Bristol's 1st Birthday: Oakley

I was just scrolling through my blog and realized that I never posted the second of Bristol's two part Birthday. This was the party in Oakley with Ty's parents. After opening presents we sang "Happy Birthday" and let Bristol dig into a cupcake. I believe that she must take after me...not wanting to get food all over her face. She wasn't into it too much (at least not as much as the other baby there)! She had fun though and did tell me that she admits to loving to stuff her face with a cupcake. Funny note: Bristol is SCARED of tu-tu's. So funny!

Cruise: Day 7

I know...You are all ready for cruise posting to be over...this was the last day! Promise. I wasn't so excited to leave at the time...except to see my baby, but the last day was nice and relaxing. I pretty much laid on a lounge chair all day and watched movies on the movie screen, followed by some great dinner (including 2 orderes of dessert) and then watching all of the other ships at sea. So great! I loved this cruise, highly recommend going on one!

Cruise: Day 6

Day six was Grand Turk day! So much fun! My mom and I started off the morning with a brisk walk around the outside of the boat, followed by some great breakfast!
In Grand Turk we did a bit of shopping, smoothie tasting, and then some great snorkeling. I'll be honest, I was a bit concerned because snorkeling was going to be followed by some sting rays, and I just don't like things touching me! However, it turns out that I only had to touch one if I wanted to, which they tried to get me to do...but NO WAY!
Snorkeling was a bit nerve racking. There was a barracuda that "made friends" with the travelers, and when I saw it hanging out by the boat I panicked. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't panic in the water...but I totally did. AHHHH!

Cruise: Day 5

Hello St. Thomas! This was seriously one of my most favorite days on the cruise. We had the best time EVER!
The ship got to port at 1:00 PM and we scurried off to our snorkeling excursion. The whole excursion consisted of 27 people, and my family made up 21 of them. What a blast! We rode on this awesome catamaran for a while to "Turtle Cove" off of Buck Island and did some great snorkeling. We then boarded the boat again and went to "Honeymoon Beach" for a great BBQ and swimming. The scenery was breathtaking. I'll never forget it!

Cruise: Day 3 & 4

Day 3 was spent "at sea." We covered a ton of ocean, and I got a nice tan laying out on the deck. Ty played some cards with my cousins while I caught some rays!
That night was "Captain's Dinner" meaning...look nice. It was fun to get dressed up...but glad that I didn't wear a ball gown or anything like a lot of people on the cruise. What a waste of packing space!!!

Day 4: St. Maarten
Pulling into port was fun to watch, and the island looked beautiful! I just couldn't believe the color of the water! My family went into town, but it was so unbelievably hot that we had to go back to the ship for lunch before our Kayaking excursion.
Kayaking was so interesting. we had a ton of fun and saw some really neat ocean life including mangroves, jelly fish and sea cucumbers.





Last, but not least, of the day consisted of Karaoke. My cousin Dan was the champ of the night, he did so awesome. As for me, I couldn't believe that I did it. First, I didn't realize how hard it is to hear the music when you are on stage, and second, I can't sing solo. However, one guy came up to me afterward and thanked me for the song...it brought him to tears (in a good way, I promise). It was fun thought looking back. My whole family came and took up an entire section of the "Bar" and cheered us on! Great fun!

Cruise: Day 2

Day two on the cruise was great! It started off with a "Life Boat" ride to the Princess Keys Island, a private island just for us cruisers. While on the island we swam, layed out under the sun, ate some great food, shopped a little at the shops, and last but not least ended the day with an AWESOME banana boat ride. We had been watching these rides go by all day, and because we were the last group before having to board the ship, we got a longer and more wild ride. I think that we may have offended the driver by all putting our hands in the air. It was absolutely crazy! So much fun! On the banana boat ride was Ashley, Chrissy, Hailey, Dad, Ty, Me, Kassie, JuJu, Karli, and Pooky. It was so much fun!





After dinner we watched "The Blindside" at the outdoor theatre! I had never seen it, and what a great way to watch a movie!

