Cameron turns 1!!!

While my family was visiting for Christmas, we had a small birthday party for Cameron at Chuck E Cheese.  Cameron turned one and I am so happy that he is in our family.  I have learned that they grow so fast that I just cherish having a baby.  Even though he has been my most difficult baby, I wouldn't change anything about it.  Cameron brings so much joy, innocence, and love to our family.  He generally gets along with his brothers and I can tell that Jet and Dash both love him a lot.  They love to laugh at the silly things he does or when he throws food or does naughty things that he gets away with because he is still a baby.
Here are some unique characteristics about Cameron

 He is a very tall guy for his age and about average weight.
He is a picky eater (one day he likes bananas and the next he doesn't)
He can say the words: mine, momma, dadda, banana, bye, hi, ball, and cheese
He is so cute when he gets mad, but sometimes he can be a big grump
Walks everywhere and loves to follow his brothers
Loves playing outside.
Takes one nap a day
Loves animals and our dog Cody ( sometimes he does a cute bark like a dog)
Loves to climb onto the kitchen table (very annoying)
Doesn't go to bed until like 10:30 at night (also very annoying)
He has two dimples, lady killer looks
He is very blonde, a towhead as he has been called
Loves to play peek a boo and can do it himself

I love Cameron so much and I know he will learn a lot from his brothers and Dad and be a great man someday.

before 1st haircut

After 1st haircut

Christmas!

This past Christtmas we stayed in Utah and my family came to us.  I am not sure when the last time my parents or siblings had a white Christmas, but Utah didn't disappoint.  It was freezing here in Utah and we took advantage of the snow by going tubing among other activities.  One of my favorite activities we did was the polar express train out on the Heber historic railway.  My brother Aaron and brother Freddy and his fiance couldn't make it and we missed them.  Christmas is always a challenge for me when it comes to giving presents to my kids.  My kids already have so many toys, but I love to see them happy when they get a new toy.  Kids have zero expectations and I see Christmas as an opportunity to show them it is better to give than to receive and also to avoid making Christmas about what they get Christmas morning.  They truly are clean slates and so I can determine what Christmas is and show them the true meaning.  Here are some pictures of our Christmas adventures.

Visiting with Santa on Polar Express

Making Christmas Cookies

Ready to see lights on temple square.

Cameron ready to go tubing

My brother Ted ready to race down the hill

Jet Exreme Tubing in Park City

 So this past year a new event opened up at the Olympic Park in Park City called extreme tubing. You basically tube down the long steep landing hills of the ski jumps.  They had a small hill for the kids and a large hill for the adults. My sister and her husband were able to go down the big hill but right before my dad and were about to go up on the lift a lady had not been able to stop and flew over the snow banks that were at the bottom of the hill to stop people and was injured.  They shut down the extreme tubing because it was so dangerous.  It actually was a relief to me, I did not want what happened to that lady to happen to me.  Instead my Dad and I went down the zipline, which was fun, but definitely not as dangerous.  It was so freezing and we waited so long, I think we were both more excited to get inside and warm up.

My Dad and me at the top of the zipline.

Even though it was a little stressful hosting my family and unfortunately the drama that goes on with being with my family kept us all from being together for a few days, I was glad to be in Utah for Christmas and that we were able to share the beauty of Utah and the unique winter activities it has to offer.

Jet and Dash Birthday party!

Well so far my parents have been to every birthday party my kids have had, and this year was no exception.  This year we had their birthday party at the Wairhouse trampoline park.  Throwing a birthday party or any event where I am the host is kinda stressful to me, but it usually works out fine.  This time around a lot of our guests were late to the party and I was worried they wouldn't get much jumping time because of it, but luckily the staff at the Wairhouse let the kids jump a bout a half hour longer because I was late coming with the pizzas which is another mess of stress of a story I will spare you.  Anyway, things turned out fine in the end.  I think one of the best surprises of the weekend was my Uncle Vince being able to come down and visit.  My kids loved him, probably too much. He was a good sport letting them sit on his lap and playing with them.  My parents had a good time too. I love seeing them love on my kids, and I love sharing my kids with them too. 

Party time with Grandma

the after party

My Uncle Vince and Dash

So for the boys birthday gift we got them a trampoline, and they love jumping on it. Its a great way to get out their energy.  I already want a bigger one though so our whole family can be on it. 

 Jet asks "Why is Cody not jumping?"

Grandma and Grandpa Hurst Visit!

