Recovery!

Well, we are back from spending almost a week at the parents. We had a great time full of food, fun, family, cold weather...did I mention food. Yeah, there was lots of that :) Santa was good to us this year. Makena got WAY too many toys for the space that we live in, but hey that's the fun of it all. She was so excited to just open presents. She'd open her own then run to someone else who was opening one and "help" them it was so cute. The couple days after Christmas she kept putting her hand to her ear like a phone and saying " Santa...ho ho ho...presents". It was hilarious.
I must have been a very good girl this year because Santa brought me a new camera. The one I've been dreaming of for so long. The expensive kind that Santa may have gotten into trouble for actually getting, but who am I to complain too much. My Nikon D40 is BEAUTIFUL and I look forward to the pictures that will shortly be coming your way!!
So now all the hype is over and we are in recovery mode. The day we came home Makena came down with a nasty cold and that is never fun. I am still trying to find a home for all of our newly received gifts, but that is pretty tricky. I wonder why with all the gifts Santa didn't bring me some extra storage space. That would have solved all my problems. Okay, not all of them but one of my issues at hand. ( I have a few!) Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and have a safe and sober new years. We will be staying in. Nothing says New Years Eve like going to bed the same time you normally do. Maybe we'll be risky and stay up until midnight. I probably will while my husband doses away on the couch. He just works too hard :)
Just thought this picture was hilarious. Happy New Year from our cute little nose picker. I seriously think she has issues :) But she's so darn cute!!!

Merry Christmas to ALL!!

Well that time of year is here and almost gone again! I seriously cannot believe that Christmas is in almost 4 days! I say it all the time, but where does the time go. So, since I am heading to my parents tomorrow I thought I'd send a Christmas shout out and share a few pictures of our lovely decorations. (Since the next time I post will probably be after Christmas I better do this before the tree is down...it's shedding everywhere)
Here's our FREE Christmas tree...I really wasn't even going to get one this year, but an opportunity presented itself and we took it, but let me tell you...it was ALL decorated at one time! Real tree + almost 22 month old= REALLY BAD IDEA!!!

Now this was going to be our Christmas tree. It brought in the lovely smell without all the hassle. Oh well...it's still around too :)

And these are just a few more decorations that I like. I actually made the garland and the stocking box. Beginner's work, but I think they turned out pretty good.



Now go snuggle by the fireplace, drink some hot cocoa, and spend time with the family. That's what I'll be doing and I can't think of anything greater!!!
And if you're wondering about his cute girl...


I think Santa might be giving her a little too much for the naughtiness that she does. I have warned...one more drawing on the wall, floor, bottom of my shoe, book (not meant for it)...you get the idea, that Santa will not be bringing her anything on her list. She then proceeds to look at me and asks for a hug. What can I say...she has Santa wrapped around her little finger. We love her!!!!!
Merry Christmas to all, now I'm going to bed so have a good night!

Happy Holidays from the Marsh Family

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

SHIRLEE!!

So, many of you know my sister-in-law Shirlee. She is currently working super hard to become a nurse and goes all week long. On Friday I got a call from my mom that Shirlee had been in a bad accident. Don't worry. She's doing okay-considering. Where they live-it is just a two-way road with no turning lanes. She was waiting for the oncoming traffic to subside and a person coming up behind her didn't notice that she was stopped. They ran straight into the back of her and from what I heard she was pushed into the oncoming traffic. Needless to say she is lucky to be alive and even luckier to just be at home and not in the hospital. She has NO broken bones, but we saw her yesterday and she was VERY sore. Shirlee- we love you and hope for a quick recovery and that you can make it through these last 2 weeks of school and then take a break! I'm sure she'll post about it too, but I just want to thank my Heavenly Father for watching over her and that it was not serious and that her little boy was not in the car! It is a true miracle!!

We're Back!

So we're back and better than ever after our 4-day weekend up at my parent's house. We had a great Thanksgiving and hope you all did too. Now I feel like I shouldn't eat for a few weeks to even out for all the stuff that we ate all weekend long. Oh well. It was fun, and that's what it's all about. Hope you all had a great holiday and are now looking ahead-like me- to the Christmas season. I'm hoping to start getting the decorations out in the next few days. Yippee!!

Thankful!!

I am extremely blessed! And as is fashion around this time of year I just wanted to put it into words.

