B.J.'s almost HOME!

YAY!!! Tomorrow my little brother is getting home from San Antonio, TX, where he's been for the past 2 years serving a Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!!!! Tomorrow! I'm so excited (and although I'm not there now, we will be in 3 weeks so YAY!!!) WELCOME HOME LITTLE BRO!!! We love you and missed you and are so grateful for your example!!!

I LOVE THESE BOYS!!!
(And even though I might mention later that Jess didn't have the BEST time camping--he still loved parts of it...so...that's good! Just look at that smile--I love you baby!)

We had a ward camp out the other night. We've all been excited for weeks! All that day it rained...Jess got home and assumed we weren't going..."that's crazy" I said, a little rain will be fun! (ha ha, it's really so funny to see the differences in Jess and me!) Anyway, it just kept on raining...FOREVER! Lots from the ward showed up and the sight was nice and Jess set up the tent while we ate our KFC (it was funny, because the hot dogs that everyone else brought, looked so much better).

Anyway so after we got all set up Jess had had enough of the rain and went in the tent. The boys and I roasted marshmallows in the rain (we didn't so much have jackets...because A#1--it's summer and hot,and B#2---I'm just a really good mom (and was so sure it would stop raining--the optimist in me is occasionally wrong) Turns out neither of the boys like the actual "roasted" part of the marshmallow--but they like the idea apparently...and then settled in for the night.

Kade was so excited to go to bed because we've been reading the Spiderwick Chronicles and we'd just gotten book 2 from the library (he's soooooooooo into these--it's cute). Anyway--so we read some and it was a good night. then the tent started to drip...I guess a water-proof tarp on top can only be soooooo water proof. ha ha! The boys and I were still having fun (notice the absence of one member...he's so funny (also, you should know Jess really likes being clean and dry...so....it wasn't a good combination for him.) I guess it didn't help either when both of us needed to leave the tent for a bit and I left the boys some treats while we were gone...gummy worms (in hind sight--not the best idea...), and the marshmallows were still in the tent. When we got back there were lots and lots of sticky spots, Jess stepped in a marshmallow that had been smashed into the tent....oooooh, the joys of camping. The next morning before we left I wanted to get a picture...but jess protested on account of he wasn't going to smile--he he, oh Jess, you're always so funny I say...and we went home. BUT!!! It really was so so so much fun. I loved everyone there, the company was awesome, it smelled great, the boys got in plenty of tree kicking (ninja moves on objects that mom says is okay), the rain stopped eventually and the tent was dry by morning--just about, the boys LOVED it, and Luke's new motivation to wear "big boy under ware" is so that he can pee outside like Kaden! Adventures and fun!! WE love camping!




Oh, and GUESS WHAT? Jess and I moved up to "Gold Belt" in Karate--woo woo--watch out world!



Yesterday we went on a walk with our friends who live next door. I love love love having the walking trails so close. Have I said that before. We really should go more--especially now that the weather is AWESOME! Anyway--Donna and the kids are tons of fun! We saw the coolest catapillar--it looked like it was straight out of The Labrynth (which later Donna let me borrow--I love that show! Thanks Donna!)





KADE'S FIRST BIG PURCHASE!




So Kade's been saving up his money for months now to get a Ben 10 omnitrix watch that plays games right....so at Target (months ago) it was $20...so 2 months later, now that he's been dreaming of it forever....IT'S A COLLECTORS ITEM and no longer at Target. Well, he's been into Legos for awhile now and it's a good thing too, because after much convincing, he decided that it was fine about the watch and he wanted special Legos. Jess took him and they brought back a cool Mars Mission set. Kade stayed up with us putting it all together, and then the next day-Sunday, we were all late because we just kept playing with the Legos. SO FUN! At any rate, they've been put together and taken apart and now he just makes some awesome "inventions" with it all. So here it is....KADE'S FIRST REAL PURCHASE:



I also want to say thanks to Jess for taking so many pics at the store....he usually doesn't love taking pictures in non-picture taking spots (he knows what I mean) so just thanks---I love you!


