Fleeting ideas...

I always have grand ideas of everything I want to write on my blog and journal. And everytime I sit down to write something, something else comes up and I can never finish. And now I feel like I have so many entries in my drafts but the are all half finished thoughts and ideas. Does anyone else have this problem? Or do you just get used to writing small amounts at each time. It is so frustrating. 

Loves

Thanks Cheri for the pics.

I absolutely LOVE the Beach! I was looking so forward to it all week long. It was a beautiful day yesterday. Although it was a little windy that brought a little chill, the sun was shining and the sky was so blue! No matter how cold it is, the kids always love it. It was so great to be watching both my girls love the outdoors with pure joy in their faces. I don't know a place where Brooke is that happy all day long and never asks what else there is to do. We had been there for five hours and it was still a battle to get her to leave. (Of course there are always the little melt downs or small tantrums because her hand is still sandy and she is trying to eat her sandwich, but they don't last long.) Livia didn't nap all day and she was as happy as could be. Even when she would drop a cracker in the sand and then eat it, sand and all, she never cried. I am pretty sure all kids love the Beach. There were 21 kids in our group with 9 moms and I don't think I heard more than five or ten minutes of crying or fighting or whining put together ALL DAY LONG! It was so much fun to watch my kids enjoy th eoutdoors and play in the sand with them. Although Brookelyn rarely wants anything to do with me while we are there because she is so enthralled with swimming, friends and building and digging in the sand, it is nice when she wants a towel because she is freezing from the water and then curls on my lap to eat her snacks, then goes right back to playing. Livia on the other hand was so fun to play in the sand with and watch her try to be a little daring near the water, but always chicken out! (thank goodness). I can't wait to go to the beach all summer!

I think my mom instilled this love for the beach by taking us there every week in the summer. No matter how cold or foggy it was we were always at the beach. And we always stayed even if it was cold. When we were getting ready to leave yesterday morning it was pretty cold outside, it brought back a flood of memories of getting ready to go to the beach when I was a kid. I always remember it being cold in the morning before we left. For some reason as I was packing the lunches and rounding up the towels I started thinking of when I was a kid and all the little jobs each of us had to do to go to the beach. Jobs around the house, but more like the jobs to go to the beach. One week I was in charge of getting towels for everyone in the brown leather bag, or boogie boards, wet suits and sand toys, or chairs, or making sure the ice chest was cleaned out and ready to pack, etc. I can still remember the bickering of who wasn't doing their job or my mom having to get on us 500 times to get the towels in the car. But no matter what, we always went and we always had a blast when we were there! Even when our big brown van would break down on highway 17 packed with kids (and I mean packed!), we still made it to the beach. 

But I think it might even go even further to my grandma Smith. It seems like almost every family vacation was centered around a place near or at teh beach (or at least near water, like Villa Grand on the Russian River, and Gualala!)  Over thanksgiving she rented condos on the beach with all the cousins, I even think we went for Easter one year. I remember camping with all of the cousins at Sea Cliff and one year at New Brighton. My Grandma was so good at making so many memories for us grandkids and my mom carried that tradition on. I think the beach is such a great place for those memories because it is inexpensive, always a stress reliever to be near the water, and pretty much no clean up, and all kids every age love it!! 

Thanks mom and grandma for always planning opportunities for our family to have so many great memories together!! 

Easter

Minus the fact that both Ben and I had to speak on Easter Sunday, it was a great day. And actually for all the stressing I did before my talk, it turned out fine and it really helped me focus on the amazing reason why we celebrate this Holiday. The girls loved looking through their easter baskets, and Cindy and Ashley Hess helped out in Sacrament meeting so it actually very enjoyable. Most days sacrament meeting is just like a circus on our pew. And I know some people say bring this and this snack, or this kind of activity, but the bottom line with our girls is that it really is a circus. I think they will grow out of this stage quickly, but for the most part it is a wrestling match with Livy. But with Cindy and Ashley helping I got to actually listen to Ben's talk. He did absolutely amazing as always. No wonder his seminary student love him as a teacher. We spent the afternoon at Mike and Elisha's with a yummy meal of ham, potatoes, asparagus, salad and rolls. It was great to watch the kids play, but also bitter sweet knowing there were going to be very few more moments like this with the kids, once they move to Boston. Family Reunion time will be so precious. Brooke and Cami really are the best of friends. They get along so well. And just love being together. 

