Jeff's Bucket List

Jeff's list is much shorter than mine.. I'm sure we will accomplish all of this! :)
1. Visit Mission with my wife
2.  Get MBA
3.  Become CPA
4.  Ride a cable car in SF
5.  Visit NY
6.  Visit Epcot & Animal Kingdom in Orlando

Cindy's Bucket List

One fine day, when Jeff and I were newly married, we decided to write down all the things we dreamed of doing.  Here is my list, Jeff's will follow.  We will also have Bucket Item Recaps as we cross things off our list!  Stay tuned for some FUN!
(No particular order)
1. Ride in a hot air balloon
2.  Eat a crepe in Paris
3.  Learn French (again)
4. Become a CPA
5.  Go on a Disney Cruise with our kids
6.  Go on a Mexico Cruise just us :)
7. Camp at Yosemite
8.  Coach Cheerleading
9.  See a Broadway Show
10.  Stay at Chalet and take a carriage around town
11.  Pull a hand cart a considerable distance
12.  photograph a high $ wedding
13.  take singing lessons
14.  play piano
15.  Grow a garden (successfully)
16.  Go to conference
17.  Go to Tahiti
18.  Swim with dolphins
19.  Ride an Elephant
20.  Own an I Phone
21.  Have a girl
22.  Get flowers at work
23.  Run a marathon (5k or 1/2)
24.  Stay at Belagio in a room over-looking the strip and fountain
25.  Walk across golden gate bridge
26.  Own a piano
27.  Do a benefit walk for a cause that relates to me or my family
28.  Live somewhere completely random for at least a year
29.  See a live taping of a tv show
30.  Be 100% on VT for one whole year
31.  Watch Gone With The Wind
32.  Have an amazing child shoot that gets posted on my fav blog

**I will try and get pics/stories up of all the ones I've been able to cross off in our marriage so far!!

Life is WICIOUS!!

So, I'm beginning to see a trend here... I honestly feel I'm going to make an effort to write more, but then get busy with life and go months without a word, then end up with a GINORMOUS entry every now-and-then.  My sincerest apologies.  Now that we got that out of the way, time to recap the last few months. 
One of Calvin's latest words is: WICIOUS (as in, delicious), and that is the best way to describe our life right now.  Summer is here and the weather has been great, but best of all Jeff is home everyday around 4, A-M-A-ZING!  Love it!
Since I wrote last, Cody has gone on his mission, Boston turned 1, I did a baby fair, and a lot of other menial and mundane super exciting things!

First things first, my little brother Cody is now Elder Murdock!
And, boy is he working hard.  He LOVED the MTC and even served as District Leader in his last few weeks there.  Now, he is in El Salvador and doing great!  He's already had 2 baptisms and has been able to play a lot of soccer.  His companion is a native to the country, which has really helped his spanish come along.  I am so proud of him and love hearing about all of his El Salvadorian adventures!

Next up: Whirlwind Baby Day!  So, my sister and I decided to join forces and get a booth at the local baby fair.  I was pushing my photography and she was pushing her party printables.  The big bonanza was originally scheduled on June 3rd... but, to the surprise of most, it was RAINED OUT! IN JUNE!  So, they rescheduled to June 25th.. which, if you are an avid blog follower, you remember that this is Bostonian's FIRST BIRTHDAY (followed by horns and trumpets).  Since I had already invested in the afore mentioned fair, I decided to buck it up and do both events in the same day... what was I thinking?  Days lineup: Baby Fair from 8-3, Boston Pirate Party at Avila from 4-6.  CARAZAY!  The fair went well, lots of people admired and took business cards, then we crashed early and raced to Avila, where I had 15 min to put together an entire party.  However hectic and stressed I felt, the party was a success, complete with Captain Jack Sparrow, yummy cupcakes, and a treasure chase.. kids all around were wondering how they could be apart of the festivities!  Happy Birthday, Sweet Boston!  PS, my sister created the paper masterpieces, she is oh-so-talented! :)  Also PS, if you're wondering who the other little buccaneer is, we did a combined party with our friends who have a little boy that is about a week older than Boston. 