*I am SO thankful for a husband who loves me no matter what! Who works hard to provide for us and who I look forward to being with for a LONG time to come!
*My daughter-who keeps me on my toes, but I love more than I can express! She's feisty and wild, but she is sweet as can be!
*Our health-which I am not thankful about enough, but know that we are truly blessed in this department.
*Our family-they may not be as "normal" as yours, but they are F-U-N, fun!
*Our friends-who are there when we need them and who when we do see them- are so comfortable with them that it seems like we haven't skipped a beat!
*The gospel-which brings us a peace into our lives and joy to our hearts with the knowledge that we have!

I am so thankful for many things, but these top my list! I love this time of year-as it reminds of the things that are good in our lives! I hope that you all have a GREAT Thanksgiving! I'm sure we'll be back with photos after the weekend!!

Girls Night Out!

Hooray for a great weekend (after last weeks not so great one!). Me and Tyler got to spend Saturday morning together and it was so fun. Then I got to leave my house without a kid and go hang out with some of my favorite people. We went shopping-wherever we wanted and had a nice dinner at Rainforest Cafe. Our waitress wasn't very good and it took forever, but we didn't care because we were able to spend more time together and just talk-uninterrupted! It was fabulous. Thanks girls for a great night! We need to plan one again soon!!



But while I was gone I did miss this one!! She's finally smiling and saying cheese when I turn the camera on, but it's a beautiful closed eyes smile. Gotta love kids! Hope you all had a great weekend and are looking forward to a long one in just a few days! I am counting down the hours! Hooray for Thanksgiving!!

How was your Weekend?

Well let me just say that my wonderfully planned weekend was totally RUINED!! We stil had a good time, but man. The fires that were raging around southern California made it impossible for my parents to come down. We had hopes that they would make it, but they didn't and so me and Tyler didn't make it to the temple, and I didn't get to shopping with my mom :( We did go eat Pei Wei and did a little shopping, so that was nice. My mom did attempt the trip again early on Sunday morning and made it in time to come to church with us and watch Makena while me and Tyler spoke, which I think went okay! So a BIG THANK YOU to my mom for bracing the elements and doing what you could to make it down here. She is AWESOME!! So that was our mixed up weekend. Anyone else have a crazy weekend or were you lucky and things went just as planned. With everything I have going this week I sure hope my plans go the way they are supposed to or I may have a meltdown :) Makena seems a little sick today which just tops everything off, but we'll see! Hopefully everyone else is doing great in this week before Thanksgiving! How did it get here so quickly?? Don't worry I am not complaining about that!

The Weekend!

I know--my husband's not even home from work yet, but I am ready for this weekend to start already. I finished all that nasty homework and even have my talk ALL prepared. Now it's time to party! This weekend I get to go on a date to the temple with my husband which has been WAY too long. I get to hang out with my mom and I'm just excited about it okay. Oh and I get to eat Pei Wei tomorrow, YUM! So I hope that you all have a fabulous weekend whatever you do. Eat, sing, and run around with pants on your head. It's the weekend!

The Week in Assignments

Barf! So I don't have anything really exciting or profound to discuss. This week is going to be quite hefty in the workload department. For school I have a quiz, a group quiz-which I offered to lead (stupid, right?) and a midterm. And on top of all the reading and work that goes along with this stuff-for my ONE class-I get to prepare a talk for church on Sunday! The topic is HOPE! I sure HOPE I can get through the week in a somewhat together fashion! Anyone else have any major hopes for the week or talk advice, I could always use some more inspiration besides what's been coming to me in the shower. That's probably the only time I actually have to think straight. I used to look forward to my showers. What happened to my relaxation?

Are You Jealous Yet?

Today me and Makena picked Tyler up from work to go to the beach. It has been a while and we live SO close. We were there in less than 10 minutes from Tyler's work. Makena LOVES the beach and she told me multiple times during the day that we were going to the "beach". We saw surfers, let Makena run around and we watched the sunset. It was a fun afternoon activity and who can say they did this kind of thing in November-with a short sleeved shirt on? Not many! So these pictures are for all you cold, snow-ridden people--enjoy your snow. I've got my sun!!

I love this girl!

Sometimes she's moody and drives me insane, but she is mine-all mine and that's what matters!!! Thanks Makena for helping me keep perspective about what is truly important!!

A BUG & A PLUG!!

Here's my little ladybug. She looked so cute and loved carrying her bag like a purse. We had practiced saying trick or treat ALL day, but she didn't want to say it. She did get the sticking her bag out for candy though! We went to the trunk or treat at my mom's ward. Makena is still a little too young to really care and she did get a little scared this year from some costumes, but it was still fun and she loves dumping her candy out and trying to eat it through the wrapper. It's lovely!