A few days ago mom sent the boys two envelopes, each with their name on it and $3 inside. They went nuts! We went to the dollar store that night. Kade fell in love with a "Transbotix" that was $6...so after 20 minutes of pleading with Luke, he gave up his Construction Mr. Potato Head to go in on it with Kade. Kade was sooooooooo happy and hasn't put it out of his sight (but is sooooooooo good with sharing it and remembering that Luke did a nice thing for him.) Then at the end they got gum balls--Luke loves putting the quarters in those "demon, make grocery shopping so much harder because kids Have to have them and now they have them at the hospital too" candy/tiny toy machines! (not that I was bitter this trip...but really--who thought of the candy machines for little kids?) ANYWAY It was soooooooooooo fun taking them there and mom--THANKS! They loved it!

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Kitchen Time

So I just downloaded our photos from the past week-ish and realized that me and the boys have been spending so much time making goodies in the kitchen--YAY--so here are some of the creations. One is like a chicken filled braided/bread thingy--really yummy and so pretty! We did cinnamon rolls, banana wafer pudding thingy...(it was perfect cause the boys had something to do the whole time--they're awesome at layering).
I saw this one in a magazine that my awesome mom-in-law got me for my birthday. It's mini carmel apples, you use a melon ball-er and make them little with toothpicks as the stem. They were so fun and so much better then a giant apple (there is ALWAYS too much apple in a carmel apple) Only negative was that I put a little water in the carmel so none of that stuck (it said it on the package....uhhh, I've never done those before), but the chocolate did. And then the ones we saved for Jess...well, let's just say they're more of a "eat it while you make it or an hour or two later" food. ANYWAY--it's been fun! I LOVE that the weather is cooling down!!!!

Cruising BLISS

Okay...Amazing...the cruise was AMAZING!!! We had nothing to do but eat amazing food constantly, go to shows every night, go scuba diving, kayaking, snorkeling, zip lines, repelling in Mayan Caves, and read books while relaxing in the sun. AMAZING!!!

So that's the short of it! Turns out there was a hurricane around where we were and the port we were leaving from was closed two days prior to our cruise. But we had no problems. We did a couple of the islands out of order and only had rain one night for a few hours.
We visited Cozumel Mexico first, that's where I tried Scuba Diving for the first time. AHHHH-new favorite thing in the world. Jess and I could have done nothing but Scuba Dived the entire time and been happy. He's been certified for like 10 years so it was nothing new to him. I, on the other hand, was a little worried at the first---people are not made to breath under water and my mind knew that. After a few minutes of ignoring my instincts--I was underwater and swimming with fishes and holding rays! (also, our picture under water that the guy took, I didn't know he was taking it and Jess and I both look like Zombies--But really, we loved it!!!) We made some new friends the first couple of days and they signed up to come with us which was lots of fun.


Next we went to Roatan, Honduras. We didn't book an excursion here but were taken to a private beach. Initially we tried to snorkel. But turns out...if you buy snorkeling gear for $10...it doesn't work very well, and you drink a lot of salt water. So we gave that up and just relaxed. (Turns out Jess is more of a busy body then I'd realized....he had a hard time just sitting--reminding me oh so much of my dad--and was kinda bored---he ended up finding some shade and taking a nap. Tabyana Beach was gorgeous!!! I listened to the live music, read, and took in the sun.




In Belize we took a bus to some Mayan caves. It was a lot of fun and we were with a fun group, but it was pretty easy stuff. I think Jess and I were looking for like millions foot repels, and zip lines for miles...so the beginner stuff that they have to do because they're for everyone were kind of disappointing...but the caves were really neat and Belize is gorgeous!





Oh, wait, I forgot about the rain in Freeport Bahamas! It was awesome! Downpour!!! We didn't care much, we were going kayaking and snorkeling so we were getting wet anyway. We kayaked to a little island and half way there the sky shook so loud with thunder--we loved it!!! Not to mention we took Emily and Riley's example and skunked everyone else--we have a need for speed I guess. The snorkeling was awesome--choppy and fun--and scary when we had to navigate over tons and tons of fire coral...which made it all the more fun!



People always talk about the food on cruises...it's so incredible. One of the nights we went to one of the fancy restaurants on board. It was a seven course meal with food I've only seen on "Iron Chef". Fanciest place we've ever been--that's for SURE!

