Update

Here are some random pics from the past few weeks. Also, I thought I should note: Last week I was reading the Dr. Suess's ABC book to Carson and when I said duckdog he repeated me (which he sometimes does not really knowing what he's saying). Well... he kept going back to that page, and pointing at the picture, saying duckdog! I was so proud of him. So to date he says mama, dada, dog (da), and duckdog. Too bad there is no such thing as a duckdog. Hope he's not disappointed when there is no duckdog at the zoo. He also knows what we are saying if we ask "where's the ball", "where's your blankie", or "where's mommie's nose". I'm hoping this is just the beginning. Good job Carson!!

New Friend

So I don't have a picture for this. Maybe later. I'm not sure if my new found friend's parents want his picture on the internet... About a year ago, I received a knock on my door. It was a little boy by the name of Clayton who offered to pick up any trash in my yard for one dollar. I agreed. Almost every week I could count on him coming by. For various reasons... He writes up neighborhood newsletters, him and his buddies develop entire make-believe towns in our park area and have open houses, he is our neighborhood patrol (lets me know of any danger, like a beehive in the park), he puts up lemonade and apple cider stands by the gate, and even reports to me upcoming weather conditions. He is in third grade and is sooo cute. I've enjoyed his visits. Well, last week I was playing games with my family and I invited him in to join us. Previously, he had never been in my home for longer than a few minutes. He stayed for about an hour playing Racko with us. Today, we made snickerdoodle cookies together. He took a plate home to his family and then came back again to play Racko and walk down the street with Carson and I to look at Christmas lights. He assured me tonight that his dad (whom I've never knowingly met) doesn't believe that the cookies that he brought home had been poisoned because he thinks he remembers me from when he built my house (former super for Kimball Hill Homes). He says the funniest things. I told him to remind his dad that HE made the cookies and that it would be silly to poison himself. :) A few other bonuses to my new friend is that he likes playing with Carson, is very well mannered, and quite helpful. I think that every neighborhood needs a little friend like mine. I think that it's sad that kids can't/don't roam around neighborhoods like they used to be able to. I don't know if I'll allow Carson the same liberties. Or if I should? At the same time, with most neighbors keeping to themselves these days, it's nice to have a visitor once in awhile.

Carson's Birthday & Trunk Or Treat

A Very Blessed Idiot!

So who in Las Vegas leaves their purse in an unlocked car? Me, that's who! Not on purpose. I have some mommy memory issues. This is what led up to the unlocked car incident...

Forget missionaries are coming for dinner - check
Run to store for some ingredients - check
Park car in driveway - check
Quickly set groceries on table - check
Take very tired Carson to bed for nap - check
Mommy realizes she has not yet showered...
Shower - check
Realize that you didn't put the groceries away and the ice cream is melting...
Put away groceries - check
Missionaries arriving in less than an hour - check
Completely forgetting to a) take my purse out of the car and b) lock the car!! - Check!!

So, with finding one of our books in the middle of the driveway this morning, we thought, huh, that's weird. Ben's backpack is also missing... weird. What do I do? I kiss Ben, send him to work saying I'll keep my eye out for it. Luckily, I decided to wash the Tahoe that morning and when I opened the drivers side door I found that EVERYTHING was turned inside out. Including my purse with my wallet missing. I was in shock. I felt so violated knowing that a stranger was going through my stuff. I called Ben to tell him that I found out what happened to his backpack. I cancelled my credit cards, closed my checking account, posted a fraud alert with the credit report companies, filed a police report, and yes, posted a sign on our community gate warning my neighbors. And then... I get a call from Cumorah Credit Union. A guy called in saying that he found my wallet in the middle of the street and to call him to get my wallet back. So on cloud nine, I called my new hero. He said to meet him inside a gate next to an empty lot off of Ann and Cheiftan. So, I strapped Carson in the car and was on my way. Driving there I'm thinking, that's a weird set of directions. Why didn't he provide an address? There are not a whole lot of houses over there. Is this the last anyone is going to see of Carson and I???? Alas, a police car straight in front of me and the light ahead was turning red. I rolled down my window, pulled up next to the policeman, then pushed too hard on the brake causing my flip-flop to get stuck. Of course, trying to pull it off makes matters worse and the car starts lurching forward. I immediately forgo saving the flip-flop and secure the brake. With the policeman looking on I quickly tell him my story and ask him to follow me. He agrees. I take him to the location, where, luckily, a very nice man is waiting with my wallet. (He's a pool cleaner and was in the backyard cleaning someones pool). All that was missing from my wallet was the cash and my check book. Yay! It sooo could have been worse.

So the moral of the story is don't leave wallets in unlocked cars, and the Lord will still bless you even if you are the dummy who knew better than to leave a purse in an unlocked car!

Some recent pics

Five more years...

So I have to laugh now that I am married to Benjamin Juarez, because when I was first dating him he seemed to be so carefree. Too carefree. It was a good thing and a bad thing. He would snowboard/wakeboard ALL THE TIME. Which was a ton of fun, but there is a time to be serious too. Here he was, 26 years old and still working on his bachelors (a life-long part-time student it seemed). I remember wondering if he would ever get serious about finding a career that could support a family. BOY, WAS I WRONG. I have never known anyone as hard working as my husband. His dedication to family, work, church, and school amazes me daily. For the past year he has been doing full-time work and full-time school at UNLV and still managed to get straight As. His school counselor was amazed at his accomplishments as well, in which Ben added that in this last year we also built and sold a home, welcomed Carson to our lives, and that he recently started a new job! His counselor then asked how his relationship was with his wife. :)

It's a good thing to look back at what has been accomplished, because sometimes the future goal seems so far away. Currently, Ben is taking LSAT prep courses and will start his masters program next week (he is squeezing a 2 year masters into one). The plan is to then start law school next fall. He also needs to study for three safety accreditations that he wants by the end of next year. Does that seem like a lot to you or is it just me? Is this the same guy I started dating 4 years ago?

