I will give him under dogs by pushing him high enough to run underneath the swing. He just laughs and says 'again Mommy push me higher.' look at the pure joy on his face. I love it!

He is such a climber. You can't see this picture very well but picture a park play place and the tunnels that the kids climb through up in the air... this is him climbing on TOP. Just the other day Fernando took the kids to play. He watched Landon come down the slide and looked over at Ben really quick. When he looked back at Landon he wasn't there... he looked all over and wasn't seeing him then he looked up to find him CLIMBING ON TOP OF THE OUTSIDE of the big slide! By the time he got to him he had already reached the top and had slidden back down the slide! Talk about heart attack. But this is common for him. He is always climbing and jumping off high things... I seriously can't keep up with him!

He is so excited that he is finally BARELY tall enough to go on the rollercoaster. He LOVES IT! He laughs the entire time (that is exactly how I am on roller coaster - the bigger the better). I had to bribe Ben into riding and here Landon wanted to go again and again. At first Ben wouldn't go but once little brother went he couldn't be passed up by his little brother. Landon got off the ride and ran over to Ben and Daddy and said ' That was super awesome Ben and super fun!' We are in the 3rd row.

Here is another favorite. The Hippity Hop frog ride. It is a kids version of the zone drop. The ride takes the kids in the air and then drops them. This is the boys lifting their arms up so that so that the bar can go over them. He loves to stick his leggs straight out so that is more fun. Ben usually grips the bar tightly but he on the other tries to find the most thrilling way to ride the ride. I have myself to blame since I gave him the idea.

And to think that he just BARELY turned 3! Though he keeps us on our toes we sure do love this little guy (even if he is giving me a heart attack half the time.)

Our Princess is here!!

2010-04-12T00:18:00.001-07:00

Gabriella Jean Nunez joined our family January 18,2010
After a 7 hr labor she was born at 5:03 a.m.
She was 6 lbs 3 oz and 18 inches
Here is her 1 day old

My sister in law Devan took her new born pictures at a month old. She is an amazing photographer! Thanks Devan your the best!

We took a trip to Utah when she was a month old and blessed her around blessed her out there. She wore my little sister Meagan's blessing dress for her blessing. This was so special to me since my Grandma Jake made this for her to be blessed in when she was really sick with cancer.(Crazy that she is now 15!) I love how angelic she looks.

so precious!

Her brothers absolutely LOVE her! They can't get enough of her! Landon has this total fetish wish always wanting to hold her hand and Ben thinks every little sound, gesture and smile she makes is the best! This picture caputures so well how it is around here, except that I didn't catch her smiling.

I know this update is a long time coming....I have been having camera troubles, internet problems and most of my pictures have been taken on my i phone lately so the pictures are horrible as far as resolution... but I promise to be better. We can't believe that she is already almost 3 months old.

The long wait is over....

2009-08-27T23:24:00.000-07:00

We are thrilled to announce that we will be having a GIRL !!!!!! We all couldn't be more excited as you can see by Ben and Landon's faces :) Yep we are already buying PINK and it is so fun!! I was so ecstatic that I begged Fernando to let me go shopping right after we found out :) You can't see the adorable clothes (he limited me to 2 outfits and then yesterday we found the adorable pink and brown checkered jacket outfit that was an incredible deal and we just couldn't resist buying it...) that I got with this picture (the boys weren't the most cooperative holding pink...and we took it on the camera phone so it isn't the best picture but...... Ya just can't help but smile when you look at this picture. :) I will post ultra sound pictures soon.

I'm no longer MIA...AND come with exciting NEWS!!!

2009-08-25T14:48:00.000-07:00

I know it has been forever since my last post but life has been totally crazy around here.... My health has been crazy and also the boys and I spent 6 wks in Utah where I didn't have internet.... We had a great time with family however my camera got left in Cali and so I don't even have any pictures to post, yah I know what your thinking total slacker.... The boys got to go on their first boating and camping trip, 2 demolition derby's (which they absolutely loved), went to the Oquirr Temple Open House, saw my youngest brother Spencer get married and so much more. The great news is my health has improved 100% I will be driving again in no time and.... We are expecting our 3rd in January!! We found out yesterday what we are having and we are having a....................................................................................................................

Chuck E Cheese

2009-03-28T23:46:00.000-07:00

For Ben's b-day party we celebrated at Chuck E Cheese with some of his friends. He had such a blast! Here is a picture that we took at a little machine that cost 1 token. It would have been better had it caught the boys smiling but I love it because it depicts exactly how much I love my boys and LOVE being a mom! oh fyi Ben wanted his brother to match him for his party. I love how close they have become.

Before we left for Chuck E Cheese I was trying to get a picture of Ben... but he wanted to be the photographer instead. Not bad for a 4 year old egh!? Ha ha I love Landon's look like 'do I HAVE to take this picture...'

Landon of course got to the cake BEFORE I could cut it... he stuck his WHOLE arm in it...
The birthday cake that Ben choose out... would you expect anything different more perfect for him! :) The best part is that the cars were real and so he and Landon got a new car too!
blowing out the candle
pointing at the cars
such precious little guys!

Can I tell you how much I love the age 4! Happy Birthday Ben!!

