Lovely Lauren

It was such a pleasure to have my dear friend Lauren and her little one come to visit me last month. I get very few visitors these days, so I was overjoyed that she would take some time and come to visit me at my home.

Although our agenda wasn't much to boast about, I sure loved just catching up with her life and laughing about days gone by. We did go to the shopping center which was suppose to be bustling in Christmas decor and magic; it was not, and enjoyed some chocolate and clearance racks. A good combo if you ask me. We watched a movie every night; which seems to be a theme in our get-togethers, and ate delicious food from BJ's Brewery and Cinnamon rolls from yours truly.

I just love this woman. It was only fitting that while cleaning out my office drawers, I stumbled upon the "welcome to the ward" gift she had given me upon my arrival in Provo. Ten Years Ago. Thanks for the "girls weekend" visit Mrs. Kammeyer. Looking forward to our next one!

Emergency Preparedness

I have a love of office supplies. Like, seriously LOVE them. On my first day of teaching at Springville Jr High, I was showed the printing room and the glorious office supply closets. Free office supplies? Stop It! I have never seen anything like it before or since. I literally stood there for a minute straight. And I would walk away with a tub of stuff each time I was allowed into this holy closet. (California schools do not have any such closets; sadly). I find going to the local Depot for Offices an enjoyable past time activity. Calendars, Pens, Post It notes; they have an education corner, did you know this? Paper shredders, calculators, desks, file folders, desktop organizers, highlighters, notepads. I can't. Breathe...hold on. 

Some would say that I have a somewhat overstocked amount of office supplies in my house/garage. Hoarding might be a word that some would use. I would like to correct this mode of thinking - I actually just want to be sure to have some on hand; you know, in case of an emergency. Now, Mark would probably argue that a shortage of office supplies would not really be defined as an "emergency"; but its better to be safe than sorry right? You never know when the pen you have runs out of ink. And they all write a little differently. And it's good to have a choice in color when it comes to highlighters and pen ink. You know, to do lists are so much more fun in multiple colors.

So, for my New Year's gift to myself, new colored pens and coordinating post it notes; for my new calendar. I couldn't use the ones I already have because, well, these ones are the right colors. And I'm really into the RSVP brand for my pens of choice. And the Post Its have lines on them so I can write my goals better. I am so excited about it, I want it to be the First so I can just start using it already.

So if you are in need of some office supplies - I might have something. I'd be happy to let you BORROW a pen. Or give you ONE Post it Note. One. :) You're Welcome.

iUpgrade

I finally did it. I've accepted progression and updated my old clunker to the iPhone. Mark related me to the kind of people who upgrade only because they stop making the low budget technology they are use to. Like rotary phones - I'm sure I'd be just fine with one, except thy don't make them anymore. Sad - I know. But it is what it is. Now, I didn't go all out and get the iPhone 5; which I am sure was a small injustice to some, but I just couldn't get the best of the best when it wasn't necessary. Lets be honest - I've had mobile web (which I never use) and SMS text messaging from the stone age. Anything too fancy would have overwhelmed me.

I must admit though - I got the white phone and it is something sexy! I can't wait for my phone cover to be delivered. Nothing like putting a sexy phone in a Disney cover. Double Hott.

And I will say - I've become more of a Pinterest Addict (didn't know that was possible) since coming onboard. I'm excited about instagram - until they decided to sell my photos. And LOVE that I can budget on my phone. That is awesome. Now if only I could scrapbook a page on it, then Id be set.

Christmas Greetings

 An online version of our Christmas Cards. Although, I must say, I wasn't as proud of the card as I was the envelopes this year. I had one bunch that were awesome. Then a bunch of plain envelopes that were less awesome. Then I ran out of cards. So - here is the least awesome delivery method.

Merry Christmas! As is customary this time of year, I thought I’d summarize our life in this generic little blurb for your reading enjoyment. It’s been another banner year for the Morrell Bunch; with enough ups to keep us positive and enough downs to keep us working hard. Although our year looks a little like a mountain; flat and plain in the start and finish, with an all time high in the middle; we’re pretty pleased with how it’s all turning out.

