Well, it's official. If you haven't heard yet Santa Ana fire will be no more as of April 20th. All of Santa Ana's guys will be picked up and hired by Orange County Fire Authority. The city of Santa Ana was in pretty bad shape, money wise (who isn't now days!) so instead of lay-offs they agreed to let OCFA come in and take over services. Santa Ana has had it's own Fire Department for 128 years so it's kind of sad to the guys. I guess OCFA really wanted to get Santa Ana a part of their county territory. I won't complain one bit we are just glad that Daniel has a job. He will be staying in Santa Ana to work but he will be at a different station. The sad part is he may never see some of the guys he's worked with for the past 8 years. There is going to be a lot of adjustments in the city and personal. This has been a major stressor at home (mostly with me) and it's good to finally be in the loop about what's going on. So I guess I will becoming a proud OCFA wife. It's going to take a while to get use to that.

So crazy and 8!

It has taken me awhile to get pictures up of what we have been doing around our home. The major thing was that Cody turned 8 and was baptized! He was very excited. A lot of planning went into the baptism and not only by me. A good friend helped out a ton on invitations and decor. We were also able to bring our next door neighbor, Debbie. She was just baptized Catholic so it was nice to have her there supporting Cody. We thank all of you who attended as well. He received his first pair of scriptures and his first suit that he likes to wear because after all, he wants to be just like Daddy!  

 After the baptism we got home and quickly began setting up for the next event, Cody's birthday party. Yes, I am crazy enough to do both events on the same day!
He wanted an Angry Birds party. I was able to find a lot of ideas online. But one of the big jobs was taping a bunch of Angry Bird faces to balloons. Luckily I had my Mom, sister and two sister-in-laws there to help out. I really appreciated all of you who helped out. I took on more than I should have.

A few other things that have been taking place are:
 Daniel finished some cement jobs with the help of a ward friend, he put in a new gate and built a shed in our backyard. Ah, ya know, just a few small jobs...He was pretty busy but he also had the help of his Dad, brothers and some friends.

 Me on the other hand, I was busy painting Cody's room and with the help of my handy-woman sister, Autumn, we managed to put a bunk bed together. Cody absolutely loves his bunk bed. He has no problems going to sleep anymore. It's funny but he actually likes going to bed now. I am not going to complain!! All the work was worth it! Since Cody doesn't have any siblings we've discussed sleep- overs since he has the extra bed. I don't know if I am ready for that yet...

We would really like to say thanks again to all of you who came and supported Cody. It meant a lot to us. We had a lot of fun with everyone.
I am so glad that my parents and brother and sister-in-law, Emily could come from Utah. To my other sister-in-law, Krystal, I am glad that the plans worked out so that you could be in town for the festivities even tho Derek couldn't make it! I love seeing your cute family.

Ouch

Poor Cody had to have a tooth extracted this week. He did really well and laid there in the chair for over an hour while the dentist took the one tooth out and filled in another cavity. But it's not over...we have to go back in two weeks for 2 more fillings.

My new toy!

This was one of my Christmas presents and I absolutely love it! Everyone knows I am a fitness fanatic so I like to try new fitness things. If anyone is a runner I highly recommend this for keeping track of calories burned and miles ran. I have been using it when running on my treadmill and it's giving me much more accurate info than my treadmill does. Also doing P90X and enjoying that too.

LOVE IT!!

Christmas with Great Grandma Titel

I've realized this past week that we don't have any pictures of Great Grandma Titel. Our family and Traesa's family had a nice dinner and gift exchange. It was a nice evening. Great Grandma is having a bit of trouble remembering things as well as she used to so I wanted to make sure that before her memory got any worse that we take some pictures together. She's a very kind and generous woman who has always made me feel like part of the family. So...Here's to YOU Great Grandma Titel. We love ya!

P.S. WATCH OUT DEREK, STEVE MIGHT TRY TO PICK YOU UP AGAIN!!

Playing catch up

Well, where to start. We've been going, going all month. I was called in our ward to be the Relief Society Enrichment leader and was in charge of our R.S. Christmas party. I am pretty new at planning big events that I have to decorate, get food, do programs, and all that fun stuff. Lucky for me I have a few great ladies on my committee that really stepped up and helped a ton. Over all it turned out okay and I was glad it was over. Now on to the rest of our month and lives...

We tried to get a fun family picture while in Utah for our Christmas cards. I am running very late on getting them and getting them out. But Daniel thought this pose was a fun one. I on the other hand was scared to death since he had two broken ribs and holding me and Cody up. We had a fun time in Utah seeing our family. The kids were a bit disappointed that there wasn't any snow but it all worked out. Autumn, Krystal, Daniel and I went out on black Friday and did some shopping too. Good times. We got extremely lucky in that it was probably the only night that wasn't freezing. But, it's all about the memories, right? We also had fun playing games. We even came home with a new one that Daniel and Cody play daily now.

While we were in Utah Cody knocked out one tooth that was already loose. And then when we got home Cody was playing around with Daniel with an umbrella and what do ya know...he knocked out another loose tooth. The tooth fairy was busy. But at least he can say all he wants for Christmas is his two front teeth. Daniel and Cody bring up the incident every day and can't help but laugh.

We've been busy getting, stressing over and wrapping gifts. I am usually done by now but I still have a few more people to buy for. I am not into this Christmas season like I usually am. I unfortunately have gained some weight due to stress I think and am trying to get it off. So, I am back on my treadmill out in the garage with my space heater as my best friend on those cold mornings. Today is Daniel's first day back at work. He's had a busy day and is a bit sore but is glad I think to be back doing what he loves. We will see what happens with his job and Fire Department hopefully by the end of the year. Things are looking like they are going to be taken over by Orange County but no for sure deals have been made. It's definitely causing some drama tho.

From our family to yours, we hope that everyone is  healthy, happy and has a wonderful Christmas. 

Men, listen to your wife

We were recently in Utah to visit family and one of the days the boys went snowboarding. A certain wife reminded her husband not to go off trail and get hurt. He agreed. The snow wasn't too good but this certain man has not been snowboarding in over a year and so he didn't care. What could have ruined his day???

A fall that caused him to hit a small tree on his side and broke 2 ribs!! Yep, I got a call from Ryan telling me that Daniel was in the ER. I didn't know whether to believe him or not since he likes to joke around. But I figured if Daniel went to the hospital he must really feel like something serious was wrong. I got to the hospital and he was doing good. They had already done x-rays and confirmed the two broken ribs. As of right now he is off work for a week or two and see how he's doing after that. He's going kind of crazy not being able to work out hard like he usually does and I am trying to make him rest so he will heal faster. But overall, he's doing well and I am glad that it wasn't something more serious. I think his snowboarding days are over for now.