3 weeks

I know that we are in need of an update, so here we are. The computer had a virus which put a halt on any post for a while but now that it is gone, I write again.

A lot has happened in the 3 weeks since we have been back but it feels like nothing has happened as well. We have been enjoying our family time together with the warm weather. We have been taking the kids to the park, swimming and kite flying just to name a few. Our old Bishop and his family from Utah came down to Disneyland and we were able to meet up with them and their 3 kids for a fun day. Isaac had so much fun being there with kids his age and us adults had fun talking with one another and watching the kids have such a great time.

We also took another Disneyland trip when our friends from SF called us to tell us they were coming that night to go to DL the next day. We were so happy they called. Neither one of them had been there before so we had a great time showing them around.

Jim got an internship with Pioneer Industries doing a marketing/consulting job. It is perfect because he is paired with another Pepperdine MBA intern and since they both live in Malibu, they can work from there on the project that was assigned with only going into the office once a week! We, as a family, were thrilled about that. Right now Jim is actually in Ohio doing some training for Pioneer Industries but will be back in a few days.

Isaac is still enjoying pre-school and I know that he will be crushed when he realizes he only has 4 days left. He loves learning and playing with his friends. I know that he will miss it so Jim and I signed him up for Vacation Bible School at the end of this month.

Well, that is about it in our house besides a few head colds and the stomach flu.

On the Road Again...

We took a 2 week road trip and traveled what seemed like the world. Ok, not really. We went from Malibu to St.George (only stayed in St. George 5 hours), then to Provo, Provo to Reno, Reno to San Lorenzo, San Lorenzo to Cedar Ridge and Cedar Ridge back to Malibu. For anyone who has traveled with two small children and no portable DVD player, then you know what I am talking about. We listened to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire most of the time we were in the car unless I protested and then we got to listen to the Disneyland Fireworks show over and over. He calls it "Wishes."

In St. George we had a nice visit with Jim's Uncle John and his family. We went to Andrew's, Jim's little cousin, 2 baseball games and Isaac had a great time riding his bike with all the other kids around and watching Andrew play. It was nice being back in Utah and having TONS of kids EVERYWHERE we looked for Isaac to play with.

After arriving at 2:30am in Provo to the Slinker Family's home we were eager to get some much needed rest. It was great to be back with that family. They were like our pseudo-family while we were living in Provo for 5 years. The main reason for our visit was Becky's bridal shower. Becky had a wonderful shower and Jim and Isaac had a FANTASTIC time playing games with the boys. We visited with some of our other friends and went to some of our favorite places like Tucano's, the BYU Creamery, Cracker Barrel and BYU bowling ally. Isaac was able to play with kids old friends from the neighborhood and the Slinker kids. I think he was in heaven. One of his friends, Traven, was particularity fun to play with because he had a wresting mat in his house. His dad, Chad, knows Jim from high school and is the wresting coach for a UT high school. The boys had a great time wresting one another. We were really sad when our days were up in Utah.

On our way to Reno we hit a snow storm. We were glad that we left when we did because we caught the end of the storm. Isaac loved seeing all the snow falling and it covering everywhere we drove. We stayed st Circus Circus in Reno and much to Isaac's delight, there were fun games everywhere. He had a great time playing all games by the casino.

In the Bay Area, Vanessa had a bridal shower to go to of one of her old friends. It was a great shower and she enjoyed it very much. Jim and Vanessa also meet with people from PriceWaterhouseCoopers in SF for a lunch meeting. We went to Boulevard and it was delicious lunch that went very well. We also had time to visit with Jim's family a bunch and some of our friends.

Our last stop was in Cedar Ridge at Vanessa's parent's cabin. The kids loved being outside and seeing all the birds, squirrels and deer. Isaac made a bird feeder with a pine cone, PB and bird seed. Elizabeth loved eating marshmallows when we were all making s'mores and Isaac just had fun eating s'mores. We went to Columbia for the day and Isaac had fun mining for gold, drinking a sarsaparilla in the saloon and candle dipping. We had a great visit.

We were happy to be on the road to head home again and Isaac and Elizabeth were thrilled to be eating cheese puffs. That was their "treat" for the road. I t was fun to look back in the rear view mirror and see Isaac holding out a cheese puff and the seeing Elizabeth hold our her tiny hand and grab it. If we or Isaac wasn't quick enough at giving her a new cheese puff, she would start yelling her gibberish at us until she got one.

We had a fantastic trip but we are happy to be home and sleep in our own bed.

Divine comedy

BYU's Divine Comedy has some really funny spoofs that make fun of the LDS culture and here are some of my favorites. I have no idea why they are only half screen

Isaac's New Bike

aI just had to throw these pictures in of Elizabeth since I think she is too dang cute even if she does have puffs on her face. She is getting so big. She is crawling all over the place and pulling herself up on things and walking that way. She is also waving which I think is cute. She is growing up so fast and now since she has found freedom in mobility, she doesn't sleep worth a dang. She is too busy standing and moving all over her crib.

Isaac got a new bike today and it was a good thing too because he was going to ride his tricycle into the ground! He was happy to pick one out in the store but was so scared and apprehensive to try it out in the store. Well, once we got home it was a different story. I think he adjusted just fine. He even figured out how to make his own skid marks. That kid is crazy! Elizabeth had a great time watching Isaac and I know that she can't wait to have a bike of her own and ride with Isaac

Barney's Beanery

Ever since I saw Barney's Beanery featured on the travel channel, I have wanted to go to Barney's and have a bowl of their famous chili. Well, check that off of my "30 things to do before I turn 30" list. The original Barney's is in Hollywood, but we opted for one that was closer and visited the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. The place was filled with Christmas lights, old hubcaps, bumper stickers from fellow diners and old celebrity pictures and ads. The menu reads like a newspaper, literally, and has every unhealthy thing imaginable on it along with the different types of chili offered and how you would like to take it. i would have to say that it is pretty good. I got the standard meat chili, no beans. Jim liked it so much that he ordered an extra bowl of it after he ate his dinner. Elizabeth even enjoyed it. She ate half a bowl!! The kids not only liked the food, but the environment as well. There was always something to watch on the many tv screens and the eye is always wandering with all the hustle and bustle around. I would eat there again and recommend it to anyone who would like to go.

