Daddy Daughter Days!

So my dad flew in wednesday night!! Funsies!!! It was still pretty early, like 7 ish at night so we went out on a candy run and came home and watched a movie, Cool Hand Luke! Funsies!!!
The next day, Thursday, (as in yesterday) we went on yet another shopping spree! This one was way bigger! lol. Me, Ash, Kaiden and my dad at the mall for hours! Haha. My poor dad it was a good thing Darren got off work early and met us at the mall! =) I got new capris from American Eagle and shoes at Macy's! And Darren got a new pair of pants and a few shirts at American Eagle. Kaiden got a super cute outfit with planes and trains on it! (Ill take pics!) We tried to look for some shoes for Kaiden but were unsuccessful at the Sandy mall. =( After our long day of shopping, we went to Mazza's for dinner!!! And Maggie Moo's ice cream for dessert! Hooray for Red Velvet Ice Cream! Yummm!
Today just Dad and Kaiden and I went to the Fashion Place mall to continue our search for a good pair of walking shoes for the Roo- ster! We looked EVERYWHERE and finally wound up at Nordstrom's. I knew they had a ginormous selection of baby shoes but they are fairly expensive so I saved them for last hoping to find a pair somewhere else. After trying on a few pairs of shoes and trying to get Kaiden to walk in them, we decided that, since he's new to walking and all, that he needed a pair of shoes with a very thin sole. Whenever he attempted to walk in a shoe with a thick heel he would face plant into the floor. Sadly, for this reason, we couldn't get him a really cute pair of Puma's. =( So we're at Nodstrom's and we find them! The perfect pair! a super cute, thin soled, Puma shoe!!! I Love Puma's on lil boys! They are truly adorable! Also while we were checking out my dad ran into some friends from our ward back in New Jersey! Bishop Norton's family! I had totally forgot they had moved here. I barely remember them since I only lived in Jersey for my senior year but it was nice to catch up with them and they were really good friends with my parents so my dad was thrilled! What are the odds of running into them in the baby shoe section!? lol.
After our mall escapade, we only had an hour before I had to drive Papa to the airport. So we hung out at home for awhile. It was sad to see my dad go. I really enjoyed having him. And Im super stoked for Chistmas this year! My mom has decided to come out for Kaiden's 1 year birthday party. Which reminds me that I need to start making his invites and scheduling his 1 year photo shoot! Hooray! Kaiden will be 1 year old in barely over a month! Its sooo crazy that the time has flown by sooo fast.
Well Darren is on his way home and after he gets all cleaned up, he plans to take my out on a date to the Cheesecake Factory!! After having family in town we needed a little "Us Time." lol. Plus I think he's excited for their new Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake! Which just so happens to have debuted today! lol.
TTFN!


For your enjoyment! This video was recorded about a week or 2 ago. I've been meaning to upload it! lol. Also, please ignore the background sounds which I attempted to cover with music. Darren was shooting Zombies! =)

Kaiden Playing Cars

Maggie Moo's!

Maggie Moo's is an ice cream place, I think they're pretty much in all but 4 states. So you should know what they are. Anyways I couldnt talk Darren into going out to eat, but I could talk him into going out for some ice cream!! Yummm!
My dad is flying in tomorrow afternoon! Hooray!
Lately Ive been card making and cross stitching. Which has kept me pretty busy. =) I love being busy!
Darren's just been working lots and enjoying family time since his online class is over. Haha.
Kaiden has been a "walking fool" as Darren calls him. He loves to walk around! He also loves talking on the phone! LOL. He will even pick up his play cell phone and hold it up to his ear!! Soooo cute, I'll catch him in a photo one day! lol
Welll I think we're about to wind down with a movie so,
TTFN!

