Another Week

This week was pretty uneventful again. The kids have both been sick so we haven't really left the house much. I am starting to get stir crazy and I'm just about ready to buy a ticket home to California. Enough with the snow and cold already!! I know I am always complaining about the cold and lack of sunshine, but listen to what the newspaper had to say about this blasted city last week...

"If the sun does not shine today, we'll set a 5 year record for the most SUNLESS days in a row - -eight -- and the National Weather Service says we will probably get through 10 before we get a chance of a glimmer, on Monday, when the prediction is mostly cloudy."

"The Cleveland area has enjoyed only two perfectly clear days since Nov. 1. That leaves the other 97 DISMAL DAYS since then either cloudy or partly cloudy."

"Cleveland ranks among the CLOUDIEST CITIES in the nation "

"Cleveland averages 202 CLOUDY days a year."

Oh Mister Golden Sun PLEASE shine down on me!!!!!!!

On to some happier news, here are a few highlights from this week.
1.I got to see WICKED on tuesday. Andy got me tickets for my birthday/V-day present. . It was AMAZING. The writers are seriuosly geniuses and Elpheba is my hero. The girl who played her was incredible to say the least. I LOVED it and I think everyone should go see it. Thanks for going with me Andy!!

2. Andrew is sleeping through the night!! Yes, he is a year old and I probably should have let him cry it out a LONG time ago, but the truth is I LOVE nursing and snuggling with my babies even at 12:00, and 2:00, and 4:00, and 6:00 in the morning. It is exhausting, and I know I'm crazy, but I kind of like it. They just grow up too fast. But, I am very happy that he is sleeping now.

3. I got a new camera on Ebay (different than the one mentioned in the last post. I returned that one to get a bigger and better one :)! I have always thought it would be so fun to be a child photographer, so I decided to add it to my never ending list of things to do. I have been reading a ton on the internet and trying to learn as much as possible. I can't wait to actually get the camera in my hands and start shooting. Anyone want to volunteer their kids/babies to be my guinea pigs, i mean models?? :)

And now for the weeks lowlights

1. Andrew hates getting his hair washed in the bathtub and totally fights me every time. Well, on Friday he was trying to get away from me and banged his mouth on the side of the bathtub. He totally chipped his front tooth!! Poor kid! He chipped a pretty big chunk off too. Good thing Daddy is an almost Dentist. As soon as Andrew can hold still, not bite off his Dad's finger, AND stop drooling long enough to let the composite dry, we can get it fixed. I don't think I can wait that long. Am I totally vain for caring that much?!? Don't answer that.
2. Avery got her first Cold Sore. Who ever heard of a 3 year old getting a Cold Sore??? I have never had one and Andy hasn't had one for months so I have no idea how she got it. Now she will have them for the rest of her life. SO SAD!! She has been a pretty good sport about it though.

Well, maybe this week wasn't uneventful after all. I hope I haven't bored you to death. Sorry I don't have any pictures, but I'm sure I will be posting LOTS once I get the new camera!

Look Ma!



...but not TOO close. I made some curtains for our kitchen! I love sewing, but I am not very good at it. I think I am physically incapable of sewing a straight line! They still turned out pretty cute though. I just need a little more practice I guess.


On my last post my friend Jess suggested I take more pictures of my kids to entertain myself. I just got a new camera, so I have been having a lot of fun. So for your viewing pleasure, here are a few pictures of Andrew. My camera has this feature called Color accent. It takes the picture in black and white and then randomly picks out some colors to highlight, mostly yellow. I don't have photoshop so I can't do any editing. We are going computer shopping soon. I'm trying to decide between a MAC or a Dell. Any recommendations?





Sorry I'm turning into a once a week blogger. Life is just so incredibly boring right now. There is absolutely nothing going on. Is it just me or do January and February seriously last FOREVER?!? Anyways, my friend Lindsey tagged me. It is kind of similar to the one I already did, so I'll just answer the new questions. And, if anyone is lacking for things to post on their blog, consider yourself tagged!

10 years ago...check here

5 Things on my To-Do List Today...1.Laundry,Laundry and more laundry 2. Grocery shopping 3. Make curtains for kitchen 4. Give kids a bath 5. Etsy stuff

5 Snacks I Enjoy...check here again

5 Places I Have Lived...1. Morgan Hill, California 2. Encinitas, California 3. Mission Viejo, California 4. Provo and American Fork, Utah 5. Cleveland, Ohio

5 Jobs I've had...1.Los Hermanos-server 2. EFY counselor for 3 summers (Yes, I was one of them. I know they can be annoying, but I had some seriously AMAZING experiences.) 3. A million Temp jobs doing secretarial stuff 4. Center for Change- A treatment center for girls with eating disorders- we basically watched their EVERY move to make sure they weren't hiding food or barfing or anything (not to sound insensitive) 5. Mother of 2

5 Things People Don't Know About Me...1. I am totally afraid of the dark! Andy went out of town a few weeks ago and I slept with almost all the lights on and I left the TV on the BYU channel all night in my room 2. I love scary roller coasters. I remember going to Magic mountain with my fam when I was little and crying because I couldn't go on the scary rides with my siblings 3. I love to play the guitar and sing ( that doesn't mean I am any good, I just like to do it). 4. I took a bowling class at BYU. It didn't help much, but I once bowled a 179. 5. I LOVE to drink bottled water. andy thinks it is a waste of money, but I just think it tastes better and is so convenient. Plus, in the winter I leave it in the garage and it is always the PERFECT temperature

Well, there you have it. Any one have any ideas of something I can do to make life a little more interesting?

