Happy Holidays

So our Thanksgiving was great. Nothing burned, the turkey massaging I did worked great (it was juicy and delicious...not dry). All the food was perfect. Jessie made some creative center pieces after I failed and ran out of time. Vickie did great on the rolls. Our Martha Stewart/Snoop Dogg mashed potatoes were so good that they are what I'm making every year now (it was a MS recipe that she made on her show with Snoop Dogg and he loved them...so they had to be good, right?). Carson loved the yams (well, the marsh mellows) and the stuffing. You can see my beautiful bird in the background (it was sitting before we carved it).

Karl and I (or maybe I should just say I) got Guitar Hero World Tour. Carson loves the drum set. He used to try to play the guitars with us but when we pull the drum set out, no other instrument matters. Here's a pic of the cute little rocker.

Karl and I had my work Christmas party Saturday night. It was fun. Karl and I don't go out on dates much so it was nice to get all dressed up and go out together. The food was really good and I even got a dance out of Karl.

Carson has picked up some new words and he is working on so many I've lost count. He now says "cracker" and "pepper". You may think "pepper, do you pepper his food a lot?" The answer is no, it's the name of the dog where he goes during the day. He usually whispers pepper though, maybe he's still unsure of himself. He also will say "more". He is also trying really hard to say "thank you". It usually comes out as dane do...but we know what he's going for.

Carson legally went to nursery on Sunday, without Karl. We've been taking him to nursery for months but Karl always has to stay because Carson wasn't old enough. He is now legal and we are all as happy as can be. He's definitely not a cry for my mom kind of kid. He just sees the open door and leaps out of my arms, takes off running, and doesn't look back once. Karl got to go to priesthood for the first time in a long time so I know he appreciated this new development. Other than that, the kid always has teeth coming in and he's as crazy as ever.

We are getting ready for the Christmas season and I'm getting excited. Hope you all have a great Christmas...I probably won't get to blog again before then.

Hmmm...who cares about titles

I'm getting a little nervous for Thanksgiving. This is my first year hosting...dun dun dun. There is just so much hype put on the turkey that I can't help but try to cover all my bases to make sure my turkey is good. I spent 30 min massaging salt into the dead bird this morning (to start my brining), every time I open the fridge I give it a positive little pep talk ("You're doing so good in that little brine...keep up the good work")...perhaps I should play it classical music. If it turns out crappy....not my fault. It was just a bad bird. (I'll have to apologize to it for that one tomorrow). I am also really excited for Thanksgiving though. The meal plan looks delicious and yes, I'm shaking it up a bit. No one in attendance is a big fan of pumpkin pie...so I'm cutting it. Also, I've traded apple crisp for apple pie at the majority vote of my guests. Why not eat what we want, right? There were a few other creative directions I wanted to explore but got vetoed...and apparently I'm the only one that loves green bean casserole (that one will never be cut). I'm sure I'll have pictures later of the beautiful event.

I saw Twilight today. I know I may lose friends over this but 1) I'm kind of over the books and 2) I hate ruining my beautiful imagination pictures with what some director feels I should think. So I didn't want to see it. But I did, because I had to...that I knew. There were a few scenes I LOVED and I thought my imagination had underachieved by so much. But there were parts I hated. Cedric Diggory (as he will forever be known to me) grew on me as Edward. Although I got tired of his crazy eyes. I thought Bella was pretty good. The depth wasn't there though and I think someone who hadn't read the books would be lost or at least missing so much. I felt like the director/producers didn't have enough time to make the movie or they just called it good enough because they knew no matter what all the fans would go see it. I say - go see it, but don't expect your life to be changed. Will I see the sequel? I really can't say...but yes. (Office quote again for those of you always confused at my random quotes) - here's the video for enlightenment.



Carson is working on a few new things. His two new words are shoes (sues) and snack (nack with a really really soft k sound at the end). I don't know when kids start to count but it's one of his favorite games right now. He'll line up his toys and say a gibberish sounds as he points to each one. He then celebrates by throwing them all on the ground. Here's a video of him counting and doing a few animal sounds. I only asked him four animals and then I couldn't think of anymore animals. But he's got 7 or 8 now. Kitty is my favorite. You can't quite hear it in the video but he does it all soft, like he's really trying to sound like a cat. Enjoy...