Coss Stitching and the Dentist

I just found out there is a cross stitching store just down the street. Seriously less than a 2 minute drive! Bah!!! I am sooo excited! I really love to cross stitch. Its easy and its time consuming. However I'm not a fan of hanging them on the wall (besides Kaiden's birth announcement, which is matted and framed! lol) So I might just start puttting them together in a lil scrapbook or something. =) Anyways Im sooo excited, I just had to blog about it.
I had plans tonight to got out to eat with Laura and Nicole at "our place", Mazza's! A srumptious Lebanese restaurant. YUMMM! Nicole is a friend of ours from our college days and is moving Wednesday. We made plans about a week ago, but Nicole felt like she was too busy packing and getting ready to move, so she flaked out on us this morning. =( Oh well, Laura and I might go anyways!

*****UPDATE*****
So I did end up going to the cross stitching store I truly believe its just as good, if not better, than Disneyland! The customer service there was INCREDIBLE! And she was soo helpful, she even showed me a few "popular" things to do with cross stitches like adding beadwork and other such things to make your artwork POP! Well I went in there to just look, but seeing all of their finished projects on the wall, plus all of their awesome designs they had on hand, well I was destined to leave there with something! And as all of you know, Halloween is my favorite holiday, so I've got a gigantuan Halloween project ahead of me! lol. I just hope I can finish it in the next 3 months! Plus I think by doing a holiday themed project, I will most likely put it on the wall! =) I was thinking of getting a frame and chaning out the cross stitch for every holiday! I just might have a busy future ahead of me! lol.
Also later today I had a dentist appointment. I always like the dentist, I really don't mind it and I've never had a bad experience.... until today. I went to the same place as last time but today the other dentist was working on my bottom left. I got one of those bad feelings I get. Long story short, he started drilling when I wasn't numb, even after I told him I didn't think I was numb enough yet! Then he had some girl give me the most painful shot of my life, I jumped in the chair it was soo bad! And after all that, he didn't file/ polish my tooth, its sharp and stabbing my tongue! Ugh. so now I've gotta go back today. Lame! I'm now scheduling the rest of my appointments with the good dentist!
At least Darren helped make my night better by snuggling with me and watching a movie I picked out! =) And at least sugar cookies are soft!!!! Haha!
TTFN!

Here is the pattern Im working on. I will be changing up colors and adding cute beadwork so it will look different. And by "different", I mean better! =)

""Swooping bats, dancing rats, glowing pumpkins & witches hats, hazy moonlight, ghosts in flight, all are ready for HALLOWEEN NIGHT!"

Forgot to Mentions =)

Today we've had a pretty lazy day.My fave! Kaiden Skyped with both sets of grandparents and had plenty of good naps! As for Darren and I, we've been eating the few leftover sugar cookies and cake bites from last night! lol.

I forgot to mention in my previous posts that Darren officially finished his online Accounting class last friday!!! Wahoooo! He really hated that class and is glad that its over. He has a break from classes until September when he starts his online Spanish 2 class which should be a breeze for him. He's excited that he gets to brush up on his Spanish (and for the break until September!). =)

Now for the things about Kaiden I have forot to mention. 2 weeks ago he learned to Hi- 5! And Darren taught him yesterday how to use a fork! Big Boy! And he is cutting his 4th and 5th teeth up top! He really enjoyed the firework show last night but he was a little tired since it was waaaaay past his bedtime. It doesnt even get dark enough until 10 pm here! My lil man turns into a pumpkin at 7 pm! Haha. He loved seeing my fam yesterday and playing in the grass.

Here are a few pics from Stacie's 24th of July BBQ party!!!

Lovers of Loving Love! <3

Kaiden: "Ahhhh! That was both delicious & refreshing!" lol

Me n Ash.... and Hannah!!!!!! =) Happy Girls!

He is walking all around but is still a little wobbly. Its soo cute to see him get excited to walk to me. He gets the biggest grin on his face and lets go of whatever he is holding on to and attempts to walk (as fast as he can) to me. lol. He also walks with his hands high up in the air which is hysterical! lol He must do this for balance! =)

Well if I think of anything else I have forgot to mention today, Ill update it later!

TTFN!!!

Happy 24th of July!!!!/ Pioneer Day!/ Mormon Mardi Gras!!

Lil Romriell Family at The Days of 47' Parade!

President Uchtdorf and Fam!

This float won the "Brigham Young Award." It was also my fave!

