First Snow

On the 12th of October, we all went up to Bountiful for the blessing of Mindy and Cory's new baby boy Cole. We woke up to snow that weekend, and Mason was just loving watching it out the car window on our drive up to the blessing Sunday morning.

After it was over, we were waiting for someone to move their car that was parked behind us, so Jeff took advantage of the opportunity and taught Mason how to catch snowflakes on his tongue. It was the cutest thing to watch!!! I just love how much Jeff enjoys interacting with Mason. And Mason eats up every second of Jeff's time that he can get.

I just loved the pictures of him runnin around in his shirt, tie, diaper and socks too...reminded me of Tom Cruise on Top Gun. :) Minus the diaper, of course.

Fun With Cousins

Since we moved back, we've been able to get together a lot with Jen and her kiddos - Mason's cousins Cole and Malia. I'm so glad they're relatively close, because I get pretty bored during the day with nothing to do and it being so cold outside. I have a couple of friends who live nearby that I could hang out with, but it's SO hard to take my child to a person's house who doesn't have kids...most people don't understand what it's like for me to take him places where he doesn't have play things to keep him entertained. He's so into everything.

So while I'm on that tangent, I think I'll elaborate. Everywhere Mason goes, he stops to investigate everything. But not just check things out - he really has to figure out how each thing works before he will move on to the next thing. When we go to people's houses, he doesn't just hang out in the room with me. He'd explore/destroy the entire house if I didn't follow him around. If there's a kid room with toys, he'll stay in there and play. But if I go to see friends who don't have kids, and I have to take Mason, I might as well not even be there because I have to chase Mason around the whole time and don't even get to talk to my friend that I went to visit.

Anyway, so last week Jen and I took our kids to South Towne Mall to ride the carousel. Mason LOVED it!! This past Monday, I kept Malia and Cole while Jen and Ryan went house hunting, and it was soooooooo much fun over here! We pulled out Mason's pop-up tent that's supposed to be used for sleeping, but him and Malia had so much fun in it! Cole wasn't too sure about it, so he resorted to kissing his reflection in the fireplace glass. Mason and Malia play really, really well together - Cole likes to follow them around, and I'm sure he'll be joining in on the trouble-making soon enough!

Witch Hunt at Gardner Village

So a couple of weeks ago my sister-in-law Jen (Jeff's brother Ryan's wife) invited Mason and I to go with them to Gardner Village for the annual Witch Scavenger Hunt. They have really cool witches all over the place, and a list that you search from. Once you find them all, you take the kids to get them a cookie at the Village Bakery.

There were all kinds of witches - witches playing baseball, one hula-hooping, a frequent flier witch on a zipline thing with another witch across the parking lot directing her with the orange light sticks that they use on the tarmac at the airport. It was a lot of fun, and it's just so cool to finally have Mason near some of his cousins!

No personal computer...no updates. Just the way it is.

Since we've been staying at the in-laws' house this month, I haven't had access to my own laptop until today...I just unpacked it and all the cables to upload pics from the camera, so stay tuned. I'll be posting lots of entries today and lotsa pictures too. :)

Fun, Friends & Becky's Humor

I had such a fun night last night! I was down in Lindon for a women's group thing that I attend every week, and since I down that way, I decided to go by Nicole's (my cousin/friend) to see her and Ben's new house in Lehi. Sooooo pretty, and Nicole's decorated it so beautifully (of course). Our friend Becky was over too, and we all had so much fun laughing and reminiscing on old times. But to explain the title real quick like...Becky says the most hilarious things sometimes, and last night she said some things that even had Nicole's hubby Ben squirming in his seat. We were dying and I really can't remember the last time I laughed so hard.

It's pretty crazy to think that we've all been friends for almost ten years (lots more girls are included in this group)!! We were talking last night about some of the fun times from years ago, and we couldn't help but die laughing. Back in the day, our crew consisted of me, Becky, Nicole, Rosie, Joy, Becka, Natalie, Kaycee, Melea, Maria, Crystal...and I'm sure I'm forgetting someone or some-two.

