My BEST-est B'DAY EVER! FOR REAL!

Looking at all these pictures from Miami and staring out the window right now to snow, cold, wind and more snow...  i have to pinch myself and say, 'Yes, this REALLY did happen like a few days ago'!! It wasn't a dream.  I have PROOF! 


MIAMI- that's where I spent my 27th birthday! Jason got a call from his boss a few weeks ago and was told he would be receiving an award 'Millionaires Club' award for saving the company 1 million dollars last year through continuous improvement projects.  He said he would need to go to Miami to get the award.  So a few hours later, his boss called back and told him he could bring ME!!!! That's the first time they've done something like that and we were VERY excited since it happened to be over my birthday! 


WHY was it the BEST birthday EVER? HEre's WHY:
#1- On the plane leaving for Miami (on my birthday) I was able to sit by this sweet, cute, girl (i mean she was my age probably) and have wonderful conversations and ended up giving her a Book of Mormon.  It's a long story and a very neat one, but I felt inspired right as we were rushing out the door to grab a Book of Mormon from a stack at my Mom's house.  So many little things like that happened and it was just another true testament that Heavenly Father answers our prayers (as I had prayed the night before to be able to be a missionary and a good example) and he will use us if we are willing and able! For once, I was.  It was SO SO SO special and an experience we don't that often living in Utah, but one I miss dearly from growing up in Kentucky.  So I felt SO wonderful after that and didn't care much of what happened the rest of the day... :-)


#2- Got to just RELAX.  Complete relaxation.  Read books.  Was treated by my hubby to a 3 hour SPA!! WOW!  Got a facial (which actually hurt, but man, I looked like I was glowing afterwards) and a body wrap (first time for that) and a massage (basically i fell asleep during it so that's how RELAXED i was). 


#3- Went running on the beach each morning with Jason and soaked it up (ha, ha no pun intended, but man were my clothes soakin from that humidity)!! 


#4- Ate yummy food (none of which I had to pay for which somehow made it taste so much better)! 


#5- HAD WONDERFUL AMAZING parents who watched my girls so I didn't have to stress over that! They took such good care of them and they had a blast with Grandma and Grandpa! Love THEM so much!!


#6- Went to see Blindside at the theaters and LOVED it!! SO see it, ok? 


#7- Got to LAY in the SUN in 80 degree weather and SWIM IN THE OCEAN!! My favorite thing ever! 


#8- Did I mention the weather? The sun? The sand? In DECEMBER? Seriously, go there and you'll see! Go in December cause i heard summers are HOT!


NEW THINGS I DID and LEARNED:
#1- If a hotel has a cheaper price, and it's a really, really, nice hotel... it's cause they're gonna nickel and dime you do death on everything else like CHAIRS (for the beach), water in the room, internet, parking (30 bucks a night) and including a 18 percent gratuity tax to EVERY bill.  But hey, it's ok , if someone else is payin!


#2- Taught Jason how to body surf (sort of)


#3- Fell more in love with my husband, if that's possible. 
       And missed my little girls like CRAZY. Every time i saw little kids, which was rare there, I would think of them and be sad.  I love them.


#4- My skin said, 'THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU" and was praising my name the minute we stepped outside and felt the HUMIDITY! ahhh, I don't think my skin has felt better, than when i was there. 


#5- Why does Utah have such wimpy malls? Oh my, the mall in Miami was SO huge had 3 floors and more stores that I could walk through in three hours. PLUS a HUGE area for kids to play in and fun activities! We have enough kids in Utah, you'd think we could get some REAL cute play places.  Come on people!


#6- Ran 4 miles in the sand which felt like 20 on a treadmill! Holy Schmoley I was soaking. 


#7-Would NEVER be a successful business traveler! Ahh... flying makes me tired and just takes all my energy! 

Lots of embarrassing swimsuit photos, but that's the only day we actually remembered to take out the camera! They had these awesome lounging couches to lay out on! ah, HEAVEN.

This was on Friday, the morning was a little gray and cloudy but the sun soon came out again! The ocean was right behind us and from our lounger on the pool we could look out and stare at the waves! 

This was our room. The hotel was VERY modern and the bed was super comfy! Nice down comforter and soft pillows.  We had a nice view of the ocean and the bay.  Guess what? The free little shampoo and condition and lotion was none other than.... AVEDA! Seriously? I was in shock and stocked up! 

The hotel lobby(bad picture, it doesn't do it justice) but it was huge and had loud techno music playing at night and a huge bar in the middle.  Crazy drinkers! WE can party just as well with NO alcohol!

