Thirty in 30

So in a few short days (15 days, 360 hours to be exact) my 30th birthday will be upon me. Now, I am kind of torn because I am pretty happy with where my life has gone thus far BUT, there are still lots of things I still need to do and 30 seems like the perfect time to do it.  I am setting out on a quest of sorts. Branching out. Breaking the barrier. I have been thinking about it for quite a few months and have finally decided on a few items of the original 30 that I would like to tackle. Keep in mind, some are easier than others (a continuation or revisiting) while others are going to cause me a slight bit of panic. I just feel that overall, accomplishing any of these things would make my first year in my 30's, one to remember.

1) Read a book a month. In and of itself not so difficult. It isn't hard given the right book.
2) Get some food storage
3) Read the Book of Mormon again.
4) Run another half marathon (hopefully with my sister).
5) Go to the temple at least once a month. So far so good. Our youth go once a month on the first Saturday so that is a great start (one month down)
6) Get a facial.
7) Buy a bicycle.
8) Read the Harry Potter series from start to finish (#1 & 8 killing two birds with one stone)
9) Refinish a piece of furniture
10) Learn to perfectly fold a fitted sheet.
11) Make a cake with fondant- thinking robot for the King's 1st
12) Buy a pair of Toms
13) Clean my carpets (dream big, I know)
14) Start working on my 2nd medallion for YW
15) Take a sewing class.
16) Sew something that either myself or children could wear in public
17) Have  canvases made of my kid's pictures
18) Go ombre
19) Practice my handwriting
20) Buy new pans.
21) Go on vacation (easy one since Disneyland is scheduled for September 2012)
22) Get a tan.
23) Record my daughter at her first dance recital
24) Vote
25) Try one of Ina Garten's roasted chicken recipes
26) Support local sports- thanks Linds for turning me to Gymnastics
27) Snowboard/Ski
28) Learn to french braid
29) Spare the cuticles
30) Gracefully leave my 20's

Any other ideas?

Seven Months and the White Stuff

A little bit of a blog hiatus- really I was just embarrassed that here we are almost February and I was still sporting a Christmas background. But, we are back on track and ready for some updates! Kingston turned 7 months old this week! He has decided that he wants to revert to the sleeping habits of a newborn and wake up every 2 hours which makes for a ROUGH week of work. He is saying "dada" and loves to chatter, chew on anything he finds on the floor and is getting up on his knees trying to crawl. It is going to be any day now that we are no longer safe to leave the baby gate open to the basement. He is knocking out 8 ozs pretty consistently and we still have no signs of teeth. He is still the happy kid that doesn't get too worked up- even if his sister has claimed her toys, as well as his toys, her own.

We finally got some snow on MLK day and Mc has been begging to go out so Mark was a gem and took her. She still (see Christmas post) thinks Santa has yet to visit our house so when it snowed, she kept saying he was "coming tonight". She wasn't out for too long but made tracks in the front and back and loved being outside with daddy. She is really into playing pretend with her ponies ("the fastest ponies in ponyville") and has also started referring to Mark and I by our first names rather than mom and dad. She calls yesterday "nesterday" and last week "nesterweek" and is doing surprisingly well in Sunbeams. She is already ramping up for Disneyland in September and I can't wait to take her! It is going to be a blast.






Eskimo Mckinley



Just what I needed

"If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly."- Pres. Thomas S. Monson

Six months

1/2 a year...sure has gone fast! You are at the funnest age! You love to eat anything you can get your chubby little fingers on. Your newest obsession is anything Mc leaves on the floor (Squinkies included) so we have to scavenge the floor daily for potential choking hazards. You can sit up like a champ, love your baths and have decided that you really don't like sleeping through the night anymore. You are eating solids twice a day- fruits/oatmeal in the morning and veggies at night. Unlike your sister, you have been sick twice this winter. Right now you have a runny nose and just want to be held. You are always on a mission whether it be in your exercauser or trying to get a rogue My Little Pony your sister has left on the ground.  You are such a happy boy and your little toothless smile melts my heart.
At your six month appointment you weighed 18 lbs!

Kingston "helping" with the laundry.

Have yourself a Barfy little Christmas

In my previous post, I mentioned that Christmas 2011, would be one to remember....well, I think I jinxed us. Christmas Eve was great- we visited my Grandparents in the morning, had nap time, the Ellison Family party and then my parents house for jammies. We thought we were doing awesome- cookies out, presents wrapped and in bed by 11:30. At about 1:30 our visions of sugarplums were interrupted by a blood curdling scream from Mc only to find her, her bed and her pillow pet, basted in barf. She wouldn't let Mark turn on the light to give her a bath because it was "too shine" (too bright) so her bath commenced in the dark leaving traces of sick all over the toilet, Mark's face and tub. Note to self, if you put your child to bed with braids in her hair, make sure you take them out....cleaning barf from tightly braided hair is NO FUN! Back in bed by 2:00, more throwing up on the floor (so glad I have hardwood in the kids' rooms). By 3:30- Mark decided he wanted to join in the action! Christmas morning was awesome- Mark had given me my new video camera the night before so I was able to catch Mc ("my stomach hurts") and Mark, barely able to move on the couch. We spent the day loafing around- missing out on Heart Attack casserole and the likes. By 5:00, the King and I had a bit of cabin fever and were able to venture out for dinner @ my mom's. After a lengthy nap from Mc, she woke up feeling better and went downstairs  saying, "Look mom, Santa brought me a doll house"- it was like Christmas morning round two! Sadly, Mc has still been singing, "Santa Claus is coming to town" and doesn't quite understand that she kind of missed it all.

Mark had planned a trip for us to go to Mesquite/Las Vegas Monday morning and we were worried (not being able to be far from a toilet) that we wouldn't be able to go. It seemed as Monday arrived that all was well and we were ready to vaca it up! It was a great trip. The kids were awesome travelers and did really well sleeping at night and spending multiple hours in the car. We got to see Shark Reef @ Mandalay Bay, sample some sodas at the Coke Factory, watch the fountains at the Bellagio, see the free show @ Caesars and enjoy the sights and sounds of Vegas with a double stroller filled with innocent children.  We spent a night in St George. Watched "Arthur Christmas" in a theaters all by ourselves and really just had fun with G and Chris.

2011 finished off on a high note. We went to Amy and Dave's and celebrated with a spirited game of "Would you Rather" (Would you rather- every time you sneeze you change genders OR always be mistaken for the opposite gender?), a delightful sampler tray from Chilis and a 2012 silly string extravaganza at "midnight" (9:00). I crashed early while Mark shared his New Years kiss with his cafe racer. All in all 2011 was stellar- we welcomed a healthy and happy son, mastered potty training, succumbed to the sirens known as Smartphones and found the year full of success, wealth and happiness. 



Mark's self portrait for his toilet seat white elephant.



Sampling soda @ Coke World



King in the hotel with a strategically placed wipe.





We have a sunbeam!!