So once upon a time there was our "condo situation" in Orem - it was me, Nicole, Becky, Laurel and Carly. We were all a tad bit crazy, but it all got crazier when we all started dating a group of friends (one of whom Nicole married - Ben). Becky reminded me last night about the morning when Laurel woke up and told her that she had a - I'll use the term "lesbian dream" - about her. haha!! That's when Becky and Nicole decided it was time to move out. We also remembered a hilarious phase Carly went through where she wore crazy clothes and rolled around the condo in roller skates, imitating her favorite movie character at the time. Hahaha!!!! We won't mention the name/movie her ideas stemmed from.

We remembered the nights when they'd all come visit me on my grave shift at the American Fork Denny's - and when my then-boyfriend (and friend of Ben) showed up at Denny's ON MY SHIFT after a football game with a lot of his teammates...and some girl he was hooking up with. I had to serve the girl my boyfriend was cheating on me with. Sadly, that was just the first of many straws placed on that camel's back before it broke. I put up with a lot from that clown, but I learned a lot, and those days with my girlfriends were so much fun!!!

Last night we talked about how so many people we know never really get to experience the fun "college years" - have all the crazy fun times, and make the mistakes that come with the territory. I'm SO grateful that I did, and that I did it with such awesome friends. We made some incredible memories together - from the many parties at The Branbury, going dancing at Club Omni or up at Club Axis multiple nights a week, 4th of July parades camped out on University Ave, fireworks in the intramural fields ont he 4th of July, all the girls attacking the cake straight from the cake pan with forks on each one of our Birthdays, VEGAS TRIPS with everyone crammed in one tiny hotel room...oh my gosh, we had so much fun. Oh, and who could ever forget Natalie and Nicole in their leopard print pants walking bow-legged down The Strip in Vegas?!

I couldn't have asked for better friends. We've all had some rough patches, and I've made lots of mistakes - broken some cardinal rules of "girlfriendship" - but I'm so grateful for loving, forgiving girlfriends who have always been nothing but supportive. As we've always said, "supportive...like a bra...wrapped up all nice from Victoria's Secret".

I love my girlfriends!!

And tonight I get to go to the Kelly Clarkson/Reba McIntyre concert with my other BFF Amber...thank you for getting me a ticket, woman!!! I feel so blessed that I have such amazing friends. Not sure what I'd do without the support system/laugh factory/memory making.

I forgot to mention...

I miss Saint George. I know, I KNOW! I complained about how badly I wanted to come home (to the Salt Lake Valley), but now that I'm here, I really miss St. George. It could be that it's been so cold here, and it's so warm in St. George. It could be Mason's "ere Bebba?" (where's Becka) every morning. I miss my St. George friends!!! But I really, really miss my hubby. As soon as we got here, he had to turn around and go back to do some more work at the credit union, so I'm all alone at Jeff's parents' house this week.

It's been a little bit of a challenge trying to figure out what there is to do here for Mason. I take him to the daycare at the gym each morning...mainly so he can interact with other kids. Then we come home and nap, and then I have been trying out different parks with him. The tricky thing is...it takes so dang long to get anywhere up here!! I totally took for granted how close everything was in St. George. I could walk to the most incredible park in less than ten minutes. I'm gonna need a job just to pay for all the gas I use trying to keep Mason entertained and not locked up in the house!

Anyway, all-in-all, I'm grateful to be back. But I really do miss everyone and everything in St. George. *xoxo*

Park City

It's been since Mason was a few weeks old that Jeff and I have been away together without the little munchkin, so I'm sooooooo uber-excited for the trip we're taking next weekend!! It's not really a "trip", but it's getting away, so that's good enough for me!!

My friend Rosie set us up for this timeshare presentation deal in Park City, and we get 2 nights free for sitting through a 90-minute schpeal. Not bad, especially since Jeff's so good at telling those guys "no, no, NO!". So we are heading up next Thursday and coming back Sunday. We listen to the timeshare presentation Thursday evening, then get to stay that night and Friday night for free. Since we were planning on this trip, we're gonna spend some money and stay Saturday night too. I'm SO grateful Kathy volunteered to keep Mason for us!! I'm not sure she's totally aware of what she's gotten herself into though...she may need a vacation when we get back!!

