LeMieux Family

Butterfly and Tiger

2011-11-14T10:35:00.000-08:00

This year Claire was a blue butterfly and Isaac was a tiger. I took it really easy and odered Claire's costume online and Isaac's costume was given to me by David's mom, she had made it for one of her kids years ago. We had a really fun time this year. The kids got to go to the fall fest at Claire's school, along with a parade for the kindergarteners and then we had the ward trunk or treat, and then we went trick or treating and had a potluck dinner at a friends house all within two weeks. Its been busy. The kids both loved it all. It has been really fun that both the kids are at an age they they are "getting it". I am excited for our little baby boy to join us but I am also really enjoying the fact that I have two kids that are old enough to do things with and they actually understand what's going on.

It's a Boy!

2011-10-24T11:28:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-20T13:14:00.000-07:00

We made it to the pumpkin patch again this year and it was so much fun. I love looking back at the last year and see how our kids have changed and grown. This year we went after David got home from work and just made the last little train ride of the night. It was kind of fun going when it was dark out it everything seemed a little more spooky. We did miss the kettle corn, but got some pumpkin fudge. I think that I love pretty much anything that has pumpkin in it. So good! It was so funny when we arrived Isaac kept on saying that he was afraid of the pumpkins and then when we were getting ready to leave he told us that he wasn't afraid of the pumpkins any more. We had a lot of fun and I'm happy we got to continue our tradition. If you want to look at past years pictures here are the links. (2010, 2009, 2008)

It's Party Time

2011-10-09T14:32:00.000-07:00

Claire just had her 5th birthday Party. She decided with a little nudging to have a butterfly themed Birthday Party. I think it turned out pretty cute and hopefully a lot of fun for the kids. This year I decided that I was going to try to go really simple instead of inviting a whole lot of kids and their families. I told her she could only invite 6 kids. I also decided that this year instead of trying to come up with a cake I would try my hand at making some mini cupcakes; sounds great right? Have you ever really tried to make mini cupcakes? They are way hard. First off I sent my husband to the store and he got me some pans (24 cupcakes) and some liners. I got it into my head that I would try to make from scratch red velvet cake batter did you know its red only because you have to put a very large amount of red food coloring in it (A large amount of red food coloring and little helpers don't mix). Anyway the batter worked out ok for the most part but then I got to trying to place the liners in the pan, because the liners were not nice and tight they were a big fat pain then to try to fill them with batter was rediculous. So the next day I went to a craft store in hopes of finding some nice tight/not squished liners while there I convinced myself that I needed another mini cupcake pan (24 cupcakes). I came home and wanted to promtly try again so I grabbed a cake mix from the cupboard and got started. Every thing seemed to be going well it was still a pain to fill the cups, but then i pulled the cupcakes from the oven and they looked nice and fluffy and yummy. My first response was happiness until they cooled and I picked one up and the bottom of the liner was deflated. All of the cupcakes that I had made had sunk. At this point I called my husband and told him that I was done. However, the next day I went to the store and bought a new cake mix and decided that I would try one last time and they finally worked. Hooray! The valuable lessons that I learned from making mini cupcakes are. . . 1. use fresh cake mix its easier and tastes good 2. only buy cupcake liners that are really tight and not squished in anyway 3. Pour all the batter in a ziploc bag and cut a small hole in the tip to dispense into the pans 4. A cake mix makes about 60 mini cupcakes 5. They take about 15 min to cook. Anyway a long story short the party was a great sucess and I think the cupcakes turned out great in the end. Happy Birthday Claire bear!

My Isaac Bisaac Boy

2011-10-08T20:13:00.000-07:00

Isaac is such a sweet funny kid. This picture is the other day when he was drinking a smoothie. I thought that his mustache looked like it should be in a magazine ad. Anyway, I just wanted to posted really quick a few things about Isaac that I want to remember years from now that make him the little boy that I love. First off do any of your kids go through a bag stage. Both of mine seem to have. They want to keep any bag from anything and stuff it full of random stuff. I think its cute and a good distraction until the time comes to find the place were all of the stuff has to go back to. Claire used to do the same thing. Isaac, however has taken it to an all new level. One day we went on a little picnic so I brought out our small cooler to put our lunch in, ever since then Isaac has claimed it as his own. He has to always has a box or two of some sort of cracker in it and something to drink. He will bring it out when he gets hungry or thirsty. I think it makes him feel a whole new sense of independence. The funniest thing though is that he also uses it to climb on everything even if he doesn't actually need a "stool". He is just too funny he's also trying to get rid of his afternoon nap, which I am most definetly not a fan of, and when I put him in his bed to go to sleep he will scream out a little bit later things like; "I am standing on my bed", "I am throwing my stuffed animals down", "I am hitting the wall", "I am not going to sleep". Most the time I am tired and frustrated but deep down I think its hilarious that he is telling me the things he's not supposed to do in hopes that I will come in and he will get out of having to go to sleep.

Day at the beach

2011-09-16T12:49:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we decided that we hadn't been to the beach for quite some time so we packed up our beach stuff and went. This time we went to a beach we had never been to before and it was pretty fun. Here are some pictures.

Guess What?

2011-09-10T08:44:00.001-07:00

Pregnancy Baby Ticker - Countdown To Baby Birthgreat free widgetsWidgetboxMore info

I'm due March 12, 2012

Kindergarten

2011-08-30T15:12:00.000-07:00

Here are the first day of school pictures. Claire had an awesome time just like I knew she would. I was surprised at how hard it was for me to leave my sweet little girl at school though. All summer she has been excited for school and I know that she is ready, but there is just something that really hits you when you have to leave your child with a teacher and people you really don't know and hope that they will take care of your baby. I am happy that I will have Isaac home with me, otherwise I don't know how I would be able to handle it. But except for me completely biffing it on the sidewalk by the school the day went well. I think this is going to be a great year.

I love the summer

2011-06-21T20:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to the store and bought a little baby pool and we love it. Here are some pictures of Isaac and Claire trying too hard to be photogenic. I love every bit of it!

Camping Adventure

2011-06-21T20:22:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we got to go camping at Big Sur. David came home a couple weeks ago and asked if we wanted to go camping at Big Sur. One of his coworkers moved away and was wondering if we wanted the camping reservation. The coworker had reserved the camp site months in advance and we were more than happy to take it off of their hands. The drive to the camp ground was about a three hour drive but it felt like 15 minutes once we got on highway 1. The views of the shoreline were amazing (sadly, no pictures). I just kept on feeling like I was looking at a calendar. Then we got to the campsite and the kids loved every minute of it. The camp site was right by a beautiful river and they even had a playground. We only stayed one night but it was a complete blast. I really am loving how the older Isaac gets the more he and Claire really are best friends. They do everything together and Isaac repeats everything that Claire says. It was so cute while sleeping in our tiny tent we had the two kids sleeping side by side and they snuggled right up next to each other. Then after we left the campground we wanted to stop for lunch somewhere along the shore but the kids were sleeping so we decided to take a more scenic route back; we followed Highway 1 as far as it would take us to our house and on the way we decided to stop in at one of our favortie beaches and have some lunch and play in the sand. The whole trip was amazing.

San Francisco Bay

2011-06-21T20:07:00.000-07:00

A while back we decided to go to a different beach than we normally do. It was in Alameda. It is a little island right outside of Oakland and is sheltered by San Francisco. The town is adorable, it is just a small little town full of beautiful victorian homes. I am so grateful we get to live in such a beautiful place and within 45 minutes we can explore such amazing places. I really love the view of San Francisco across the bay you can see in the first picture.

Harvest

2011-06-21T19:58:00.000-07:00

This spring we planted a little garden in our little patch of earth in our tiny back yard. We planted tomatoes, peppers, peas, carrots, and pumpkins. The carrots lasted about a week until some animal (we think it was a cat) dug them all up. the rest of our garden has done pretty well so far. i am excited for when our tomatoes ripen, and we have had a few stawberries. This morning the kids went outside and asked if they could pick the peas so I let them. We haven't staked the vines in at all so i don't know how many more peas we will get out of them but. From the picture above you can see our little harvest and the kids really have loved the whole process.

