The B's

September Sessions

2010-09-30T15:52:00.000-07:00

In September I painted Cali's toes for the first time, Curren started Kindergarten, Maile started preschool, JB and I went to a Donavon concert and the girls got really messy eating spaghetti!

First Day of School
Curren and Chase
Ran into a telephone pole!
Maile loving painting at school.
Donovan and I after the concert.
Messy girls!

August

2010-08-30T15:05:00.000-07:00

In August I turned 30! I went out with my best friends to the movies.

Later that month we went and had a lovely picnic at the park with Grandma and Grandpa Hennings In Oceanside. We finished the month with a road trip to Thanksgiving Point in Utah where gogo13 played a music festival/fundraiser with bands like Third eye Blind, Dashboard Confesional, Neon Trees and 311.

At Metro Point at the Movies. We saw band slam.

Oceanside park.

Johnny can jump pretty high for a white guy!

Met Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional. Loved this band.

Loved this book too. It kept me busy on the 20 hour car ride home! There was major traffic and a suicide attempt off a bridge so the freeway was shut down. GOGO13 played a show on the freeway.

US Open

2010-08-08T15:42:00.000-07:00

We took the kids down to the US open one day. We saw tons of pros. The weather was beautiful and the waves were good.

Nathan Curran and Curren.

Brett Simpson (he won the entire event) and the family.
Kelly Slater.
Curren and Kalohe Andino.

Camping The Central Coast

2010-08-07T15:34:00.000-07:00

In the beginning of August we went with Dave, Stephanie, and Phoebe on a surfing and camping adventure. We also got to stay at the Ritz Carlton. It was the best.

Photo Shoot

2010-07-28T23:49:00.000-07:00

On Monday, Daddy did a photo shoot for a clothing company, and they used CJ as one of the kid models. CJ did great. He was so comfortable in front of the camera. Daddy even let him shoot some shots of the other models. Like father like son.

Here is another shot from the shoot. Everyone was so fun to work with.

Analog Photo Show

2010-06-22T16:04:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow night (Wednesday) I will be one of the featured artist at the Analog Photo Show at the Shorebreak Hotel in Huntington Beach, CA. I'm humbled to be associated with the other photographers that are part of the show.

Its open to the public and its free, so come on down and say hi. The show is June 23, 2010 from 6pm - 9pm. Check out the flyer.

Shorebreak Hotel
500 Pacific Coast Hwy
Huntington Beach, CA 92648

Preschool Graduation

2010-06-21T14:45:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that this little guy is graduating preschool and next year he will be going into kindergarten! Here he is with his little friend Joey and his teacher Ms. Grady. He loved her.

He got up and ran when his teacher called his name. He will do anything for a laugh.
They sang a couple of songs.
He looked so cute in his little cap.

Here he is with his little buddies at the jog-a-thon earlier that month.

Last Day of School!

2010-06-17T16:09:00.000-07:00

The night CJ got out of school the kids wanted to have a camp out in their room. They were so cute in their sleeping bags.

GOGO13 is playing the Van's Warped Tour!

2010-06-16T12:10:00.000-07:00

Our band GOGO13 who has been featured on the hit children's TV show Yo Gabba Gabba! is playing this years Van's Warped Tour. Click on the banner to purchase tickets.

Tour Dates:
Jun 25 Carson, CA
Jun 26 Mountain View, CA
Aug 10 San Diego, CA

2010-06-12T14:29:00.000-07:00

This weekend we did a babysitting swap with the Lucas'. It was so great and the kids had so much fun playing together.

These girls had so much fun playing dress up!
The kids ate a yummy spaghetti dinner outside on the patio. They thought they were so cool sitting at the table with no big people.

Trophy Ceremony

2010-06-09T14:25:00.000-07:00

CJ's T-ball season finished and they had a little pizza party to celebrate. He was so proud of his new trophy.

Little one loved the cupcake she just dove right into dad's!

Spring Music Concert

2010-06-03T10:12:00.000-07:00

CJ's class did a singing concert for all the parents. C was so cute and did such a great job. Some of the songs included: She'll Be Coming around the Mountain, 50 Nifty United States, and the Perry Panther song.

First Summer Trip to The River

2010-06-02T14:08:00.000-07:00

We definitely have another water baby on our hands. She did not want to get out.

We had fun with the Moody cousins.
Laying out on the floatie.
She thought she was such a big girl.
Hanging out by the dock.
Future surfer girl.
Hanging at the island.
Miss B the model.
Falling asleep on the wave runner ride.

Camping

2010-05-30T13:29:00.000-07:00

We took the big kids camping north of Malibu this weekend. They had such a blast and were so well behaved. They loved making smores and cooking hot dogs over the fire.
Sleeping in the Euro Van was quite comfy.
Dad cooking eggs.
After breakfast we took the kids for a little hike.

The trail was beautiful and had a great ocean view.

CJ caught a lizard. The lizard escaped without his tail. CJ was carrying it around the rest of the day.

We played at the beach all day.
CJ went surfing with dad.
It was a successful camping trip for sure.

