Happy Pioneer Day!

I know it's early but Happy Pioneer Day! Today my parent's ward had a primary activity and it was all about Pioneers in honor of the upcoming holiday. My mom made Jayne and I matching outfits for the activity. Jayne went to play and I helped my mom. She was in charge of the craft. We made this adorable little game for the boys with the wooden circles and string and we made handkerchief dolls for the girls. The whole activity was super cute. Ryan wore overalls for his costume since he never wears them otherwise. I'm excited about having our cute pioneer outfits now too! As a mormon, you always gotta have your pioneer outfit ready for all the pioneer celebrating and reenactments that are always happening. Funny when you stop and think about it. I do have to admit I'm a proud "Daughter of the Utah Pioneers" and it crossed my mind more than a few times when I had Ryan with no epidural that I am proud to come from some strong Pioneer stock!! I know I can dig deep when necessary :-) Happy July 24th!

Best Week Ever!

So I have just had the best week ever! It beats any "vacation" or anything else I've done in a long time. This was the first week we've had Jason home in forever! and he was nice enough to give me a wonderful week. I still took care of the kids and got to see them, but I got lots of time by myself and Jason helped a TON! He took the kids constantly and helped out constantly throughout the week. Monday I got to go to OC and spend the day with my Sis-in-Law Jen. Jason watched all the kids and Jenn and I got to do lunch, get our toes done, and lay by her pool and read magazines! Jason brought me Ryan so I could feed him periodically. It was great! Tuesday we chilled and took the kids swimming. Then Wed/Thur we headed to a great little place just south of here called the Rancho Bernardo Inn. We first went there when Jayne turned 1 and I could finally leave her over night. They've renovated it and it's even nicer than before with a brand new spa! Jason took the kids to the pool and I hit the spa for several hours. He brought me Ryan to nurse, but I mainly got to relax. My brother's and their girlfriends drove down and babysat the kids in our room while we went to dinner alone, then they took Jayne back to my parents for the night and following day. The next day I only had to take care of Ryan while Jason got some spa and relaxation time. Ryan and I hit the gym and the pool. It was great! Then Friday Jason took the kids and my mom and I hit the Nordstrom Sale! It's an important day, similar to Jason's days of the Football Draft and various sporting events. It's been a tradition since I was little. Some years I have money to buy, other's I don't, but this year, thanks to a graduation gift to me from Jason, I had money to spend. It was some of the funnest couple of hours ever! I have to say, this has been one of the greatest weeks ever! Next week it's back to real life. Jason's got to start getting on his work/job/cpa stuff and I'm back to the kids full-time. But I am going to relish this week in my memory for a long time! Thanks Babe!

Ryan and I by the Pool


The Resort


Jayne Started Real Ballet & Tap Lessons

Made a Move

Well, we are officially in "transition". We packed up everything we owned and moved out of Burbank. We put everything in storage for now, except some suitcases of clothes and some incidentals. We're staying with my parents down in Vista for about 2 months while we figure out where we're going and what we're doing! Jason is taking some time off from work while transitioning from the LA office back to the Orange County office (which is where he was before) (taking breaks in between clients is very normal in Jason's line of work so we're taking advantage of that at this point.) The plan is to stay with his current employer until we find the next great job post MBA. And in this economy it may take a while, so we're going to have fun staying with my parents for a little while then we'll move back to Orange County and just rent something there for as long as it takes. Jason will start back to Clients in Orange County in a few weeks.

Moving, especially with a 4 month old, was tough. We're exhausted but glad to have everything boxed up. We are very sad to leave Burbank and all of our friends and family we got to see so often. The only thing that makes me feel better is knowing we'll keep in touch and visit often. This past week was really just unpacking some stuff at my parents, getting everything into storage, and getting settled here in our new digs. Some of the many great things about being here is having a pool, being only 10-15 minutes from the beach, and lots of extra hands to help with the kids (especially Ryan who wants to be held 24/7, he's in heaven right now :-). So Jayne has been in the pool everyday so far and we already hit the beach once with friends, and Jason and I even snuck in a double date with our friends Dave and Leanna. We had a fun week, especially considering most of it was spent unpacking stuff and running errands. We're looking forward to many fun weeks ahead!

4th of July! One of our last days in Burbank, we had fun with Jason's family most of the day, did a lot of packing, and went to a friends BBQ to say goodbye to a bunch of friends.


Ryan & Tyler's First outing to the Beach together! I have been friends with Tyler's Mom (Leanna) my entire life. And both their dad's are friends and grew up together too, so I'm sure these two will be buddies!


My Little Fish! After a week of being in the pool everyday, I finally talked her into some goggles cause her eyes were getting so red. She is swimming amazingly too!


My Dad with Ryan in the pool. Ryan loves the water and is a good sport getting in everyday since Jayne wants to play.

Packing!