See! This was at the mall.  It was this huge display for the holidays.  Had a real train the kids could ride around through Santa's village.  Had a pool in the back with HUGE fish in it and decorated houses... COME ON UTAH...

Ahhh... heaven.  Paradise.  My paradise.

From our lounger chairs on the pool deck we could over look the ocean... Jason was being funny and copied my feet poses.  It was hilarious! See, we laughed and had fun just sitting around and teasing each other... not another care in the world!

Are you a KITCHENAID fan? Or not...

Okay, so I've become a bigger fan of baking than I used to be.  I lOVE, LOVE to cook MEALS but I was never a big baker or bread maker. I am learning... ever so slowly. 
So, the kitchenaid...
I know, some of you will think, how do you live without it? I just really don't have many fancy kitchen gadgets... so this one looks really appealing to me. It seems to be nice for baking. 
Do you have any advice on the kitchenaids? DO you LOVE them? Can you NOT live without them? Or, are they just an expensive way to use a mixer? I need some advice! If you have something you like better, let me know! Which one is good? Thanks Ya'll!! 

Give thanks in all things...

When we give thanks in all things, we see hardships and adversities in the context of the purpose of life. We are sent here to be tested. There must be opposition in all things. We are meant to learn and grow through that opposition, through meeting our challenges, and through teaching others to do the same.

When we understand this principle, that God offers us opportunities for blessings and blesses us through our own adversities and the adversities of others, we can understand why He has commanded us again and again to “thank the Lord thy God in all things”.

- Elder Dallin H. Oaks

So thankful for these inspired words. Glad it's Thanksgiving coming up and each week I want to post something I am GRATEFUL for! This week has been a tough week for us. I was 10 weeks pregnant and very excited! We were expanding our family and grateful to be pregnant! About two nights ago I started spotting a little and went in to the doctor to find out the baby's heartbeat had stopped and that it would result in a miscarriage. So, sadly, we left the doctor and I kept trying to think of all the things I am grateful for (as I know this has helped in the past trials I have faced) and for all those people around me who are facing hard trials that make my little problems seem not so hard. These quotes gave me much hope and gratitude for my blessings and knowing that when we experience hard times we have an opportunity to grow and then to help others do the same. So many people around me are people I look up to as they face tough circumstances each day... So today I am SO THANKFUL FOR WONDERFUL FAMILY AND FRIENDS who lift you up when you are feeling down, and who comfort you when you need comfort and put a smile on your face when you NEED to smile!! My wonderful mom and sisters have been so unselfish in helping with the girls and providing food for us so I can deal with the pains and troubles of a miscarriage. Thankful heavenly father put me in a family and surrounded me with wonderful friends who lift me up and encourage me! LOVE YOU ALL...

'The dream that you wish...will come true'

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!! Yes, the disneyland trip was a GREAT success! We met every single princess and Jade had a picture with each one!! This was her much awaited trip for potty training so well and giving her pacifier away! WHEWW! It was such a fun trip and made us really love disneyland that much more now that we have kids! The look on her face was priceless!! Thanks to Ridemax.com we never waited long at all for any ride! Thanks to Ebay we got 2 day parkhoppers for under $200.00. AND thanks to a good double stroller we could weave our way around that place and Gracie even caught some nice ZZZZ's!