And now my plug...guess what tomorrow is? The day we've all been looking forward to for months...okay for it to be over, but PLEASE get out there and vote. This is SUCH an important election for our state and our country. I am not going to try to say anything profound or tell you my opinions, but just vote. Every vote does matter. Just in case you forgot I will be voting YES on 8, and would hope that if you did your research you would too. That's all I have to say about that! Happy Monday all!!

Oh Have I Mentioned...

VOTE YES ON PROP 8!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!
I just sent in my ballot and now comes the waiting game, but I urge ALL to vote. I thought so long and hard about everything on that ballot and sometimes I thought, "why do I care so much- mine is just one small vote?" But the fact of the matter is that this is my right to state my opinion and vote, and whatever happens will, but I know I did what I could. Happy Voting all! Just 5 more days and all the ads and nonsense will be over and we'll be on to a different kind of nonsense! Oh yeah...Yes on 8!

I'm It!

So Millie tagged me. This one is a little bit harder. It made me think and we'll see what I can really come up with.

20 years ago...

I was 6. I lived in Fontana next to my grandparents. I don't remember much about that time of my life, but I know in just a few months from now my little sister will turn 20 so I must have been anxiously waiting to have a little sister. Not to be outnumbered by the boys. I loved playing outside with my dog Pepper and am pretty sure my bedding was Rainbow Brite. Oh Yeah!!

10 years ago...

I was 16. Fresh to the dating scene :) Whatever. I was in Vocal Point at Serrano and I loved it. Singing was my life. I lived in Phelan, CA. Woot, woot. I went every morning to early morning seminary and was just about to get my braces off. Man what a set of beautiful straight teeth will do for self esteem. Thanks to my parents for that great investment!! I had a great group of friends that I still try to stay in contact with, but life goes on, so I don't hear from as many of them as I'd like.

5 years ago...

Oh man! 5 years ago. I was back home after living in Utah for almost 2 years. I was hanging out with Tyler-he's going to love this-but I wanted more out of the relationship than he did...why ruin a beautiful friendship :) So I was a confused little girl and some different things happened in my life that I learned a lot from and I found myself. And then Tyler started to come around! I worked at Hogi Yogi-oh yeah-and went to VVC.

3 years ago...

I was coming up on my one year anniversary. In major love!!! Living in San Diego, working full time at Target (thanks for the benefits Target), and trying to spend as much time with my husband as possible. Those days all seemed about the same, and somedays I just wanted a change. We got that a few years later :)

1 year ago...

Me and Makena (our almost 8 month old) were actually up at my parents trying to escape the fire bound San Diego. We stayed about a week there. I was loving being a mom and amazed by how much love you can have for your child and how stinking cute she was. I don't want to sound prideful, but me and my husband did mix well with that one! No more Target (HOORAY!!) , but a lot less money (BOO!). Great times!

This year...

Well, Makena turned 1. Tyler graduated from college with a bachelor's in economics. His boss gave him a raise. We left our home in San Diego and moved to Orange County. We have spent lots more time together. I went back to school. And we're SO excited to spend these holidays- that are coming so quickly- together with our families.

Yesterday...

I made breakfast, me and Makena went to Target and Kohl's. I mailed a Halloween card to my mom without a stamp ( I know I am a smart one). Tied a blanket and watched a movie while Makena was asleep-so nice. I waited for Tyler to get off work and then he called and asked where the closest urgent care was because he cut his thumb pretty bad. He got 3 stitches came home and we went to El Pollo Loco for dinner. Then to the grocery store to get milk, but they were out of the kind I like-BOO! Then home to hang out give Makena a bath-her dad's job that I get to do for the next 2 weeks and then took a shower and went to bed. Exciting, I know!

Today...even more exciting...

I got up, cleaned the house. My visiting teachers came, and then I started laundry. Makena took like a 30 minute nap...stupid...and I tried to watch another movie, but that didn't happen. Nwo I get to make dinner and carve a pumpkin alone I guess. The huband can't do it with his jacked up hand...boo!

Tomorrow...

No real plans. Probably hang out with Makena. Change diapers. Make breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Maybe go to achievement days ( I just got called so I don't know when it is yet). Try to get out of the house. Blah, blah, blah.

Next year...

Well, if I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow how am I supposed to know about next year. Finish my associate's. Hopefully not move unless some miracle happens and we buy something. Which I doubt. Who knows. Maybe I'll get pregnant. We'll see about that! Take a couple vacations with my little family and just enjoy our time together. Phew!

