Milestone

Ashton Jack is almost 14 months old, and he is on the move... his first steps happened tonight. I can't believe my little man is walking, but I know how bad he wants to, so we are excited. He has perfected his army crawl over the past several months, but the bellies of his shirts have suffered, and now he is upright.

 

I am so proud of my son, it seems so silly, but I am understanding more and more what it feels like to see a child try and try and fail so many times, and then, finally, succeed.  Ashton helps me to see hope amid hard things, makes me giggle and be sillier than I thought I could, and screams an ear-piercing scream every time he wants to communicate with me.  I LOVE this strong, determined, and playful little boy. I LOVE the lessons I am learning each day. I LOVE CHRISTMAS time.

Kauai

Our first trip to the tropics, just the two of us. I would say that getting away from everything was the healthiest thing we have done in a long time. I was so anxious to leave my kids, but once I made it to the sand, sun, and waves, I had an easier time relaxing! After a pretty crazy year, including becoming parents to two, we took off to a much-needed vacation to paradise... here are a few shots of the beauty we found there.

This beach was called Secret Beach, you had to hike this steep, tiny trail to get there, we ended up sliding down the whole thing. It was pretty hilarious, my backside was covered in mud by the time we made it to the beach. There were just a few people at this beach (like 6) all spread out. We steered clear of the Secret Lava Pools where we found some nudest beach bathers (yuck!)

Just before we left Utah, my dad said, "Remember what I always say, Kauai is for lovers!" That phrase was a little awkward coming from my dad, but we joked about it the whole time. This sign seemed to fit right into our mantra for the trip!

We ran into a "winter storm" while we were there, meaning that it rained off and on every day, averaging 80-85 degrees with sunshine. Once we got home to snowy mountains, the storm didn't seem so bad.

We hiked 4 miles along the Napali Coast to another pristine beach our last day. The scenery was breathtaking, and we hiked through rain and sun. I have been dreaming of taking Jon here since I went with my family in 2005. He loved it and thought that this was the best day of the trip.

LOVE this beach... 15 miles of sand dunes backed by tropical lava cliffs, we called it "our beach" because we had to 4 wheel in the jeep to get there, only to find it pristinely void of ANYONE but us. SO cool!

We had a perfect mix of relaxation and adventure, and I came to appreciate God's creations even more. Hawaii is so beautiful! Happy 5 (and a half) years of marriage, graduation, 2 babies, and surviving 2011. We have learned and grown a lot this year. One thing we have learned is that we will definitely be going back to Kauai!

I haven't been found here, because I have been busy HERE!

Goodbye Summer

Sniffle, sniffle.

I have been hanging onto you for a long time, but I think you are officially gone. It's cold outside. My baby is coughing upstairs, and the boat is put away. I loved you while you lasted, thank you for another great year. I will truly miss you, especially in February.

the artist in me

I did a new post on my art blog

Concrete Jungle

Sunday night I put my precious little babies to sleep at Mom's, kissed their cheeks, wiped my misty eyes, and Jon and I took off on the 11:30pm flight. As hard as it was for me to leave behind my kids, I knew that I wouldn't regret it.

Have you ever heard the song, Empire State of Mind by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys? It makes me want to dance around and get back on the plane to New York. This chorus plays in my head all day long...

I'm gonna make it by any means,

I got a pocketful of dreams

Baby, I'm from New York

Concrete jungle where dreams are made of

There's nothing you can't do

Now you're in New York

These streets will make you feel brand new

Big lights will inspire you

Let's hear it for New York,

New York,

New York!

I felt every word of that song. I know it's hip-hop, ok, but I haven't grown out of it yet. We got to stay in Chris and Kimmy's peaceful, clean, and nice home, overlooking central park. While Jon went to his business meetings, I hit up Museum Mile and loved every second of it. It was wonderful, refreshing, and inspiring. That place is definitely overwhelming though, so much to see and do, and not much time! We stood in line for half-off tickets to Phantom... A.MAZ.ING. We had insider's tips with Chris and Kimmy on our side and so we ate well, got GREAT shopping, and found our way around those stinky subways (seriously, the urine smell is too much sometimes, ew!)

Oh, and to top it off... guess what song was blasting through Time Square? Yep.

Thank you Jay-Z and Alicia. Thank you Chris and Kimmy. Thank you Internet Business Conference. Thank you Jon. Thank you Mom, Mush, Rach, Dad (for taking such great care of Mary and Ashton).

playtime

This big exercise ball puts Mary into giggles (with the help of a funny dad)

Ashton doesn't think it is quite so funny. One thing I love about Ashton is his ability to express a variety of emotions in a matter of seconds.

July

The Beach trip began at Grandma Mary's...



And the big party began a few days later...
Henriksen Family Reunion: 15 adults+ 12 children + 1 beach house= PARTY!!

I don't know if I've ever seen Jon so excited. I love the beach, but he IS the beach, it is in his bones to BE IN the waves and the sand. He couldn't get over the view and the "private beach" we had access to out our back door. If there was ever a question as to where he was, I found him body surfing, playing smash ball in the sand, or searching for sea shells with Mary. Not to mention beach volleyball, tacos, and his sand pillows... no beach towel needed.

Whenever I pull the camera out, Ashton puts on his cheesy face. I am taking advantage of the fact that he's all smiles, it makes for some cute pictures of my growing boy. This was taken at Ruby's Diner on the Huntington Pier.

Nellie, what a cute little diva! We had fun with all of the kids, and we wore them out by 7:00 every night!

Disneyland...What A Day!





Mary really looks up to her older cousins. Megs and Paige helped carry her around when she twisted her ankle. And every time someone had a new hairstyle, Mary had to have it. Her hair is so lovely in all of these Disneyland pictures because we went from braids to one ponytail to pigtails to braids, and then just to ripping them all out by the end of the day. My dad laughs every time she throws a fit about her hair and says she takes after her mom. I think she takes after her aunt Rachel, haha.

Noah and Mitchell also taught her how to fight with lightsabors... "and she even knows how to say lightsabor and not lightsavor" according to Mitchell.


I caught this face right before we went in to see Mickey Mouse. She was so excited when I said it was our turn. Since Christmas we had been preparing her for this meeting. I warned her that Mickey was going to be really big, but when she saw him, she totally chickened out. When we left she said, "Mommy, I want Mickey to be tiny."


One hand on her face and biting her lip... sure signs of shyness, but she managed to find the courage to reach her hand up and wave back to her favorite princess: Belle.


No matter how old you are, or how sick you may feel, or if you lost your shoe, or if you just walk and push the stroller all day, Disneyland is a Magical place. We had a great time, and we were exhausted by the time the day ended!



Date Night...


Blue Water Grill and Harry Potter 7 (side note: I feel like I need to apologize to Hermoine herself, or my die-hard HP fan friends that I was nodding off during it, but I loved every minute I saw)!

Our Sponsors... the two who made this all happen. It was a total success, a trip I will remember forever. Thank you Mom and Dad, for your hard work to keep us close, it is totally working!

And now we are home to this: (Mary's attempt at unloading the dishwasher) and sunset from my rooftop, not quite the same as looking out my kitchen to the sand and waves, but it's home. And there is no place like home.