2009-03-27T23:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Ben turned 4! This little guy has brought so much joy into our lives. I love being mom! He is at such a fun age. He has turned into my best helper and loves to please me and be a big brother. Here are a few pictures of how our little guy has changed through out the last 4 years. I love to sit and talk with him and hear his stories. Happy Birthday we sure do love you!!!

Unfortunately all of my baby pictures are in another hard drive so the youngest I have is him in AZ when he was 4 1/2 months old

7 months
1 year
2 years
3 years
the dimples that are sure to break many hearts...
Ben on his 4th b-day! Not the best picture but couldn't get him to cooperate with the camera.. he wanted to be TAKING the pictures...
Here are some of our favorite ' Ben'isms'

'how cool is that!'

'that just plain silly mommy'

'I'm big to do that'

' I need privacy but with the door open' in the bathroom

'I'm gonna take you down'

'but we'll talk about that later k mommy'

'I need tight hugs and tight kisses'

'Im so SO BIG!'

'Once upon a time' he loves to tell stories...

'That was very heartfelt huh mommy' when he finishes his prayers

'Mommy your my bestest buddy'

My Baby is 2! Happy Birthday Landon we sure do love you!

2009-03-12T01:44:00.000-07:00

In honor of our little guys birthday I thought I would share some of my favorite photos. Landon is full of mischief and wants to do/and say everything brother does and says. He loves to sing and can sing the whole abc's, twinkle twinkle little star, wheels on the bus, I love to see the temple and, I'm so glad when daddy comes home. He LOVEs to jump anywhere anytime. He is full of life and character and is so happy and funny all the time. WE love you little guy Happy Birthday!!!

one day old

2 months old
1 st b-day
7 months
8 months
9 months
10 months
18 months
cutest yoda ever 20 mo
21 month chillin in the cockpit w/ the pilot
his favorite look these days... I have to fight to get him dressed.... He is so proud he potty trained himself that he feels that justifies him hanging out in his underwear half the day...
has to do/or at least try...everything brother does
Day before turning 2 early celebration with daddy w/ free Cold stone ice cream!

When the cats away the mice WILL play

2009-02-05T20:23:00.000-08:00

The boys were eating lunch watching word world so I ran upstairs for just a bit...when I went to go check on them (because it seemed a little too quite...) this is what I found. These 5 valentine sprinklers were up in a box up in the cupboard. He climbed up and got them and then got a plastic knife to open them all. I decided I could either get mad or get the camera since they had the biggest smiles on their faces... my little characters. I am sure Ben was the instigator but Landon had no quams about joining in. They still had pink fingers and mouths even AFTER their bath! :) Never a dull moment around here.

look mommy
This is how I found them
what mommy its yummy...

I love to go to Grandpa's house

2009-01-31T01:34:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago (right after we got back from our 3 wk Utah trip)we were driving in the car and out of the blue Ben started singing. This is quite a familiar scene, however the more I listened the more I realized he was making up his own song AND he was rhyming it. I was a little taken back and had to start laughing. The more we listened we realized he was not only rhyming but he was also making sense! I had to call up my dad and have him sing it to him. He hasn't sung it in a while so he had forgotten it a little when we recorded it today, and of course he felt it would be more entertaining if he acted silly. :)

Here are the original words in case you couldn't understand (with Landon in the back ground expressing his obsession with cars crashing... it is a little hard to hear..)

I love to go to grandpa's house cause grandpa always reads to me

before he reads he knows he needs his glasses on so he can see

where ever may my glasses be grandpa always reads to me

we look in drawers, behind closed doors, we look in closets shelves and floors cause grandpa always reads to me

The part that totally cracks me up is that it is true grandpa Jake has to go get his reading glasses to read Ben stories :) Thanks dad for the inspiration behind Ben's first composition. Our boys just adore you!

Ok in my defense I tried for more than an hour to get the video (that is suppose to go with this entry) to upload.... still working on it sorry so for now a picture of Ben with Grandpa. If any one that has a mac knows how to upload a picture to blogger I would love to know the trick...:)

New Hair cut

2009-01-30T18:11:00.000-08:00

So I know this is not the best pictures but here ya go Erika like I promised... I will try to get you a better picture soon...

A small glimpse of the last 3 months...

2009-01-27T01:07:00.000-08:00

I know it has been forever since I last updated our blog...We have had so many fun adventures in the past 3 months! In October we went to Oceanside, San Diego, Disneyland, Sea World, and of course the beach! We had a great time with my cousin Lisa (who lives near San Diego) and her husband Darcy and little girl Parker. Ben and Parker got along like best buds! They saw the star wars show at Disneyland and Ben insisted on needing a light saver and ended up as a Jedi knight (obi won) for Halloween. Landon was Yoda. Landon has been talking a TON these day and he quickly picked up on how to say 'twik o tweet' :) November the boys and I headed to Utah for a couple week and then in December we all went out to Utah for Christmas for 3 weeks! The cold and snow wasn't so great but it was great seeing family and friends. We are happy to be back in Cali enjoying the nice weather!

Meagan and the boys get along so perfect! They absolutely adore each other!

Ben was picking his nose right before and as soon as I told him to stop picking his nose OF COURSE Landon had to be just like brother. He has such a personality :)
does this look like a face of someone having fun in the snow???
it appears little California boy has taken after his mom...It tooks us over 1/2 hr to get ready and we were outside for maybe 10 min. The wind started blowing and it was SO COLD!