Thank Heaven For Little Girls

2010-05-27T10:07:00.000-07:00

Anna came to play and CJ went to Chases. The girls had so much fun playing dress up. They are so adorable and play so well together.

Trip to the Magical Kingdom

2010-05-25T17:10:00.000-07:00

We did a quick family trip to Disneyland and California Adventure last week before JB's pass expired. We had so much fun. We did everything with the kids.

It was so cute little C just started walking over to Tinker Bell by herself.
The girls.
M loves talking to the princesses. She is usually shy to everyone else, but it seems like she just knows them.

M dressed up like a princess so CJ wanted to dress up like a race car driver.

Going on the crazy car roller coaster at California Adventure.

The Carousal is always a favorite. I can't believe these are all of my kids.
Here's a funny clip of CJ on a little car roller coaster at the California park.

Silly Girl

2010-05-19T11:26:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that my sweet mellow baby is turning into a crazy toddler already! She loves to growl, climb on things, and color on her brothers homework!

How did she go from this sweet thing...

To this wild thing! It's amazing what a few months will do.

She found CJ's homework and pencil on the little table in his room and scribbled all over it. I did not even know that she knew how to color!

Her latest fetish: pacifiers?

This girl all of a sudden LOVES pacifiers. She wanted nothing to do with them as a little baby. M shoved one in her mouth the other day and she has not let it go since. She is getting a bunch of teeth in right now so I think it helps sooth. I will admit that I kind of like it. I call it her plug.

Here's a little video clip of her playing with it during lunch.

Skate Park

2010-05-16T23:02:00.001-07:00

We had a fun Friday afternoon at the Volcom Skate Park. CJ rolled into the bowl for his first time and did not even fall. JB was not there to see it (he was meeting me there after work). I could not believe my eyes. No one told him to do it. He just walked over and went for it. I think he was trying to impress the big boys. After he dropped in he could not climb out, I began to worry because I was not sure how I was going to help him. Then all of a sudden I see a little 9-year-old boy pulling CJ out using his skateboard. It was very cute and I was relieved.

I think she is going to take after her brother. She was so content to just stand on Daddy's board and watch all the skaters.

Here's a little clip of CJ rolling in and doing a fakey rock.

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-10T12:07:00.001-07:00

I had a wonderful Mother's Day. It was a very beautiful, relaxing day hanging with the fam. Later in the afternoon we went to JB's parents and had a little BBQ. The hubby cooked.

I love being a mommy. I have such amazing examples of mothers all around me. I am fortunate to have both of my grandmothers, my helpful mother-in-law and of course my awesome mom. I am so thankful for all of their positive influences in my life.

JB got me this cute little table so we can eat outside. I love it!

Hair

2010-05-08T18:47:00.000-07:00

CJ had a rockn' mohawk in the bath tonight.

M had bangs cut this morning. I'm not sure how I feel about them. They make her look like a different kid.

Caught Red Handed!

2010-05-04T18:41:00.000-07:00

The kids were being very quiet this morning. I wonder why?! CJ at least attempted to clean his spot with a napkin. M was caught red handed!

The only time they are quiet and getting along is when they are getting into mischief!

First Talk

2010-05-04T16:56:00.000-07:00

My little sunbeam gave her first talk ever on Sunday. She whispered the whole time. It was pretty cute.

Take Me Out to The Ball Game

2010-05-02T22:15:00.000-07:00

1,2,3, BRUINS!
Ready position.

Batter up!

CJ with Alexis.

Little sis loved walking around with her big brother's hat. Here she is doing the hat sign.
We went over to Mimi's and Poppy's house after the game for pizza. The kids fell asleep there. I think CJ fell off his bed onto the bed where M was sleeping. They were so cute.

80's Prom

2010-05-02T21:54:00.000-07:00

Since we are 5 years apart we never went to prom together, but Friday night we finally got the chance. We went to an 80's prom and had so much fun!

Got to love the big hair, bright lipstick and the big sleeves. I made the sleeves myself.
Girls just want to have fun.
Deron, JB, Dave and John.

All Boy

2010-04-29T14:50:00.000-07:00

I love our little skater/surfer boy. He is such a BOY, and balances out the girls in our family.

Our Style of Camping with Little kids

2010-04-27T17:08:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we went down to Bolsa Chica for a little "camp out." Then we got to come home, shower, and sleep in our own beds. It was awesome. The kiddos loved it too.

M's latest obsession

2010-04-27T16:55:00.000-07:00

(make sure you turn off the playlist)

Chelsea's Light

2010-04-25T11:03:00.000-07:00

JB edited this video for the Chelsea King memorial and to get the message out there.

M loved hanging with Phoebe.

Carrie Speed and her band.

JB plays drums for speed the band. They had a gig down in San Diego. They played for the Chelsea King rally. They are trying to change the law to "one and your done." We want to get child predators off the streets. We don't want to lose anymore Chelsea Kings.