"Zion or Bust!"

Today is a BIG day in Utah! It't the anniversary of the first group of Mormon Pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley. The day brother Brigham announced "This is the place!" Here in Utah they have lots of festivities, fireworks, parades and celebrations! It's 10 times bigger than the 4th of July!
This morning we woke up and went to the Days of 47' Parade which took place in Salt Lake City at 9 am! Laura spent the night since we had played and shopped all day yesterday at the mall! My favsies! We ended up talking way late and I told her to just spend the night and to go with us to the parade the next day! Anyways, we thought we would be all set since Kaiden usually wakes up at 7am. Well of course he chooses this day to sleep in til 8am! lol. Don't get me wrong, I love sleeping in, but we did end up scrambling outta the door! Even though it took forever to find a place to park, we were able to hike to a very good spot. Only two people deep away from the parade.It was lots of fun and Kaiden's very first parade! Kaiden really enjoyed the performances by the police men on their motorcycles, the marching bands, and all of the horses! Darren and I were excited to see President Uchtodorf! Yup we were 20 feet away from that great man! It was awesome!!! Even though the parade was still going strong, we had to get out of there after an hour cause the sun was soooo hot. lol. At least we beat traffic. =)
Afterwards we got home, Laura left for home and I started baking up some sugar cookies! My aunt Stacie is hosting a fun BBQ tonight at her place and asked me to bring the desserts "cause I'm such an amazing baker!" (Her words!) lol! So I made cake bites yesterday and today I'm making the most delicious cookie I can think of, Grandma Gae's Sugar Cookies! Although it is an extremley complicated recipe, all my cookies turned out, except about 8, which needed amother minute to cook. But they all looked and tasted amazing!!!

The boys working hard at the XBOX while I was baking! lol.

I even made 4 mini cookies for Kaiden! This video is Kaiden eating his first EVER Grandma Gae Sugar Cookie!

My aunt's house was really fun! We ate our BBQ "picnic style" / on the grass and Kaiden had a ball! Hannah was there to! My desserts were a hit (to say the least. lol) and later that night was a fireworks show which was cool too! My poor mom was planning on coming out and was super sad she couldn't make it. (She just had an appendectomy a week ago.) Before the party she asked "Can we Skype later?" and I said "Well, ya of course!" then she was like "I meant at Stacie's party, so it would be like I was there!" lol I told her "that would probably be silly." She is so funny! I ended up taking pics of everybody and sending her picture messages to her phone. =) She is enjoying having her mother be with her. My dad, who was here for a few days last week, then flew to his parents house in Washington state, is gonna fly back here tuesday or wednesday of this week! If my mom gets to feeling better, she is going to try to join him! Oh the joys of flying for free! lol.

Well, its late so

TTFN!

Kaiden's tactic for eating a Grandma Gae Sugar Cookie: First you smear the frosting ALL over the cookie. Second, you take a small bite, then you lick the frosting off of your fingers. Break the cookie into smaller sizes to make the experience more enjoyable. Oh, and don't forget to kick your feet! lol. =)

Pool and Slumber Parties!

Yesterday Ashlea came over after work and we went to the pool! Ya! Its been high 90's this whole week and it was sunny when we walked down there, but how does it get to be cloudy and cold within the hour we are there!?! Oh well, we had fun while it lasted.
Today Laura came up to play with me and spend the night and then play with me all day tomorrow! Saturday is Pioneer day in Utah and most people have Friday off work..... except for Darren. =( Sad Face! Anyways its nice to have friends/ family to hang out with while Darren is at work. =)
Also Kaiden has been trying to "walk" on his knees. lol. Its soo funny. Also he is trying to stand up by himself without any help from furniture, walls, etc. His favorite toy for the past few days is his ring stacker! He is a pro at it! And gets super excited each time he puts a ring on! lol.
Well we are watching The Proposal right now so,
TTFN!

To the Cheesecake Factory!!!!

