lubbock in winter

it is freezing here. literally. i've never been so cold. i truly am a mesa girl. i hate cold. i will say though, it is sometimes enjoyable. like when we can have hot chocolate at any given time, not just at night. the first snow i've ever seen, ever. that was cool. bundling up to go watch the texas tech carol of the lights was fun and enjoyable. the kids cried literally the whole time, but jonathan and i pretty much laughed the whole time. getting to wear my warm coat i bought 7 years ago every day is fun, a little tight, but fun (fat guy in a little coat kind of fun). wrapping up in a blanket and drinking hot chocolate at 1 pm is great too. hearing christmas music and feeling like this is really what a winter is like is fun. thats all i got right now.limited time. hopefully i can post pictures of the first snow here soon. (it was gone by the afternoon, but fun all the same!!)

Lubbock in the Fall

So, a quick update from Lubbock. It is getting colder here than we are used to, but not so bad. It is coldest for Jonathan riding his bike in the early morning when it is in the 20's.

Here is us on a hay ride a month or so ago at the apple festival at a neighboring small town apple orchard. The tree ripened apples were delicous.

Carson and Cody in a tree at a park. There are so many awesome parks here that they love.

The boys went to the fair with Jonathan a while back. They went on some of the rides that they were big enough for, and even won some stuffed animals that they had unique nicknames for. Once again, it was Saturday, and the boys are all sporting their Texas Tech game day shirts. Wreck 'em Tech! Cody especially loves his "Tetsas Tet" and says this everytime he sees the double-t's which is pretty much everywhere here.

Carson, The Penitent Thief

So after dinner last night, we stopped into a bookstore to see if they had a certain book for Cherisse to read. The store had a childrens section, with a few toys the kids could pick up, play with, and beg for mommy to buy them. The main toy that the boys chose to play with, of course was the Thomas the train table with tracks and multiple trains. Carson really wanted a specific train that had a tractor scoop on it (forgive me for not knowing this train's name, but I can almost hear most of you saying it now). He asked on multiple occasions if he could have it, but of couse the answer was no. After some time we left, travelled home about 5 miles, and when we got there, Carson says, "Hey look what I just found on the floor." You guessed it, the train he wanted so bad just so happened to appear on the floor of our duplex. Nice. So, in order to get him to take it back with me, I had to tell him that a police man would come get him if we did not take it back. He went with it and we headed back to the store. I coached him along the way to the store and tried to make it as much a learning experience as possible. We get there, and at least to my credit, I find the kindest looking girl in the store for him to apologize to as opposed to the big bald security guard we passed on the way in. I don't know if it was harder on him or me, but we were both on the verge of tears. The store clerk was sweet and patient as Carson fought to get the words out clearly. After it was over, all he wanted was to be in his daddy's arms. I felt a little comforted by an old woman patting me on the back and telling me, "that's a hard lesson learned." On the ride home I asked him how he felt and he said it felt like he was sick or going to throw up while talking to the clerk, but that he felt a lot better having done the right thing. He now also assures me that he will follow how he feels inside in choosing to do the right thing.

Lubbock, Texas

Well we have officially arrived here in Lubbock after much effort and help from all of our loved ones. We thank y'all for your help and support to get us here. We have moved into our little duplex and somehow fit some of our stuff inside(some of the bigger items had to be taken to the goodwill). We have had a few surprises along the way, but the place is quickly feeling like home. Our ward is great and everyone is so nice. The boys are having a fantastic time, other than waking up early to take dad to orientation. Carson said that he felt like he was in a dream the past few days moving and what-not. Jonathan asked him if it was a good dream or a bad dream, and Carson replied, "Well, it's kinda fun, except for all these boxes everywhere." Had to be there I guess. Anyways I will try to keep you posted on our adventures here. Thanks again everyone.

PLEASE HELP!!

we are in a little bit of a pickle!! we had a trailer all lined up to use to move to texas this weekend. on tuesday, that fell through. we have been frantically thinking of everybody we know that has a trailer, all of them are unavailable. if you know anyone who has a trailer enclosed or otherwise, it would be such a help!! please leave a comment, or email me or call me if you know my number!! we are leaving friday afternoon!! we can have it back to you by monday! thanks!!

PHX Zoo with Dad

The boys had a day out today at the zoo. It was a blazin', but we had a lot of fun. We met some giraffes.

















Carson and Cody got a chance to feed the giraffes some delicious morsels of romaine lettuce leaf served fresh from a sweaty hand with the help of a lady with some stylish sunglasses.