Last week, Jeff and I were able to go on a Pioneer Trek with the youth!  SOO much fun!  It included 4 local stakes, 400 kids, and 40 families.  We had 9 amazing kids in our family and had so much fun trekking along with them!  It was long and hard, but we worked through it together and were so excited when we did it!  It was a 3 day hike, with 7 miles the first day, 12 the second, and 4 on the last.  We slept on the ground under the stars and totally had a blast!  I am so glad we went!  Although the Ma and Pa's weren't supposed to push the hand cart, Jeff and I couldn't stand by as our youth struggled, so we stepped in a helped a lot during the 12 mile push.  What a great experience!
We are now getting everything together for our vacay-extravaganza next week.  We will be going to Bear Lake for my family reunion, then staying in Vegas.  We have worked really hard the last few months and are now ready to play hard!  'Till we meet again!

WHAT A DAY!

So, at approximately 7:30am, as Jeff rolled out of bed to get in the shower, I begged kindly suggested that he stay home with the boys and I.  Since, a: I was tired, and b: we just did not get enough of him yesterday. (this quarter's schedule is horrendous and he is gone from 7am-9pm Mon/Wed)  Anyway, so he decided to spend the day with the family!!  WOOHOO!
First, we had a family council to decide what exactly we should do with the afore-mentioned family day.  (which of course was accompanied by Jeff's DELISH pancakes!!)  After much discussion, we concluded the only plausible solution was to go to the beach!  (did I mention it was GORGEOUS today?!)

So, we packed up the essentials, loaded up the boys, and took off to Cambria.  Our first stop was the beach-side version of Firestone.  I'm really not even sure what it's called, since everyone refers to it as "the Firestone in Cambria."  We all shared in a HEAP "basket" of fries, a pig sandwich, and a hot dog.  As you can see in the photos, sometimes Calvin needs some reassurance that things taste good!  He's only REALLY interested in something if you are interested in it as well! :)  While, on the other hand, Boston can and will gulp down anything, edible or not.
After filling our bellies at the local hot spot, we headed down to the shoreline, taking a momentary pause to enjoy in some swing action.  Once hitting the waves, we just sat and admired the beauty.  The day, the ocean, and the beach in general were just BEAUTIFUL!  I am so grateful to live in such a beautiful world!  Calvin found a most desirous stick and contented himself in the sand while we admired.  Then, with no warning at all, he was over the beauty and ready for some more park action.  But, alas, how could we blame him?  It is an amazing park- completely shaded, with recycled tire pieces as cushioning, and oh so clean! :)
We then went on our merry way, stopping here and there to get some menial errands accomplished.  While in the midst of a LONG, HOT line at Target, I decided a dip in a pool was a necessity to top off our already spectacular day.  So, we payed for our loot and headed to Grandpa and Nana's for a quick dip.  Due to the lack of planning, nobody was home, so we got the pool to ourselves!   SCORE Too bad we missed them!  Although, Calvin was less than impressed with the lack of heat to the water... it takes much more than 90 degree weather to heat that beast!  So, he, once again, found a stick and entertained himself while Jeff, Boston, and I took a dip.
Top it all off with a HILAR movie and some DELISH leftovers from last night (check here for the recipe) and we had ourselves a wonderful day!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE my boys and ADORE my husband, just spending time with them makes me so happy! :)  What a beautiful life! :)
ps.. while at our breakfast council, we also came up with our bucket lists of things we want to accomplish... keep your eyes peeled for our posts regarding those lists! :)

Holy SHNIKES, it's been a while! :)