So, now I need ideas. We're heading up 4 days after they close all the fun "summer events" like the Alpine Slide and Alpine Coaster...anyone familiar with Park City and have some suggestions? We want to do some mountain biking and hiking (if it doesn't snow up there this weekend, which I'm afraid it might). If it does snow, I could learn to snow shoe. Anyway, I'd love some suggestions!!! Places to eat, museums, plays/musicals to see, whatever.

I'm not sure how we're ever going to keep ourselves entertained when we go out to dinner...without Mason there to throw food, break glasses, and scream. Have I mentioned that I'm pretty excited for this break?!

Last Hurrah

My Uncle Derek gave Jeff and I some free passes for Tuacahn, so we went last night with Jeff's best friend Christian and his wife April. We got lucky and went on their official "date night", so we got 2 free drinks and free popcorn! We were able to leave Mason with my friend Darci, so it really was a relaxing evening!

We saw "Big River - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", and man was it incredible!! For those of you who've never been to Tuacahn in Saint George before, the amphitheater is set back in the red rocks of Snow Canyon. The backdrop is a man-made waterfall and river that flows down the rocks and behind the stage. For "Big River", they actually flood the river and the water flows down over the stage, so it looked like Huck and Jim were really floating down a river on their raft. It was by far the most light-hearted musical we've seen at Tuacahn, though there were some pretty serious historical parts too (like the issues with slavery and people treating them as property - such a dark time in U.S. history). We totally loved it though!!

We leave on Saturday for SLC, so it was nice to have one last night out to enjoy this awesome place where we've lived for the past year. Enjoy the pictures!

Final Plans

After being so excited last week that we're leaving, it's finally hit me that I'm sad too. I've made some great friends here, and am a little bummed that we're leaving. I feel like such a mean person for having to take Mason away from his friends that he sees every day - I know that next week he's going to be asking me "ere bebba?" (Where's Becka) like he does every morning when we get home from the gym and leave to go to the park with Becka and Patrick (w/Rachel). These changes are fairly easy for me since I grew up moving around, but I'm a little worried about how Mason will react when we never come back to what he knows to be his home.

I'm not sure if most 18 month-olds are as attached to home as Mason is, but each time we pull up to the townhome, Mason starts to cheer "Yay, ome!!" (Yay, home!) He LOVES being here. When we go up to Jeff's parents' house in Sandy for a visit and come back home, he always gets so excited as soon as he can see the house. I'm just a little worried for him. Any pointers on how we can make this transition a little easier on him? Especially since we'll be living with Jeff's parents for a month until our renter is out of our house.

So, we actually have real moving plans. The credit union opened this past Monday, so Jeff's just taking care of some punch-list stuff (I say that as if I really know what the "punch list" involves...). We pack up the moving trailer on Friday, and then say our 'goodbye' to Saint George Saturday morning sometime around 11 probably.

Sunday was sad, by the way. Saying goodbye to our Primary kids that we've taught for almost a year was so hard, but it was also way cool because it was the Primary Program...so Jeff and I got to see the kids in our class participate in that. It was so adorable, and I cried my eyes out!! To see these sweet (usually) 7 year olds reciting their memorized parts and singing songs about Jesus was such a wonderful experience, and I can't think of a better way to remember these children who have been such a big part of our lives since we moved here (the kids we taught last year, and then the ones we have this year). I know that Jeff and I weren't the world's best teachers, but we're both so grateful for the time we had with Thomas, Janey, Hallie, Connor, Landon, Paden, Ashley, Ethan, Derek and Sage (I think I got them all!). We have learned so much from them, even though they're only 6 and 7 years old! We love you guys and we'll miss you!!

Also, I've had some personal struggles since being down here in St. George. So I'd really like to thank the girls who became my friends...even though I wasn't really emotionally available to be a great friend back. Thanks for your examples, smiles, compliments and smiles...always at the right time. Thanks for helping me out with Mason, for keeping me motivated to be a good wife and cook good dinners (rachel - your recipes), for listening, and for humoring me! I always kinda felt like I didn't have way close friends in Saint George, but now that I'm faced with moving, I realize that I've been blessed with wonderful friends, and I'm pretty sad about parting.

