Oceanside Beach House Vacay

So we had been planning for over a year and a half to do a big fun family vacation to a beach house in California. I think we started planning this before we even moved to Utah. In the beginning of May we left for the trip after so much anticipation. I don't know who was more excited, the adults or kids. We all were in huge need of a get away. We took three cars, Ours, Jason and Jennie's van, and GRANDMA'S CONVERTABLE!! That caused some debate since the convertable couldn't hold much luggage. I thought bringing the convertable was sooo worth it. Grandma fought for it and won! That is something I love about Al, he knew TK was so excited about taking her grandkids for rides in it, that he didn't fight it. Here are some car pics:

 When we finally got to the beach house we could not believe our eyes! It was an incredible place. Those with kids stayed on the beach level, the older people stayed on the upper levels. We each had our own bathrooms and plenty of space to relax, run around, make noise, or have privacy. It was ideal. Then there was the ocean view. Holy cow. It was amazing!!

Here is Charlie standingin front of the Beach level window. We were right on the beach!!

 The beach had hardly any people on it where we were too. So fabulous!

Josh and the kids instantly fell in love with boogie boarding and body surfing. I was beaming! I didn't want to risk getting too jostled by the waves so I stuck to life guarding and sand crab hunting. I was glad Josh had Bubba to keep him company, though.

Beach belly at 26 weeks. Josh said that I popped out on this trip. I think I agree!! 

 It was sooo convenient too that the beach house had two hot tubs. One at the beach level, perfect for little ones to warm up in, and one on the roof for older kids to avoid getting splashed.

(I am not really all the way in the tub, just my legs)

The weather was cooler on our first few days. It was still so refreshing and relaxing. Charlie never noticed how hard he was shivering after he got wet!!

I thought it was so fun how we took turns being in charge of meals. Josh and I had a beach day lunch and the departing breakfast. We went low key and set out sandwich fixins and chips and then cereals on our last day. Mike and Ruth were in charge of dinner on Cinco de Mayo. they made us a Mexican Fiesta. Pinata and all!

 More to come, stay tuned!

Lately

So much has happened in the last few weeks!! For the month of April, Charlie and Noah participated in Provo City Soccer. This was Charlie's first time being on a team. 

He totally loved it too. He had an awesome coach who was so good with the kids. Noah had a great time as well.

He had a bunch of talented hard working players on his team that made it really exciting for him. His coach was a little rough around the edges, but we were able to work with it! 

Josh celebrated his 33rd birthday in April.

It doesn't look it, but I promise he was really happy! It was fun to be together with so much family.

It felt like a special one to be because I couldn't help but reflect on the year we had and the ups and downs. I also thought about all the exciting things that this year will bring. I am so super proud of Josh. He has been working at Zija for about 9 months now and is totally thriving. I am so happy he is in an environment where he is appreciated and where he has good friends. Josh is also excelling a great deal in the company. He just got a big raise yesterday and was offered shares in the company a few months ago. His position is called Director of Research Sciences. He is referred to as Dr. Plant and has a following of distributors that shower him with questions and praise! He is currently on a flight to Japan for a week long trip to meet some of their top distributors and to speak at their convention. In April I actually got the chance to fly with Josh to the San Fransisco area for one of his work trips. 

He introduces himself to big groups and speaks a lot about his family and how much we supported him through all the years of schooling. It is really touching and sweet. Also so good to hear ;)

We had the chance to go to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point as well. I took some family photos for my friend Darby and her family who was visiting from New Hampshire. Charlie, Denise, and Jack got to tag along. 

 Love this cute little guy!

As we are wrapping up the school year, the kids are helping each other get through it. Noah is awesome at helping Presley with her homework.

Melts my heart!

Of Course we had another birthday! We celebrated Makayla's 10th at her house in the form of a fun family dinner. It is so so nice to live close to everyone!

I'll have to start chatting about May in the next post! So much to tell about our glorious family vacation. WE. HAD. A. BLAST!!!!

It's a GIRL!!

I have been meaning to post about the exciting news!! I hit up instragram and facebook the day we found out, but the blog suffers! :/ We kept Noah and Presley home the morning of the ultrasound so the whole family could be there. I was worried Josh would be out of town, but luckily his flight wasn't until afternoon.

When we went in and the technician started whirling the Ultrasound wand over my belly, it was apparent that this little chickie was VERY active. It was like she was playing tag with us! It took awhile to be able to determine her gender. Josh thought he knew pretty quickly, but he guessed wrong. Then for a second, the little tyke held still and there it was in plain sight, A GIRL!

I burst into tears. Then I looked over at Presley and cried some more. So happy for Pres to get a sister! She has wanted one for so long. I didn't think we were even going to have any more kids. Josh was the one who brought the idea up. I was on board instantly (after I made him promise to be helpful with diaper duty, etc.)

Today I am 23 weeks along. I am sitting here at the computer and I need to paint some trim (I am taking advantage of every nesting urge I get!!), but baby is moving so much I just want to sit and observe. It is the greatest feeling ever! She is healthy and doing great! The doc said my placenta is low so she is going to check it's progress with another ultrasound in a couple of weeks. I also have low blood pressure (it's on the low side of normal). It makes me a little dizzy when I move too suddenly, but other than that, all is great, blissful, amazing.

