The Kuhn Family

Piper at Home

2012-01-22T21:05:00.000-08:00

The kids absolutely love their new sister. Especially Brooklyn! She can't get enough! I better enjoy it now before I start hearing, "Mooom! Piper's wearing my clothes again!!" For now, I have to worry more about the kids smothering her. She's taken to her new home and we love having her here with us!

The kids have figured out the more kids we have , the less attention they get to themselves from Papa...

Little monkey face.

My mother-in-law got me this cute luggage box thing for Christmas. I got the idea of doing a cute picture with Piper in it. Turned out beautiful!

Piper's Entrance Into the World!

2012-01-19T22:08:00.000-08:00

It was inevitable that I was overcooked and ready to have this baby. The last few weeks of pregnancy are absolutely draining for me, physically and mentally. I start getting really tired of being stared at or being giving the line, "You sure you're not having twins?..." At about 37 weeks I went into my OB's office and pretty much demanded a date for induction or starting some natural inducing. The doctor set a "striping" date for the following week, on the 5th. Now, every pregnancy, I've had to be induced or stripped. Being as how Freddy was a 13 lb. baby (not a joke... 13 lbs), and me being a very little person, I've always been way too scared to wait the whole 40 weeks. And rightly so. Up to this point, all of my kids were 2 weeks early. My boys were both 7lbs. and Brooklyn was 8. (Imagine had I gone the full term. An easy 9 or 10 pound baby!)
Anyway, a friend of mine saw how miserable I was and said to call her mom up who was massage therapist. She insisted I go see her as soon as I could and guaranteed she could get my labor going. I didn't think much of it, but as soon as Freddy found out, he said to give her a call. (He was was just as ready as I was to have this baby.)
I made an appointment the next day and went into her office about 10:30am. She insisted I bring my hospital bag and have Freddy on speed dial. I was skeptical and didn't think, really, that much would come from it. But I was getting a relaxing massage, and that was all I really cared about, being as uncomfortable as I was. She worked on me for a good hour and a half and even massaged my stomach trying to position the baby face down. (I delivered both Brooklyn and Knox face up causing me to push for about 2 hours both times. It made my recovery that much harder.) When she finished, I felt the same, thanked her, paid her and headed back home. I even stopped for lunch and some grocery shopping on the way back.
At about 2:30pm, I was lying on the couch when I had my first real painful contraction. I was having Braxton Hicks a ton at this point so I assumed that's all it was. But it started happening every 5 minutes on the dot getting worse every time. I was trying to brush it off thinking it couldn't happen this fast. Mind you, again, I've never gone into labor on my own without being induced. I'm not sure if I was more shocked that I was possibly in labor or that massage had actually worked! I decided to take a shower to get all of the massage oils off when my contractions were getting to be about 3 minutes apart... then 2! "Freddy! We gotta go!" I yelled while getting dressed.
We dropped the kids off with family then headed to Irvine. "Hey babe, you're never gonna hear this from me again, but you drive as fast as you need to to get there..." I figured he'd dig on that since we knew the cops would probably let us off under the circumstances. :) Plus I was in pain, and ready for drugs already.
By the time we got the hospital, contractions were 2 minutes apart and I was 5 centimeters and 100% effaced! Amazing!
Now, I usually have a very low blood count while pregnant and if my count is too low, I can't get an epidural. They came and took my blood to see if I was a go, but it took a good hour to get results back. I was in active labor, something I've never really experienced before since all of my labors took so long with my others and my contractions were much more spread apart. I turned into that woman in the movies who screams, "Drugs! Get me drugs now!! I mean like NOW!!" They gave me little doses of things to take the edge off, but holy cow!
They finally gave the ok to give me an epidural, and I'd never been so happy to get a needle stuck in my back in all my life!! It took a while to get both sides numb, but about a half hour into it, I was resting so much more comfortably. Halle-frickin'-lujah...
By 9:15, it was time to push. Again, everything was all happening so fast I couldn't believe it! The nurses had me start pushing until one of the said, "OK! OK! Stop pushing!! We need to wait for the doctor!" The doctor rushed in asking if she had time to put gloves on and the nurses said, "Uhhh, yeah, but quick!!" (This was the same doctor who delivered Knox and had remembered all of the drama from his pneumothorax, resuscitation and whatnot. She was happy to see all was going much better than last time...) But my third push, she was out. Piper was born January 2 at 9:19. She was a healthy 7lbs. 13oz and 20in. Almost identical to Brooklyn. Again, 2 weeks early. I can't imagine how big she would have been had I waited the full term. And just like Brooklyn, I couldn't (and still can't) see who she resembles! But she is beautiful and healthy and is the sweetest little baby. We named her Piper since it's a family name on Freddy's dad's side. We gave her Shae as a middle name, just because that's always been a name I've loved.
The labor as a whole was a mere 7 hours and 3 pushes; the most awesome labor and delivery of any of my children to date. We are so blessed that she is healthy, happy and in our arms (and out of my belly!) Welcome to our family, Piper Shae Kuhn! You've picked one wacky family, but we think you'll have fun with us...

Holy almost 8 pounds!

Aren't I a vision?...

Nana a Papa's first visit.

Meeting their new sissy.

Brooklyn happy to know there's another girl around.

4 kids. What have I done... :)

She's Here!

2012-01-07T21:38:00.000-08:00

Introducing...

Pictures and stories to come! :)

Christmas Day '11

2011-12-31T20:07:00.000-08:00

At about 5:45 in the morning, Freddy rolled over and nudged me. "Let get the kids up, babe!" My husband loves his Christmas mornings. Having kids of the perfect age just enhances his excitement that much more. Needless to say, we had no problem getting them up and they had a great morning.
I had to sing for our Stakes Christmas program that day so we actually had to et everyone ready in a hurry.
It's the Kuhn's year for Christmas day so we had a nice party at Kati and Todd's house in Lake Elsinore.
An incredibly busy day, but what it's all about.

Know wasn't as up to the early morning :)

Brooklyn's favorite girly pose.

Plethora of cars

Morning chaos

Church ready

At Kati's and Todd's

Nativity gear

Mary

Freddy was the ass.

Tre was Joesph

Harold angels

And sweet baby Jesus with a pouty lip... Merry Christmas all!

Christmas Eve Lovin'

2011-12-30T21:27:00.000-08:00

We had my parents and in-laws over to enjoy our Christmas Eve with us this year. As much as I'm a little sad we don't get snow, you sure can't beat the San Clemente Christmas sunsets! It was a great night of food, story telling and gift giving. I'm going to have to milk these next few years of all my babies being the perfect Christmas ages!

Freddy's sister Heidi and her husband and daughter were able to come and join us from Texas. :)

Taking advantage of the camera while out.

Really, this is the only reason we invite my dad. They leave me alone for a while... ;)

My mom's enjoying having a grand daughter to buy girlie things for.

These are real clubs from my dad! Awesome!

Knox is so easy. Just need some cars to make him happy.

Annual Christmas Eve PJ's. Vadar for the boys and Snow White for our princess.

