Kollin-The Vacuum Kid!

My little man has an obsession...with vacuums! He goes wild when he sees or hears a vacuum. Or even anything that sounds like a vacuum. Before he grew tall enough to reach the door handle, he used to stand at the closet where we keep our vacuum and beg until I opened it. I have been looking for a play vacuum for him for a while because I was getting tired of putting the real one away several times a day after he had pulled it out. I saw one at the Rubidoux swap meet a couple weeks ago (that's right, the swap meet, one of my favorite places to frequent on a Saturday morning) but didn't get it and have been regretting it ever since because I hadn't had any luck finding one for a reasonable price.

Anyways, I was a little early picking up Kay, the 90 year old lady I drive to aerobics twice a week, on Tuesday and so to kill some time I decided to peruse the aisles of "Tuesday Morning." I had been there a couple times before and thought it was a neat little store. As we are walking I hear Kollin saying "Vacuu, vaccu." I turn around and see this...


Who cares if it's a lawn mower right? To him it's a vacuum and to me that is perfectly fine!

Some Minor Improvements

Eric and I have lived in an apartment since we got married 2 years ago. I don't know if I'm being silly here, but lately I have been hating apartment living. Maybe hate is a strong word; I'm just getting sick of having people walk by and glance in our windows, hearing the scuffles and squeaks of our upstairs neighbors, headlights shining in our bedroom window, the long walk from my parking spot to the front door (with an easily distracted 18 month old, this can be very difficult) and the grumpiest neighbors ever. (How 2 old ladies, a man and teenager fit in a 2 bedroom apartment I'll never know) I could go on and on but the thing that I dislike the most is not having a backyard to let Kollin go out and play in. He LOVES to be outside. We had been wanting to do something to spruce up the patio area so I can let Kollin go outside and play on something other than rocks and cement and so Eric and I can be out there with him and actually enjoy it so... this past weekend we made some minor improvements!
This is what it all used to look like.


This is what it looks like now.




We went to Home Depot and bought some cheap Adirondack chairs and some wood chips to lay down. It was just what I needed to make me feel a little more jazzed about living in an apartment until November. Oh and Kollin loves it too!

A much needed update

I know I haven't been the most dilligent blogger so here is what has been going on since December.
- We took family pictures with the Hancock family. The last family picture we took was before Sami or any of the grandkids were born so it was definitely time.








-Eric and I enjoyed a lovely Valentine's Day. We hired a babysitter, which was a first, and had a great dinner at B.J.'s


-We had a great vacation with all the Carter family at Disneyland. We were lucky enough to be able to stay at the Grand Californian Hotel and it was amazing! I have been to Disneyland a million times but have never stayed at any of the Disney hotels so it was pretty cool to walk right out the hotel and into the park. We had 2 fun days in the park, took family pictures, and enjoyed an adult-only dinner. As is the case with all vacations, we weren't ready to go home but it was nice to have a couple days with family and without work!





-We took a trip to the desert for Konner's 12th birthday. I have never really loved the desert but I had a really good time. Kollin loved being in the motor home and going on rides in "Papa's Limo."





-Eric and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary. We sent Kollin to Grandma and Papa Carter's house and then went to Citrus City Grille for dinner.

-I got a new calling. I am now the Relief Society secretary. I'm still getting acclimated but have enjoyed it so far. It's been nice to get to know the sisters in our ward a little better.

-We took our annual trip to San Clemente Beach with my family for Spring Break. We were only able to stay for a couple days but it was a ton of fun as always.






-After bugging Eric for long enough he finally took me to Pink's Hot Dogs. I think I set myself up for dissapointment because I have been wanting to go forever. I got the classic chili dog and it wasn't that great and was way over priced. But despite it all, I'd probably go back I would just stay away from the chili.

-Eric has been working like crazy. He gets up before the sun and works hard all day in the hot Palm Desert sun and yet never complains about any of it.


-Kollin is growing like a weed! I swear he gets smarter and smarter every day. He turns 18 months old tomorrow so next week he's goin' to nursery! He is very friendly, he says hi and waves to just about everyone. He some how learned my name and is now referring to me as Sydnee instead of Mommy. It irritates me a little especially because I'll say, "No Kollin, my name is Mommy" and he'll look straight in my eyes and say "nin-knee." I'm hoping he grows out of that soon! He loves kitties, and vacuums (weird, right?) and dancing. He is very strong willed and very active and loves being with his Dad. We had a diet coke intervention so he rarely drinks that anymore. We stopped buying it so it's been easier to cut him off since it hasn't been in the house. He makes me laugh everyday and makes me cry (out of frustration) somedays, but I love him and I wouldn't have it any other way.