  The start of our year was pretty monotone, with Mark still working pool routes, and Kaylinn still substitute teaching at the local High School. Day in and day out, there wasn’t really anything too noteworthy.  Just your usual chores, bills, health goals gone sour, and a few birthday celebrations to spice it up. Mark did complete his first flight hours for his birthday in May. No, he is not training to be a pilot, but he did get to fly a small plane over the San Francisco bay with a friend. That was pretty grand. And Kaylinn enjoyed a little trip to Portland to catch up with a good friend there. Good memories shared.

  Once the school year ended, Kaylinn took a little downtime waiting for the arrival of our first baby. We then hit an all time high in the middle of the year with the birth of Cameron David on July 6^th. A smooth pregnancy and delivery, Cameron was born at 9 lbs, 12 oz; just as calm as a summer’s day. Parenting took us by surprise as we adjusted our schedules and lives to fit another little person. We find that Cameron is a really mellow baby and just goes with the flow until his parents catch on. Thanks kid.

  August continued to bring new adventures with Mark getting his Real Estate License and selling off half the pool routes as we make a switch from “Pool Guy” to Realtor. This new career fits a little more with Mark’s people personality and go-get-‘em spirit. Something that backyards and pool chemistry lacked. Kaylinn also started working again. This time from home for the Environmental firm she has been associated with the last two years. She works part time hours so it has turned out to be a great blessing. This month also included a visit from some very dear Vegas friends, who happened to be our first house guests. So we felt double lucky to share the gems of Antioch with visitors. And they’ll tell you how fun it was, so you’ll all want to experience it.

  As the year has rounded out with these last few months, things on the home front died down a bit. We enjoyed an annual trip to Utah where we visit with friends and family, and Kaylinn walks memory lane, BYU style…again. We were able to take a whole week there, mostly so we could fit in all the eateries that Utah offers. Sadly, we’re still wearing that on our hips, but the trip was delightful. Thanksgiving was a little different this year, with the whole family getting a flu bug. The entire company of 7 (less Mark) were out for 48 hours over the holiday meal. Mark celebrated his thanks over chicken soup and 7up. Happy holidays to us. Don’t fret, we plan to make up the missed out calorie intake during the entire month of December.

  We welcome this season with traditions we hold dear. Music in the background and a fire in the fireplace, coupled with Mother Nature’s fabulous wintery storm these last several days, have made us feel a little more like Christmas. We are so grateful for all our many blessings; especially that of having Cameron join our family this year. We are humbly aware of our Savior Jesus Christ and his eternal example and sacrifice for all mankind. We testify of His divinity and love as we celebrate this Christmas season. May His Spirit be in your home as your year comes to an end is our Christmas wish to you.

Christmas Breakfast

 When we first moved into our ward, I thought it was so different that they had a Christmas Breakfast, rather than the traditional dinner party that I was use to. But now that we've done it for a few years now, I just LOVE it and wouldn't have it any other way. I am big fan of breakfast foods anyway, so it is an obviously wonderful change.

We were sure to deck the lad out in the traditional Target purchased Christmas garb. I just loved his Santa hat that we added to spice it up. He was seriously darling. The ward primary put on the nativity, which I was a part of with my "mad" piano skills. Lucky for me, the ward has grown accustomed to my less-than-amazing talent, and don't seem to notice that a quarter of the notes are wrong. I have accepted the fact that I play worse than most but better than some; and appreciate that the ward lets me play. AND I was amazed at the remarkable backdrop that was put up for both Santa Clause and the Nativity scene. Really great work ladies.

Mom came to support, and mostly because I make her come to everything with us to admire Cameron, and for free baby holding while I stuff my face. Paul joined our table so I was sure to get a picture of him with Mark (above). And we had to have the traditional Cameron with Santa picture! He went straight for the beard, which wasn't a surprise. Santa is an expert and quickly took the lad's hand in his to avoid any accidental...hair pulling.

Another Christmas activity down. Christmas Day is almost here!

Close Enough

 Sometimes Pinterest doesn't work out real great for me. Like the darling pictures floating around of babies playing in the lights. So cute!

 So I had to give it a go. And...lets just say it didn't go well. Not to mention the numerous times we had to stop the baby from chewing on the lights as a whole! (I'm going to say that isn't safe!) It just wasn't what I had envisioned for my little boys Christmas page in his scrapbook.