A Fancy Bed

2011-06-04T21:40:00.000-07:00

One time when I was a little girl I was playing at my best friend's house and we ended up at this old women's house. I don't even know who she was to my friend, but for some reason we were visiting her. Anyway, we didn't stay very long, but that visit has always stayed in my memory. I remember we went into her room and she had a very fancy bed and for me it was love at first sight. It was so tall that she had a little ladder to get into it and it had silky looking pillows all over it. I'm not quite sure if it really was that tall or that the old women just was so old that she needed a little ladder. But that doesn't really matter. From that time on I have had a secret dream to have a tall fancy bed. When we were first married; my husbands parents gave us a full sized mattress that they had hanging around. It will always hold a special place in my heart and I am extremely grateful for it. I have to admit however it was not very tall nor was it at all fancy. But now one of my dreams has come true. A while back we got a free california king sized bed just in the nick of time; considering our much loved full sized bed was pretty much like sleeping on the box spring underneath it. After we got it I loved all the space and my husband loved all the leg room. But it was driving me crazy that because all of our pillows were twin sized, David had a pillow on his side of the bed, we had our in between pillow, and then I had my pillow. Finally, I decided that this bed was tall enough and that I was going to fullfill one of my dreams and make it fancy. Anyway, here it is I made the bedskirt and four of the pillows? And can you believe it? My wonderful husband made me a headboard. He bought the wood, borrowed a saw, and drilled, cut, sanded, stained, and finished it this last weekend. I am so happy with how it all came together. What do you think?

Dutch oven Cobbler Recipe?

2011-06-02T13:10:00.000-07:00

Okay everyone, I have the assignment for a relief society activity to demonstrate a yummy dutch oven cobbler recipe I am sure that the few people that read my blog have a recipe or two up their sleeve. So share please! Or the I will just have to bust out the canned fruit with cake mix on top recipe (which I really love), but there has got to be something better out there. Put your recipes in the comments.

Thanks, Val

Goodbye Preschool Hello Summer

2011-05-28T13:28:00.000-07:00

This last thursday was claire's last day of preschool. Her class did a little show for us and it was the most adorable thing to watch. I was amazed how well the children did. There are six kids in Claire's class and they all had parts to say and sang a bunch of songs with hand motions. Claire has grown so much over the year it is amazing. Here is a link to the blog post of her first day of preschool and Now I can hardly believe that next year she will start kindergarten. I am not quite sure how she will get all of her creative energy out with out wonderful Mrs. Perona. Everyday she went to preschool they were painting or doing some kind of craft it was amazing how much effort her teacher put in to it. We are sad to see preschool go but are excited for summer. I also snuck in the last picture is of Isaac one day when he told me he was not going to take a nap he fell asleep sitting up. What a cutie, huh?

Women's Conference and a Wedding

2011-05-01T20:34:00.000-07:00

This last weekend was a AMAZING! My sweet husband took work off for two days so that I could go to Wome's Conference and a wedding of a very dear friend of mine. i left on Wednesday afternoon for the airport and arrived in Provo to stay in a dorm and go to Women't Conference with my wonderful mother in law (wmil), sister in law and her friend. While their I ate entirely too much yummy food and it was awesome. I got to attend WC on the thursday and now I feel like a new women. I want to be a better mommy, wife and friend. I also go to attend the sealing of a really great friend of mine. I am so happy for her; and her new husband is just perfect for her. Congratulations Jackie and Par! It was so fun to go to Provo. While at WC i ran into two girls from my home towna dn we had a tiny chat and another one of my friends from home was at the wedding. It was all so beautiful and I am so happy that I got to go. I was also going to visit with another friend/one of the best roomates ever, but as I was driving home from the luncheon it started snowing quite a bit. Since I have not driven in the snow for almost three years and i was following a GPS I decide that I should probably not go into SLC and meet with her so instead we chatted on the phone for almost an hour. I am sad that we didn't get to see each other but am happy that I didn't venture out. Especially since the next day as my WMIL was driving me to the airport we saw a total of four different accidents involving 20 different cars. Yikes! I am happy I didn't risk it. Anyway the weekend was just what the doctor ordered and I can't wait for next year. P.S. If you haven't noticed i just posted quite a few different postes today to check them all out this isn't the only new one. Hopefully since blogger and Picasa have decided to cooperate with me I will be able to squezze in a little more blogging time to keep everyone updated.

Easter

2011-05-01T20:18:00.000-07:00

For Easter morning the kids woke up and they found candy and eggs all over the house. It is alwasy so fun to see them so excited. the one thing that they were excited about the most was a gumball machine. Yes! a gumball machine. About a week before Easter one night we were playing candyland and when you make it to the end there is a picture of a gumball machine David told the kids what it was and for the past week before Easter they were infactuated. Isaac even woke up in the middle of the night wide awake just to talk about gumball machines. Anyway we told them that maybe they could get one for their birthday next year. So, they were both surprised to see a gumball machine on Easter. I have to say though. I must be the coolest or most foolish mom ever. A GUMBALL MACHINE! The gumball machine now has a home on a high shelf and if the kids find any loose change around the house they come staight to me. Sometimes they get a gumball sometimes they don't.

Camping Trip

2011-05-01T20:09:00.000-07:00

The Friday before Easter we decided that we would go on a short camping trip with some friends that also have a little girl and boy. Of course, I forgot my camera so this is just a picture of the kids and their new sleeping bags, but the camping trip was a big success. We left about 5:30pm on friday night and drove about a half hour away to our camp site on the little mountain by where we live. I was a amazed it was like a completely different world, but was so close. We arrived at our campsite and set up our little tents and squezzed four sleeping bags in. Then the men and kids started the fire and we ate hotdogs, smores, foil dinners and peach cobbler. I love camping type food! Then we went to bed; Claire was so funny she was so excited to sleep in a tent in her new sleeping bag she asked to go to bed and then Isaac fell asleep sitting by the fire not much later than that. We were toasty warm since we were all squished in our little tent and we woke up and had breakfast, packed up and hiked probably a total of a quarter of a mile and saw a bunch of cool rock formations to climb on and stuff. Then we had lunch and headed home. We were only out camping for a total of 15 or so hours after packing for about three, but is sure was fun. We hope to go camping a lot more this summer.

Easter egg hunt

2011-05-01T19:59:00.000-07:00

This year one of our friends invited us to a Easter egg hunt at a park a week before Easter. The kids really had a lot of fun.

Amazing!

2011-05-01T19:55:00.000-07:00

A little less than a month ago David's parents were chaperoning a Disneland choir trip for David's youngest brother and they decide they would extend their stay for a couple days and make their way down to visit us. It was a wonderful visit with them. We went to Discovery Kingdom one of the days and chilled around the house and went to the park the next day. It was all such a blast. We love to have family around. The kids really loved Discovery Kingdom. They had so many rides that were just perfect for small kids and they also had marine life as well as other animals. It was amazing! We can't wait to go again. David's family is also so great. Probaly within four hours of arriving they were weeding our poor front yard for us. Can you beleive it? I know they had to travel quite a bit more to come see us, but I am so glad that they did. Also, I just updated Picasa (the program that I use to blog) and it is even easier and I can add more than four pictures, Yay! Hopefully this means I will get back into blogging more regularly.

Catching Up

2011-05-01T19:43:00.000-07:00

A while back we made a trip to the beach. I just love that we live only about an hour from the beach. Even though it is way too cold to swim in. There is something to be said about the great expanse of the ocean. It really makes me feel in awe of the beautiful earth that we get to live on. Also, I put in a picture of the kids room I have rearranged slightly since the picture but It shows off the two quilts I made and the vinyle fish i cut with my cricut and stuck on the wall,a nd the kids table that I spray painted aqua and red to match. I am working on the curtains right now and think that the kids room has really come together.