We Love Grandpa Joe

2010-04-24T23:16:00.000-07:00

We went down to visit Grandpa Joe. He was a little sick and had to stay in a nursing home for a while. So we wanted to go say hi. He has always been the nicest Grandpa. I remember him taking my little brother and I on the carousal. We would spin around and around on this tea-cup-type thing on the carousal and I think we made him sick. He was always such a good sport about it though.

Mormon Message

2010-04-20T23:21:00.000-07:00

Notice anyone familiar in this message?

Easter Egg Hunt at School

2010-04-20T22:32:00.001-07:00

CJ's class had an easter egg hunt at school a couple weeks ago. Someone shared the pictures online so I decided to post one. I was not there, but I'm so glad someone took cute pictures of my boy.

Click here to view these pictures larger

Best Beach Day All Year!

2010-04-09T17:07:00.000-07:00

We came home a little bit early from the river so we could have a little bit of a vacation in our neck of the woods (and so we could get some sleep at night!). We were lucky because the weather was hot and the waves were going off. We each got to surf some fun waves. Tons of our friends showed up to play. There must have been at least 15 moms from our church with little kids hanging on the beach with us. This day could not have been any better. We walked down to the beach and stayed for 6 solid hours!

Waxing up his surfboard. He was so excited to try his short board. Baby sis was helping too.
Little surfer boy. He got pounded in the shore break, and loved every minute of it. Later, he and JB went out on the longboard and caught some real waves on the outside.

The little girls were loving all the lady bugs on the beach.

The boys were digging holes and burrying eachother. Here's CJ with Saxon and the cute Bradshaw boys.

River for Spring Break

2010-04-09T16:38:00.000-07:00

We headed out to the river for spring break. The family had so much fun shooting bb guns, snorkeling, swimming, sunbathing, golfing, skimming, and surfing with daddy behind the wave runner. One day we even had a photo shoot with the girls.

CJ's snorkeling. He kept coming up out of the water saying "I can breath under water!"

Golfing.
Sunbathing.

The photoshoot (by mommy. Daddy was off with big brother shooting bb guns).

The girls looked so cute in thier matching swim suits.
Our little one year old! She is growing up so fast.

Easter Day

2010-04-04T15:57:00.000-07:00

Easter is so much fun with kids!

Look what the Easter Bunny brought!

Movies, cotton candy, animal crackers, jelly beans, bunnies, barbie dolls, bats and balls.
Their baskets.
We even had an easter egg hunt with our neighbor Savi.

Easter Festivities

2010-04-03T15:28:00.000-07:00

This week has been full of easter time activities. On Tuesday we dyed easter eggs and watched Peter Cotton Tail with Parker and his daughters. Then we were so lucky to be invited over to the Lucas' home and have an easter egg hunt, then on Saturday we went to the city's easter activity. The kids now have enough candy to last them until Halloween!

"Look at all my eggs!"

The little girls. M was not quite as aggressive in the egg hunt.

M collecting some treats at the city's activity.
The girls. They look more and more alike every day.
C monster probably got more candy than anyone that day.
It was such a gorgeous day at the park.
Hanging with the fireman.
He was saying, "I don't know how to hold a baby!"
Little sunshine loved playing on the fire truck.
M in the ambulence.
On our walk to the car we were watching some guys drive their remote control cars. They were super fast and loud. CJ was in heaven. RC cars are probably one of his most favorite things.

Meal Time with Baby

2010-03-31T15:05:00.000-07:00

Our Sweet little baby girl will NOT sit in her high chair, so unless I am sitting right there with her I let her stand at the kid's table and eat. She loves it too.

Her new favorite meal is spaghetti. She is really good at sucking in the noodles. Below is a little video clip of it.

Easter Eggs!

2010-03-28T11:25:00.000-07:00

The kids loved dying Easter eggs. The weather was nice and hot too. It felt like summer.

Little sunshine almost poured the dye out about 20 times. Here she is in action.
Striking a pose. She was modeling her apron that Grandma JC made her.
Look who's taking some steps!
Little gardener planting some basil.

Heat Wave

2010-03-27T22:48:00.000-07:00

Saturday we had great weather. In the morning we went to our ward easter party. There was a delicious breakfast and an easter egg hunt for the kids. Then in the afternoon we went to 9th street and had a great beach day. It felt like we were in Hawaii.

There were tons of ladybugs. One landed in baby's hair.

Hanging with the Baltzer's.
Look at these cute beach babies!

Poodle

2010-03-26T20:39:00.000-07:00

After dinner at the Irvine spectrum we saw this huge poodle outside of Nordstroms. The kids loved this dog. CJ asked the man, "Where's his ears?" His ears looked like part of his hair on his head.

My parents met up with us later that night.
The kids were exhausted after a long day.

Birthday Time

2010-03-26T20:19:00.000-07:00

Tonight we went out to dinner for Mimi's birthday. We went to the Irvine spectrum and met up with all the cousins.

Here is the view of the backseat of our minivan. The kids are taking over!

The cousins.
We ate ate at Nordstroms' cafe. It was delicious.