So my mother is at home now. Her surgery last night went really well. Papa wishes he could be there with her, but instead he decided to cut his trip short (leaving tomorrow) and he bought my grandma Nonie a ticket to fly out this morning to take care of her daughter! Awww! (My grandma was a registered nurse and really likes taking care of people especially family.) I'm sure my mom is loving it but wishes she felt better so she could enjoy her mother more. Actually my mom and my aunt and grandma spent a whole week in Charleston, South Carolina just 2 weeks ago. My grandma is a huge history buff, which is prolly where I get my love of history! lol However my granny's favorite history knowledge is that of the Civil War. Don't ask me why, I think American History is boooooring! lol. I really like the old stuff! The ancient Greeks, Romans, Renaissance, and European history.
So today my sister and Papa went back to Provo to do more apartment searching. We came home last night and compiled a list this time (yesterday was just driving around and stopping at nice apartments) so that they would be more prepared this time around! Well, it turns out they ended up deciding on the very first apartment complex we had looked at yesterday morning. I've been telling my sister for weeks to look at this place cause I knew she would love it. Im just hoping that it will be all she hopes for it to be! =) I like to see her happy!
Well, Ashlea had to work this afternoon so my dad dropped her off at work at is heading back to our casa. We have dinner reservations at moi's (my) favorite restaurant... The Cheesecake Factory!! We called Delyn and her and my niece Sadie are going to join us! Sadie is sure cute! Her and Kaiden look soo much alike, they are definitely cousins! Darren is also skipping his handyman job tonight so that he can come home, shower and then go out to eat with us! Yay! I love being with my family!!
Well with my dad being a pilot, he never has to buy a plane ticket he just shows up to any plane that is departing to the destination he wants to go to. The catch is, that he only gets on a flight if there are open seats. My dad was planning to leave tomorrow morning but looking at the flights that were leaving this evening, there were alot more unsold seats so his odds of getting on a flight were so much better. So he left this evening. =( So sad! But he plans on coming back out next weekend and bringing my madre! Hooray! I hope she feels well enough to travel! lol.
Well the hubby and I are hitting the hay so G'night!
TTFN!

The Papa's Here and Appendicitis!

My Papa is here! Hooray! We picked him up late last night and woke up early to go to Provo. Ashlea is looking for a new apartment that is closer to school and work, so our morning in Provo consisted of driving around and taking tours of model apartments. After a few hours of this we went to the mall to play around and our Papa took us girls on a mini shopping spree! =) New make-up is always good to have around!!! Well shopping around made us really hungry, so we swung on over to Cafe Rio for a filling lunch then we hopped on over to Spoon It Up which is a frozen yogurt place with tons of flavors, including Red Velvet! (Me and my dad's favorite!!!) YUM! So after this long break, we were rejuvenated enough to do another hour or so of apartment hunting. Then we headed home, stopping to pick up Ashlea's pay check and to get groceries at Target! So on the way home my mother calls to tell my dad that she finally went to the DR for her bad stomach pains and that the DR was thinking it was appendicitis but they had to do an ultrasound to make sure and that she'd call us back later. Well we were stressing until she called us an hour later to tell us they were prepping her for surgery to remover her appendix! They wouldnt even let her go home to grab some necessities for fear her appendix would rupture at any time! She told us she would have her DR call us after the surgery to let us know how everything went. And I'm happy to say that she is okay! =) We were all so exhausted from our day, that we sat back and relaxed the whole rest of the night! What a fun/ scary day!
Also I just wanted to add that it is sooo much fun having a walking baby around the house! He is sooo cute! I'm still in shock. Haha.
Well, TTFN!

Law School!

So Darren has been thinking about going to Law School for the past couple of weeks and has finally decided on it! His ideal plan would be to graduate BYU-I in Construction Management (as per the original plan), take the LSATS June 2011, and then attend BYU Provo Law School in 2012. Hooray for moving back to Utah!!! lol.
So today has been fun! Kaiden has been walking all over the place! It's sooo cute!
Well, we are leaving soon to pick up Mi Padre from el aeroperto! lol
So, TTFN..........for now!!! =)

Provo, Cupcakes, a NEW Vaccum and Walking!!!!!