My dad reading about the Christmas story. I really just love Knox in this shot.

Christmas Fun!

2011-12-24T21:44:00.000-08:00

I wish I could say I was in full Christmas spirit whilst baking and making goody boxes for our neighbors this year, but I am major preggo and overly tired and over heated at this point. But I've kept in mind that it's not about me right now and these are important times to teach the kids about giving and thinking of others. So we spent a day making homemade sugar cookies, with fudge and rice crispy treats. I will have no one to blame but myself if I have a 10 pound baby...
We then met up with our Nemrow friends for a night of light house looking! Freddy remembered when he was living in Chino Hills that there was one neighbor in Chino that had rows of "Clark Griswald" homes with amazing displays of Christmas awesomeness on their lawns and roofs! Really amazing! I wish I would have gotten more pictures of the houses, but the flash kind of took away the splendor of it. It was also ridiculously windy and cold, but the kids didn't seem to mind. But we met up at Starbucks for Salted Carmel hot chocolates afterwards and all was well.
We love Christmas time!! Sad it's almost over...

House looking...

With best buds Garrett and Makenzie.

This really made me laugh. This is so me or something I would do to escape the pressures of having to do up my house! Kudos to this guy.

School Pictures '11

2011-12-21T20:48:00.000-08:00

This is Tre's Kindergarten picture from school. I wanted one of Brooklyn and Knox as well, so I just did them myself...

Bills/Chargers Game '11

2011-12-19T18:20:00.000-08:00

The last time we went to a Bills/Chargers game, I was 8 months pregnant with Tre! Now here he is almost 6 years later, enjoying a game with his cousin Thor. Not the best game for the Bills, but a good time for everybody. :)

They used washable markers... thank heavens.

The "Knee"cracker...

2011-12-13T13:42:00.000-08:00

Let's see... where do I begin with this nightmare of a day??
So this is Brooklyn's first show on stage. She'd been preparing for this for the last few weeks and to be honest, with this pregnancy, I just wanted to get to the end of it with so much involved. I planned on her show day to be a very long one being that she would be doing a matinee show and an evening show way past her bedtime. Wow, did I get way more than I asked for...
As we were crossing the street to the theater, I stepped off the curb and my leg gave out on me and I twisted my body fast enough to not land of the baby. Thankfully (though completely embarrassing) there were about 10 other people crossing to the show as well and they all managed to get me back on the sidewalk. I was in such shock, I wasn't sure what was in pain. The top of my right foot was in pain with a bloody knee, and I noticed the left top of my knee was sticking out and also in a great amount of pain. Not to mention I had a few contractions starting up. I'm sure everybody was just as freaked out as I was. I tried to calm myself for the sake of Brooklyn and started asking some parents to get her to her dressing room so she didn't have to see what was going on. People at the concession stand were fast to come over with ice and an ice chest for me to sit on so I wasn't on the ground. They asked if I wanted an ambulance but being the realist I am, I knew we couldn't afford that. All I could do was call Freddy and tell him to get to me quick. He was on his way anyway with Tre for the matinee show. Luckily, they had a paramedic there that was able to analize if I had a break or not. Thankfully, there wasn't. Freddy finally made it to me and we rushed to the ER in Irvine.
I hate ER's. They took about an hour for me to get in and took people over me. Um... hey ER people... I'm 35 weeks pregnant and in crazy pain! Help me out! When they did get me in (about an hour after we arrived), they didn't even really assess me, they just got some quick X-rays and told me what I already knew... no breaks. They were then just going to let me go. "That's it?" I asked. No checking the baby... no wrapping the leg... no pain killers... no crutches?? I can't even walk! "Oh... yeah. We can do that. Oh, and you should go up to the OB and have them monitor your baby for about 4 hours." This made Freddy, and me, so angry. "Don't you think if there was a problem with the baby they should have checked her in the second we got here??" he asked.
The OB was actually way more accomodating and tried to get me in and out as fast as they could. I was determined to get back to Brooklyn's nighttime show, drugged or not. I kept having emotional breakdowns thinking of if she was doing ok. Turned out the baby was fine. I was still experiencing a few minor contractions, but nothing too serious. I forgot to mention Tre was with us for most of the day at the ER (Knox was being babysat) and he was the sweetest support to have there, other than my amazing husband of course. My parents were luckily going to her evening show and were able to pick Tre up on their way. Thank you mom and dad!!
When we got to the show, it had already started but I asked Freddy to drop me off by the backstage door so Brooklyn would see that I got there. I told him to come get me after he parked the car. Well, she was already on stage and I must have missed Freddy when he came by to get me. He thought I decided to just stay back there with Brooklyn. So as I was walking with my lovely baby belly on crutches on my way to the front of the theater, my left leg cracked! And it totally freaked me out! Like I had been hit with a rock or something. Just turned out my knee went back into place and it actually took the edge off of all the pain I was having. Get's better. There's stairs in the front of the theater and no one in site. I figured at some point Freddy would think to come out and look to see so I sat at the bottom of the stairs in about 40 degree weather. (To be fair, the cold air actually felt really nice with all of the flustering going on.) A half hour later, intermission, Freddy finally comes out and both of us pulled the "Where were you... no, where were you" game back and forth, but quickly laughed it off. I was more worried about him getting in and helping out with Tre. So he carried me to my seat and we sat and enjoyed what was left of the show.
I'm happy to say, Brooklyn stole the show and did her momma proud. It was worth all the struggle of the day to see her sweet face light up that stage. And she totally killed it. My girl.
Any hard core "I Love Lucy" fans like me out there? This was an undeniable perfect plot line for that show. But I'm happy to say I'm walking without my crutches and doing fine and the baby is as well. I'll be back to my normal, uncomfortable pregnant self in no time. Just glad it's all over and we can go on with our crazy holiday already!!
A huge thank you to everyone at the show who rushed to my side and helped Brooklyn get ready for her first show. And, of course, all my love to my husband who kept me sane that entire day! I'm sorry if I took out your back with all the lifting. :(

Brooklyn in front of the theater literally 30 seconds before the ordeal.

The lovely ER. Me having a breakdown. Both from pain and worrying about my sweet Brooklyn. The only reason we got this picture is because I asked Freddy to check my camera for any damages from the fall. Lovely.

Before getting wrapped. Can you tell I'm on pain killers at this point?

Brooklyn backstage with her friend.

Her on the very end, right.

Flying in the middle.

Thanks for being wonderful Brooklyn. I'm sorry mommy is so clumsy. :(

Thor's Pirate Party!

2011-12-08T13:05:00.000-08:00

Tre's cousin Thor had the cutest pirate party the other day! Look how cute they all were...

Birthday boy Thor

Spencer

Tommy

Tre

Rad cake! Way to go Amy!

The Berges'

2011-12-05T11:03:00.000-08:00

Hello picture perfect family! My friend Carrie Anne (and my brother-in-laws sister) wanted to take family pictures during the Thanksgiving break. They turned out beautiful! Probably because all of them are. :) Love my camera and new lens. I'll be working on getting good head shots for my parents business. They own an acting school and they're giving me an amazing opportunity to work with some of their students. Let's see how multitasked I can be with the baby coming...