The Golden Boy at School

2010-03-23T16:48:00.000-07:00

It looks like Ms. Grady discovered the golden boy too. He was presented an award from the principle and his teacher for being respectful. There were only a couple of awards given out that day, and there are only 5 months in the extended kindergarten program. This truly shows that he stands out, and really tries hard to be a good boy for his teacher. I am not surprised his charm shines through the pack of 31 kids. I love him so much.

Just Another Day in the Life of Us.

2010-03-22T16:38:00.000-07:00

Just another park day with the Baltzer boys. There have been countless and I'm sure there's a few more in the future. Sunshine loves hanging out with her boyfriend!

Here we are chilling, watching a movie, waiting for CJ to get out of school. Notice all the strollers piled up in the back. Got to love the mini van.

Wedding Bells

2010-03-19T16:29:00.000-07:00

I am so happy for both of my dear friends Maryann and Bryan. They are perfect for each other and will be so happy in life. I am even more excited because they are going to be living right around the corner from us!
I have been friends with Bryan since I was 7. We were in the same first grade class and I went to my senior prom with his brother. He and his twin brother were like brothers to me. I am so happy he found such a sweet girl.

Little Buddies

2010-03-18T16:08:00.000-07:00

We went to the park for Chase and Ellie's birthdays. We always have such a great time with all of our little friends. There are so many great families in HB. I love how we never feel like we have to "keep up with the Jones'" because everyone is so down to earth and fun to hang with. It feels like the world is so materialistic these days.

CJ loves his little friend Chase. He is such a nice little kid. I also like him because he helps my boy to always be reverent at church. They are in the same class and the teacher always tells me how good they both are. JB subbed one day and he witnessed it too.
The Girls were all playing so well together. It was adorable to see them all running around together at the park.

Happy 1st Birthday!

2010-03-14T15:47:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been an entire year. I don't want my baby to get any older. I wish I could freeze time sometimes so I could just savor her cute little gummy smile and her soft little cheeks a little longer.

Here she is at her birthday dinner at Grandma and Papa Hennings' home. She was so good all night even though she did not nap well all day. That just shows her great personality, happy, easy going, and funny.

All the cousins.
Happy birthday girl.
She dove right into the cake.
She loved the coconut cake. It was delicious.
She did not stop until her plate was clean.
She got a new baby doll, stroller, crib and high chair set. She LOVES babies. She calls a baby a "de-de" it's pretty cute. Notice her pointing to the baby in the picture.

Hennings Boy #4!

2010-03-14T15:39:00.000-07:00

So my wonderful older brother and wife had their 4th baby boy in January. We just adore him. This crazy world needs more handsome, good, young men.

M takes holding her new baby cousin very serious.

The Golden Boy

2010-03-11T15:31:00.000-08:00

CJ is turning into the little golden boy of our family. He is such a stud athlete, he tries hard in school, he is reverent at church, and he is always so sweet and loving to us. We feel so blessed that our daughters have him for an older brother.

He has really gotten into building airplanes out of legos lately. He is growing up so fast.

Crazy Hair Day

2010-03-02T15:30:00.000-08:00

CJ is having so much fun at his new school. Here he is on crazy hair day.

The Weekend

2010-02-28T11:53:00.000-08:00

We love hanging around the house and relaxing on the weekend. It seems like the weekdays are so crazy busy now that CJ is in school everyday and M goes to preschool 2 days a week. This weekend M and I made apple pie. CJ played with his classroom "pet," Buddy, he was so excited that he got to take him home.

I love my little girl. She is always there on her little stool ready to help.
Skating the ramp with Buddy the Bear.
Riding bikes.

Little Hula Girl

2010-02-25T08:27:00.000-08:00

So we brought the kids some presents home from Hawaii. I brought the baby a Hawaiian childrens book, CJ a snorkle and fins set, and M a hula costume. She LOVED it.

Here she is with her fleece pajamas on underneath.

After dancing around with her pj's on she got kind of hot. So she stripped down.
Here she is acting like a model.

Here's M doing the hula.

And here's CJ in his snorkel and fins. He wanted to wear it during his photo shoot.

Hawaii

2010-02-23T20:30:00.000-08:00

JB's parents took us to Hawaii for a family vacation/ family reunion. It was a real vacation because there were no kids allowed! I did miss them though. At first I did not know what to do with myself in the morning, no kids to make breakfast for, clean up after, or beds to make. We had 8 full days of surfing, hiking, sleeping and eating. It was so relaxing and desperately needed.

The house we stayed at was beautiful and walking distance to Haleiwa beach park.
We had shave ice every other day.
MMMMM!
Hiking to a waterfall.

I swam and jumped off the waterfall. It was so beautiful.

After our long hike we went and ate doughnuts with custard fillings. They were hot and fresh and the best things ever.
Turtle Bay and ukuleles
The taping of the new Bethany Hamilton movie.
Messing around on the longboard in front of the beach house.
The green house with the white trim was the house we stayed in.

Pearl Harbor

Waikiki

Cheesecake factory. Avocado rolls.
The cousins and JB.

The apple store.

Waimea falls.

