October 2014

October, oh how I love you! This month was such a treat. Not only is it the best month of the year for the fact that we celebrate Halloween and all things pumpkin. But we also managed to squeeze in two trips in October. I mean, October is so rad that I'm pretty sure December is jealous. 

We started the month with a trip to Big Bear, I spent four days in Palm Springs with the Olson ladies, we hit the pumpkin patch, and of course we celebrated my favorite holiday of the year...Halloween!!!

Big Bear

After our last horrifying trip to Big Bear, I was a little scared to go back. I mean, I figured no one would need intestinal surgery again but I was hoping the reminder of what we went through last time would not affect our trip. It sure didn't. We had such an amazing trip. Everyone of us loved being there and now I frequently get requests from James to go back to the bear house. 

We packed in all of our favorites; the big bear zoo, the lake walking trail, hikes and this year we added a boat ride. We also discovered the Big Bear candy store, which we visited more than once! But one of our favorite things of all, was getting cozy in the cabin, making dinner, followed by making cookies and watching movies. Overall, I'd say it was our best family vacation yet! 

The cabin 

Brother movie night

Foster at the Big Bear Zoo

Scare Crow contest 

Our favorite 5 mile walk

Views from the walk

Going out on the lake on Miss Liberty

The view from our boat of Big Bear's famous pirate ship! 

Checking out the local woodwork.

We should have bought this.

We should have bought this.

We definitely should have bought this.

Palm Springs Girl's Trip

Getting four days away from all responsibility is amazing but even better was spending four days with the lovely Olson ladies! From drinks poolside, to shopping, to more shopping and more drinks poolside...it was amazing. After four days in desert heaven I was ready to be a mom again.

Like I said, drinks poolside!

We need LeeAnn in this pic...she is the reason this fabulous trip happened!

Jamie's breakfast at Norma's. Yummmm.

Pedicures were a must.

Pumpkin Patchin'

We hit up two different patches this year, because one is not enough! We visited the patch in Del Mar with Darci, Charlie and June and also spent a Saturday at Bates Nut Farm.

Strong man contest.

James insisted on this picture. Looks like we need a little sister and our family will be complete. (Wink)

Halloween

The boys were dragons and had a blast trunk or treating and trick or treating. Moral of the story, kids like dressing up and eating candy. It's a win win.

September 2014

Is there anything better than the fall? Okay, okay, it would be nice if it actually felt like fall but I'm not complaining. The moment I see pumpkins in the grocery store, I'm a happy girl!

This month James started joy school, we celebrated my birthday and had our best beach day yet.

Joy school

Joy School has been such a blessing for James. He loves his little class and is progressing socially by leaps and bounds. He would go everyday if he could but for now, he's going twice a week. The boy is even participating in craft time. It's a miracle. We are so proud of our James!

My B-Day

If you know me, you know I love my birthday and this year was seriously amazing. I got to go on a date with my husband to an Italian restaurant we've been wanting to try. We ordered fancy sodas and walked on the beach afterwards. So it was basically a perfect way to celebrate. But that's not all, I got a night out at one of my favorite Mexican restaurant with my ladies. And to top it off, we celebrated with a rib dinner with my family. It was totally worth turning 36. 

Beach Days

I think our beach days are winding down at this point but we had some beautiful beach days in September. We even made it there for an evening picnic. Nothing better than spending an evening at the beach! 

Honorable mentions

•Got a visit from one of my favorite people, Jessica, and her adorable daughter Goldie. The boys and I fell in love with this little one! 

•I got the flu. Like bad. And of course I got sick while Scott was out of town. My mom saved the day and took care of me and the boys the entire day. I'm a lucky one.

• Scott was gone for about seven days in September. He went to Chicago on a business trip and had an amazing time discovering the delicious food Chicago has to offer. Then he went on a recruiting trip to Utah. He got to discover the beauty of sundance and spent some quality time with Jamie. Both great trips!

August 2014

Is it okay to say that I think August is my least favorite month? I don't mean to hurt August's feelings but to be honest, August, you're way too hot and you really seem to drag on.

So we had a lot of indoor fun and did our best not to let cabin fever set in. I also am getting closer and closer to publishing "James the Brave". My illustrator is quickly turning my ideas into reality which has been an amazing thing to be a part of. And sadly, we said goodbye to Farley in August. As much as I know that it was the right decision, we still miss her around here. But the house and my mind are quieter these days which I am thoroughly enjoying!

Indoor and a little Outdoor Fun

I don't know how you people in Arizona do it. Sitting inside day after day in the air conditioning (thankfully) is driving us all a little stir crazy. Lots of trips to Get Air and the mall have been saving us! We did manage to make it outside despite the heat. These pics pretty much sum up what we did this month.