Happy Thanksgiving, Vegas!

2011-12-01T14:00:00.000-08:00

I love Vegas. I lived there a couple of years and you just have to love the ambiance of the whole place, on and off the strip. We figured this would have to be our last chance of travel being as how I'm due January. So Monica was sweet enough to make things happen and have us out for the holiday.

What better way to start off the trip than to go to a show. One of the best things about having fellow dancing friends in Vegas is getting an occasional comp'd show. My friend Jen is dating "Tim McGraw" in the Country Superstars show at Golden Nugget. We're not country people, but it was a show none the less. Funny enough, I had worked with the Willie Nelson years ago at a different show. Small world in Vegas...

We had time to go to Freemont Street.

Tim McGraw looking guilty next to my big belly...

Monica homemaker. With store bought rolls. S'about right.

The man behind the magic. He's our "Buddy"Crocker.

Glorious.

The food was ridiculous! So good!

We took the kids to The Muppets. We all loved it of course. Monica and I grew up with the Muppets, so it's kind of fun passing it along to our next generation.

There is a HUGE Bass Pro Shop we went to where divers fed the fish and answered questions.

There was a "Dori" fish that kept hanging around our side of the tank.

They had mermaids too :)

With Rowan, getting hyped for Santa.

Alright Christmas... bring it.

Sidetracked Sledding

2011-11-29T09:37:00.000-08:00

On our way to Las Vegas, we decided to take the kids sledding. We drove past Victorville and really just parked by the side of one of the resorts that wasn't even open yet and helped ourselves. No one seemed to care. We only stayed about 45 minutes which was plenty for us to enjoy. The kids looooved it!

We only had time for a mini snowman :)

Triton Football Party '12

2011-11-27T18:28:00.000-08:00

We finally had our end of season football party. Tre was so happy to see all of his buddies. Plus, he wasn't expecting a trophy! It was a family event so you can only guess how crazy it was. They also gifted Freddy for being a coach with a signed picture from the team. Until next year... :)

Night Out With Nana and Papa

2011-11-20T21:46:00.000-08:00

My parents have been waiting for the kids to be the right age to have a night out and a sleep over! They were so excited that they are now "mature" enough to do it! They went to "Happy Feet 2", stayed up late and got up way too early! :) Hope this will be one of many to come...

Birfday Boys

2011-11-17T12:55:00.000-08:00

Knox turned 2 a few weeks ago!! He was about an hour shy of being born on his dad's birthday. And Freddy's birthday is the day before his dad's, so we decided to have a party for our 3 generations of Kuhn men. A simple party at the park with pizza, cake, and family did the trick. Happy Birthday boys!! I love you all! Fred, for the man you created... Freddy, for the man that you are... and Knox, for the man you will become! My life is blessed with exceptional men!!

Cabo '11

2011-11-09T08:19:00.000-08:00

Freddy and I haven't taken a trip without the kids for about 4 years! So we got super excited when we found out we had a ton of resort points to go to Cabo San Lucas with Spencer, Reta, Moe and Amy! To be honest, I wasn't that excited with having to arrange a babysitter, being large with child and I hate traveling. It really wasn't until I was there that I realized how much I needed it.
We actually left on Freddy's birthday and thought we would be able to celebrate in Cabo except the airline screwed up our flight plans and we ended up having to stay our first vacation night in lovely Phoenix. (At least that upgraded us to first class.) We ended up going to Ruth's Chris anyway for a nice birthday dinner.
So traveling at the beginning was not ideal, but as soon as we got there, I was really able to just let my hair down. I guess I never really realized how much time and energy the kids really are. I was able to feel like a normal person, pregnant and all.
We stay at Fiestamericana every time. The room was gorgeous and so spacious and thankfully had AC! It was 95+ degrees the whole time.
The boys surfed everyday. There was lots of pool time in all of the infinity pools. Many nights of going into town for dinner and movies. I even got an amazing massage! (Exhale...) And there was a day where I literally laid in bed, ate crap and watched what ever I wanted on TV. Do you know how many mornings I've woken up and longed to have just one day like that?!
Of course, by the end of the week, I was absolutely missing my babies. Grass is always greener... right?
It was nice to come home to my sweet children who I am absolutely too hard on sometimes and forget how wonderful and how good they really are. I have great kids. So blessed. I guess I'll just need to go on more trips and get pampered just a little more so I realize that more often. :)
Thank you Blair and Shanna for taking Brooklyn! She loves you guys! And thank you Heather for mothering the boys for the week. My trust with you kept me at ease the whole trip.

Nice to have a personal tray whilst waiting for our plane.

Ruth's Chris

Luxurious 1st class 'cause it's so luxurious with 2 more inches of leg space.

Birthday lunch at the famous LAX restaurant.

Finally making it!!

Our room really was amazing!

Lovely Reta at one of our pools.

This guy decided to join us for lunch :)

Cool human statue. Peek a boo Spencer...

In the movie theater. Hmmm, maybe a little too much sun that day?

I caught Freddy makin' moves on Julieanne Hough. Naughty boy.

Woooork!... Covergirl!!

2011-11-06T08:09:00.000-08:00

I did it. I made the big time. I'm now a model. (Haaaaaaaaaa!) No, I did a little model shoot for a maternity site and they let me have some of the shots. I apologize if I offend with the naked belly. They're not THAT cute uncovered...

Halloween '11

2011-11-01T20:15:00.000-07:00

It's so nice to be so close to family! We had a get together with some of the cousins this year and had a great night of trick-or-treating. Once Knox figured out what we were doing, he was in hog heaven!

So glad the kids were up to doing a theme this year. Such good sports!

Cutest Yoda ever!!

Cousin Thor in candy action!

This the moment the light bulb went off...

Aunt "Meme" as a mummy.

Sugar rush...sugar rush...sugar rush!!!

Vintage Photo Shoot- 1960's Wendy

2011-10-13T18:16:00.000-07:00

My friend Wendy has that perfect "Twiggy" look to her, so I was amped when she agreed to do a mod "60's" makeup/photo shoot for my vintage portfolio. Turned out awesome! This truly is one of my favorite era's of makeup. Just fearless! Way to work it, Wendy! :)

And the Training Wheels Come Off!!

2011-10-10T20:17:00.000-07:00

Tre just learned to ride his bike last week and Brooklyn apparently didn't want to be out shined! So she got the hang of it this week! Knox is feeling it too. Unfortunately, he'll have to be a bit patient and wait at least for another year :) Proud of my brave kids stepping up to the plate!! (And for daddy patiently working with them!)

Anyone for Tea?...

2011-10-06T16:38:00.000-07:00

There's a charming little tea house in San Juan that my mom has been planning on taking "just the girls" for quite a while. Monica was in town for her birthday so it was the perfect time to go. Such sweet ambiance for the ladies! They have fresh scones and custom made tea and sweet little kids tea plates. It was so cute! We got right into it with the hats. What better way to finish off a girls day but a mani/pedi! Such a fun day! Thank you, Nana!