This peacock kept chasing after me.
Beautiful Hawaiian sunset.
We visited the Kontoes on our last night (they were in Cali almost our entire trip). He caught this Tuna that afternoon, it was the best tuna I had ever tasted.

Swimming in February

2010-02-13T15:35:00.000-08:00

We had a really warm day in February. It felt like summer so we took the kids swimming. They had a splash!

The girls looked so cute in their matching swim suits.

Girls Trip to Disneyland

2010-02-12T17:50:00.000-08:00

Little sis was all smiles.
M ran up to Cinderella and nearly knocked her over with her big hug.
She was on cloud nine.
Princess Tiana from Princess and the frog.

We sneaked a girl's trip to Disneyland while CJ was at school. (Shhh! don't tell). The only reason we did was to go visit the princesses. When brother is with us we can't do the girly stuff, he does not like princesses.

New Trick

2010-02-10T17:20:00.000-08:00

"Look at my new trick Mommy! Daddy taught me."

First T-ball practice

2010-02-05T17:33:00.000-08:00

CJ started his first T-ball practice. He loved wearing his real baseball clothes and cleats. He was so cute, and looked like such a big boy to me. I can't believe how fast he is growing. It is really fun because our good friend Chad Pitt is the coach, his daughter is so cute and the only girl on the team.

JB is the assistant coach and is having a blast playing ball with his boy.

Future MLB pitcher.

First day of Preschool

2010-02-04T17:23:00.000-08:00

M has been dying to start preschool ever since CJ started last september. So since CJ goes to free public school, I decided to put M in at the preschool at the community center. She goes Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 to 12. She LOVES to paint. I love that the painting mess stays at school too.

Here they are bright and early!

The big preschooler.
Sunshine loves the mommy and me time when big brother and sister are away at school.
At first she did not want me to leave her, but then she saw the painting table and she was happy. She usually brings home at least 2 paintings a day.

Little Artist

2010-02-03T09:17:00.000-08:00

CJ loves Yo Gabba Gabba. Here he is drawing some of the Characters on the white board.

First Day of Extended Kindergarten

2010-02-02T19:40:00.000-08:00

CJ started a new extended kindergarten program today. It is every day from 8:05 to 1:25. The best part about it is that it's free! Extended kindergarten is basically a program to help children get ready for kindergarten. Children with birthdays between December 1st and February 1st qualify for the program.

He loves his new teacher, Miss Grady, but he says he misses his old teachers too.
The class is decorated so cute, and Miss Grady is a really cute teacher.
After his first day of school I took him and his sister to Disneyland. I really wanted to tire him out! We had a blast on Autotopia. We usually can't do that because we have a baby with us.
Climbing in Tarzan's tree house.

The Weekend

2010-01-30T11:35:00.000-08:00

We went to Saxon and Dane's birthday party this weekend. CJ loved the bounce-house. The girls loved the swings. We also made blueberry pancakes which were a hit.

Loving the pancakes!

Blueberry smile.
Bouncing with Saxon, Micah and Jenna.
So happy!

Happy Birthday CJ!

2010-01-28T23:11:00.000-08:00

CJ is 5. Crazy, how did this happen so fast?

Baby Boy playing with his rattle.

Big boy playing with tech decks.
and toy guns.

We spent the afternoon at the park with some friends.
The Bradshaw boys and CJ playing swords.
Hanging with Grandma and Grandpa, playing with his new loop-the-loop motorcycle toy.

We Love Daddy

2010-01-27T23:06:00.000-08:00

Daddy is fun.

Last Day of School

2010-01-21T11:04:00.000-08:00

This was CJ's last day of school. He loved his teachers. He is about to start a new school through the school district to get him ready for kindergarten.

M the Artist

2010-01-19T11:01:00.000-08:00

M loves playing play-dough. She made a happy face all by herself.

"Mommy, look what I made!"

Guitar Geek Festival

2010-01-17T10:55:00.000-08:00

JB, my dad, and some friends went to the Guitar Geek Festival in Anaheim. It is a great event and is now it is a tradition every year.

Little Sunbeam

2010-01-13T10:42:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Miss B is a Sunbeam. She has a December birthday so she barely made the cut off. All of the older girls in her class kind of take care of her. It is really cute. I love peaking on her during primary. She is actually really reverent and sits still the entire time.

Here she is on her first day of Sunbeams, bright and early for 8:30 AM sacrament meeting.

She has good style too. Here she is in her ballet outfit skating the ramp.

Asleep in her Snow White Dress.

River New Years Trip

2010-01-01T10:23:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun shooting with our new guns that we got for Christmas. We also used some of Billy's big guns. I have never had so much fun at the river.

Packing some heat.

Shooting with Billy's rifle.
Loving his remote control boat.
If you look closely you can see there is a little surfer being pulled by the boat.
Smiley girl.

K1 Speedway

2009-12-26T10:18:00.000-08:00

The day after Christmas all of JB's cousins went to the racetracks and had a blast racing. I will admit I was a little nervous at first, but once I got the hang of it I had a lot of fun. JB's family is so competitive so this was right up their alley.