Truly MAGICAL it was! I love this picture with the castle in the background!
Jade meeting princess BELLE
This was an awesome story! We turned the corner and saw Mary Poppins performing with her group and a huge crowd of people were all watching. She asked for a little volunteer and the little girl she called on was too scared to get up, so Jade raised her hand and she chose her! Jade got to dance around with Mary Poppins holding her hand and we have it all on video! It's ADORABLE! Just a spoon full of sugar....
Jade with Aladdin and Jasmine! Afterwards Jade told me, 'mommy she was not modest."
California Adventure with Minnie mouse! That place was awesome! NO crowds like disneyland and it was such a fun place!! LOVED IT!! Jas and I even got to take turns and ride all the SCARY adult rides because there was like no wait. Yipee! Tower of tower was freaky and i loved the california SCREAMIN! My fav.
Okay i think we rode the carousel like 10 times... and it's a small world.... 10 times.... but hey... they had a BLAST! Gracie's favorite was it's a small world. So stimulating for those little ones!
Family pic at the BUG'S LIFE world at california adventure.
Steering the lady bugs. Grace rode on everything too! I loved being able to go on each ride as a family! They really make it family friendly!! :-)
The most expensive lunch we've ever eaten.... BUT WORTH IT!!! wow... seriously this place, Ariel's Grotto was amazing!! We all got to sit down and eat a really nice fancy meal while EACH princess came around and took pictures with each table! It was FABULOUS. It made all those PB&J sandwiches we ate for two days well worth it!!
Love this picture! They are making the SAME pose and Jade had no idea what she doing... it was precious!! Gracie could care less, she just wanted to go back to eating!!
Who knew? Mulan was there too!! Haven't even seen Mulan, but hey, she was there!!
Do you think she's HAPPPY?? Sleeping beauty was her favorite. She even looks like sleeping beauty for REAL! Jade got to tell each princess that she wears big girl panties and doesn't have a pacifier anymore. It was sweet.
Jade with Snow White and Dopey. She reads these books SO MUCH she knew everything. She was telling me all about every detail and so it was nice to see them in real life!
Mr. Incredible (except he was an IMPOSTER because i'm married to Mr. Incredible)!!
After disneyland Jason had school in San Diego and so we got to play all day while he was in school! Jade could live at the beach! She is SO my daughter!!
Jas with the girls in Toon town!
It was really nice just making sand castles all morning and letting the girls run wild and no even CARING about how dirty they are getting!
We took the stroller and I went running with the girls on the beach and then we played all morning in the sand. Grace was so cute she would run down to the wave and as soon at it started coming back she turned around and RAN away from it!! It was so cute to watch!

Catching Up...

It's BEEN AWHILE! Here's what the Baird family has been up to laTeLy:

Ohhh.... la la! Yep, we went dancin'! Danced the NIGHT away... our stake had an adult semi-formal dance and it was SO much fun! It made me remember all those old college and even high school days when we would dance and dance and dance!! It was awesome! Jason is a pretty good dancer and surprised everyone with his sweet moves. We're getting OLD though, cause the next day i was SORE! My lower back KILLED from the heels I wore! I was doing the boot-scottin' boogie, electric slide, macarena, a little MJ, grease dance, ALL in HEELS! Like this beautiful skirt? Yep... it was my mommaS!! She let me borrow it for the special occasion. She wore it to Mike's wedding and looked stunning! Thanks Mom!
Date Night! It had like a MONTH since we had a 'date night' just the 2 of us! So we had a GREAT date going to eat at Happy Sumo. ummmm... their teriyaki salmon is so yummy and chung pao chicken...ummm. Then we went to the mall I got a nice new bra at Victoria's secret! Yea for new bras... right? Ya feel like a million bucks again! After we went to Pizza Factory JUST for their cookie icecream dessert! DELICIOUS! THEN we went on the MOONLIGHT lift ride up Sundance. It was so romantic and so beautiful up there at night! We had a great date! It's always good and very important to find time to 'date' each other. We love every chance we get to go :-)
Oh this girl makes me laugh DAILY! She's SO incredibly different from Jade it's craZy! Jade would DIE if she had food on her hands, or on her mouth, she asks for napkins and is obsessed with being clean! I gave Grace some plain yogurt with fruit and ran to the bathroom really fast... and came back to this surprise! Oh this girl.... gotta love her.
Can't GET enough! My goodness we are so blessed to have such beautiful surroundings! This is a little hike we took up Dry Creek Canyon in Lindon. It was fun and gorGeOuS! Mike, Tiffany, Rachel and mom and Dad came too!
I looked at this picture and suddenly realized #1. how BIG my little girl is getting #2. How I LOVED to be in the kitchen with my mom when she cooks. I still do! She's amazing and I love to just watch her GO! So Jade has decided she loves to help me too so I bought these matching aprons at Ross for 14.00 for BOTH! :-) It's funny cause we're both wearing black underneath so we REALLY look like twins!
We're busy makin' sunday dinner for Jason's Grandparents! We love to bring them dinner about once a month to visit and hear all their wisdom and stories. I love Sundays.... I love Family.
Another HIKE picture! You can see the WHOLE valley!
Is this not the CUTEST picture?? Oh man... what a CUTE pair! Jade adores her Daddy and with or WITHOUT the pack... is ATTACHED at his hip always!
I know... a little scandalous here (pre- fastening her dress). Jade is showing some cleavage. She got these two new princess outfits for her getting rid of the pacifier! She could LIVE in princess dresses... man, we need some more testosterone around here!
Me with my GIRLS... it was difficult getting a picture where they were BOTH looking and SMILING!

There are angels among us!

*It's just THE SMALL and SIMPLE THINGs...*

So... I had a NOT SO great weekend last week and it kinda just carried over until the beginning of this week. To add to it, we took Jade's pacifier away (after 3 years) and it was very hard not to give in, but we didn't. She had a ROUGH time for several nights and is SLOWLY getting better. Nothing terrible happened, but just a few disappointments after another, and I was feeling a little down! So I haven't been the CHEERIEST this week.