Give me some candy you will

So Halloween was a blast. Carson was Yoda (hence the blog title). Karl saw the costume and really wanted it for Carson. So then I found a Darth Vader candy bucket thingy and a cheap light saber (gotta love Walmart). We added the scarf belt because even after I tacked his sleeves, the holes were too big and he kept taking his arms out.

We planned on taking Carson Trick or Treating, but deep down inside I thought it would be 5 minutes of us chasing him around and stopping him from eating rocks and then we'd give up and go home. AMAZINGLY...it went really well. He was a little nervous about the whole situation at first, but with a lot of coaxing and his older cousin Kenzie to watch, he started to love it. He realized that if he put out his hand they would give him candy. Then he would slowly and carefully put the candy in his bucket. We ended up being out there for an hour! He would do a little happy dance after he got the candy. By the end, his bucket was so heavy that he couldn't carry it anymore. Here is our little Yoda showing off his light saber skills.

And him carrying his little Darth Vader bucket...

Last house - he was pooped and needed a little break. This is in the middle of some one's driveway...

This is the after Halloween candy pic - one Three Musketeers

Here's a video of him demonstrating his new found favorite activity. You can see his smile as he walks away.

Halloween in AZ is definitely different than in Washington. First of all, it's not freezing. I can remember it snowing as we were Trick or Treating. The problem every year was "how do I work a winter coat into my costume?" In AZ...I was sweating...at 7:00 pm (crazy). I can also remember people yelling at you to get off their lawns...no one yells at you to get off their rocks.

I really think Halloween is fun and it always makes me reminisce. My mom would make, or help us make, our costumes every year. There was only one year in my entire childhood where my mom let me "buy" a costume. Some might think this was sad as a kid...but we loved it! Halloween became this creative project. We'd pick what we wanted to be and then brainstorm how to put the parts together. I think my sister Jackie was most creative - for example: one year she was grapes. Purple sweat pants and sweat shirt, then we blew up 50 purple balloons and attached them to her all over. Anyway, we bought Carson's costume this year. I felt like I was cheating. It was pretty hard for me to do. But maybe when he's older and Halloween means a little bit more I'll start the creative Halloween projects.

In regular life - we aren't up to much. We are redecorating our house. We painted all last weekend. We started Sat at 8:30 pm and just kept going thinking we could finish. At 4:30 am we decided to go to bed and finish the next day. Day time is always slower though cause Carson is running around and him plus wet paint doesn't equal a fun time. So we worked here and there during the day and then went strong once he went to bed. At 9 pm Sunday, we had finished! But our house was a disaster. So we saved the clean up for Monday. I finally ordered curtains for our downstairs...yes we've lived here 2 1/2 years and never had curtains. We might be put together soon. I'll post a before and after pic once it's all put together.

We're only mostly dead

Miracle Max gave me a chocolate covered pill...and I'm back and ready to storm the castle. A lot of things have gone down in the last month; I'm not even sure I'll remember everything.

Karl had a birthday...shout hooray! He turned 30! We had entertained the idea of a big party, but he just wanted to relax. So we went out to dinner with his parents and had a little celebration. Here is us at dinner.

So as some of you may have read on Karl's sisters' blogs, their Papa (grandfather) passed away September 11th. Karl, Carson, and I were all able to go over to Charleston, SC for the funeral. It was a really quick trip but we were all so glad we went. The funeral was really nice and it was good to see Nanny (Karl's grandma). She got to see Carson again although he wasn't a tiny baby like last time. This time he and his cousin Kenzie were running all over her house trying to destroy. It was nice to be with Karl's family too. We got to spend one day at the beach and the water was still really warm. Here are a few pics of the kids at the beach. It was low tide so there some little pools and rivers for them to play in. Carson also helped himself to every one's lime-ades. Apparently he thought they were all for him and also very delicious.

