6 Months, Lose Teeth, Catalina Island, and All Our Adventures in Between

What do 6 months, loose teeth, Catalina island, and long road trips have in common? They all happened in November! Another month down, and another one that did not disappoint. November was filled with all kinds of memories, adventures, and the love of family and friends. It couldn't have been any better, except for some bumps in the road.

6 months
I wish time could stand still. At the beginning of November, our sweet Callie turned 6 months! New adventures started for her with trying oatmeal, bananas, apples, and loving every last bite! She's become amazing at rolling over and enjoying tummy time. We constantly ooo and aww over her beautiful thick eyelashes, her contagious smiles, and her sweet little baby babble. Who knew babies could make you so happy?!

My Sweet little girl

I love that little tounge

She's growing up too fast!

Crazy Hair
If you know our sweet little family, it is all easy to recall our crazy haired Dax. He's the absolute cutest, most tiny, 15 month old you will meet! Callie is catching up to him quick, but that doesn't stop this curious little boy from getting into everything. He keeps me on my toes, but it's all worth it for those contagious smiles, gut busting laughs, and the sweet kisses he blows to you. We have been thankful everyday for this crazy kiddo to be part of our family forever!

They are pretty much the same size!

The many faces of Daxton

Happy Kid for the 7 hour drive home from Reno

Loose Teeth
We thought Carter would be singing, all I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth, but instead his adult teeth insisted on making him look older. We love our goofy smiling kid! He's been loving school, excelling at being a great big brother, and a huge help! He's so protective of his little brother and sister. While at great grandma's house, he was so happy to be with kids his own age! We didn't see him all week except for bedtime. He may be a little addicted to video games, and his ipod, but we won't trade him for the world!

That Smile :)

Catalina Island
Well, I had a bucket list item... and I checked it off! I heard about an incredible half marathon race located on an island. Pictures of Hawaii flashed through my head, and I immediately signed up. After getting a place to stay over night in LA, booking ferry tickets, and creating a killer play list, I trained as hard as I had time for... until the big day came. The city of Avalon California is so neat, and my heart raced as I heard the chatter around me. "The first 5 miles are a steep up hill climb." I didn't do any hill training during my preparation, but held my head high as I reached mile 9, where the course finally went down hill. 9 miles steep uphill, and 4 miles down... I'm not sure I could ever do it again. Right as I crossed the finish line, I watched my ferry float away. I had to change my ticket and wait for the next one to come. It was rough, but at least I can say...I ran the Catalina Island Half!!!

A selfie at the finish line

We met at the LA LDS Temple visitor center after my race

Hanging out in our little camper

Hanging out at the beach

Long Road Trips
I honestly thought being away from family would be an adventure. I thought it would be great to be more independent and really experience having friends become part of our family. Well, while it has been wonderful, we have missed everyone so very much! It is hard to think all of the family get togethers in Utah for cousin events and just because. I especially haven't enjoyed being away from my grandparents. Carter used to see them more than his grandma and grandpa. Well, we took advantage of time off and Thanksgiving week! After a quick Nestle shin dig, and some other things we had to take care of, we were on the road. We stopped in Reno, NV on the way to break the trip up a little bit, but secretly I was in a hurry to have Grandma and Grandpa all to ourselves until the title way of family hit their house. We enjoyed an afternoon, evening, and morning with them and Carter even got to feed the cows. I loved seeing him do things that I used to do there while growing up. We had a blast!

Feeding the cows with Great Grandpa

Standing by great grandpa's truck

Family started arriving Tuesday afternoon, and we suddenly found every room in the house full. 5 families inside, my mom, dad, and some newly weds outside in campers, you could say that we were quite the sight. Especially with more family that headed our way on Thanksgiving day. I can't believe I didn't take a picture, but there were at least 50 people for Linner (lunch/dinner) that afternoon! We didn't get a picture, but there were 8 great grandchildren present. What I sight that would be, to see my grandparents with all their great grands. What a great treasure!