It was Carter's birthday too, so happy birthday to him.

The Girls.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T22:15:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! CJ woke up before everyone, so we told him to hang out upstairs a little longer until Miss B woke up. Well, M was very quiet and escaped from her room without us knowing. Next thing we hear from CJ is, "All the presents are opened!" When we went out into the living room we found a sea of wrapping paper and Miss Mischievous B was right in the middle of it. She opened 95% of the gifts. CJ probably got to open 3 gifts, maybe. But he was not mad, he was just very excited that Santa came. I was a little upset, but JB kept me from becoming angry because he said "it's Christmas, and it's not about the gifts." I just felt bad for the little elves that stayed up wrapping presents until 1:30 AM so that Mommy and Daddy could see the expression and surprise on the kiddies faces as they opened their gifts!

The culprit who opened fifty presents in 20 seconds!

Baby girl's first Christmas, she did not know what was going on.
She loved her bananas though!
Her first stocking.
The traditional B family picture.
The most favorite present all day. A HUGE remote control race car.
Cousins.
Over all it was a joyous celebration.

Christmas Eve

2009-12-24T14:46:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve was spent at Grandma and Grandpa's house in San Clemente. It was a beautiful day, so we played outside and enjoyed the gorgeous sunset.

CJ was too busy skateboarding with his cousins to stop and take a family picture, so here we are with our little girls.
It would not be a family party without a little skateboarding in the street. I love this picture of Uncle Dave! He has such awesome style.
Uncle Steve flying off the launch ramp. He makes it look so easy.
The boys watching the Nativity story.
With my brother Aaron.
Miss B Loves Tink! She was on cloud 9. Thanks Auntie Mar and Uncle Aaron.
CJ loved the pirate ship.

This was little Sunshine's first Christmas. She was all ready in her Christmas pajamas. She liked the wrapping paper more than the presents!
Steve and Jessie.
The fam.
Santa Came! It was really late, about 1:00 in the morning and he worked really hard with his little helpers wrapping all of the presents!

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

2009-12-23T14:22:00.000-08:00

We went up to Los Angeles to see "The Grinch." We went with all of JB's family. It was really cute. This was CJ's first play, and I think he really enjoyed it.

The set was very colorful and bright. It looked just like the Dr. Seuss book.

After the play we all went out to dinner at Philipe's a yummy sandwich place in L.A.

Christmas with GG and Papa Joe

2009-12-22T14:02:00.000-08:00

Because we were going to be in Fountain Valley on Christmas day, we decided to go have Christmas early with Great Grandma and Grandpa Hennings down in Oceanside. The kids loved playing with the beautiful train set, and GG and Papa Joe's little puppy Ritzy was fun to pet too.

Up until this day M has been terrified of dogs (and kittens and turtles). Petting Ritzy really made her fears disappear.
CJ had a blast setting up the train track with Grandpa.
Their house was decorated beautifully .

Papa and Miss B.

2009-12-21T14:14:00.000-08:00

The kids play so hard all day long at Grandma and Grandpa's house. I went into the living room this night and found Miss B fast asleep on Papa. I think having the monkeys at his house wipes him out equally if not more.

Beach Day in December

2009-12-20T15:33:00.000-08:00

This day in December was like summer. It was about 75 degrees on the sand. It was a nice break from the cold.

Getting buried.
All she wanted to do was eat the sand. This was the first time she had been to the beach in a few months. Every time I turned around she was shoveling the sand into her mouth.

Happy Birthday!

2009-12-17T21:48:00.000-08:00

Miss B had a very busy 3rd birthday. We went to CJ's holiday party in the morning, then we were off to Disneyland. We met our friends there. M loved going on all the rides. After Disneyland we went to Newport Beach and ate clam chowder from the Crab Cooker and we watched the boat parade. It was a beautiful night.

Bundled up at the boat parade.

Holiday Class Party

2009-12-17T14:43:00.000-08:00

CJ's class party was so much fun. There was all kinds of yummy food, crafts and games. M was so excited that she could go to his class too.

Sleepy Heads

2009-12-12T12:17:00.000-08:00

I love going into the kid's room and finding them in funny sleep positions. M was on the ground and CJ had the fan blasting his face. (This is how he sleeps every night).

GoGo13

2009-12-11T23:15:00.000-08:00

One of the show's JB's band played in LA.

M is for Mischievous

2009-12-08T12:10:00.000-08:00

While I was dropping CJ at school, M was at home with daddy (asleep in bed). She opened all the presents. I just wrapped them yesterday. They were all the little ones from the 99 cent store that the kids picked out for each-other and mom and dad.

Magic

2009-12-08T11:27:00.000-08:00

Magic, The Elf on The Shelf

2009-12-07T23:27:00.000-08:00

This Little guy works miracles at our house around Christmas time. He reports back to Santa every night and tells him who has been naughty and or nice. CJ really tries hard. M does not care so much. She has a bit of an attitude sometimes.

Every day we find him hiding in a different spot.