We've been packing up for a week straight! And I am tired. We've gotten to do a few fun things with our friends but mainly trying to pack in any moments I don't have to be holding Ryan (and I've actually done a lot while carrying him in the Bjorn. Don't know what I'd do without that thing!). So here's a couple cute pictures from our week.

My 2 adorable kids being wonderful in the middle of our box mess!


Shout out to BYU!

A friend got Ryan this shirt. I thought it looked big still but amazingly it fit him and is almost tight! So he's got to get a little use out of it first. I don't know why, but our SC gear just seems to look "cooler" than our BYU gear. Weird. But as Jason would say, I'll start the indoctrination now :-) I always wanted to go to BYU my whole life and I loved every minute of being there! And I do hope our kids go there. Regardless of what you think about Provo or BYU you can't argue that it's hands down the absolute best education for your money! And it really is a wonderful experience I'd love our kids to have. I'm sure they'll have to have a 4.5 gpa to even get in there by the time their that old, so we'll see!

Jayne at a Fancy Nancy Birthday party with all of her friends! She loved it! We'll miss everyone so much!

Hilton Head, South Carolina

Beach Trip


We just got back from a long awaited trip to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina for Jason's graduation! We went with his entire family (siblings, kids, parents) to celebrate Jason's graduation, his brother Mike finishing his residency program, and his mom retiring. We had 10 adults and 8 kids total! It was quite the trip. Jason got to pick the location of the trip this time, so he picked Hilton Head because of it's amazing golf and because we love East Coast beaches! The water is so warm, the sand is clean, the beaches flat with tons of room for the kids to play, little waves that don't knock the kids down- we love it! We had such a great time about a year ago in North Carolina on a trip with some friends of ours, that we wanted to go back. It was a great trip. Jason played golf almost everyday, and we got to swim at the beach and the pool everyday. We enjoyed some great weather, and a wonderful resort. Jayne loved getting to play with all of her cousins everyday. We also go to stay 1 night in Savannah, GA, which is where we flew into and got to see that beautiful, historic city. (It's the place they've filmed a bunch of movies including Forrest Gump. I love the trees with those hanging branches on them.)

Now that we're back we're packing up! We're moving out of Burbank in about a week and half! Crazy how time flies!!

Jayne & Ryan at the Pool


Jayne playing Miniature Golf w/ Jason


Jayne & Jason at the Pool (She never wanted to get out!)


Me & Ryan at the Beach


In Savannah, GA


Naps on the Airplane


All the Kids! (The cousins, minus Ryan, on the Jonas side)

Jayne's 1st Dance Recital

Saturday, Jayne had her 1st dance recital. It was for our Mommy & Me dance class, and yes, I had to dance on stage with her too. She absolutely loved it! And even though we missed dress rehearsal because she had the flu this past week, she wasn't nervous or scared at all. She loved the stage and told me today that she wants to dance on a stage again, except next time she wants to do ballet. She also told me she wants me to take her to see the ballet. So, I will definitely find something age appropriate for us to do along those lines soon. She did a great job at the recital and knew all her steps and performed perfectly. She really likes to pose and ham it up for the camera. I wonder where she gets that from!

Mommy & Jayne (and yes, I just cut my hair about 7 inches and I love it. It had gotten way too long. This is a great summer/new baby cut since I never get to blow dry anymore)


Jayne & her best friend Annalisa at the Show


And no, Ryan and I won't be doing the mommy & me dance classes. I'm looking forward to our mommy & me sports classes! He did dance with me in the bjorn for most of this last semester since his birth and in my tummy the semester before that, but he got to hang out with Dad in the audience during the performance. He's been a good sport.

Last Mommy & Me with Jayne

Friday, Jayne and I went to our last mommy & me class together! This made me sad. We started going to classes when she was 16 months (same time we moved to Burbank). I was so excited she was finally old enough to do this! We started with a music class and a tiny tot reading program at the library, and we've been taking classes together (2-3 a week) ever since. We've done more music, art/painting, gymnastics, swimming, dancing, the library program, and a preschool class every semester. I have LOVED having this time with her. We've only had Ryan with us for the last semester, and he's still little so it wasn't bad. I'm going to be putting Jayne into a real (ie. by herself) preschool this fall just 2 days a week for a few hours. I'll miss her, but I know she'll love it. She's so social, loves to make friends, and is very smart. I do a lot with her at home and she just loves it. She begs for family night every night and our "poster time" which is when I do little educational activities with her like numbers, letters, flannel board stories, tracing, etc. She loves books and really wants to be able to read.

I also realized that I'll now have about a year "off" before Ryan is old enough to start our mommy & me classes together. And if we continue spacing our kids about the same apart, I should get to enjoy some mommy & me time with him before more arrivals. (that's the plan anyway) Burbank has had a fantastic preschool age program through their parks and rec that we have really loved. We will miss these classes, our friends, and wonderful teachers we've enjoyed these past 2 years!

Our Last Class


This was how old Jayne was when we started mommy & me at 16 months. I didn't think to bring my camera to our first class together. I'll remember for future children :-)