Now, once we move back into our house in Riverton, we won't have tons of space - it's only a 2 bedroom, but we've got a futon and a huge couch that comfortably sleeps 3, so if anyone wants to come visit, COME ON UP!! And don't you dare think for one second that you're getting rid of us, because I know we'll be needing to escape the cold winter weather for a visit down here.

Love you all!

Last-minute Trip Up North

With all the craziness associated with our move (i.e. we don't know when exactly we get to leave, I still have a calling in the primary, i have to pack the whole house by myself cuz jeff's job is so time-consuming here at the end that he's not home much, & i have a CRAZY 18 month-old running under my feet), a break hasn't exactly been all that possible. But a few things happened a week and a half ago that made it a little more possible, so I took a trip up to the SLC area.

Thanks, Sandy, for giving Mason and I a ride up!!

So Mason and I got up there on Saturday the 13th. We stayed with Jeff's parents until Monday when the person who was helping my Grandma care for my Grandpa had to go out of town, so she asked me to stay with them for the week and help out. We were there until Saturday morning (all week without a car of my own) when Jeff came and picked us up and we spent the rest of Sat. and all of Sunday at his family's house again...before getting in the car at 8:00 that night to drive home.

Anyhow, the week at my Grandma's was stressful because her house is not babyproof at all, AND Mason kept wanting to get too close to Grandpa's leg, so I always had to be telling him "no" and removing him from parts of the house. The back yard was a nice escape for him, but Grandma Baumann's is always more entertaining because he's got lots of uncles and cousins and his grandparents that chase him and help him have a blast, so he always loves being there.

So on Monday, I met up with my girlfriends Maria (Bertola-Gibson) and April (Omalza, Chris' wife) and their kids at Kangaroo Zoo in Lindon. It was soooooooooooo much cooler than Jumpin Jacks in Saint George!!! And it was way cheaper cuz the parents don't have to pay to go supervise their kids...unlike the St. George one. So I posted some pictures from that.

Amber F. and I went to Janae's wedding reception on Thursday night (thanks for picking me up, since I was your wonderful car-less friend!). She looked beautiful and so happy, and the food was uh-may-zing!

Friday I got to go out to dinner with some other girlfriends and all their hubbies - I was flyin solo that night cuz Jeff was still not in town. It was Becky's birthday...I always love celebrating her birthday, cuz no matter how old I get, she'll always be 2 years older. ;) (You know I love you, biznatch!) So it was me, Nicole & Ben, Amber & Christian, Rosie & Josh, and Becky & John. SO fun!!

This trip was sooooooooo good for me for one reason: I was able to feel like "sheri" again. The time Jeff and I have been in St. George has been a very trying time for our marriage, but we're leaving closer and stronger than we've ever been. But it's been kinda hard for me to struggle with things and not live close enough to my closest friends to be able to just go over and cry with them (most of us go back at least 8 years together...). Anyway, I didn't get to see everyone this past trip, but it was a nice little teaser - I am sooooooooooo excited to get back to a place where I can hang out with my girlfriends, see family (without it being preceded by a 4-hour drive), and just feel like I'm myself again.

I love the people I've come to know here in St. George, but nothing is quite as comfortable as an old worn-in pair of jeans, know what I mean?

So...now I get serious about packing, because I think we'll only be here for another week!!

Peace out! Oh, and enjoy the pictures.

Moving to Florida...

I thought the title would get your attention!! So this particular blog will actually serve two purposes: to fill everyone in on our move from St. George back up to the S.L.C., and to spread the news about my parents' big move to Florida!