Christmas FHE

2009-12-07T21:06:00.000-08:00

Grandma and Grandpa came over for Family Home Evening. The kids did a nativity scene. Sunshine girl was an angel, Miss B was Mary and CJ was Joseph. They were so reverent while we were reading the story of Jesus' birth.

My dad was a wise man.
Daddy.

Singing in The Rain

2009-12-07T20:00:00.000-08:00

Playing in the rain. Getting drenched.

There was a beautiful sunset that night. Here is the view looking down our street.

New Guitars

2009-12-06T23:55:00.000-08:00

Someone in our ward works for G&L. He was selling some of his guitars for really cheap. We were so excited. They sound beautiful too.

First Pancakes!

2009-12-06T23:25:00.000-08:00

Sunshine tasted her first pancakes today. She LOVED them.

Church photo Shoot

2009-12-05T23:17:00.000-08:00

JB and little man had to do a photo shoot for the church. It was down at Newport Beach Balboa pier. It was freezing. They had to sing I Am a Child of God. CJ was such a good sport. They also took pictures of our family walking on the beach for stock photos that the church will use.

Princess Party

2009-12-05T23:09:00.000-08:00

For M's 3rd birthday we had a few friends from church and a couple neighbors come over and play. All the little girls were in heaven.

Decorating the Tree

2009-12-04T22:55:00.000-08:00

It took us a week longer than I planned to get the tree up, but we finally got around to it. The missionaries helped us get the tree up too. We all had fun listening to Christmas music and sipping hot chocolate.

The Fam.

That night the kids broke I think 3 or 4 ornaments. Maile loved the Angel.

Christmas at Disneyland

2009-12-04T22:03:00.000-08:00

We had a magical day at Disneyland. It was decorated so beautifully, we saw Santa with all 8 reindeer, the weather was warm, and the kids were perfect!

The castle covered in snow and decorations.

M loved Mrs Clause. She just ran up to her and gave her a big hug.
CJ knows how cool Santa is.
Miss B was a little bit nervous.
C monster's favorite guy. This is the first time he would sit on his lap since he was 11 months.
She decided he wasn't so scary after he gave her a candy cane. She gave him a big hug to repay him.
Santa's reindeer were there. All eight of them. The kids were in awe.
Little sunshine was so cute. She was attacking my hat and cracking up. She is always giggling.

Holiday Work Party

2009-12-03T23:14:00.000-08:00

We went to the Analog party and had a great steak dinner. We had such a fun night out without the kids. We loved hanging with Joey and Annie. They are such good friends.

I Love Christmas Time!

2009-12-02T23:19:00.000-08:00

This is such a beautiful time of year. I have so many warm fuzzy memories from my childhood during this time of year. I LOVE creating new family memories and traditions of our own. The kids love it too.

Where's M?

Sugar plums dancing in their heads.

Decorating a Gingerbread house was so much fun with the kids.
Drawing Christmas Trees.

Newport Beach Temple

2009-11-30T22:28:00.000-08:00

I met my mom at the Newport Beach Temple. (I wanted her to bring some of my Christmas decorations). The gate was locked because the temple is closed on Mondays. The kids were sad because they really wanted to walk around on the temple grounds. We were about to leave, when we saw the gardeners drive in, my mom waved them down. They let us in. The little ones were thrilled to be able to walk around the temple and see the Nativity.

After the temple, we went to the park across the street. It was so warm it felt like a summer day.
It is so much fun that they have each other to play with. They are good little buddies. M really looks up to her brother and wants to do everything he does.

Six Little Monkeys

2009-11-29T22:13:00.000-08:00

Last year when we were both pregnant, Amber and I always use to say "I can't believe we will have six kids between the two of us." Well, here are all the little monkeys. They are kind of cute, but are a pretty big handful!

Playing cars together. Micah loved tackling little sunshine.
She did not mind wrestling. She's pretty tough.
The babies of the bunch.

Thanksgiving River Trip

2009-11-27T22:02:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving we went to the River to be with JB's family. The weather was so beautiful, it felt like summer.

All the little cousins were waiting at the top of the hill waiting for Barrett to arrive.
Running back to the house, CJ was barefoot and flirting with danger. Luckily he made it safe with no skinned knees!

Thanksgiving At the River

2009-11-27T21:13:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving we headed out to the Colorado River. Johnny's parents and sister's family all came. We had a great time all week long. The kids loved playing with all of their cousins.

Cooking dessert in the kitchen is something we did every night this week. I think we all gained 5 pounds this trip!

