greatest hits

sometimes i miss those days when you HAD to develop photos in order to see them. granted, half of those developed photos ended up looking like shiz, but at least they were there. they existed in a physical form that you could touch and carry with you.

too many wonderful photos live on my computer and have been forgotten. though with my new mac they seem much more accessible. i've been going through all of our photos and brightening them up. therein lies the beauty of digital photography. those photos that would've turned out dark and lackluster after being developed can now be given new life through the magic of photoshop.

now i just need to commit to developing those photos that have been given a new lease on life.

here are some of my faves, many of which have been seen on here before...

monterey

my insanely beautiful friend Lydia lives in California.They live inland, but close enough to Monterey that they take frequent trips to my old stomping grounds. And as if to taunt me, she posts the most beautiful photos of my beloved city.

So I stole some of them!

Is she still complaining?

Is it lame that I left California 18 months ago but still cry when I see pictures of the California Coast? Before I lived in Monterey I could appreciate winter even though I didn't care too much for it. After living on the Central Coast I just go through the changing seasons here in Utah like a zombie. What I wouldn't give for some sea mist and salty air. 

I know I'm a complainer, but California ruined me man. I gotta get back there!

{photo courtesy of pugly pixel}

ocean

i find myself looking through my monterey pictures all the time.

i.miss.the.ocean.

Update

It seems as though living by the ocean gave me inspiration to blog! Or maybe my blog lull is due to the fact that I'm actually experiencing winter this year. Who wants to take pictures of dirty ugly snow? But I figured I could at least give an update to any people who still visit my sad little blog.

Nate is going to another school in Arizona living in the barracks and going to school all day. He did get to come home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and hopefully he'll be done in March and back home. His time at home may be short-lived though. His unit is deploying in June, but we don't know yet if he'll be going. Cross your fingers.

Jackson is in Kindergarten and LOVES it. He's really starting to figure out the reading thing and he has so many little friends. All the girls seem to have crushes on him too. But really, can you blame them? He's also loves his CTR 6 class. There are 4 other boys in the class and they are all so cute.

Payton is the sweetest most stubborn little boy in the world. He refuses to truly potty train. In fact, not even 2 minutes ago he stealthily pulled off his underwear and pooped on the floor. He was two feet away from the bathroom. He also sneaks into my bed at night and I'm such a heavy sleeper that I usually don't even realize he's there until the morning comes and I'm halfway off the bed. I still don't understand how a pint-sized two year old can hog a King size bed.

I'm still at home with the boys and loving it. We have a cute little apartment here in Utah and I'm really happy to be here. I'm the 2nd counselor in the Primary Presidency and I'm really enjoying it. I love being there with the kids and Jackson thinks it the coolest thing that I get to be in there with him.

We really miss Monterey, but we're so glad to be back here in Utah close to family!

Santa Cruz Vacation #1

Remember how I mentioned that for our last weekend in Cali we took a vacation in Santa Cruz?? I mentioned it, then I never followed up did I?

We stayed in this AMAZING hotel right on the beach. Our view was simply splendid. It was so beautiful I could've just sat on our balcony the entire time.

We frolicked on the beach and the whole evening was perfect.

In this post I only included a few beach pictures and the view from our room.

More to come soon!

Longing

We kind of miss the ocean.

gloomy nights (& days)

I sent my soldier back to Monterey yesterday.

I miss him a lot.

We're crossing our fingers and hoping that we'll get to see you for Thanksgiving.

Not as Promised

If you've been eagerly awaiting the promised "Boden Family Beach Vacation" pictures.....

...you'll have to wait a little bit longer.

Due to the internets unwillingness to run fast enough to upload my pictures and my procrastination in getting things ready for the move tomorrow the pictures will have to wait until we get to Utah.

That's right.

The movers are coming in the morning.

So meet me back here in a couple weeks.

Happy Birthday Jackson!!

Jackson turned 5 today!!
We had planned on spending the day in Santa Cruz playing on the beach and going on rides. On Friday morning we were trying to find something fun to do. Nate wanted to go to L.A. but we figured taking a big trip right before we take a big trip isn't a good idea. So then he suggested Santa Cruz, but I reminded him that we were planning on going on Saturday. So he came up with the grand idea of staying the night in Santa Cruz.
Brilliant!!