Jeff and I moved to Saint George (4 hours south of where we lived before - in the Salt Lake Valley) in August of last year, with the intention of being here for six months while Jeff acted as the Superintendent over the construction of a Mountain America Credit Union. Well...a little over a year later the job is almost finished!! We can thank the wonderful, idiotic city inspectors for the delay, as they waited almost six months before granting a permit for work to begin on the building. On the bright side, we've made some wonderful friends, seen some beautiful sights, grown so much closer together as a couple, and saved lots of $$$. It looks (right now) like we'll be moving at the end of this month. I'll miss friends and the close proximity to Zion Nat'l Park, but man am I ever soooooooo excited to get back to our home! I have missed my friends and our families so badly, and I am so excited for Mason to really get to hang out with all his cousins all the time. Oh man, I can't wait!!!

As for the news about my parents - a few months ago my dad received word that he was being offered a pretty big promotion to be the big boss man at the U.S. Customs/Border Patrol office in Homestead, Florida. Now that Taylor (my little brother) has graduated from h.s. and is about to go on his mission, there's really nothing else that binds them to El Paso anymore, so he accepted the job. Although I'm sure they're going to miss all of their dear friends, and I'll miss being able to see my high school friends during hometown Christmas visits!!! On the bright side...IT'S FREAKIN FLORIDA!!! There are so many things to look forward to now when Jeff and I think about going to visit my parents! I'll include a few pictures in this blog so everyone can see where Homestead is, and some of the things it has to offer. Oh - they're currently down in FL house hunting, and will be moving at the end of September! Time for us to get scuba certified!!!










Here's Homestead on a map













One of the beaches I'll soon be enjoying. Someday, anyway!









2 things Florida is known for - gators and pythons












Oh - the Hulkster and Brooke Hogan live in Miami. Maybe Mom & Dad will run into them at WalMart! haha

Jenn & Ryan's Visit in St. George

We recently had a visit from my sister Jenn, her husband Ryan, and their twins Connor and Isaac - they stayed with us on the way to and from Salt Lake to visit his family. I'm glad we're right in between California and SLC - it's a nice place to stop and rest, and it means we get to see lots of people we wouldn't otherwise see!

Anyhow, we had a lot of fun. The boys played so well together except for the occasional tug-of-war over a Thomas the Train toy...which is to be expected when they're all obsessed. It was so nice to be able to spend time with Jenn and Ryan too, especially since they live so far away and it will probably be a long time before we hang out again.

If only my brother Mark & his wife Bronwyn lived closer so that their son Bennett could teach Mason how to be tough and not cry about everything!

Anyway, enjoy the slide show.

All of Jeff's Worst Fears...

A couple of weeks ago, some friends from church (Darci & Dave) had us over for dinner. They have 2 daughters, Camryn and Madison, who Mason just adores. It was so awesome, because we got to have dinner, dessert, and play games without Mason driving us nuts! Once you see the pictures, you'll understand why...and you'll also understand the title of this blog! :)

Fun With Becka & Patrick

The week that I got home from my trip to California, I kept Becka and Patrick on three different days - Mason just LOVES "Bebba" and "Ati", and they have SO much fun when they play together. Here are some cute pictures from that week.

Wiiiii Would Like to Play

Some friends had us over for a BBQ on Labor Day (thanks Chet and Stephanie!). Jeff and Jordan were playing the Wii, and Mason decided he was up for a little tennis too. Check out the video!

Nursery Preparation

In the nursery here at our church in Saint George, they let the kiddos feed themselves, and Mason will be old enough to go to nursery in two weeks!!! Yippee!! So in preparation for that, we're trying to be more tolerant of messes as Mason learns to feed himself. He's actually doing much better than I expected, and now that he's had a small dose of feeding freedom he gets pretty angry when we try and take over. He does so well with a fork - the spoon thing is still very much a work in progress.

Baby Bedtime Blunder

I've heard lots of stories about babies that take off their diapers and smear poo all over the walls or the carpet or whatever. My own child has even taken his diaper off a couple of times, but he never got around to pooing or peeing anywhere before I discovered his nakedness and diapered him back up! Well, dun dun dun...that all changed today!