Change

2011-03-06T15:21:00.001-08:00

For some reason the last four months or so I have been feeling really out sync. I just didn't really feel like myself and I think I've finally figured out why. My life really has gotten busy and my priorities have changed. I feel like this has happened a couple other times in my life before this. The first time was right after getting married it took me quite a little while to change from being single Valerie to wife Valerie. The second time was after becoming a mom; I had to figure out how to change from student, wife, and productive Valerie to stay at home, mommy Valerie. After both of these life changes I feel like I have come over to the other side a better person and I am very happy with who I have become. So after finally (hopefully) figuring it out I am pleased to present; wife, friend, mother of two, busy Valerie. Like I said for the past little while I have not quite felt like myself; I have felt very antisocial, tired, and like I've been running a never ending race that I keep on losing. Then today as I was thinking about things, I think I've figured it out. Claire started preschool this year and also ditched her afternoon nap. My schedule consists of waking up making a filling breakfast (cereal just doesn't seem to cut it for my kids it seems like their hungry two seconds later), dishes, getting kids dressed, taking a shower and actually getting ready (makeup and all), taking Claire to preschool or some other mid morning activity, getting lunch for Isaac, pick Claire up from preschool, put Isaac down for a nap, make lunch for Claire and myself, occupy Claire while Isaac sleeps, Isaac wakes up, go to the park or play at home, try to put together a nutritious dinner, eat with the kids, clean up dished and the house, pick David up from the train, warm dinner back up for David, get Isaac and Claire ready for bed, read stories, go to the gym, relax, and finally go to sleep. This list doesn't even include all of the spills I clean up, grocery shopping and diapers. No wonder I am feeling kind of out of sync I thought I was a stay at home mom with toddlers with lots of time on my hands. After some thinking it through I have officially decided that I am a busy mom. Maybe I don't have a side job and one of the biggest things that stresses my out is what to make for dinner. But now that I have realized why I never hang out with anyone any more (antisocial) is because I am so busy its hard to fit in spontaneous play dates and random hanging out time when I am so busy and no wonder I'm so tired I do a lot in a day. So, the next question is what am I going to do about this new role in my life called "busy"; and the answer is plan ahead. If I want to hang out with someone I'm going to try to schedule it at least a couple days ahead of time, hopefully that will help the antisocial part; next I am going to try to get to bed on time because a busy person needs sleep especially with kids that wake her up before the crack of dawn, and lastly "knowing is half the battle" now that I have finally come to the realization that I am busy I will try to be a little less hard on myself. I am sure that this post probably made no sense to anyone else, but I now feel like a whole new better me. Let me introduce myself, I am Valerie; busy, mother of two, and yes I know that its just going to get worse, but I can handle.

Birthday

2011-03-06T15:18:00.000-08:00

This last week my baby boy turned two years old I can hardly believe it. He is getting to be such a big boy. Earlier this month I told him that his birthday was coming up and asked him what kind of cake he wanted, but he didn't have any ideas so I suggested that I make a dirt cake with gummy worms in it, and he really held on to the idea. My quite little boy for the last month has been telling everyone and anyone that he comes across that he was going to have a dirt cake with gummi worms in it for his birthday, and now that his birthday has come and gone he still talks about it. Isaac is my sweet boy. He always wakes up early whether he's tired or not and has the biggest grin in the whole world. Every morning he gets my slippers for me so that I will get out of bed and make him "beckfist". He has such a little sweet tooth and he is a big momma's boy.

President's Day (more pics)

2011-02-23T09:24:00.000-08:00

President's Day Andventure

2011-02-23T09:22:00.000-08:00

On president's Day we decided that we were going to make a trip into the city. David has been working a lot lately with an extra freelance job on top of his regular job. The poor guy hadn't gone to bed before 3 am in a couple of weeks. Since his project was complete, we all decided we needed a little break. First we hit the peir and saw the sea lions wich is always very entertaining and then we couldn't resist a ride on the merry-go-round. After doing the normal stuff that we have done before we dedided to head up and see the big army looking ship up closer. We found out upon closer inspection that there was also a submarine and that you could take a tour of both. We decided that this time we would do the big ship. It was amazing, one of the best self giuded tours I've ever been on. We got to go almost everywhere; even in the engine room and at the very top with the big gun. Our president's day was wonderful and we are so grateful we get to live in such an amazing place.

Getting Back In The Swing of Things

2011-02-04T13:17:00.000-08:00

After visiting my family we have had quite a few adventures as well. While we were visiting my family Isaac got sick with flu type symtoms on top of a cold and then when we got back he seemed to be getting better until one night around dinner time he suddenly had a pretty high fever we couldn't get down and was really lazy; he didn't want to walk or do anything. His breathing was also really quick and shallow. We kept an eye on him and put him to bed but even while sleeping his breathing just didn't seem right so we decided to take him to the ER. I took him and we got there and they gave him a chest xray and an IV. Which was not fun at all. It took them quite a few times to get the IV in. Poor little guy! Then the doctor came in and told us that he had pneomonia, but that it wasn't too bad and that without the chest xray he doesn't even know if they would have diagnosed it. So he prescribed an antibiotic and at 3:00 in the morning we were allowed to go back home. A couple day's later I took him into the docotr to have him check up on him and thankfully right before leaving Claire was complaining about here ear hurting so I got her in too the doctor checked in her ear and she had an ear infection and now a week later we are almost done with antibiotics and only are dealing with a lingering cold.
This week we also registered Claire for Kindergarten. The school that she is assigned to go to is closing so we will see which school she will end up at. I can't believe that she will be going to school this fall. Claire is also loving preschool they do so many awesome things sometimes I worry that when she goes to kindergarten she is going to be really a little sad that they don't get to do as much. The picture above are a few things that she made while at preschool. The Volcano with the dinosaurs even explodes with baking soda and water. Pretty awesome huh! Now that Isaac is feeling better he is acting more normal again. Now we just need to figure out how to get him to stay in nursery without us.

Trip to Arizona

2011-02-04T12:49:00.000-08:00

A little while back we had the oppurtunity to go visit my family in Arizona. I am one of seven children in my family and my two younger brothers were leaving/going on their missions and my older brother and his wife and family and my older sister were all going for a visit. We had a wonderful time hanging out, playing games and enjoying good times together. First off I am proud to say we got an awesome deal on the plain tickets and we flew out of the San Jose Airport; which I have to add is a really nice airport. We flew in to Phoenix without any troubles rented a car and drove the 3.5 hours to Sierra Vista; where my Mom and Dad live. As soon as we got there Claire was off playing with cousins. I think her and her cousin Mariah were outdoors playing pretty much the entire time. She even got to have a little adventure with Mariah and Jason. I was making some dough inside and I hadn't heard or seen the three in quite a while so I went out to check on them. As I got closer to the green house I hear kids crying so I follow the sound and they are all at the end of the yard in the wash (dry creek) without shoes. Claire and Jason were crying "we are lost forever" and Mariah kept on say, "don't worry, Rex (my parents dog) will lead us home". It was pretty funny. The trip was so fun and we are so happy that we decided to go. But I think that people need to start visiting us (hint, hint). Our floor is always open and we live in a pretty awesome location.

Christmas

2011-01-10T20:01:00.000-08:00

This year we got to spend Christmas in Kenniwick, WA with David's family. It was so much fun. The flight was not a problem at all Isaac fell asleep before take off and then I had to wake him up when we landed and Claire watch a movie. We got landed and found that the ground was covered with a thin layer of snow which we are now not used to in anyway. Thanks to Grandma Brenda though she had nice warm coats, boots, hats, and gl0ves to keep our kids warm. We had a wonderful time hanging out with David's brothers and sisters, inlaws and parents. We also got to go caroling in a fire truck from 1949; we rode in the back and it was awesome. (No, I didn't get any pictures, too bad). On Christmas Eve we celebrated yuleborg (sp?) with swedish meatballs and lefsa. Yummy! The swedish sure do know how to make some tasty food. Then we had a wonderful Christmas with way too many yummy treats to snack on; I really gained five pounds. As is our tradition for Christmas we got pajamas and this year I made animal print pajama bottoms for all of us, I think they turned out pretty fun. We also had a great time with David's Dad Tom and his wife Diane. We met at David's aunt Lexie's house and were surprised to see some of his other cousins and family. We also went to Chuck E. Cheese; something we have never done before. I had a great time talking to Diane; while David, Tom and the kids played the games. We were also really surprised to see some old friends/neighbors from Rexburg that we haven't seen since we moved from there. All in all, we had a wonderful time and are now ready to take a little break and hibernate for the winter.