Oh oh, and I was so happy that I didn't get motion sickness!!! I got the patch before I left and was loving the water-choppy and smooth.

The shows were tons of fun. On the nights they had the "Glory Dancers" me and Jess laughed. It reminded me too much of the dancing off of Saturday's Warrior--anyone seen that? AWESOME.

Anyway--I really could go on for DAYS...we loved it....everyone should go on one....the end!!!

NOW....THANKS SOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH JULIE, ANDREA, AUBREY AND GEORGE! The boys had the time of their life while we were gone!!! They had a different party every day--Ben 10 party, Transformer Party, Power Ranger Party.... You guys are amazing!!! Thanks for everything! The boys loved it! We loved playing games (Cari especially!) with you guys, puzzles, marker war, leg wars...it was awesome....THANKS SO SO MUCH!

THANKS WINN FAMILY

Julie mom (Jess' mom), Aubrey, and Andrea flew out here on Tuesday! They're going to watch the boys while we're on our cruise. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! They are hilarious and Kade is so excited to have "3 mom's" while we're gone.
The other day when we came home from Karate I couldn't find anyone...then I hear Lukes little voice coming from behind the shower curtain...and little laughs--he's not the best at hide and seek. (that explains the picture of the three of the in the shower!) The boys LOVE them! YAY! Thanks again!
Also...here's a cruise weather update:
So...turns out there's been hurricane action down in Florida right? Well, the port we're leaving from was closed yesterday....but re-opened today! YAY! So we're good to go cause the weather is moving away from our area.

KARATE

So Jess and I are starting Karate! (We're super good so far--just trust me!) :) We're both so excited! Anybody else done karate and have tips for beginners? We learned a few blocks and self defense moves and cool stuff with the bo....we love it so far!

Our Scooter!

My SCOOTER STALLION!!!

So I LOVE OUR COOLEST NEW SCOOTER! At first I was totally lame on it and it made Jess so nervous when I drove it. He'd say, "just please try not to tip it" I couldn't make any promisses but I didn't want to do that either! Anyway--I didn't tip it once, and I'm not nervous to drive it anymore! I love it! YAY. SCOOTERS ARE AWESOME!

Kade's First Day of School!

So Kade just started school on Monday! He's been excited for like a year so it couldn't have come sooner--for him. I was so worried and just wanted to tell the teacher, "now listen, he's so special and you need to spend all your time on him and make sure he's happy all the time....." but I refrained. I followed him around all morning with the camera and when I dropped him off at school I just couldn't stop! I love being so excited because he's so happy!!! I know I would have stayed in the foyer all day if it hadn't been for my dentist appointment. I just wanted to watch him interact with all the kids ALL DAY LONG! At any rate he loved it and loves going everyday. His schedule is Mon-Fri from 9:30-1:30. He's most excited for tomorrow because it's "Fun Friday" and they're making pancakes for a snack. He sounds so grown-up sometimes, yesterday he said, "you know, Mrs. Nikki wore glasses the first day, and didn't today....that makes me curious." It made me giggle. Anyway--He loves school!

Happy Birthday To Me!

So Friday was my 26th birthday. First off, I just wanted to tell mom--thanks for doing all the hard work, and second, thanks mom and dad for all the hard work that came after the pushing! My entire life has been so happy and I owe it to you both! Thanks for all the patience and love and trust. I love you sooooooooooo much!!!

MOM AND DAD (BOOGIE BOARDING WITH US IN CALI)



FLYING KITES! (I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING...'WOW CARI, THOSE WERE SOME ROUGHER DAYS HUH? HER MOM WAS AMAZING TO LOVE HER ANYWAY! (IT'S TRUE) MOM'S SO PRETTY HUH?!)


DANCING WITH DAD AND UNCLE HAROLD'S WEDDING


ME AND DAD HIKING THE NARROWS IN AWESOME TIME!


CANDID WEDDING SHOT WITH MOM (I LOVE YOU!)


MOM, ME AND KADE ARRIVING AFTER LONG HOURS IN THE CAR DRIVING TO CALIFORNIA TO LIVE




YOU BOTH ARE INCREDIBLE AND I OWE YOU SO MUCH.