I tag anyone who has this much time on their hands. It's fun, but really. i won't force it on any of you :)

Only in California...

Only in California will you worry about sunburns at the pumpkin patch. It was about 95 degrees yesterday at the pumpkin patch. Oh Fall. Where are you? Everyday I dress in my pants hoping that I won't sweat to death. Maybe someday soon it will be even a little chilly. I can always dream, right? These are a few pictures from my mom's and then the pumpkin patch with Tyler. Good times. I think this year I am trying to get in as many pumpkin patches as possible. We're 3 and counting. Hooray for pun-kins! The love of my daughter's life!

Tolerance!

I strongly believe that people are entitled to an opinion. I already posted my thoughts on Prop 8 recently. I am still an avid Yes voter. I have a sticker on my car and that's that. I also believe in tolerance. I have nothing against people who will vote No as long as they understand ALL the facts like I do. A few things have come to my attention that have made my heart a little sad. I lose sleep over this stupid election and I will be the first to admit that I will be G-L-A-D, glad when it's over! But I also know that it is my right and duty as an American citizen to vote and to tolerate others opinions. At our church this last Sunday one of our leaders told us about problems that we're having with our signs. Maybe you've seen the yellow Prop 8 signs on the corners around the rest of the other election signs...or maybe NOT! He said that someone is designated to put these signs up every morning and then take them down again at night because people have been taking them. He said that he put 50 signs in their designated location and went to pick them up later and there was not one left. NOT ONE!!! Just today I was stopped at a stop light and saw a sign on the corner. You go little sign I said. And just as I thought it a group of teenage track girls run by it and one of them pulls the sign out and throws it on the ground. WHY?
Like I said... TOLERANCE. It's funny because this proposition is all about equal rights. We need to allow same sex couples to get married. That's their right. But where's our right to defend our beliefs? If our signs are thrown down at every turn and we are not allowed a voice in the matter where do we go from there? It's just a thought that has kept me awake at night. What kind of people are these that vote NO? They push for rights, but then ours are marked as discrimination. What is our world coming to? November 4th please just get here and then let us go from there!

Halloween Sneak Peek!!!

This was after our ward's trunk or treat last night!! Our cute little ladybug!!!

8 Things!!

I was tagged by Leora! Thanks!! It's called 8 things.

8 Favorite Shows
* The Office
* Project Runway
* Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives
* CSI
* HGTV-basically anything on it
* Semi-Homemade
* Ellen
* Basically anything NOT kid related is good, but few and far between

8 Favorite Restaurants
* Pei Wei
* Lido
* P.F. Chang's
* El Pollo Loco
* Los Robertos
* Casa de Pico
* Subway
* Cafe Rio

8 Things I did Yesterday
* Laundry
* Cleaned my house
* Made a tutu
* Went to the Post Office
* Picked up lots of messes
* Made dinner-Baked Macaroni & Cheese
* Went to Enrichment
* Did Homework

8 Things I look Forward To
* Buying a house
* Paying off Tyler's Student Loans
* Getting a degree
* Christmas
* Having another Baby-someday (that's not an announcement :))
* The Weekend
* Paying off My Car
* Payday

8 Favorite Things about Fall
* The leaves changing colors
* Pulling out my sweaters
* Makena in her Halloween costume
* Thanksgiving Dinner
* Having Fires
* Not using the A/C
* Finally being able to decorate my house for some holiday!
* Cuddling under blankets with my husband

8 Things on my Wish List
* To go to Hawaii with just my husband
* Paying off a house
* Go to Europe
* To live a long, happy life with my husband and family
* For my kids to know how much I love them
* To win the lottery...j/k...but coming into a lot of money would be nice
* A new Nikon camera!!!!
* For Prop 8 to Pass!

Now I tag: Lacey, Brittany, Heidi, Shirlee, Cami, Julie, Natalie, and Adriana.

YES on PROP 8!!

So I wanted to post a little on something that has been weighing on my mind a lot. I am no sure I can adequately put my thoughts into words, but I need to say something. I want to start by saying that I am not anti-gay. They have their rights to live the way that they want. What I am saying and what Prop 8 does is protects our children. I think now that I am a mother this worries me the most. If prop 8 does not pass the divine institution of marriage between a man and woman will be disintegrated. Children will be taught at school things that will be contradictory to what is taught in their own homes and children will be born without the privilege of having a mother and father. I worry that if this passes our already failing society will just get worse. I have posted a link on the right side of my page to preservingmarriage.com. It has lots of information on it that can help you to understand what it's all about. I urge you Californians to vote. To help protect our children from what will ultimately happen if this doesn't pass!