Halloween Fun

2010-11-14T20:12:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine threw a murder mystery part for Halloween and I was Jitterbug champ "Bea A'upper and Quarterback "Jock S. Trappe. It was tons of fun and these were our costumes.

We had a fun Halloween this year. After going to the pumpkin patch we carved our pumpkin in to a Jill-O-Lantern per Claire's request. Isaac and Claire also colored the two little pumpkins.

Here are Claire and Isaac's costumes Isaac was a "choo, choo" and Claire was a bowl of ice cream. After Claire told me she wanted to be a bowl of ice cream I wasn't quite sure how I was going to pull it off but piece by piece it came together and in the end I thought she looked pretty cute. I was going to make Isaac's costume out of a box but then i figured it would be alot easier and more comfortable to just order something off line, when his costume came he was all about it then he go tot wear it when Claire wore her's to preschool, but the time the trunk or treat came he decided he just wanted to be Isaac for Halloween.

The Pumpkin Patch

2010-11-14T20:07:00.000-08:00

Trip to Kennewick

2010-10-20T20:33:00.000-07:00

Yummy cake! Claire got some pretty fancy cake for her birthday; left over wedding cake is the best. congratulations Mellie and Brent!

Claire had an awesome time at her tinkerbell birthday party. Thank you so much to my awesome mother in law for making a four year olds birthday special in the midst of wedding commotion; she had really wonderful birthday.

I really love my sister in law Chelsea; I'm happy that Daniel chose such an awesome wife.

Isaac for some reason was smitten with his uncle Daniel (David's younger brother). For some reason he is always really comfortable with men and boys and not as much with women. This picture was taken by Daniel's wife chelsea; I just thought it was adorable.

We had the wonderful oppurtunity to go to David's hometown, Kennewick for his youngest sister's wedding. The trip was terrific. The kids and I got to go five days early and then David joined us for a long weekend. While there Claire celebrated her fourth Birthday and she got to have grandparents, great grandparents, uncles, aunts, etc at her party. I always love going and visiting David's family; it is so easy and fun. The sealing was beautiful and the reception was beautiful as well. Her colors were burgundy and brown; and my sister in law and mother in law did a beautiful job decorating. Its a good thing I still have at least 15 years before I need to throw a party as big as that.

More Super Seuth pictures

2010-10-20T19:53:00.000-07:00

You've had a birthday shout hurray!

2010-10-20T19:40:00.000-07:00

Claire celebrated her 4th birthday a couple weeks ago. As we were going out of town on her birthday; we had a birthday party before we left for friends. It was super sleuth themed and I have to say that it was awesome! This is the cake I made. I think that it turned out pretty cute.

At the party we played a few game consisting of; pin the tail on Eeyore, red light green light, and of course a mystery to solve. I think all the kids had a pretty awesome time and it was fun planning it all. Sometimes I think I might go a little over board.

This is a picture of most of the kids at her party after they solved the mystery of the missing birthday candles. If you see in the background there is a stump that was carved into a bear. I thought it was pretty awesome since her party was My friends Tigger and Pooh themed.

The party was lots of fun we the kids arrived we made telescopes out of colored cellophane, white tubes, and a rubber band. The party was awesome the only one problem was that we decided to have the party in a pretty big nature park and it was a bit of a walk to get to it. Carrying all the supplies was a pain and I think some people were a little thrown off, but I think everyone that wanted to come made it and fun was had by all.

Quilt

2010-09-28T19:38:00.000-07:00

There are three different apliques; a shell, a fish, and seahorse. I stiched around the center with my machine and it took forever especially the seahorses. i also found out that wonder under is amazing stuff. It pretty much binds the fabric togerther just with an iron. Awesome hah?

I made this awesome softy thing; can you believe it? I got it into my head that I wanted to make both Isaac and Claire comforters for their beds and I have completed Claire's. Its made from a total of six different fabrics. Three brown and blue pattern fabrics, one sand brown fabric and I cut out red fabric for an aplique, and the back is a really soft red minky fabric. It took alot of work, and most the time I didn't really know what I was doing but I am pretty pleased with the results. Isn't it pretty? Now I just need to make Isaacs. Hopefully I'll have it done by Christmas or Thanksgiving.

How do you like our haircuts?

2010-09-28T19:26:00.000-07:00

Preschool

2010-09-16T12:40:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of Claire right before we left for preschool. She started a two weeks ago and she loves it.

I got her cute little backpack from old navy. I thought it was the most adorable thing. Im happy she liked it too. Isn't buying a new backpack one of the best parts of starting school?

Claire's preschool class has five other kids in it. The teacher is an amazing women from our ward. She does it out of her own home and has a whole room set up and a cute little table and much more; including bunnies. the first day we got to school she took the kids outside and they got to pet the bunnies. Sorry the picture is hard to see, but I think it shows how excited she is.

The one thing that I didn't anticipate was what Isaac would do while claire was at preschool. the first day she went, it was hilarious he kept on looking at me like "mommy do I really have all your attention right now?". Even in just two weeks he has started to talk alot more. I hadn't realized how much he doesn't really talk because Claire does all the talking. The cute thing though was even with all the attention I could give him after about an hour and a half he kept on asking about where Claire was. As you can see in the picture when we picked her up from preschool he was so happy to see her. He ran up and just grabbed her hand to bring her home. Just melts my heart.

Tilden Park

2010-09-08T20:23:00.000-07:00

Over the Labor Day Weekend our ward had an activity at Tilden Park and it was a ton of fun. First we did a four mile hike and at the end ate some breakfast with the ward. Claire once again did really well, she walked/ran the whole way up to the summit. We also got to go on a miniature steam engine train and a merry-go-round. Tilden Park was really pretty awesome. It kind of reminded me of Yellowstone in the fact that you drive around to see different geysers and such, but instead of geysers the atractions were a little farm (we were too tired to make it), a steam engine train, and a merry-go-round. The whole drive to the train Isaac was so excited, but then when we got to it he was totally freaked out and pretty much clung to David the entire ride. All in all, it was a lot of fun and if you ever have a chance to go to Tilden park you should go.

Big Boy Bed!

2010-09-05T13:00:00.000-07:00

Super Ike saves the day! Claire got new underwear and he wanted to wear them too.
I think David took this picture. They sure are cute!

Isaac is officially a big boy, even know he is still my baby. Today he went into nursery by himself for the first time. He did just fine for about the first half hour until he decided he was done and started crying. The nursery workers got David, but then Isaac just wanted me. What can I say? There is no dispute with that boy that he is definitely a mommas boy. I came in with him the rest of the time and after about ten minutes he did just fine. Hopefully he will decide that nursery is a fun place and I can actually attend my own class at church.

We also moved Isaac to a twin sized bed earlier this week. He has been such a good boy about it. I have to say that it has been a lot easier to do things with Isaac. It is so nice to already have a rule in place. He already knows from looking at Claire that when you are put to bed, you have to stay in your bed. Isaac also just had his well care check up and I am pleased to say that he did slightly better with the doctor. He even gave him a high five and a fist bump in between tears. He is still our long string bean though. I love that little boy. He is such a joy in our home.

What I Did This Summer (part 2)

2010-09-05T12:42:00.000-07:00

The kids and I also had the awesome opportunity to go visit my family in Arizona. My oldest sister Nadine and her family were also visiting before they moved to Ethiopia for two years. I am so happy that we got to go for ten whole days. Poor David had to stay home and work. When we arrived once again; Claire was out the door with cousins, whom she had never actually met before. She loved it! Isaac once again loved playing in the dirt. My parents have a quite large cat that scratched Claire probably about a dozen times, but she just kept on coming back for more, I think that they had a love hate relationship. My parents also have a lot of turtles and tortoises (My Dad breeds exotic reptiles for a living; just in case you didn't know), a very loud parrot, and a dog among other things that kept Claire very entertained. While there I had a wonderful time catching up with my sister and bil. We also made a trip to Coronado cave and there is about a half mile hike. Claire did it all and even kept up with her older cousins pretty well. She also wanted to explore the caves; which is amazing, if you know Claire, she likes to stay clean and the cave was very dirty. We also went on another hike to the San Pedro river and walk to the "big tree". All in all we had a wonderful time.