Conference Sunday

I enjoyed so many of the conference talks this year, I enjoy them all every year, but this year I really feel like a few of them really jumped out at me. A few that I can't wait to re-read are Elder Hales, Elder Eyring, Elder Bednar's on Temple worship, and the last talk before I got to Elisha's on sunday morning (we were listening to it on bens iphone over the radio and I didn't catch who was speaking). 

I always forget to upload my pictures first and then write...so here are the pictures and you can read the stories after...I am still getting used to this blog thing. (Thanks Elisha for the Pictures.)

Ben, Dana and Me (yes I chopped my hair. It was a lot shorter than i had wanted, but it has been three weeks, so I am finally starting to get used it a little.)

Getting ready to go outside and hunt!

Decorating eggs

Brookie so excited to be hanging out with Brennan and Cami again!

For conference on Sunday we went to Mike and Gloria's (Hedy's sisters house) in Brentwood. We drove halfway to livermore and watched the last half of the first session with Elisha and the kids. Then we all drove out to Dryden's together. It was so much fun. Gloria was waiting for the kids and she had dye and eggs all ready to decorate. She made a beautiful easter bunny cake. It looked and tasted amazing! After the afternoon session of conference she had an easter egg hunt for the kids. Livia loved hunting for eggs (and of course eating the candy). The kids loved feeding the ducks behind their house as well. Gloria was so nice I think she let them go through two loaves of bread to keep feeding the ducks. 

Dana and Aaron had their dog, Max, there and Gloria and Mike have a dog named Louie. Brooke finally warmed up to them and was playing with them yesterday. So today when we went to Annie's house to meet her for walking, Brooke kept asking if she could go in the backyard and play with the dog and let it lick her. When she went to Kora's house today, she immediately asked Stephanie if she could play with Avi (it is a really small dog), but not Lola, "because she is too big." So now Brooke is in love with small dogs, hopefully she doesn't start asking for one already.

It was really fun to hang out with Elisha and the kids and Mike and Gloria and Dana and Aaron all day yesterday. We got to be with baby Jillian. She is such a GOOD baby! Thanks Gloria for making it such a great day for the kids!

Livia update

Livia is growing up so fast! She isn't much of a talker except for "ba ba ba" which means book, Brooke, bottle and food. She understands everything you say. She will start yelling ba at the top of her lungs and pointing at something. IF you are aware of what she is pointing towards and ask her if that is what she wants, she immediately stops yelling and shakes her head yes, but instead of just her head shaking, her whole body bobs with it. It is so cute! 

Favorites of Livia: 

Wearing Hats, throwing away her diaper after you change it (and now throwing away anything in the garbage including her sippy cup, toys, food, etc.), raisins, grapes and apples, DANCING! (to keep my sanity in the morning, after breakfast I turn on a CD of sing-a-long songs, Livia LOVES it and so does Brooke. It keeps them occupied for about half an hour while i clean up breakfast adn shower.) She also loves to wear shoes, her shoes or anyone else's shoes and she is constantly wanting to put on a different pair. She absolutely loves bikes. She screams and points to the backyard, when I open the door she immediately goes to get the helmet and brings it to me to put it on and then grabs my hand and takes me to Brooke's big bike. She loves it! Her favorite toys are books, balls, cars and nerf guns. Another favorite thing to do is hit. She picks up anything and everything and whacks people or things with it. This morning it was a ruler that I kept having to hide. She loves to wrestle and dance with Brooke. As soon as she wakes up in the morning she walks over to the stroller and wants to get in. Sometimes I will put her in and she will just start bouncing up and down to show me that she is ready to go. Recently she found our backpack carrier in her closet and now she is ALWAYS wanting to be in it. So the past few days I have been wearing her around on my back while I do things around the house, the only problem is that she likes to hit me...hard on the head and neck. 

She is so cute! It is so cute to watch her when Ben comes home. She hears the door open and turns to see him come around the entry way and then just runs full speed ahead right into him. It is so cute. She also loves to run. Ben will say, "On your mark, get set go...." and she will just start running until she sees a wall or the couch (if it is the couch, she throws her body onto it then turns around and runs straight back to Ben). This goes on for ten minutes at a time and she just laughs! Her run is so cute too, because she kind of waddles sideways and swings one arm backwards. Its really fun to watch!