Satch said he wanted to run with the rhinos just like in the shoe commercial. I found out he was serious as I took this picture. Barely grabbed him as he landed on the other side of this fence.










The boys enjoyed some monkey friends in this exhibit. This one if you notice was especially playful going upside down and jumping back and forth.










Practicing for cowboy farm life in Lubbock.













Carson had a great idea to have snowcones with lunch and he made sure we did not forget to make it happen.











Cody almost made it through the day, but after his snowcone and candy lunch, he was done. Thanks for the fun trip fellas.

MOVING TO TEXAS!!

ok people, it's almost that time!! in two weeks we will officially be Texans!! crazy huh?! in the mean time, we will be having a garage sale!! it's this saturday morning, from about 6 to about 12. we. are. selling. everything. we are selling our crib and changing table, baby boy clothes, baby bath, kitchen table, our awesome dresser (that i bought before i was married and am in love with and devastated to be selling), our refrigerator, stove, our 56" big screen tv, our nissan sentra that runs and has a/c, high chair, baby swing, the list goes on and on!!! anyway, if you want or need any of these items, come on by, saturday, august 1st from 6am to 12pm at 2756 E Nora Mesa, AZ 85213. we will also have water bottles and maybe some treats to keep the little ones happy!! thanks!!

SHOE HEAVEN!!

don't forget!! this FRIDAY JULY 31ST at 6:30 pm i am hosting a myshoeshoppe.com shoe party!! it goes for 1 1/2 hours, there will be awesome shoes to try on (and buy, but not the display shoes), friends and yummy snacks and treats to go around!! i would love to see you there!!! please check out there shoes!! they are super cute!!

why can't one of my kids look like me?!?!?!

ever since cody's birth, i've been hearing, "he looks just like you, cherisse!!!" i've never been so overjoyed!! after enduring years of EVERYBODY saying, "wow, carson sure doesn't look anything like you, he must look like your husband!!" i finally had a child who looked like me.

it is a sad day for me. jonathan came across a picture in his parents garage. cody is his twin at this age. i think my kids are super cute, of course, but it makes me feel good when they have my likeness!! anyway, here is the picture of jonathan and enjoy it, i guess.

cody is definitely skinnier than jonathan was. i have no pictures of me at present, to show his likeness to me!! maybe tomorrow!!

Shoe Party!!!!!!

Yay!! I am so excited!! I am officially hosting a Shoe Party!! The lovely Sarah will be coming over with all variety of womens shoes from myshoeshoppe.com for everyone to try on !!
When? Friday, July 31st
What Time? 6:30-8pm
Where? My house (ok, my in-laws house)email, call or leave a comment to get the address.
Everyone is invited, tell your friends and please RSVP in the comments!!
These shoes are soooo cute!! Not only are they cute, they are AFFORDABLE!!! all of their shoes are $25 and under!! woo hoo!! there are even some on clearance for $10!! super cute flats, heels and peep toe heels too(my personal fave)!! Check out their site then come to my party!!!!

giveaway winner!!

well, i just got back in to town from lubbock, texas (our soon to be new home in about one month's time.) we didn't plan to stay till monday so i'm lucky to post the winner for the giveaway!! the winner is....comment #5!! haley bartlett!!! congrats!! so, haley, i believe you are a friend of eden's; i will deliver the pink and brown flower to you later this week ( i need time to recover from our excursion!) susie and lola, i would gladly sell to you outside of my etsy shop!! leave a comment, email, call or i'll see you on sunday!! jen, i will be sending yours in the mail later this week (again, need time to recuperate) and juliette, hopefully i will see you on saturday for quinn's baptism and maybe i'll have some surprises to match those dresses!! thank you everyone for participating and tune in for more!!

another giveaway!!!

yes. i'm having another giveaway!!!! eden and i made some flower hair accessories and they are now up for sale on my etsy site!!! there are two (the pink and brown and the red, orange and yellow) that are felt with either a button or rhinestone. the rest are silk flowers with rhinestones. the rhinestone colors (so far) are amber, clear, teal and turquoise. to enter, make a comment and tell me which flower you would choose. the giveaway will close on monday night, july 6th!! and keep checking my etsy shop for new things!! thanks!! more flowers on the way soon!!

newport beach!!!!

here's the totem pole picture for the year. we took this before we went to newport.

these are all the grandkids in my family minus cody (he was sleeping on a towel nearby.) cole was missing too.