 So it may not be perfect, but I'm taking what I can get. Lets be honest, a 5 month old does not a perfect subject make. :)

Channeling Clark Griswold

 The past 3 Christmas seasons Mark and I have spent together, our tree has most defiantly left something to be desired. Last year, (I should have photoed) we hit an all time low with our Christmas Branch. Literally. A Non-decorated branch. So-Mark put his foot down this year and decided to bring Christmas home from Costco. Bless that establishment. And so, I busted out all my Clark Griswold Christmas cheer and brought this shining tree to life! Well, it was already pre-lit, but lets not get into the technicalities.

 Of course we had the lad help out. For one ornament, and one photo op. He has been mesmerized by the lights, but not so much anything else. Sadly, he is a little young for Christmas cheer this year.

A little Morrell tradition is to watch Home Alone on the night we bust out the tree (or branch, depending on the year). Love that movie! I even ventured out and tried a new cinnamon roll recipe. Hot coco on the side made for a perfect evening flick.

Christmas is such a fun time of year, where we try to say we are watching what we eat, but really we mean we'll restart our diets in January with the rest of the world. I think Cameron's expression sums up our feelings about this month.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Give me 5

Height: Tall

Weight: Heavy

-- Loves his spit. It is everywhere. He especially loves blowing raspberries, added bonus? raspberries with food in his mouth. Makes dinner cleanup extra special.

-- Will not stay on his tummy for more than a minute. He'll probably never crawl, scoot, or move for that matter being that he is not a fan of the floor.

-- Sits up nicely. Mostly unassisted. Prefers to sit over laying on his back. Will try to sit himself up if when we put him on his back. Will stand all day if you let him.

-- Eats a myriad of foods. I'm anxious to get him on meats and dairy so I can just grind up whatever is on the table. I still make all his food for him. I have a huge cooking fest on Sunday nights where I make 20+ cups of food. I have a storage of 4oz Tupperware that I line up and fill to the brim with apples, broccoli, sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, peas, peaches, & mangoes. Throw in some purchased prunes (i don't go there), bananas, avocados, oatmeal/rice cereal and we're good for another week. He eats 2 meals per day, between 8 to 12 oz of some kind of mixed concoction.

-- Sleeps well. Good not great. Down at 7pm. Up between 4 and 5. Bottle. Down again until 6:30 or 7. We're feeling pretty good about our "sleeping in" until 6. Now if only I can get out of bed before him to be dressed and ready for the day.

--Big. Big. Big. Our ward friends keep saying he looks so much older than he is. Easily mistaken for a 9 month old kid.

-- Loves to look at pictures in books or on the TV. Especially entranced with pictures of himself. The screen saver on the computer can keep him still for a happy amount of time. Because I have 2 computers on my desk (work & home) he'll happily watch the screen saver while I work. Bonus.

Visits with Trent

First off, I apologize to myself. My annual goal to "double blog entries" will have to go down in the books as Fail. Well, I'll give myself a C for a valiant effort even though I tried to push it all in at the end of the year. But - I will say that I bolstered up my annual scrapbook to look mighty nifty with all the extra thoughts posted.

That being said - here's another blog marathon to the end of the year. 

My little brother Trent is awesome. Although our days somehow are busy enough to keep us from invading each others' lives constantly - we do manage to get together every so often. Last month Jennifer was brilliant at inviting us over multiple times!  Jennifer was a great support to me when I had to move Cameron to formula earlier than expected, and Trent had great insight into the financial side of that path. It was great for me, and I've really loved that they live so close so our relationships can grow stronger.

They are always up for a game, and Jennifer has a marvelous space heater that she lets me park myself in front of all night. They've got more toys than a toy store for Cameron to be entertained with. Shame on we boring parents who only have 3 things total! (Don't worry, Christmas is going to be good to him this year.) Its amazing. And, Cameron is a trooper of a sleeper anywhere we put him down. (I'm enjoying these days while they last as I hear it is limited) So we're able to stay late and eat junk food and play games and laugh at memories of tents and "tree" and life. As I mentioned before, my brother is awesome.

We so love having them close by and wish that we could get out to see each other more frequently. Before they up and move away as always seems to be the case. Love my family.

