Trip to the Aquarium

We went to Monterey Bay Aquarium (the largest in the U.S.!) today. Of course, so did the rest of the vacationers. It was packed, but we didn't let that stop us. Kalli was in amazement the whole time. She excitedly ran to each exhibit, asking a million questions and pointing out each little creature. It was fun seeing it from a child's perspective. Kalli loved feeling the starfish and other 'unknowns' in the interactive pool. My favorite was the jellyfish cave, but believe me, the whole place was amazing!

A Day to Remember

Better late than never, here are a few pictures from Christmas this year. We were in Monterey with Nate's family. It was so much fun watching Kalli get excited for Christmas. This was the first year she really understood what was going on. She loved every minute! Here is a glimpse of our Christmas...


G-ma's gift exchange with cousin Jada-Sat. before Christmas


Showing off her new 'Bling'


Christmas morning - Can you tell Kalli was sick?!





Presents always make ya feel better :)


The crew


Catching up on the celebrity gossip


Showing off those new Christmas nails

Well, that about sums it up!

Decompressing...

Now that the craziness has passed, aka Christmas, it is time to get down to business-blogging. We came to Monterey to spend Christmas with Nate's family and have had a great time. It has been very relaxing and slow, which is completely opposite of my last couple weeks. I have done a lot of celebrity smut magazine reading , picked up on Sodoku and even a couple naps have snuck in here and there (don't tell anyone). I have thrown the "eat healthy and exercise" diet right out the window. I think my main courses have consisted of chocolate, sugar and any other junk food you can imagine. Don't be surprised when you don't recognize me when I get back. More to love, right?

The Boat Parade

Tonight, we went to see the Boat Parade in Newport Beach. We have heard of it before, so we bundled up and headed over to see what all the talk is about. Some of the boats were fully decked out with Christmas pride, while others used one string of lights to boast of their (lack of) creativity. It was a lot of fun and Kalli loved it. She enjoyed spotting all the Santas, Snowmen and Reindeer on the boats. I think it might become a holiday tradition...


The "show" before the show (it never gets old :)


Waiting to be dazzled


Pictures don't quite do it justice...


or this one - they really were amazing

Gumble Bum, Anyone?

We told Kalli she could pick something out for Nate's sister's (Annie) Christmas present. Kalli was very excited and immediately announced that she wanted to get her some "Gumble Bum." I knew she meant Bubble Gum, but I couldn't help but laugh every time she said it. (I have a big grin on my face right now as I think about it). We still haven't had a chance to get her some of that yummy Gumble Bum, but we will and I hope Annie enjoys every piece!

My New BFF...Santa

Wow, I never thought I would see the day this would happen. Kalli was mortified of Santa last year and I didn't think there was any possibility of her sitting on his lap this year. (She told Nate that she wasn't going to go near him.) But, you should never underestimate the power of friends. And that is exactly what got her there. She even talked to him. We are so proud.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

We went Christmas tree shopping and Kalli chose the perfect one...


Kalli pointing to her favorite ornament - the temple (we taught her well :)

...later, Nate and Kalli decorated the tree while I was teaching aerobics. It was a nice surprise to have it all lit up when I came home. Nate found some ornaments that his family used when he was young, so our tree might not be the "classiest" but it is full of memories. Kalli is so excited about Christmas. This is the first year it all seems to click and make sense. Tonight for FHE, we taught her the true meaning of Christmas and she soaked it up wide-eyed. I love Christmastime and feel lucky to have a wonderful husband and daughter to share it with.

Rain, Rain, Please Come Again...

Playin' in the rain

The party goers...

Today was the biggest rain storm we have had in a long time. I love rain; the smell, the sound, and of course, driving in it. It was great! I can't wait for the next big storm.
Today also happened to be Wendy's birthday lunch. It was at Ruby's Diner and man was it crazy! Lots of friends and lots of kids, you can imagine. It was a blast. I had the waiters sing Happy Birthday to Wendy while bringing her the birthday cake (raspberry tart) with a candle in it. I loved it! By the time everyone was ready to leave it was pouring rain outside. I got drenched but Kalli shared an umbrella with Tess. They laughed hysterically as they ran to the car. It was so dang cute! I'm glad I happened to have my camera to snap it.

Rain, please come back soon...

The "Slumber" Party

Today during playgroup the girls (Kalli, Anna, and Tess) decided they were "tired" and wanted to take a nap. They all got into Kalli's bed and told me to leave so they could sleep. Why doesn't this ever happen when she is by herself?

(Of course, this lasted about 10 seconds :)

Thanksgiving Extravaganza

The fam

Let the party begin...

I was Goldilocks in this crazy production...

Enjoying the show

Uncle Mark is so much fun!

We have made it back from our, what seems like forever long, trips. We have basically been on vacation for the last 2 weeks. We had a lot of fun, but is nice to be home.
For Thanksgiving, we went to Utah (1 1/2 days after we got back from Mexico--aagh.) My grandma rented a cabin for a few days in Bear Lake, about an hour away from Logan. All my extended family (cousins, aunts, unces, g-mas, g-pas, etc) were there. It was nice to see everyone, since I haven't been to a big family event like that in a while. I didn't realize Kalli has so many cousins her age. She played the whole time, I barely saw her. I had to remind myself I was a parent sometimes. That is the best kind of vacation! We had a great Thanksgiving dinner, I stuffed myself, as usual. We went home that night to prepare for our great shopping adventure the next morning. I got up at 3:30 a.m. (Nate kept on sawing logs) to hit Kohl's by 4 a.m. It was a crazy madhouse. People running to the doors, grabbing at anything in sight. I love to people-watch and it was a prime people-watching morning. We hit a few more stores but I only purchased one thing - perfume. I went back in the afternoon, after a good 2 hour nap, and picked up a few more deals. My feet were killing by the end of the day. It was great!
The rest of the trip was awesome as well. We had a talent show at the cabin, which was fun and and later we got to visit some good friends of ours and see their adorable baby for the first time. Time went too fast, before we knew it we were on our way back. Sad, but I do have to say, it is good to be home.

