SAFETY FAIR!!!

Braden is a boy through and through and love police men and firetrucks. Although recently he stopped saying fire truck and it turned into firework truck. Too funny. Anyway, the local police and fire departments put on this safety fair and we decided to brave having 3 toddlers, and took the kiddos to get in on the action.

Bradens first ever time sitting on a "real" motorcycle. Dads scooter, the bumble bee as Devins coworkers call it doesn't exactly count, although Braden can't yet tell the difference.

In heaven with a fireman hat and sitting up high in the fire truck

The best picture we could get of these three kiddos, Sofia(2.5), Joaquin(3.5), and Braden(2)

I started watching Sofia and Joaquin a few months ago and love these two little angels to death, although having the two of them plus my little rascal is a lot like having triplets and can be a lot of work at times. But mostly they are so kind to each other and are a lot of fun!!

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Exploring

I thought I knew a lot of what there was to see around here, but we found a hidden gem yet again. One weekend, the boys and I took a little walkabout near a park in Roseville that I had been too quite a few times. We were pleasantly surprised by the sights we saw off of the road less traveled and will probably go visit again next spring. When we came home, I decided that when we look for a house again, I would like to look over there because the wetlands are huge over there and there are a lot of walking paths, which are so lovely when one likes to run. :)

Cute right?!

Braden love his uncles oh so much!!

And they love him even more!!

This picture makes me want to cry because Braden is such a big boy now!!

Six Flags

In June we went with my Mom, sisters, and brother to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom about an hour and a half away. My family got season passes and can get us in for free a few times. Sweet deal for us. Braden had a great time riding the few rides he was tall enough for and especially seeing the animals. The zoo in Sacramento is pretty lame and although we have been there a few times, I don't think Braden had ever seen elephants, lions, or tigers in real life, let alone dolphins, seals, whales, walrus, penguins, etc. etc. He had a really great time and surprisingly did well all day even without a nap and didn't even fall asleep on the way home. Can't wait to take him again later this summer.

Braden is really into real trains, since we live about 200ft from the train track, so he was thrilled to actually be able to ride in one, and kept saying "All aboard!" which he learned from an amazing segment on the Disney Channel called "Choo Choo Soul"

He is really into it being "Bradens turn" so he was excited to do all the rides he could by himself!

Braden was in love with all the animals. We had a fun time going to all of the shows and sitting in the shade to watch.

Dont ask why I let him touch a snake. Now that I look at the pictures, I think it is disgusting, but he is a boy right?

Bappy Hirthday

We can hardly believe our baby is not a baby anymore. He is two!! What the!! And man can we tell. He is so delightful though. We are sure loving watching him grown and develop as his kittle personality is exposed more and more every day. We celebrated his birthday in style and inside. It was pouring rain for several weeks in May and June, and what a bummer it was for a supposed pool party. But it kept things simple for us and we just ended up having family over for pizza and homemade ice cream. We took Braden to donuts for breakfast, watched Kung Fu Panda and ate popcorn, all took naps, and then enjoyed pizza!! What a relaxing day! Love our little man!!

Braden and Grandma

Blowing out his candle, he loves blowing out candles, so he was excited that it was all for him!

Something made us feel like Em was more excited about the gifts than Braden was.....

The party planning commitee

Too Cute

One afternoon after church and lunch the boys were so tired they both just conked right out. Braden doesn't ever sleep in our bed. He always thinks its tent time, or jumping time, or book time whenever we are in bed, so I was so in love with them sleeping there. So cute. Love my boys!

Maui Wowee

WARNING: Pictures are totally out of order. I cant figure out how to move anything. Its been a long time since I have blogged and I have already spent a while getting this post together so Im not going to take the time to figure it out. Just read and view and enjoy.

Our last night in Maui, hence the amazing tans!!

In front of Cheeseburgers in Paradise. A bunch of the restaurants we ate at had windows that opened all the way, or no windows at all, so it was basically open air and so much more enjoyable that way.

Our last stop at some waterfall on the road to Hana

A view at the Seven Sacred Pools

Seven Sacred Pools

The Beginnings of the sunrise on top of Haleakala Crater

Mr Muscles

Amazing sunrise above the clouds at Haleakala Crater at 10,000 feet

Devin took a little walk and found these vines to swing on. I got video, and was just praying the vines wouldn't break and he wouldn't fall into this 6 inch rocky creek bed.

