Gotta Love Santa...As Long as he's Fake

Carson is sooo not interested in talking to or sitting on Santa's lap at all this year...he always resorts to "mom, you just tell him what I want."
So, the other day when I napped Carson at my mom's house in a room full of Christmas decorations, (knowing very well this could be quite a distraction for such a curious boy, but heaven forbid I delay precious napping time to move it) he spent over an hour talking with his new buddy, and apparently his favorite kind of Santa, a fake one! Here's to baby monitors and the comedy they can bring from time to time:

You have to read Carson's dialogue in a semi-demanding voice, (he was not afraid of this santa) but still sweet...it makes it much better :)

"Santa Where is your mouth? It's okay don't be scared. Santa GET ME OUT! Listen to me. Santa I need a firetruck. Please don't say no, I need one. Don't be scared Santa, listen to me. I need a bike too. If you don't have one you need to buy one. It's okay, don't say no. I can drive it. Santa Get me Out. ring ring ring, hey santa did you hear it. Santa I can not open my diaper it has poop in it, hey mom change my diaper santa says. Oh no, oh no, are you all right? SANTA. get me out. Stop doing that, he doesn't like it. Santa I need to call my mom back. Please or I will be sad. Brynlee is waking up I better be quiet too."

Back in Action...Almost!

I don't know what it is about being forced to stay home with sick kids, that makes me so unproductive. You'd think that with all that time staying home I could do one of the 50 kajillion projects that need to be done, but instead I don't. Most of the time i'm tending to my sad little munchkins who probably don't even understand why they feel so yucky, and the rest of the time I feel sorry for myself, and kick myself at the thought of all I have to do and the fact that I have still barely started my christmas shopping. A vicious cycle! I think we are finally on the home stretch of fighting bugs for over two weeks, and about ready to hit the town. I have to admit the bad case of cabin fever that we have all been suffering has caused me (probably against my better judgement) to pre-maturely go out once or twice the last couple of weeks, only to have one of the kids catch something new...or just get a little worse. Anyways, after Fevers, Croup, Head Colds, Bronchitis, and a little throwing up here and there, I think we're finally all non-contagious. Maybe not 100% healthy, but non-contagious...I'll take what I can get!

A few Random Tidbits

I decided I better not be lame and respond to this tag because I love reading everyone elses so much- especially since I don't normally blog about myself this might be kind of fun!
The rules: List 6 or 7 facts about yourself, then tag others to do the same!Here are a few things you may or may not know about me!

1.) I have a horrible habit of picking at everything I eat! I think it's progressively gotten worse over the last couple years. I've come to the conclusion that, why eat the whole piece of cake when all I want is the frosting- so i'll have 5 pieces with just the topping. This drives my family nuts (understandably so) so sometimes I have to throw away the bottom of the cake before they see it. This isn't just the case with cake; I like the chocolate chips from cookies, the filling in the oreos, only the cheesiest doritos, etc. Matt can't think of one food that I don't pick at. Every food has a best part!

2) I am mildly embarrased to admit it, but I probably qualify as a reality show junkie. Some current favs are Survivor, Amazing Race, Dancing with the Stars, The Hills, and Bachelor. I don't know why watching someone else's drama is so entertaining, but it just is! I think it all started with the second season of survivor, where I decided I really wanted to do that show. I even printed out an application two different times. I'm really competetive and LOVE the competitions and obstacles! Unfortunately I would never leave my 2 babies for that long, so that dream is dead!

3) In my other life I am an amazing dancer. I kick myself over and over for not taking dance throughout my childhood. I love it! I would have loved to be a cougarette, and swear one of these days I'm going to get my lazy little self down to the dance studio and sign up for a class. For now Carson and I rock out on a regular basis.

