Thanksgiving in California

We had a great trip to California to have our 1st, yes 1st Thanksgiving since before Spencer and I were married. It was a great time. To say the least we got a family picture. Maren loved the time with her cousins. My family tradition growing up was to go to a great place called Apple Hill. I LOVE Apple Hill. It has all the beauty of Oregon with beautiful hills of apple orchards, nice small town local people, and delicious apple treats. It is not very often that we get the entire family out together and so it made the trip extra special.

Maren and Tatum eating the best Pink Ladies I have ever eaten.

Eva discovered the mini carousel. She fell in love. She pitched the biggest fit when we took her off.

The feasting table

The turkey leg

Maren found a great movie watching spot.

The kid table

Scandia! Can't go home without making a stop to grandpa's job (or daddy's job as I called it when I was little). Eva's first round of mini golf. She made it through all 18 holes!

This picture is hilarious and so typical of Eva. She really is such a happy girl (like the balloon tells you) but sometimes she really knows how to pitch the biggest fit. I love Maren's face looking down at her. So funny.

Eva discovered her belly thanks to Aunt Amber. Look at the way she is looking at her like "Not again."

Time with Grandma

Love from oldest cousin Dalin. So sweet.

Sharing a GIANT carrot with daddy.

Dalin is a great cousin! My girls loving him like a big brother.

We had a great time together as a family. Moments that can't be repeated but cherished always.

Viewing Order!

Pictures are out of order! Read the 2nd post called VACATION first then read the 1st, then the 3rd and so on. Thanks for reading! Click on the collage to get a closer look!

Disneyland: The Main Focus-Princesses

This post comes completely separate as it was the highlight of Maren's time at Disneyland. The princesses were so cute and personal with her that her obsession with them has only heightened. It was so fun watching her interact. I especially love the picture of her and Belle. Belle was especially cute with her and the picture shows just how Maren felt about it!

VACATION!



Spencer just finished his 2nd rotation and will be moving on to the 3rd which left us with a whole week off! Since we did not have to use that time to move, we decided to get away. Our great Optometry friends were so GRACIOUS to invite us down to stay at her parent's home in St. George. We had plenty of space for all of us! It was awesome. We had beautiful 80 degree weather. We relaxed, hiked in Snow Canyon, swam in the pool, ate great food and enjoyed each other's company. Spencer and I were able to go to the St George Temple which was so beautiful inside and out. We realized it is the oldest active temple currently built as Nauvoo had to be rebuilt. We also saw a few church history sites. My grandparents are buried in Hurricane, which is just east of St George. We saw their grave site which brought back a lot of great memories of my grandparents. I then realized that my Grandma passed away 12 years ago that very week. The picture of Maren and I crouched behind the grave was taken to mimic an awesome and comical picture of my grandma. In the pic she is crouched behind the grave of one of her ancestors with only her head showing and this classic expression on her face. The face I remember so lovingly when she would greet me with raised eye brows and the biggest smile on her face. For some reason she reminded me of Minnie Mouse. I love and miss you Grandma! Can't wait to see you again! We loved the memories we created on this trip. Continue following the pics to get the rest of the vacation below. You can click on the collage to get a closer view of the pictures.

Disneyland-The Happiest Place on Earth

We had the BEST time at Disneyland. The girls did so well and loved every minute of it. Maren of course loved meeting the princesses but also loved riding the mini roller coasters, playing in Minnie and Mickey's house, riding the classics like Dumbo, tea cups, the carousel, Pirates and Its a Small World. It was a classic trip through the eyes of a 3-year-old. I did not expect Eva to respond to as much as she did. I didn't care to take the precious time we had left to go into the Tiki Room (An old classic robotic bird show where the birds come down from the ceiling and sing and dance) but I will never forget this awesome memory. Eva thought it was the best thing she had ever seen. She danced, (a bobble-head torso-wave kind of movement) sang, and squealed with delight. Adorable. She was also quite afraid of Pirates of the Caribbean. She clung to Spencer the entire time. Who knew it would be so fun to live vicariously through your kids at Disneyland. Can't wait to do it again and again.

Laguna Beach-Last Day of Vacation

 

Halloween 2012

 I have a lot of catching up to do so I decided to bombard you with a whole bunch of pictures. They say that a picture is worth a 1,000 words, so here is about 13,000 words.

October Fun

Eva turned 9 months!

I thought I would put her in her halloween hat for the fun of it.

I am amazed I got these few shots with the witch hat as she could hardly handle it on her head for even a second.

Maren is enjoying Joy School. This witch made with part of an egg carton was a fun craft we did this week.

In all the excitement Maren fell off the table and gave herself a goose egg.

For a halloween party with some Optometry friends in the area I made a chocolate cake with a couple fun decorations. The spiderwebs are made with drizzled white chocolate.

For the spider I used a stencil and sprinkled black sprinkles on top.

Maren was Mary and Eva was her little lamb. We went with a Nordic look. My mother-in-law helped me make the dress. I told her what I wanted and she did most of the sewing. Thanks Mom for you amazing skills! 

Maren was getting really into this photo shoot. Looks like a Disney princess pose to me. Shocker.

Love it.

Eva riding a horse.

Sophie, I mean BATERINA. Her own creation.

The kids crawled into a pack and play to watch something on a tiny ipod screen.

Pin the face on the pumpkin!

Our sad attempt (one of many) at getting a group picture. The guys talked Optometry, the girls caught up, and the kids went crazy, high on candy, and excitement to have familiar friends to play with.  It was a lot of fun.

Eva's first pic of her top tooth! You can see it only when she squeals and shrieks the loudest sound a girl of her size can make.

Mary and her little lamb

Ward party fun. I won 2nd place in the chili cook off and got a $20 gift card to the movies. Considering I don't win much I was pretty excited.

Farm animal friends reunite.

Eva by the kitty pumpkin! The cat was Maren's choice. We had a great weekend.