I usually put Mason down for his nap at 11:30, and he almost always falls right asleep. Well today my friend Rachel was over with her 2 kiddos just hangin out, and it was time for Mason's nap, so I put him to bed. 11:45 rolls around and I hear him over the baby monitor up there talking and making all kinds of noise, but he wasn't crying or upset or anything so I just left him in there. So here comes 12:30 and he's STILL awake, which is totally uncharacteristic of Mason. But he sounded happier than ever up there in his crib. After Rachel left, I decided to go try and rock him or something so he'd fall asleep. Right when I walk in, I hear him let out this huge giggle so I hurry over to the side of his crib to see him laying on his back, playing with his pee-pee and laughing. Well, I gotta say that it caught me so off-guard to see him naked that I just died laughing too!

So - here's what happened. He did everything he could to take off his diaper, but could only get one side un-taped, so the other side was just hanging there. He drank a cup of juice and a cup of milk before I put him down, so he'd peed everywhere...and he just thought it was hilarious that thought it was so funny, so he just laid there playing with his recent discovery (his male anatomy), laughing his little head off. It was way too funny (and unexpected) for me to get upset over...plus seriously, mommy takes off Mason's diapers, so in his head, he's probably wondering what the big deal is about him taking it off by himself. "Mommy, wow! I'm a big kid now" (song from pull-ups commercial).

*Sigh* I love life. I really needed a laugh today, so Mason must have sensed that. I'm glad he obliged.

Our Future Olympian

Well, any of you who have been around Mason for any length of time have seen first-hand that his energy never ends. He's always jumping, running, screaming (out of excitement), falling, etc. So we decided to use his energy to try and teach him a new skill - the somersault. Jeff started working on it with him the other night, so we took a video. It's pretty hilarious. He doesn't have it down quite yet, but by the 2024 Summer Olympics (when he's 16 and legally able to participate), we fully expect him to be a professional somersaulter. If that's even a word. So, for your viewing pleasure, I now present...Mason...the professional head scooter on-er. And below that, our amazing jumping wonder.

My Much-Needed California Trip

So this past weekend Jeff gave me the best Birthday present ever! I've never really had a break from Mason for more than 24 hours since he was born a year and a half ago, and I was really feeling burned out, so a few months ago when my friend Jene proposed a trip to California...it sounded perfect!

Here's a little history for those of you who don't know who Jene is. We met in El Paso when I was home from college for the summer in 1998. She was just there being a nanny for her sister and brother-in-law, and we became best of friends right away. So this summer is our 10 year anniversary as friends, and we share a birthday too (the 18th of August).

My wonderful, kind, generous (and obviously insane!) friend and neighbor agreed to keep Mason for me last Friday and this past Monday while Jeff was at work, and for her generosity I will be forever indebted. Thank you Rachel!!! Jeff had Mason duty all weekend long, all by himself. From what he's told me, it went really well, and Mason has been so attached to Jeff since I got home, so the bonding time was really good for them! Thank you, Jeff, for being so willing to do that for me!!

So I left St. George around 11:00 on Friday and drove to Las Vegas where I was able to meet up with another long-time friend (Nick) for lunch. Nick and I have been friends for like 15 years now I think. Anyway, he's been such a wonderful, loyal friend, and I always love a chance to see him. Jeff knows and loves him too, so it works out great for me - I get to keep my guy best friend and everyone's happy.

Anyway, after lunch with Nick, I drove on to Riverside, CA to my sister's house. They got Thai food for dinner, which I had never had before. Not sure how much I liked it...way too much ginger and curry for my taste buds, but I did like one of the more mild dishes. It was so fun being able to stop off there and spend some time with Jenn, Ryan, and the twins (Connor and Isaac). It was so good to see them! I wish they lived closer (and my other sibs too, for that matter!).

I stayed there Friday night, then I headed up to meet Jene in Orange, CA on Saturday. Her friend Dallas decided to surprise her with a visit, so all three of us went to the beach on Saturday. Dallas knew of this secret cove in Laguna Beach that no one really knows about, so he took us there. It was soooooo dang cool! We had to hike up and over this huge rock and through some trees and bushes to get to the cove, but as soon as we got through to the other side, the view was breath-taking!! There were probably only 20 people max that filtered in and out of the cove while we were there. It was just perfect!! I spent most of the afternoon lying on my towel on the beach, reading "New Moon"! Talk about a relaxing day! The only thing that could have made it any more perfect is having Jeff there to share it with. He's all I thought about the whole time I was there, because it was the type of place he would have loved.