The GIRLS!!

So I think I am a pretty lucky girl! I have a great husband and a beautiful daughter. I have a great family! I also have a set of really GREAT friends! We don't live that close to each other any more. In the last year we've all moved to opposite ends of southern California, but we are there for each other! We recently have started setting up one day a month to have playdates. We have a total of 7 kids 4 and under between us and it gets a little crazy, but it is fun. We can just be ourselves. We talk, laugh, vent, reminisce, uplift, and listen. They are truly my best friends. I hope everyone in their lives have friends like I do. Wherever we are we know we still have someone to help us, or just be that ear to hear what we need to get off our chests. I love these girls and I am blessed to have then in my life!





This last week we met up at this cute little pumpkin patch- I know from the beach to the pumpkin patch we must live in California :) The kids loved it and we get a little crazy about taking their pictures so here's a few. Julie's the one with the nice camera so most of the pictures are on that, but here's few. Makena didn't want anything to do with pictures as you can tell. Oh well! It was a fun day anyways! Thanks Ash for letting us take over your house. It was a BLAST!!

Catching Up!!

So about a month ago I met my very good friends Julie and Ashley at Newport Beach. We had a lot of fun letting the kids play on the empty beach and just catching up. I have been meaning to post the pictures that I have from it and am just getting around to it. Be looking out for new play date pictures next week. I can't wait to see you girls again and take lots of pictures of the kids at the pumpkin patch! Julie- maybe we could get you in a picture and get someone who speaks english to take a good picture of all of us :) Love you girls!!

Tagged Again!

This time my picture tag is from Leora. Thanks!! What I am supposed to do is go into my picture folder and pick the fourth picture from the fourth folder. Simple enough. So here it is:


This happens to be from my wedding day! Oh the rain! This is my sister Candice and my cousin's little girl Savana! Was that really almost 4 years ago? Wow!

Now I'm supposed to tag 4 people. So it seems like when I tag people they don't usually do it, so if anyone reading this is so motivated I challenge you to do it. It's really simple :)

A Girl and Her Dolls

So the other day I came out to the living room to see Makena doing this. She had all her soft dolls and babies lined up and the couch. It was so cute to watch her sit them up, move them around, talk to them, and hug them. As I watched her I thought about what having a daughter means. I love dressing her up, dresses, bows, painted toe nails. She loves to sing and dance and give hugs and kisses. I thought about at that moment what it will be like to talk to her about boys and dates and helping her get ready at her wedding-after we paid for it :) I thought about being there when she has babies of her own and what that will be like. I'm nervous for all the drama that will come along with this girl-I can already tell we have our hands full with that! But, how lucky I am to be a mother to a beautiful daughter. I don't have any sons--yet--but from talking to lots of people girls are just different and I'm excited for all that that entails! So play on Makena! Dolls, brooms, babies, dresses,nail polish and anything else your little heart desires because you are the best girl I know!

The Trip

So we're home! Isn't it sad how fast vacation goes? I thought I was going to cry when Tyler got up to leave for work this morning. We don't get to spend enough time together! We did have a great vacation though. Me and my mom and Makena did A LOT of shopping. And Tyler and my dad got to golf twice. Then we sampled LOTS of different places to eat. I learned that I LOVE Cafe Rios pork tacos. Yum!!! I want some right now! We also went up to Zion which was a little difficult with Makena, but it was definitely worth it. It is beautiful up there! Makena did really good in the car and overall it was a fun trip. She loved the hotel room and wouold constantly pick up the phone in the room and say "hello, mommy...dada"! It was pretty cute! Well as promised here are some pictures. I really didn't take as many as I should of because our batteries died in my camera. Thankfully my mom had extras, but here you go!!!

We're Outta Here!

This is how I feel right about now!! I am trying to get us all ready for our little trip to St. George, UT. We haven't had a real vacation in 2 years so we're pumped. We drove up and went to Downtown Disney today and tomorrow we're driving up to good old Phelan to stay the night at my parent's house and then onto St. George from Weds. to Sat. for shopping, golfing, Zion, swimming, and lots of eating out. I am really excited, but packing and going with an 18-month old is a bit crazy, but that's what it's all about, right? I should have lots to blog about next week! Stay tuned for lots and lots of pictures!!!

The Ice Cream Cone!

So Makena was given her very own ice cream cone at Logan's birthday party this last weekend. I think she was in heaven. She did really well with it, and all she could say after was MORE!!! She's too cute!