4) I Love shopping, but like Tracy only for a good bargain. There's nothing better than finding a good deal, and since I know how good of deals are out there to be found, I could never bring myself to buy something not on sale. My family has a disease when it comes to spending money, but i'm not quite as bad as my dad and bros. I think Matt has loosened me up a little. The same goes for food too! I have been totally into couponing lately and i get the biggest thrill checking out how much I saved on the bottom of the receipt. Sometimes I buy too much just because something is insanely cheap-not always a good thing, but I justify thinking that 10 bags of chocolate chips make great food storage.

5) I love to travel anywhere and everywhere! I could be in Europe or in San Diego at a hotel. I love the feeling of no responsibility, no laundry, eating out and having Matt all to ourselves. Actually after our last road trip I should clarify that in the case of a road trip I love to travel without the kids:)

6) I LOVE food and I love to Bake! I'm trying to find that same passion for cooking, but as of now baking is much higher on my priority list. I love trying new recipes, mostly ones that involve chocolate, which isn't always good for the old waste line. Matt's bummed that he now craves dessert ever since he married me. I just feel bad it took him so long to realize the finer things in life!

7) I often over analyze and over explain things...sorry for all the long descriptions-congrats if you read it all!

I tag anyone reading this who hasn't already done it!!

Thanksgiving Adventures

We're back from a long, but super fun week in Utah with lots of family, so just a warning that this could turn out to be a really long post as I try to sum up the events! We started off the week in Alpine with my grandma, and all my moms extended family. We don't make it to Utah much, but I have to admit, I kind of like the place. Mostly I like to hit up all my favorite food spots and of course walking around BYU and reminiscing about the old days is always fun! (and makes me feel waaay to old- the freshman are such cute little things:) It's always fun to see all the cousins up there, and Carson had a blast. We had about 55 people for dinner so it was a full house. I thought it was so cute that my grandma had a little table for preschool aged kids. The first time Carson sat by himself in a totally separate room with just kids. He actually did pretty good! Here's some of the little munchkins.

I didn't get too many thanksgiving pics, but after dinner we left for the middle of nowhere Utah also known as Blanding to hang out with Matt's family for a couple days! It was a crazy busy, but a really fun two days. Keri so good at having fun things planned. The first day we drove to Durango Colorado to ride the Polar express. Cutest town ever...and such a fun train ride. Carson was in heaven! It was freezing and snowing, not normally a good thing (especially for a totally unprepared southern california family), but if your taking the polar express to the north pole, then it kind of tops of the experience.
We all got to wear our christmas pj's all day....nothing better than a legitimate excuse to not get dressed.

Carson, Spencer and Cameron waiting by the tracks and eating their treats
The workers are dressed up like the movie and they bring you hot chocolate and a treat.

We sang christmas carols the whole way back and Matt and Brandon got really into the 12 days of christmas....i think someone slipped something into their cocoa.
Santa passed out bells and Brynlee really liked hers. Yes it was probably totally dirty.....but a 10 month old running on 1 short nap that day- she can do whatever she needs to stay happy!



So the last of our adventures was a big quad ride on Saturday. We went to a place right by Lake Powell, left the kids with sitters and rode all day. It was an awesome ride! We stopped for lunch in the canyon, rode a little longer, had a little adventure and almost got stuck going back up the dunes to get out. That night we all got together to watch the Cougers take care of those dang Utes!!! A good end to a great trip!!!

Matt and Floyd with an amazing backdrop!

A little Disneyland Cheer and Dancing Stars

Yesterday we went to Disneyland for the first of many trips (yeah passes) to enjoy all the Christmas festivites, and the park looked absolutey amazing! I LOVE everything about the Christmas season, so the sooner we can start the celebrations the better! Disneyland and I are so on the same page that it is totally okay to decorate after Halloween! Yes, my house is already decorated...but I did wait until about 10 days after Halloween-and if you think I'm nuts, just come on over and see how much jollier it makes you feel. Why limit that feeling to just one month, you know? Anyways, the lengths they go to to turn Disneyland into a Christmas spectacular is amazing. I would love to see their storage unit. Everything is soooo beautiful and there are so many lights and trees, etc. This is also the first time I went with Carson, and when you go with little kids, you really see it through a childs eyes so much more. We also went with Grandma Karen, Lori and Savannah, and the boys came and met up with us after work. The kids were again angels and had a blast. I think Carsons favorites were Small World and the Carousel. Here's a few fun pics:


Trevor is making fun of how many pictures Lori and I take- maybe next time he should just smile :)




I had the kids all dressed in xmas gear for a pic with santa...maybe next time!