Livia is so much fun! I really love this age when they are soaking everything in. But she is definitely physically exhausting ALL the time. Thankfully she goes to sleep really easy (a huge contrast to her sister!) I will post some updates adn videos when I find the camera cord. 

March

After our trip to disneyland it seemed like life calmed down a little bit...as calm as it can get amidst the "bodily chaos". Livia was sick again the first week and a half of march and then we thought she had the chicken pox, but it ended up being a reaction to the MMR shot. It was a nice birthday gift to me, to find out it wasn't chicken pox. I had been dreading all day (on my birthday) how we were going to have to be cooped up for the next two weeks. We finally got into the doctors at 5pm and found out the spots all over were  a reaction. A big relief, but now I struggle again with the decision of vaccinations....ahhh! We had some fun activities with all the March Birthday celebrations, Heidi's wedding, Dinner with the family to celebrate all the birthdays, Cami's Birthday party, gong to see Wicked with a bunch of friends (I loved it, and there is just something about going to the City that is so fun to me. I absolutely love going to the City. Maybe it is because I feel pretty comfortable there because I grew up going there, or just because there are so many fun things to do there, but I love going to San Fransisco), and the ward talent show (very fun times  and always great memories).

We have been really busy trying to get a little organization to our house. We are painting and staining dressers, trying to decide how to do the backyard, weeding and more weeding, and trying to get a garden planted. Last weekend we had finally finished sanding one dresser and I had put the first coat of stain on it (amidst Brooke wanting to help and Livia wanting to drink the stain.) Last weekend in the middle of conference sessions, we were determined to get teh dressers done so we can organize the bedrooms better.  I was in our room cleaning out another dresser to take out and paint and Ben was outside with the girls putting the last stain coat on another dresser. Livia comes rushing into my bedroom as I am pulling out the bottom drawer of my dresser (luckily I had just taken out all of the clothes) and stumbles and drops something into the drawer, black goo started running everywhere inside the drawer (luckily it was now an empty drawer). I immediately realize it is the stain and start yelling, "BEN!!!" I scoop up the= can and look at Livia. She is COVERED with dark stain all over her sleepers, all over her new tennis shoes, on the other white dresser we had just painted that was next to the dresser I was taking out, spots on the hardwood floor, entry way tile, a huge spill all over the rug I just got from Heidi Little, and a long trail on the concrete out back from where she picked up the can of stain until she hit the sliding door. Thankfully there was not an ENTIRE trail from the back door all the way to the other side of the house into our bedroom, just a bunch of random spots. 

It took an hour or so and a lot of lacquer thinner to get it off Livia and all the other furniture. The only permamantly damaged spots are on the rug and all over her shoes (we threw out her sleepers, but kept the shoes). It was very eventful, stressful and now pretty funny. We finally finished three of the four dressers and only have to put a sealer on the fourth dresser. It only took us five different days...but without kids, it probably would have taken about four hours!!! Oh the joys of trying to get things done with  a four yr. old and an 18 month old. 

February

Brooke absolutely loved seeing every character and wanted to talk to and hug all of them. Unlike Livia who was deathly afraid of all of them.

Livia loves to chew on her tongue. She definitely gets this from Punka. This is when we were waiting for everyone on bugs like. Livia was content just running around the bench I was sitting on and climbing on everything. But she never wanted to go on a ride. Hopefully that will change!

After our great adventures in Costa Rica, we got home and two days later both the girls got the flu. Welcome home MOM!!! After they were feeling better, the girls and I headed to Disneyland with my mom, Amber and Calvin! We had such a great time. Too bad we all get car sick and the DVD player didn't work in my uncle's car we borrowed and Livia is just not a car seat traveler....So needless to say, the drive down to LA was an adventure in itself. I will post pictures when I can figure out why my computer keeps saying bad error when I upload pictures.

Brooke had such a great time. Her favorite ride was space mountain. And she keeps talking about when she will be able to ride Screamin' at California Adventure. Brooke is a thrill seeker, and I thought Livia would be too since she is such a climber and gets into everything, but, on the contrary, she really didn't like any rides. Even when I was holding her on my lap. Her whole body would tense up and she would bury her face into my chest. It was a really fun trip. Thanks Tina for letting us crash your place!