This waterslide was so fun it was hilarious!!

The Gazebo: Best breakfast ever, including fried rice at 10am

Our sweet off roading shot

A picture near the blow hole and tide pools

The jungle was so dense it was amazing! It reminded us of Guatemala!

At the lava rock beach

At the beginning of May Devin and Ash got to go to Maui with some of our good friends, Mike and Jess. It was amazing to say the least. Whenever we get asked what our favorite part was, its hard to pin down just one event that could have been our favorite just because every single thing was so incredible!!

We arrived in Maui on Saturday, and were immediately struck by the perfect weather. The airports in Hawaii that we stopped at were both mostly outdoor and it was so fun just smelling the clean air. We read somewhere that air in Hawaii is more clean than almost anywhere on earth because it is surrounded by so much water that the pollution from big cities far away gets wiped out. And we could sure smell the clean air. We were instantly in love. We took an evening swim in the ocean right outside our hotel and couldn't believe how warm the water was. We all just walked right in!! It was nothing like the freezing California ocean water we are used to. We also went to the grocery store and spent more on a weeks worth of groceries, than I do in an entire month. It was a little depressing, but it was still cheaper than eating out for every meal, or at least thats what we are thinking. We also found this random little beach with these round lava rocks all along the shore. It made a sound kind of like one of those GIANT rain sticks every time the water would go out. It was fascinating!!

Sunday we went to church, and then did a little sightseeing. We traveled around the west end of Maui, about a 3 hr drive with a few stops along the way. We enjoyed the amazing sights of being the only people around!! We saw a couple of really neat blow holes, where when a wave comes in, the water shoots up really high and fast through a hole in the lava rock. To celebrate mothers day, Devin took me to what quickly became my favorite restaurant ever. We got dessert at a small place on the beach called Leilani's. We got my new favorite dessert, Hula Pie. An Oreo crust, macadamia nut ice cream, a thick fudge topping, whip cream, caramel, and more macadamia nuts. OH MAN!! It was amazing I think we went and got it 3 or 4 times. Devin made it for me again for my birthday and it was just as amazing as I'd remembered.

Monday we spent the day acting like kids! We had one of the best breakfasts ever at a little place called the Gazebo. If you go to Maui, go there. It was so yummyWe swam pretty much all day long in the ocean and in our pool. The pool at our hotel was INCREDIBLE!! We went down the water slide probably 30 times and sat around watching people go down and were just dying laughing at how much fun grown adults, and silly kids, were having going down this little 30 or 40 ft water slide. We even learned all the tricks to make the slide faster. It was so much fun.

Tuesday, we got to do one of the most amazing things I have ever done. We got up at 2am, a little crazy if you ask me, and got in a van and drove to the top of this mountain to watch the sunrise around 5:30am. It was quite breathtaking being there above the cloud cover. We then got to ride bikes down the mountain from 8,000 feet and down. We hardly had to pedal at all and just got to FLY down the mountain at 6am. It was so much fun until Devin ate it trying to jump a 1 inch curb. He scraped his shins up pretty good and got bonked on the head by the sidewalk, but we weren't going too fast at that point and he was able to ride on. It was honestly one of the funniest things I have ever seen. AFV worthy. And I couldn't stop laughing, even to ask him if he was ok. It was a little scary when he wouldn't respond because I was laughing so much. It was such a beautiful experience, and although I was exhausted for the next 2 days, it was definitely worth it. We enjoyed long naps that afternoon, and just relaxed for the rest of the day. We went to dinner at Cheeseburgers in Paradise and fell in LOVE with coconut shrimp. Yum Yum!!

Wednesday we enjoyed some snorkeling which was so fun. The ocean is so beautiful. We really had a fun time just being out in the open water. Wednesday night we went to a magic show called at a place called Warren and Annabelles. It was not only hilarious, but mostly impossible. We were sitting in the front row, and I still cannot imagine how in the world this guy pulled 2 bowling balls out of a hat right after he put it on Mikes head.

Thursday Devin and I did a little snorkel and kayak trip. We saw an octopus, that our guide decided to stick to my leg. It stuck really tight and hurt so bad when the guy pulled it off. I thought it was going to rip my skin off, but it didn't. Somehow on Devs stomach it didn't stick as tight. By the time we kayaked over to "turtle town" I had gotten seasick, forgot to take the Dramamine, and didn't want to swim anymore so I didn't see the turtles. But we snorkled at another spot later in the day where we saw a few turtles. It was so fun. They seem to be as relaxed as Crush in Finding Nemo. I still haven't developed the underwater camera, but I think Braden will want to look at the pictures all the time.