What I Did This Summer (part 1)

2010-09-04T20:32:00.000-07:00

This summer has been crazy the kids and I have been out of town for almost a whole month in total and of course I forgot our camera every time. Sorry, no pictures. First we got to go visit David's family. The kids and I went early and then David joined us for the weekend. We were there for the fourth of July. It was awesome! I know its pretty lame that I haven't even blogged about our summer trips I can't believe I haven''t really blogged about anything in over a month. Crazy! Anyway, I love to go visit David family because it feel just like home. When we arrived Claire was pretty much gone playing with uncles, aunts, grandparents, and a dog named trixy. Poor Isaac was sick for a little bit and didn't want to do much more then cuddle with me and play in the dirt. Boy can that little boy play in the dirt. I think he learned the word dirt before he learned mama or dada. We flew kites and played outside and after David got in town I got to go with my mil and sils to see Eclipse. We also watch the fireworks across the horizon from David's parents balcony. Maybe I'm just a lamo mom, but I really haven't felt the need yet to go all out and stay up late to watch the fireworks up close. I guess I just really don't like cranky kids. While we were visiting we also got to go to a little LeMieux family BBQ get together. It is always so much fun when we get together with the LeMieux's. While we were there we once again won the cutest car award from one of David's uncles; which was hilarious. (every year for Halloween no matter how elaborate or simple our car is decorated for the trunk or treat we win the cutest car). Maybe this year we will win a different award. I am so grateful for my wonderful family it sure does make things easy when you absolutely love your husbands family.

Chunko!

2010-06-16T15:06:00.000-07:00

The other day I was looking at some old pictures and i came across this little beauty of claire when she was a baby. Sometimes I forget what a chunky baby she was. Don't you just love the enormous thighs of chunky goodness? Anyway had to share. But now my little girl is turning into a big girl. Lately in front of the camera all I can get to her to do is this enormous cheesy grin.

Disneyland! Part 4

2010-05-10T14:42:00.000-07:00

We also got to go to Disneyland right after arriving home from Women's conference, literaly. It was amazing. Everything went so well. Claire got to meet pretty much all of the princesses and we all had a wonderful time. The only slight problem was that Isaac got an ear infection but thanks to grampa that wasn't too bad either. If you hadn't noticed we have had a pretty awesome April. Thank you so much to some pretty awesome loving parents that let us come along on all these awesome adventures. We sure do love you.

BYU Women's Conference Part 3

2010-05-10T14:30:00.000-07:00

I also got to go to BYU WC and it was a blast. I went with three of the best people on earth; my mother in law, my mom, and my sister in law. I kind of felt a little bit like an empty bottle mainly do to the fact that I have two small children and I came home full to the brim. It was wonderful! As an added bonus I go to have some late night ice scream with a dear friend and a yummy buffet breakfast with some of the best roommates I ever had.

Daddy Daughter Date Part 2

2010-05-10T13:47:00.000-07:00

David and Claire went on a daddy daughter date. They both thoroughly enjoyed. Who wouldn't want to go out for icescream and some seroiouse spoiling?

One Extremely Fun Month Part 1

2010-05-10T13:45:00.000-07:00

I wonder where Claire might have inhereitided that big cheesy grin.

The Month of April was awesome. David's parents got to come and visit and we had a fun time. We enjoyed eachothers company and also went to the Academy of Sciences. we also found out that even though Isaac is totally a momma's boy. He will go to grandma if she has fruit snacks. We love it when David's parents can come and visit. Hint, hint you are more than welcome to come anytime.

Oh Yeah!

2010-04-23T13:57:00.000-07:00

http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Worldwide-Premiere-Watch-The-Twilight-Saga-Eclipse-Trailer-Video_1

Easter!

2010-04-06T20:13:00.000-07:00

We had an awesome easter this year. The saturday before we; dyed easter eggs. Then on Easter we woke up at the crack of dawn and found easter eggs. Isaac thoroughly enjoyed his very first peep and new swimsuits and sandals from the easter bunny were a big hit!

Fabulous Birthday Party

2010-03-08T14:09:00.000-08:00

This last weekend we got to attend a fun birthday party for one of Claire's good friends; who was turning 3. The theme of the party was pinkalicious and everything was so cute. I have said it before, but I really want to try making a cake with fondant. Maybe sometime I'll get ambitious. Claire was so funny; throughout the whole party she kept on asking when we were going to paly games. She is a party girl I guess.

You've Had A Birthday; Shout Hurray!

2010-03-06T14:12:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Isaac's birthday just recently and it was totally fun. we decided to forgo the big party and just open presents and eat cake at home with the fam. Claire helped me with all the birthday preparations . . . baking and decorating a cake, picking out and wrapping presents, and decorating the house. I can't believe that I have been a mother of two for a whole year now. Time sure does fly! Isaac is officially walking now (see video posted earlier), he can say the normal things; ma, da, ba, na. He is growing like a string bean. I took him to the doctors office and he now weighs; 22 pounds (30%) and is 31 inches long (80%). He most definitely does not like the doctors office. He is the sweetest little boy in town and we love him to death.

New Hobby

2010-02-28T14:56:00.000-08:00

I got a sewing machine for Christmas and have just recently taken it out of its box and . . . I love it! the only things I've really sewn on it are nursing covers for baby showers and a wheelchair backpacks for a Relief Society activity. I think this might really be a good creative outlet for me. I love that I have been able to make something for a gift for someone. The pictures are of the last nursing cover and burp clothes that I made. I used one of the fancy stitches on my machine for the edge of the burp cloth and i think it turned out pretty cute.

Isaac Walking

2010-02-26T21:17:00.000-08:00

Hats, Painting and Sunday Best

2010-01-27T14:58:00.000-08:00

We were heading to the park one sunny afternoon and I had my hat on and we put this hat on Claire I can't believe how old it made her look. I really wonder were my baby girl has gone.

Claire has really taken a liking to painting. In an earlier post I wrote that we got her some water colors and she loves them but I also had some other paint hanging around and she had been asking for weeks if we could paint with them. So, finally David and Claire went to a craft store and picked up this little box and some more paint. I think she did a really amazing job. I think that we might have an artist on our hands.

I got this outfit for Isaac at his baby shower and have been waiting until he was big enough to wear it; the day has finally come. He looks like a little "stud". Don't you think?

And of course Claire in her Sunday best. A while back I said something shocking to Isaac, Claire and David and they all turned and stared at me; It was like looking at the same eyse three times. The all definetly have some variation of David's almond shaped eyes. The only thing I can claim is Claire's face shape and that her eyes are blue.

Fun Times

2010-01-16T07:56:00.000-08:00

I love these two kids.

When David comes home; that means wrestling time.

Claire loves to cook; pretend or real. I can't believe how fast she is growing.

My favorite Ikie boys cheesy grin. He took his first steps about a week ago. He really keeps his sister on her toes.

What We Did While In Arizona

2010-01-06T21:01:00.000-08:00

For all those that didn't know my Dad raises and sells exotic reptiles for a living; mainly tortoises. Its funny how when you live on your own the topic doesn't usually come up, but when I was a kid it seemed like everyone knew. Claire had a really fun time looking at all my Dad's reptiles.
I got my hair cut. Not the cutest picture ever but you can see it's shorter.
We spent some of our time in my parents yard and greenhouse. Claire loved seeing all of the turtles.
Sometimes I really miss Arizona sunsets.

My parents have a pet parrot and his name is Sabastian. He is very loud and hilarious. Ike and Claire couldn't get enough of him.

Claire and my parents cat had a love hate relationship. The first day we were there the cat scratched Claire because she was pestering it, but she still wouldn't leave him alone. Then she was freaked out about it and wouldn't go near it by the time we left if she walked past it she would chant "I don't care, I don't care". But if he was laying around she would go and give it a kiss and pet it. My parents cat is a little bigger than normal and kind of acts like a dog. I think it is call a bengel cat or something like that. The funny thing is that it would get a little wild at night.

Claire loved going up and sliding down the stairs.
I also got together with three of my most favorite people. We made some yummy tamales and caught up. It really is amazing how time flies.