A Solid Mess

 Our adventures in Parenthood has crossed the line from bottle to spoon in the last few weeks. I wish I could report that it was all smooth sailing from the start, but that would be a lie. I am sure all babies have a tough time transitioning from bottles to spoons, but I wasn't prepared for the stress of trying to train the lad into being comfortable with this form of nutrition. We started primitively with just rice cereal - making it so liquid-y that it could be sucked from a bottle with a modified nipple. It didn't go well. I don't know if it was the texture or the taste or both, but he was NOT having anything to do with that. He would scream, and spit it out, and wiggle around until I finally gave up and made him up a regular bottle. After enough valiant tries however, the lad seemed to be more open to the idea, so we boosted up the rice cereal with a banana. He wasn't too sure about that.

He is always so excited when we get him in the bumbo and all prepped for a meal, but as soon as it starts going down, he gets this concerned look on his face. Mom, are you sure about this? It is then a bit of a struggle to assure him it's all okay and we manage to get several bits down.

Some days were better than others in the beginning. If it wasn't so cold out, I would have probably stripped him naked to save me a bit of laundry. Oh but he sure is a cute little banana mess. Things went from bad to Amazing in a matter of days. He is really quite the eater now, doing a great job of keeping his hands out of his mouth while we eat, and opening up, getting the food down, and smiling all in one motion. It's usually not much of an effort at all anymore. 

 We now have quite the pallet of options when it comes to food. Banana's still seem to be his favorite. I can put them in just about anything and the lad will eat it right up without even a fuss. Peas, Carrots, Apples, Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans, Avocado, Brown Rice, and Oatmeal. I make all my food myself - pat on the back to me - mostly because mom gave me a grinder for Christmas several years ago, and I got a Baby Bullet on the clearance rack at Target. Scored that for only 8 bucks. So - why not right? We did buy some jars of food when we were Thanksgivitizing at my mom's - mostly for a project I found on Pinterest that called for baby food jars. And I thought - this is SO much easier - why am I making my own? But alas, it makes me feel so good that I just keep making my own. For now. They say it's cheaper. At least that's what I tell myself and my pocket book. 

So there you go. We're growing up even more. So blessed to have Cameron join our family.

"Garbage Father"

Mark has an awesome Father. I just love his smile, and his laugh, and his overall personality. He has such a quiet sense of humor that if you're not paying attention, you'll miss his clever jokes. Like today - I am still laughing at his sauerkraut joke. We're making German food for the youth's dinner activity. (he having served his mission in Austria is a dynamite German food chef). He had just made the most delightful batch of purple sauerkraut, from scratch might I add, that I was eating by the bucketfuls. We had purchased a bottle of white sauerkraut. So Clyde wanted to give it a taste to make sure it was at least edible. His response was "it's not bad. Just rinse it off and start over." See what I mean? If you're not paying attention, you'll miss it. Love this man.

One of Mark's memories of his dad is that his Father was always in charge of taking the trash out to the curb each week. When asked by the children what he was doing, Clyde would respond, "oh, just being Garbage Father". So cute. Mark has automatically taken this responsibility in our family as well; cleaning out the house trashes on Sunday night and taking it all to the curb for Monday Morning pick up. How I love my Garbage man, just doing his garbage father duties. And double bonus that he didn't roll his eyes when I asked him to pose for this post. Love that man of mine.

Thanks "for" Giving

 I'm not going to get all gushy and even pretend that my Thanksgiving was amazing. Because - honestly - it was the worst Thanksgiving ever! It "blew", quite literally. Wednesday night the family was together and ate a delightful little meal, only to have the grim reaper himself knocking on all our doors at 1am. Yup-all 7 of us (less Mark and the babies) were hit with food poisoning in the nth degree. How did Mark escape you wonder? He served his mission in Brazil so his belly was prepped for this kind of situation. Its the only thing I can figure. So - instead of celebrating all that we're grateful for over turkey and pie, we were cursing life over the porcelain throne. So I say Thanks-for-Giving me the runs - I lost 6 pounds in 1 day!

A day late and a little weak in the bellies, we forced ourselves to gather on Friday and have some food. Mostly we had to empty Mom's fridge before the masses left the next morning with more food than 2 adults can consume alone. Spencer and Cameron, only a week apart, were troopers in the festivities. My SIL Lesley is my role model mom and does a great job at taking it all in stride. I find when I'm more chill like her, having Cameron around is a breeze.