Saturday night, to celebrate our birthdays, we all went to Joe's Crab Shack in Newport. It was so cool, cuz the harbor is right behind the restaurant, so while we were waiting to be seated (for over an hour!), Jene and I were on the back deck talking, and got to see a wedding going on down on some boat in the harbor. It was pretty neat! Anyways, dinner was so fun...and Dallas paid for our food, which made it even better!! Thank you, Dallas!!

Sunday was another relaxing day. Probably the best day of the whole trip, in my opinion. I went to church at 9:00 to start my day off right, then we headed to Huntington. Jene and Dallas wanted to take their dog Turkish to the dog beach for the day, but I'm not really a fan of dogs...so I decided to enjoy the PERFECT weather, the PERFECT scenery of the ocean, and the PERFECT opportunity for some time to clear my head - I grabbed my iPod and put it on Nora Jones (the best chill music), grabbed my bag, and walked about 20 blocks down to the shopping area in Huntington, across from the pier. It was the most relaxing thing I've been able to do in a really, really long time. No one to talk to, nothing I really had to think about, and no schedule or plans. I walked down the pier, watched the surfers, watched the kids playing in the surf and the people playing volleyball. I sat and watched a group of people play in a drum circle, which was also a really cool experience. It gave me the warm fuzzies to see people of so many different races sitting there together in the circle playing the hand drums - as if none of them had a care in the world. Pretty neat.

That night Jene and I drove up to her sister's house for dinner with lots of her family. She (Christie) made us an AWESOME ice cream birthday cake, then we drove up to Van Nuys to her brother's house where we slept. So here's where it starts to get exciting...

Here's some information most of you will probably wish I hadn't revealed, but it will help you understand the gravity of the situation as I explain the events of the night. So...on vacation I never eat very healthy, so I always get a little backed up, if you catch my drift. By Sunday night, I was in pain and looked 5 months pregnant so I took a laxative before bed. Well, I was only gonna take one, but Sarah (Jene's sister-in-law) convinced me to take 2. Haha. Well, around 3:30 I woke up with all kinds of cramping going on, and realized that if I didn't get in the bathroom PRONTO, we were gonna have a situation on our hands...so I opened the bedroom door, but I heard water running, so I assumed someone was in the shower. I tried to go back to sleep, but by 4:00 I still heard the water running and I was in so much pain that I decided to find a place to go. As I got closer to the bathroom, I realized the floor was wet...and so were my feet, all the way up to my ankles! I turned the light on in the bathroom and water was spraying out from the pipe behind the toilet. My first thought..."CRAP! Now what?! Do I poo outside? No, not an option. There's a doberman outside. I'm gonna have to hold it. Great." SO I woke up Justin and Sarah to let them know their house was flooded (the bathroom, hallway, kitchen, and part of the living room and 2 bedrooms). We got to work with sponges, buckets and a shop-vac, and I went back to bed...still not having relieved my poor intestines!! About an hour later, I physically couldn't take it anymore, so I woke up Jene and asked her what I should do...come to find out, there was another bathroom in the master bedroom. Man, what a relief!! What a crazy night though.

So Monday (our Birthday), we got up and drove to Pasadena to Magic Mountain. We rode all the rides we wanted to ride, then we took off around 2:00. I dropped her off where her car was (in Orange), then I drove all the way back to St. George that night. I got home around 11:00, and I was sooooooo excited that Jeff was waiting up for me...with flowers and a card. What a sweet husband!! I came home to his gorgeous smiling face, a clean house, a sleeping baby, and his loving arms. What a perfect end to a perfect vacation.

It's so good to be home, and it's so good to have a new appreciation for the 2 most important men in my life. I missed them both so much, and I'm so excited to get back into the swing of things here in the real world now that I'm rejuvinated and ready to be a mom and wife again. Thank goodness for friends, the ocean, crab, babysitters, and wonderful husbands!! I love my life.