Christmas Time in AZ

2010-01-04T13:57:00.000-08:00

What can I say . . . Isaac makes me happy.

This year we made the long drive to Arizona to visit my family. I was really worried that the trip was going to be awful but it was really actually pretty fun. We woke up at 3 am to leave and stopped for breakfast and to get dressed then made it to Blythe in the afternoon. then we just chilled. The next day we made it the rest the way to Arizona. We had such a fun time! My parents have just newly finished their home and we got to stay in the master bedroom. Claire even got her own little room (walk in closet) of her own. It was so much fun to go home and have a christmas with my family. David hasn't been to my parent's place in three years.

Ice Skating In San Fransisco

2009-12-17T21:59:00.000-08:00

I tried to get some pictures of David and Isaac in front of the city scape lights. I love going to the city at night especially around Christmas it is so beautiful.

Claire was great the whole time. At the restaurant she used the wine glass with water and thought that she was pretty fancy.

Well, I survived once again; I made my yearly drive into San Fransisco. I don't know whether the reason I get so nervous about it is that I have the worst sense of direction ever, that I grew up in a pretty small town, or that I am a downright chicken, but I have a really hard time driving to and around places that I am not very familiar with. One way streets, on and off ramps, and traffic all terrify me. Anyway, the company that David works for has a Christmas party in the city after work and I have to get into the city on my own. Last year I did it by myself and this year the whole family was invited. We made it safely, without any trouble and had a blast. I don't know why I worry so much. We got to go Ice Skating and ate at a restaurant with a beautiful view right off the Pier. It was so much fun, sometimes I forget that we live right by San Fransisco.

Santa Is Comin To Town!

2009-12-13T15:51:00.000-08:00

We had our ward party this past friday and it was a blast! There was good food and we had a special visitor. That's right; the one and only Santa Clause. We got a call that afternoon saying that the other santa clause couldn't make it so David got to fill in. He wasn't too excited about the whole idea, but I think he really enjoyed it. I think Claire figured it out, but she wasn't quite sure. After hearing Santa she told me "That is Santa! and that is my Daddy!?" but since then she hasn't said much about it so I think she has her suspisions but doesn't quite understand. All in all it was a lot of fun and how many kids actually get there Dad to be santa and how many women can say that they have kissed Santa?

I love it!

2009-12-11T15:02:00.000-08:00

Claire found some paint the other day and she wanted to paint so badly the next day at the grocery store I saw some crayola water colors and I bought them for her. She loved them and I can't believe that I have a daughter that is old enough to use water colors. Crazy! On another note I also can't believe that Claire will be going to primary come January. She has tried out singing time which was good and bad, and hopefully we can have her ready for primary. She is such a joy in our lives.

Claire pulled the cushion off of the popasan chair and wanted her and Isaac to lay on it together. I didn't think that Isaac would just lay still for very long, but I was wrong they snuggled like that for a good ten minutes. Maybe I'm biased but I think that they are pretty cute!

It seems like in the past couple weeks being a mother of two has really become such a joy. Isaac can really get around now and he follows Claire everywhere and I think Claire really likes it too. I never knew it would make me so happy to see my kids play together and laugh together. They crack eachother up. The also play this game were Isaac quickly crawls to the bathroom every chance he gets and Claire just falls down on the floor laughing. She thinks its hilarious. I can only imagine how it is the more kids you have. I am sure it's hard a lot of the time (heck, its hard now; last night I think I was up with Isaac or Claire with a cold almost every hour) but it is these moments that make it all great.

Up Up and Away!

2009-11-02T12:55:00.000-08:00

Since I made the costume myself with this little tiny sewing machine that I got when I was about 12 years old I had to tie up the back with ribbons instead of buttons or anything like that, but in the end I think it worked out well.

Claire in all her tinkerbell glory.

This year for Halloween we dressed Claire up as Tinkerbell and Isaac as Peter Pan. I think that they both turned out really pretty cute. I am also proud to say that I made both myself. But I also have to admit that I started working on them in the beginning of September. David was Clark Kent (superman) and I was Lois Lane.We had a ton of fun this year at the church trunk or treat and David even won cutest car again. He worked for months and months on making his trunk into a working photo booth, it was pretty awesome. I think people really liked it. The funny thing though is that last year we won cutest car too with about twenty minutes of preparation. All in all, everything was so fun.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-17T21:34:00.000-07:00

Can you tell which picture was taken last year? Sorry for all the growing pictures but I think it is amazing how much Claire has grown. She isn't really a toddler anymore but a full fledged little girl, and boy is she fun.

We made it back to the pumpkin Patch this year and had a great time. As much as I do not really like the cold; I kind of wish that it wasn't actually so hot while we were there though. We went in the morning and the sun was just baking us. Before moving to California I had never been to a pumkin patch and now I don't know how I will ever go back, they are so much fun. I just have to say that I think that this is my most favorite time of year. I love the smells, the colors, the weather and the traditions.

Thanks to our good friends we got a great picture of us all at the pumpkin patch.

Isaac was just chillen with the pumpkins. Boy do I love that little stud!

My Isaac Boy

2009-10-16T21:37:00.000-07:00

So, Isaac is officially on the move. He has this little one armed one legged army crawl that he uses and boy does he get around. Sometimes I worry for when he really figures out crawling, because he sure can move. Isaac is our little character. He always has a smile for anyone even if he's crying; which can be quite funny at times. He has also transitioned to only taking two naps which has taken some what of a toll; when he was taking two naps I would get at least 45 minutes a day of no children ( i love my children dearly, but sometimes it's nice to have a break). Now his nap is before Claire's and after so I have between 10:30 and 5:00 everyday kids napping but not at the same time. I never thought I would say this, but I can't wait until he goes down to one nap in a day then at least I would have some kid free time. But by then I am sure that Claire will out right refruse to go down for a nap. So, I am officially saying goodbye to getting things done or napping myself during my children's naps. It sure is worth it though when I get to have some alone time with Isaac and Claire in turn. They are the two best kids in the world according to my book.

The Big Three

2009-10-14T12:22:00.000-07:00

I made the Cake and when I was making it Claire said that she didn't want an Auroura cake. I found the little sea horses when we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I think it turned out really cute. Pretty good for the first double layers cake I've eve made.

This past weekend we had lots and lots of fun. Claire had a Birthday Party with children ranging in age from 10 months to 5 years old. The party was fishie themed and I think it turned out pretty awesome.We turned our back patio into a kind of fish aquarium and decorated the house with fish and streamers. It was a lot of work and I was totally worn out when it was all over. Thank goodness my sister Jen could come and visit and David took off work.

I can't believe that Claire is three years old; it seems like not too long ago that I brought her home from the hospital terrified of how to take care of a baby. Who knew then that her and I would actually survive three whole years. Claire is such a joy in our family she is so precocious and keeps us on our toes. She loves the color pink and has helped me to love it too. She is such a great big sister to her younger brother Isaac and a big help for me. Happy Birthday Claire Bear!

Growing Bigger Every year

2009-10-04T16:46:00.000-07:00

October 2008

October 2009

We made a trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium around the same time last year and so we had Claire stand by the whale. She is growing into such a big girl. It was so fun to see how she liked the Aquarium this year.

Monterey Bay Aquarium

2009-10-04T16:31:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we made a visit to The Monterey Bay Aquarium and we had a blast. I just have to say that I could look at fish swim around for hours and never get bored. This was one of the first pictures David took when we got to the Aquarium. Claire was entranced. They had a really cool exhibit of Sea horses.

I always stress out way too much about how Isaac is going to be and then most the time I worry about nothing. Like always Isaac didn't really apreciate the two hour car ride but I think he really loved looking at the fish. He was so good, and since he didn't really have a chance all day to just chill on the ground it was hilarious to see him wiggle and squirm and scoot when we got home. I love that we live so close to so many cool things.

Too True!

2009-09-16T12:50:00.000-07:00

http://niemann.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/good-night-and-tough-luck/

This is a link to a little article/diagram of sleep. It is really hilarious and a must read for any parent with children. I was laughing so hard when I read it I thought that I was going to wake my children up from their nap which would have been unforgivable. Anyway you all should go to the link because it is hilarious.