I took the 4th and final section of the CPA exam on Monday. I didn't feel as prepared as I did for the other ones, but hopefully I still passed. If not, then I'll still have one more section and I'll have to take it in January or February. I got back my score for the audit section and got a 93!! That's at least exciting. I've also been working for 3 weeks now. Carson seems to have adjusted really well. I've adjusted too. I'll be honest, the first week was EMOTIONAL! I was a crying wreck everyday when I'd get home and would wallow in my guilt every night. I've calmed down about most of my fears though and I really feel like everything is going to be fine.

Carson has learned the meaning of time out. We started them a few weeks ago and they have worked wonders. We only do it for 1 minute, but he knows the words "time out" now. We'll tell him no a few times and then if he keeps doing it I ask if he needs a time out. He usually just freezes the minute we say the word. And then of course there are the times where he completely ignores me and then we have to follow through. But I was amazed at how in 2 or 3 weeks that word had so much meaning to him. His new favorite thing is to do something he knows he's not supposed to do (like hit) and then look at me and say "NO!" really seriously. It's like he's trying to beat me to the punch or something. It's actually pretty funny and it's hard not to laugh. He has yes (ya) and no down. He says them all day long. He may not understand what I'm asking him, but he understands the tone of voice for a question and will reply yes or no just depending on how he is feeling. But if you bring out a fruit snack, he starts saying ya over and over and shaking his head yes as frantically as he can.

Karl's birthday money + trading in our Play Station 2 and Game Cube + 20 games + 6 controllers + probably some other things = A brand new Xbox 360!! Karl is like a little kid at Christmas. I'm happy too because the first game we bought was Guitar Hero. I have to say I'm pretty much an amazing rock star. At 8 pm, the fog machines turn on, I strap on my leather pants (or sweats), pick up my guitar, and transform into the artist that I am. And, in true rock star fashion, I save the dishes or laundry for another day. I might as well live the life style...now that I've found my true calling.

I can't think of anything else cool that has happened so I may supplement this later. Here is a video to say goodbye, or perhaps I should say goodnight.

Lame Post

Okay - So I don't have the time to do this post justice, but I thought I should say something. I've started my new job!! It's definately fun and exciting. What?? Accounting...exciting? Well, I like it and it's excitingly new. It's an adjustment from spending all day with a 1 year old to spending all day with adults. Instead of "Is that a ball?" and "Do you want some cheese?" I get to ask "Where are the K-1's?" and "Can you help me with this Foreign Tax Credit?" Everyone is really nice though and I haven't been eating lunch by myself. I take that as a good sign. Carson seems to be adjusting well too. I miss him way more than he misses me. He's only 1, but I'm pretty sure he'd be happy to move out and start supporting himself...if he could get paid to point and say "whoa."

I'm crazy busy right now though. I work all day, get home an hour later, spend 2 hours playing with Carson (I plan dinner and then Karl is sweet and makes it), Carson goes to bed and I spend 3 hours studying for the next CPA test which is on the 13th. Then I get up at 5:30 and start it all over. I think I'll be a lot more on top of things once this test is out of the way - one more week! I'm actually really needing to study right now but Jessie (sister) reminded me of my lack of recent blogging.

This is all I have time for right now - but I've got a funny video coming and some pics. Look for it sometime after the 13th, once I'm sain again.

Few Updates

So Karl had his surgery on Friday. He woke up really wired and I think it scared the nurse. The adrenaline (or the steriods they gave...I'm not sure what they do) wore off a few hours later and he felt a little more worn out. The doctor said it went well. His cuts are healing up nice. There is a little bruising around most of them but I think they should look good really soon. Karl is just so happy to have some of the real big ones out. They annoyed him all the time.

I got back the results to two of my CPA tests, tax and business concepts. I passed both (96 and 91). YAY!!! Now I still have to hear about the audit section and I'm still studying for the financial section (not yay).

I'm going to be phoneless for 2 more weeks. We can renew our plan in exactly 2 weeks from yesterday and I don't want to pay $100 for a phone when in 2 weeks I can get a more expensive one free. So I know I'm totally lame and every one out there that would call me (not that many people) is annoyed with the inconvenience. I say...blame Carson. Or we could perhaps blame my father for not saying I would lose it more dictatorially (just kidding Dad). So email and I do confiscate Karl's phone on some days when I need to make calls. When we renew our plan we'll probably get a home line too so that should be good.