Landon decided to start his own fashion trend... He insists and wearing underwear like brother (of course they have to been McQueen) and so half the time he makes me put them on over his diaper under his pants, however this day was the exception....funny kid :) Look at him thinking he is just the man

All Ben wanted from Santa was 'crashing cars' and he thought that is what Landon wanted as well. They absolutely loved their cars because they do crash and then you hit a button and they are fixed like magic. They have started getting a long like best buds these days. I love it!
Grandpa Jake played horsie while the boys rode him and had a great time wrestling with the boys. Ben's newest phrase during this time some how became 'i'm gonna take you down' as he would tackle me over. Poor gramps isn't acting in this picture Ben really DID pull his ears. Sorry dad...
riding grandpa the horse
on the way back from Utah in November the pilot had the boys come into his cock pit and 'fly the plane. Their leather jackets get them all kinds of in's. The stuart also had him come back and make his own drink of sprite! It helped that we were in the very last seat on the plane...
obi won focusing on his 'attack'
cutest little yoda ever!
these dimples...
already taking after mom..
Ben and Parker playing in the waves. They could have stayed there all day. They had such a blast!

caught in action
my little cheezer! Landon LOVE to say 'cheese' to the camera
his first reaction to the cold water... his face totally makes me laugh
at Sea World
Disneyland

Vote Yes on Prop 8

2008-10-18T22:56:00.000-07:00

This video really hit home with me since this is such a big issue we are facing here in California right now. So many people see Prop 8 as 'taking away peoples civil rights' yet what about our rights as parents. If prop 8 doesn't pass we loose our rights as parents to have a say in what is taught to our children beginning at KINDERGARTEN! please let me know if the link doesn't work... I can't figure out how to put he video on directly... sorry

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1155394344/bctid1822459319

decorating cookies

2008-09-15T16:45:00.001-07:00

Ben and I decided to decorate cookies while Landon was taking his nap. Here is how our conversation went.

Ben: we need to count them first
Mom: ok when we are done counting we will put the frosting on

We start decorating the cookies. He is so meticulous. He had to put the smartie on bottom and the M&M directly on top of it. I didn't help at all and went to take a picture at the end but my batteries needed to be recharged...
One time he put the M&M backwords so the letter wasn't showing

Ben: oh no mom its backwords we have to fix it. Here mom clean off his back he is so sad.
Mom:ok,( as I wipe off the frosting)
Ben: he is crying mom you forgot his side and belly oh he is sooooo sad

every time we would use frosting to stick the candy on he would say
Ben: mom you need to put more butter on it
Mom: Ben its frosting not butter
Ben: I told ya its frosting mom
This was repeated quite often.

As he would get a little bit on his finger
Ben: oh no i need to lick this little bit off

He didn't get a drop of frosting on his clothes nor did he have anything over top covering him (remember he is 3!) and every candy was placed with utmost care as to not get any extra frosting on it that made it look 'messy'
It was a fun time. He makes me laugh how particular he is....so don't know where he gets it from... :)

'BATTLE ZONE'

2008-09-15T16:32:00.001-07:00

Fernando has deemed a new nickname for Landon. He now calls him 'battle zone' I prefer klutso :) No j/k This kid is crazy I tell ya. He is trying to learn how to run and catch up with big brother... and has been bonking his head A LOT lately. This is the latest. He tripped and fell into the side of the half ajar door. There was a lot of blood all over his face and it scared me but luckily it wasn't deep enough for stitches and the swelling went down. I took the picture today so it looks a lot better than it did on Saturday... He screamed for about 10 min and then decided he was fine and wanted to go run and play again. A couple days before he fell and hit his left side of his forehead our chest and cut it and the SAME DAY ran smack dab into our screen tv. I am starting to think he needs glasses or something... Here are some pictures for you.

notice the nice bruise line all the way across the right face
black eye, luckily no stitches were necessary he got lucky this time...

Where did my baby go??

2008-07-30T23:47:00.001-07:00

Landon turned 17 months today Aug 12th! He is looking less like my baby and more like a toddler every day. He is saying quite a few words and has developed quite the funny personality. We just love this little guy!
Who ever invented these shopping carts were must have been a mom. :) My boys doing what they love best DRIVING! Their obsession with anything with wheels.. now Landon is even saying 'deis' when ever he sees a diesel.

2008-07-30T23:47:00.000-07:00

SHOUT OUT TO MIKE ETHINGTON

2008-07-30T00:48:00.000-07:00

My really good friend Mike Ethington just released his first cd and it is nothing short of AMAZING! I am so proud of him and so excited for him!! Way to go Mike I knew you would do it! He is one of most talent musicians I have ever met! Mike sang and played the piano at my mission farwell. He is not only a incredibly talents musican but an amazing person. This cd has been a long time coming and a lot of obstacles got in the way, one of which being him loosing his dad to an auto immune disease. His dad was a member of the tabernacle choir. They sang at his funeral.
I just purchased my copy and can't wait until it arrives! It is free shipping! In my opinion every one would do well to own their own copy to have an listen to in those quite moments as the spirit testifies to you through his beautifully inspired notes. At the least you have to listen to the recordings on this link and read the BELIEVE section as he explains how his album got its name. I am truly inspired and brought to tears by the beauty of his music. Thank you Mike for sharing your talent with the world. May you all enjoy it as much as I have and know I will continue to. Mike is someone who truly changes your life for the better no matter who you are. Love your guts man!!