I'm Am Way Too Excited

2009-09-14T20:58:00.001-07:00

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

My Isaac Boy

2009-09-06T15:43:00.000-07:00

Isaac had his 6 month check-up this last week and we have found that he is still a tall drink of water. Isaac now weighs 16 pounds and 12 ounces (30th percentile), and he is 28 inches tall (90th percentile). He also has his bottom tooth; you can kind of see it in some of these pictures. He can also sit up on his own and tries to crawl with everything he's got. This sunday I did his hair up all cool he is just a little stud.

Banana Split Brownie Pizza

2009-08-30T20:58:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wonder whether I should re title our Blog as children and food. Its seems like that is what I post about the most. Well, anyway when I was younger and living at home my whole family thought that I was ridiculous because most of the time if I were watching TV it was on the Food Network Channel. I just love it, I think that cooking is fun; especially yummy treats (although cooking isn't as much fun when you have a toddler yanking at your legs or a baby screaming). So, the other day I found myself on the food network website for no apparent reason and came across this yummy recipe and just couldn't resist. The recipe comes from Paula Deen; her and I have a lot in common, we both love butter and sugar (Deep down, who doesn't right?). I think that the delicious creation turned out very beautiful and Delicious and it was super duper easy. Definitely a keeper.

A Tea Party!

2009-08-26T12:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we had a tea party with Claire. David brought home a special surprise for Claire of Pink Lemonade and Tea Cookies. It was a total blast. It is so fun having a little girl who likes to have tea parties.

"I don't want to take a nap!"

2009-08-26T12:25:00.000-07:00

Claire has a hard time going down for a nap on Sundays because we have church until 1:30 and then we don't get home and asleep until 2:00 or 2:30 whereas her nap is usually at 12:00. So, this last sunday I told her that she could stay awake because we had the home teachers coming over. Claire loves them! So as we were listening to the lesson Claire sprawls on the floor like this and then we ask her a question and she is already out. I would say that she most definitely still needs a nap during the day.

Congratulations!

2009-08-26T12:12:00.000-07:00

Isaac has turned into our little spinner. I put him on the ground for some tummy time and he is always facing another direction. Claire is going to have to watch out for when he figures out how to move forward.

Isaac now officially has his first little tooth. These are just some pictures that have been hanging out in our camera. I just have to say that he is the cutest little boy I have ever seen.

Arroz a la Cubana

2009-08-15T20:44:00.000-07:00

Here is a splendid dish which features rice, tomato sauce, eggs, and hot dog. Sometimes even fried banana. Arroz a la Cubana (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arroz_a_la_cubana).

(by Dave)

Husbands are weird

2009-08-15T20:32:00.000-07:00

Why is it that when I say lets go out and get a treat; I am thinking about ice cream or cheesecake and my husband is thinking about getting a hot dog? Sweet vs. Savory. Will the battle ever end? Also has anyone ever heard of a real meal that consists of white rice, tomato sauce, a fried egg, and hot dogs? He says that it is real but I don't believe it. What kind of a person wants turkey gravy on toast at 9:00 pm. I don't really think that any of these questions that keep me up at night will ever be answered, but none the less I still love my husband no matter how weird he is.

Cutie Pie

2009-08-11T12:55:00.000-07:00

I gave Isaac Claire's Pooh Bear to play with and he snuggled right up with it so I grabbed the camera quick. Isaac is my little snuggle bug. I just love it.

Yummo!

2009-08-04T13:19:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday we made donuts from scratch and I must say they were the best homemade donuts I have ever had. Definitely grocery store quality if not Krispy Kreme. I have a cousin who made them and posted about it on her blog with the recipe, and the recipe called for mashed potatoes. Any recipe that has some ingredient that most definitely doesn't seem to belong has got to be good. So, here is the recipe if you want to try it out yourself. Maybe we did something wrong but the glaze did better with more water added, and as a heads up it is a whole lot easier to make them if you have help.

Joyce’s Spudnuts

3 c. unbleached flour
1 T. yeast1 t. baking powder
1 c water or milk
1/4 c. butter
¼ c. sugar
1 t. salt
egg
½ c. mashed potatoes (reconstituted)

Combine flour, sugar, yeast, baking powder, butter and mashed potatoes in a mixing bowl. Add water or milk (120 degrees) and egg. Add enough of the flour and knead to make a soft but not sticky dough. Place in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in bulk. Roll out on floured board about 1/2 inch thick and cut with doughnut cutter and place on lightly floured paper towels or tea towel. At this point begin to heat oil until it reaches 350 degrees. Do not let it get hotter. Let rise again until light. Carefully lift doughnuts and place into oil. Fry only until light golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Dip in following powdered sugar glaze that has been made up ahead of time and drain on a wire rack.

Powdered sugar glaze.
4 c. sifted powdered sugar
1/3 c. boiling water
1 T. corn syrup
1/2 t. vanilla extract

Hilarious

2009-08-04T12:52:00.000-07:00

So, last night we sat down to have Family Home Evening. We talked about what was going on in the week, sang some songs and started the lesson wich was on the priesthood. Claire promptly said, "yeah, preschool. With scissors and glue and books and friends." She just couldn't get the connection out of her head between preschool and priesthood. So then we finally got past this concept and I bore my testimony. When I was finished she said she wanted to tell her testimony. So she walked up to the ottoman like it was the podium at church of her own accord and this conversation ensued.
Claire: My testimony is that I wish to be an elephant.
Val: What do you want to say about Heavenly Father?
Claire: I would be so grateful, for Heavenly Father to make me into an elephant.
Val: What do you think about the scriptures?
Claire: I think they are scripture-y.
Val: What about saying prayers and folding arms.
Claire: I think that its terrific.

Throughout the whole ordeal David and I were trying to hold back our laughter. All I have to say is that it is great being the mother of such a precocious two year old. We sure do love our Claire Bear.

The Main Event

2009-07-31T15:08:00.000-07:00

All dressed up.

Yummo! The mother of the birthday girl made an awesome birthday cake with fondant. I totally want to try doing it myself. I think that I have watched Ace of Cakes enough on the food network channel right?

Claire, was decorating her tiara. All the little girls looked adorable. I think Claire was the youngest one there and the birthday girl was turning three.

The Anticipation

2009-07-31T15:05:00.000-07:00

Claire has been excited all week to go to a princess birthday for one of her friends in nursery. She got all dressed in her Cinderella dress and I asked her if she wanted to have pigtails and she said that she needed to have a ribbon in her hair just like Cinderella.

The Princess Party

2009-07-31T14:29:00.000-07:00

This is Claire at the princess party. They were playing a game that when the sleeping beauty music would play they were supposed to march around in a circle; then when it stopped they were supposed to fall asleep on the blanket. It was way too cute. Claire is the little blond in the blue Cinderella dress that kept on running the wrong way. For some reason she kept on saying, "that tickles".

Fun with Ike and Claire

2009-07-31T14:27:00.000-07:00

A while back Claire got it in her head that she wanted to wear some shorts on her head and take a picture with Isaac. She thought it was hilarious.

Claire has an adorable little table that she got from Grandma Brenda. She plays with it all the time. Her favorite thing to do lately though is to set the table with her dishes and open her piggy bank and fill the bowls with coins. She calls it poridge. The only thing I am worried about is that Isaac will be crawling before we know it and Claire leaves the coins everywhere. Claires world is definitely going to change when Isaac will be able to follow her. It will be interesting to see how she handles it.

I'm The Mom Right?

2009-07-06T13:11:00.000-07:00

I really love my pediatrician, he has been really great with Claire and Isaac, but I took Isaac for his 4 month check up and I was really looking forward to him telling me that I could give Isaac Rice Cereal. However, he never even mentioned it, and then when I brought it up he said not to give him anything until 6 months. I asked him why and he said that they have found that babies have less food allergies if you wait until 6 months instead of 4. So, I went home kind of annoyed, because I can see in Isaac's eyes that he totally wants to start eating. He was sleeping really well and is now starting to wake up more at night, and I am pretty sure it is just because he wants more than just breast milk. Claire was the nursing queen she really didn't eat anything other than breast milk for the first year of her life, but Isaac is a whole different story. He is a healthy boy, but his metabolism just really keeps him long and skinny, during his checkup he was in the 75th percentile for height and the 25th percentile for weight. So, after much debating I have finally decided that "I am the mom", and I am going to give my baby rice cereal if I want to. So, I went to the store today and he had some for lunch. I don't think that he loved it too much, but he kept on eating it because he could, and he is already staying asleep longer for his nap today than other days, usally I have to feed him half way through the nap because the poor boy gets hungry. So, there is my little rant and now I need to fold the giant pile of laundry on my couch before he does wake up.