My new roll recipe is addictive as all get out. A shout out to Julie and her famous rolls. I make them all the time and just love that they are always perfect! Makes me feel good and domestic when the crowds are raving about the rolls. Mom was a trooper and made up supper, despite wanting to just sit and be as far away from food as possible. We all sat around a beautifully decorated table, and picked at the food like little people on little diets. So sad. Mark undoubtedly had his choice of anything he wanted - with too many scoops of ice cream to make up for everyone else who passed it up.

It wasn't something that I want to do again. In fact, it was awful. I was sad that I didn't get any shots of my brother and his families visit. And I did only got one photo of the lad with his cousins. Dreadful. Here's to hoping for a better holiday season and more success in the photo department.

As we round out my favorite season, and welcome in winter - I do recognize that I indeed have so much to be thankful for. I somehow, miraculously, escaped death for one. And that is a pretty big deal.

A Real Agent

I am so proud of my husband and his consistant energy and excitement to do what he really wants to. Not just in his working life, but in all that he is involved in. His newest venture in Real Estate is no different; jumping in with both feet and eyes wide open.

He had his first open house last Saturday for a property here in Antioch. He had the house smelling delightful with a little music in the background to make it look so inviting. And it really was. I tried to top out my spously love by surprising him with Peppermint Hot Coco from Starbucks and homemade Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies. I know, bonus points for me. He saw about 6 families in the 4 hours he was there and the property will probably sell before the end of the week.

I am so thankful for such a great man.We are really excited about the new real estate business because Mark is such a people person. The backyards of our pool clientele wasn't really giving him the social outlet he so misses from his Disney days. So this is going to fit him great. Helping people find what they need is going to be just the best. We are so blessed.

As a completely unrelated side note: this same day I took the lad and myself to the Contra Costa County Fall Craft Fair. I needed an excuse to get out of the house while Mark was at the open house, and all my friends were busy with other engagements. So I went alone. And I was really glad that I did because-I was there a total of 10 minutes. It was quite drab to be nice. And its a little awkward when you're the only patron in the whole warehouse so each vendor is eying you like their next meal. I didn't dare go into any of the booths to look more closely at their merchandise for fear of being attacked and heckled into buying something I didn't want at all. So - I pushed the lad around the 2 wear houses and then right back out the front gate. As I walked away I thought how disappointed I was because it really was a beautiful fall day. It had just rained so it smelled clean and fall fresh; there was a beautiful fall breeze, and the fair grounds were lined with trees changing colors and smells of popcorn coming from the one food stand inside the gate. But I loaded up the lad and left empty handed. Pat on the back for at least getting out of the house.

Vanity

 I'm just going to come right out and say it. We're a good looking bunch. As Christina Yang from Grey's Anatomy once said "I could do hot in jeans. I could do hot in scrubs. I am a Hot Hot person." Replace I with "we" and there you have the feelings I have about my family.

My very talented BIL took our photos for us this year - and will every year from now on as long as he lives. I am so in love with them that I've been sharing them on every social network about a hundred times over. Call me vain, or free advertising for him, or just sharing my cute family. Call it what you will - but here is our darling photo shoot.

My little dude made for a fun few pictures. Mike was excellent at catching his personality which was sort of hit and miss.

How in love with my Hubs I am. I couldn't have dreamed up a better life if I had all the power to do so. He really is the best man for me.

Which one do I choose for my Christmas card? And I may or may not have my walls scattered with every shot I could possibly print out without feeling like it was overkill. Thanks Mike. They're darling.

Football with Father

I missed 2 days in my "catch up on my goal" blog spree. Basically blogging about everything I have a picture of.  But they are fun memories none the less.

We have always been a football family. Mostly college ball, but we won't pass up a pro game when they're on. I may or may not have lied slightly about my interest level in said sport while Mark and I were dating - all to just seal the deal. It worked, and now he's stuck. So when the little man came along, Football games have had that much more meaning. Even if Cam's attention span is less than a fraction of one quarter. :)

Why do I like football? It give me at least 4 hours of computer work/bonding time with my Hubs. Granted my nose in the creative world of Photoshop but my heart is in the game.

We were blessed with kind friends who boosted Cameron's BYU collection in addition to his Disney gear - so we have been set all season! And let it be known that we are not fair weather fans! Died in the wool - true blue - united we stand - go Cougars.

Now that the season is wrapping up, (it is wrapping up isn't it?) we (I) look forward to all the new seasons that start in the wintertime. -Top Chef anyone? Sister Wives? Hala back.