Vacation, Sweet Vacation

Since I posted the pictures already, I guess I better blog about our vacation so people can better understand the pics.

Last Tuesday we headed up to a cabin in the mountains above Heber, UT with Jeff's immediate family. Each summer his parents take the family somewhere. Before babies started being born, it was pretty much always Lake Powell, but it's way too hot there to camp for a week with little babies without a houseboat...so last year, the family vacation was to Bear Lake (on the border of Idaho & Utah). This year it was Timberlakes & Strawberry Lake. There were 14 people (Jeff, Mason & I; Jen, Ryan, Cole & Malia; Mindy & Cory; Doug & Rheanna; Justin, Lee and Kathy) all in one cabin. We had a blast!

Lee & Kathy rented four 4-wheelers, so we spent a lot of time exploring the beautiful mountains. I have always wanted to find a huge field of wildflowers and just lie down in it and roll around for a while...so when I finally found my fields of wildflowers, I was kinda bummed that I was with a group of dudes. I knew they'd think I was insane, so I settled for taking pictures. Maybe I'll get the pics printed up and roll around on them here at home, pretending I'm actually rolling in the flowers. If I do it, I'll be sure to take pictures and blog about it.

So on Friday we packed up the kiddos, some food and toys, and all drove up to a beautiful spot in the mountains where we set up a day camp. We planned to spend the day exploring on the 4-wheelers, so right away a group of us headed up. Two of the 4-wheelers were doubles, so Jeff and I rode together. I was driving, so we weren't going nearly as fast as we would have been if Jeff had been driving - I'm new at it, and I'm also a major wussy pants. Good combination for safety. :) Anyway, so in addition to us, Jen & Ryan were on a machine together, then Doug and Rheanna each had their own. Rheanna was in the lead, and she was seriously flying - I was so surprised at how "brave" she was for never having ridden a 4-wheeler before our trip. We'd been out for like half an hour and decided to turn around. Jeff and I were in the back of the pack, and as we got to the top of a hill, we saw two 4-wheelers on the path without anyone on them. One was missing, so we called out to them and realized Rheanna had gone off the side of the mountain. Jeff left right away to let everyone know at camp and call for medical help while the rest of us worked on helping Rheanna.

When Jeff got back to camp, they all said a prayer that everything would be alright. Right about that same time, 2 people showed up on 4-wheelers. One of them just happened to be a retired EMT and he had an entire rescue kit on the back of his machine. On top of that, they had a wench (motorized tow cable) attached to the front of their machine. What are the chances, I mean c'mon. So when Rheanna went off the road, she went down the side of a mountain. There weren't many trees, but by some stroke of luck (we know it wasn't luck) she just happened to run right in between 2 big trees with her machine, getting it stuck there. She flew off and hit her head on a tree, lost her helmet in the process, and landed in a pile of downed trees. Seriously, if she'd run off in any other direction, she'd have kept going down the mountain. The trees saved her life. She ended up with no major injuries - just deep bruising, a sprained ankle and some whiplash. It was such a scary experience, but it really strengthened my testimony of the power of prayer. Heavenly Father loves us and watches out for us, especially when we ask Him to. We began the day with a prayer for safety...and Rheanna was kept safe (considering what should have happened).

The vacation was so much fun though! I saw so many beautiful things (valleys, lakes, deer, flowers), relaxed, ate a lot, and got to know my in-laws better. They're such a wonderful family, and I'm so happy I have such awesome new "siblings". We all get along so well, and our kids do too. Though Mason and Malia are TROUBLE together (thanks to our bad influence of a child)!

Now I get to go on a girl vacation, and I can't wait! I leave Friday to go to California with my bestest friend Jene (we met in El Paso 10 years ago when I was home from college for the summer). We both celebrate our birthday on Monday the 18th, and it's our "friend-a-versary", so we felt a trip was in order. I can't wait to get a little bit of a break from Mason! Don't get me wrong - I LOVE and adore my little guy, but man do I need a little break. I'll blog about it when I get back next week!!