Lately...

I haven't been very good at posting lately! I started a post a week or so ago and got all mixed up in the picasa stuff..only to find that it's not compatible with MAC so, no collages from ME! Just lots of pictures of what we've been up to lately! :) Ben's company is almost definitely closing (It's not been announced yet, so I can't say that it IS...but technically...well it IS. So...Ben is on the job search and we are praying he finds a GREAT job with even better pay! He never ended up GETTING that raise he'd been told of since February...because of obvious reasons, the company has no MONEY! So we're hoping for the best! Scary times we live in, but we're not scared. We know the Lord will watch out for us.

Something we REALLY have been missing is DISNEYLAND! Ben's pass expired back in May, and we just got new ones, so we have gone twice already! We simply LOVE that place. It's magical and it takes our minds off of our stress! What finally pushed us to DO it is Lauren and Jake's visit last Saturday. They came down for a last minute vacation with Jake's parents and we met them there! It was really weird cuz I hadn't told Lauren we were coming, so I tried to call her when we got inside the park and she didn't answer. So we got in line for Thunder Mountain and I texted her telling her she needed to call me back ASAP. I said to Ben, "Wouldn't it be weird if we just ran into them?" right after I said this my phone rang and Ben said "THERE THEY ARE!" so it was kind of a cool coincidence. We had a great time with them for a few rides and loved getting back into the groove! :)

We got to ride the new TOY STORY ride..it's fun but my arm hurt for a couple days after! :)

Waiting with the Castos...

My handsome Indiana Man...

This was actually my first time on the Jungle Cruise! We were killing time waiting for our fast passes to be valid, and it was a fun little ride!

Also, Ben and I celebrated our SIX month anniversary! It has gone by SO fast, I can't believe we have been married half of a year already! I know that's a short time to many of you who have been married YEARS, but for us it's a big deal! :)

Ben pouring the cider...he cooked the meal!

Yummy Fajitas!

We also have enjoyed a wonderful adventure of "de-flea-ing" our animals. This would be AWFUL if we had THREE animals so I'm glad we only have two, but it still sucks!

The animals enjoying their flea bath...ew it was gross. The cat had like 40.

HAHA I love the blur of his face...poor dog.

All clean and flea free! :)

We also sold our big oversized chair we've had all this time. It made our apartment feel twice as big! We moved some stuff around and this is one side of the living room...(it's a bit messy).
And here's the other side! Now we have use of our fireplace! We only have 4 months left on our lease but it'll be sad to leave our little honeymoon cottage! It has been nice and snug and kept us REALLY close!

And last but not least...pictures from Ben's birthday! He got an ipod from his mom, and I got him the old 1989 version of Electronic talking battleship! I also got him a big water bottle for his desk at work, and a movie that turned out being rated "R"...I hadn't even thought to look cuz he said he used to watch it a lot as a kid! Apparently he watched the edited version on TV...lol.

I also got him a big water bottle for his desk at work, and a movie that turned out being rated "R"...I hadn't even thought to look cuz he said he used to watch it a lot as a kid! Apparently he watched the edited version on TV...lol.

Ben's mom made him his favorite carrot cake! Thanks mom Tyrrel for doing most of the work to make Ben's birthday so fun and relaxing!




Ben also let me straighten his hair before his mom cut it...hahaha. It was harder than I thought it'd be! :)


So that's what we've been up to...lately.

BIRTHDAY BOY!!!

Happy birthday Benjamin!!! 27 years old TODAY!!
I have been SO excited for this day to come. I've been brainstorming for a while about what to get Ben for his birthday, and thinking about the blog post I'd do for him on his special day! To express my love for Ben, I've thought up 27 of my favorite things about Ben! And to show a little of his life...here are some fun cute pictures!!!

The day Ben graced the world with his presence...

This kid had the most AMAZING blue eyes! I hope our babies inherit this trait!

I love the big cheesy grin in this picture...and the dirty face. Classic!

I did this exact thing a lot as a little girl...

Ben has such a great head of curly hair that is DEFINITELY apparent in this picture!!!

This picture was taken exactly 23 years ago...I was only 3 1/2 months old here!

We then take a giant leap forward into Ben's adult life...the lucky guy got to live in HAWAII for three years!!! I LOVE this picture of him. I think he's looking into the distance...looking for his future wife. Ok gag cheesy...but he really does look handsome here.

Ben at his BYU college graduation with his sister and mom. I'm SO proud of him!

Ok now for my 27 things...

