My Wife Hates Me

While I wait for my wife to get back I figured I would take the time to solicit some feedback. Every year I do something weird that makes my wife question why she ever married me--okay actually probably once a week. I remind her how special I am all the time. Right now my new thing is becoming a Vegetarian for the month of January (she's real annoyed by it). My boss gave me a book called Skinny Bastard (maybe as a hint). The book is extremely interesting-a little crazy and innapropriate, but interesting. You pretty much feel like everything you eat will kill you. It slightly encourages you to become a vegan, but preaches vegetarian-ism. I thought it was time to give my diet of In and Out, Airheads, and Diet Coke with Lime a deserving rest and try something new with edible items that actually grow from the ground with natural color instead of in test tubes with color like Blue Lake #7 (that's my favorite--usually blue raspberry).

I am going to cut down on dairy as well--read the book and you'll see why. I will also drink water, which I hate with a passion. What I need from our audience are quick vegetarian items you all eat that I can make quickly. Here are a list of some things I hate so don't include them in your response (this also makes my wife angry, I tell her I have white trash taste buds, it's not my fault).

-tomatoes

-onions

-cilantro

-broccoli

-sourdough bread (maybe one day Karen...you keep eating that coconut)

-any type of vinegarette dressing

-cooked carrots

The list could go on, but those are the main items.

I will also start up my p90x routine-I would enjoy it more if it didn't have pull-ups. I have to run to the other room to do them, my ceilings are low, plus I have to get a little step stool because I can't do one on my own-it's all very discouraging.

That's it, please let the advice (and encouragement) commence. I may do "before and after" photos in a couple months, but I'm not sure if my self esteem is up for just a "before" photo right now. Just imagine a popcicle stick then slide a marshmallaw around the center where the stomach would be. grab a couple smaller ones and slide them up where the glutius maximus would be located. Now dress it up in cool clothes that are just a little too tight because the popsicle stick can't afford clothes that fit. Granted this popcicle stick is extremely fun to hang out with and has a great personality... Thanks for your help.

I do love my toddler...

This post is for me because I had the roughest day ever with Camryn! I tried to get some Christmas shopping done and it was a nightmare. Then once home she continued to be a terror and bite and hit! So after putting her in her crib to cry for the second time. I had to take a step back and remember that I do love this crazy girl.

Her accessories of choice these days-she begs to have these items on all day long!

A trip to the farm and I loved her pose. Walking back from getting the mail-perfect portrail of her personality. Just happy to be walking around and in her own world.Ryan and I find Camryn here quite often these days. She loves having a perfectly sized chair just for her.

I knew Camryn would hate Santa but there wasn't a line and I thought that it would be funny to capture her pure and total terror! Parents are so cruel!

Thanks for helping remember why I love this hilarious cute little girl!

FREE Gift Wrapping

Merry Christmas!

In honor of this holiday season I am offering FREE gift wrapping with your Twigg online order.

Also, we all know how cold it has been lately so don't forget that we have boots for the winter! For only $30! Go here to place your order.

Delayed Thanksgiving Post

It has been over a week ago now but I am just getting around to putting pictures up of Thanksgiving. Don't judge me. We had a great Thanksgiving and really enjoyed spending time with Ryan's family, getting to meet Greg's darling girlfriend and seeing friends.This Thanksgiving was a little bit different as The Smart's are in the process of renovating their home. Which meant minimal furniture, fridge in the garage, dinner outside and most importantly NO dishwasher! Let me tell you that we all took turns but probably took 3 hours to clean up...but it sure was good food. However, I am still not sure if all the fuss is worth such a quick sit down, eat and then it's over. Don't tell Ryan.

Friday we took advantage of the nice weather and headed to the Zoo. It was really crowded but it was fun going as a family some of the family hadn't ever been. Glad we were able to change that! And now Grandma and Grandpa have an annual pass so they will be joining us more often!

A great advantage of having Grandpa there is to carry Camryn in the backpack. He loved it because it was the one time she didn't cry because he was holding her. Such a sweet face.

Greg and Ryan being cheese balls and Camryn could care less because she is mesmerized by the Flamingos.

Later that night we were able to meet up with a bunch of friends at Fidel's for some din din and catch up. Man I wish everyone lived closer! What a fun group.

Don't know how we did it but we managed to get a family picture before Jake had to get back to law school. Sad he had to leave so soon. And how good does Whitney look for being 6 months pregnant?! You seriously couldn't even tell she was prego. We are so excited to have another girl cousin!

On Saturday we headed to Julian with Mia and Nate. It is a cute little old mining town that is known for their apple pie. (And let me tell you they should be known for their pumpkin apple pie and apple cider! So good!) We heard it would be cold but figured it was only an hour and half from SD so how cold could it really be? 38 degrees cold! We were not prepared! Camryn ended up wearing Mia's extra pair of mittens on her feet! But aside from the cold we had a great time. And it was great to be able to see some snow and feel as though it is actually winter.

Getting warm in candy shop and enjoying Smarties. Luckily Brenda had gotten this coat just before otherwise we would have had nothing warm for her.

Showing that was actually snow! Can you see the mittens on her feet here?

Thanks Mia and Nate for showing us such a fun place to visit! Next time we will be more prepared. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and are getting ready for Christmas in 3 weeks!