Small note - to those of you out there with private blogs - I want an invitation. Let me know if you don't have my email. I'm not sure how to get it to you without posting it on here...but we'll figure it out.

The Rest of My Trip

More fun Spokane events:

We meet my dad at his office one day (he got to show Carson off a little bit) and then we all went to Manito Park. We had planned to feed the ducks - as is the tradition - but the parks in Spokane all just posted signs disallowing the feeding of birds. So that idea was out, although we toyed with the idea of Carson building his criminal record. So we looked at the ducks, Carson tried to go swimming, and he also found the only spot of mud in the area. So then we went over to the gardens (another part of the same park). We enjoyed looking at the huge rose gardens while Carson just ran around. It is always a pretty park though and I was glad to go back. Here is a pic of Carson trying to join the ducks and then two to show the pretty rose gardens.

My friend Sarah (pictured at the lake cabin) works at a children's science museum called Mobius. So one afternoon Sarah, Jessie, Carson, and I all went down to the museum. The place was awesome. If only I had been 10 because I would have been in heaven. Carson loved it and just ran around crazy. They had a stage with costumes and instruments, water feature tables where you could direct the current, a little mini city with little child size cars to drive around the streets, and a billion other things that are way too many to list. Sarah helped Carson with the water tables (which were his favorite). There were also really cool bugs there. The stick bugs look so much like sticks it's crazy.

One afternoon we decided to rent a bike trailer for Carson and go out to the Centennial trail for a bike ride. The centennial trail follows the Spokane River and goes all the way to Idaho. I thought Carson would love it...but like so many other things, I thought wrong. He just sat back there crying. So after a while of biking I stopped and took off his helmet (gasp). This seemed to help for a while but then he decided he still hated it and started crying again. So we turned around and biked back to Riverfront Park to go to Pig Out in The Park. (I know a lot of names there).

First, Riverfront Park...it was the site of Expo '74 (and yes...people in Spokane still talk about it). It is really green and pretty, the Spokane River runs right through it, and there are lots of cool things to do there (the giant wagon, the garbage eating goat statue, Imax, ice skating, etc.) All those from Spokane are nodding right now saying "yes, I love that garbage eating goat." It's a statue of a goat and if you put garbage up to its mouth...for example a napkin, it just sucks it right up. Talk about entertaining a kid for hours and the kid is picking up all the garbage with out even realizing it. One of the park's events if called "Pig Out in the Park." They hold it every Labor Day weekend. Tons of food vendors set up stations, there are live musical performers, and then other random vendors (like at a fair). Pic of the huge wagon (which kids climb up into and then slide down the handle. The other pic is the Spokane River with the back of 1/5 of the food vendors. Back to the story -

So we biked to the park and then all got food. It was delicious and I was disappointed I didn't have two stomachs so I could try more options. Especially since they had elephant ears and funnel cakes...how could I choose? Once we all finished we started to bike back to the bike shop to return the trailer. I was hearing this weird grinding sound but decided to ignore it. It didn't go away though so then I finally got off my bike to check it out. Oh...hooray! I had a completely flat back tire. So we all walked our bikes back to the shop. We returned the trailer and fixed the tire. Not that this caused the flat, but the store owner informed me that the bike frame was much to small for my height. I informed him that was because it was my bike from when I turned 12. Somewhere in the ride with Carson crying and my flat, I handed Carson my phone to calm him for a little longer. As I did it my dad said "oh, honey, don't you just think he'll throw it out?" I replied, "nah, it should be fine." Well...now I don't have a phone and I'm pretty sure it's somewhere along the Centennial Trail.

I got to be in Spokane for my dad's birthday and my aunt Jenny's birthday so that was really nice. It was a really nice trip and I was so glad to be there. Thanks again Mom and Dad! Here is just Carson in our backyard. He ate a zucchini straight from the garden (gross). He also loved the swing my dad made.