Hanging with Leah and Annalise is one of our favorite pastimes. They even got James to hold hands, not an easy thing to do!

Spent a morning at the zoo and it was 15 degrees cooler and beautiful. I'll be doing this a lot in September! 

Discovering board games!

Evening beach time. 

"James the Brave"

It looks like the book will be wrapped up in about a month. I'm waiting on four more pages to get color and then it's a matter of printing and whala...it's done! My illustrator has pretty much nailed everything and I am so grateful I found her! Here's her illustration of my main character, James.

Bye bye Farley

I am so happy we bought Farley. She needed a good home and I would have always wondered what would have happened to her if we would have left her at the pet store. So after giving her all her shots, clearing her of two parasites, giving her a good grooming and two months worth of love, she was ready to go to her forever home with the Franz family. We hear they love her to pieces and have renamed her Poppy. We miss her but I don't miss the chaos and I yell a lot less these days! I think Bella is a lot happier to have her family all to herself. Lesson learned...no more dogs. And no more trips to the pet store!

July 2014

There is no better month in the year than July, except October, and maybe December. Okay, let me try again. July is one of the greatest months in the year. Better. We celebrate America and Scott all in the same month. It is also the height of beach going and all summer fun. Hooray for July.

The 4th

We spent the fourth at the beach. Yes, we found parking. Yes, we had to pay twenty bucks for parking. And yes we had fun!!! That evening we headed to grandma and grandpa's for dinner where were treated to the annual BBQ and baton twirling. After dinner we headed to the Stake Center lawn for some fireworks. It was perfect. 

Scott's birthday

We celebrated by going out to dinner TWICE! Once with the kids, which shouldn't count because it was more stress than fun. Side note, never take Foster to a restaurant unless it's Chuck E Cheese. The second dinner was spent with just Scott and I at one of our favorite restaurants, The Fish Market. I have no picture to post but just imagine Scott and I by the bay gazing into each other's eyes. Is it just me or is this photo really beautiful? Anyway, happy 32nd birthday Scott!

James the Brave

So I did a little work in July. After much consideration, Tess and I decided that we would turn the illustration portion of the book over to my publisher. I was sad to lose the collaboration with Tess but she has continued to be a great help in selecting my illustrator. Which I now have done! Her name is Leanna Crossan and she is amazing. Here is a sneak peak of

what she is cooking up for me.

The book is well on it's way and is making great time for a holiday release! I honestly cannot wait!

Honorable mentions:

•Foster can say stinky now. Guess who taught him that?

•James is getting very excited for Joy School (so am I) which starts in September.

•We went to the ward campout and had an amazing time. Can't wait to go again next year! 

June 2014

June is long overdue and I'll tell you why. Last week during the third hour of church as I watched Foster play with toys on the other side of the nursery room, I was updating the blog. As I finished the last sentence of a very long and extremely well written post, I heard James next door. He was refusing to put away Buzz Lightyear and was letting out screams each time his teacher asked him to put away Buzz. I let it go on for a few minutes hoping it would resolve itself but those few minutes came and went and it was time for an intervention. So I jumped to my feet, closed my phone and took care of business. Meaning, we all went home for a little time out. To my shagrin, I did not save my extremely long and well written post. So now I have to do it all over again which seems redundant but if June of 2014 is going to exist in the history of the Olson family, I have to do it.

Deep breath....so here's what happened in June. We bought a dog. Yep, you heard that right, we bought a dog. We had lots of Del Mar Fair fun and had lots and lots of appointments. I know the last bullet point doesn't sound very interesting and it's not but it's true so I'm including it. 

Farley

Here's the whole dog story. We were at the mall on a Friday night and per tradition, we stopped at the pet store (I am now ending this tradition). Of course there were many cute little puppies and the boys were loving them. But I saw a really big puppy who I found out was 5 months old and had been living at the pet store for over two months. I asked to hold her since I figured she wasn't taken out of her kennel very often. She was matted and really dirty but so sweet. My heart just broke that this sweet little gal had been living in a box for so long. She was $199 which is basically free for a mall pet store. But logic kicked in and we left the puppy there. I couldn't stop thinking about the poor pup so I went back three times to see her. On my third visit, I knew I would not be leaving her behind. So I traded the pet store my sanity for a five month old puppy named Farley. Four shots, two parasites and lots of fleas later, she is well adjusted to her new home. 

