B&K Marsh Family Christmas stop

We had a wonderful Christmas break. The one good thing about still being a student is that you get a nice long Christmas break! We were able to spend 2 full weeks in Utah. It was WONDERFUL. We haven't been there in over a year and it really was awesome.

Our first stop was Cory's brother's house. We used to spend a lot of time with them when we lived there and we just adore their family. They are awesome people and have a great spirit in their home, so it is always nice to be there. They had actually moved into a new home since we'd last seen them, so we got to see their new place. It is beautiful and just perfect for their family. We are so happy for them.

They have two girls that are 7 and 5, a little boy that is just few months older than Micah and Noah, and a boy just a couple of weeks older than Samantha. It is crazy b/c I remember when Abby and Megan were the boys age and now they can take care of my kids! The girls really were great with the kids. Samantha especially loved Megan and Noah adored Abby (as you can see from the pictures).

We enjoyed just talking, playing games, watching The Polar Express, and eating great food. Cory and Brandon also got to enjoy the BYU bowl game together.

A funny story: if you remember from this post, our boys are having a hard time sleeping. Well, this continued on our trip. Brandon and Kristy had planned on having the boys sleep with Spencer in his room. So, the first night, we all got ready for bed, and of course, as soon as we tried to leave, Micah and Noah started screaming. After about 10 min or so, Kristy moved Spencer to her room when he proceeded to tell her: "me no listen to whining." Pretty funny. Poor guy got kicked out of his room! A big thanks to Brandon, Kristy, Spencer and Ryan (who gave up his room to Samantha Cory and I) for being so kind about all having to sleep in the same room!

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving. I headed up to Thousand Oaks on Monday to meet up with Cory's sisters for a surprise lunch for their mom. It was funny b/c she was actually here Sunday night and had no idea we were coming up there the next day. It was a bit tricky trying to get ready to go with her here.

Lunch was great: We played a fun duck, duck, goose game: pilgrim, pilgrim, turkey, and make turkeys out of carameled apples. The boys had a blast playing with their cousins. This was the first time they have really been old enough when we were at their cousins house for them to just run off and play without constant supervision. So, that was nice for me! The boys also loved all the attention they got from Granna and their fun aunts. And Samantha got to hang out with her cousin Jimmy who is just a couple of months older than her:


The next day, we went with Cory's Dad on a mini hike to a climbing tree. The kids had blast. Micah was so proud of himself when he found a place he could climb up all by himself. It wasn't too safe though, and he kept doing it, so it made me really nervous. Not too nervous to snap a few pictures though, I guess:


There was a park near the climbing tree where we all played before having lunch:


Cory joined us late Wednesday night. He spent Thursday taking care of the boys (ie...watching movies with all the cousins & napping)


while Samantha and I worked on the turkey.


Actually, there were so many people there to help, I didn't end up doing much work at all and even got to take a nap myself. Basically all I did was the turkey. Sadly, I badly mis-guessed how long the turkey would need to cook, and it ended up being done about 2 hours late! (I even gave it an extra hour over what the chart said it should need...) Oh well, at least it was tasty when we finally got to eat it!

I also have to just give a big public thank you to Cory's sister Chelsea for all her help that week. It was a bit stressful being there without Cory, but Chelsea helped out more than I would have ever asked. She really made the week enjoyable for me. So, thanks Chelsea!

Also, thanks to Chelsea and Lori for the pictures...most of them are from their cameras as I kept forgetting to take pictures.

B & K Marsh Family Visit

So, I didn't get quite as many posts done yesterday as I would have liked...but hey, three in one day isn't too bad, right? So, I am still playing catch up.

Cory's brother, Brandon and his wife, Kristy came to visit a little over a month ago with their three kids. I was going to post one of our fun activities each day after they left...I think I got to about day 2. Sorry. But we had a WONDERFUL time. It was so great to see them. We used to hang out weekly or more when we lived in Utah, so they have been sorely missed. We did lots of fun stuff: Seaworld, the zoo, games, swimming, late night talks, and more. The pictures don't really do it justice, but it was great.

Let's start with a BBQ and swim party.

We've had a fun week filled with lots of different activities. I think I will just post one each day for the next few days in order to avoid another disgustingly long post...plus I am waiting for Cory's sister to send us some fun pictures she took before I can post some of this last week.

On Monday (the 23rd), Cory's brother Brandon and his wife Kristy, and kids Abby, Megan, and Spencer got into town. We used to spend LOTS of time with them when we lived in Utah and have REALLY missed them, so it was great to have them come stay with us. We spent Monday evening down at the pool, went swimming and had a yummy BBQ. We LOVE those kids-they are adorable and it was fun having them here. Micah and Noah LOVED all the attention they got from their older girl cousins and we loved the break it gave us! And Spencer is only a few months older than the twins, but seems so much more grown up. It was fun to see the four of them interact. Hopefully, they will all be the best of friends.



Tomorrow's Preview: Our trip to the ER...

We are home!

WARNING: THIS IS ANOTHER LONG ONE!

But hey, it's been 3 weeks, can you blame me?

Wow. We had a GREAT trip these last few weeks! The boys first airplane trip was fairly uneventful. We actually each ended up on our own empty row and were able to take the car seats. Noah could not stop looking at the little fan above the seat. He was fascinated by it. Micah just loved staring out the window.



We went straight from the airport to Cory's Brother's house in Lehi. They have two beautiful little girls (Abby, 5 & Megan, 3) and a boy, Spencer who is a few months older than the twins. It was very good of them to let all 4 of us crash their house. Cory's mom was actually there at the same time so it was a fun full house. We adore their kids and it was really great to see them.




