New York, London, and Paris

Okay so four years later, I'm blogging again. Mainly for the purpose of family and friends who haven't heard about my trip or seen pictures. We took over 800 pictures so I did the very minimum highlights. Josh and I were given the opportunity to go with his sister, Monica, her husband Danny, their two oldest boys, Daniel and Derrik, a couple, Chris and Linda (Danny and Monica's friends) and my incredible traveling father in law, Monty, on a 5 day trip. Our trip started out Monday night at midnight flying from Salt Lake to New York City. Below is all of us at JFK airport at 7am. We had to be back to the airport by 4pm to catch our flight to London.



This was me first stepping out of the subway station onto 42nd Street. Also known as Times Square. It truly was one of the most amazing places I have ever been. I really don't know how anyone looks strait ahead, there is so much above you to look at.


Here is the whole crew in Times Square. We had met up with some missionaries headed to the Manhattan Temple. They told us it was just a few blocks down. 29 blocks later, we saw the temple.


Monica and I were so excited to see the Wicked billboard. One day Mon's we will go see it! One day!

So we lost quite a few of our New York pictures which I am so sad about. We stopped in Central Park and had a hot dog for lunch. (Thanks Danny for this picture). We also got to see Radio City Music Hall, Rockafeller Center, and of course the Avenue which I feel like I should have been born on...5th Avenue. I got to see my top favorite designer stores and was drooling worse than my teething son.


Once back at the airport our flight left at 6pm. We arrived Tuesday morning at 7am in London England. It was nice and rainy for us. Nothing new as it had poured on us in New York. We got some breakfast and headed off to see the sights of London.

I had been wanting to see the red phone booth and was so excited when I found one, until I opened it and it smelled of urine. Well so much for that.

After wandering around, everyone went into the museum at Trafalgar Square while Josh and I sat outside on the steps and fell asleep. Afterwards we hopped on a bus that took us on a tour of London.


Unfortunately below is what happened to most of us once we got on the bus. I think jet lag kicked in. Sadly for me I really don't remember the rest of London. Luckily Josh got some good shots so I was able to see pictures of what I missed.


After the bus breaking down and us having to catch another bus, then getting wrong directions from a few of the Brits we climbed into taxi's and headed to our hotel. I remember my bed and my pillow. :-) The next morning we got up at 4am and headed to the train station to catch the 5am train headed to Paris, France.

Can I just say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE Paris! I had such an amazing time there. We spent two days in Paris. Starting out getting lost in the ghetto of St. Denis which is a (GHETTO) suburb of Paris. Then walked for about an hour to our hotel. We finally got to set our backpacks down! YAY! Then we were off to the heart of Paris. We started out at the Arc De Triomphe.

Next we headed to the Eiffel Tower. We got to climb that big ol' tower. What was it Mon's, 500 flights???? :-) So I found out that the first flight of stairs totaled 38. The second set that we climbed totaled 19. Yeah that's pretty close to 500. :-) It was one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen at the top. Well you can't climb to the very top, but the top meaning as high as they let you go, which is about in the middle of the tower.

The second day of our trip we headed over to the Louvre. I have to admit the first hour that I spent there was I was pretty bored. All Josh wanted to see was the Mona Lisa and the Venus De Milo statue. All I really wanted to see was the Napolean Apartments (which are inside the Louvre). We ended up going a second time that day to the Louvre and I have to say that I became much more fasinated with it. I could go again and really spend a day there. You really can't imagine how much there really is to see.

Us just taking a breather at the Louvre.

My favorite part of the whole Louvre. The Napolean Apartments. Everything has been left the same since Napolean the 3rd (Napolean Bonaparte's nephew) lived here. It truly was an incredible sight.

Below was our boat we took a tour on. It took us up and down the Seine River where we saw everything over and over again, it was nice to relax our feet.

And finally for our most favorite place... Notre Dame. Yep we ended up back here 6 different times. Mainly because we loved watching the Gypsies try to get money from anyone that spoke english, as well as the crepe stand down the street where we stuffed our faces. Yes my husband did walk around with his back hunched calling out "Sanctuary". My nephew Derrik really got into the action by tying his sweatshirt around his head and walking up to each member of our group with a white note asking us if we spoke english. Yeah......we had FUN!

Saturday morning we were up at 5am to head to the airport to catch our flight. We had crossiants for breakfast and they were truly amazing! I ate 3 and still could have had more. Even though it was a short trip it was the coolest trip of my entire life. Thank you Danny, Monica, and Monty for the best trip EVER! I can't wait for our next adventure! "This way Cosmo's, this way!!!!"