Afterward, we ate gelato for dessert and watched all the street performers. There was some real talent there that night and Isaac couldn't get enough of it. It was a great family night.

Celebrity Sighting

My friend Serene and I decided to go out for some frozen Yogurt at Malibu Frozen yogurt and I turn around and notice Jeremy Piven standing right by us. He currently stars in Entourage but has been in several movies and tv shows. This is just another update for those of you whom asked me to keep you updated.

Santa Barbara

WE decided to venture up the coast and have a little day trip to Santa Barbara yesterday. The weather was wonderful and the drive was great too. We went to Mission Santa Barbara first which was fun. AS a kid, my grandparents took me to a couple of missions plus in 4th grade as part of the state history curriculum in CA, you have to learn about missions, so I was excited to share the history with Isaac. Neither Jim nor I had ever visited this particular mission before so it was fun. Isaac really liked the sacred garden and the skull and crossbones that were above the doorway of the church. He said that pirates go there. Isaac was very confused with all the crosses with Jesus dripping blood on them and the statues of the saints. I tried to explain as best as I could but a 3 year old can only take in and understand so much.

After the mission we were all hungry so we ate at Woodstock pizza right next to the University of California Santa Barbara.It was fun to be back on campus since the last time I was there it was many years ago for college cheer camp. We all ate pizza and drank soda including Elizabeth. It was actually the highlight of my day., There is something to be said about going to a pizzeria with your family, drinking cold soda, eating pizza and having a great time with one another that is priceless. To me, simple family outings like that is what being a family is all about.

After the yummy pizza we walked across the street for a scoop of ice cream before we went to the main event. Elizabeth LOVED the rainbow sherbet. She couldn't get enough!

WE then headed back to campus for the national rugby tournament to watch the BYU/Delaware match. It was the sole reason we went to Santa Barbara. One of the best things about BYU is the fact that they can travel anywhere in the country and they will still have fans show up! As we sat in the bleachers wearing our BYU garb, Isaac had a great time cheering on the Cougars and playing with his rugby ball. BYU was victorious and spanked Delaware 33 to 13. They play again today and we are sad that we are going to miss it.

All in all, we had a great family day and if you can believe it, it was a family day not in Disneyland.

1 down

On Wednesday Jim took his last final of the semester. Whoo Hoo!!! Now Jim doesn't have anymore classes until August. He is still looking for an internship for the summer; a task which is becoming harder than originally thought. Nonetheless, he is done and has some down time before starting an internship.

On Thursday night as part of the Business School's end of the year bash, we went to a party thrown by them on a 4 story mega yacht in the Marina del Rey. Jim celebrated by knocking one year of business school out of the ball park and I got to cross my first thing off my "30 things to do before I turn 30 list" by going on a yacht. Besides the hemlines of dresses getting shorter as the night went on, the over gyrating hips and the dry humping on the dance floor, all done by his fellow MBA peers, the night was great. We went to El Torito for dinner on the water and then boarded the boat for a few hours of dancing, eating and socializing. I think that we were the part often handful of people that only consumed water and didn't get a taxi home but everyone had a fabulous time and it was nice for us to get out with out the kids and actually socialize with people that Jim gets to see every day in school. We did get asked one question frequently and that was, "Where is Isaac." It was almost always then followed by "You should have brought him." As nice as it was to hear that people really liked being around him, I am sure that I am going to bring my 3 year old on a yacht until 1:30am to watch all of the drunken debauchery going on. He would have loved it but I can always take him on a Bay cruise when he gets older.

Almost 25 lbs

Before


Once January hit, I was completely disgusted by how I looked. I gained back almost 25 of the 35 pounds I lost before I was pregnant with Elizabeth. I was very hard on myself and was embarrassed to go anywhere because I felt like the only thing that people saw when they looked at me was a super fat girl. Well, I decided to take action once again. I started up some nutrition reading and signed up for exercise classes on campus. After counting calories and doing some exercising, I lost 15 pounds relatively quickly. When I came back from my trip to the Bay Area in March, Jim surprised me with a Body Bugg. It has been the greatest gift he has ever got me. Since using it I have lost even more weight and I am now only 2 pounds away from losing 25 pounds since January, 1. 5 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight and 4.5 pounds from my wedding weight. I am super excited with my progress and hope to lose another 40-45 pounds by mid august. Here are some before and present pictures thus far.



Present

Pre-Easter

Today at the park right across the street, Bluffs, the city of Malibu put on an Easter Hoppening. I took the kids and they had a great time despite the picture of the 3 of us. Isaac was able to go on an egg hunt which was more like an egg gather with his buddy Jacob and they were able to pet a rabbit, turtle and a giant snake. They also saw the Easter bunny, danced at the bunny hip hop station and had a great time on the inflatable bounce house. They weather was gorgeous and it made for a wonderful break in our afternoon.











On Friday night we dyed Easter eggs. This is really the first year that we did them because Isaac just wasn't old enough in years past. He had a great time "painting" the eggs in the different colors but had a hard time understanding that the "water" would stain anything. Meanwhile, Elizabeth was trying to help me and put the clothes away and by that I mean take all the clothes that I just folded out of the laundry basket and on to the floor. Oh well. Isaac had a great time decorating eggs and he thinks they taste better too.