Carson and Savannah on a fun drive in toon town...Carson is even showcasing his snacks!
Again, the fun doesn't end there. Apparently Lori and I are celebrity magnets. Our blogs might be the next people.com. This time we got to see the one and only Jennie Garth. They had a taping for dancing with the stars, so naturally with our celebrity obsession (seriously i'm just kidding about that) we wanted to be up close. So we wasted almost 2 hours waiting....for a dissapointing outcome. Her partner was sick so she danced with Mickey. LAME!!!! The lamest part was they were talking up the crowd like he was going to be there when they knew the whole time he wasn't. Even though he's not so much the celeb, I was totally pumped for some good dancing. In my other life I am an amazing dancer after all. So we were bummed, and even missed out on our visit to Santa, but it was kind of interesting to see how it all goes down. All those posters you see people waving...totally fake and handed out by the crew! Mickey and Jennie's entrance and dance...had to do a couple takes. Not quite as cool as I'm sure it will look on T.V. I figure we're moving up on the celebrity food chain in our sitings....so who knows who's next....Stay Tuned!


The best part was how excited Carson was to see them dance...he LOVES mickey- could care less about the weird one in white!

Sea World and the Schwartz

Yesterday Lori and I took the kiddies to Sea world for a fun filled day and had a blast! I have to say, I'm tempted to refer you to Lori's blog for the rest of the details of our adventures - she has such a cute post with lots of pics and details, and lets face it sometimes it's just fun to be lazy. But I won't do that this time.
So anyways, the kids had a great time! Hanging out with the Halveys is always a good time! We hit up the usual Sea World exhibits seeing lots of animals, were nearly attacked by some way overly agressive birds who were apparently starving, and even squeezed in some play time at a kids play area. It was the perfect day to go- maybe a little chilly- but with no crowds at all, so Carson and Savannah could get in some good running around crazy time without getting lost in a crowd. Carson's been asking all morning to go back- when turned down he just keeps begging "I really really really want to and with sabanna too!"- hard to turn down the little guy. Here's some highlights:

Now you may think that sums up our sea world experience, but no...the best is yet too come! Okay maybe not the best!
So we got ready to head out about 1:00 to get the kids home for afternoon naps until we saw a crowd and camera crews waiting at the front. Come to find out Governer Awwnold (yes you have to say it with the accent) is coming in 10 minutes to give San Diego a speech to "pump you up" (say it with the accent again-it really makes it more effective) after the fires and let everyone know we're up and running. Naturally Lori and I totally wanted to check out the terminator- I don't think either one of us has really seen a celebrity before and if you really think about it, I don't honestly know why they're so intriguing, but they are and we wanted to be on the front lines. So the next little while was hilarious!!! We followed Arnold to the Shamu show and Lori even shook his hand- pretty sure she won't be washing that one for a while :) My camera battery died right before and we were really bummed to not get a picture. Don't fear, I think between the 2 of us we have about 20 others. We even took turns trying to take pictures of each other with him in the background. It may appear as though we are slightly obsessed with Awwnold, but seriously it was really funny. The kids were such troopers and sooooo good the whole day :)Here's a few pictures of "the govenator"

This is picture is for Lori! I failed miserably at taking a pic of Lori with Arnold in the background, so I was pleasantly suprised to find this one on my camara- It's Lori and Arnold in a pic together :) Can you find her? Kind of like where's waldo! I was really just taking a picture of the kids clapping during his speech. Too funny!