The newest cousins

Before our little 2 day jaunt to Nyssa Oregon, I decided to bring back a favorite tradition. I made little crafting kits for all the Ballantyne ladies, and after stuffing our faces, we spent time together on a fun wood and vinyl craft.A couple of husband got out of cleaning up, and helped with all the sanding. Not everyone was able to finish that night, but they all turned out so neat and unique in their own little ways. Another epic fail on getting a picture of all the finished ones.

Ballantyne ladies craft

I come from a family who loves adventure, so we all piled in jeeps and trucks Friday morning, for some off roading fun. My dad loves something called over landing. It is much like off roading, but more intense with insane vehichles and crazy trails and obstacles. We even took little Callie and Dax on a small trial. It was pretty awesome, and if you want to check out some more... look up, "Show Me Adventuring" on youtube. My dad has videos of all their adventuring. I love that my parents still play hard!

After our over landing adventure

Our last day began with an incredible morning in the Meridian temple (where we were sealed to Dax last year) and it ended with many sad goodbyes. The next time we will probably see everyone, will be the Epic Ballantyne reunion of 2020. Don't make the mistake I did... take a zillion pictures everyday, because some of the moments you wanted to remember, will be captured for you to look at later in life. Here's to another goal to set from now until forever, take more pictures!

Happy little girl on the road trip home.

Well, now that we have been home for a while, (are you really surprised it took me this long to finish a post?) our new crazy is settling in again. It's back to crazy days with crazy naps, and the adventure of Daxton getting into something new. I sure love our little family, and although I miss my extending family, I couldn't live with out these three crazies and my incredible best friend. December will bring more memories, more fun, and hopefully more pictures! Happy reading!

P.S. I had to share these! The second day we were home from our vacation, we had a crazy whirlwind of getting our family pictures taken .I could not be more in love. Looking at these pictures, I can't help but feel how incredibly blessed I have been. We all go through hard things in this life, but when we pull through it, remain faithful, and do our best, blessing will be poured upon us! Our little family is proof of that. We've been through some hard times, but they don't even come close to how much we have been given and blessed.

All of my children. It's hard to believe those 5 little snow flakes would be part of our family too. We miss our little girls so much, but we always remember that they are with us and we will see them again some day!

P.S.S. I almost forgot to share Jason's awesome news! He will be starting a new job on December 30th. We will be saying goodbye to ice cream, and hello to something more healthy. Jason will be the Senior HR Manager for Wonderful. He is excited for the adventure of working for a company that grows, and packages Halo Oranges, nut, and Fiji Water. We'll miss our ice cream, but couldn't be more excited for our Jason. He has worked so hard, done incredible things, and deserves this promotion more that he knows. We love our hard working daddy!

Goodbye October!

Is it just me, or does it seem like time keeps speeding up? I feel as though I just wrote about our crazy fun September, and now I'm looking at November and wondering how October could have come and gone?! My babies are growing up, I seem to suddenly have wrinkles, and 2019 is the last year of this decade. How did we all not realize this until now?!

October didn't disappoint! It was full of General Conference for the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints, fun traditions and sharing them with friends, hosting parties, setting new goals, experiencing what it's like to be a single parent, still trying to figure out parenting with 2 babies and a 6 year old, leaving bags in trains, gas leaks and lost cell phones, trying to workout crazy schedules so everyone feels loved and thought of, sleepless nights, cold trick or treating, and in all the craziness, trying to training for a half marathon. Top that with wheater that likes to play with you, and you have our October in a nut shell.

Our family before tick or treating

I'm not even sure where to start. I'm sure that's only a benefit for those incredible people write posts every week and make sure to remember every detail. That was my hope and wish when I started this blog, but that quickly slipped through my fingers with all the crazy that has happened to us within the last few years. I have lots of lame excuses, but in the end, I know I can always do better. 

