Oh January!

Every year just after Christmas I start singing in my head, "I Cry the Day I Take the Tree Down" from the Forgotten Carols. I have always felt sadness as all the decorations come down and the streets are no longer lit up with colorful lights. Generosity from complete strangers and good manners seem to disappear and we all get back to the rat race.

Then comes January and all the lofty goals are set of losing weight, going to bed earlier, reading more, cooking more, or whatever it may be, and we are rearing and ready to go for the best year of our lives by cutting out all those bad habits and replacing them with new desirable attributes.

But wait a minute then comes January 15th, and we realize we are still waisting too much time watching TV eating Cheetos and Valentine's day candy and those exercise videos that were ordered and rushed to us for the beginning of the new year are still unopened on the TV console. That's when I start to loath the month of January and I realize I hate change... I liked me and my bad habits just the way we are. And besides last year wasn't so bad, and there always is another year just around the corner.

But then again the guilt starts creeping in and it's not just the bad habits that start to bug, it's the lack of being the person I know I can be and should be. A little more patient (especially with my one-year-old), and little less critical of people (especially those at church), and a little more thoughtful towards family members whom I take for granted day after day.

So this year, my new year's resolution is to not hate January so much but embrace the month of change and the opportunity for starting over again and again. So here's starting today, January 28th to making 2011 the best year of my life.

My attitude was somewhat changed when my husband showed me this video he shared with the teachers quorum last week. I will try really hard to not procrastinate this year and not get discouraged when somedays I do because I am completely exhausted from chasing around a very head-strong one-year-old! Thank you Elder Eyring for putting everything into perspective like you always do.

Merrily, merrily on our way to Grandma's House

We spent Christmas in Idaho this year. We were so excited to escape the rain for some brisk winter air:) Actually we do enjoy getting out of Southern California for a bit to experience winter--and Idaho was good to us this year with mild temperatures and very little snow.

Jack was in heaven for a week exploring Grandma's house and getting into EVERYTHING! He also thoroughly enjoyed the horses. He kept track of them all day long and loved to feed them.

He enjoyed being around all his cousins. Here's how our Christmas Eve broke down.

That morning he and dad enjoyed a good read of the Pocatello Journal.

After some good napping and lunch all his cousins came over for some Christmas cheer.

All of them were anxious to open their Christmas PJ's so we did not let a minute go by after dinner for them to rip into their packages.

We were then entertained with the nativity acted out by all the cousins. Jack is an Angel donning his new BYU PJ's.

We also were treated with some great music and a lesson. Jack thinks it is necessary to always lead the music wherever we are.

He was pretty tuckered out after the night's festivities. And Christmas morning was so much fun with him finally being able to rip open all the packages under the tree.

Even with all these new toys, we couldn't keep Jack out of his favorite drawer at Grandma's. He thought those pens, pencils, and keys were just fascinating.

We had a wonderful time with family again this year and wish we lived closer so we could be with everyone more often.

Snips and Snails and Puppy-Dog Tails

Yes, this is a post about snails and boys, because that is what little boys are made of.

I don't know why, but Carlsbad, CA has a lot of snails on the sidewalks, especially after a good rain. This is what our pumpkins looked like right before Halloween.

Well yesterday I was outside with Jack, and it was a beautiful sunny day. I sat down on our step inside the house and was watching Jack play in the dirt. Well his back was facing me so I couldn't quite see what he was doing in the dirt but assumed he was just playing with rocks since he LOVES rocks as do most little boys. As most mothers learn quickly, you never trust an extremely quiet child for more than a few minutes. I got up to just verify it was rocks that was entertaining Jack so well. Nope, not rocks! He was torturing a slimy snail. Yes, he had smashed the little dude's shell and was squishing and pulling apart the snail and thoroughly enjoying the slime on his hands. It was like he was pulling that snail between his fingers like taffy. I'm just glad he didn't try to eat it like taffy. And just know, that snail secrete the stickiest slime that doesn't come off with soap and water. It took a good ten minutes of scrubbing his hands in soap and water and then alcohol to get that slime off!

Sail Away to Magical Seas of Disney

We just got back from a week on a Disney cruise and boy are we all wiped out! Jack was a great traveler (except for one small melt down on one flight). So instead of boring you with words, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Jack's first encounter with a character... he wasn't so sure what to think of Minnie.

Pushing her away....

Then came daisy and he was fascinated with her mouth and tried to eat it.

And then he sought all the character out... but we weren't very good at remembering our camera.... oops!

He got a lot of water activity. Unfortunately he couldn't swim in any of the pools because he's not potty trained... but that didn't stop us from sneaking him in a few times! He did like to play in the water shoots though.

And he loves the beach.

And it gets exhausting playing so hard.

We took him out to the middle of the ocean to see stingrays and he loved it! He really likes the taste of salt water... weirdo. The picture below may look like a pool, but it's not. It's a sandbar in the middle of the ocean and there really are stingrays swimming all around Jared and Jack.

And here he is kissing a stingray for 7 years of good luck!

We also enjoyed a nice beach on Cozumel with some great Mexican food!

The dinners were nice and long on the ship and Jack didn't enjoy daycare very much. As a result he was passed around the table to endure some coloring and paper origami.

All in all, a fabulous week at sea!

We Found Nemo!

Jack thoroughly enjoyed Halloween this year... the Trunk-or-Treat and the impromptu trick or treating. We were a little worried he wouldn't wear his costume, but he seemed to love it once he saw all the other kiddos in their costumes.

Fall Activities

A couple of weeks ago we decided to take Jack on a hike through Torrey Pines State Reserve. Jared and I did this while we were dating and neither of us remembered how long this hike was or the lack of shade. Poor little Jack was a trooper in his backpack though.

He was sure happy to see the beach though and thoroughly enjoyed splashing in the water and squishing the gooey sand between his fingers.

October also means an obligatory stop at the pumpkin patch and boy did we ever visit the pumpkin patches of all pumpkin patches this year. It was a bit of a drive east where there are still farm lands in Southern California, but definitely worth the trip. This was more like a fall carnival. We will plan to spend more time here next year.

We also were treated to have grandma come out to baby sit Jack for a few nights and days while Jared and I did some things together. We especially appreciated getting a evening to celebrate our anniversary. It was great having the world's best baby sitter here for a week. Thank you, Shauna!

A hunting we will go

So Jared thought he was sad about not drawing a tag for a rifle hunt this year, but he had no idea what was in store for him on a bow hunt. Yep, we will not go hungry this winter--our daddy got us an elk! Way to go, Jared; we're so proud of you!

While he was out being one with nature, Jack and I headed north to be one with my family:) I got to introduce Jack to one of my favorite childhood events, the Puyallup Fair. When growing up we would actually get out of school early to attend the fair!

I introduced Jack to some real deep-fried fair food and my favorite, the Krusty Pup. He loved it!

Jack was a little small for most rides so he just watched Max and Cooper have all the fun.

Jack took his best nap while at the fair (2 1/2 hours). Maybe he just liked sleeping next to Cooper.

The rest of the week was spent chillin' and relaxin' with the family, and I didn't take many pictures. I do, however, have to make one plug for the best toy to buy your toddler. Jack fell in love with the Cozy Coupe as have all of my parent's grandchildren. Can you believe the little car Jack is playing in below was purchased for my nephew, Josh, 20 years ago and has endured all 20 grandchildren. Way to go Little Tikes!