Real Quick

I'll update about the rest of my Spokane trip soon - but I thought I should post a note in case people are trying to reach me. I lost my phone in Spokane (details to come later). If you read this...now you know. I'll try to get a phone soon but it might not happen for a few weeks. Anyway, email if you need anything. I usually check once or twice a day. Or you can call Karl but I don't really want to post his number on here. Sorry about the inconvenience. Kasey

Spokane!

So we've been having a blast in Spokane. Two of my three sisters are here at the same time so that has been fun. We spent a few days hanging out here, a few days up at the lake cabin, a night at Courtney Spear's wedding, and now we are hanging out again.

A girl trip up to the lake is a yearly tradition (we all don't make it every year but the years we do are awesome). We make large batches of spicy and regular commantors (chex mix and muddy buddies). Courtney changed their names years ago and we've all called them that since. We invite friends, play some ultimate charades, stay up way too late, and just have fun. This year the weather didn't cooperate but we still had fun. We all got a lot of reading done - and reading in a cabin next to the lake is almost as nice as reading out in the sun on a lake. Carson kept us on our toes - baby proofing the cabin wasn't too bad. My friend Sarah and Jessie were trying to sun tan but the sun thought different. You can see they are both wrapped up in towels.

Carson didn't seem to mind the cold water but once he started shaking we called it good and gave him a hot shower. Every morning during breakfast his lips would turn blue. I think the cold air plus the cold milk for breakfast might have done it. We made sure to warm him up afterwards.

Courtney's wedding was beautiful! She looked gorgeous as always and she and Josh seemed so happy. Jessie did a great job as a bridesmaid. It was so nice that I was able to be in town at the same time as her wedding so I could go. I'm glad I was there to see her. (For those who don't know - Courtney is my little sister's best friend. They've known each other since 2nd grade or so and they were always together. Courtney became another sister to us and we all love her so much).

Carson ran through the sprinklers for the first time today. Our backyard in AZ is non existent so we never even go out there. He loved it although the water was cold! The air on the other hand was perfect at 80 degrees!!

We've got more fun activities planned so I'll update later.

3 down, Reschedule, Churro

So I took the audit section of the exam yesterday. I feel pretty good about it. I have 3 down now and only one more to go. I'll take that one in Oct since the test isn't offered in Sept. I get really worked up on my drive to the testing center. There is just soooo much information running through my head but I know it's too late to study because I can't retain any more. So I do a little old school Backstreet Boys therapy. I'm pretty sure no one can resist to sing along to "The Call" or "Shape of My Heart". And let's not forget the classic "I Want it That Way". The songs usually make no sense but I have to sing and dance and all of the sudden I'm not worried about my test, I'm relaxed and in a much better mood to concentrate when I get there.

Karl's surgery got rescheduled. He is a little bummed because he was all ready to have it done - but I am so relieved. I was really stressing about leaving the day after. They called to reschedule and I forced Karl to wait till I get back. So everyone can still check on him (I'm sure he'll be lonely), but at least now he won't be dying.

Carson and I went to lunch today. He had his first Churro. He grabbed the whole thing and took a big bite. I thought he was going to love it with all the cinnamon and sugar, but he spat it out after a few seconds. He does like the cinnamon and sugar though. I was laughing in the restaurant pretty hard because he was seriously licking his hands (from bottom of the palm to tips of the fingers). He would have been happy to just lick the churro but apparently he doesn't like the texture or something. A little odd seeing as he'll eat basically anything. Anyway - it was pretty funny to see his tongue flattened against his hands. I wish I had had a camera.

Gas prices have gone down a little which is nice but it's also made me crazy. I find myself saying "$3.67!!! That's so great!!!" - which we all know is a crazy statement. $3.67 is still ridiculous compared to just a little while ago. Oh the way our mind sets can change.

Next time I blog I will be in the much cooler city of Spokane. Hooray!

New look

For those of you who visit regularly - the blog has gotten some work done. I'm trying it out. It seems a little much. But I have to leave it up for at least a while because I spent 2 hours putting that heading together. Anyway - just thought I'd say enjoy the new look and it may change soon as I change my mind often.

