Happy Birthday Heabug... You're totally AWESOME!

February 4, 2009... during the "hour of Sawyer" (aka LOST... it was 9:24pm on a Wednesday) our family was completed with the birth of Ms Nohea Maraea Kapuaililani Booth. She is sunshine. She is opinionated. She is headstrong. She is sweet as pie. She is sharp as a tack. She knows exactly what she wants. She makes us feel loved. She basks in our love. And now... she is TWO!

We wanted to do something special for her on her big day. Birthdays are QUITE the GINORMOUS deal around the Booth Ohana Hale (hawaiian word for house so it sounds like ha-leh not hail). Mrs B and Maga trade off the pre wake up decorating in honor of the birthdayee... hmm, this doesn't seem like a word but i shall use it anyway. Balloons, streamers, signs. I know, you're wishing you woke up here on your birthday. Favorite breakfast (HeaBug says Cream of Wheat is "perfect". seriously, she says that), and a whole day of candles in everything you eat. After changing THREE times, she was satisfied in her "party dress" (she was a little disappointed that we weren't having cake and friends with breakfast). We took JT to school so that she could swing by and tell his teacher Mrs. S. that it was her special day. Afterward we went to Jamba Juice and got a birthday smoothie before heading off to our "ladies date". Via Yelp (yay!) I found Kreme de la Kreme nail lounge in downtown LB. I called ahead and let them know that HeaBug (not your average two year old) would we coming in with her momma and getting manicures... cuz that's what ladies do. (just for the record, i JUST now saw that i wrote "lady's" instead of "ladies" oh goodness)

 

 We arrived and the whole shoppe is completely adorable. A very french chic look, the decor is so lovely. HeaBug picked out our colors (pink for her, gray for me) and we each sat down at a table and got our nails did. HeaBug just chatted away and REALLY enjoyed the special tiny cupcake they brought her. So attentive and patient, if your looking for a little pampering, I highly recommend it. You pay a little more but it's the epitome of "you get what you pay for". We left and she waved, "Good Bye Ladies!" I had big plans for us to meet up with Mr. B and head to the Aquarium of the Pacific for the afternoon so we headed to the Rock Steady Shop to pick him up. He'd been working on her present that morning and she was so surprised and excited for her BALANCE BEAM! After lunch at 5 Guys, she wanted a hot dog, we were ready to set off on the second part of the birthday adventure when she stated she was tired and wanted to go to "our house" and then promptly fell asleep. That was the end of that.

 

these adorable pdf cutouts were thanks to RyCreation on Etsy

The next day, we celebrated HeaBug's birthday in Gabba Gabba Style. Thanks to the wonderful talents of the people we are blessed to have a part of our lives, it was a smashing success! Custom invitations, cuppie cake wrappers, and treat bag tags were done by the amazing Mrs Frostie, check how CUTE these other creations are here!

 

 Our cutie SUPER cute fondant cupcake toppers were hand crafted by the ever stinkin talented and wonderful friend to crazy me, Mrs M. Look at THESE amazing cakes she's whipped up!

Needless to say, Baby Girl was loved and celebrated by family and friends. She fell right asleep after a "clean off the party shower". Definitely good times with good people adding to our much more than good life. So grateful to be HeaBug's momma and daddy!

9 down, eternity ahead

Married couples who love each other
tell each other a thousand things without talking.
- Chinese Proverb 

For our ninth wedding anniversary we wanted to take a trip somewhere that we'd never been before. the hubs wanted snow... so we decided to try out the Mormon Mecca, Salt Lake City, Utah. We looked forward to getting to attend a session at the Salt Lake Temple, check out Downtown, see Temple square in the winter, get lost exploring, and meet up to visit with our amazing friends that moved out here a year ago the Frosties

 The Hotel was a definite success, a short walk from the temple, which we found out was closed after flying in at 7am so that we could attend before checking in to our hotel... fail. There was an outdoor retailer convention going on downtown and the Sundance Film Festival in nearby Park City, so needless to say it was packed. They managed to find a free room and let us check in early at no additional cost! Woot Hotel Monaco!

