Girls' Trip to San Diego

This trip was long overdue. The boys in the family have already made several trips together and the girls have talked about doing one for a while now. At first we planned to go to New York this month but things just didn't pan out. But things did work out when we all planned to go to San Diego!! We had a great time and lots of laughs. Mom, Linda, Annie, Audra, Laura, and I went this last weekend for 4 days. We missed Linds but we know we'll all go again sometime.

Here are a few pictures of our trip:

This is at a delicious little spot in Carlsbad called Harbor Fish Cafe. They had awesome fish tacos.

The piece of fish was humongous. I just about ate the whole thing.

I have never seen Annie eat so fast in my life. They were that good!

After lunch we headed down to the beach for a little walk. We made sure this was not the only beach time we got!


We did lots of shopping...and I mean LOTS! Apparently, driving the minivan all over San Diego wasn't enough for Mom.


The next day we went to Tijuana. We were hoping for a quick trip in and then have time for other things that day but instead we waited 2 hours to cross the border back into the U.S. Oh well, we got to eat hot churros while we waited! We stopped for lunch at the famous "In-N-Out". It was my first time there and I can't say I was really that impressed. I didn't order it "animal style"...but I can't see that making it much better. Just my opinion.


On Saturday, we took a trolley tour around San Diego which was way fun! It was relaxing and we got to see way more than we would if we would have tried driving everywhere. We shopped and played at the beach in Coronado.


Here are the girls on the trolley.


We spent our last day at Sea World. This was one of my personal favorites! I cried at the Shamu show. It was like I was 5 again. It was just all so exciting!!


It was just amazing to see those animals up close.


We sat in the "Soak Zone" and came prepared with ponchos. It was blazing hot and I didn't actually end up wearing mine for the show. Much to our dismay, we didn't even get dripped on. We must have sat in the wrong area. We did use our ponchos for the water rides, though!

This is at the "Shark Encounter" exhibit. It was hard to get a good shot of them because they kept the lights extremely low in there. This is in the tunnel.

We had a great time together and are already planning on another trip. Who knows when it will happen but IT WILL!

Race For the Cure

This morning Jon, Jonah, and I got up extra early so we could beat the traffic and find a parking spot in Salt Lake at the Gateway. Why, you ask? A few days ago I won free registration for the Susan G. Komen Race For the Cure 5k walk/run. I've always wanted to participate in this event and FM100 just happened to be giving out some free registrations on their team. I heard someone mention that there were about 18,000 participants this year. There were, in fact, so many people there that we did not cross the start line for about 5 minutes after the gun went off and we were completely unable to run (due to the high volume of walkers) until another 9 minutes passed. It was a good experience and very touching to see those with banners pinned to their backs in memory or celebration of loved ones who have battled breast cancer.
I forgot my camera but this is about what it looked like as we all lined up:


On our way home we were discussing possible reasons as to why Jonah had been so cranky and crying the night before, all night, and this morning. I noticed that he wasn't really using his left arm at all and when we moved it or got him dressed he would burst into tears. We took him to the doctor and it turns out that last night when Jon and I took him to the park and were playing with him (which included tossing him in the air, etc) he had dislocated his radius (the bone which connects the wrist to the elbow). He had managed somehow to pop it back in all by himself just minutes before we entered the doctors office but the doctor definitely noticed swelling and inflammation and taught us the term "nurse-maid's elbow" which refers to maids commonly picking up kids by the arm and dislocating their elbow. So, after a little Motrin, our little Jonah is back to normal! Thank goodness it wasn't anything more serious.

Here is a picture of Cousin Dave with Jonah and Jon. Dave was in town for EFY meetings and we were cool enough to be on his list of visits! We love you David!!

Jonah News

So Jonah has finally started walking. Its a lot of fun to watch him get more and more comfortable with it. He thinks he is just the coolest now that he's up and about. Another thing he learned recently is that his finger fits very well in his nose. I'm not sure he grasps the actual concept of picking one's nose but he sure has the method down pretty well. Here's a video I took where I'm telling him not to pick his nose and he's getting upset with me because he likes picking.