Notice the pinky :)

Intro to a scone.

Prop-uh ladies...

Girls... Guard Your Hearts

2011-09-28T20:40:00.000-07:00

Maternity Shots with Jess

2011-09-22T16:00:00.000-07:00

My friend Jessica just moved back from New York and came over yesterday to do some maternity photos. I'm never good about getting the fancy pictures done, so she made it easy by coming over. She was willing to go to some fancy places to do it too, but I'm just so lazy and tired, we just did it around the house. She's awesome! I love my Jess! Thanks for sharing your talents, love!(FYI - Jess was the one that got me and Freddy together. Lots of thanks in her corner :)

All the girls :)

Tre's Artwork

2011-09-15T21:54:00.000-07:00

I don't think I need explain this one...

Back in San Clemente

2011-09-11T19:58:00.000-07:00

We love being back in San Clemente! We really were looking anywhere in Orange County so Freddy could be close to work, in SC. (When we lived in Oceanside his commute was 45 minutes to work each day.) Luckily enough, we came across a great condo in SC that had this amazing view of the ocean! Really, it's what sold us. We've had to down size. The condo is older. But the neighborhood is so quiet, we are right next to the pool and Freddy is literally 5 minutes from work. We're also close to everything and pretty much everyone we love. The kids love it as well. We are very fortunate everything worked out the way it did to get in. We feel so blessed right now. Here are a few shots of our view. Beautiful!

To the right is Dana Point.

School Days, School Days...

2011-09-07T22:05:00.000-07:00

It's here. That day. The day you know will arrive at some point when you're holding your new baby boy in your arms. Then, with a quick blink, it's the first day of kindergarten. Next he'll be asking for keys to the car. Surprisingly, I wasn't as emotional as I thought I would be. I get excited to see the progression of my children! I can't wait to see what he is capable of this year! A very proud day for me indeed. 1 down...

Us walking to school with the cousins.

Perhaps it made it a bit easier having his 2 other cousins starting that day as well. Fortunately, they all have different teachers, but can play with each other during recess.

He dove right in. No hesitation. This boy is ready.

His teacher is Mrs. DeMille. I had a parent that told me her other kids had had her and she was trying to get her last daughter into her class they loved her so much. So yay for us! Tre got a good one!

Here's to a great year of learning!

Labor Day '11

2011-09-05T21:09:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to Doheny Beach with their cousins today in hopes of giving Tre and Brooklyn their first surf lesson. The waves are really shallow there so it's a perfect place to learn. It wasn't as smooth as planned being that it started to rain with thunderstorms! It was off and on, so at one point, Freddy was able to take them out and give them a quick mini lesson. They did great! They didn't try standing yet, but they rode the waves a few times on their boards. The water was so cold that that was all they could really stand. I was so proud! I'm anxious to take them out again on a warmer day to see how they do again...

Getting Tre ready.

Knox was a bit jealous of all the action. :)

Tre riding it in.

Brooklyn's attempt.

She was proud of herself too.

We were all freezing.

The kids had fun anyway.

Older and Wiser

2011-09-01T18:04:00.000-07:00

Cannons in Dana Point

That right... I'm very much an older and wiser 34 year old. Happy Birthday to me! :) We've been so busy with moving back to San Clemente that I haven't had a chance to blog about our new place. (It's still in chaos, so I'll post new pics when it's more presentable.) For my birthday, Freddy took me to Cannons, an amazing restaurant that overlooks Dana Point Harbor. And the food was ridiculously good! I joked with Freddy about how he's never really bought me jewelry for any of my birthdays. No complaint on my part. I'm really picky when it comes to jewelry. I'm not a diamond and pearls kind of gal so we went to a boutique and looked for something to my liking. We found some overly priced bling that made me happy :) So nothing too exciting, but awesome none the less. Probably my favorite part was when I jokingly said, "K babe. You have to tell me 34 things you love about me." He proceeded to text them to me throughout our dinner. I'd post 'em, but some of 'em are none of your business ;) I was just impressed he thought of that many. I must be pretty awesome... I'm loving my 30's and I'm looking forward to so much more coming up. We are loving our place in San Clemente and I'm anxious to post some pictures of our beautiful ocean view. Till then...

A better view of the harbor.

Yaaay... presents!

I like cuffs so I found this great cuff with swarovski's and a fun titanium piece. I'm not fancy when it comes to bling.

My parents got me a gift card to MAC. Probably the last place where I actually "need" anything, but I already knew what I would fork out on. Brushes. And for those familiar with the brush collection I already have, I'm sure you're shaking your head. You can never have too many brushes! When I'm working on shoots where I'm working on multiple people and I 'm on a time schedule, I don't really have the time to clean every brush, so it's always good to have more ready to go. If you'll believe it, there's a few I actually didn't have so I doubled up on some. Happiness :)

Go Tritons!!

2011-08-21T21:32:00.000-07:00

Tre's team did a great job this Saturday! It was so fun going and cheering for Tre. We all had our Triton shirts on and enjoyed a 32-0 win! Tre tries so hard. He gets better each week and we are so proud of him. We even got Knox to cheer "Go Tre!" throughout the game. Thor plays on the team as well so that makes it much more fun for Tre. GO TRITONS!!

Cousin and best bud Thor.

Workin' on getting this girl pom-poms.

Big fat pregnant me.

Daddy assist coaches.

Brooklyn's Turn to Yosemite

2011-08-08T21:08:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn had her turn in going to Yosemite this trip! Many of the other cousins came along as well. Freddy said she kept up so well! That's my girl. :)

What Could Be More Perfect?

2011-07-18T12:09:00.000-07:00

4th Fun! '11

2011-07-10T18:00:00.000-07:00

We had a great 4th! For the past few years, we've gone to my parents for swimming and BBQ then head over to their community fireworks show. They always have a great band with lots of sweets. The weather was perfect this year! Love spending family time on holidays :)

The kids were a little more fearless with their floaties!

BTW: This is my new lens. Love it!

Gangster Tre.

Waiting for the fireworks show.

My Aunt Dru and John came out for the fun.

My cousin Carey with his girlfriend.

Surrounded by the people I love.

Knox dug on the show!! He was a bit uneasy since it was way past his bedtime, but the second the fireworks started his eyes never left the sky!

Jazz on the Strip!

2011-07-05T21:59:00.000-07:00

I finally got to do the big Jazzercise job in Vegas last weekend. I can't believe how big of an event it was and how many people from different states/countries there were! Amazing! We literally had time to eat and sleep. That was about it. I had my friend Amanda help to assist me for the weekend. We had about 24 girls to get ready before their last show and Burlesque launch. Lots of lashes, lots of glitter and bright pink cheeks and lips! A dream job :) I love working for this company! So down to earth. They truly love what they do and love their staff. All great people!
After a long day of work, Amanda and I went to see The Lion King at Mandalay Bay. My friend Aaron currently plays Timon there and he was so amazing! He took us on a back stage tour and showed us all the neat props and costumes. The highlight of the trip:)

The view of my room. Shut up.