 We walked around Temple Square which was beautiful and for the first time, I got snowed on! I'm always either asleep or inside when it's actually snowing little snowflakes from the sky so this was pretty magical... for all of 10 minutes. After which, I was just cold. Props to those who can do it but I was not made for the cold.

 We drove up to Park City and had fun at Olympic Park checking out the museum, the grounds and the souvenirs. I was a complete peach as long as I was warm. Mr B will smile and nod politely at that statement. We ate at some amazing diners and restaurants. Thanks to Yelp! and our discovery friendly attitude toward trying new things!

 Our last dinner we spent catching up with our wonderful friends the Frost Family! SO happy to see them and get to spend time chatting and laughing over what was most definitely the least spectacular meal of the trip (don't eat at the Market Street Grill, it's eh) but the BEST company. I'll sit in an over heated, grumpy waitress, over priced, claustrophobic booth with uncomfortable chairs any day of the week if these are the peeps we're doing it with. Love you guys!

An afternoon with the 82s

JT got to spend some quality time with Unk on a Sunday in January. They took a trip to Fire Station 82 in Hollywood, CA where Unk's cousin, Fireman Ian, is an engineer. At first a little shy, it didn't take too long for JT to break out of his shell and enjoy climbing all over the engines, dressing up in a uniform, putting on the headset and spraying the hose! He hung out at the Fire House with the fellas for a bit until they got a call and had to go off in a blaze of sirens. After a morning of "training" he was a little bugged that he couldn't go out on the call with them.

Thanks Unk for an awesome experience and Fireman Ian and the 82s for being such cool hosts! Lilloman has new plans for what he wants to be when he gets a little taller.

First Tooth Faeries!

JT had his first loose tooth last month. We were all so excited since it's been a while since any baby teeth have popped out over here. After a whole lot of wiggling this last week it was finally  "ready". I refused to let Mr. B just pull it out, let alone do the whole floss on the door knob thing... (everyone says they did that but I think they might be full of it). Mama put her foot down that we would wait until it was absolutely ready and JT was absolutely comfortable before that first baby tooth went anywhere! (I have serious dental fear issues that I don't want to force them to let us pull out their tooth!) We wrapped some floss around that little sucker and let JT wiggle it around. Side to side, front to back. When he decided he wanted Mr. B to take the floss off, yopp! Just like that, out it popped. We were all very anxious and excited. Mr. B told JT, in hopes of urging it out, that the Tooth Fairy has a weekend scale so apparently, there would be some sort of bonus... Tooth in labeled bag, in hand, under pillow, JT drifted off. Ms. Tooth Fairy herself replaced that bottom left baby tooth with a pink envelope that contained a very nice note and pixie dust covered dollar bills! She was so silly she drew a mustache on Washington! Her notes explained that her general rate for a first tooth is $4 but because it was the weekend, JT got an EXTRA dollar! Since Daddy said he'd double what the tooth fairy brought, JT came up on a smooth ten bills! The five from Daddy went into the regular piggy bank but the five fairy dollars, he put in the bag, with the note and any dust he could scrape up and that's just so special, it had to go in a safe. Fairy dollars don't come around that often you know...

Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night!

 Santa dear came to visit us. We followed him on Norad to make sure we were fast asleep by the time he was heading our way. Note: Santa likes snickerdoodles.

 Pasadena In-Laws host a delicious and family filled Christmas Eve dinner. We always have a grand time eating yummy food and popping Christmas crackers.

 Many helpers this year made the evening go by so fast. The company great as was the nosh. Love being surrounded by the people you love!

 Christmas morning brought patient present opening (I don't have any rippers and tearers here). Stockings are free game as we wait for everyone to be up and ready. We breakfasted on french toast souflee´ and cinnabuns while opening gifts. We decided not to exchange gifts as adults this year but instead to focus on how much we enjoy the time of season and company of one another. I was surprised with treats from my Santas even still, what a lucky girl I am.