all the "men" in the fam. from left to right: shaun, rick, jay, gary, scott, adam and jonathan

carson was hatching a plan that involved seaweed.



cody kept trying to balance on this bucket. it was so cute. he was so proud of himself.

here are our sandy feet

cody and i and my dad and carson on the merry go round at balboa's fun zone. carson's picture looks just like the one that was taken last year at the same place. it wasn't planned, but i'm not complaining!! i think both pictures emanate euphoric, wild happiness that comes with being a child that i miss in myself!!

here's carson as spongebob and jaden as a mermaid. carson is standing up in the sand. he was so excited to be buried standing up as spongebob. i buried him as spongebob last year too, but for some reason he thought it was my sister, tiffany who buried him. we actually got into a fight about it a few months ago!! so i had to prove to him it was i who made a magnificent sand-bob. as you can see, he was pleased.

family pic at balboa

the munchkins at balboa fun zone: roxcy, cody, jaden, carson and mckay

carson under the pier

i love this picture!! this is taken under the newport pier. we try to take pics here every year. jonathan woke up at 5:30 one morning and went down to the pier to get sea shells (it's the best time) and found me 3 sand dollars!! thanks, hun!!

also, love this picture!! codes under the pier

Workmans Creek Camping

So, day two after getting very little sleep from the restless boys, we got up and after breakfast, we took a drive up to the top of the mountain. The day was overcast and with the thick, lush dense surrounding forest, I felt like I was in a scene from Twilight. We finally reached to top and there was a fire lookout tower that we were invited to climb to the top of. It seemed like we could see the whole state from the top with 360 degree mountain and forest views.

We took a few more mile or so hikes that had marked trails towards the top of the mountain and headed back to camp. Along the road, we saw the waterfall that we were hiking to and knew about how far away it was at that point. After lunch, although very tired at this point, with the rain on and off all day, we decided to give it another go.

I don't know if you can tell in the picture, but Cody was asleep most of the hike to the waterfall. Carson, again after all the hiking was still being a big mountain boy and keeping up the best he could.

After what seemed like forever, we finally made it. The water was freezing, coming over the cliff, but it was beautiful. Jonathan walked under it a few times and the boys laughed at him for screaming that it was so cold.

We found a treacherous way out close to the 200 ft falls and stopped to see the view one more time. It was well worth it. We made our way back to camp walking on the road, enjoyed dinner and s'mores yet again. It rained hard all night. Jonathan and I were up talking with the lantern on for a few hours in the middle of the night as we remembered all of the flash flood warnings. I think we might have slept one or two hours. We were sore from all the hiking and decided to make our way over to Safford for some natural mineral hot springs to soak in before making the trek home. After being home a couple of days we wish we were still there.

Workmans Creek Camping

Sunday night we decided to go on a camping adventure. I always told Jonathan about camping at Workman's creek as a child with the family and the good times we had, so he decided we should take a trip to see what all the fuss was about. We headed out Monday morning and leisurely arrived at our campsite just afternoon. It was a great drive and the boys took naps along the way. We set up camp and had lunch and started hiking up the creek to find the waterfall we saw while researching the place online.

It seemed like forever walking in the cold water. Carson was a trooper and complained very little until he got soaked after slipping and falling in the water a few times. Cody was in the backpack on Jonathan's back and just wanted to get out and run around. There were a few fun little cascading waterfalls along the way. Fallen trees and broken down brush prevented us from going the whole distance and we turned back to make it in time for dinner.

Carson thought he was a real mountain man.

The boys had a ton of fun camping together, looking for firewood, and eating s'mores for two nights in a row.

new clutch posted at my etsy.com shop!

this is the newest clutch to go up in my etsy shop. i love these colors together and i am in love with it!! jonathan even thought it was cute so i put it up in my etsy shop!! if you're interested, look here. thanks!! new post to come later today or tomorrow about our fun 3 day camping trip to workman's creek!!

the results are in!!

the winner of the clutch giveaway, thanks to random.org is comment #7, JEN SHERWOOD!!! congrats jen and thanks!! just email me with your address and i will mail it to you before the week is over!!! thanks to everyone who participated and stay tuned...there's more stuff coming up and that just might mean another giveaway!! thanks again!!

ONLY ONE MORE DAY AND THE GIVEAWAY IS OVER!!

on tuesday night i will be drawing a winner for one of the clutches from my etsy shop!! i also posted a new clutch in my etsy shop so have a look, leave a comment and good luck!! i will post the winner either tuesday night or wednesday morning!!