The girls were so much fun with all three babies and it was fun to see Spencer and the twins interact.
Spencer actually celebrated his 1st birthday while we were there. He LOVED his first taste of sugar (his cake) and he and the twins loved the ball he got for his birthday. Spencer learned to say "uh-oh" while we were there, which I think is one of the cutest things a baby can say, so that was fun!



We took a trip to the park. The boys went down the slides on our laps and enjoyed just being outside. Micah had his first tough fall...he was sitting on the bottom of a slide playing with some keys. I looked away to play with Noah who was in Cory's arms and Micah face planted into the wood chips (maybe about 1 1/2 feet down). He was pretty shook up, but just fine.



Cory got to go golfing with a good friend on Friday and his brother on Saturday. He hadn't been golfing in about 1 year, so that was nice for him.
We also got to have lunch with Brady and Nicki (our good friends that had twins 3 mo after us). They are wonderful friends. Meeting up with them (especially in public) is always entertaining. Somehow, Brady and I ended up at the table with all four babies and someone leaned over and asked, "Are all four of those really yours?" Well, technically, yes, but not together....
We didn't get any pictures with them this trip, but here is one of their beautiful babies, Ella and Talmage:



We spent some time playing in the backyard and the boys got the play on the swing set. Noah loved it. Micah, well...you can probably tell from the picture that he wasn't so sure.



Same thing with the grass. The seesaw was a little better.



We played games both nights after the kids went to bed. Brandon and Kristy are our favorite people to play games with...we just have such a great time. We also ate REALLY good food. Kristy is a good cook and she made some amazing stuff while we were there.

We then went on up to my parent's place near Logan. It was so nice to see them. They hadn't seen the boys since Christmas, so we had lots of fun tricks to show them. My Dad took the whole week off work. We went to the park again. Micah did a little better on the swing this time, and they got to play with Aunt Christa, Grandma and "Grumpa."



My parents watched the boys one night so Cory and I could go on a date. It was great. We rode bikes along the Logan river. It was nice to be out and active and baby free for a few hours!



All my Dad's sibling's came into town for a few days. He has two sister's and two brothers. He is especially close to his brothers. They haven't been together in years, so it was quite the event. They all surprised my their mom (my Grandma). She was thrilled. I wished I'd caught her face on camera, but unfortunately, I missed it. Anyway, we had a full house for a few days. Without even being asked, Cory and my Dad spent hours helping my mom get the house clean/ready. I have such a great husband!



We played Starfarers a bunch, snacked a ton (there is always tons of food at my parents house), caught a few movies in the theater room, help Devin and Melissa clean/move into their new place, helped Devin with some Honeymoon planning, went to lunch with family, watched video of my sister's trip to Ecuador, made some mother's/father's day gifts and ate more good food (my mom is also a great cook and always plans wonderful meals when we come home).

And some wedding day photos:



My brother is truly one of the most amazing people I know. He is one of my heroes and deserves the best. I knew it would be tough for him to find someone worthy of him, but he did it! Isn't she beautiful? The best part is that it isn't just skin deep. She is incredibly selfless and gracious. We are so lucky to have her as a part of our family. The entire wedding day was beautiful. The weather in Logan was touch and go all week, but beautiful the day of the wedding. The wedding Breakfast was really nice...great food again. Lots of people with lots of great things to say about the couple. The sealing was....well...perfect....touching...awesome. The reception was fun...especially with Devin and Melissa...they are both such fun people. The boys did awesome. Actually, they did awesome the entire trip. Their whole schedule got really messed up so many times, but they were pretty happy and easygoing. Much easier than our Christmas trip. Thanks Micah and Noah!

Mother's Day was great! I didn't make any meals or clean anything. My Dad and Cory took care of it all. Cory gave me a card telling me that I needed to buy a nice dress and plan on a nice date soon. Also, Noah said "Mama!!" He is really into imitating lately. So, Cory decided to see if he could get him to imitate him saying "Mama." He did it. I'm still not sure he knows what he is saying, but he says it all the time now. But how fun that he said it on Mother's Day!

So, we flew home to San Diego on Monday the 12th, spent 3 hours at home (to repack and let the boys nap) and then left again for Thousand Oaks. While there, we went shopping and got me an awesome dress at Ross. And then Wed morning Cory told me I had to be ready by 4:00 and that I needed to look nice and pretty. He said we would be gone until at least midnight and that the boys were spending the night with his mom (thanks Lori!). Crazy! I had no idea what to expect. I asked if we were eating, he said "no." I asked if we were going to see "Wicked," he said "What's Wicked?" I asked how far away we were going and he said I had to stop asking questions. So we end up on Hollywood Blvd. and I see all these sign for "Wicked." I started squealing and asked if we were really going to see it....we were! It was AWESOME! We got our tickets for more than 1/2 off. It was just amazing! I loved it.



We were in Thousand Oaks until Thursday and then we drove to Pismo Beach for a mini family reunion with my family. We hung out at the beach, played games, read books, played catch, went swimming in the ocean (well Cory did), and ate more good food. The boys loved playing with their Aunts Christa and Melissa, walking on the beach with Grandma and Grumpa, getting crazy messy with their biter biscuits, playing on the pool table, and dancing with uncle Devin. We also got to visit the ward I grew up in and show Cory my old house/school etc. It was great fun.


We got home late Sunday night and spent all day yesterday stocking our kitchen, doing laundry, running the boys to a Dr appt, picking up their meds etc. The day after a vacation is always insanely busy!

So, that's it! We slept at four different places, visited tons of family and friend and loved it all. What a great trip!