Below are some really cool pictures Josh took, so I played with the coloring to make them look professional. Hope you like. :-)


Times Square-New York

Trafalgar Square-London

Eiffel Tower

View from the top of the Eiffel Tower

Louvre

Notre Dame

Spring Break

So I have received a few requests for pictures of my Ian Bear, they are random pictures from out trip. This last week we spent Josh's spring break down in St. George. It was such a nice relaxed vacation. I enjoyed every minute. Momma Hawks and I bonded over a sewing machine where she taught me how to sew a skirt. I am so excited to sew some more, I loved it. We didn't have time to finish it, so I am thinking about going back in April to spend some more time with her sewing machine. Josh and I decided to go to Vegas for a day and stay a night in Circus Circus. I was in cheesy game heaven there, I wanted to play everything. I loved winning all the stuffed animals for Ian (which between Josh and I were a ton). Josh and I had a blast, it felt like being a kid again. The best part was going to Fremont Street for my Deep Fried Twinkies. Yes that is my new obsession. Who knew you could clog an artery with one bite. Well if I die from eating one, it was worth it. ;-) We had so much fun and really appreciate Momma Hawks coming with us to watch Ian so we could play. Thanks Momma Hawks for everything, we had such a great time visiting with you and just relaxing. I can't wait to come again and spend more time with everyone. While I was down there I turned Momma Hawks kitchen into a salon. My sister in law Monica came over with her 6 kids, and I did all of their hair except for 2 of my nephews. We talked about getting before and after pictures, but we forgot. Oh well. Another time I suppose. It was so nice to get to do so much hair, I loved it! We also went to the fiesta fun park in St. George and had a great time playing mini-golf with the kids. Okay well Monica, Bryce and I all talked as we walked to each hole the kids played. I got to visit with family, go to lunch with old friends, and just relax. It was a fabulous spring break. Next my travels take me back to Washington at the end of this month. I can't wait to see my family and friends up there.

Fiesta Fun Park


Vegas! I love the Night Life, I love to Boogey! Oh and the M&M factory too!

Me and Ian Bear in Grandma's backyard

Ian and his cousin Macey
Our little pot-bellied stallion (Josh's nickname)
Family portrait at the Fiesta Fun Park
My favorite picture of Ian, it just makes me laugh
Ian sitting in the high chair at Grandmas. He's getting to be so big.

Photoshoot

So this last week I was able to fly up to Spokane to see my family (shout out to Monica...thanks again, it meant a lot to me). It was definitely an interesting week. My sisters basement flooded from all the rain melting the 5 feet of snow they had. Thanks to the property management company that runs my sisters townhouse we were able to enjoy a sleepless night at a local hotel, thanks Gabe ;-) I do have to say the highlight of my trip was watching my sister run across the street with perm rods in her hair to get the maintainence man as the downstairs began to flood. Okay well that wasn't the main highlight, but it sure makes for an awesome memory. Love ya kell!

While I was up there my Aunt Lori, did a photo shoot with my sister and I and our kids. It was such a blast, she is such an amazing photographer. These were my favorite shots. I have some favorites that she took of my sisters kids too, but I thought I would let her post them first if she wants to. I have always always wanted a photo of me and my sister and now I have such an awesome one. Thanks Jell for being one of my best friends. I love you sis!

Holiday Spirits

It's been hard recently and I haven't wanted to get on a blog much. I know I so should be in the holiday spirits and it has been hard to get into. Josh had been pushing me to get a Christmas tree, so I finally gave in and we got one. It's my first Christmas tree that I can say is mine (well and Josh's too). It's more in the fact of I got to pick it out, and I got to decorate it how I wanted, in my whole life, I've never done that. When I was a kid and my mom was alive I would mimic her so I could decorate the tree exactly how she did it the next year. I wanted my tree to be something she would be proud of. Simple and elegant. Now I don't have that much, cuz we are poor, but I feel like I did it. Decorating the tree with my mom is one of the good memories I have.
Josh's family all collects Department 56 Christmas Villages. So I thought it would be good for me to set that up. It took me two hours. I'm leaving that village up til February. There are so many pieces, I had forgotten the effort it takes to put up, strangely I DO remember the effort it takes to take it down (I'll need a prayer for that one ;-) )

Josh is so great, he reminds me everyday how Christmas is his favorite time of year. So along with the tree and the village, I thought that if I listened to Christmas music everyday it would help. It has perked me up a little. I would get frustrated that because we don't have much money this year, I can't buy presents for everyone that I want to, I can't afford to send out cute Christmas cards Then I thought about Christmas shopping and Christmas cards, and I got negative about it. Why do we put ourselves through the craziness of shopping long and hard to find a present, just to have to possibly find a box for it, then nicely wrap that box, just so it can be torn open in 2.3 seconds? Then I thought WHY do we torture ourselves with Christmas cards? Finding the right cards, the torture of getting the family picture, addressing 3 million envelopes, stamping all of them, just so people can look at it and throw the card away.
Thats when I remembered last year and the excitement of my husband when I surprised him with tickets to his favorite music band. Then I thought of my little Ian and next year and the year after that, the excitement I will get to see on his face when he rips open his presents. That thought made it worth it to me.
I thought about how much I love seeing the cute pictures friends send seeing their kids grow, and imaging everyone in the picture going crazy right up until the photographer says, "smile", and then you have this great picture. I love reading what friends have been up to through the year. So what the heck is my problem?
I haven't incorporated my Savior into my Christmas this year. I have been so utterly focused on all my families issues and wondering how things are going to work out, that I have not once thought about Him. I haven't stopped to think what can I do to serve him and others. I have forgotten that I don't have to buy presents in order to "do something nice for someone". Now I know we should be thinking about this always and not just during the Christmas season, but it is kinda pushed on us more this time of year. So I'm going to stop dwelling on the fact that I can't just go out and buy stuff (because that is the easy route), but find other alternatives to helping others, always.

