Turning 30 was not that bad!

I was not super excited about turning 30 this February but it turned out to be a very fun and exciting month. It started out with my parents flying Laekin and I to Miami to visit my sister and nephews! My sister was awaiting the birth of her 3rd baby and was going to be by herself for a little bit until Matt was able to wrap up a few things in Haiti. Laekin and I had a very fun little mommy daughter trip together with Pam and the boys. Laekin loved flying on the airplane especially because I let her have gum when we flew! Pam and the boys picked us up from the airport.

The next day was Pam's birthday and I told her that afternoon "we need to go celebrate!" We tossed around the idea of going to Cheesecake Factory with 3 small children for dinner and then decided to go for it! It was actually very enjoyable and all 3 kids did great. We ordered the amazing artichoke appetizer and Laekin and Silas were very interested in learning how to eat this vegetable! This kept us all entertained until our meals came! We ordered cheesecake to go and enjoyed it- with a movie- back at home with the kids IN BED!




One day we took the kiddos to the zoo and rented a big bike with a place for the kids to sit. I am sure it was pretty entertaining watching my sister (being 9 mo prego) and me pedal the 3 kids around the zoo! The highlight of the zoo was getting to feed the giraffes.





To celebrate my birthday, Pam took us to Cool-de-sac play cafe. It is a great place where we could eat lunch and enjoy a cup of coffee while our kids played at all the different play stations!

Overall it was an incredible trip. I loved being with my sis, talking, sharing coffee together, hanging out with my nephews, sharing meals together, and laughing at our silly kiddos.




Part 2:
When my hubby asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday I told him that I would love to go away... just the two of us for the weekend! He way out did my expectations when he told me he was going to take me to The Bacara in Santa Barbara! We had been there once before for my brother's wedding, but due to the wedding festivities, having a toddler with us, and being 7 months pregnant... it was a very different trip.



We arrived at our destination, checked in, and we were escorted to our amazing room with an ocean view! This place takes care of you and has amazing service... not to mention that everyone knew it was my birthday! It was not long before we were loving the feeling of having "no responsibility". It is amazing how weird that feels and almost foreign when you are so used to the demands and tasks that come along with little kiddos. We settled into our room, took a nap, enjoyed an afternoon mocha, went wine tasting that evening, and enjoyed a long dinner. The next day we enjoyed running together and revisiting our engagement spot (which was only a mile from us) along an awesome trail that led down to the beach. We went back to the resort and had breakfast and mimosas and I fell asleep in the sun. We went to State Street for a few hours that evening and spontaneously decided to go to the movies and have another late dinner! We had an amazing time relaxing, enjoying each other, being able to have conversation without interruptions, and celebrating 30 years of life...with 15 of them being in each other's lives!



Near our engagement spot from over 7 years ago!

January Highlights

Having picnics and throwing rocks at the beach

We got Disneyland passes for Christmas!

Laekin and Mama doing some baking

Doing "school" with Laekin... one of our fun activities when Micah is napping in the morning.

Bro and sis enjoying smores together

Laekin has really mastered her "funny faces" lately.

Celebrating Papa's 61st birthday!

It snowed! (in Acton-at my parents house)

Spending time with our great friends and god-daughters- Tristini and Tabitha.

We all gathered with Jeremy's family at the Dana Point harbor to remember and celebrate Gramma and Great Gramma Marlene. She went to be with Jesus last January 26th.

Christmas 2009

Beachcomber

We spent yesterday morning enjoying breakfast at the Beachcomber Cafe and walking along the beach...here are some pics:

Thanksgiving weekend highlights

Here are some of our highlights from this past Thanksgiving weekend.

Watching Laekin "in heaven" holding our friends' 2 month old little boy.


Thanksgiving at my dad's firestation! Laekin & Micah loved climbing on the trucks, playing in the handball room, and going for a ride.






My sister-in-law Jill brought all her nail polish and rhinestones over to paint Laekin's nails. Laekin loved every minute of it and did not want to go to bed for fear that her "sparklies" would come off!

Laekin got to go on a little horseback ride with the lady that I used to take riding lessons from when I was a little girl. Despite the look on Laekin's face... she really enjoyed it.

My mom pulled out her new pjs and did not realize that she had bought Laekin the same ones last Christmas!


Oh and last but not least- Jeremy and I beat my brother and Jill in beer pong! Sorry I don't have pictures of that one.

Trick or Treating

We had a great Halloween this year with the kiddos and friends (and their kiddos). We headed over to a friend's house and the evening started off with a nice warm bowl of chili and cornbread. The guys crowded around the TV flipping back and forth between the USC game and World Series to catch a glimpse of the games before the evening of trick or treating. Shortly after dinner, needless to say, the costumed-out kiddos were anxious to head out.

Laekin was Cinderella. The princess theme was pretty much a given, since her whole world revolves around Disney princesses at the moment. Mamma had fun doing her hair (after googling "how to do a Cinderella hair-do") and letting Laekin wear eye shadow and lip gloss. After she was all dressed up and looked in the mirror, the biggest, proudest smile overwhelmed her face....she was glowing. We weren't planning on her wearing her plastic Disney princess high heels, but she dug them out the toy bin and brought them with her. You could hear her 5 houses down, clickety-clacking down the street. She had to be so uncomfortable, but she didn't say a word.

Micah dressed up as a monkey (hand-me-down costume Laekin wore last year - yes, he fit snugly into the costume she wore last year as a 2 year old). We knew we definitely had one trick or treater on our hands this year, but much to our surprise, we had two! Micah was a pro. Laekin must have briefed him on the process or something, because he had it down. He followed the other kids up to the door, stuck his hand in the bowl of candy held by the stranger, and quickly turned around and headed back for the sidewalk. Between houses, he was biting on a Reese's stick....after about an hour, the packaging broke open and he enjoyed the fruits of his labor...his first Halloween treat.

Birthday Boy