1. Ben is the most sincere person I've ever met. He truly cares about the things he says and does. He makes people feel at ease.
2. Ben has the easiest sense of humor-he laughs at everything I do-even when I don't realize I'm being funny!!!
3. Ben is the GREATEST cook. I much prefer his cooking to mine! He has a good tongue for flavors and can decipher what is in a lot of foods. He almost went to culinary school...
4. Ben honors his priesthood. He gave me a blessing on my first day of work. I can always feel the difference in our home when he's not there with his special spirit.
5. Ben is one of the HARDEST workers I know! Even though his job is unrewarding at times, he still works his hardest to get things done.
6. Ben is VERY smart. He graduated from BYU Hawaii with honors!
7. Ben never lets me stay mad at him. It's hard to even BE mad at him because he has the sweetest demeanor and isn't someone you can be angry with for long. He has never raised his voice at me either!
8. I love his laugh-and the voices we do together. I can always be silly with him!!!
9. I love how he tickles my back nearly every night before I fall asleep
10. I love that he takes the dog out every morning without fail, and almost all the other times throughout the day.
11. Ben gave me my FIRST puppy ever, a dream come true for me!
12. I love LOVE his blue eyes. Sometimes when the light hits them just right it takes my breath away.
13. Ben still gives me butterflies when he looks at me in that special way that I know is meant just for ME.
14. Ben is an amazing son to his parents. He respects his mother SO much and talks to her nearly every day on the phone! (And yes-I DO love it)
15. Ben has NEVER judged me for any of my shortcomings. In fact he's the least judgmental person I know.
16. HIS VOICE. Speaking, SINGING, or even whispering he has the best voice I've ever heard.
17. Ben flew to Utah last year JUST to be with me and SING with me for my grandma's funeral.
18. I LOVE Ben's kisses
19. I love Ben's SMELL...
20. I love the way he uses his hands when he talks...they move a LOT when he's really into a story! :-)
21. I love that Ben is a provider and I'll never have to worry about him not taking care of me. He takes his responsibility as a husband VERY seriously, and that's comforting to me!
22. He understands the significance of a hug and how much it can make an emotional wife feel TONS better at the end of a hard day!
23. Ben loves my family and they love him SO much.
24. I love watching Ben hold babies...I can hardly wait to see him as a father!
25. Ben is the BEST listener, he knows when to JUST listen, and when to help me solve my problems.
26. He's the SAFEST driver I've ever driven with! He has saved us from a lot of near-accidents!
AND...
27...He's my dream come true. I look at him sometimes and see the man I dreamed about as a little girl. He is the most handsome, talented, smart and interesting person I've ever known. I have never been as in love with ANYONE as I am with him. He makes me fall in love with him everyday and I feel like the LUCKIEST person on the planet to call him my husband!!

I LOVE YOU BENJAMIN!! HAVE A HAPPY 27th BIRTHDAY!!!!

LOVE, KIRSTEN

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Well I have a pretty heavy heart right now, I'm fighting back the tears with all my might...because my closest friend just got on an airplane to go back home to St. George!...That's right, my mommy. The hardest thing about living in California is being SO far away from my mom. We are best friends and tell each other EVERYTHING. I believe with all my heart we were best friends in the pre-existence and this was Heavenly Father's way of keeping us together throughout eternity.

It all started Friday night when, at 8:30 P.M...we decided to go to Utah on a whim, for the weekend! So we threw our laundry into the trunk, packed a small bag, and in 15 minutes we were on our way. We stayed in Primm that night because the hotel was only 38 dollars, and they are pet friendly so we could take Figaro...he had his own bed because instead of giving us a King bed, they gave us two queens...idiots. oh well, Figaro appreciated it! So the next morning we got up at our usual time.... 5:50 A.M...because I work so early and our bodies are used to the early hour. We had gotten about 5 hours of sleep, but once you're awake, you're awake right? So we hopped in the car and finished out the drive. I LOVE to surprise people so my family of course had no idea we were coming! We walked in the front door to find Desi eating breakfast with her friend, and my mom digging through the freezer. Desi's eyes popped open big, but she didn't say anything, she let my mom be surprised herself! And yes...she was surprised. She couldn't believe we were standing right there! Lady and Inka flipped out when we walked in with Figaro so that was what alerted her to even look over. My dad eventually wandered out from cleaning the bathroom because of all the commotion and was just as surprised! I LOVE surprising people...like really I do. It's one of my favorite things! :)

So after a fun short weekend in St. George which was spent doing laundry and going shopping (I got 12 boxes of cereal and 6 boxes of oatmeal for 18 dollars...you people living in Utah don't know how good you have it...that would have cost 50 dollars here!!!) and going to Swiss Days where it was SO flippin hot. I honestly forget what dry heat feels like until I go back! That's one thing I don't miss! I got to see some old friends and enjoy seeing some aunts and cousins too! It was a real quick visit but I was missing my Lady so what was I supposed to do!?
Um this was the head on a stick that scared everyone about a hundred times all weekend.. it looked SO real!!! ha ha

Yeah don't worry...I may not like my husband kissing someone skinny as a stick, but since she IS a stick it's all good.

