Newport 2012

Two weeks ago was our annual Newport Beach vacation with my family. Nick and I went down late Wednesday and were there till Sunday. As usual it was completely heaven!

Thursday-  Was a beach day. Scarlett loved the sand and tidepools best. I tried to take her boogie boarding but it ended with her toppling over and tons of tears. My favorite part of the beach is walking up and down the shore putting my babies to sleep. I have done that a couple of years now and it is so enjoyable. I cover them all up to protect them from the sun and I go on a nice long walk while basking in the sun and sand.

Friday- Early in the morning we went to the temple for a quick session with all the adults.  Nick and I went to Huntington with the kids and walked along the boardwalk after. We ate lunch at a farmers market on the sand and let the kids get all dirty. That afternoon we all took naps and went back to Huntington Beach in the evening for a bonfire. This is my favorite night of the trip. We played a great volleyball game as a family and roasted marshmallows.

Saturday- We spent the day at the resort and enjoyed the pools. I took Ali in the water and she loved it. So much that she feel asleep while in. That was probably the best nap she took all week. That night we went to see Bourne Legacy.

Sunday- We met up with some friends (the Lees) for church and then headed over to Nick's aunts house for dinner. It was his Grandpa Wilf's 96th birthday. Always a treat seeing him. We got back late that night and everyone crashed!

Hey gentleman... they are single.

 Beachcomber

Sleeping at its best

 Bonfire on the beach

Watching the dolphins

 Check out Ali's hair pull on Scarlett. They are gonna be buddies!

Favorite picture of the trip

Newport Cost Villas

Newport Temple

Alice 6 months

I refuse to accept this! She was just my little newborn that snuggled perfectly in my arms. Now she rolls everywhere, is getting ready to crawl, and loves to eat anything you give her. This past month has actually been a hard one for poor Ali (and me). She got her two bottom teeth just a couple weeks ago, which is no fun for anyone. Her milk allergy flared up and let to 2-3 days of total crankiness and no eating. Then she started to eat solids, which is messy and lead to her getting totally constipated. She still won't poop. I about cried when I wrote that because I already have a crazy nonpooper on my hands. I have been giving her every "natural" laxative out there and still no change. I end up doing horrible drastic things (that should not be mentioned) to get her to poop. Two things... I hate poop more than anything and if you ever have a poop query ask me as I am a poop pro. We will get everything sorted out soon, I hope anyway. Until then I just have to love her all the more. Which is so easy because she is just adorable with her little front teeth. She is still so patient and calm and is such a delight!

New things
1. Pushes herself around
2. Two new teeth
3. Giggles when you say "I'm gonna get you" and tickle her belly
4. Is eating solids and tries to grab all food around her
5. Her favorite is mangos
6. Stopped taking a bottle for some unknown horrible reason
7.  Smiles big when you do the "airplane" with her spoon.
8. Blows "raspberries" with her drool

I have dreams... the olympics

( she deserved to win!)

I felt a pit in my stomach this morning, the olympics are over. I love the olympics. Nick not so much. He would go to bed and I would stay up way to late watching all the inspiring stories and dream of being a participant. In the morning he would say "Jill, try to be more quite while you watch. Your cheering is getting a little out of hand." I do get out of hand. I cheer and cry and wave an American flag. I even flap my arms around in hopes to make the swimmers go faster (like when Phelps lost the 200m fly) Why? Because I want to be there so bad. I want to watch in person all these amazing athletes or better yet be one.  I have intensely watched the olympics since the 1996 games in Atlanta. I was mesmerized and would pretend I had won gold while I stood atop an old storage bin. The olympics not only inspire me but give me hope. These athletes have overcome so much to be where they are.  What a feeling it must be to see all your hard work pay off and say"I did it, I am the best in the world."   I want to say that. Why could I not have gone to the olympics? I am athletic with determination and fight. I thrive off competition and have no fear.  Why? Too slow and too old.  Guess I just have to settle with standing on a storage bin with a fake gold metal while my kids cheer me on. I did make Nick promise to take me to the olympics on day. I will watch the 400 meter run live, in person, and cheer as loud as I want (thank you very much).

My favorite stories...

Kirani James- He is only 19 years old and won the 400 meter . His gold metal was the first olympic metal for his country of Grenada. They showed a clip of his home country watching his race and it made me cry. Thousands cheering for him and crying and being patriotic.  Ahhhh, the olympics!

Evelyn Stevens- Four years ago she was an investment banker working in New York. She was tired and needed a hobby. She picked up road biking. And by picked it up I mean she quite her job and trained for the olympics. It was a help that she has a natural talent for the sport. PS she is almost 30. Is there still hope for me?

Missy Franklin- She one of my favorites. Young, talented, always smiling, and humble. I love her! And her winning the 200 meter back stroke gave me chills... and then I cried because I was so happy for her:) I bet she sleeps with her 4 gold metals and 1 bronze metal under her pillow. She seems cute like that.

Kristen Armstrong- She has a cool last name and she is a cyclist. She won in 2008 and 2012 the women's time trial. She also has a 2 year old. I wish I could call her up and ask "how did you do it?"

Allison Felix- She took silver in the 200 meter in 2008 and 2004.  She dreamed of winning gold. And she did... three of them. She won the 200 meter, the 4x400 meter relay, and the 4x100 meter relay (did I mention that they also broke the world record set in 1985!!). She is going to sleep good tonight! Oh and she is my exact same age born Nov. 10, 1985. Greatness was born that day :)

Lashinda Demus- She did not even qualify for the 2008 games in Beijing. This was largely due to having twin boys in 2007. But she did more than qualify this time around, she won silver!

Misty May-Treano and Kerri Walsh-Jennings- They are wive, mothers, and the greatest beach volleyball players ever! They took their third straight gold on Friday. Wish I had an excuse to wear those glasses and "uniforms".

 On to my olympic sport of the day... getting two year to poop. Gold for in the toilet, silver for in the pull-up, and dismill bronze for underwear.

Emily 30 and Clarah 18

What happens when you sit and nurse a baby all day... you plan parties. We had a surprise (as much as it could be a surprise) party for Emily and Clarah. Being born a day apart they have always shared birthday celebrations. But these were big birthdays with Clarah 18 and Emily 30 so we had to make it memorable. We went to Martina McBride, seriously my favorite country singer. Then we stayed up late and chatted about life and naughty kids/babies.  The next morning we had a great breakfast and made hair bows. It was so fun to be together as sisters and have a little fun. If ever I need to know that someone is "in my corner" I just have to talk to one of my sisters and all is well. 

Before the concert

Making bows and earrings. Not as "prettied up" as the night before;)

Finished products.  Look at those cute babies!