here is the link

http://ldspianohymns.com/
If it doesn't work go to www.michaelethington.com and you can hear it there

Dallas Texas

2008-07-25T23:55:00.000-07:00

My amazing husband watched the boys for a WHOLE week while I went to Dallas TX for a Mary Kay Seminar. The Seminar was amazing and fueled my desire and drive to become a director this year even more! I got to fly out a few days early and spend some time w/ my good friend Tracy and her boys. We had such a great time. Thanks Tracy so much for letting me stay with you guys! I just love that girl!!

This picture cracks me up probably because Melissa and Linda STILL don't even know I took it. I took this as I was getting dropped off at the airport. They flew out of a different airport. The perfect ending to an incredible week some MUCH needed sleep!

being silly at the manufacture plant. It was a really cool tour!
blowing kisses Amy Clair, Holli Mahoney and I

While in Dallas (staying w/ Tracy) I got my hair cut and highlighted. The best part was it only cost me $35!!! compared to the $150+ I would pay here. This was the 2nd day I had the hair cut (I cut off 6 1/2 inch) so I was still getting use to doing it. You know me always spontaneous!

history in the making... this lady is Dalene White (the 1st Mary Kay beauty consultant EVER) She put this hat on my head. I earned a trip with my national area to go to her ranch in San Antonio for a weekend. We were suprised to find that SHE presented the winners of the trip. It is going to be so incredible. I can't wait!
Here is another Mary Kay legend Anne Sullivan. She was also one of the very first Mary Kay beauty consultants. I won a special party in my National Director, Julianne's suite and she was out guest speaker. It was so incredible to hear her speak. She is turning 90 in November! Thanks to faithfully using Mary Kay for 44 yrs she sure doesn't look it!I tell ya Julianne has the hooks ups when it comes to meeting incredible legends. We are so blessed! Julianne is to my right.

my roomies Melissa, Linda and I on awards night

okay I know it has been forever....so sorry....

2008-07-24T11:00:00.000-07:00

It has really become a lot of fun lately with these two since they play so cute together now. Yes they know how to fight too....but moments like this make it all worth it. :) Ben is so funny he loves to speak for his brother to get what he wants...e

playing in the sandbox
Landon has turned into quite the daddy's boy
I love this pictures because it shows so much love and admiration

Fernando bought a wii and a wii fit while I was in Oregon... and well the boys have quite taken to it. This is them playing mario cart. Landon always 'thinks' he is playing Ben can't be fooled.

Landon strutting around
a typical day except this happened to be a Sunday right after church... I was getting Landon un dressed but his brother headed outside, and he went right after him
playing in the sand box

In my defense I have tried to post earlier than this but the pictures wouldn't up load and then I didn't want to take the time.... sorry but I will be better. So there ya have it some random pictures from the last 2 months...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIKA!!

2008-05-21T02:17:00.000-07:00

I have to give a shout out to my best friend Erika since today is her birthday. It is so great that I get to be here in Oregon celebrating it with her. We are sad to have to leave each other again. :( The boys and I head back home tonight.

I feel so blessed to have Erika in my life. She is so amazing and extremely talented. If you are wondering where all those new cute candid shots on my side bar blog came from now you know. She is an incredible photographer, video augrapher and artist!!! just to name a few of her many talents...
Our friendship started 4 1/2 years ago but I truly believe it started long before then.

It all started when our husbands were in several of the same accounting classes together. We were both pregnant with our firsts and instantly bonded. Our friendship has just continued to blossom as we have shared in each others lives. We use to hang out all the time before we moved to seperate states but the distance hasn't altered our friendship we still talk on the phone almost daily and visit each other. It is fun and a little crazy when we get together because it is like having 2 sets of twins almost... our kids are 3 months and 2 months apart....oh and we hardly get any sleep because we stay up all night talking, laughing and bonding even more. Just the other night we stayed up doing facials and drinking virgin strawberry pina coladas, and pedicures. We laughed until we were crying. In respect for her I won't post our crazy fun pictures of our green masks. :) It just isn't every day you find someone you can totally be yourself with and who knows and understands you so perfectly! I couldn't t ask for a more loyal best friend
Everywhere we go people ask us if we are sisters. I am curious to hear what you think?? We are so a like in so many ways. I couldn't ask for a better best friend. Erika I love your guts and feel so blessed to have you in my life! I treasure the memories we've created and look forward to the many more memories to come. Thank you for ALWAYS being there for EVERYTHING. I hope you have the birthday that you so deserve.

Battle of the Bens

2008-05-21T01:46:00.000-07:00

I discovered today that Ben is quite possessive of his name...these two crack me up! It has been so fun to listen to the two of them carry on conversations with each other. They have really kept us laughing this week. :) Three year olds can be tough at times but they are SO MUCH FUN!

Oregon Day 2 ...The Bouncy Place

2008-05-15T12:44:00.001-07:00

We had another fun day here in Oregon! We took the kids to the bouncy place and they had SO much fun! Ben was having a hay day seeing exactly how high he could make himself bounce down the slide.

