Kid's Pics

Our friend Miriam took pictures of the kids at the park, they turned out so good! Well Creed was kinda camera shy, but adorable none the less. Thanks Miriam!

Girls night and other fun stuff......

How much does he look like a little old man in the picture!! He is usually super serious like the picture below.

Okay so Mike and Cole got their father/son camp-out, but Savannah and I got our mother daughter sleepover! We invited Jolisa, Samantha, and Audree (some of our FAVORITE besties) to spend the night and had a grand old time! We did all the typical girl things, shopped at the mall, painted our nails, and made homemade Oreos which are TO DIE FOR. The girls had tons of fun, we heard them in their room giggling until 10:30 (and if you know me, you know my kids go to bed at 7 so that was me letting loose!) And Jolisa and I had fun staying up to 1 gabbing about who knows what but I feel very blessed to have such a great friend, they actually feel more like family to me! We were also lucky enough to have Jason and Erin come spend the night Saturday and the day Sunday. It was super fun having them. We are just trying to convince Erin to apply for a job here so they can be closer, we would love that.
Other than that this week has been pretty tame. No crazy Strong outings, just the usual walks, preschool, swim classes, ballet classes, play dates, etc. We have been LOVING the awesome weather and have been spending most of our time outside, even went swimming once this week. I haven't gotten up the nerve to take the kids to the beach without Mike but I just might this week depending on how brave I feel. Creed started waking up again at night, after about 2 months of sleeping all the way through. I had 2 sleepless nights last week. Everytime I would put Creed down the phone would ring and I would run to the hospital, do my scan, come home, fall asleep for about 10 minutes, baby crys, repeat cycle. Dang-it now I remember why babies are hard! And working! But everytime I start to feel sorry for myself I remember how lucky I am that I only have to take call 2 nights a week and that I never have to leave my kids with a babysitter and it makes it all worth it. It figures that last night he slept the whole night and I wasn't on call. Hopefully he is going through a growth spurt because he's such a little squirt still! Here are some new pics of him.........

Father-Son camp out

Cole and I had the opportunity on Friday to drive up just North of Ventura to a campground near Ojai. I had never been to Ojai and had never heard of the campground we camped at but was pleasantly surprised. The name of the campground is Dennison Park. It is small with only 21 spots but had a lot to offer.

I was so excited to go with Cole that I took off work at 12:30 so we could get on the road early. We arrived at 4:30, and that was after me driving around for about an hour because Cole had fallen asleep in the car. We were first to arrive, not only for our group, but in the whole campground. I set up camp quickly then Cole and I walked down to the camps playground. Cole loved riding on the horses and climbing on the jungle gym. I don't have any pictures of him on the jungle gym because I was busy watching him so he wouldn't break his arm like his older sister last year! The picture above is the view from the campground looking down over the Ojai Valley. Those are all Orange Groves in the foreground and fog making its way up from the ocean.

Cole stood next to the fire and threw rocks and sticks into the fire pit. It kept him busy while we celebrated (testimony meeting) the commemoration of the Aaronic Priesthood.
Coles buddy Hunter brought some light sabers with him. Cole walked around fighting anyone and everyone at the campground.
I just took this picture of our camp site to show Nicole so she could see that its a nice place to go camping. Our family just bought a tent trailer a couple weeks ago so we need to find as many campgrounds as possible. This one is a good one as far as I'm concerned. A playground for the kids, not too busy and close to home. Plus shade is always an added bonus when camping.
Like I already said, Cole absolutely loved these little horses at the playground. He and I had such a great time together and I can't wait until next year. Creed will be about 15 months old and I think I'll take him along too next time. I love spending time with my kids and am looking forward to dozens of camping trips and excursions over the next several years.

Strong Happenings...

Check out my hot hubby, he has lost 18 lbs!! He is down to 190 and looks awesome. I am so proud of him!