So apparently, I didnt feel like I had drove enough for 1 weekend so I went to Provo today. lol. Laura and I had planned a cupcake bake off so we were super excited. As soon as I got there, we grabbed some lunch and ice-cream then headed over to Wal Mart to get my new vacuum. Thank goodness too! We were using a vacuum my roommates had given me. It was okay but the suction was going out and it was annoying to always have to replace the bags in it. So we got a new, AMAZING BAGLESS one! Hooray! Okay, moving on, then we went over to Target to get our groceries we'd need for the cuppy cakes and a BIG ball for Kiaden to play with. lol. Im addicted to buying this kid toys! =) Then it was off to Laura's place! We started playing around in the kitchen and mixing things together and whipping other things up left and right. And pouring them into their cups and baking them! Well after a few minutes we start to smell something burning! Im thinking what the heck!? So thats how we find out Laura's oven bakes about 75 degrees hotter than it should! Cupcakes were all burnt on the bottoms. Super Sad Day! Oh well, I was already thinking of improvements so it wasn't sooo bad. Well needless to say the day wore us out and Kaiden and I headed home.
Then I get a call from a friend in Rexburg, Amy, who happens to be in my area looking for apartments! She has a teaching internship coming up in my town! Im soo happy for her! Anyways, she called to ask if she could stop by and of course I said yes! It was so nice to see them and she had some very exciting news: she's expecting a baby in February! Awww yay! They couldn't visit for long but it was super nice to catch up with them.
So after Amy and her hubby left, Im playing with Kaiden in his nursery and he pulls himself up on his crib and walks 5 ft to me no problem! And thus I've decided to give my "Kaiden's Walking Officiality!" =) He is just so big, I think he's growing up too fast on us. lol. I will take more videos and post them of his great feat!
Well its been a CraZy Day so,
TTFN!

Stevens Family Reunion

Alright so first off I LOVE family renions! I've been talking up this years Stevens reunion with all of my family. Mostly because I was sooo excited it was going to be in Utah this year and because I didn't think it was that far away. So I guess time just snuck up on me cause my mom calls me at 9 am to remind me the reunion was that day! Well I get super excited. Kaiden's down for a nap so I get myself all ready and get Kaiden all packed up and at 11 am he wakes up. Ashlea calls and asks me what Im up to and I remind her of the reunion and I get her excited to go to! lol. So I get Kaided all bathed and ready and then I get on mapquest. Thinking Price, Utah is maybe 30 mins away I wasn't too worried about it. Well surprise to me mapquest says its a 2 hr drive! BUH! I call Ashlea back and we arrange for me to pick her up and drive together down there. (Remember Darren is working.) Well, 2 1/2 hours later (1 1/2 hr through a ridiclous canyon!) we finally arrive. Mapquest was sooo wrong plus I was speeding the whole way (bad I know) but I was so excited I wanted to get there sooner! If I wasn't speeding, I bet it would have taken us a good 3 hours! Haha!

So its 2:30 pm and we've finally arrived! And everyones chillin in the park hearing and remembering stories about great great granny. Kaiden was enjoying playing in the grass with my year old cousin Clarissa. They were sooo cute together! They were sharing baby carrots! lol It was really relaxing being outside and finally outta that car. It was nice to visit with my aunts and cousins! So its a July day in southern Utah, meaning its high 90's and we've been outside for hours and are totally hot, so we all decided to go back to my gramma's hotel to play in the pool. I didn't pack swim gear since I figured we would only be down for the day but good thing my aunt was able to loan Kaiden a pair of swimming diapers so at least he could cool down. He enjoyed it of course! Our lil water baby!! He was getting passed around by everyone and enjoying every minute in the water. After everyone got all showered and ready after the pool, we went out to eat at this yummy Mexican restarant. Before I know it, its 8 30 pm and its way past Kaidens bedtime so he's getting fussy. So Ash and I said or goodbyes and scadadeled outta there. And good thing we did! Because we just made it out of the canyon by 10 pm and had just barely beaten the dark. It was probably the longest drive home ever! lol. I guess being tired will do that to ya. I was just glad Darren was awake waiting for us! I love him! <3

It was a long hot day but it was way fun to get together with the fam! Also I accidentally hijacked my aunts stroller so I guess we get to see them again sunday on their way back up to Idaho! Hehe!