Okay, so even I had to read the last post to recap on what I have and haven't told you in the last while!  And, I must admit, the "haven't told you's" way outnumbered the "have's!"  So, here it is, in the shortest version I can muster up (Jeff teases me about writing too much):
So, I left off in Novemberish... I told you how much I enjoyed teaching cupcakery to beehives... well, guess what?!  THEY CALLED ME TO YOUNG WOMENS!!! Whoohooo!!  I was made 2nd Counselor in the Young Womens Presidency!  Nobody was more excited than me!  So far, I've spent a lot of time getting to know my beehives, put on a fun/fanciful New Beginnings with a Princess theme (be loyal to the royal within), made adorable wallhangings (temple pic with saying: I'm going there someday), and just recently put on our YW auction as our ONE fundraiser for camp (which far exceeded our goal amount)!  Whew, it's been a busy couple of months!! :)
I also have been at the cupcakering (yes, cupcake is now a noun and a verb).  I did a cupcake night with the RS, after which the women decided I was a "blonde Rachel Ray," and needed to go into business.  I am currently undecided, since my husband is soo busy and I'm pushing my photography, but it's definitely fun to think about! :)

I have also started watching a little girl named Africa.  She is sooo cute!  She's 7 1/2 months old and fits right in with us! (and by fits in, I mean I make her match our outfits for church!! LOL)  Since she's so close in age with Boston, it just feels like twins on the days that I have her... further affirming my HUGE desire to have twins!!  So, the hours are crazy, but the pay is great, so we'll keep her around for now! :)
Speaking of Boston, he just had his 9mo checkup yesterday!  (i know, my little baby is not so little anymore!)  He weighed in at a WHOPPING 19 1/2 lbs and stood a sturdy 29in long.  Which, for those of you not up-to-date on relative baby weights and heights: he's 24th percentile in weight and 75th in height.  Good size boy!! :)  And, to really put it in perspective, he and Calvin wear the same size diapers and pants!  But, let's get back to Boston.. he's as sweet and lovable as always, with a smile that melts hearts and a belly laugh that is to die for!  He just got his first tooth and learned to crawl last week.  We were soo impressed since he was not moving one day, then the next he was CRAWLING!  (no army crawl transition)  He can also say Calvin (ca-ca) and growls like a lion.  Boston is also quite the singer- he even has hand motions to go with his high pitched lullabies.. it's adorable!  He's just so cuddly and sweet, and irresistible!
On to the big boy: Calvin!  Calvin is as funny as ever!  He puts himself in "mime out" if he ever hurts Boston, but is also quick to put me or Jeff in "mime out" as well!  He went through a short hitting/grumpy stage, but already seems to be back to my sweet boy.  Calvin LOVES "bean-beans" (green beans), gogurts, and "bunny" (chocolate milk to you and me).  He talks so well, and is always impressing his pediatrician, since he's long since surpassed the two word phrases that are normal for his age.  Cal still loves sports and can name any kind of ball.  We are signing him up for daddy and me soccer this summer!  Calvin LOVES being the big brother.. he's constantly trying to teach Boston new things.  Currently, he's taught him to growl and is working on "pound it."  (the fist bump after a high five)  They are SOO cute together, it just warms my heart to see them get along so well!
Since our last post, we enjoyed a wonderful Christmas with family and Calvin had a Rootin' Tootin' fun 2nd birthday surrounded by TONS of family and friends!  Jeff's bank got shut down by the FDIC and taken over by First Bank of California.  They originally told him they wouldn't have a job for him after June, but have since decided they would try and find a spot for him. (we're praying they do!)  Jeff has had a GREAT winter quarter where he was top of 2 of his classes!  He just started Spring quarter and we're back to never seeing him... :(  But, he only has ONE YEAR until he graduates with a Bachelor's!  I am SO proud of him and so thankful for all of his hard work and the endless hours  he puts in for us!  I know, in the end, all of this time will be so worth it!

My brother, Cody, also got his mission call, to El Salvador!  He leaves next Tuesday!  I cannot believe it, it just seems so unreal!  I'm SO excited and proud of him, but will miss him tons!  Jeff's brother, Brian and his wife Ang had their fourth child last week, Garrett Brian.  We are so excited for them and can't wait to meet him!! 
I think those are all of the HUGE events that took place in the last few months of absence... I will try and be better at keeping up, so that you can hear all of the boring and mundane fun and exciting things that go on in our daily lives!! :)