!!!!GIVEAWAY!!!!

so, i just opened a little etsy shop and i'm so excited! here is what i'm selling:

CLUTCHES!! there are more in the works including silver, two shades of green, cream and probably yellow!! there are also some wallets, and added embellishments in the works to!!

Anyway, back to the main reason for the post! i'm having a giveaway! just leave a comment telling me which one you like the best and on tuesday, june 2nd i will choose a winner via some random selector website! i will have more colors to choose from posted soon!! you can visit my etsy shop here!! thanks! good luck!

Fathers and Sons Outing 2009

Carson, Cody and Dad had quite an adventure this past Friday and Saturday at Canyon Creek at the Windsor Ward outing. Carson got his boogy on in the tent, Cody enjoyed crying for an hour before going to sleep followed by waking up at 2am to cry for another 2 hours.

It rained the entire time, but we went on about a mile hike to the stream. In spite of the dollar store rain gear, we still got soaked. We walked past a rope swing that Carson said was the swing from the bridge to terabithia.

This was Cody's first campout and he enjoyed it the most. He slept it off the whole way home.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

today is my husband's 28th birthday!! he's not big on birthdays so i got him some much needed shoelaces for his brown church shoes. his parents gave him a gift card to carrabba's and they are going to watch the boys while we go out to eat tonight!! i love going places without the kids once in a while. it's refreshing even though, when we are alone, we tend to talk about the boys constantly...and then we miss them and want to go home and give them huge kisses!!! Anyway, happy birthday my bearded wonder, i love you!!!

spring surprises

for some reason it won't let me move the pictures, sorry!!

the kids enjoying a movie and popcorn

on the $3 per person merry go round that i can't believe we actually paid for

cody after sucking on then smearing 1 oreo

the ducks we found in our pool

jonathan, carson and jaden at the preschool recital

you know it's spring when...
you wake up to find 12 ducks swimming in your pool (1 duck and 11 ducklings). we woke up sunday morning to see the cutest ducklings swimming in our pool. "how did they get in there?" you might ask. the answer is...we have no idea. they are too little to fly but i guess they could have squeezed through the back gate and the mom duck could have flown over. they were stuck in the pool. the duck could get out and the ducklings did try, to no avail. so we put a little "ramp" aka a piece of wood in the pool. only two of the ducklings got out via said ramp. every time the duck got out, two ducklings got out using the ramp. the others swam under it, around it, but still did not understand how those other ducklings got out of the water to follow their mom!! i was quite cute and entertaining to watch!

anyway, you also know it's spring when...
you are in your backyard with your kids when all of a sudden there are about 5 million bees around you and your have to grab your kids and run for cover!
ok, so i'm being a little dramatic, but seriously i did grab my kids and run inside. the bees then swarmed around our tomato plant in a tight bee-ball. jonathan took a food storage can and it's lid and went out there and swept them inside!! it was quite an eerie sound to hear them buzzing inside of the can. yep, i just got the willies. and again, just thinking about them!!
so for the past couple nights, cody has woken up at 2 or 3 in the morning screaming bloody murder. no matter what i do to calm him, he won't go back to sleep. if it were my house, i would probably let him scream for a little while, but alas, it is not my house and there are 3 other people who need their beauty sleep to be refreshed and revived the next morning for work and school. (personally, i thing sleep is overrated....just kidding) so i lay in the twin bed with him for like a thousand hours until he is asleep and usually end up sleeping in there with him perpendicular to me. last night the time came for bed. we picked a lovely story about a frog who lost his hop and everything was good. i told him after the book was over, he was going to go to sleep and not get out of his crib. he said okay. so i left after the book. about 2minutes later he comes trotting into our room all smiles. jonathan put him back to bed. after screaming for about 15 minutes, i finally went and got him and brought him back to bed with us. we were waiting for the kids to go to sleep so we could watch marley and me. we started it anyway with cody in the room with us. he stayed up until 11 o'clock. at first i was a bit annoyed. but then, he was being so cute and was indicating that he wanted me to sit by him by patting the bed next to him. he kept wanting to be tickled too and would laugh the most adorable laugh that i never wanted to put him to bed! finally it was time and we were all exhausted. he gave kisses and j put him in bed. this time he stayed put with no screaming the rest of the night. i had very sweet dreams with baby smiles and laughter!! i am so blessed!! here are some random pictures!