Battle of the stripes

The logistical thinking of a Dad: one part summer pj's + one part winter pj's = Fall Pj's

Carsons thoughts: "Dude, Dad, what are you putting me in???"

A few additions

I know there's been lots of Halloween pics in the blogging world, but I had to put up just a couple more from the actual night of trick-or treating. Carson had a blast and Brynlee could obviously care less! But she did her job and looked as cute as ever. The best part was Carson and his friend Finn holding hands the entire time. Talk about the cutest thing ever. We were dying and taking way too many pictures. Thank goodness for digital!

Halloween Extravaganza

I love the fall and everything about it (that's probably only because it doesn't get too cold here. Otherwise I might not have such kind words to say about it.) Although I do LOVE hot chocolate, and something about hot chocolate and summers don't mix, so it's nice for a little cool down to hit up my favorite 7-11 hot chocolate bar. Now don't go judging the 7-11 hot chocolate bar until you've tried it...it's soooo good! Anyhow, I especially love halloween because it's the kickoff to a long holiday season. I even think one of these years Matt and I will join in the fun and dress up. We, or maybe I should say I, always have good intentions to, but seem to spend too much time worrying about getting the kids the right costumes and time runs out. My sister-in-law Keri was in town last week (which we always love) and we had some pre-halloween festivities last week with the cousins. I must say Carson and Brynlee made up the cutest peter pan and tinkerbell duo that I have ever seen. Matt was little nervous of a son in tights and was hoping I would take his suggestion to dress them as a tougher duo- Jack Bauer and Chloe, but I think once he saw how cute they looked he had a change of heart. Plus peter pan has manned up a bit and lost the tights. Grandma Karen had a fun cousins halloween party on Thursday and on Saturday we went to our parents ward trunk-or-treat. I'm such a fan of trick or treating amongst friends and not having to inspect every piece of candy. We got a few shots of the kids, but luckily we still have tomorrow to attempt one more where they're both smiling:)

Sky and Brynlee
Carson and Spence showing off their work

All the cousins at Trunk-or-Treat

Fall Festivities

On Tuesday we went to Orange county with Matt in an attempt to escape the smoke down in San Diego. Both Carson and I were so stir crazy being locked up indoors for so long and really wanted to get out and do something. We met up with Matt's sister and her kids for lunch and then went to a fun pumkin patch. That night all Matt's family got together for dinner at BJ's- a great break from all the fire craziness!
Grandpa and the kiddies.

Crazy Days

Well it's been kind of a surreal and crazy week with all the fires going on...at one point I thought these fires were the end of southern california:) There has been such an eerie feeling the last few days with smoke filled skies and a red sun, but luckily the worst has passed and we're finally seeing blue. We were so much more fortunate than others as we were evacuated in the middle of the night (about 2:30 am) monday morning, but able to come back to our house by Monday night. We ended up staying at my parents until Wednesday morning until we felt pretty confident that we wouldn't go back home only to be re-evacuated. Our hearts truly go out to all those who have suffered any sort of loss. I have to say I have been soooo impressed with how San Diego has handled this crisis. It is amazing and touching how a community comes together in times of need.

Here's a couple pics of how cool the sun has looked and one of the smoke above our house. (the 2nd pic is the sun in the middle of the day)

Baby Got Back

Good thing Brynlee's not any older...she might not appreciate this post. I couldn't resist sharing the best legs you've ever seen!!!!!!

Wiggle Worm

Carson was the most mellow of mellow babies, so I was expecting a little payback with my second cause everyone says you don't have two easy ones in a row right? I wouldn't completely call it payback with Brynlee cause she's the happiest little thing around and getting to be soooo much fun. She'll smile anytime and make our hearts melt a thousand times a day. But, that being said, that girl can move. She gets into anything and everything within reach, and unfortunately more and more is getting within reach the bigger she gets! She's constantly on the move keeps us on our toes. She's definitely much wigglier than carson ever was. I had to laugh when I got her out of bed this morning looking like this:


Zipper and button fully in tact...explain that one!