Here are some more pictures for your enjoyment:


This is an attempt at a family bike ride. As you can see, a road bike is way too forward-leaning. We called Jonah's positioning "Superman" for obvious reasons. I just kind of hung from me in the Bjorn.


Jonah loves Daddy's helmet. He always laughs when Jon puts it on before his ride to work.


I got a ton of great pictures one night before bed. Jonah was posing and laughing for the camera. What a cutie!


Here he is playing a little piano before bath time. Ahhhh.

The Ultimate Modest Swimsuit

So I've recently been on the search for a more modest bathing suit. No longer will even a tankini work due to the 8 lb 12 0z Baby Jonah whom I delivered over 1 year ago. Stretch marks are not something the whole world needs to be subjected to. So to begin my search I typed in "modest swimsuits" into Google and this was the second website I stumbled upon. My mouth dropped open in shock after I soon realized that the "dresses" on the home page were, indeed, actually the swimsuits. Take a look. Don't be nervous, it's nothing at all offensive. In fact, I would venture to say that these are quite possibly the most modest bathing suits ever invented. NO JOKE!

Let me know what you think! I laughed for almost a half hour straight. Enjoy!

PS. If you really DO know of some good modest swimsuit websites/stores, let me know! I'm on the lookout!

I've Been Tagged

My dear sister, Laura, has tagged me. I'm not exactly sure what this means except that I'm supposed to write things about myself. So I'll just use hers as a guide and we'll get this thing done!
10 Years Ago I Was: A freshman at Columbine and probably awkward. I can't really remember my freshman year due to certain events later in high school...so we'll leave it at that.
5 Things On My To-do List For Today: Well, I've pretty much already done everything as it is the late afternoon and soon I'll be putting Jonah to bed and will be stuck in the house. I guess here's what I'll do for the rest of the day/evening: 1. Give the boy a bath, 2. Put the boy to bed, 3. Eat dinner (probably a sandwich and salsa verde chips), 4. Study for finals (MY LAST ONES EVER! I'm finally graduating.), 5. Read my scriptures before bed.
Things I Would Do If I Became A Billionaire: First I'd pay off our debt, our Jeep, and my parent's debt and house. Then we'd move somewhere that we'd love (maybe France) and buy a beautiful house. We'd travel the world while we still can. We'd buy an island (hey, you didn't say 1 Billion, so I'm assuming BILLIONS!). That's just a start.
3 of My Bad Habits: I work too hard, I care too much, and I...just kidding. 1. I'm late a lot and since Jonah's one, I can't really use the excuse that I have a new baby. 2. I chew on the inside of my mouth...my dentist says if I keep it up, it could cause cancer, hmm. 3. I'm really good at splurging on things I don't need...and encouraging my husband to do so as well.
5 Places I Have Lived: The U.S. Sheep Experimental Station (Idaho); Littleton, CO; Laie, Hawaii; Provo and Orem, UT.
5 Jobs I've Had: Sam Goody, Old Navy, Technical Support Technician, Technical Writer (writing software manuals), Spa Receptionist.
Something Most People Don't Know About Me: Sheesh, I don't know. I still have a baby tooth. That's something kind of wierd. Not for long, however, because my dear brother Josh is going to put in an implant for me.

So that's it. I guess I have to tag people now. I tag Audra, Jonathan, Chrissie, April, and Bethany Johnson.