Caribbean Cruise: Day 1

My extended family on my Dad's side went on a Caribbean Cruise the end of March, into the beginning of April. It was a DREAM! We had so much fun! Here are a few highlights of the first day!

I think that there were 46 of us, so to get to the cruise ship we boarded a huge bus. This was everyone in line loading their luggage onto the bus. We were overly anxious to get there!

The view from our room as we were leaving Ft. Lauderdale. After watching the ship take off, we got ready for our first dinner. There is nothing quite like ordering what you want...when you want. So much fun!

We are still here...

I'm sorry it has been too long. Life is busy for the Stevens Family. The day after getting back from our cruise we packed up and moved to Boise for 3 weeks...we are still in Boise...and next week will have 2 days to pack up for Canada. Crazy Crazy. It isn't going to stop either. So, I promise that I will post all of our fun pictures sometime. And to all of my family...I will get the family blog going. Promise!

Love you all!

Birthday at Nana's

Bristol was able to open more presents at Nana and Grandad the Great's house. She loved it! It was fun to visit!

Yellow Sunnies

Here is a better shot of Bristol in her sunnies! She loves them. And I also love this shot of Bristol begging my Dad for ice cream. So cute!

3-16-2010 Bristol's First Birthday: Boise

Bristol had a great Birthday! Annie helped me decorate her Birthday cake. (I wanted her to have a whole cake because that's what I had!) We had a great dinner, followed by opening presents. She was spoiled soooo bad by everyone. We then had cake and ice cream. Bristol dug into her cake. It was so cute! She fed me some too! I was surprised, I thought that she would just touch the frosting, but she made some pretty good dents in it. She is so cute. I just can't believe that she is already one year old. Time flies by so quickly. I'm glad I take a lot of pictures! P.S. Bristol actually loves her glasses. Her face in that Pic is a little...sad. I'll post a better one!

Mac and Chesse In My Hair

Bristol had her first bowl of Mac N Chesse the other day.Bristol will get the goo on her hands and then rub it in her hair. It creates quite the mess. We think she's still pretty cute though!

First Day of Spring

SPRING...I welcome you with OPEN arms...if only you will not act like winter!

Bristol's New Cousin

Yes, Bristol has a cousin. I'm not going to go into detail because I believe in the parent's sharing the excitement, but I can tell you that his name is Jeffrey! He is my most favorite nephew in the world! Love him to pieces. These pictures depict Bristol first meeting her cousin. She loves him already! We can't wait to meet Jeffrey in person!

Tag...I'm It!

I got tagged by Kristen today. Honestly, I don't mind tags. I think that they are fun! Always looking for something new to blog about! Here is my photo!

Of course it is a picture with Bristol in it. This computer is quite new, so most on here are of her.
This picture is on the 4th of July 2009. Ty was still in California selling security systems, and I made a trip to my favorite place...McCall, Id. Every year on the 4th McCall does a firework show on a barge in the middle of the lake. So, we fill the boat with blankets and treats and drive to the other side of the lake and watch the show. This was Bristol's first 4th of July, and she LOVED it. She loved being on the boat, and loved watching the fireworks. And since we were in the mountains, the sound didn't bother her much at all! Also pictured is my MOM!

I tag Amber, Emily, Amanda, and whoever else wants to participate!

Rules
1. Open up your first photo file
2. select the tenth photo
3. post it to your blog with the story behind it
4. Tag 5 friends

Chocolate Chip Lovin'

I have been making the same chocolate chip cookies forever. UNTIL...my visiting teacher gave me this recipe. It is AWESOME! I halved it for just the 3 of us.

Ingredients
2 c. butter
2 c. sugar
2 c. brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
4 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
4 c. old-fashioned oats
2 bags Hershey's milk chocolate chips
1 symphony bar w/ almond and toffee ships (frozen)

Grind oats in blender, set aside. Grind frozen symphony bar and set aside.

Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and mix well. Mix flour, salt, soda, powder, and ground oats separately. Gradually add flour mixture while mixing. Gently stir in ground symphony bar and chocolate chips.