So Long, Farewell...

So the last couple months, Carson has been in a big boy bed, and things haven't gone as smoothly as we had hoped. (a slight understatement) More fitting would be to say i've had many a days where I've wanted to throw the bed out the window-if only it wasn't so big. (okay that might be a slight overstatement-it is quite a cozy bed after all) Here is why i don't like the bed: Carson's sleeping schedule pre-big boy bed: - 1 nap a day about 2-3 hours. Nightime sleep- in bed between 7:30 and 8:30 and sleeping until 8 the next morning. Carson's sleeping schedule post big boy bed: In bed by 7:30, and sometimes not falling asleep until 10:00. Naps on occasion when he is on the brink of exhaustion. We've even resorted to putting a baby gate on his room so he can't come out, but unfortunately that doesn't get him to sleep. Somehow he finds something entertaining enough to keep him up, even though he has NO toys or books in there. The clothes in his laundry basket were fill-ins for tractors the other day. Now I appreciate the creativity, but seriously, why won't he fall asleep? All i know is it drives me crazy! He could just be to the age where he doesn't need a nap anymore, but the thought of not having that 2 hrs. a day to myself where both kids are down is so sad that i'm not quite willing to accept that possibility yet.

So today Matt and I decided was the big day to send off Carson's beloved binky to the trashman. How this will help him sleep I don't know...but here's to hoping. We both just got to the point where we think he's old enough to not need it, and it was easy to explain that to him. He has never gotten to have the binky during the day since he was one, it's just been a night time companion- but a good one. We never saw reason to take it away because he has ALWAYS gone to bed soooo easily with it and been such a champion sleeper, so why mess with a good thing. Clearly it's not helping lately (probably not hurting, but definitely not helping.) So we gave him one last suck this morning, took it out to the big trash, and watched the trashman take it away. We also went to target and let him pick out one special prize for being such a big boy (this is seriously a momentous occasion in our home) and hopefully we can use that prize to remind him he doesn't need his bink. Well of coarse in true Carson fashion he picked a little semi-truck with a tractor in tow, that he has been glued to since we got home. Note the picture up top. He couldn't be more proud!

Well here we are the afternoon of his first nap without a binky, and he's been in his room crying on and off for almost 2 hrs. because he didn't want to stop playing with his new toy. Looks like another napless day! ahhhhhh!
Even though the outcome of a binkyless sleeping carson is yet to be determined we had some fun taking pics of the goodbye!


One last suck

A big muscle flex for a big guy

Nothing put in this nasty diaper infested trash is ever coming out!!



goodbye binky!!!!

Lake Powell

So, Matt and I decided to be totally insane and take the kids camping to Lake Powell last weekend with a couple friends. We were totally stressed for days before, worrying about everything we should have worried about before committing to going: how the heck are the kids gonna get good sleep/naps? are they going to be naughty and ruin everyone else's trip? etc. It didn't help that all who heard we were going proceeded to confirm to us how crazy we were. Then on top of it all, the weather forecast was showing possible thunderstorms half the time we were there. Anyways, the trip turned out to be so fun! The kids were both angels, and slept like champs. Carson had a blast playing in the dirt all day, filling up buckets of water, and "cleaning" lake powell with wipes. (the kid appreciates a good clean campsite) I think he also ate more junk food that weekend than the rest of his life combined. We had a killer campsite that was perfect for the kids and completely private in our own little cove. Such a fun trip!
On Saturday, the storm started rolling in so we did end up booking it out of there a day early and went to Phoenix to visit my brother and his wife on the way home. We got out just in the knick of time- we drove through one of the worst rain storms ever the whole way to phoenix. I almost even made matt pull over, and i am soooo not one to drag out a road trip unless absolutely necessary. I'm sure our campsite got worked! Anyhow, always fun to see the bro. and a good end to a vacation!

What a hottie!
Matt & Carson on wake skate!
The Browns & the Fullers
Brynlee & uncle Nathan at the park