Amanda and me.

Getting the gals ready.

Me with Shanna Banana.

This room within a half hour would be wall to wall Jazzercisers.

Rehearsal.

Our Burlesque girls.

The show/class. No joke, these girls managed to put on a great class for an hour straight with no rest time. Bless their hearts!

Judi, founder, enjoying her work.

A picture with our last shoot.

Me and Aaron. So pleased he has done so well with his career. Very much deserved. Incredibly talented!

Top of Half Dome

2011-07-01T18:13:00.000-07:00

A view of Freddy at the top of Half Dome in Yosemite. This is a well known cliff called the Diving Board. You get the picture...

9 Weeks

2011-06-23T19:31:00.000-07:00

I've either been incredibly busy or incredibly morning sick. Never any fun. So here's a new post for ya. I went to the doctor 2 weeks ago and I loved this ultrasound picture they gave me. I don't think I've ever seen one this clear so early in the pregnancy. When she was doing the ultrasound, the baby was moving so vibrantly and was waving his/her little hand so clearly, it really put me in awe. I love that the miracle of this whole thing still blows me away! We will find out in a few weeks what it will be. Any guesses??

Yosemite with Tre

2011-06-14T08:17:00.000-07:00

Freddy was brave enough to bring Tre along on his last Yosemite trip with some of his older cousins. And he did a really good job! He kept up with the other kids pretty well! He's excited to go again. Grateful to have a husband who wants to give so much time to his children and to teach them about the neat places to see and explore out there.

L-R Cousin Milo, Kyra, Uncle Moe, Ella, Roxy, Tre, and uncle Dave

Huge trees!

Tre is obsessed with binoculars! Apparently, Freddy introduced Tre on how to BA out the window on this trip. So proud.

Uncle Dave with a beautiful waterfall.

Carole Lombard

2011-06-10T20:23:00.000-07:00

My friend Renee asked me to make her daughter up like Carole Lombard for a "Great Gatsby" party. 'Twas a fun project.

Happy Memorial Day!

2011-06-08T16:11:00.000-07:00

Fun day with my parents. When they invite us over, we get really excited because they make the best food for holidays! They didn't disappoint! The kids had a blast in the pool. It's nice that Tre is out of the wimpy stage and is up for getting thrown around in the pool. Beautiful day for a party! ;)

Beach Camping and the Pier

2011-06-06T21:52:00.000-07:00

Every year we go camping with the Nemrow's at the San Clemente State Beach. (So strange because we used to live 5 minute walking distance from there...)
We only went for one night being that it was totally booked. They got us a great spot over looking the water!
The next day it was too cold to lounge on the beach, so we took the kids on the pier. Knox loooved it! He couldn't get away from us fast enough! Midway, he found a ginormous pelican that, and I'm not joking, looked like he was going to fly off with him!
Tre saw that there were people fishing. Then those magic words, that I know my dad's been waiting for for years and years, came out of Tre's mouth. "I wanna go fishing..." We called his Papa the next day and my dad literally went and bought a bunch of fishing gear to take Tre. He picked him up the next day and Tre caught his first fish. (Sad, my camera wasn't working, so the story is gonna have to be memory enough.) So that was eventful weekend. Thankful for friends to camp with and Papa's to take us fishing.

Love that our kids love each other. I love Mackenzie in this!

Scary Tre.

You can kind of see our view of the water.

Knox on the pier.

Hooooly bird!

Princess Brooklyn (4 Years Old!)

2011-05-19T21:18:00.000-07:00

My mom and I have pretty much been planning this day for the past 2 years. And it was awesome!! For Brooklyn's 4th birthday we took her to the Bibbiti Bobbiti Boutique at Disneyland! It was a complete surprise to her! The morning she woke up, I asked, "Hey Brooklyn. Wanna go have lunch with Nana today?" She nodded and seemed pretty content with that being her birthday fun. Oh... little did she know...
We did meet up for lunch, then just "happened" to drive by the big D-Land! It took her a few minutes to figure out where we were, but when she did, her eyes just lit up! (And we were so giddy just knowing she didn't know the half of it!)
"It's just us girls today, Brooklyn!" "Yeah! Just us geerls!" She repeated that phrase about 50 more times that day! Cutie pie!

When we got out of the car, I opened the trunk to show her a present I got her. She wasn't aloud to open it until later. She carried that bag for about 2 hours before she opened it. Didn't even take a peek!

She was just happy with the Castle Themed Bag.

Sweet with Nana.

We let her open her present which was her princess dress for the whole princess transformation!

I chose Ariel for her. She loves The Little Mermaid and of course has a connection to her with her red hair... She loooooved it! (I got her matching flip flops as well.)

They were so sweet. Calling her Princess Brooklyn, and Your Highness. I think my mom and I were about to rip some of the girls out of their chairs so we could have a turn...

They let her pick her makeup colors, a ring and a crown.

They used this wand with glitter in it and sprinkled her head saying "Bobbiti Bobbiti Boo!"

They turned her around and faced a curtain that opened up to a mirror with lights and sparkles on it.

Shut up! So cute!

They put a sweet banner on her and gave her a little bag that they put her brushes and clothes in.

Contentment in it's purest form.

We walked around for the rest of the day and people would just stare and say, "Ooo... what a pretty princess!"

At one point, Brooklyn looked up at me and said, "Mom. I'm happy." My mom and I both lost it. She was such a good girl all day. So patient. Didn't ask for anything else than what she was given. I love my precious Brooklyn. I love that I got the daughter I got. As beautiful as she looked and felt this day, it doesn't compare to the beauty of her disposition and countenance. This is MY baby! I think all in all, she was so happy that it was... "Just the geerls!" Happy Birthday!! (And thank you Nana for making it a special day as well!)

Mother's Day '11

2011-05-16T20:28:00.000-07:00

'Twas a very sweet and special Mother's Day. Tre and Brooklyn's preschool had a little party for us mom's. They made us hats and painted our nails. (If you take a nice close look, Brooklyn went off on my nails... ha!) The kids sang songs and assumed all of the treats and goodies were meant for them, so it was your typical mommy's day party. On Sunday I invited my mom and Freddy's mom over for dinner. (Unfortunately, no pictures.) But it was a nice get together and the kids love seeing their grandparents. So to all you lovely ladies out their that go by that ever so sacred name of "mom," I salute your overlooked, under appreciated hard work. Much love to you and your time and sacrifices to make and raise good people. :)

Good News...