Whenever Josh has seen me a little down, he always tells me, "I don't care about presents or what we do this year for Christmas, all that matters is that I have you and Ian." I still don't know how I got so lucky to have married such a good man. So today I had my brother be our photographer (because once again we are poor, I know... who isn't these days, right?) and took our little family picture. So I could be reminded that it's my little family that matters, and most important putting my Savior first.

Twilight

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

You are observant, diplomatic and often aim to please. You are unaware of your attractiveness and despite being uncomfortable with any form of attention, people enjoy your company. You can be impatient, stubborn and headstrong, but you are true to your word and mature for your age, often taking care of your family and enjoying a good book over chatting with girlfriends on the phone.

Who would have thunk it?! Me Bella...I can't wait to see this movie. Monica and April...I'm on countdown!

2 week check up

I know I really should be napping right now because I am so exhausted, but when your mind is going a million miles an hour and you really can't leave at the moment to go do the errands you need to, and you really don't want to clean your house, or do your laundry that has piled up for days.....you sit at the computer and blog.
Yesterday was Ian's two week checkup.
I was a little nervous that his weight wouldn't be back up as he has been throwing up a lot lately. Luckily he has gained his birth weight back along with a few more ounces. His weight was in the 23 percentile. His length was in the 33rd, and his little (yes little) head was in the 27th. According to the doctor, she said that was all perfect and he was right on where he needed to be. I was happy with that. The highlight of the doctors visit was Ian rolling over on the table. I had laid Ian flat on his back and he rolled over onto his side and then onto his tummy. The doctor about flipped out. She kept saying over and over, "you aren't supposed to do that yet". She kept stressing to me that I needed to really watch him now if he is doing that...gee ya think?! Thanks for the warning doc....I'm so in trouble all ready. I really can't complain though, I have been so blessed. Ian is such a great little baby. He really only screams when he has to have his diaper changed or when we give him a bath. Otherwise he is as chill as his daddy (thank the heavens for that one). I just pray that since he looks like me, he will take on his daddy's personality. I am soooooo in trouble if he has just an ounce of my personality. It will be interesting though to watch and see what my mother taught him in heaven. I know she taught him things to do to irritate me. I'm waiting, and scared to death for my payback. ;-)

I love St. George

So there are probably quite a few mothers out there who will read this and think I am psycho, but that's okay, cuz it was worth it. This last weekend I was getting cabin fever very badly, and made the suggestion to Josh we go visit his family down in St. George. Josh had a three day weekend so he was thrilled with the idea. So we packed up our week old baby, and headed 6 hours south to sunny (70 degree weathered) St. George. Ian did so awesome, we stopped once to feed and change him, and he slept the rest of the drive. We got there pretty late friday night as the idea hadn't occured to me until 4pm. The next morning at 6am, Josh and I were up to go yard sale-ing with Josh's dad, and sister Monica. I'd never been on the "hunt" before, so this was an all new experience. We had a great time going all over St. George trying to find a "new find". I got a brand new ice cream maker, just in time for winter ;-) . By about 11am the back of Monica's mini-van was filled with all kinds of great things we found. One of my favorite things about St. George is the magnificent burger joint...In-n-Out. So with Monica and her hubby Danny, and the parents in law, we hit up In-n-Out. I seriously think I could eat there everyday. It always reminds me of growing up in California and eating there as a kid.

Later we went to visit Josh's grandma and got a generation picture. Cute Auntie Monica with Ian
Ian wore himself out hangin around with cousin Dylan. ;-)

That night, Josh, Monica, Danny and I all took a little trip over to Mesquite, NV for some good ol' buffet-ing (yeah it's my new word). It was awesome catching up with Monica and Danny, as we don't see them very often.

Thank you to Mama and Papa Hawks for watching all the kids for us, you are heaven sent!!!!!
Sunday was a great day of napping and football.

Mama Hawks made a fabulous Sunday dinner, and we had a short family home evening.
We had such a blast just hanging out with everyone. Monday we had to get back, we made one last stop to In-n-Out and were on our way home. Ian once again did awesome and we just stopped once for a feeding. I feel so lucky to have such a good little one (I know, I know...for the time being). I got teary leaving knowing I had to one come back to cloudy Ogden, and two leaving the family. I had such a great time with them, I'm gonna start looking at housing down there.

P.S. Alisha if you read this I'm sorry I didn't come see you. Next time I will hopefully know ahead of time and we can get together.