Friday we drove the road to Hana. We took a few stops along the way at some beautiful pools and waterfalls. It was a long and tiring drive, but it was so beautiful. By the end of our trip, we were excited to go home and see Braden, but very sad to leave the perfect weather and atmosphere of Hawaii, not to mention the amazing vacation.

As a sidenote, when we came home it rained for like a month and a half and wasn't really warm enough for swimming so we lost our Hawaii glow. It was really depressing!!

Hello?

First the bad news. In two segments.

There is an explanation for the intense lack of blogging which would make my life appear like 1) busy crazy madness with no time for blogging or 2) something intense going on.... Glad to say it is neither. The explanation though is a tragedy in my life for the time being.

The first problem: I broke my camera before Christmas, and never bother to get pics from my phone to my computer, which brings me to another point.
And the second problem: I currently dont have a computer either. My computer had a broken mouse, and we had only had it for a year. So since it was still under warranty we decided to sell it and get another one. So we dont have a camera or a computer, but are working on both. So good luck to us. For the time being I am grateful for my blessed i-phone, which is conveniently also on the fritz.... sounds like a bit of bad luck. Anyway, I am going to get back to my regularly scheduled blogging. I have done loads of projects and its been a little sad to not be blogging a thing. Especially when my CUUUTE little boy is almost two and nobody's seen any pics of his cute face. So check back in a few weeks and I will probably have blogged a thing or two by then. XOXO!!

Ketchup

What is it about Ketchup that will make a child eat anything? ANYTHING!! If there is something I really want B to eat, I just put some ketchup on it and its instantly gone. I don't understand. Maybe its because I don't love Ketchup. Before Braden came along BBQ sauce was the most used condiment in our home. But thanks to Braden Ketchup is making a comeback. There's something about Ketchup.

Anyway, this post is really about "catch up". I have a million things to blog about. Of course I broke my camera right before Christmas. Sad day. So I have to get a disc of pictures from Christmas off my father in laws camera. So Christmas might be a while. But in the meantime, enjoy some other things that have been waiting around to be blogged about. :)

Disneyland December '10

At the beginning of December we got to take Trent with us to Disneyland. It was so much fun, despite the horrific crowds, and the quick trip. We spent one day at Disney and California Adventure and spent a load of time in the car trying to get to the American Doll Store to get some Christmas gifts. Went once, dont need to go back kind of experience. Anyway, we had such a great time at Disneyland. Disney at Christmas really is amazing. I couldnt believe how much it was decorated. I was very impressed that they played religious christmas music. Silent Night, Away in A Manger, etc. It just reminded me of how much I love Disneyland, and what Christmas really means. It was Bradens third time and it seems like he finally gets it. He said "Yeehaw" and "Whee" a lot during the rides. I am dying to take him again this month because I think he will love it even more! Such a cool kid. Unfortunately I was horrible about taking pictures since we were dashing from ride to ride hoping to ride everything Trent wanted two or three times. It worked, but no pics to show for it. Oh well. Thanks for escorting us Trenter!!

Its super hard to see, but Braden is full on smiling during King Tritons Carousel ride at California Adventure. They rode it a few times while I waited in line for Toy Story Mania for 50 minutes. Longest line I have ever waited in at Disneyland. NO JOKE! It was worth it though that ride was so much fun!

By the end of the night at 10:00 we were so tired and had zombie eyes. We had gotten into our hotel at 1:00am the night before and of course Braden was awake when we got there, so he and I left early and Trent and Dev stayed until 12am. CRAZIES! I couldnt wait to get back and go to bed!

Best Buds

Chelise (my neighbor and SIL) and I have been waiting for the day that Braden would learn how to play. In between Thanksgiving and Christmas, he figured it out. His cousins have become his best buds. They run all over the house screaming and growling and making boy noises (pow, bam, pop, etc) and laugh like crazy at each other. It is the cutest thing ever. After 10 months of being neighbors our boys are finally friends, just before Eric and Chelise will leave us in February. (tears). So here's to the buds who get to be together forever. Lucky guys!

And for good measure, I asked the boys to look at me and smile and this is what I got. Kalem smile made me laugh so hard. Silly boys. Pretty sure they were watching Finding Nemo.