Check out these little climbers! The climb up the the top was kind of steep but didn't phase these two little monkeys.

who hoo here I go!
They went full energy until they just wiped out.... they made me tired just watching. :)Just capturing this moment was worth the nice elbow slide burn...

After the bouncy place we took the kids to Burger King.
And then we went to Goodwill to find some kids books.
ok so my children can sleep anywhere as you have noticed...
ok so don't think of me as totally cruel I did manage to find a 'used' pillow to prop his head up with so he could sleep more 'comfortably'

Ben some how managed to 'share' his friends icecream...more like TAKE OVER both!

Oregon visit Day 1!

2008-05-14T15:47:00.000-07:00

The boys and I are currently in Oregon visiting my best friend Erika. We have kids that are the same age. It is kind of crazy when we get together because it is like having 2 sets of twins...but we love the craziness. :) We flew in Monday night. Tuesday morning we headed to the Oregon Zoo. The kids loved it even if it did rain on us...after all we are in Oregon what can ya expect. :) The rain didn't stop us from having fun.

I think the highlight of the zoo visit were the Polar Bears, penguins and Elephants eating their hay.We were all pretty wet and tired by the end but the boys fell asleep in the car with big smiles on their faces. :)
Us moms were glad to have Erika's husband Joseph take the day off of work to be there with us. He was a huge help. Landon and Ben showing us the polar bears. They made them so excited! The 2 polar bears were so active and put on quite the performance for us!
I just love my sweet baby!
As you can see...the Penguins showing off got Ben pretty excited! Here he is laughing at them being 'siwwy'Here is sweet little Landon. Poor little guy is teething again with his bottom molars... so I wasn't able to get as many pictures of him smiling and posing for the camera like he normally does...this was right after his motrin kicked in. :)

A scolding by my 3 year old...

2008-05-09T09:42:00.000-07:00

I hate when I don't have a working camera...but here is a cute little Ben story for you. The other night I finished eating my food and then went upstairs to do some work on the computer. I was only up there for a min when Ben comes in and says 'Mommy its time to eat youw food, common hurry daddy's goina eat it all gone!" So I go down stairs and eat a few bites and then come back up stairs...well a min later he comes back up and says the same thing. So...I go back down stairs and with him and eat one more bite and am now for sure am no longer hungry....and go upstairs to finish my work. Once again I hear Ben headed up the stairs. He comes in and says, 'mommy come here look at me, he proceeds to take me by my chin so that I am now staring him in the face...'I told you I'm not messing awaound! Daddy's gonna eat youw food all gone come on hurry fast." It was so hilarious I just had to laugh all the way down the stairs...needless to say I didn't get back to the computer. :)

San Francisco with the Girls!!

2008-05-09T09:10:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago I went on a trip to San Francisco. It was a Mary Kay trip that I earned with my national area. It was so much fun and so incredible! We had a private tour of the city, went on a ferry ride under the Golden Gate bridge, ate at some fabulous restraunts, fishermans warf, lombard street, Golden Gate Bride, Pacific Heights and much more!! The best part was I got to spend a whole weekend with some totally amazing women! It was just what I needed.

I took tons of pics but I am only posting a few because you would much rather look at my boys I am sure.

Melissa Chipman and I riding on the trolley.
Girls just being girls...
Me with my National Sales Director Julianne Hackett
and my adorable director Shari Kendall
Our whole group.

HE'S 3 WHAT A FUN DAY!

2008-04-14T10:18:00.001-07:00

EASTER

2008-04-14T09:44:00.001-07:00

Easter was fun this year. Ben had a great time at the Easter egg hunt unfortunately my camera wasn't working so I didn't get pictures... but the boys both got cute little ties and a small easter basket from the easter bunny. :)

Happy 3rd birthday Ben!

2008-04-14T07:39:00.001-07:00

Ben turned 3 March 28th. For his birthday he got a scooter. We took it around the block and had a great day in the sun. That night we went to Kangaroo Zoo and Wendy's with some friends and then had chocolate cake to end the night. We all had a great time. Here are some pics of the big day!

CHOCOLATE MANIA!

2008-04-13T21:49:00.001-07:00

It is crazy to believe that my baby is now 1!! Oh how I wish my video camera would have been charged for the birthday occasion. Landon was HILARIOUS eating his birthday cake! :) He first just took and put one finger in it and licked it, and then just planted his WHOLE FACE into it and took a huge bite. Then he started eating it by the handfulls. He finally decided that pickig the whole thing up with each hand would be the most effective... :) We just about died laughing. I tried to post these pics in order but for some reason they aren't and I am tired so this will have to do for now. :) ENJOY!

thinking about planting his face...

first little taste...

HE LOVES chocolate cake just like big brother

so cute!!

Ok I know what you are thinking...ABOUT TIME I UPDATED MY BLOG RIGHT??

2008-04-13T20:35:00.001-07:00

So I dont' have any real excuses for being such a slacker on updating my blog...it all started with being in Utah for 3 wks with dial up internet and escelated from there but I promise I will try to be better.

I have tons of pictures to share so I better get started. Last time I tried to upload them they wouldn't up load and I got frustrated and went to bed... to start out...