Del Mar Fair 2014

We went to the fair twice this year and both times were totally amazing. But this is coming from someone who is basically a carnie so take it with a fried grain of salt. The first time we were joined by Mi Ani and Joe. The highlight in the food department was the kettle corn. I know, anticlimactic but it was sooo good. James hit the rides hard this year even daring to go on the super tall slide that I would be nervous to go on. 

Our second trip to the fair included Pete who spent the weekend with us, mom, dad and Alexander. Pete was our photographer and took some amazing pics of the night. There is nothing I would rather frame that our family at the fair! The highlights for me were an intense helicopter ride where James did all the steering. This is a warning: do not ride with James in a helicopter until he has some rigorous training. We also rode The Grand Wheel which I haven't been on in years. Beautiful views and a great time. Long live the Del Mar Fair. Long live chocolate covered bacon. Long live $50 stuffed animals. Okay, I'll stop. 

Appointments

I'll keep this short. 3 dentist appointments, two vet appointments, two grooming appointments and a dr. Appointment. I can't complain. It's my fault. I decided to have kids and dogs. Oh, and I love them!

Honorable Mentions:

• We had such a great weekend with Perer! So glad he came for a visit.

• James is officially 100% potty trained. Hallelujah!!!!

• James has memorized Mulan's theme song and sings it at full volume most of the day. It really is the best thing ever.

• Foster is obsessed with the bunny that eats our grass around 4:00 every afternoon. He sits and the window and screams in delight. He is my little animal lover. He also loves all the crows that fly over our house in the evening. He can almost say bird.

May 2014

May was packed full with big events. It was Foster's first birthday, Mother's Day and a trip to Santa Barbara. But just to balance out the fun, it also included, major wild fires in San Diego, James caught roseola, Foster cut five teeth( 4 of them molars) and I got a sinus infection. Luckily, the good stuff was really good!

Fire Season Comes Early

We had record breaking temperatures and winds in the middle of May. And it was pretty much 0% humidity so it was not a big surprise that there were fires. What started as roadside brush fires turned into huge fires lasting about 3 days. Ani was evacuated for an evening but the rest of us were far enough away from the flames that we never had to evacuate. They say it's going to be a very long and intense fire season. Oh goody!

Foster's Birthday

I am going to an entire post on Foster's birthday party but we celebrated his actual birthday at Disneyland. It was our best day at Disneyland so far. No breakdowns and lots and lots of fun. Foster found his favorite present, the biggest lollipop Disney has to offer. The lollipop found it's way all over Foster's face and clothes! It was the perfect way to celebrate our magical little guy's first year. 

Trip to Santa Barbara

When you're on a trip time seems to go twice as fast. We had a great time in Santa Barbara; shopping, celebrating our  6th anniversary and celebrating LeeAnn's 60th birthday. Here are some of the highlights: bike ride on the beach, chalk festival and spending time with Aunt Jamie.  

While taking a walk around the neighborhood in Santa Barbara we came across this spooky house. It reminded me so much of the house in James the Brave! So excited to get going on this project!

April 2014

Each month the gap in age difference between the boys seems to get smaller and smaller. They play together all day and yes, they fight too. Foster loves to play and tease his older brother and James has become quite protective of Foster. He frequently scolds anyone who he feels isn't treating Foster correctly. This habit might get old but for now I think it's pretty cute! 

Things we did in April: planted a garden, had lots of Easter fun and I am making headway on my children's book.

Olson Farms

Seriously, we are going to have to start selling lettuce pretty soon with the amount that is being produced in our garden. We must have magic soil. We are growing kale, butter lettuce, romaine, curly leaf lettuce and spring greens. We are also growing a variety of herbs, strawberries, eggplant, cucumbers, jalapeño, bell peppers and tomatoes. There is nothing better than picking fresh veggies to cook with every night. My very own farmer's market!

Easter Fun

We had a great Easter. I love this holiday for many reasons: pastel colors, best candy ever, egg hunts and the fact that we celebrate our Savior and His infinite atonement.  Now that James is old enough to understand who Jesus is we were able to teach Him about why He is our Savior and what it means for us. 

The Saturday before Easter we attended the Ewell Easter Egg Hunt for the second year in a row. The boys had a blast and despite Scott's instructions, James ate all of his candy within five minutes. 

Easter Sunday we attended church which was a beautiful service and then went to mom and dad's for another Easter egg hunt. One for the kids and one for the adults. I didn't do so well but Scott came away with about $60. Such a fun day!

James the Brave

I wrote a children's book titled "James the Brave" and this month it is starting to take shape. I have decided on a publishing house and Tess has begun illustrating it for me. The pictures look amazing and I can't wait to have a hard copy finished and in my hands. It will be ready for purchase by Christmas! Here is a rough sketch of the house in the story.