Maui Wowi

We thought we would never make it. I got a bad case of the flu and a horrible bee sting on my foot, the next day Ryan got sick and the following day Camryn got sick. A few days later Camryn and I were feeling better and Ryan definitely had the Swine Flu. There was even discussion on whether or not he would be joining us. Oh did I mention that 3 days before we left the airline had no record of mine/Camryn's ticket (whole other story altogether). After 3 1/2 hour phone call to Wells Fargo Rewards for our ticket retrieval and Ryan finally kicking the pig (as he called it) we felt up to our trip. We seriously felt that we weren't supposed to go and Ryan even said that if he died that it would be on me...well luckily nothing happened except for a great vacation!

So here are our pictures-yes there are a lot!

After church. Mom, Ryan, me, Cam, Sis. Amy, Emma, BIL Mike, Owen and Dad

We stayed in my parents Westin timeshare in Ka'anpali. It was abosutely amazing. This is the view from our room one morning. Can you say picture perfect?!

Ryan enjoying his Shave Ice! Well actually it wasn't that good.

Playing at a local park, one of the first times she actually played! Now that she is walking it makes it more interesting for her.

Best cousins sharing a treat

She only liked playing in the water with dad.

Loving the slide on the pirate ship. Such a great pool for kids-well and us. We spent most of our days here.

Is that not the cutest bathing beauty you have ever seen?!

Ryan and I got to have a night out with Amy and Mike while my parents watched the kids. What a treat and the food, company and shopping was so great!Those are the timeshares in the background. It was such a great set up with the beach and pools right there.The besties playing in the sand. You thought Camryn was little? Nope! Emma is the tiniest cutest thing you have ever seen. Which was great because she was able to borrow swimsuits from this past summer. I love having a girl cousin so close in age!
Taking a break from snorkeling and playing in the sand.

More pool time

Our outing to the Maui Tropical Plantation. Look at these good lookin dads!

Iao Needle-short little hike but really cool mountains. Probably a small scale version of what Machu Picchu would look like.

Our last night on the Island my dad took us out to Leilani's for dinner. This was the view from our table. Again, not bad. Aren't my mom and dad so cute together?! They were so generous and amazing to allow us to stay with them! I hope we get invited back everytime!
The Atherly's-such a amazing family. It was so fun getting to know Emma and Owen better. This was the first time Huncle Ryan (as Owen called him) got to meet Emma. She is such a sweet little girl but is always on the move-she will be walking in no time! And Owen is the cutest kid. So smart and loves his Monster trucks! Our favorite was the way he spoke! We still repeat the things he said. We cannot wait until they are in Southern CA next July!
Our little fam. What a fun and memorable trip! So fun that we got to spend time away and with family. My dad's plan is all the adults and no kids in a few years! Let's just say we can't wait for that!

New Arrivals at Twigg

After another visit to LA I have 3 more styles to add to the collection.

Flats have been selling like crazy.

Each one only $25 at a party or $28 online.

Visit twiggshoes.com to book your party or order a pair!

What a Weekend

We started celebrating at Ryan's work Halloween Party. Ryan and I actually dressed up! He pretty much had too. So we chose the always easy cowboy and cowgirl. Camryn wore her costume most of the time but a stuffed sweatsuit monkey costume is not ideal for Southern CA weather. Camryn got her first tattoo, let me tell you how hard it was to get her to sit still. I think I got it to stay the second time around.

Friday night we went to our ward Halloween Party. Again the monkey was a hit however she was not happy for long and ended up looking like this...

Still cute with a pacifer!

We woke up Saturday morning with a fresh start and I made homemade chocolate chip pancakes dyed orange in all sorts of Halloween shapes! Let me tell you they were tasty! I hope to make this a Halloween tradition.

She got to have her first sucker! Now I know why all mothers give their kids them when they need to be good! She was in heaven! You could not pry that out of her grip if you tried. But at least she was willing to share.

She was such a fun cute little monkey. She had fun going door to door in our neighborhood and playing with Grandpa and Grandma Smart.

We finished the night off with a dance party before bed! She has increased her dance moves and I attribute it to her new little tutu! Who says you can't wear a tutu with your jamies? I can't wait until next year, each year will get more and more fun!

Getting Ready for Halloween

We decided we would get ready for next weekend and go to a pumpkin patch and Halloween party. Usually people choose to go to a place close by, we chose to be adventurous and drive aways to a pick and pull farm. We got lost a couple times, it was insanely crowded and warm but we ended up having a good time. Bates Nut Farm was the place and we plan to make it an annual tradtion but next time we won't go the Saturday before Halloween. It is so fun having a reason to go to a pumpkin patch now that we have a kid! Great excuses for getting to do things I have always wanted.

After we were inviteheaded to the Simmons for a Halloween Party. The kids dressed up and enjoyed playing together while us adults chatted, had good food and craved pumpkins. I was so surprised how interested she was in what I was doing. So cute.

Here is how they all turned out! Ours is the one on the far right. I went for a happy version of a Jack O Lantern with Camryn teeth but I think it kinda looks like Mickey Mouse.

All the girls and kids with our pumpkins. The owl is awesome! And don't the kids look cute?! I love this holiday!