ONE MESSY EATER....

2008-02-04T23:41:00.001-08:00

Ben and Landon's eating habits are opposite. Ben doesn't like to get his hands even dirty. There are times where he insists that I clean his hands or what ever other mess he makes AT the moment the mess occurs. Landon on the other hand....if he isn't completely covered from head to toe even he obviously hasn't finished eating. :) A bib doesn't do anything for him I have to pretty much strip him down every I feed him... He LOVES food and can totally out eat his brother at any given time. He gets so animated when he eats it is hilarious to watch. Here are a a few pics of him eating his spinach ravioli tonight.

sticking his tounge out
finally feeling full...doesn't happen to often these days...
such a little ham for the camera

Thinking chairs

2008-02-04T23:24:00.001-08:00

Fernando likes to call these the 'thinking chairs.' We went to a super bowl party at one of the tax partners homes. The boys got such a kick out of these sweet chairs. Suprisingly they are REALLY comfortable. Fernando couldn't have been happier with the winning team. He even had to wear his 'New York' sweatshirt to show his New York pride. :)Go NY Giants!

who knew he was going to kick off his adorable brown shoes to reveal the red socks...CHEEEEEEEZZZZZZZZZEEEEEEE
Landon is getting around all over the place these days
he wasn't putting the cup down for pictures...but at least he smiled through the cup. :)

Hamper Fun

2008-02-04T23:15:00.001-08:00

The weather has been kind of yucky (rainy, cold, windy) the past week and the boys have felt very cooped up. We have had to be creative... This laundry hamper entertained the boys for over 1/2! It was so funny to watch them playing and laughing together. I really should have made a video but the pictures will have to do.

smile :)

President Hinckley we will miss you.

2008-01-31T23:43:00.000-08:00

My aunt Merle sent me and I thought it was prefect and wanted to share this sweet poem that was written about our dear Prophet President Hinckley.

Prophetic Passing

I imagine he's running to Marjorie now,

Yes, running, not waving his cane.

I see him embracing his father and mother

While they keep repeating his name.

I see him now meeting his forebears,

Brother Brigham and Joseph are there.

Sweet reunion of prophets, united by service

That only such noble men share.

I see him embraced by the Savior

While Father says, "Good and well done.

So faithful in stalwart endurance, I welcome

My noble, most excellent son."

I then hear the ripples of laughter

As he says the reception's just fine,

But he hopes that he'll get an assignment or two

Since there's no need to waste any time.

I can hear his clear voice in the stillness

At the close of this sweet Sabbath day,

Have faith and move forward - there's work to be done.

President Hinckley would want it that way.

-Anna M. Molgard

January 27, 2008

Little Chef Ben

2008-01-28T19:32:00.000-08:00

Grandma and Grandpa Jake got Ben a cute little apron and hat little chef set for Christmas. He is so into baking and cooking and helping mommy. Sunday night we had one of Fernando's co workers and his wife over for dinner. Ben was right up there with daddy helping prepare the meal. I was get that hubby offered to be the chef for the night! :) Their dinner turned out wonderful! I just love my little family!! Here are a few fun pics I took.

Christmas 2007

2008-01-23T01:28:00.001-08:00

Boys just having fun

2008-01-22T22:34:00.000-08:00

It has been so fun watching the boys play together these days! Landon is getting all over the place crawling and pulling himself up to everything to walk around. Ben is always making sure he isn't getting into anything he isn't suppose to or putting anything in his mouth that doesn't belong there. :) He has his moments where he doesn't want to share and everything that Landon does is not ok with him...but for the most part he shares with his brother and loves him. He loves to tickel him and make him laugh and give him lots of hugs and tell him he loves him. What a fun stage! Here are some pics of the fun moments.

Ben sharing his treasured jamba juice. Landon LOVES drinking out of a straw

wrestling

Landon climbing under the piano

Little voices laughing

2008-01-22T13:43:00.000-08:00

At the moment we are unable to put the boys to sleep in the same room UNTIL they are BOTH asleep... because then they just play. I thought I had the problem solved until Ben started the following. He has been climbing into Landon's crib for some time so that isn't new. I put them to sleep in different bedrooms and go down stairs and start cleaning up the house or what not. Here am I am thinking they are sleeping (Landon usually goes down before Ben by 1/2 to an hr) and all the sudden I hear little laugher. Sure enough I go into the room that Landon is in and Ben is in the crib or pack n play (depending on the room) with Landon jumping and they are both laughing. The funny thing is Ben's waits 20 min to 30 min to go in and start jumping in Landon's bed (so that I think he is asleep). Mom doesn't think it is too funny...

hi mommy
caught again..

Spaghetti fun

2008-01-20T23:51:00.000-08:00

The boys got a little carried away with the spaghetti tonight for dinner... I'll let you guess who started it all... :) I should have taken more pics but I had to stop it before it got out of hand because Ben's spaghetti had sauce on it.

It almost looks like Landon's reaction is 'Yes I got him!"