2011-05-06T21:11:00.000-07:00

This week I went to get my hair done at my friend Jen's. I had mentioned that I thought by chance I could be pregnant. She got all giddy and said, "Ooo! I have a pregnancy test you can use!!" She is 6 months along... Anyways, while my hair was processing (big shock I'm not a natural blonde...), I took a little trip to the bathroom. At first I couldn't tell what it read. (The tests with the lines are so tricky.) But Jen looked and she said, "No look! There's line two! Congratulations!!" We both were jumping up and down and laughing hysterically. More just because we were playing it up. :) I was trying to figure out how I was going to tell Freddy. He's really hard to surprise with this stuff considering he knows my cycles, conceiving days,... honestly if he could have the baby, he would. I just texted him this picture of me with the foils in my hair and wrote Congratulations Daddy. To say the least, he was thrilled. I later went and bought a digital test (you know, the ones that actually read PREGNANT/NOT PREGNANT) and we were in the clear. Pretty exciting!
That night we took the kids to dinner and told them the good news. I'm not sure they quite get it, but they will when my stomach is bulging in a few months...
We are so thrilled and feel so blessed! Considering this will be our last, I'm going to take every little thing in. Even the morning sickness... if I can just get passed that! We pray for a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby and are so truly grateful for this upcoming addition to our family.

Easter '11

2011-04-29T22:24:00.000-07:00

Cookie makin'

Egg Coloring

Easter Morning

Love how Knox is squeezing his...

Easter Food

Freinds

Cousins

Family

Bunnies

Siblings

Waiting

Hunting

Finding

Loving

More cousins

Hot Daddies. Yay Easter.

Football Regionals

2011-04-27T21:35:00.000-07:00

Freddy's team went to regionals this weekend. They did awesome! They won 2 out of the 3 games. I think they could have won the last except they were back to back and the guys were so tired! Proud of my boys!

Freddy and Moe

San Diego Zoo/Lightroom

2011-04-23T23:10:00.000-07:00

My sister and the cousins came out to visit this past week. We all hadn't been to the zoo for a long time and thought it was a perfect time for the kids! My mom came too. The weather was absolutely perfect that day. When it's either too hot or too cold, it's miserable. But it was slight sweater weather. Knox was a trooper like he always is and looooved all of the animals.

I also just purchased Lightroom 3 which gives character to pictures you take and I love it! I took most of these with my camera phone, but look how a few turned out using the program! (Granted, I didn't do all of them. It's time consuming. So you can just pick out the ones I played with!)

Koala

Cutest little duck kept following us around...

Tre liked the gorillas.

Our cute little navigator.

My FAVORITE! I love both of their faces in this!

And the Winners Are...

2011-04-21T15:03:00.000-07:00

Guess who's team won their league championship??? Regionals this Saturady...

Johns Photo Shoot

2011-04-19T23:51:00.000-07:00

I shot family pictures for my sister a few weeks ago...

Santa Ana Discovery Museum

2011-04-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

We went to the Discovery Museum in Santa Ana about a week ago with Shanna, MacKenzie and Garrett and it was so fun to see the kids so intrigued by science! (For those to drive to Disneyland from southern OC, it's the big black cube one exit before Disney Way.) The exhibition on display was anatomy sponsored by Sesame Street and they made it so fun! They also had other parts of the museum like space and weather that made it interesting to ME! Knox even enjoyed. I really can't wait to go again!

Best buds.

The front of a space shuttle.

Kid size store.

They had big displays that showed how the stomach worked...

... even in the (um hum) digestion area.

Brooklyn was not amused! Hilarious!

Wish I could capture his dance moves ;)

Bed of nails. The kids wouldn't try it. Wasn't bad.

Remember those cool pin things that would form to your hand or face? This was a massive one and the kids wouldn't walk away from it!

What it feels like to fly!

The inside of the cube.

Under a rocket launching!

Love this picture of Tre...

Fun little cylinder you go in and makes the winds go up to 77 mph.

Knox wasn't a fan.

Earthquake study.

Not sure how this was scientific, but fun non the less.

Tornados. Cool. Fun day for everybody!!

"Jump"oline!!

2011-04-03T21:16:00.000-07:00

We went to Vegas to visit Monica and the cousins. Their trampoline (Brooklyn calls it "jump"oline) was the highlight of the trip! What's funny is Knox seemed to love it the most and he ultimately had the crap kicked out of him every time he got on it! Didn't even phase him. We always have a blast when we visit our family!

Sweet cousin Keaton playing with his little cousins...

Handsome child. Oh yeah, he's mine!

Torturing cousins.

BFF's

Best picture of the night!

My New Niece, Taryn

2011-03-31T21:40:00.000-07:00

My sis-in-law Kati had her 4th daughter last week! We got to go see her on our way out to Vegas. She always makes the prettiest babies! (I guess Todd has something to do with that too...)

Proud mama. Love you Kati!

Randomness

2011-03-29T13:50:00.000-07:00

Just some shots of the kids playing at Jumpin'Jammin'. It's funny what a year will do. Tre wouldn't even attempt the slides back then, but now he's hard to find in these places because he's exploring everything!
On St. Patrick's Day, my friend Cassie (who is their preschool teacher as well) sprayed their hair green. Cuteness.

This picture cracks me up...

Mohawk Madness!

2011-03-21T14:11:00.000-07:00

My boys are little hotties with fresh mohawks!

My Man's Football...ness

2011-03-18T14:44:00.000-07:00

Meet the "Upper Decker's." (Thank you Ryan O'Connor for the name suggestion. Frickin' Irish...)
Anyways, last year, Freddy did a season with the league name "Liquid" and they won their championship. Awesome! This year they have some pretty heavy duty players and I'm pretty confident they're on their way to another one! We'll just have to wait and see...

New Helmets

2011-03-17T01:50:00.000-07:00

Fancy, and incredibly annoying, bike bell that came with their helmets...

When Cousin's Save the Day

2011-03-15T19:29:00.000-07:00

We had a fun sleep over for T&B last weekend and had their cousins Thor and Soda come to stay over. We went to Rango the next day. It's just nice to have family friends close by to entertain each other when needed...

When Mommy is Sick

2011-03-13T15:47:00.000-07:00

I'm going on week 3 of being sick. It's horrible because I know I just need to be in bed and rest. But when you're a mom, no can do. I even went to the doctor to get something to help me out. I paid $70 to find find out, "You just need some rest..." Well I haven't been able to really get the kids out of the house except for preschool. (Thank you Miss Cassie.) Anyways, it's funny to see what their imaginations come up with when they've played with every toy and watched evevy movie...

A Fun Find

2011-03-06T21:06:00.000-08:00

I was cleaning out old downloads and documents off my computer the other day and came across this. About 3 years ago my dad was teaching a class about mothers to the gentlemen at church and had asked me to write down a typical day for me as a mother. I never posted it because I didn't think much of it. But reading it now, it really made me reflect on one of the more trying times: that of having two kids under the age of 2. It made me laugh and cry. My dad said it got a good response from the men. I never really write that often and in such detail for that matter, so this will be nice to have and reflect on for the future...

A Day in the Life of Mandy Kuhn

5:30/6:00am - My 2 year old, Tre, enters my room and wakes me up with, “Mummy…Boz? Mummy…Boz? Wash? Mummy…” Now, I have two options: invite the kid into my bed, fight the noise and attempt to get more sleep or get up and give him what he’s asking for. It’s usually the latter. (Translation: Boz – referring to Buzz Lightyear from his favorite movie Toy Story. Wash – meaning he’d like to watch the movie he’s seen hundreds of times already.)

6:15am – Attempt to put something together that remotely looks like breakfast in hopes that he’ll actually eat.

