Superbowl 2011

Sunday was the Superbowl & it is by far one of my favorite sporting events. Luckily, every year, Don & Carrie throw a great Superbowl party. Our block for church is the 9am {which kills me; I am not a morning person} so this helped us to get things done and attend church. I had to do some homework before we headed to the party. Donald & Logan were ready to leave, so I put the homework on pause and we drove to the party. It is great to have Donald's family so close. His uncle's, aunt's, cousin's, sister's, nieces & nephews, and grandmother were all in attendance. The food was great and it was fun to have everyone around. The kids especially loved playing together. I pretty much did not see Logan all day, except when he wanted to eat or when he came in to refuel with chips and nuts. After everyone left, we stuck around and Donald's aunt, Andy, helped me finish my accounting homework. We finished it so much faster than had I tried to complete it on my own. While I was working on it, Logan fell fast asleep on Donald's lap. He was exhausted! It was a great night and I am so sad that I have to wait close to 9 months for football to return. :(

* A special thanks to Andy {Donald's aunt} for helping me finish my accounting homework. It really saved me some time and headaches. :)

Travel Town Visit

Today, Donald was off of work, so the three of us decided to take a trip to Travel Town. It is not too far away & admission was free, so we got dressed, hopped in the car and made the hour and a half drive down there. When we arrived, Logan was pretty excited about the trains but I think that he thought they were going to start moving. He liked to walk down and look at all of the old trains. He especially liked the "chicken nugget" train {the trains name was the little nugget but I guess food is just always on his mind}. After being able to get inside some of the trains, we took the train ride that ran around the entire exhibit. Logan was so impressed that he could get inside this train that he kept saying, "see mom, I'm a big boy now!". When the train went around another trip, Donald and I both turned and said I guess we're going again. Logan was excited to go around one more time also. When the train finally stopped and let us out, we walked through and saw some old cars, firetrucks, and other automobiles. After our trip, we made our way home but first stopped at Krispy Kreme Donuts to pick up some yummy treats. I just love the New York Cheesecake donuts! Delicious! Then we headed down to Valencia. We drove around then made our way to the Hamburger Habit for some late lunch and then headed home. I tried to keep Logan awake, but about 15 minutes before we arrived home, he was out! We had a fun day and we can't wait for our next family trip.

Logan's 3rd Birthday

On January 10th, 2008, the sweetest little boy was born... that's right, LOGAN IS NOW 3!!! Everyday he surprises me with how smart he is and how much he has grown. He is no longer a baby, but a big boy. This year, he wanted to have a pirate party. Donald will say that I brain washed him into wanting this theme, but he was the one that picked it out. On his actual birthday, we did not do much. I felt bad because it was a Monday. We did let him open up 2 presents from us. Of course they were not toys but clothes so you could tell he was a little disappointed. Being born shortly after Christmas can have its drawbacks... Donald had work all day, then he had a basketball game and afterwards that evening I had to go into work for inventory all night long. So the actual day of his birthday was a bust... but we made up for it later that week. {Plus, since he did not decorations up, he did not think that it was his birthday. So, several family members called him and sang happy birthday and he would reply, "guys, its not my birthday yet. Theres no decorations!"}

That Friday, Donald got off of work at noon and we took Logan to our local mini golf course. He was so excited for it. He chose the color ball he wanted {blue, his favorite}, had his own size putter and was ready to start putting. He did so well. He even did a hole in one on one course. Towards the end {almost 27 holes later}, he was done and wanted to play some arcade games inside. Donald and I helped rack up the tickets and he was able to get some prizes. Afterwards, we headed over to Olive Garden for some food. Logan chose his own pizza with chocolate milk and he devoured the salad! We headed back home and a few hours later he fell asleep. As we were driving home, he informed Donald and myself that he had had a fun day and that he loves to "mini golf".

On Saturday, the party arrived! Logan received a pirate costume from my mother and wore it. I had a cake made with pirates on it and Donald picked up pizza. In addition, I made cupcakes with pirate flags on them and we also had root beer floats for dessert. Logan's friends from our ward came and so did all of his cousins. The kids played in the play room while the adults chatted and ate. The kids inhaled their food and were right back to playing. The played "pin the treasure chest on the map" and there were a few older kids who cheated. :) Next was the cake. He loves being sung "Happy Birthday" to and loved opening the presents. He scored with so many great presents that we no longer have anymore room in our house for toys! It was such a blast having everyone dressed up as pirates. Thank you to everyone that came!

SNOW!!!

So close to this time 2 years ago, it snowed pretty heavily where we live. Since we are the desert, there are time when it snows, but it doesn't usually stick or stay around for awhile. This year, on January 3rd, it snowed and stayed! It began while we were at church and as the day went on, it never stuck to the ground. I later that evening had to go into work for a few hours, and had Donald drop me off. I can drive in the snow {did it in Idaho Falls} but it was just easier for him to have to pick me up and drop me off. When my shift was over, I exited work and the entire town was covered in white wonderland! It was so pretty! We drove home and Logan was super excited how much snow there was and kept saying that he wanted to make a snowman. {How does he know that a snow man is a necessity during snowfall? haha} Since it was dark and cold, I told Logan that we could play in it the next day. That next morning, he woke up and ran to the window. He shouted, "IT'S STILL HERE!". So I told him that he needed to have breakfast and that he needed to change into warmer clothes. I have never seen this kid eat so fast! I was dreading the cold, but it actually wasn't too bad. Since our house is on a huge plot of land, there was plenty room for us to run around. Logan has a blast. He was throwing snowballs, making snow angels, and even attempted a snowman on his own, but couldn't quite get it to stay. So he made a small one and by the time it took me to run inside to grab the camera, the snowman was no longer with us. haha.