Five years of school and then we are done. Then I get my husband back. At least that's the plan. In the meantime, it is 9:50pm and instead of being with my hubby, I'm posting. :( I love Ben so much and amazingly enough, I don't feel "neglected". For what we are lacking in quantity of time, he makes up with quality. So, in celebrating what's been accomplished in the past, here's to the future...

Hilarious!

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Found my camera

Yup, dad came to visit and brought down my camera from Cedar City. I asked them to keep an eye out for it. I'm so happy to have my camera again.

Here are a few more pics from our vacation in California.

See any similarities in these two pictures? My husband

is such a hottie! :)

Here we are a San Diego Zoo! This was also the first time I used my new Chariot stroller. It's not cheap, but well worth it. Carson and mommy both love it!

Carson standing up in his stroller during lunch break. It was really sunny and hot, so we got him a Zoo hat. Isn't he so cute!

This is after playing at the beach on Coronado Island. Such a beautiful place. If I were rich, I would definitely move there.

Such a cute little beach bum.

Us at Coronado Island, Carson checking out the waves...

Not so innocent

Where do they get this stuff? As Carson is transitioning to the toddler stage, I am realizing that all that talk about how sweet and innocent children are is only partially true. I don't ever remember losing my temper or biting or scratching. So where did he get this from? Today I took my Powerade bottle from him to have a drink. That is when he pounced! With rage is his eyes and screaming at the top of his lungs he lunged forward and clawed my face. How rude! What happened to my sweet little boy! I am not ready for this. I thought that they learned this behavior from other unruly children, or something like that. Apparently not so. Or if this is the case, it looks like Carson plans on being a model instuctor.

Walking

So I don't know how to link up my camera to the computer yet. I'll have to figure that out soon. Carson is walking! I think that it started a week or so ago. First, he started taking a couple of steps with our encouragement. Then, this week, he walked all the way across the living room. Again, with our encouragement. So you can understand my surprise and astonishment when, while I was reading a book, he walked around 11 steps from a couch to a chair all by himself. I'm so excited for him. He loves walking and honestly, I look forward to him not wanting me to hold his hand all of time to go places.

Stay-at-home mom

Yep. That's right. I am finally, officially, a stay-at-home mom. Sorry it has been so long since I've posted. We had a family vacation the first week of August in CA, I worked my last two weeks at Pulte Homes, then spent an entire week in Cedar City, UT with my family, just because I can. It has been a lot of fun. I've now spent a week at home with Carson. My house is so clean. I love it!

I should be posting more often now. Our only TV stopped working and we are not going to replace it. Not that I watch a ton of TV, but it did help me wind down at the end of the day. Blogging will probably be its replacement. That and abc.com.

I cannot find my camera right now. I think I left it in Cedar City. Here are a few pics from the California trip that Linz took.

Carson LOVED the ocean!

Thank goodness Carson has daddy's skin color. (P.S. My legs turned so red they looked purple, even with wearing spf 30)!

Carson on the USS Midway. I had to carry him throughout most of the tour, because you cannot take a stroller through the small passages of an aircraft carrier. It was actually fun and my arms got quite a work out.

Carson wanted to listen to the self-guided tour too.

Well, that's all for now. I might post some more pics when I find my camera. :)

Kim, the overachiever

Okay, so I have to poke fun at my sister Kim a little bit. Kim and I, along with the family are trying to make plans for a week long trip in San Diego. We voted on activities, Kim gave assignments. Each couple gets a day that they have to plan. Then, where I think she gets a little carried away, we are all assigned to fill out an agenda. She attached a sample (her day) to the email. See her "agenda" below, decked out with pictures and everything. She writes on her email, "Once you have a layout of your agenda send it to me and I will make sure all the formatting is correct and add pictures and logos." Wow. :)

One more

Okay, so I didn't get all of the pictures back from Nate on my last post. I'd put every picture on my blog, but that would just be overkill. This one I think is just too adorable to not share. :)



Is that not the sweetest little face?! I'm glad that I don't have to really discipline him at this age. It's gotta be hard saying no to a face like that. Either Carson needs to get uglier or mommy needs to toughen up.

Photos by Nathan Juarez

These are some of the shots taken by my brother-in-law, Nathan Juarez. Not bad, eh? It's nice to marry into such a talented family.

On a different note: on Sunday Carson showed Ben and I that he knows how to share. He now tries to feed mommy and daddy some of his soggy graham crackers. Yum!

Bath time, grandpa time, and fun at the Town Square Mall

Carson and Ben shopping (more like playing) at Town Square Mall

It turns out that Carson LOVES cantelope.

Then there is grandpa Stephenson showing Carson the ropes on how to ride a Harley.

Carson is a natural, of course.

He even dances the Pasedoble in honor of his Spanish heritage.

Carson really enjoys his bath time.

THE END

Books, books, books!

Shame on me for not reading to Carson from day one. About a month ago I started reading to him. He loves it! I've never seen a kid so excited and interested in books. I've seen some that are excited at first, but then lose interest. Carson waves his arms about, makes noises, and touches the pictures on the pages. I usually read the same book four or fives times to him in one sitting. He is so funny. I'm sure other kids are like this too. I'm just glad that he enjoys it so much and I certainly hope that I can somehow maintain his love for books as he gets older. This is a picture of Carson and his mabue (grandma Juarez) reading a book together.

Overdue Post

The other day Ben and I were cleaning house together. I went upstairs and was scared half to death to see a little head sticking out of a pile of clothes in the laundry basket. He looked so cute, I had to take a picture.