Lady got a hold of a piece of lettuce and went wild with it. Have I mentioned how much I love my dog???

Haha she saw Figaro's piece I gave him and would NOT accept that...so she eyeballed it and eventually stole it back! haha


Well Sunday rolled around and as we were planning what time to leave my mom said "Hey why don't I drive down with you and fly home later?" Long story short Lady wanted to come too, but my mom was the one who got to come! It was SO fun stopping at Primm for 20 minutes to shop and getting to Cali by 11:15 that night! I have such a great husband that just loves my mother and doesn't mind the visitors I have all the time!!!

So we enjoyed the week together, mostly shopping at my mom's favorite stores here at South Coast...H&M and Coldwater Creek. We also went to JC Penney and got some GREAT deals with their 70% off sale! My mom is SO good at finding a bargain! We went out for dinner on Monday to Souplantation..yum. Then we spent the evening just hanging out and watching TV. Sorta lame but whatever. Tuesday my mom came to my office and surprised me with a Blue Rasberry Icee...my new favorite treat. She got to meet all my bosses and co workers and got to see me in action! She was blown away at the stuff I have to do at work. I loved making her proud :) My boss even told her she'd done a great job raising me, and I know she was bursting with pride to have so many people admire her first born daughter :)


My mom took me grocery shopping and got us lots of good stuff at Henry's, a cute little market with really good prices on produce. I appreciated her so much, helping me come up with good dinners to make and getting my ideas going. After more shopping we got home and I found my apartment cleaned so SO nicely! My mom is a clean freak and as I've gotten older I've only come to appreciate how meticulous she is! I know my clutter drives her crazy, but she knows she can't change me haha.

We spent another night perched on the couch because I had bought 4 seasons of my current favorite show, REBA...so that was fun! My mom understood that since our days here start so early, we're burned out after dinner. I promised to have a fun night the next night though!!...


This is a Betsy/Kirsten funny moment we had...we were following this car for a while, and then through the McDonalds drive thru. They had such a HUGE dog in the backseat it looked like a werewolf! HAHA! So we were narrating for the dog saying things like "Did you guys get me anything? What'd you get? I got the nuggets...dang" hahaha my mom and I have the stupidest humor and you really have to know us to get us, but we have a great time :)


SOOO as promised I was able to have such a fun night last night with my mom, Ben and my boss, Chris! Chris found out my mom was in town and offered to take us on a harbor cruise in his Duffy Boat! It was SOOO much fun! He showed us around his house that he is fixing up, which is right in Newport Harbor, and then loaded us all in his boat and we cruised for about 2-3 hours!

This is Chris, driving the boat. Isn't he such a nice looking guy?

Ben and I on the boat

We really live in one of the greatest places...you can see why it's overcrowded. Who wouldn't wanna live by the ocean?

I captured a funny awkward moment as Chris got all chummy with Ben! We stopped at Blue Water, docked the boat and had happy hour appetizers! We got clams, calamari and burger sliders. We got it all for like 2o bucks, but if you eat there for dinner you'll end up spending about 120! Thanks Chris!

A bit blurry, but you get the idea...

As we were pulling away from the restaurant Chris pointed out all the jellyfish! OH MY GOSH!!!

My beautiful mother and me. I love her so dearly.

Ben keeping me warm...don't know why I wore my swimsuit. Oh well...

Chris cruising us around...what a great guy eh? We had a lot of fun last night and really loved the tour! We've seen everything from the street but never from the water like that!

Today was my mom's last day with me. She came into my office for the last hour then we thought of something to do to for our last hour before she had to leave...we were going to get frozen yogurt but saw the sign for a 12.99 pedicure! So we went in and pampered ourselves! It ended up being 26 dollars when all was said and done...haha five dolla more? hahaha but still worth it!

I managed to capture a quick picture of our toes as I dropped my mom off at the airport. We are such late people, my mom BARELY made her flight!!! She's landing in two minutes and I've been blogging the whole time she's been in the air!

Take a minute or two to appreciate your mother whether she is far or near...especially those of you who are lucky enough to live close to your moms! You don't realize how good you have it! I'm so grateful my mom gave me some good tips and advice while she was here, cleaned so nicely and left her sweet spirit in our home. I'm so lucky to have her in my life and to know we can be together forever as an eternal mother and daughter!!!