Our Dear Prophet



President Hinckely touched not only my own life immensely, but the lives of millions of people through his dedication and service to the Lord. He is my Hero. I love that man! His love for all radiated from his smile. Even being thousands of miles away, I felt his love. Every time I saw him during conference or read his words, the spirit testified to me that he truly is a prophet of God. His strength, sense of humor, humility, and testimony will be missed, but never forgotten.

I saw this picture on my friends blog and fell in love with it. Thanks Holly!

Let it Snow!

Yesterday we got our first snowfall since we've been back in Ohio. And, it was actually kind of fun. This January has turned out to be way more mild than last year, so it doesn't seem so bad. Last year it was below zero for weeks. I guess I shouldn't speak too soon though because I heard it is supposed to be like 15 degrees this weekend. YUCK! Anyways, I decided to be adventurous and take the kids out to play in the snow. Avery loved it and Andrew, well, hated every minute of it.



Happy Birthday Buddy Boy!!



Andrew turned 1 today!!! He is such a fun happy boy and makes me laugh on a daily basis. I don't know what I would do without him!!


Here are a few things he likes to do:
Chase the vacuum
Sweep the floor
play the piano
took his first steps on Christmas eve
loves to dance
loves to get his sister in trouble
loves to sleep by his mom
can say Mama, Da, Soda, Ball, Uh-oh (minus the uh)
Loves to play with balls and cars
loves to eat
go up and down the stairs
he can wave bye-bye
gives great loves
loves to make me laugh
loves to try on his sister's princess shoes
Happy 1st Birthday Drew!

We love you!


p.s. Did you notice the recurring them in all of his pictures? Ha! Mouth wide open. Silly boy!

Christmas Outfits

Here are a few snapshots of the kids in their Christmas outfits













It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Sorry for all the pictures. Here are a few random ones from Christmas.


Drew in the overhead compartment on the airplane
Candy Cane lover
Santa brought Avery a Pink Sewing Machine!


Drew checking out his new monkey toy

Christmas at the Ingersoll's
Thanks for the hats Andrea and Austin!
We love Uncle Aaron

Thanks for taking care of me Grandma

Back to Life,Back to Reality

Well, after an AMAZING 5 week vacation, we are back in Ohio and my flip flops are back in the closet. sad. I haven't been very good at keeping my blog updated, so I have a lot of catching up to do. I know it is kind of late, but better late then never. SO, I'll start with Avery's cute Princess birthday party. She was so excited and talked about it for weeks. She wanted everything to be pink. She even picked out a strawberry cake and strawberry frosting (which I wasn't too excited about, but it ended up being pretty good!). We invited just a few friends and had them dress up in their princess dresses. They looked so cute!! It was a lot of fun! Happy 3rd Birthday Avery! I love you Sweetie!



Disneyland and Gingerbread houses


Avery loves to make Gingerbread Houses. I'm not sure if it is because she eats 3 pieces of candy for every 1 that actually makes it on the house, or if its all the frosting that just has to be licked off of her fingers, or spending time with her cousins. Whatever the reason, it is a fun tradition that helps to spread holiday cheer!

And, what can be more cheery than a trip to the Happiest place on earth, all decked out for the Holidays!


I asked Avery to show me how she was going to smile for her picture with Santa, and this is what I got

I Heart Cancun, Mexico!!



I Heart...

Turquoise Ocean water

White sand in my toes

The sound of the waves crashing

Being tan in December

The warm sunshine

All you can drink Pina coladas (preferably without alcohol!)

Palm Trees

and everything else CANCUN!


Thanks Staci and Garrett!! We had a Blast!! Can we do it again next year? ;)


Could life get any better than this?

Kids Club Fun!


Andrew Checking out the View from our Balcony

Swimming with Daddy!
Just Hangin' around!

Taking a ferry ride to Isla Mujeres
We flew to Mexico on Avery's birthday. Here she is in the airport opening a present and wearing her Princess Birthday crown which she wore the WHOLE day!

I haven't been very good at taking pictures, but my SIL Andrea does a great job at updating her blog, so if you want to see more pics of what we've been doing in Utah, check out here site!

Dance Recital




We are leaving on Wednesday for Utah (YIPPEE!) but I am a little sad because we are going to miss Avery's dance recital. Her teacher was nice enough to let us come and watch the rehearsal last Tuesday. Avery was the only one dressed up, and it wasn't quite the same, but it was still so much fun to see her.She LOVES dance and it has helped her come out of her shell. I can't wait to see the recital next spring!