Well, thats all folks!

TTFN!

Kaiden's New Toy and Walking Officialities!

Today Darren declared that Kaiden is Officially "walking!" Our DR told us he was officially walking yesterday! I think I'm holding off my officiality to the day when he can take more than 10 steps. Lol.
Also, Kaiden is LUVIN' his new toy! Here is a montage clip of him playing wih his new favorite toy! The first clip he was kinda scared of it, but after that he wouldn't stop turning it on and dancing to the music and chasing the balls that fly off!
Enjoy!

Sorry that it just cuts off so abruptly. I really needto invest in a good Movie Maker type thing.

I also wanted to add that Laura and I will be having a Bake Off this saturday to see (and to just test recipes for funs) who can come up with the better version of Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes! I won't let ya'll in on my recipe or plan of attack due to my fear of sabotage, but I feel I may already be in the lead due to Laura's last experience with cupcakes! Burn! (Just playful Banter! =) lol Luvsies Lou Lou!) Also I hear talk of the pair of them starting a baking blog called Love & Chocolate.

TTFN!

9 Month Check Up, Toys and Errands

Today Kaiden had his 9 month old checkup!! Okay he is 10.5 months so we're a little late but there weren't any shots so we're all good! He is 29 inches tall (60th percentile) and weighs 19.4 lbs (20th percentile). He is one long and lean lil man! If we're lucky he has my mom's genes and will be taller than us! Haha. The DR said he is advanced for his age both physically and mentally. She was surprised to see him walking and babbling all over the place. lol Its always good to hear your child is ahead of the game. He is healthy and happy as a clam except he has a really bad yeast infection thats been caused from all the upset tummies he has been getting since he started teething. At the end of the appt they had to prick his toe to draw blood to test his iron, which is also really good. He didn't cry just whinced, but I still felt really bad. We grabbed his prescription (for his infection) and left. =)
We headed for Babies R Us to get some formula and then to Target because I really wanted to pick out a toy for Kaiden. I know the toe prick didn't hurt him but I guess it was more to ease my own mind. LOL. Plus I like having age appropriate toys around the house. =) I found this really cool toy that you drop these balls into and they twirl and whirl down and then they POP up! It's way cool and was just the toy I was looking for! Kaiden learned how to use it very fast. This kid is a sponge! haha. =)

So then we drove home and I start getting the box opened and assembling the toy and I find out it requires D Batteries! Who ever have these on hand!? lol But I also had forgot the most important thing! Kaiden's prescription! Oh Snap! So I loaded Kaiden back in the car and drove to the Walgreens around the corner. (Have I mentioned how much I love being close to everything!? It makes random trips like this sooo much more bearable!) lol. I'm actually glad I went there anyways cause it only took 10 mins for them to fill our prescription AND they were having a buy one get one free battery sale! I must have been destined to go there! Haha. The 10 min wait was sooo nice, Im so used to the 1 hr minimum wait that we always had in Rexburg. I had forgotten how nice city living is!
So as far as new things Kaiden has picked up over the past few days, he can play catch, well he tries to throw the ball back to me instead of rolling like he was doing. We're still working on his "pitching arm! He also has these "Mega Blocks" (like leggos on steroids) lol and he use to just chew on them but he recently learned that they are also stackable! haha. My lil builder!
Well, thats it for now!
TTFN!

Schwooooop! My Birthday!!!