Wisdom teeth and more

Well - more of the same (study, work, parent) but I thought I'd blog since I know my dad depends on his blogging updates.

Karl got his wisdom teeth out last week. He did pretty well until the medication he was on made him sick. He had a horrible headache and was throwing up before we figured out the problem. So we had some other left over pain pills (I know - awful). But he took those and immediately felt better. So he called and got a prescription for that. But now, a week later, he's still having dull throbbing and is also having trouble sleeping. He went in for a check up but the doctor said everything looks fine. The doctor did mention that the new medication he was on can energize people so he gave him a new new prescription. Hopefully this one takes the pain away, doesn't keep him up at night, and doesn't make him sick. Karl is especially worried because he is going in for another surgery a week from tomorrow and can't be on any medication the 5 days before. He is having his fatty tumors removed. This is a common term in Karl's family's household but I think most people go "huh?" Karl just has these lumps that are deposits of fat that build up in certain areas. It's his body's inability to break down fat. Anyway - they really annoy him and he is getting 5 of his 18 removed next week. I leave to go out of town the next day so everyone feel free to check up on him.

Carson is just cute as ever but not much new. We've finally broken him of a bottle before bed. He still does milk from a sippy cup before bed - but he really took comfort in the bottle. We used to get his blanket and hold him and he'd drink his bottle. He associated that whole process with the bottle and would not take a sippy when we first tried. So we just changed the process. Now he gets ready for bed we put his blanket in the family room (he loves the fuzzy blankets) and we put his sippy on the coffee table. He grabs it and wanders around as he downs it. He'll usually stop a few times to lay on his blanket and get cozy. Then it's off to bed. It was so nice to bag up all his bottles and put them in the garage. It opened up a whole shelf.

Here are some videos - they aren't amazing but I gotta give my parents something.

He also insists on eating with a fork now. Well, at least holding a fork. He doesn't always use it - but he won't eat without one.


Here's a video of him dancing. It's only at the beginning and I wish I could have gotten more but I wasn't fast enough. He has three basic moves. 1) The squat which is demonstrated below. 2) The twist which is a swinging twist of his upper body. 3) Happy Feet - which is a crazed stomping of the feet really fast. I'll get all three on here soon.



He's also climbing like crazy - on top of chairs, the coffee table, the sub woofer, the couch, etc. Our coffee table used to protect all of the electronics but now that he climbs right in it - it's probably doing more harm than good. We're going to have to figure out a new system. We also rearranged the room so that the sub woofer was hidden. He realized he could climb up on it and then get into the recliner. He was very proud of himself. We wouldn't mind but he also thinks he can jump right off things and I'm scared to death of him jumping off the chair. Here he is climbing on the sub and then he jumped over to the chair. You can see his delight.

Here he is in the coffee table (it's also his downstairs toy chest)

For those of you who don't know - I'm going to visit home next week. I'm really excited. It will be a nice get away before I start working. I'm also so happy to get out of the heat. I feel like I imprison Carson all day because if we go out he gets so red with in 5 minutes. I know he will love playing outside everyday. Sometimes he just stares out the windows or back door and I know he's longing to be outside.

That's all for now!

I'm 25!

So Monday was my b-day. It was a pretty normal day (study, hang with Carson). That night we went to Karl's parents' place and had cake and ice cream (together actually...ice cream cake). It was mint chocolate chip, very good, very delicious (office quote for those of you paying attention). Other than that we have been B to the oring around here.

We got our family pictures in the mail. She did post most of the really good ones. She gave us every picture but only photoshoped the real good ones. It's amazing what a finish that software program puts on the pictures. I've been hearing votes of everyones' favs and I agree. I like the foot one, me kissing Carson, and I love the blue background one (although Carson is pulling a face). It was sooo hard to get him to sit still.