Baja or Bust-ed!

Hola! Last night we just got back from a very relaxing and much needed mini vacation about an hour south of the Border near Ensenada, Mexico. Nate's cousin, Jared, rode his motorcycle in the Baja 1000 race. If you've haven't heard of it before, here is the scoop. It is a crazy race where you have to get from point A to point B in the shortest amount of time. Anything goes. Thousands of local Mexicans stay up all day and night to watch the racers and booby trap them in any way they can. They put jumps in the road, dig pits, throw rocks, direct them the wrong way, and hi-jack if possible, just to name a few. Jared had some amazing and crazy stories to tell. He rode 600 of the 1300 miles (there were 5 men on his team), going an average of 80-100 miles and hour. He drove in the day and night, mostly out in the middle of nowhere--literally. The pictures were awesome and stories riveting.
So in order to be there to support Jared in the race and what a good excuse for a family get together, we all chipped in on a large rental house with oceanfront property. Yep, you read right-we were right on the beach, just a rocky stair case away. It was so nice to have no obligations and do absolutely nothing but eat, chat, read, and play lots and lots of games. There were about 18-20 people there (including kids) so it was a full house. Kalli had a wonderful time. A couple of her older cousins took her under their wings and played with her on the beach for hours on end. We found some large seashells on the beach and Nate even tried to surf a bit (the waves were huge!) It was great, but of course there are always a few "bumps" to every trip. Now if you have ever driven over the border, I am sure you have encountered the crooked cops there at one time or another. Cops seems to search out the tourists and we knew we had a big bullseye on our Jeep since we had surf boards strapped to the top, but we hoped for the best. To our dismay, we were pulled over just outside of Tijuana. To make a long story short, we were told that we couldn't have the small platform we had hitched to the back of our Jeep, but if we wanted to pay them $150, they would let us keep it on. We ended up lifting the platform on top of the Jeep and strapping it down next to the surfboards to fix the "violation." The cops stood in disbelief and left before we finished. Ridiculous! So that was the extent of our encounters with the Policia, but Nate's cousin wasn't so lucky--he ended up with a speeding ticket. So all in all, we did have a superb time (even though it took us over 2 hours to come back over the border) and we even came home with a few Mexican treasures.
Now tomorrow night we "get" to drive to Utah. Who's the crazy person who planned these trips back to back :)

"Cheese!"

With Christmas just around the corner, we decided to do a picture taking swap with the Lowry's. Wendy and I scouted out the perfect place a few days before, the Montage Resort Beach, and since Nate has a "professional" camera, I offered it to take the pictures. We met at 10 a.m. and were ready to go. The Lowry's were first and tried to look natural while sitting on the jagged rocks. Things were going great for the first few minutes, then unexpectantly the camera began flashing "low battery." I thought this to be impossible since I had just charged it the night before, but nontheless it continued to act like it had no power. I was so upset and very sorry for the Lowry's, since we had only taken a handful of pictures at this point. I had high hopes for this "photo shoot" but those hopes were disappearing fast. Nate nursed the battery along, taking the battery in and out-which weirdly enough seemed to help, and we made it through another hour of picture taking. We got a few good shots, but I can only imagine what we could have had if the camera was fully cooperating. So here are a few of our favorites and my apologies go out to the Lowry's-next time we will bring a brand new battery!


Could we ask for a prettier place to live?!

So sweet and "innocent"

Splash time

Up & down, up & down...

So seductive. Kalli's preparing early for the cover of Sports Illustrated

"Hmmm...it feels a little breezy"

Just the girls

Picture perfect

Mom Knows Best

All you who have ever had a mom (that's everyone), watch this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGoelj7l668

So true! Ahhh, memories...

Trick or Treat

This year we went to Oak street in Laguna Beach to trick or treat. I had heard from a couple of friends that they shut the street off (true) and the people that live there really get into the Halloween spirit (true again). We went a little early to beat the mob and when we got there the party was just getting started. We met with the Forests and began our journey. Kalli dressed as a Pig (she was mistaken as a bunny frequently; I don't know many bunnies with a snout, curly tail, and hooves, do you?) and Boston dressed as a Bee, had a great time filling their buckets with lots and lots of candy. Of course, this year Kalli was old enough to pick her own candy...which was a bummer, for me; I don't like lollipops that much :) We finished up and were so happy we made the trek there. On our way back home, we decided to go see the Savages in their neighborhood and maybe hit a few more houses there (I know we are so greedy). We found them and did go to a few more homes, filling our buckets even more but with candy that I like as well. Yum, yum. We went back to the Savages home for a little bit and talked while the girls played. We didn't get home until 9:30 p.m. - way past Kalli's bedtime, but I guess we have to break the rules once in a while, right? All in all we had a fabulous time, hmmm...I think we will do it again next year.

Kalli's New 'Do'

Kalli got her first haircut today. She was so good, even though the lady was a little rough, she didn't cry once (of course, I did bribe her with a little treat beforehand). I love the new 'do'. It is cut in an A-Line and makes her hair look so much fuller. Finally, her long scraggly hair is gone. Though, it does throw me off a little when I look at her now. It is so cute! She has the "big girl" cut to go with the new 3 year age.