Yesterday was my 22nd Birthday! It was such a fun day! Ashlea was with me all day and Darren left for work early so he could get home early at 12:30! He picked pizza for lunch on his way home! Lol. He knows my love for pizza but I had forgot to mention that I has asked Laura to pick up a pizza for dinner from The Brick Oven on her way home from work. We definitely took Pizza Friday to the next level! Haha. Anyways, we wanted to do a bit of shopping before Laura got here but before we could go out, Darren had to finish some homework. So to keep myself busy, I cleaned. Yup, I did one of my least favorite activities on birthday! I guess when you get older and have families birthdays change. When I was little birthdays were about getting to ride in the front seat all day, getting out of chores, and having the day be all about you. Now birthdays are mostly the same as every other day. I still have to keep up on housework, Kaiden still needs bathed, fed, changed, etc... It didnt feel like a Birthday.... yet! So after he finished (which took forever. lol) We stopped by Target to pick up my present from his parents. A heavy duty rolling pin! Can you believe Darren and I have made it through 2 years of marriage without one? lol. Dena also made me a beautiful apron! Then we jetted over to the mall to shop around. Ash found some clothes and Darren bought some new Skull Candy headphones, but I just couldn't find anything I really wanted. So we left cause Laura was waiting at our house! Needless to say the Brick Oven Pizza was delicious! ANd dessert was just as good! I had made Cake Bites to look like mini cupcakes and I also made Brownie Batter Ice Cream! YUMMMMM!After Darren and I ate, we skadaddled outta there (leaving Kaiden to be babysat by Laura and Ashlea). We went to the Gateway Mall and shopped at my favorite store, The Buckle! Where I found clothes I just had to have! Aftewards we went and saw Eclipse! Which was sooo good! I just love spending time with my hubby! It's nice to get out of the house and just be by ourselves! =)
It was just the perfet ending to a birthday! Spending time with the Hubby!
Thanks everyone for the birthdays presents, shout outs, calls and loves!!!!

Feeding My Baking Addiction

So baking is kinda my thing! I love sweets and anything delicious! Today I spent hours looking up the recipe I want to try for my birthday cake. Darren hates cake because its too dry and airy. He really prefers a very dense, moist cake. So I've been looking up cakes to make us both happy. Here's the one I'm thinking of trying out. Using 2- 9 inch pans instead of a bundt!! =)
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Too-Much-Chocolate-Cake/Detail.aspx
While looking up recipes, I came across a blog that I believe was made for me! It is bakerella.blogspot.com I can't find how to follow her but I won't forget the website that's for sure! To back track a little, Laura loves, and got me and Darren hooked on these little bites of heaven called Cake Bites that are sold locally in Provo at The Sweet Tooth Fairy. Well although they are addicitve they are extremely expensive (we're talking $1 per bite size morsel!) and I've been looking up recipes online for forever to attempt to make them at home for super cheap! And Bakerella has solved my problems! You can make 40-50 Cake Bites for less than $5! I encourage everyone out there to try these! Really! You won't regret it!

Okay moving on.... Kaiden is doing really good! Today we stayed at home and snuggled all day! I believe I've mentioned how much he loves opening and closing doors, haha. Well today he crawled into his room and shut the door behind him. So to play along I knocked on the door and started to slowly open it. And he stood up and opened the door for me to come in, lol, with a huge grin on his face. He is soo funny! Oh and today he started biting my toes. Really weird, I don't know what he was thinking, but it was really ticklish so I started laughing . And my boy loves making me laugh so of course he tries to go back for more and continues to attack my toes! I had to distract him quick so he would stop. lol. Oh my, I fall more in love with this kid all the time. His personality gets cuter and sweeter everyday!
Today I found out when my parents are coming to town! Darren and I love having family in town. Probably because its a break from the same ol' same ol' and well, becasue we love them! Turns out my parents have different agendas for July so they will be flying out seperatley at different days. I'm hoping they will overlap so we can go do something fun!
Well Kaiden's asleep and Darren and I are snuggling with bowls of spaghetti and about to put on "our show", Heroes!
TTFN!

Kaiden is taking STEPS!!!!!

Okay so I've told ya'll how he has taken one or two steps here and there, well yesterday I was just playing with Kaiden and he took 4 steps all on his own towards me. Good thing Darren was there, he would have been upset to have missed this! So Darren and I had Kaiden "walk" back and forth between us. He is still learning, but he did take 6 steps one time!!!! It won't be long now!
Today Darren spent the day playing "handyman" and Ashlea had spent the night so I was playing with her when Laura called and asked if she could come up and see us! Well of course I can't resist a chance to hang with my bestie! So we all had lunch, (after I dropped Darren's off to him!) played at the mall and shopped around. I love hanging with her, she makes my day! It is so great being around family and good friends. It makes the day go by so much faster and that much sooner that I get to see my LUV!