So we combined Jacksons birthday celebration with our desire to live it up during our last weekend in California. It was perfection. I'll probably post millions of pictures about it tomorrow and drool while I do it.

So, here's the Birthday Boy! Happy Birthday Jackson!!!



Usually when we come to the Boardwalk the boys go on all the rides together which means that Jackson ends up going on the tamest rides in the park. He always enjoyed himself, but, feeling extremely big today he wanted to go on the big people rides. This meant that I got to go with him.

The first ride he wanted to go on was the Ferris Wheel.

I've been avoiding Ferris Wheels since about the 5th grade.

My parents took us down to Lagoon when I was a kid and I was so excited to go on the HUGE Ferris Wheel that they have there. I was talking it up for weeks about how awesome it was going to be. Then when we got in line I freaked out, pulled my hat over my face and cried LIKE A BABY!! Seriously ya'll!!

I inherited some amazing qualities from my lovely Mom. One of the not so amazing things is a crippling fear of heights.

But because I love Jackson so dang much I put on my brave face and got in the Ferris Wheel line. I wasn't really sure how he'd do. Sometimes it kind of seems like he doesn't like heights, but you never can tell.

He LOVED it!!.

As soon as we got on the wheel went half way around and stopped us at the VERY TOP for about 3 mintues. I would've had a full blown panic attack right then and there if it weren't for the Lamaze techniques that I learned but never had to use. Steady breathing did the trick for me (but don't expect to see me on another Ferris Wheel anytime soon).

I felt the need to take pictures to prove to any doubters (Jackie) that I really did it.

Jackson told me about 50 different times during the trip that "This is the BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!" and boy did he deserve it!!

Brotherly Love

Payton loves to give his brother big spontaneous hugs.

Things We'll Miss #3

Visitors

Last weekend we were lucky enough to get a visit from my brother John and sister-in-law Tracy. They just spent a year in Iraq so to say I was excited to see them would be an under-statement!

We had so much fun with them going to the Aquarium and to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. It was beautiful up there despite the raging forest fire. The boys scored some sweet shades and went on pleny of rides (pictures to come soon).

I also took advantage of my brothers skills with Garlic and he made some of the best garlic cheese bread I've ever had in my life.

We are so happy you guys are home and extra happy that we got a visit from you!!!

Graduation Pictures

Nate's class & teaching team

Diploma

Certificate for exceeding the Army's expectations

Graduation

He Passed

2+ 2+ 2

For those who don't know, that's a really good score.

Things We'll Miss #2

DLPT

Nate took the SPEAKING part of his DLPT last week and felt really good about his performance. We won't know the score until he's done with the READING & LISTENING. He does the listening today and the reading tomorrow.

I've been all pre-occupied with physical therapy, doctors appointments, Harry Potter, Kindergarten Registration, and potty training Mr. P that I didn't even give myself time to freak out about the seriousness of this testing. Since my kids got up before dawn cracked I had plenty of time to quietly freak out in my brain while I cooked breakfast for Nate and the boys (I thought it might help Nate on his test if he got a break from the usual breakfast of cold cereal).

It's not like this is a normal test like the ACT's. I mean, I prepped for my ACT's by going to a football game and screaming my head off and following that up with a rowdy visit to JB's for dessert. After 4 hours of sleep I woke up with a nasty cold & headache but still managed to get a respectable score.

No, this test is major. After all, we did pack up all our belongings and move our entire life to Seaside, CA so Nate could learn this language. And all the perks that the U.S. Military is contractually obligated to give us depend on Nate passing this test and moving on to the next phase.

So, it's a little bit nerve-racking.

But,

Despite my moment of freaking out, I'm confident he'll do well. He's put in a lot of extra work and has a real determination to pass and get the "H" out of here (not in a mean way though, just, move on with life).

Things We'll Miss #1

Twenty-Seven

Well July 8th came and went without a single thing mentioned on this blog about my birthday. I did indeed turn 27 years old on July 8th. For the first time in what seems like forever Nate and I got a babysitter and went out on a date.

We ended the evening in Carmel-By-The-Sea, one of our favorite spots, to catch the beautiful sunset.

Happy Birthday to Me!!!