22 week belly shot with cousin Jack helping to clean the mirror :)

My shadow at the park

Sitting in your future bedroom to be shared with big sis:)

BABY NAMES:

Cecilia "CC"

Alexandria "Andie"

Maeve

Luella "lula" 

Mabel "may"

Macey

Lucille "lula"

Vivienne 

Selma

Georgia "Gigi"

Adeline

Maggie

Sabine "beanie"

Olivia

Estella

Holland

Mabeline "Mae" "mabel" 

Easter 2013

We had such a wonderful Easter this year!! It felt so spiritual to me. In Primary we spent the month really talking in depth about the Savior. The kids were asking us all sorts of questions about the resurrection and about Jesus. Noah's questions can be so complicated he says "they make my brain hurt." 

We spent Good Friday at Al and TK's where we had a Passover dinner. This is our second annual with them. It was really special. We joked around a lot before it started, but once we got going, the kids were attentive and I think we all learned a lot and felt the spirit. 

Charlie and I had a fun morning making Grandma Burnidge's recipe, "Berries in a Cloud" for the dessert. I kept thinking a lot about our relatives that had passed away. I'm so grateful for the resurrection.

 Here we are at the dinner. We got dressed up and it made the whole thing feel more sacred. There is a lot of talk about the coming of Elijah in the Seder Dinner. As Mormons, we believe Elijah has already come. He has introduced us to temple work for our ancestors "turning the hearts of the children to their fathers." I believe that the all who have lived and all who will live on this earth are important to the Lord. 

Then on Sunday came Easter!! It was so fun to have Easter morning in our new house. Josh and I cleaned  the downstairs while Charlie worked his little heart out to clean his room. He was so proud. The easter bunny brought the kids books, candy, and some cute items to wear to church. 

Noah was really wanting some more "Big Nate" books to add to his collection. He read both books in one day. They totally make him laugh. He said he likes the character, Nate, better than Greg in Diary of a Whimpy Kid because Nate is more athletic. Noah loves to relate to the characters. He quit reading Harry Potter when Harry started growing up too much for him. Too much emotion in those teen years!! 

 Boston helped out in the egg hunt. The kids were either in jammies or clothes they had slept in! We had a late night at grandparents' house on Easter Eve. SO FUN to live by family!! Noah keeps noticing how when we lived in Boston we had to do without so many things. He thinks it taught him to appreciate things. I don't know if Presley and Charlie will remember enough of Boston. 

 Noah was so tired. He couldn't get himself to find many eggs.

Presley was the total opposite. We had to hold her back to save some eggs for the others!!

After that we had dinner in Cedar Hills with Josh's parents and siblings. We are still enjoying the fact that Josh is in town after a long business trip last week. It just made Easter even better to have him around.

Needing to document!!

My friend the other day posted a little excerpt from her mom's journal. The excerpt was about my friend as a toddler and her defiance in potty training. I thought it was the coolest thing that my friend had that record of herself from her mom. I so wish I had that for myself. I definitely want to do that for my kiddos. So here I go, an attempt to blog again. I am doing this for the single fact that I want to keep this record of our precious life. I enjoy reading our past posts so much and so do the kids (and JOSH!:)

**I am realizing that blogging is more fun when you aren't concerned about who is reading and how many comments you get. The lamest blogs in the world get so many comments.

Today was a milestone for little Charlie. We went to the park for the first time this year since it has been such a bitter cold winter in Utah. Charlie was able to reach the monkey bars so he was very interested in them. He would dangle, then drop. I said, "I bet by the end of the summer you will be able to cross". The next thing I knew he was crossing!! Here is the video:

It got a little windy so he worried for a second, but plowed across like a champ! So proud! Next stop: kindergarten registration!!

The big news!

 So so excited!! We said we were done, but we were wrong! A lot changes when you settle into a home and stable life. The due date is early August, but we are waiting for the doctor's visit to know for sure. We could have another July baby on our hands!! Just after I found out we were expecting, I was called to be Primary President in our ward. We are going to be busy! But we love it.

Our First Big Trip!

One of the coolest perks about Josh's new job is that they go on trips and cruises to get to know different people in the company. We were fortunate enough to be invited on a cruise the week before Christmas. We flew to Miami and set sail from there. It was so exciting to get on our giant Royal Caribbean boat sans kiddos! After lunch we explored the sip. The upper deck was the best part. The rest of the boat had kind of a casino feel.

 We had a suite with a balcony so we could sit outside our room and check out the view.

Renting a scooter was probably our favorite thing to do on the island. We had death defying adventures!

 One of our hang outs

 Hot guy in the water

 Our last stop was in Key West, Florida for some shopping and exploring. It was such a cute place.

Two happy campers

 We started missing the kids like crazy on day 3 of the 5 day cruise. It was so great for us to spend time together, though. It was more of a honeymoon than our honeymoon (Scottsdale, AZ in the summer if you recall)!