I guess first of, I'll talk about this thing called being crazy and loving to run. I'm not addicted to the actual running part, but the feeling after is worth the struggle. It makes me feel so accomplished, so excited that I set a goal and blew it out of the water! It's one thing I can do for me, and that makes all the difference! However, I have found it is very difficult to fit running in, when you have 2 babies, one of which has regressed from sleeping through the night. Another who loves his little sister so much and is so curious about her, that they have to be supervised at all times or someone ends up getting hurt. When you have an incredible husband with a huge heart, that wants to help everyone by volunteering his limited time with his family, and when where you live is still 90 degrees. All these elements make it tough and I have done my best so far, but sadly feel very unprepared for a half marathon race.

I don't usually write parallels to life and gospel topics, but with General Conference kicking off October, I find these parallels almost everyday. We were given a great plan before any of us were brought down to earth. We had a choice to come down to earth, gain a body, and run the hardest race of our lives, or go against the plan and stay in spirit form and follow Satan to put huge bumps in that plan and try to have us give up. When we got here, some of us where given the training plan and all the instructions we needed on how to run an incredible successful race, with the prize given to any who tried their very best. We did not know the course before hand, but some people started studying those plans, and putting workouts into action. We are all asked to perform our very best, but we often fall short. We miss getting in workouts (studying the scriptures, going to the temple, doing those primary answers), then when we are asked on the spot to do a long run, we stumble, we fall, or we end up walking. Once we repent however, we have the option to try to do better. As we try our best, repent and commit to doing better everyday, the race we are called to run becomes so much easier. We can feel our savior nearer as he gives us that little bit of power we still need as we continually fall short. I've had many spiritual runs in my life that I've struggled to get through, but I've always tried my best. With my up coming physical race in November, I can only hope that my best is enough. Here's to hoping I finish my training strong!

Some updates about my beautiful family

Carter

A new conference tradition, healthy cinnamon rolls!

This is what a little boy with a huge heart looks like. He has been such a great help with taking care of his little brother and sister. Losing teeth has been his thing lately, and we're a little sad he won't be singing, "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!" In December. Carter has been doing awesome in school and gets excited when he reaches his goal of high scores in behavior for the week. He finished his first soccer season with a bang and can't wait to be on another team. I love how loving and sweet he is with his baby brother and sister, and how much he likes to share with others. One day after Daxton turned our stove top to lite and filled our house with propane gas, me noticing hours later, we spent a good chuck of our afternoon at the park. As we left, he lovingly ran up to a little girl he was playing with and gave her his toy car. Carter is always thinking of others and how he can brighten their day.

One of my favorite smiles

Daxton

My crazy little buddy

He is the reason we are always smiling and laughing. He has a crazy personality that makes us all love him even more. October was his 14th month of life and being in our family. Time has slowed down it seems, when we realize how small he is. He still fits in 6 month clothes, can pull himself up on furniture, but has no signs of walking on his own anytime soon. We love that he blows kisses at us, gives frequent raspberries even if it's just on your hand, and expresses himself in the cutest baby language. If only we could understand the things he tells us. Our family would not be complete without this little one.

Oh my heart<3

He has conquered the stairs!

Callie

our pretty girl

Our little princess. She's already in 6-9 month clothes like Daxton, and has the chunkiest legs. She's always smiling and loves to laugh. I often catch myself feeling so grateful for this beautiful tiny human I have the honor of raising. Her sweet personality radiates through her sweet face, and one little glance in her direction will win you a heart melting smile. She is a little behind in motor skills and gets frustrated when she can roll on her tummy, but can't get back on her back, but we can hardly wait until she's crawling around with her big brother Dax. We hope one day she'll start sleeping through the night again, but until then... we're still happy we have a baby girl to get up with.

That little smile

My big girl is 5 months!

Jason

We all love our daddy

You know, when I first met Jason I didn't really pay attention to him. I was already spoken for and took him for an admirer of my roommate. A year after first meeting him, I suddenly felt very drawn to him. It wasn't because if his good looks, but because I could tell that he was an incredible person, who had had a hard run in life, but didn't see it that way. He has a huge heart and loves volunteering his time to help others. He's been able to go to a few important meetings regarding the company Nestle, and was spoiled for 4 days in DC. It is always when he leaves, that I realize how wonderful it is to have him home. He's rocking it at learning piano for the first time, and I think it's awesome that he's taking lessons with Carter. We all love this special man of ours.