Playing in the water at a cute playground that had a stream

Eloise! She was my personal fav
We went to this neat puppet show. The guy who did it is named Bob Baker and has worked for Disney and now has his own theater in LA. Savannah was in awe the whole time and Cole was squealing with delight! It was SO impressive, the guy is 85 and still doing shows everyday!!
This was Savannah's favorite, the ballerina

Holding hands. Kirsi is an angel baby. Her dad takes her with him to work and she sleeps the WHOLE time in her carseat. Creed is pretty good but I can't even imagine how that would be!
Helene, Creed, and Kirsi- Helene is a week younger than Creed. They are all so adorable!
These 2 are 2 days apart!! Cousins reunited........
We went to the Aboretum in Pasadena and met up with my cousin Linnae, her friend, and Doris. It was so pretty! Coley was so cute trying to feed the ducks from his hand
A view from the top
Savannah is a trouper and has been walking up the last half of the hill. It is just too hard to push 80 lbs or so straight up a hill while having Creed in the babyhawk. So halfway up we ditch Sara's stroller and Vannah makes the trek with us the rest of the way. Not without her share of whining and complaining about how her legs hurt and how she is so tired. While it is getting easier for me, it is getting harder for Savannah, I think it's mostly the anticipation. Yesterday she was in tears as soon as we left the house! She was so paranoid because she didn't want to walk 1 step. So silly, because if it were on her own terms I'm sure she would run the whole thing! She is so funny like that. I still dragged her up, kicking and screaming. I don't know if it was worth it or not, but at least she knows I was serious.
this is the view from the top of the water tower we have been walking. Feels good once you're done!! Coley and Liza living the good life getting pushed.

Creed Update

What is Creed up to nowadays?

Nicole discovered Creed has learned how to roll over. We've always tried to make him do stomach time but he would only last for about 10 seconds before he would begin screaming bloody murder and stiffen up like a board. But a couple days ago, when Nicole laid him down on his tummy and walked away, she noticed something. No screaming! She walked back into our bedroom where the little guy was laying and saw him laying on his back. No more screaming on his tummy. Good job little guy. He can now roll over in both directions. It's amazing how fast these little ones grow. He's going to be punching me in the face while playing rough before I know it. Fun times!

I love his little chicken feather hairs that stick up on the back of his head.
Another pic of Creed propping himself up. He can now play with his Baby Einstein toy and entertain himself a bit more.
Creed had a yeast infection on his tongue and had to get some nasty prescribed medication that we (Nicole) had to try and massage onto his tongue four times a day. It did not help. So Nicole was told of another medication that is over the counter. The pharmacist told Nikki it is actually more potent than the prescription meds but parents hate it because it turns everything it touches dark purple. The picture is evidence of that. Creed looked like a freakish goth baby for three days. Good news, the yeast infection is gone. Thank goodness.

Are you a dog person?

