Long overdue

It has been full steam ahead with hardly anytime for writing. I found a few minutes today, lets hope my little busy man will not get into too much.

To recap the past couple of weeks....
We went to see Moana but only the girls stayed, the boys left with the Gator who had the barfs. I am going to have to go back because I only saw a teeny portion of the movie. What I saw I loved.

We had an amazing Thanksgiving. We have a tradition of going out to breakfast that morning. Then we went to Clawson's for the main event. We had tons of fun eating and playing with family.

The three oldest kids did an off track cooking class and had so much fun. I loved that they learned how to do a few things and look forward to teaching them meal planning and prep. 

Jeff and I started a major remodel project. To do our project, we moved the little girls downstairs and moved Gator in with Asher. We then took over the girls old room and pushed the wall out, changed where you enter/exit and ripped out carpet to put down an amazing floor. We are in the process of getting more wood to finish up the closet, and our brick is taking a while to get in. I got a few new pieces of furniture, decorations, bedding. All that saving and doing coupons is paying off. Projecting is expensive. 

Jeff and I finally went on a trip together. Just him and I... The first trip we have been on without kids since our honeymoon. We went on a cruise and it was sooooooo fun. 

My favorite part was getting to hang out with Jeff. Close second was not having anything to worry about. No time restraints, nobody needed me, there was always food prepared and always something to do. I even took a nap (everyday). I was a little sea sick, I tried the patches and had an allergic reaction to them. Ah well, I am sure that was what got me to come home. I tried some new foods, and actually loved so much of it. 

Calamari-

Shrimp scampi-

When we were in Catalina, we rented a golf cart to take us around the island. I laugh now because Jeff and I had no idea where we were going, we just blindly got on and started cruising around. Things that others missed I was fascinated by. The homes literally had no yard or even approach, they had these teeny paved, or bricked allies, that went up to doors or back doors. People tried to stuff them with flower pots, chairs, or bbq grills. It was though the houses were all riding piggy back. 

Everything had to be brought onto the island and almost everyone who lived there drove a golf cart. We road past this pet cemetery, I made Jeff stop so I could walk through. It reminded me a bunch of the Fairy forest here in Utah. Painted rocks and shrines. This Hamster family was loved. 

We took a wrong turn and ended up going by the school. We could see that all grades met together on one campus in just two small buildings, all the way up to high school. That was totally fascinating to me. On a sign as we disembarked, posted that an LDS branch was in Catalina. I tried to find a building, because, let's be real, that would be sweet. But I don't think they meet in a ward house and I am almost certain that their whole primary would fit into one of the small class rooms at our building. I was just so intrigued. 

We asked were the favorite local spot to eat was and ended up in a little place that had the yummiest food.....homemade tortilla chips...

When we got to Ensenada I assumed it would be similar to Catalina. Nope! That place is a little sketchy. We got on a bus and started a tour but had no clue if we were really going to the places the tour guide said we were heading. He just started talking about his life and what it was like to live there. We ended up at the "Blow hole" to Jeff's great relief. He doesn't blindly follow well. He much prefers plans and direct destinations. I have been to Tijuana, and now Ensenada. They have a similar feel. Little kids with gum and people selling their goods from outdoor strip malls. My all time favorite was the guy who finally yells. "I am selling the same crap as everyone else, I will just give you the best deal on that crap" And so we bought the kids souvenirs from him. Yummy food was also a goal here and we tried the best fish tacos. The lady told Jeff that the sauce was hot. We weren't expecting it to be so hot that Jeff was sweating. I had to go purchase another water bottle for the poor guy.

 Our cabin was tiny... It had a fake window so at least you thought you were in a room with a view.

Escargot-

Ceviche-

The best I felt was when we went to the gym.. Maybe because I felt like I was powering the boat?

I would totally take another cruise!

It was neat to find out that Eden's Photography moved onto the next level in Reflections. Not really sure what that means, other than she got another trophy!!! Way to go little sis!!

This is our amazing friend Ang, who stayed with half of our kids.. Single parenting while we cruised.. Thanks friend. And thanks to the Dumas family for hosting MayLee, and her oxygen and her Nebs treatments, whew you took on a tricky child. We love you dearly.. And a big thanks to my folks and sisters for taking on the busiest baby man, Ashy smashy! You all will never know how much you mean to us and how thankful we are to you! 

Ryleigh and Alex both played in a holiday recital. Ry is doing really great in piano and Alex is also getting to be really impressive in guitar. 

MayLee had her preschool holiday presentation. I just love those little preschoolers and their sweet little presentation. 

Asher is keeping me so busy.. The boy doesn't stop, like EVER!! Unless he is asleep you must be present and watching him constantly.

Have you tried the game Pie Face? The kids think it is super funny. All except May and Asher when they get pied. 

I gave Alex a haircut the other day and was telling him about the top of his head... Three whirls back there. He didn't believe me so I took this picture to show him. 

We had an amazing Christmas....

I took Asher in for his 18month well check to confirm that he is a tall tall baby. He is in the 98th percentile for his height. He is in the 66th percentile for his weight.  He got a quick shot, he didn't even cry for. He was mostly annoyed that someone was holding him down. 

Alex had his huge biopsy and cath. He was excited to see the folks at the hospital. The results came back with nothing but amazing news. Pressures were great, function looked awesome, no rejection and all other tests came back negative for infections and illness. We are so thankful... So thankful. I went into the cath worried. Alex received a priesthood blessing the night before and it calmed me considerably. I am so thankful to Jeff for being in a position to give a blessing to calm not only his son, but me as well. 

New Year was a fun night... Ry invited a couple of friends over, planned the evening and had a great time ringing in the new year. The others fell fast asleep at 11:20 and I didn't have the heart to wake them. So they snuggled and loved each other for the new year.

My MayLee girl, turned four... I can't believe how fast she is growing. She is such a sweet kid. 

I love how different all my kids are and she is so easy to please. After each gift she would exclaim "Just what I needed, so much"....

She is totally funny with her observations of various things and says what comes to mind. Today she was eating Jelly Beans that she got for her birthday and she comes up to me and hands me a about four or five, dark brown to black beans and says "I do not like the black ones, day (they) are poop" hahahaha!! Really; they are coffee, chocolate, or black licorice. She was not a fan.

It's taken nearly six hours to write this little post, due to the fact that I must go and rescue something or someone. Asher has discovered the knife drawer. I am not kidding... he was just running with a big old knife and then swings it at me when I try to save him from the danger. I would take a picture as proof, but there are just some things that you need to act on rather then react. He has no clue that it is extremely dangerous. But he does know that I am constantly watching him. I have chased him away from many many things and I will teach him. *sigh* somehow. Sometimes I need to bring in the DADDY for the DADDY VOICE. For some reason it means more business.