6:30am – Prepare my own breakfast, if Tre permits me to. Share it with him since the breakfast I made for him wasn’t satisfying enough. Pick up the toy room and get it ready for the day. Clean-up Tre’s mess from both of his breakfasts.

7:00am – Go to my 1 year old daughters room to wake her up. I walk in to find that Brooklyn figured out how to take off her diaper again. She is all smiles; probably because she’s proud of the art she has left me in the crib. I pick her up and hold her by the arms to put her in the bathtub. Jokes on me though; I’ve taught Tre to close all doors behind him so the doors leading to the bathroom are closed shut. I attempt to open all of them with my feet.

7:15am – Brooklyn’s squeaky clean only to go downstairs for breakfast and get her all dirty again. Tre walks in yelling, “Cucky? C-C-Cucky?” This is an all day battle. I try to convince a 2 year old that cookies are not breakfast food.

7:30am – Brooklyn cleans her plate, she is my eater, and tries to climb out of the high chair herself only to get stuck holding on for dear life and trying not to fall.

8:00am – Put on Elmo for the kids which usually gives me about an hour to myself, uninterrupted. ie. Check e-mails, pay bills we can’t afford, start chores.

9:00am – I grab Brooklyn’s sheets and pj’s from this morning’s incident to wash them and start laundry.

9:30am – I hear a blood-curdling scream from Brooklyn. I become private investigator to figure out the problem. I find Tre pushing his sister down to stop invading his toys and send him to time out. He walks himself to the laundry room, aka “Time Out”, and cries all the way there.

9:32am – He’s done crying and I ask him to go give Brooklyn a hug and kiss, which he does willingly. Then it’s count down to when it happens again.

10:00am – Whites are done. It’s snack time. The kids get cheese, crackers and chocolate milk…everything I can’t eat because I’m dieting. But who am I kidding, I snack off their plates so much that by the end of the weekend I wonder where I got those two extra pounds. Brooklyn takes her first nap.

11:00am – Colors are being washed. Tre falls onto the pile of whites fresh out of the dyer with his cheese fingers and chocolate baird. He thinks it’s funny to run through the folded piles.

11:30am – Put the dishes away. Tre comes over to help me put the silverware away. This is bittersweet only because it takes me twice as long to get this job done, but I know I’m instilling work ethic in him and teaching him to help. He is very proud of himself when I thank him and give him a big hug. “Yo melcome,” he replies. Wake Brooklyn from her nap.

12:00pm – Prepare lunch. Fight to keep Tre at the table with his food and Brooklyn from standing up in her highchair.

12:30pm – Clean up mess that somehow gets everywhere but their tables. Tre walks his plate to the trashcan and places his sippy cup on the sink. “C-C-Cucky?” I’m happy to finally reward him with one cookie.

1:00pm – Brooklyn, again, has a blood-curdling cry. This time it’s diaper rash. Daddy didn’t realize that too much apple juice and too many raisins the night before will cause blow outs. I set her in a bathtub with baking soda to “disinfect” her and treat the problem. This will continue through out the day. Fix Brooklyn a bottle.

1:30pm – Naptime. The sweetest word to every mother. Both go down. Tre crawls out of his portacrib 4 times only to find me standing at his door each time ready to put him back in. He finally gives up. Time to workout.

2:00pm – Workout’s done. With what time I have remaining I will try to get myself ready for the rest of the day.

3:00pm - I was able to actually do my hair today. Most of the time the kids wake up and keep me company in the bathroom while I get ready but end up pulling everything out of the cupboards, go through my make up box or through toilet paper into the toilet and I can never finish getting ready.

3:30pm – Pick up toy room again. Snack time. Dramatic diaper changes for both.

4:00pm – Call people in the ward for my calling. Organize car rides and activities for the next evening for the Young Women. Put Tre in time out for talking back to me.

4:30pm – Start to get dinner prepared. Daddy will be home soon and I have to make the house look “decent” so that that he doesn’t think I’ve been sitting on the couch, watching Oprah, eating chocolate all day. While I’m picking up, Brooklyn is upset. Her Baby Einstein show is not entertaining her and no toys tempt her; she just wants mom’s attention. Everything gets put aside to give it too her. Tre sees his little sis getting attention and sibling rivalry starts to churn. I love both but have to be firm with Tre as he pushes her aside.

5:00pm – Daddy’s home, a favorite part for all of us. Freddy plays with the kids to give me a few minutes to get dinner ready.

5:15 – Dinnertime. I’ve yet to have a hot meal. In between bites I fight to keep Tre sitting at the table and to eat his food and Brooklyn from spinning around to play with blinds. Brooklyn, again, cleans her plate. Freddy attempts to feed Tre a green bean. World War III.

5:30 – It’s Monday. Family Home Evening. We sing Sunbeam, Popcorn Popping, and Families Can Be Together Forever. We are impressed with how well Tre knows the songs from Nursery. Brooklyn dances to the music. Tre says the prayer with Daddy’s help and ends with, “E-men.” We play the “Where is Jesus?” game. We take numerous pictures of the Savior and Tre has to find him in the pictures. However, jumping on the couch is so much more tempting and Brooklyn attempts to get into the fireplace again. The ashes make her think it’s an indoor sand box. We unfortunately know this by experiencing her playing in them before.

6:00pm – Bath time. Third time’s a charm for Brooklyn. Tre thinks it’s a fun idea at first until the actually washing takes place. He wails a few high pitch screams as I rinse his hair and face. Put on PJ’s.

7:00pm – Bedtime. We all kneel down and say a family prayer, give hugs and kisses and say our I love you’s. Lights out. If we’re lucky, both will zonk out from their busy day. Tre might attempt to crawl out of his crib to hang with us a few times, but he seems tired, so we’re in the clear.

7 – 10pm – Quality adult time. This part of my day is extremely important. If I lose this part of my day I may go into “Mommy Overload.” With these few hours with my sweetheart, I feel like a normal person again and it helps me to wake up to my kids with a happy heart.

10:00pm – Prayers. Lights out. We thank the Lord for healthy kids, a happy home, and the gospel which is the foundation of our happy family. Not an easy job, but worth every blessing.

About the age of the kids during this entry.

Vintage Photo Shoot - 1930's Aimee

2011-02-22T20:22:00.000-08:00

I had my friend Aimee be my 1930's model! Gorgeous girl!! So easy to shoot! Really, her hair was the hardest thing to do, but we got it done and I'm pleased with how it all turned out. I still have a lot of editing, but for now, I'm happy with the result. Aimee will eventually be my Audrey Hepburn. Excited for that! I have a Jean Harlow I'll be doing next...

M' Ne Ne

2011-02-21T17:52:00.000-08:00

My friend Rene came into town to visit this weekend. Any excuse to go out to Palm Desert for a girls weekend! She lives in Missouri so we don't get to see her very often. I've know 'Ne more than half my life. She and my sister Monica have been friends since college and she basically became my other sister. I love Rene. Sweet, kind and beautiful with just enough edge to make me happy.
My mom, Aunt Dru, Monica, and friend Colleen were all there to play. Yay. Luz me sum gals!