Bake at 350* for 7-8 minutes. They may come out looking doughy,but will harden fast. Do not over bake.

Calendar

I'm looking for some direction on making my own calendar. I don't want to spend a TON of money on it, but I do want a cute one! I would like to upload my own photos and add my own events. So, if any one knows how to make one or knows a great web-site tutorial I would love to know about it! Thanks!

Bristol's Hissy Fits

Yes, she throws fits. It is actually quite funny really. I must tell you about last night. Bristol has this thing with wash cloths, or rags. She just swings them around. Last night it got stuck under her foot and she couldn't get it out. So she started throwing a little hissy fit as I like to call them. Not a full on tantrum, but a hissy fit! Ty and I were laughing soooo hard. She managed to get the rag from under her, but then couldn't get it to do what she wanted (whatever that is) and started screaming at it again. FINALLY (while Ty and I are doubled over laughing) she finds something else...her sock. She takes it off, opens it back up and tries to put it back on. Throws another hissy fit because it she can't get it back on, and then opens the sock once more and tries to put it on her head! Maybe Ty and I were a bit tired, but we were laughing so hard we were crying. Anyway, just one of those moments I had to write down somewhere so I wouldn't forget.

P.S. Don't rent "The Box." Not a good movie.

Ode to Duke

In keeping up with the Winter Olympics, I also followed Hailey Duke. I went to high school with her, and even though we weren't "buddy-buddy" we still knew each other and chatted once in a while. How cool is it that this year she made her Olympic Debut? Pretty awesome! I KNOW HER!!! She took 30th after her 2nd run in Alpine skiing. AMAZING!

My Fight with the Chesse Grater

Yup, we duked it out. Unfortunately the cheese grater won. How rude...and painful! I was just minding my own business when I felt a little pain. I ran to the sink to rinse the cheese off my finger, when I realized that I didn't have any cheese on my finger...it was skin...hanging skin. AHHH! Ty wasn't home, so I ran upstairs to my wonderful neighbors and asked for help. They are great surgeons. After stopping the bleeding, clipping some skin, and bandaging, I'm doing much better. A little pain, but it's alright! Thank you Perschons for saving my finger!

P.S. I'd post a picture, but it makes me a little queasy.

American Pride

Last night I was watching the Olympics and was just wondering something that maybe you have an answer for. There have been many award ceremonies where our National Anthem is played, and the American medalist standing on the podium doesn't place his/her hand over her heart. I'm kinda amazed. Maybe it's just me, but I would think that at the OLYMPICS, you would be more than willing to show pride for your country. I dunno, maybe that's just the American in me. I seem to notice more that when other country's anthems are played, the medalist is even singing their anthem. WOW. Well anyway, just my thoughts. What do you think?

Unaccomplished?

So, I'm laying here in bed watching the Olympics and updating my books in "Goodreads." I feel so minute! There is a 16 year old in the Olympics, and some of my friends have hundreds of books "read" on Goodreads. Holy Crap! First, I can't think of all of the books that I have read, let alone read that many, and second, I couldn't even qualify to qualify to be in the Olympics. WOW. Well, all I can say is that I am a Mom. That is quite an accomplishment...right?

P.S. I absolutely love the winter Olympics. My favorite: Figure Skating. Even more specifically the Free Skating Long Program. Pairs and the short program are great, but with free skating I think that more personality comes out. You may wonder who my all time favorites are? Nancy Kerrigan, Scott Hamilton, Bryan Boytono, and Elvis Stoyko. Yes I saw them all live, and No I was never that big of a fan of Michele Kwan although she does fly over the ice with the greatest of ease...Just in case you wanted to know!

Dancing

Bristol loves to dance. This is a little guy that my Dad gave my Mom last year for Valentine's day...which was given right to Bristol as soon as she fell in love with it. Now, she dances with it! So cute!
P.S. Isn't my Dad quite the romantic..."The Love Machine" for Valentine's Day. I think that it is quite hilarious!