We said goodbye to a great missionary

Me

I love my sweet princess

With the craziness of raising 2 babies at completely different stages, I've decided to stop teaching for a little while until things get a little easier. I started a 90 day challenge with a friend to end this decade better than I started mentally, emotionally, and physically. When I have time, I train for the half marathon I have coming up in the middle of November. I'm really nervous, but excited for my adventure on Catalina island. I actually never knew California had Islands. I am so blessed with wonderful friends and often find myself wrangling babies with one of them. I enjoy hosting parties, but always feel relieved when the party is over. If I could master having a clean house while playing with my kiddos, my life would be complete. Here's to another month of wonderful adventures!

Why my life is crazy<3

The cutest little unicorn there ever was

Our little Maui (his tattoos took forever!)

A Blessing in Disguise

The first day of October, and I can hardly believe it! How has another month slipped past?! It has already been a year since our adventures of California began, and I can tell you that I am a huge fan of our life here! I just wish I had more to document it all. Last year we moved to California with a tiny itty bitty marshalese baby who became a part of our family. Our little girl Callie was only a thought of an incredible possibility.

He's a messy eater 

The cutest 2 babies you ever did see😍

Looking back on our September has made me feel so amazingly blessed to have my sweet children, friends and family who are only a day trip away, and fall finally starting to settle in. Who could have thought a scary new adventure could be so wonderful?!

My pretty little princess 

At the beginning of the month, we had the pleasure and privilege of blessing our baby girl. Instead of baptizing babies, we believe that babies are born without transgression. They are perfect and directly from heaven, so we give them a name to be on the records of the church, and we give them a blessing. Our Shanna passed away weeks before we were planning on blessing her. We blessed each of our quads, but family and friends were unable to attend. To finally have a sweet little baby to bless, made me so happy and excited to share it with loved ones.

She's 4 months!

Well, after being denied the opportunity to share this experience with our California friends due to scheduling issues, we hopped on a plane and flew to Tri Cities Washington. It was in Richland Washington where we stayed with family, enjoyed visiting old friends, and shared our baby girl with many people who know our story. At first I was not happy about this change, but once I heard the news of my grandparents attending, I was beaming with happiness. We share a very special bond, and could not be happier with being able to see and love on them.

4 generations ❤

Our little family

Everyone who attended Callie's blessing

It seemed like we had a lot of travel adventures in September, because 2 weeks later we hopped on  another air plane to Salt Lake City Utah. It was in Utah where Jason participated and finished his first ever triathlon race! We were excited to spend time with fantastic friends and enjoy the beautiful scenery of Bear Lake. The kiddos had a great time playing together, we loved spending time with Carlos and Tyana, and we will always remember the scary race daddy wasn't all the way prepared for. He did it though and crushed a 1 mile swim, 25 mile bike, and 6 mile run! We were so happy to see him survive!

Carter with his best buds in Utah

He did it!

Another bonus of our trip was seeing my little sister and her cute family. Due to some bad communication on my end, we were only able to spend a couple of hours together, but we loved getting Aggie ice cream and visiting.  It was a great trip! Not to mention the kneader's French toast we had as our last hoorah before we got on our flight back home. It was the best!

Loved seeing my sister and her baby

Cousins

The rest of our September was crazy busy with school, soccer games for Carter, teething for Daxton (another tooth popped through!), and sleep regression for our awesome sleeper Callie. Not to mention, Jason was a keynote speaker at a conference representing our foundation and taking about the volunteer work he does for another foundation. We are very proud of him! I often found my self in awe of the wonderful blessings I've been given, and the incredible life I live. Yes life is hard with 2 babies 8 months apart, yes we've had so much loss, but look at all we've learned and all we've been given! Wonderful blessing come from the hard things we go through, and yes, we can do hard things!

Jason as the keynote speaker

Carter recieved student of the week and was present an award

I hope you enjoy this beautiful fall weather, and I hope it's not another month before another post, but I make no promises! Happy reading!

Love her to pieces<3