Birthday Cake

2008-01-10T22:56:00.001-08:00

I know it has been a while since I last updated my blog...and I still have Christmas and Utah pics that I need to post but this was too funny.
Tonight Ben was quietly playing with his cars tonight on the stairs while I was trying to catch up on my emails (usually he doesn't let me get on the computer at all when he is around)but tonight was different. After a while of him playing he comes up to me and says 'mommy I make you a burday cake! He then proceeded to show me the birthday cake that he made me. It was my boot full of multiple little cars. He of course made one for himself and made sure he put a 'stawberry' on top. He was so proud of himself and then of course we had to eat our birthday cakes. However before we ate the birthday cakes he said, "mommy I need to take a piture of birfday cake,"and insisted I get my camera.He really makes me laugh. These days he is saying and doing the funniest things. Yesterday when I was talking to him he all of the sudden put his fingers in his ears and said 'wat mom I not earing you.' Who knows where that came from. He keeps us laughing. Anyway thought you might enjoy the story

'mommy's burfday cake'
'Ben's burfday cake' (notice his had the train on top

Ben eating the birthday cake :)

Baking time

2007-12-09T19:58:00.000-08:00

This past week Ben has seriously had this obsession with baking. He will bring me a box of muffins and say 'mommy i need bake muppins' Here are some of the kodak baking moments.

This is classic! I have the hardest time keeping pants on this kid! I just had to laugh at his dress shirt and no pants... :)
He brought home a 123 I can make cookies for family night. It was a cake box with a recepie to add the cake batter 2 eggs and 1/3 cup of oil to make cookies. I had to wing it because we didn't have eggs only egg beaters and no oil so we substituted applesauce. Little did I realize how much that would change the consistency for making cookies. We were suppose to roll them in balls and the batter was too sticky so I got some flour out however he got WAY carried away.
Here he is wating for the cookies to come out.
Landon loves eating Ben's muffins. Once they came out of the oven and had cooled off Ben asked for a muffin. Landon was on the floor playing. He got a little make shift plate and put it in front of Landon and put the muffin on it for him to eat it... no photo for that unfortunately.
Amazingly he didn't get any chocolate on his shirt or bib for that matter however his hands... and the table were a different story...
Landon was such a little angel entertaining himself. He is such a little sweetie!
He loves Ben's trucks. He has really started getting into stuff these days but today luckily wasn't one of those days.
I let him do it all himself and he was so proud of himself
after every scoop he would say ' I taste it foow you mommy' and after tasting it with his finger 'yep dats good mommy' it is a good thing that only our family ate them
I dare say this was his favorite part...

Brotherly Love

2007-11-25T23:45:00.002-08:00

Fernando went to check on the boys tonight before heading to bed and told me I needed to bring the camera. I didn't see what could justify a bright flash in their sleeping eyes so he had me see for myself. This is what I found. Perhaps he climbed in to give Landon his binki or maybe he just wanted to be close to his little bro. :) I couldn't help but pass on this precious moment.

Landon fell asleep in our room and was carried into his crib after he and Ben were both asleep...so not sure when this occured.

Yummy breadsticks

2007-11-25T23:32:00.001-08:00

Landon has discovered a new love of table food. He LOVES to feed himself. We couldn't help but get the camera out as he happily munched down this breadstick.
He is such a little poser showing off his bread stick. He was using it as a drumstick and waving it around to the beat of the music in between bites. :)

p.s. you will have to excuse the way Ben is dressed in the background... a battle I didn't want to fight...at least he IS dressed and isn't running around naked. :)

Ben's Quote of the Week

2007-11-25T15:48:00.000-08:00

"No way man"

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

2007-11-24T14:19:00.000-08:00

We decided to spend this Thanksgiving with just our little family of 4. It was a little different not being around tons of family and we didn't have half the food... but it was really nice. Fernando and I agreed that a turkey would be to much for us and we would never finish it so we decided on Costco Rotissory chicken instead (hey it looks like turkey... :) We watched the Thanksgiving Day Macy's parade. The boys really liked that. We had some fun playing chase with Ben around the house and listening to Landon laughing. After dinner Ben got to have a little one on one time with his daddy playing soccer outside. It was a fun Thanksgiving.

This was the only picture that I got of Ben looking at me...
Landon was excited that he got to sit up to the table with usHe had a great time feeding himself mashed potatoes (even if more ended up on his face and bib then in his mouth. :)
yum yum!

Rosarita Beach Mexico

2007-11-16T17:05:00.000-08:00

We just got back from a fun Mexico trip. We had originally planned on flying into San Diego and renting a car but spur of the moment decided to leave 2 days earlier and drive. I must say I am glad we did. I thought the long car ride was going to be interesting...but we left at night and the boys slept practically the whole way both ways. :) We stayed in Oceanside the first night and went to the San Diego temple the next morning. Ben started singing "I love to see the temple" when he first saw the temple. It was fun to see him so excited! :) our little angel :)
I must say the San Diego Temple is my favorite one and ya can't get much better than getting a picture of your favorite little boys at your favorite temple. :)

families are forever

We stayed 1 night in Tamecula (near San Diego) at my cousin Lisa's and her husband Darcy's house. Ben and Parker(their 2 year old little girl) had such a great time playing together, and Landon loved playing with all the new toys.
Ben and Parker playing chase
We met up with our friends Jen and Phil Moore and their little girl in Mexico. The weather wasn't perfect but we had a awesome time at the condo playing games when we weren't at the beach or the pool.
Landon and Maeli
Ben and Daddy dug a big hole together and got nice and dirty It was SO beautiful!!