Carson has a few developments but they're not consistent yet. In Hawaii he learned to say Hey or Hi (although he doesn't do it as much now). He knows daddy. The other day he was reaching for his bubble jar and kept saying Bubbo (he's been trying this word for a while now). Twice he's picked up his ball and said ball (baby version with no strong L). And yesterday we were reading a book on body parts and when we got to eyes he pointed to his own eyes. It's been fun to hear and see all these things but it's not really consistent. To get him to say Bubbo for Karl took days. Sometimes it's clear as a bell and sometimes not.

I'm taking the tax/law section of the CPA exam on Monday the 28th. It is probably going to be the death of me. This whole week I've spent 2 hrs studying during Carson's nap and then 4 more once he goes to bed at 8. So I'm up till midnight studying every night and then I have to get up and do it again. I'll be glad to get this one over with. Then I plan to do Audit around mid-August. I'll take the financial section in October (the test isn't offered in Sept).

Karl's just been working hard and watching Carson, and making dinners, and cleaning the house. He has really pulled through for me. I'm so grateful he's willing to do so much so I can get this test over with.

I still haven't touched a camera, so sorry - no pics. I have to get back in the swing of things and carry it around with me every where like I did before.

Just A Few Things

Hey all -

So there hasn't been much going on. I usually like to post with pics but I haven't even touched a camera since Hawaii.

Primary ended up not being a nightmare. The 1st counselor felt bad for me so she didn't go out of town!! The CPA test went well, I think. I felt pretty good about it and wasn't nearly as nervous taking it as I was that morning. It takes a while to find out how you did though so we'll see. Other than that we've just been relaxing and studying.

We spent the weekend at Karl's parents with most of the family. Kim and HL are moving to Utah so it was a last get together kind of thing. We hung out and played games. It was fun and nice to see Kim and HL before they go - we'll all miss them.

Saturday Karl and I went and had family pics taken. We went to the Mesa Performing Arts Center. It was pretty cool. The photographer (Denee Ray) is mailing me the photos tomorrow but she has already posted them on her blog. I added a link on my "friends and family blogs" to the left. You can go see some on her blog. I'm really happy with them. When we were taking them there were of course ones where I was like "oh...I don't like my chin in the pic" or "my eyes are squinting" etc, etc, etc. But there are definitely a lot of cute ones too. We picked a good day too. It was overcast so it wasn't crazy hot, just 90. We also did them early and I was really glad. As we were finishing up Karl and I were really starting to sweat. I just found her online, liked her pics and her price, and called her. I had a feeling she was LDS though. When we got there she asked how we met and we said at BYU. Then she said she had a feeling we were LDS too. It's just funny that sometimes you can tell.

That's about all, I'll post some fam pics on here too when I get them.

Hawaii!!!

We just got back from Hawaii today! We had a ton of fun. It is definitely a little different to travel with a 1 yr old (i.e. a lot of work), but still worth it. My mom was great enough to watch the kids a bunch of times so we could go do non-baby activities.

So...what did we do? The fun started on Sunday (we went to church), and then we headed up to the north shore (working our way back down). We went to a few beaches and went snorkeling. We did a little hike that leads to lava rocks that the waves wash over forming a pool (called Queensbath). It was fun and there were a bunch of fish in the pool.

Monday morning we did the coolest hike to the bottom of a waterfall. I've seen the waterfall from the top every time we go to Kauai - but I'd never been to the bottom. Jackie had done it before and showed us the way. It was so powerful and loud! We tried to swim as close as we could but the waves coming away from it were so strong we couldn't even come close. The water was cold but felt good after the hike. The first pic is at the top, the second you can see our tiny heads at the bottom left.

Monday we also went scuba diving. We did one easy dive (to get everybody accustomed). Then we did a second dive, Sheraton Caverns. Karl and I had done this dive when we went in '06 and loved it so we were excited. We learned on the first dive that we all go through air differently. We all went down and Karl was down the first to peel off - way before anyone else. Then Jessie peeled off. Then Dad and Vickie had to head back up. Jackie and I were about even and got to stay down awhile longer. We all got to see lots of huge sea turtles, eels, fish, and a bunch of things the guide would point at and do hand signals to explain what it was but I had no clue what the hand signals meant...I just appreciated the under water experience.

Tuesday we decided to take it easy and I honestly can't remember what we did. Maybe an update later.