Cute cousins all hyper.
Thanksgiving Day! Miss B, the model, was waiting to taste my HOMEMADE apple pie! I just learned how to make apple pie a week ago. My mom taught me and my Grandma Verlyn taught her. I'm sure I'll be teaching my daughters one day too. Homemade apple pie has always been a family tradition at Thanksgiving for my family.
All the kids playing on the broken trampoline. It was kind of scary actually, and I'm surprised there were no accidents!
We all LOVED Billy's deep fried turkey. It was so delicious!
Daddy and his girl.
Kelly, Tami, me, Sara.
Mommy and her baby. She was so happy all day long. Such a perfect angel.
JB playing around with the camera, being all artsy.
The kiddos shoveling down the food.
Wrestling the lizard while we were all eating. I think that was the dog's chew toy!
Still eating.
Eating.
Adults eating.
Baby eating.
Still eating!
The Featherstone kids, Moody kids, B's kids, and Hugh's kids.
Enjoying my pie.
I love my girls! I never thought I'd be lucky enough to get 2 baby dolls.
The family.
Swimming after a huge meal. I'm not so sure about that idea.
Tired baby girls after a long and very fun-filled Thanksgiving day.
Pretty blue eyes.
Family photo day. Of course we put that off until the last day.
Our family photo we used for Christmas cards.

Big Girl

2009-11-17T14:59:00.000-08:00

Baby girl sat in the shopping cart like a big girl last week. She sat there and ate sweet potato puffs the entire time and was as happy as a clam. It makes me sad that she is getting so big. She has a tooth too and she just turned 8 months.

10 Yeart Reunion

2009-11-14T20:40:00.000-08:00

I went to my 10 year High School Reunion. It was at Irons in the Fire in San Clemente. I had fun catching up with old friends.

We went with the Whitesides. Jenny and I were best friends growing up. We met when we were 3 or 4. We always hung out and loved going to stake dances together.

Ten years after graduation and 3 kids later. I got the award for having the most kids.
San Clemente High School alumni class of 1999! They played that song tonight I'm going to party like it's 1999 by Prince.
Megan Gibby, me, Trisha Sutch, Becky Bailey, and Jenny Greiner.

Baby Phoebe's Blessing

2009-11-01T14:49:00.000-08:00

We went to San Clemente to see baby Phoebe's blessing she was so cute in her little white bonnet and she screamed through the whole thing, but she still received a beautiful blessing from her wonderful daddy. All the cousins were there to witness it. They were all so cute and happy.

Halloween Festivities

2009-10-31T23:09:00.000-07:00

Halloween is one our favorite holidays because it is low stress and we get to dress up in costumes. There were a lot of fun Halloween festivities this year. I had fun at the youth dance for our stake at church. Then there was the fun preschool party for CJ, the trunk or treat, the carving of pumpkins, and of course the big night.

The kids loved wearing their Halloween T-shirts all month long.

My Roller Derby Girl costume. All the young women leaders dressed like roller girls too.

Checking out the gold fishes Merideth and Cowboy won that night at the trunk-or-treat playing games.

The fam.

Hanging with Jagger.

Gold fish.
The crew.
Taj reminds me so much of CJ when he was a little guy.

M digging in on Halloween morning.

Big brother's turn.
The results.

Halloween surprises from Mommy and Daddy.

Tying up Papa is one of CJ's most favorite pass times.

Galloping on his horse "Brownie."
One happy little fishy.
Papa with the trick-or-treaters. The cowboy, mermaid and fish.
Jumping his horse.

Papa tied a rope around Brownie's neck and pulled him along. It was so cute!

Down town was really fun. CJ loved playing b-ball and going down the slides.

We met up with some friends down there.
Trick-or-treating at our neighbors Randy and Debby's house. CJ is so cute in this picture because he's trying to do hang loose, but his little fingers just cant get into position.
The loot. Baby girl is loving the glow stick!

Fun Halloween Dinners

2009-10-29T20:34:00.001-07:00

I've done a couple of fun Halloween dinners this month. My kids and husband loved them.

This dinner was an opened faced sloppy joe with cheese cut like a jack-o-lantern.
I made stew in the crock pot and made the face out of a biscuit. I made holes with the top of a salt shaker and used kitchen scissors to cut hair for this funny guy.
The other funny guys.
I made jack-o-lanterns using a knife to cut out their faces.

Preschool Party

2009-10-29T14:07:00.000-07:00

Curren had such a fun time at his preschool Halloween party. All his little friends liked his costume.

CJ with Jackson and Katie.

Here is a picture of him and his friends feeding his horse some hay. It was so cute.

The spread.

Here he is sitting at the table with his girlfriend Kayla. I think he likes her because he always talks about her, and he chose to sit next to her.
Miss B even came to the party. She had a major floor kicking melt down towards the end of the party because someone sat in her seat at the coloring table during her trip to the bathroom. Baby girl started screaming too because she was so tired and hungry. It was so frustrating. I was trying to feed baby some carrots, but it was getting everywhere, and M was on the floor flipping out and screaming like a mad woman. I was trying to console both girls, and I just wanted to leave but CJ was having a blast playing all the Halloween games with his friends. I was worried that he would make a scene if I made him leave. I think everyone was looking at me like I was crazy for having 3 kids. Luckily CJ left without a complaint. He's such a good boy, and baby girl stopped crying while I was pushing her in the stroller, but miss B no, she screamed all the way to the car, laying down on the sidewalk a couple of times on the way.

Here's the queen B prior to her melt down. Maybe the sugar in that cupcake frosting triggered a melt down.