Sh-sh-shoppin'...

Desserts

Birthdays

Churchin'

Lovin'

Long time friends.

8 Years!

2011-02-10T20:12:00.000-08:00

Freddy and I celebrated 8 years this week! We had dinner at The Fisherman Restaurant in San Clemente and caught a movie. Not too thrilling, but there's nothing we really love to do more than have a good dinner and a flick! Happy anniversary Freddy! I love that you married me! You had many choices, I know, but you chose me, and I'm grateful. I love you!

There's a sushi bar called Miso Harney Sushi next to our movie theater! Love...

Happy 5th Tre!!

2011-02-04T09:07:00.000-08:00

Tre's 5! My baby's 5! CRAZY! Tomorrow he'll be going to high school! No way...
Tre is totally into Legos right now. So what better way to celebrate the day of his birth than a Lego theme! We let Tre have a sleep over with two of his cousins then headed out to Legoland the next day...

With Grandma and Grandpa.

Transformers always do the trick.

Spencer

We gave little Lego toys to everyone so they all could play.

Brooklyn got chapstick because they don't sell awesome girlie Legos. Lame.

Star Wars Legos. His absolute favorite.

My attempt at a Lego cake. I learned about "crumb coating" afterwards. Would've been good to know.

He got what it was. That's all that counts.

This place is so incredible! All of the replica's were so amazing!

Freddy, mid "Vinnie" impression," in front of New York.

Vegas. Pretty much exactly how the strip's laid out!

Grand Central Station

Time Square

Street dancers. We got a kick out of the chick! :)

Sad we're too early for the Star Wars launch!

Brooklyn sad she wasn't tall enough for a ride. That was really the only down fall with Legoland. That happened a lot.

Tre's first real roller coaster.

Close-up of the "fun" he had on it. Hilarious.

Sweet Knox being such a good sport the whole day.

Love his face in this.

True boy!

This ride was lame. Every kid had to have an adult to do the ride but they didn't really explain that to you in the beginning. I sat with Knox for 45 minutes while Freddy and the kids waited in line only to find out only one on them could go. Blah.

Envy.

Sorry. You don't get cuter than this.

The park is toddler friendly though. They had a great area with large Legos and trains to ride on for Knox.

Crazy Spencer. :)

No better way to end a fun day in front of their hero, Indie.
It was a beautiful, fun filled day! Happy Birthday, sweet boy!

Vegas 1/11

2011-02-01T16:03:00.000-08:00

I went out to Vegas a few weeks ago to teach a makeup class. While I was there, my friend Tara invited Monica and me to see her new show "Vegas! The Show" and it was awesome! Good old fashion show with the dancing girls in head dresses with feathers and brilliant singers. There were even these tappers that blew me away! You don't see good tap training that much anymore. Tara was the headline dancer! She blew everyone out of the park! Go Tara! We met up with her after the show in the club attached to the theater, and all Monica and I kept eyein' was the dancing pole at one of the tables. So sad that the whole time we were talking and praising Tara, all we could think of was getting a picture wrapped up on that pole. Tara could sense the anticipation so she had the pleasure of capturing our "hot mom pole" picture. Or at least our "mom pole" picture. Funny enough, our mom was super jealous she wasn't in it with us. Next time, mom. Anyways, it was a fun trip. Thank you, Tara!

And the Legend Continues...

2011-01-30T21:22:00.000-08:00

I promised myself I would never force my daughter to dance. Until, one day, those beautiful words came out of her sweet little mouth... "Mommy, I want to go to Ballerina Class!" I got so excited when she asked. Really, it was only a matter of time until she figured out Barth girls dance... and we're good at it. (Sorry... bursting a bubble. But it's like breathing for us.) It was so fun buying the tights, the shoes, the bobby pins for her hair, teaching her positions 1-6, etc. In fact I may have gone overboard with preparing her. After all, she is 3. She loves it! And she's good! Every night in her prayers she asks to go to dance class again. Let's hope it sticks. My mom's mom danced, my mom dances and me. I don't know why she didn't just dance out of the womb! Loving this new and fun experience with her!

On our way...

We got there a bit early. The class was quite full. I totally turned into one of those crazy mom's my students used to have. Makes sense now...

Portoflio - Jen 1920's

2011-01-29T21:13:00.000-08:00

I'm fasinated by vintage...ness! Anything vintage, hair, clothes, makeup, I love. So now that I have my camera, and other resources, I'm starting my portfolio in vintage makeup. This is Jen, my friend and hair dresser. I had seen some other pictures she had taken before and was amazed at how well she was in front of the camera. With her babydoll face, I knew I had to use her as my flapper/20's model. I waxed and concealed out her brows and gave her pouty thin ones. I wish I had more money to fork out on good wigs, but unfortunately, the ones I had worked decent enough. She did an amazing job displaying the right character for me. I got some good shots. Check them out! (I'll be doing '30's next month...)

Jen will kill me for posting this...

Her brows are really dark, so it was tough "erasing" them.

Final result.

Love.

Hawaiian Christmas- EXTRAS

2011-01-24T15:31:00.000-08:00

Love this shot!

We tried to get some family shots, but the weather was so unpredictable.

Out on one of many dinner dates!

We asked for a cab, the hotel gave us a limo. We looked pretty good going to the movies!

The boys in the limo!

At the end of every day! They were wiped out!

We went to church at this beautiful building!

Movies with Papa.

Fun playground close by.

Summing up out amazing time. Aloha everyone!

Hawaiian Christmas- Part 5 POLYNESIAN CULTURE CENTER

2011-01-21T12:43:00.000-08:00

If you every plan on going to Hawaii, you MUST visit the Polynesian Culture Center. BYU Hawaii has organized this visitors center to help international, polynesian students pay for their schooling. It's not religious by any means. It's just a beautiful "theme park" that teaches the diversity of the polynesian culture. Tahiti, Samoa, New Zealand, etc. It's an all day event with a luau and an amazing show at the end of the night. (Check out the hula dancing at the end!) Full of entertainment! I love this culture. So family oriented, full of laughter, and they know how to eat! It was POURING most of the day but we had a great time in our stylish ponchos. We got a chance to see the temple, too. It got a bit crazy with the rain, but I was really proud of the kids. They did amazing and had a great time as well! Thank you to my mom and dad for treating us to such a special day!

One of our tour guides from New Zealand. All of the workers call everyone "cousin."

My attempt at art.

Garrett trying Poi, kind of a Hawaiian sweet potato dish, without the sweet.

Knox tried it too.

Reaction.

Hula lesson.

Tattoos.

Samoan teaching how to make fire. He was hilarious. All of the shows were so entertaining!

Poi balls. My dad has a real bad memory of these. Nuff said...

Knox even did good in the rain.

Visitors center at the temple.

The Johns were the only ones brave enough to take their picture in front of the temple with the crazy weather conditions.

Amazing show at the end of the night. The kids only saw about 5 minutes of it. They were out like lights from the crazy day! Highlight of our trip!