joining the 30 club

Andrea put up yard signs! 

^Grandpa took us geocaching. Real treasure hunting! 

  

My 30th birthday was a party! Brandon kindly took the day off so I got to sleep in later than I can remember! Him and the kids made me breakfast and I got to open some gifts. Brandon gave me  some outdoor patio lights!! He knows me too well. Now we just need to hang them so we can party!

I was instructed to go open the front door, of which when I did, a waterfall of balloons came crashing in! I found sweet, genuine notes inside from family and friends that Andrea had collected. And then...all of a sudden, one of the balloons had the gender of baby #3 inside.

Brandon had arranged with my dad to escape up the mountains for a birthday camp out. We went on a 3 mile hike to Doughnut Falls, had yummy food, and savored every bite of my dad's dutch oven chocolate cake. We were all so pooped by 10 that we crashed for the night. Guess that's what 30 does to ya!

 I have to admit I was kind of dreading turning 30, but on the eve of my birthday, I was reading and writing in my journal and I just had this overwhelming feeling of gratitude. I have been so very blessed in my 30 years of life.

Some highlights of the last decade:

• Getting into BYU- my dream school and graduating with a Business Management degree
• Getting to live in Germany for a year as a nanny and travel all over Europe
• Marrying Brandon in the Salt Lake Temple after 5 years of knowing each other
• Working 3 corporate jobs- Omniture, Overstock.com, and LifeVantage before getting to stay home to be a mom
• Becoming a mother to Blake and Evelyn and soon to be #3!
• Continuing on with my  nickname of Carmen San Diego-- getting to travel to Germany, France, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Russia, D.C. New York, Oregon, California, Idaho, Pennsylvania, Cancun, Puerto Rico, and Arizona. 
• Buying our first house
• Running a few 1/2 marathons, triathlon, and 10ks

If the next 10 years are anything like the last, I have nothing to be afraid of! Mostly though, I was very touched to receive so many notes, emails, texts, calls, and thoughtful gifts from people who have played a very important role in my life. 

It's been 15 years since my mom's been gone, but throughout every stage of my life since then, there have been amazing women who have inspired and motivated me to become who I am. There is no doubt Heavenly Father has had His hand in placing all these good people in my life.

So anyways...feeling grateful and happy to be 30. 

brandon's 30th

I wasn't very good at taking pictures on Brandon's 30th birthday, but my lack of photos has no correlation to the love we have for this guy. He's all of our favorite! Evelyn and Blake fight for his attention when he's around and I love getting one-on-one time with cuddled up to a movie or a Shark Tank episode. My cousin was getting rid of some Jazz tickets on his birthday so last minute we went out to dinner at Wingers and headed to the Jazz game for a late date. Here's to an awesome year!

blake is 3! how can that be?

I still remember that February 18th day so vividly. I had been at the hospital since 1 am and was just waiting and wondering when this little babe of mine would show up. Finally at 6:15 pm, HE was born--surprising us that a boy would be starting our family off. 

I just recall those first few days being so heavenly. Yes, heaven was definitely close. Between being exhausted and elated, I loved that Blake was the center of our world. I loved that time stopped for us and we got to relish in those precious moments until life picked up again. 

At 3, Blake loves: cars, trains, airplanes, soccer, basketball, candy, chocolate, chocolate milk, "Incwedbles" (Incredibles), The Gruffalo, feeding the horses, playing with friends and cousins. He is in a big boy bed now and for the most part, does pretty well. He's been binki free since the new year. Not that he wouldn't still love to have it, but I'm proud of him and very happy that he still takes naps without one. We attempted potty training and did awesome for a few days. But with cousins and holidays, we need to get back into it. 

Today started off with a big bubble bath. We played hookie from preschool. I just wanted him to myself! We escaped to the mountains and threw rocks and fed ducks. We got to have lunch with dad. We took a family bike ride to get some essential ice cream for cake and then had Grandma and Grandpa Sunday and Halle and Sawyer over for dessert. He got really excited for the soccer ball that from them that is just his size. 

I found this practically new Kazam bike at Savers 2 years ago for $6. I have been saving it ever since and now that he's big enough, a birthday bike it was! He rode around the house all day. 

^this is typical Blake right now. He hates wearing pants and would live in PJs if I let him. It's his birthday so I let him go with it today. 

he wanted a snake cake all thanks to The Gruffalo. 

Hudson left the day before his birthday, but brought him a gift before he left. They are best buds! 

We sure love our Blakester! 

little miss evelyn's birthday party

^her gifts from us: a wooden toy, the Little Miss Birthday book and this darling rocking chair I found used for a few dollars and gave it a nice new coat of paint. 

Little Miss Evelyn has always been a name we've called our E, so I knew I had to do a "little" party for her based on the Little Miss Birthday book I've always loved. We had little foods: little sandwiches, little noodles with little forks, little drinks, little cupcakes, and little fruit. She got to eat a little cake. And she loved it! She was pretty dainty as she ate it. And she really liked the ice cream Grandpa Stan shared with her. 

We are grateful for both sets of grandparents and the Salmons who came. It was fun celebrating with everyone. We finished the night with a picture slideshow and presents. We love our little girl! 

evelyn's first birthday

We all had a fun day celebrating Evelyn's first birthday. It started off with letting her find birthday quarters in her shoe. The first birthday for this is so fun. She, just like Blake, tried to eat them. But we were well prepared this time with Brandon nearby while I snapped some photos. Then Brandon made a pancake breakfast before he left for work. And we played in balloons.

After she took her morning nap, we walked over to our favorite train park for a picnic and swings. They could have stayed all afternoon.

She was so much fun all day long. I think she knew it was her birthday. I just wanted to eat her up. And she just wanted to eat rocks.

Next up...her party!

the girl we adore at one year

Dearest Evelyn,

Happy 1st Birthday! We adore and love you more than you will ever know.

Love,

Your parents who are just as smitten with you as the day you were born