October was a busy month for our family. On top of all the birthdays we celebrated, we had visits from Grandma and Grandpa Hurst, Grandma and Grandpa Richard, my Uncle Vince, and from my sister Julie and her husband Rob. It sure made for an action packed month
The first day of October was Jet's birthday. Annette and Virgil came that afternoon so it was great to have them there for his birthday.  I took cupcakes to his school and we had a small party with the grandparents and a couple presents at home that evening.

That weekend was also General Conference. Annette and I attended Saturday afternoon together and James and I went Saturday morning. It was awesome being in the conference center and I definitely heard some great talks given by the church leaders that spoke to my heart. It was also nice that James could go together and spend some time as a couple. 

We loved having Grandma and Grandpa Hurst stay with us,and we are so grateful for their sacrifice, (driving 14 hours) to be with us. I love seeing James spend time with his Dad, it gives me better understanding of who is is and Virgil is a great man. 

California and our first family vacation!

For a while now I have wanted to take a trip with my family and go somewhere fun for vacation. I had southern California in mind because it is not too far a drive and it has beaches and lots of things to do.  With moving in to the new house, I put the idea away because we had just invested a good chunk of money into our home, not really leaving much to go vacation with.  James, however, after 23 times interviewing with BYU, landed a job with a significant raise which made taking a trip more possible.  So proud of him BTW, we are so excited for his new job and we will be forever BLUE, go COUGS!!!
Anyway, so between his old and new job he had a week off where we could actually go on a vacation.  My mom while she was here visiting back in June, mentioned she was going to visit her sister in Riverside California, and I thought to myself, I should go visit too because I never had.  For years, I have felt like I should go visit and get to know my Aunt Karen, but the opportunity never really came up.  So the stars aligned and my Aunt said we could stay with her and James had the week off and yippeee, we were on our way to California.  I thought Las Vegas might be fun to explore so the first two nights we stayed at Sam's Town in Las Vegas.  The morning after we arrived we visited the Hoover Dam and the Mike O'Callaghan- Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge.  We had seen the bridge partially built back in 2009 and it was awesome to see it finished. So freaky though to be so high up and look over down in to the Canyon, my gosh I was kinda freaking out especially with the little kids, I could barely handle walking across the bridge, but it was amazing. Very hot day there too, but worth the trip. 

My Family at the Bridge

  That evening we decided to visit the Las Vegas strip, which after visiting I don't is the best place for a family, there isn't much to do except look at things, but it was fun, kind tiring pushing kids around, but at least we can say we went. 

Harley Davidson Cafe

Bellagio Dancing Waters

 On our way to California we were so excited to get to my Aunt's house, but the last 30 miles I think took us like 2 hours, there was construction through a mountain pass and slowed us down and drove us all crazy. We were so excited to finally reach my Aunt's House.  She welcomed us with open arms and the best hospitality.  She had an RV that was set up on her driveway where we all stayed. It was perfect for us, James and I shared a bed with Cam and Jet and Dash had a bed. The kids loved staying in the RV.  My Aunt Karen was so nice and loving to my family, we couldn't have had a better time. 

Me sleeping with Cam in the RV

Boys in the RV

 Our first whole day in California we decided to hit up the beach.  I have to say it was so awesome to be at the beach, I had been dreaming about it for a while.  If I hadn't gotten such a bad sunburn that day we would have gone back again later in the week.   The boys loved playing in the sand and waves.  Dash was more of a land kid than out in the water. I think the waves scared him a little.  They were pretty good sized. We were at Huntington Beach that day and it was gorgeous! 

 On Wednesday we attempted to be on the Price is Right.  I remember watching that show growing up and dreaming of being on it.  Because our trip was kinda last minute I was only able to get stand by tickets, but on the ticket it said if we were there early enough we should get in.  Well not only did we not get in but a whole crowd of people didn't either.  Next time for sure though, because they gave me guaranteed tickets for another time.  I even made a shirt with the name of one of the games on the show and mixed it with the 7 years that James and I were celebrating of marriage that Sat.  Since we had time that day we explored Hollywood, went to the Griffith Observatory and drove down Hollywood Boulevard.  It was a fun day even though we didn't get on the show. It was still cool to see where it was filmed. 

Sad because we couldnt get on the show :(

L.A. Skyline from Griffith Observatory

 Our third whole day in California, we visited Disneyland.  My Aunt treated us and she made our dreams come true! None of us had visited Disneyland and it was magical.  To me it was way more than an amusement park.  The rides created experiences and tried to take you to another place. We loved it!

We extended our trip by another day and we hung out with Karen and Mike and swam in her beautiful pool and just relaxed before heading back home.  It was a perfect trip and we can't wait to go again!

My Aunt Karen and my family!

Uncle Mike and Cameron, they were good buds!

sleeping in the hotel room in St. George!