A Bad Day

Yesterday was just one of those days that starts out just fine but just gets worse and worse. I went to lunch with Liz Elder and Laura at the Olive Garden, something we do almost every Tuesday at whatever restaurant fits our cravings. Yesterday we were all craving soup and salad...and, I won't lie, bread sticks! After our delicious lunch we went our separate ways in the parking lot. I put Jonah into his car seat and threw my keys on my front seat but as I was throwing them, I accidentally hit the "Lock" button on the key fop. At that moment I told myself that I had to remember to unlock my door before I closed his. I finished the tedious job of strapping Jonah into his 5-point harness and shut the door. PANIC SETS IN!!! I FORGOT TO UNLOCK MY STUPID DOOR!!! I immediately looked around to see if either Liz or Laura is still in the parking lot and luckily Liz hadn't left. I sprinted to her car and she called 911 for me. She said, "Um, I have kind of an emergency that's not really an emergency..." and goes on to give the situation. Well, apparently Provo Police will not unlock your doors for you UNLESS you have a child locked in the car. I sprinted back to my car and Jonah was pretty upset by this point. He looked at me and cried and cried and reached for me through the window. Talk about breaking your heart. Sheesh. So the Policeman showed up about 5 minutes later and unlocked the Jeep quite easily.
Later that day, I went to Wal Mart to get the oil changed and to get a spare key for the Jeep. Of course, when they called my name over the intercom to tell me the Jeep was ready, I ended up with a whole cart full of crap I didn't really need. Wal Mart is always a dangerous venture. I asked the guy for a spare key but, go figure, only the dealership can duplicate my key for a ridiculous price because there's some sort of chip in it and if I tried starting the car with a different key, I'd blow the whole computer. So forget that. So I go to my purse to get my wallet out and, FOR CRAP SAKES, I left my stupid wallet at home. I had to call Jon from 30 minutes away at work to come rescue me at Wal Mart.
I did learn a lesson from all this, however, and it is this: Someone is always there to help me and for this I am very grateful. My sweet husband got there and said he was happy I called because he was bored and was excited to see me. He wasn't the slightest bit frustrated with my forgetfulness.
I know I'm not the only one who has done these types of things...but two in one day is really a blow!

Birthday Boy

Last week we celebrated Jonah's first birthday. We went all out. I spent about 4 hours making this elaborate "Baby Einstein Caterpillar" cake. I am no cake decorator so I was pretty pleased with how it turned out (ie, I didn't burn it and it looked like the caterpillar). Here are a few pictures for you:

What a handsome boy! You can tell this is the beginning of the party as he's still smiling!

Here is the masterpiece.

Here we are singing "Happy Birthday" and he has no idea what's going on.

Dig in! He was fairly careful at first and only stuck one or two fingers in to see what it was.

I guess the cake tasted pretty good!

That's my boy!

That is so impressive...notice the leaning into the cake!


And I think we're done.

Opening presents: this is a fire-duck that goes on the bathtub faucet and makes bubbles. He loves it!

Pretty sure this is the only car we'll ever be buying for Jonah.

He loves this car. He walks around and plays with the steering wheel. Jon and I already have all the noises and songs memorized...great!

OK...we're starting to wind down here. He had quite the attitude by the end of the night.

We decided to save a few presents for the next morning so he would no longer be attacked by his cousins and would be a little better rested for the excitement.

Overall, this was a pretty exhausting two days. I think it affected me more than anyone else. It was like all the sudden I realized that I was really a mom and I was really in for the long haul. It's not like it took me a full year to realize this--it comes in spurts every once in a while. But it hit me pretty hard on his birthday. I'm so blessed to be a mommy and to have my wonderful husband. I love my family!!

Reflections of Christ

My sister-in-law sent me the link to this blog called "Reflections of Christ" where they show videos and pictures that were on exhibit at the Mesa, Arizona Easter Pagent. This video is of the photographer Mark Mabry Jr. as he prepares his actors and really focuses on the Spirit and the message that these photos were meant to convey. This particular video is showing the baptism of Christ by John the Baptist. As I looked at his photographs depicting the scene, I was struck with how much joy Jesus Christ and John the Baptist must have felt in performing this sacred ordinance. I am so grateful for my Savior. I hope you enjoy this video. To see more, go to Mark Mabry's blog.

Awareness Test

I've finally decided to make a post on this here blog--it comes in the form of a PSA (public service announcement, if you didn't know). Follow the instructions of the video very closely. And no, this is not of one of those ghost-jumps-out-of-the-screen-lets-out-a-bloodcurdling-scream-and-you-poop-your-pants-in-fright-videos. Just watch. Bonus: there's a guy with a British accent.



P.S. If there are any comments, don't read them as they may contain spoilers.

Almost 1 Year

It is amazing how much a baby can change in 1 year's time. I was looking at Jonah's baby pictures (not an infrequent thing) in disbelief that in less that 2 weeks he'll be a 1 year old. Time has gone by so fast and I've loved every minute of it. I have been so excited with every new development, from smiling, to holding objects, to crawling, to clapping and everything in between. I love being a mother. Here is a picture of Jonah when he was just hours old.