Happy Father's Day (Yesterday)

2009-06-22T08:35:00.000-07:00

The tie David is wearing is from Claire, she decorated it in nursery and I think that it looked pretty good on him.

Happy Father's Day to all the father's I know especially; my husband, my own Dad, my father in law Mark, and my Father in Law, Tom. You all are such wonderful men in my life and I am so grateful for all that you do and have done for me. Thanks.

Sprinkles on Pancakes?

2009-06-10T12:36:00.000-07:00

So, a little while back. One morning we woke up and for some reason Claire was not interested in eating anything until I suggested Pink pancakes with sprinkles. Sometimes I really wonder what I am thinking; as if butter and syrup on pancakes is not enough they had to be pink with sprinkles. I really think that sometimes I make being a mom much harder than it really needs to be. But, let me tell you she really loved them then wanted sprinkles on all her breakfast foods, and food coloring in everything. Thank goodness two year olds get distracted easily and she has forgotten, and is now back to regular breakfasts.

Can't Wait To Grow Up

2009-06-10T12:29:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture that is closest to a smile so far, He has the biggest little gummy smile ever. I hope it stays that way too because he definitely likes to bite, ouch!

Isaac has become infactuated lately with Claire and food. All Day long he watches Claire and antime we eat he stares the food down. It is really hilarious, it is as if he just can't wait until he can play with her. Life has been fun watching Isaac and Claire learn and grow and just wanted to capture a few pictures to remember.

High School Musical and a Clean house

2009-06-04T20:59:00.000-07:00

So, I finally decided that it was about time that I watched High School Musical. (I know I am a little bit behind the curve) Anyway, I watched it so that I could actually know for myself what all the hype was about. Well, let me tell you I loved it and I want to own it so I can watch it anytime. I told David this after watching it and that I also wanted to own Twilight and all he did was shake his head and say, "I am married to a high school teenage girl". But I don't care, how else would I get through the day sometimes without turning on some cheesy feel good movie that Claire, Isaac and I can dance to.

Also, I feel awful about actually admitting this, but today I woke up and realized that my house stunk, literally. Life has been kind of crazy now that Isaac has joined the party and the house has suffered. Anyway, I am proud to say that I now have a clean house, even my bedroom and boy does it feel good. I would like to keep it this way and am open to any suggestions as to how to do that, and play with Claire, and get a nap for myself. If there are any supermoms out there please comment. Also, Isaac has started laughing just recently. It is music to my ears and makes being a mom so worth it Dang I love my kids, and husband.

New Moon

2009-05-31T21:30:00.000-07:00

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Getting Bigger Everyday

2009-05-21T21:56:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how fast Isaac and Claire are both growing. Just wanted to capture a few pictures before they got left behind. It is true that being a mom is hard sometimes, but I wouldn't give it up for the world. Since that last post I have decided that it is much more important to just be a mom than to make sure Claire is at every little activity I can possibly think of. There is a time and a season for everything and I have decided now is not the time to drag a two year old and a baby all over it is much more fun the just be together at home. Even if it is in our pajamas.

Being A Mom Is Hard Sometimes

2009-05-12T11:58:00.000-07:00

Too Bad, I better get over it.

More pictures

2009-05-11T12:57:00.000-07:00

Princesses

2009-05-11T12:43:00.000-07:00

At Disneyland they have a Princess faire where you get to meet a few of the princesses. Claire of course threw a giant fit in line, but thanks to her grandparents she still got to see the princesses. It was really nice she had a couple minutes with each one and boy did she tell them her life story it was adorable.

Making Friends

2009-05-11T12:38:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the delay in finishing, as I was getting ready to post both of my children woke up. I promise we did do more than sleep on our trip. It was a blast. Claire had a fun time meeting some of the characters and we had a fun time watching her. It was so funny, whenever she would see a character she would bring her hands up to her face. So, alot of the pictures are that way. She liked going on some of the rides, but her favorite was the buzz light year ride where you get to shoot aliens. She would always ask for it. I am so glad that we got to go with David's parents and a couple of his brothers and sisters. I don't know how you can make a trip to disneyland without help. It sure was a different experience with a two year old. the nice thing too was that David and I got to go to a nice dinner for acouple hour while we were there it was nice to have some time together and eat delicious food. All in all our trip was fantastic and thank you so much to David's parents for letting us come with them.

Dreaming of Disneyland

2009-05-07T14:41:00.000-07:00

We finally made it to Disneyland the first day and this is what we found.

We got Isaac this little hat to keep his head covered, it was a little big but sure cute.

Both Isaac and Claire fell asleep within the first ten minutes we got to Disneyland the first day. It was nice the because David's mom stayed with them and David and I got to go on a couple rides.

This last weekend David's parents came down to visit and so we blessed Isaac and made a trip to the happiest place on earth, Disneyland. We had a blast and have found that Claire most definitely does not like to wait in line.

Baby Blessing

2009-05-07T14:32:00.000-07:00

We blessed Isaac this last Sunday and David's parents and younger brother Drew got to come. Isaac had the cutest outfit (Thanks Grandma Brenda); he looked like a little tiny man. The blessing was great and now I know that it really isn't that bad if your baby cries through the whole thing at least the microphone is high so its not too loud. Then right after church we hit the road to make it to anaheim and the drive only took an hour and a half longer than it should have, not to bad.

comfy womfy!

2009-05-07T14:25:00.000-07:00

Isaac just loves sleeping in this position. If you have a warm belly and chest he is content.

Tummy Time Fun

2009-04-28T21:11:00.000-07:00

This picture is from a while back, but I found it again and thought it was the cutest thing. Claire is becoming more and more photogenic, I think that the reason is because she is not the only one we try to get pictures of, there is now some competition. I was taking pictures of Isaac and she decided she needed to be a part of it. Also, we have found that Isaac just loves laying on his tummy, sometimes he will be on his tummy and just fall asleep there. He is just such a little snuggle bug I love it.

Cute Kid

2009-04-20T12:22:00.000-07:00

Easter Sunday Best

2009-04-13T12:17:00.000-07:00

Easter Egg Fun

2009-04-13T12:13:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we had a blast coloring Easter eggs, hunting for Easter eggs and taking naps (Isaac). On Saturday we hid some Easter eggs around the house and Claire found them like a pro. Claire also showed us her amazing talent of putting an entire cadbury cream egg in her mouth.

One Month Already?

2009-04-07T12:15:00.000-07:00

I just have to say that my kids are the cutest ever!

Our little Claire cracks us up all the time. I am not quite sure where she picks up the things that she says. The other day we were at the dinner table and David was finishing up dinner and I said to Claire, "We sure do love that daddy don't we?", and her reply was, " We sure do, "wink, wink". David and I just started to laugh. I really have no idea where she comes up with the things she does, but it defenitly gets me through the day sometimes. Also speaking of getting through the day and night Isaac has started to smile a little bit. I can't wait until he gets really good at it and I can get a pictures. It is the biggest little grin i have ever seen.

This morning I took Isaac to his one month doctor's check up and I can't believe how fast the time has flown by. It seems like it was just last week that I was pregnant. Anyway, his weight is now 9 pounds and 9 ounces, and he is 22 1/2 inches long. The doctor says that he looks like he is doing really well. I am just getting so excited because he is starting to chunk up a little.

Baby Announcement

2009-04-05T13:23:00.000-07:00

Valerie asked me to help her come up with a baby announcement for Isaac. I quickly made this one, but Valerie says it isn't "cute" or "blue" enough. She says it needs to be "well designed." What isn't cute about space? The Earth is blue, right? This design has contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity: it is well designed!

We probably won't be using this one. Oh well.