Our little nature walk

2007-11-03T23:15:00.000-07:00

Today was such a beautiful day! The boys and I went on a walk around the neighborhood. Ben loves pushing his shopping cart. He goes crazy driving as fast as he can all over the side walk. I really need to film it some time it is hilarious. He loaded his shopping cart up with several rocks and leaves as he found them along the way.
checking out a squirl in the tree'look mommy Ben's stong'

While we were walking there were two grandmas out on their porch. He was putting on quite a show for them. I couldn't get him to leave until we crossed the street and went and talked to them. He is such a little ladies man. He instantly won their hearts and scored a bag of teddy grams. Those dimples get em every time. :)
Ben found quite a few huge leaves. This is him bringing one to Landon.
and after Landon received it...
Since the majority of these pics are of Ben here is one last one of Landon standing at the trian table playing with Ben.

FUN IN THE TUB

2007-11-03T21:54:00.000-07:00

One of Landon's favorite places to be is in the tub splashing. He has seriously drenched me more than one time with his splashing. Here are a few fun pictures I took of the boys in the tub. They don't take baths together yet because Landon insists on laying down and kicking his feet splashing and leaping like a frog. Ben is all over the place standing up and such, so after trying one time I haven't attempted again... I just got Ben some new alphabet letters and numbers to play with in the tub. He had such a fun time playing with them today so I thought I would take some pictures.He kept singing the ABC song over and over again and counting to 10. I caught him mid sentence in this shot.
I couldn't resist with Bens hair...you know me and hair :) I can't beleive how long it is already getting again since cutting it way short last time.

My boys keeps me smiling.

Landon after his bath

Halloween 07

2007-11-02T00:22:00.001-07:00

Sorry I am still trying to figure out how this works... until I do just do the same as my last slide (click on view images then click on original view). Oh one more thing. If you want to listen to the music while watching the slide show you have to click on the little speaker icon on the bottom left corner. Sorry I am sure most of you already know this...but there are some that I know are new to this...won't mention any names. :)

Race Car Driver Ben and Landon the turtle

2007-11-01T15:55:00.001-07:00

We hope you all had a happy Halloween. We had a lot of fun! I took the boys out trick or treating with my friend Tracy and her 2 boys around the neighborhood. I had to keep reminding Ben to only take one when they put the bowl out in front of him and let him choose himself... you know how much that kid loves candy. :) Afterwards Ben insisted that we go to Brett and Marcela's house. We had a great time visiting them and Ben loved showing all his candy and counting it. Fernando flew out to New York to visit family and see his uncle in the hospital. We missed having him but it was still good times. So I got a little carried away with the camera...but then again its me. :) Of course Ben wasn't very cooperative with the camera so most of the shots are candid shots. Here are some of my favorites and a slide show to come.

EARTH QUAKE!

2007-10-30T23:47:00.000-07:00

We experience our first California earth quake. It hit at 8:05 tonight and was a 5.6. Ben was having a difficult time obeying...so he got put in time out outside on the deck. No sooner did I leave him when it hit and we felt the shake. The sliding glass door made a loud noise almost like thunder had struck REALLY close. When Fernando got home Ben said 'daddy ie's outside and da wood went shake shake shake.' Fernando was reversing the car leaving to come home from work. He thought he had hit something or his engine was sputtering and the car went back and forth. Lukily everything was fine and no one was hurt.

BEN'S QUOTE OF THE WEEK

2007-10-30T23:45:00.000-07:00

" Ben's cookie monsta gonna eat you"

Uesugi Farms

2007-10-30T22:55:00.000-07:00

Saturday we had a fun family day. We went to a pumkin patch in Morgan Hill called Uesugi Farms with our friends the Kelly family. It was beautiful all orange and yellow flowers and pumkins. We went through a corn maze where the kids got to push a button to listen to a story along the way. The kids had fun playing chase in the pumkins and even got to sit in the wheel barrow. :) Here is a little slide of pictures. On the slide below once you click on view in the right hand corner click on original view that is the way I intended the slide show to look.

Pumkin Patch

2007-10-30T22:41:00.001-07:00

oops

2007-10-23T01:31:00.000-07:00

ok so like I said... I am still new at this...don't ask me how I managed to post the pictures so that they can't be seen? Here is the one of Landon swinging that is hidden and while I am at it I will send you a few more of him swinging.

Playing at the Park

2007-10-23T00:21:00.000-07:00

The weather has been so perfect here lately. The boys and I have been able to get out and do so many fun things. Going to the park has become a daily event. Ben loves to go and find new little friends to play with each time and Landon would swing all day if I would let him. Here are some pictures of them at the park.

2007-10-18T22:44:00.000-07:00

Now that I have figured out how to use this blog...I will try posting at least weekly. :)
A few weeks ago we went to Happy Hollow Zoo with some friends. I took some fun pictures of the boys. My boys always seems to holding some girls hand... :)

HERE IT GOES

2007-05-22T15:14:00.000-07:00

I've decided that since we are so far way from family and friends that I would try a blog page. There is always something going on with a 2 year old and a 2 month in the house. We will see how it goes and if anyone ever looks at it or comments on it...