I was having a rough time one morning and had to run some errands and was at the grocery store with the girls. It was time for lunch so they weren't the perfect little angels by this time of day... I was hurrying through the store trying to grab what I needed, trying to stop myself from continually saying, "Jade...stop....be good... put that down...sit down in the cart.... don't do that....etc. etc. etc. I was NOT feeling it, and feeling yucky in general. I hadn't showered that morning and I hadn't even put on makeup or anything. I was turned around trying to remember what item I needed next, when I felt this little tap on my shoulder and turned around to see this sweet old woman. She smiled at me and said, "I just want to tell you that you have a BEAUTIFUL family and you are a BEAUTIFUL mom."

What? Are you serious? Has she seen me running through this store all frazzled and crazy? I thanked her and turned around walked towards the checkout.

I realized that sometimes Heavenly Father sends angels to cheer us up when we are feeling down, or to say these simple words that helped me make it through that day and BE GRATEFUL and realize , "YES, I DO have such a wonderful family, and I'm so darn lucky to be their mommy."

Really, that's all. I wonder if that sweet old woman knew how much her words helped me that day. I sure felt Heavenly Fathers love for me.... and that's why I knew that it wasn't on accident or by coincidence!

*HAVE A FABULOUS DAY*

So, does this toilet flush?

Yep, those were Jade's words as she stopped along our hike to take a potty break. She was sitting there FOREVER... first said she had to pee, then it changed to poo poo, and so we sat and waited.... and she looked around and asked, "mommy does this potty have a flush?"

Jade giving a BIG cheezer with Aunt Cassi! Hurray for Cassi finishing her MASTERS in Austin Texas, in Social work. She's amazing and we're sooo proud! Jas was disappointed (jokingly), because she BEAT him! He will be done in March of next year, and her program was only a year and she passed him up!! GO CASSI!

Jade's new favorite thing is wearing goggles! How did she survive without them? It opened a WHOLE new world, literally of underwater exploring!

My cuties flexing their muscles after making it through the scary part.

And This is ALL JAde does now... sticks her head under water and holds her breath FOREVER... (wish she could teach that so my swim lesson kids... )

The best part of camping/vacations in general is spending time with the ones you LOVE!

The hike was sooo awesome. IT was 5 miles of hiking through rivers, crawling, ducking, climbing down little holes and areas to avoid the waterfalls... it was very adventurous!

Lots of fun adventures!! Look how awesome this hike was?

Here I am finally giving in and walking through the river. I tried to avoid it for as long as I could.

Grandpa Scott holding Jade as she was fascinated with the waterfall.

At the start of the hike, I decided to carry Jade because I thought Gracie would be heavy on my shoulders in the front pack... but .... when we switched for a second I had Gracie's 20lbs I decided I liked that much better then Jade with all our GEAR (30lbs).

awe... and this is in our own back country folks! AMAZIN'

Heidi (Jason's aunt) decided it was better to just SLIDE down!

We went to a family reunion on Jason's grandmothers side down in Torrey Utah/ Capital Reef area. It was GORGEOUS! We love the chance the get a way and go hiking! The girls absolutely LOVE to hike with us, even long hikes that take 5 hours and they are stuck in a pack most of the time! They still love it. It's a good thing, because Jas and I are big hikers and enjoy our beautiful Utah surroundings! We're so lucky to have this in our backyard! Who knew? This is 3 1/2 hours away and such a fun place!

Gimme some of that!!

She is such a cheezer!! How can you NOT smile when you see her?

Oh man!

"MUST...

EAT....

NOW!!!!!!"

SLow down there TURBO!! It's not gonna RUN away!! This girl has ALWAYS

known what she wants... and goes for it!!

Happy Birthday to YOU... can't believe it's been a YEAR already! I love her.

Gracie having some fun with my cute MOM in the pool!

FIRST OFF.... CAN SOMEONE more computer literate help me???? My blog is doing WEIRD things.... all the 'sidebar' stuff now is underneath my postings instead of on the right side of the blog!?? What the? It's been doing crazy things lately like when I write my post, it shows it in 'computer lingo' instead of normal words. ANY IDEAS??

GRACE turned ONE on July 8th and I'm finally getting around to updating this blog! So, we had a little one year party at Grandma's with good food, family, and swimming! Here are some pictures that sums up her special DAY.... first time eating a cupcake!! Do you think she liked it??