Wednesday stunk since I came down with a cold and was running a fever all morning. Mom had volunteered to stay home and watch babies and she ended up taking care of me too (Thanks Mom). Everyone else went Kayaking up a river, then hiked to a waterfall. Karl and I did this trek last time so I wasn't completely heart broken, but it would have been fun. It sounded like they all had a good time. (Pics posted online).

Thursday we went to a local beach and relaxed some more. Pool time too. Here are some pics of Carson playing in the sand. We had a real hard time keeping it out of his mouth. You can see Grandpa's hand taking the shovel away.

Friday we drove up to a lookout and then started a hike that was supposed to go to another lookout (I think...I was just along for the hike). The trail got really muddy and I kept waiting for it to get better but a mile in it was just getting worse. We decided to turn around and call it a hike. The lookout was amazing though.

We went boogie boarding that afternoon. Everyone took a turn, including Dad. Dad also gave us all pointers on how to do it better. I never realized that when my dad lived in Hawaii as a young adult, he and his brother got pretty good at boogie boarding/body surfing.

Saturday we checked out but had the whole day to kill. We did some shopping and then hit my favorite beach (Kealia, in case you are traveling to Kauai in summertime). The waves are pretty big and the beach has this unique thing where there are waves moving away from the shore as well. So the waves going out and the ones coming in will hit and pop you up in the air a bit. We also boogie boarded. You'll ride the wave and then all the sudden pop up into the air. Then we headed up north again (the fancy side of the island). We were doing a little shopping and eating shave ice when we ran into Rob Lowe! I stared at him a long time trying to decide if it was him or not before I realized that I was rudely staring at him forever. But when he took off his sunglasses it was for sure him. It added a little excitement to our last day.

Other generals - Carson loved having Cordell around. They played together pretty nicely. There were a few fights over toys but really not that bad. Carson did try to give him hugs though. But Carson's hugs end up as tackles to the ground. Cordell held his own though and didn't let Carson be a bully. It was great to hang out as a family and relax.

We got home and within a half hour I got a call from the bishopric asking me to be the 2nd counselor in the primary presidency. They normally don't do it over the phone but they really needed to call me this Sunday because next Sunday the president and the 1st counselor are out of town...so I'm in charge. Hmmm...I don't even know how primary goes, so this will be interesting. I also sit for the first section of the CPA a week from Monday! Welcome home - back to the real world. But I'm excited about my calling, I love primary. I know I'll be nervous for awhile though.

I'll post all our pics with in the next few days. It's nice to be back home!

Happy 1st Birthday!

So Carson had his first birthday yesterday. We invited some friends and family over and had a little party. I made Carson a cake (my first ever). It ended looking pretty good, not perfect but I was pretty proud of myself. It looked like a snake. It was two bundts cut in half and pieced together, a fruit by the foot for a tongue, and peanut M&Ms for eyes. I was going to do the decorating (as seen in picture) over the entire body, but I decided I shouldn't undertake something like that on my first cake. So I made the snake a diamondback. I felt it appropriate being in Arizona. Carson got some cool new toys, books, movie, and clothes. He got lots of little trucks, a basketball hoop (so he doesn't have to use a baby swing), a Bee Movie, and lots of other fun stuff.

Karl and I waited to give him chocolate till his birthday so we thought he would just go crazy for it. At first he didn't even want it. He kept trying to throw it on the ground, but once Karl got some in his mouth he realized it wasn't too bad. He ate some and naturally got messy but what he really loved was the ice cream. He had a big handful and was sucking on it and then would smile.

He was a little bit cranky all night though. He's got teeth coming in and had a slight fever the whole day (off and on). The ice cream probably felt good on his gums. So he wasn't the happiest, but it was still fun.

He had a doctor's appointment this morning. He weighs 24 lbs 8 oz and is 32 1/2 inches tall. He's 75 percentile for weight and over 95 percentile for height. He's one tall boy. He got three shots and was not happy (obviously). The doctor said his gums are really swollen and it can take awhile for these next ones to come in. So that's fun.

Next time I post it will be about Hawaii!! Aloha!