For the past couple days, Logan wakes up every morning and looks out the window to see if snow is still there. Since some of the property is heavily shaded, there still is snow. He tries to run out there, but I quickly tell him that it is more like ice than snow. He doesn't care, he just wants to throw it at me! {Such a boy!} I enjoy the snow in small amounts, but I actually look forward to the spring and summer weather. The beach is just calling my name...

***The picute of Logan outside is when I was at work... Donald dressed him. The rest is from Logan and I playing the day after.

Happy New Years!

Okay, so pretty much every year, we are pretty mellow in our New Years Eve celebration. This year was no different.

The day started off with Donald off, so I was able to sleep in {YES!} and he and Logan got up and watched some Sports Center. Later, that evening, we headed over to Donald's parents home. While his mom was driving home, the boys played cards and I was able to catch up on some gossip mag reading! {Thanks Carrie!} Once the card game was over and Carrie had arrived, we headed over to Chili's for dinner. I was surprised how not busy it was on New Years Eve, however I figured that most people were probably out partying and boozing it up! lol. Our little group, Donald's parents and Logan, Donald and Myself, had a great time eating, laughing and chatting. I was stuffed after my dinner, but my sweet tooth always allows room for some dessert! We headed back to Don and Carries house and watched some tv {the countdown east coast time}. Around this time, Logan fell asleep and so did Carrie. I was tired too and had to work early on New Years Day, so we headed home.

I love New Years. It is like a fresh start on the year. A do over. But I do feel like the years are going by too fast! This year, Logan will be turning 3, myself 27 and Donald 30! {What an old man!} My New Year Resolutions this year are to stay on track with my school work. I NEED to graduate and keep up my 4.0 GPA. I need to update this blog more. Whenever school starts, I always put this on the backburner and forget about it. I then find myself playing catch up and I know that I have forgotten to jot down memories. I also need to take more pictures through out the year. This will help with the blog. I want to be better in my calling as Primary Secretary. I need to make sure that everything is in order for the children and the teachers sanity. Finally, I hope that this year we will be able add to our family. I know that we may be busy and that it is hard to plan {financially} for another child, but I know that Logan is supposed to have a sibling.

Logan and Kristin visit Emily

So yesterday, I had a day off and I wanted to see my friend Emily at her house in Camarillo. I really don't mind the drive, and I just miss the area. It brings back memories of growing up whenever I drive through Ventura County. So the first stop was to pick up Emily at her place. Then we headed to the Camarillo Outlet Mall to eat. We went to Johnny Rockets. I have not been there in years! So it was very funny to see Logan's reaction when the waiters started dancing. He started to wiggle with them and even tried to sing the song! This kid is all about dancing and singing and music in general. After lunch, we did some shopping and then headed to see the movie Tangled. It was very cute and actually kept Logan's attention! {I think that it was due to the music.} After a quick stop to the restroom {Logan drank the enitre soda, on his own!} we headed to Target. I did a little shopping and then we drove to Chuys for dinner. Emily's husband Nick met us there and we were able to chat and watch Monday Night Football. Logan was so tired that as soon as I hit the 101, he was out! I love visiting my best friend and I hate being so far away... someday we will be closer so our visits won't be so far in between.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 2010

This Christmas Eve was a busy one. The night prior, I had to work, until 1am! So I was exhausted the next morning. We woke up early and got ready to head down to my Grandparents house in Victorville. I love being able to spend time with my Grandparents. This year they also gave Logan 2 gifts... he was super excited to open them. So he did... he received a remote control Smart Car from my Grandfather and a wooden train set from my Grandmother. They were so thoughful and he loves them. After spending a few hours and hanging out with family, we made the trip from Victorville to Valencia to spend the rest of the evening with Donald's father's side of the family. Santa came to visit the kids again, and Logan was thrilled to see him and get more presents. There were so many kids it was chaos trying to let them all unwrap their presents at the same time. Logan loved his guitar and dumptruck. After the adults playing their gift exchange game {Donald got cash and I got a gift certificate to the Olive Garden}, we headed home to make sure that Logan was in bed before Santa arrived. Logan almost stayed awake the whole way home, but knocked out about 20 minutes away only to wake up as soon as we got home. We had to put him back to sleep and I was able to sneak a picture of what Santa had left for the next morning...

On Christmas morning, I was tired beyond belief, but Logan was thrilled to find presents under the tree from Santa. Donald's parents came over Christmas morning to have breakfast and watch Logan open up his presents. The kid made out like a bandit! He got everything he asked for, even BIGFOOT! Clothes, cars, video games, yo gabba gabba shoes, were just to name a few of the loot he gathered Christmas morning. After Donald's parents left, we got ready for the day, and sat around and cleaned up some of the Christmas mess and then headed over to Don and Carries for dinner. All of the cousins were there {minus 1} and they had a blast playing with eachother and eachothers new toys. For dinner, we had steak, potatos, rice, hawaaiian rolls, and for dessert, apple pie with ice cream! YUM, right? I was so full by the end of the night. We were all very tired and had an amazing Christmas. We left around 8pm and I had to get into bed for work the next morning at 6am!

BTW~ Since Logan has received his Big Foot toy, he is now terrified of it! I think that he thought it was stay in the plastic case like it is at Target and never roam free in his play room. Now, Bigfoot stays "asleep & tired" in the play room.