The Big Guy himself stopped by for a bit bearing ice cream sandwiches (you're the best SC) to take a few pictures. We then headed over to our LB Booth Family and visited for a bit before ending up the day with our Imbach Ohana in Ontario. Our tummies were SO full as were our hearts. We love this time of year. It was wonderful and could have only been better if our poor Jack Jack was feeling better. Thanks to blessings of the priesthood and lots of rest, he's on his way.
Here's wishing you and your family all the love, peace and joy of the season this Christmas and all year long. We're thankful for the love of our Savior and the opportunity to contribute goodness to the world.

Happy Birthday Dear JT

Introducing our hilarious and smart, precocious, clever, loving, kind and empathetic son has turned SIX years old! JT decided earlier this year that instead of having a party for his birthday, he wanted to spend the night at Disneyland. We spent two rainy days and one rainy night at the Grand Californian Hotel. Upon check in, JT was given balloons and an autographed picture from Woody and Buzz! We had a family room that had bunk beds and a trundle bed as well as a queen size bed. Our room looked out over Grizzly Mountain in California Adventure and the Monorail went by every now and then. We bundled up in jackets and ponchos and enjoyed time together wearing our "Celebrating" buttons.

 On Sunday morning after waking up, 6 years old in Disneyland, Maga, Breeze and Neilio met us at the StoryBook Cafe for a Character Birthday breakfast. After which we ventured in to the wet to meet Auntie Amber and GK in Disneyland. We hung in until about 3 o'clock at which point we were too soaked to continue. After a lunch at the Pacific Wharf (JT's favorite place to eat) huddled under a bread factory window hang, we finally threw in the towel. We had a wonderful time though and I think he'll always remember it.

 Before school let on on Friday, I sent goodies to JT's class and they celebrated his birthday (since he wouldn't be there on the actual day)! New crayons for everyone!

Monday night, for family night we had some of our close friends over for "Homemade Cards and Cupcakes". I got a giant cup cake silicone pan and so at the lilloman's request, we had mint chip cupcakes and watched Despicable Me.
We sure do love this boy and are so grateful for what he brings to our family. We LOVE you JT!

JT's IV

Poor J.T. has been fighting yucky viruses for weeks now. I took him in to the doctor to get a note for school and they said he was super dehydrated so they put him on an IV for a few hours. He was so incredibly brave and barely flinched when they drew blood from his hand and then had to insert the IV in his arms. He did breathing techniques on his own and was such a trooper. We spent a few hours watching Iron Man on my iPhone. He felt much better after getting the fluid treatments but has since been fighting another virus over the winter break. Here's hoping that my lilloguy feels much better soon!

Holly Jolly Parties

We celebrate the whole winter season long! We hosted a new and also a traditional party this year. For our new party...

 Our company, Rock Steady, had it's first Christmas Party at the Outback Steakhouse this year. We enjoyed dinner, stories, laughs and good times with some of the people we've worked with over this past year. We're so grateful to have talented, creative and dedicated people working with us and making us look good. Thank you Rock Steady crew... you're Rad.

Each year we host an Ornament Potluck party. This year, I'd decided to skip and keep things low key around the B's house. Maga was so disappointed that we made a plan to have the party but keep it very small and intimate... 60 guests and TONS of food later, we ended up having a grand time. Kiddos playing and decorating sugar cookies (prepared by the Lovely Mrs M), old kiddos mingling and munching, chatting and singing. Grown men and women stealing ornaments from poor children, well mostly just poor Abby. It ain't a good party unless somebody cries. Haha, just kidding. I ended up minus the beautiful geisha ornaments but with a lovely duck in a hunter's outfit to accompany the wonderful "chicken" ornament my hubs won at our first party ever. Lucky me. Good fun and good company, bring your ornament and something yummy next year for a good time... you'll see the chicken ornament i'm talking about, he hangs out near the star.