I can honestly say that I am. I love dogs and I have every since I was little. And I also believe it's good for little kids to have pets. When we got our first dog, Samantha, we had no kids, were newly weds, and lots of free time. We spent months potty training and coddling her. She slept at the foot of our bed. She peed on command, she even knew how to fake pee so she could get a treat. When she got sick for 3 days and wouldn't eat anything I was crying on the phone to the vet. But we had Savannah and moved to Lancaster and Samantha was taken from our yard. Since then we have gone through 3 dogs and 1 cat. And now our latest victim- Ruby. For those of you who have met Ruby, you can attest for her cuteness. Its the so ugly she's cute type. Wire haired and super sweet. But likes to bark when the kids are asleep. And likes to track mud onto my hard wood floors. And scratches my sliding glass doors right after I wash them. She also likes to play this game where she goes out the front door whenever she has the chance and runs as fast as her tiny legs will carry here (which as a side note is faster then my normal sized legs) all the way to the main busy street like 4 blocks from my house. It's a normal day when my neighbors on either side or complete strangers are knocking on my door asking me if I know the dog they found. It is also super neat when the dog gets into the trash can and rips apart a poopy diaper. Or when Savannah leaves her brand new Crocs outside and she chews them up. Well the final straw was yesterday. We left the door open (I know that is my fault but Mike can't drop me at the pound) while I went to the Arboretum in Pasedena. Creed cried the whole way there and it was pretty stressful. He also cried the whole way back. After 40 minutes in the car and him screaming which I am not used to since he never cries, I was so happy to get home. But the smile on my face was short lived when I realized there was dog poo in both of the kid's room and pee in the baby's and the bathroom. As if I don't have enough bodily functions to clean up around here. And there Ruby was, laying outside nice and comfy on a pillow that Mike had set up for her, napping while Creed was screaming and Cole was still in the car sleeping since I had brought the baby in first. Napping on the porch. Guess she prefers the softness of the carpet while she urinates. Or maybe the grass was scratching her bum while she pooed. Either way it was a life altering mistake for her because when Mike got home at 4:30 she was all packed up ready to be dropped off at the shelter.
Do I feel guilty? When Cole went outside 10 minutes after Mike had gone and was yelling for Ruby and asking for Ruby and telling me Ruby was hiding, it tugged at my heart strings. When Savannah prayed that Ruby wouldn't forget her I thought seriously about going to get her. But I quickly remembered all that I have on my plate right now. And I'm not one of those people who can do it all, I am just trying my hardest! So even if you are turning your nose up right now thinking what a meanie, I don't care. I still believe kids should have pets. Maybe a goldfish.......

Adventures with Aunt Jenna

Savannah brought her stuffed flamingo and was so excited to show the flamingos it. She kept saying that she thought the flamingos would be so surprised and think that their baby had gotten out.
Creed sleeping the day away in his babyhawk.
Helping hands

Baby Creed's first trip to Santa Barbara!

Jenna, Savannah, and Cole
Savannah soaking her feet
At Crumbs Bake shop in Calabasas. They have a bunch of turtles and the kids were loving it.
The new ride...........................
Jenna came to stay with us this last week and just left today :( We will miss her but we were lucky to have her all week! The kids had a blast and we tried to keep her entertained. Some of the super fun things we did this week:
*Went to Chili's with Erin while Jay was at work
*Visited with Carinn & Eric and fam
*Found a new walking route with a super huge hill
*Jenna got spray tanned today and turned SUPER dark
*auntie/ niece pedis/ manis
*Had Dave and Alli over for dinner
*Santa Barbara zoo
*Lots of catching up and some getting Jenna up to speed with Gossip Girl, How I met your Mother, and Harper's Island (which is a new show on CBS that I am totally into since I scanned the main character- the bride- and she was super nice)
*Did some cupcake tasting. Here are my reviews:
Susie Cakes- Martha Stewart's pick for her favorite old fashioned cupcakes
Super yummy specialty one- pinapple upside down cupcake was the best but they don't always have them. I felt like I could make one as good as the vanilla.
Crumbs Bake Shop- a fav of Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel?? Maybe we needed to try it. It was SUPER cute and had a ton of selections. Huge cupcakes so I felt like I was getting my money's worth 3.75 for a little cupcake is pretty steep if it isn't big. Tried the Red Velvet and only had 1 bite. It was super disappointing compared to Nothing Bundt Cakes. The best was Jenna's she got Peanut Butter Banana, yummy. We also tried the mint one (pictured below) I loved the frosting but I'm not a huge fan of chocolate cake.
Jenna is going to try Sprinkles with her friend tomorrow so we will see which one is the best. Any more places we should've tried around Southern California??

*Picked up my new Phil & Ted Vibe Stroller which I got an AMAZING deal on and I am absolutely in LOVE with. I was pretty set on getting the sport in Blue Camo or apple green but they were backordered, so the owners upgraded us since we had been waiting like 6 weeks. Jenna wasn't as excited about it as me but still fun :) She is like why do you need all these strollers??? So I explained and she totally understands now!

It was a super fun week and we will totally miss her!!