To the ZOO!!

So today is July 3rd and since July 4th lands on a Sunday this year, everyone is celebrating the special holiday today, which also happens to be Kaiden's 10 Month mark!
Well this morning we woke up and went to our ward's 4th of July breakfast. It was nice to run into the people we knew and to meet new ones as well. The breakfast was scrumptious and was a great way to begin our way amazing saturday!
Since we had gotten up so early and were all ready for the day, and since the weather was super nice (as in, not too hot, high of 82!) I suggested we go to the zoo!
It was soo much funn! We ended up spending over 5 hours there which is good cause it's a pretty small zoo to begin with. I think Kaiden liked the zoo, since he wasn't at all fussy and was just "chill" the whole time. He loves being outside and people watching and the animals weren't too bad. lol. His favorite part was probably the Bird Show! He really liked having the birds flying all over and swooping right above our heads! Darren and I made sure to stand in line early to get decent seats and good thing we did, cause we got the best in the house! We also got to meet the new baby elephant, Zuri, that is the same age as Kaiden, 10 months! She was pretty cute! All the other animals were pretty fun to watch however half of them were sleeping. Major Bummer. On the plus side, Darren and I got our exercise in and I also got my tan on! However, the most important "plus" is spending time with our lil family! =) To finish off our Zoo Trip, we took the train ride which Kaiden reall really liked!!
When we got home, we put Kaiden to sleep and threw some veggies and BBQ ribs on the barbie for a true American way to end this special holiday!
We also detailed Darren's truck which pretty much took all night!
The only question now is should we wake Kaiden up later to watch the fireworks.....? lol. I guess we shall see!

****Update****
We did end up waking Kaiden for the firework show! I found a show that was only a 5 min drive away! Darren and I happened upon the perfect spot!!! It was a dark back parking lot that was so close to the fireworks. We could even see the ground show! We just laid a blanket down in the back of our truck and enjoyed the show! Which was pretty good! Kaiden was a little fussy since we had woke him up but once the show started he was locked on and since we were so close I had to cover his ears because they were so loud! It was a great way to end the night!!
TTFN!!

You scream! I scream! We all scream for ICE- CREAM!

Well today has been eventful. I turned down the job offer at Babies R Us. Just trying to get babysitters and everything all "worked out" didn't really "work out". lol. So looks like its just gonna be me and the Roo-ster! As much as I love working I realized that I dont really miss it as much as I though I did after all. =)
Yesterday Kaiden took a few unassisted steps! They were just here or there and only one at a time but walking has to be near! He is also standing for longer periods of time and today he threw a new one at me! Standing while drinking his bottle! Okay maybe ya'll don't think that is a big deal, but come on! He has to balance himself as well as holding a tilted bottle! Now thats pure skills to thrill! He also has mastered walking while only holding one hand! To be honest we know he can walk without our help since he barely even holds on to our finger, so I'm guessin he is just nervous about walking on his own. I keep thinking, "today is the day!" But maybe he is saving that whole walking business for my birthday present or something. Which, P.S., is in exactly one week! lol.
Oh and if you remember Fridays are our Pizza Days and we ordered Papa John's! I forgot how much I LOVE their pizza! lol. And for dessert I made ice-cream! I tried a recipe that has a light, mousse kind of texture. Oh my gosh! To die for! And for Darren I bought Reese's PB Cups to top it off with and, well, WOW! Why did we ever buy ice-cream from the store!? We should have invested in one of the puppies years ago!

P.S. Target is selling Sunbeam brand ice-cream makers for only $20! If any of you decide to buy one of these dream machines you have to try this recipe!!!!
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chocolate-Velvet-Ice-Cream/Detail.aspx
(Just read a review from this recipe that said one person made this recipe without an ice cream maker and had superb results! Best of Luck!)
TTFN!!