California

One of our favorite places to visit is California. 

When the kids a gone and finished college we have hopes of settling in the warmer state, where  B's eczema clears up in a day (without the assistance of any lotions, creams or steroids) and my hair does amazing things.

Until then we are lucky that we live close enough, and my parents can get cheaper flights so we meet them in the colder months.

I think my girls are part mermaids.

 Sometimes you just need a hug.

 In line for the Cars ride in Disneyland.

 Getting ready to go! She was uncertain the entire time, but by the end she said it was "awesome".

 It's a toss up between the tea cups, the carousel, the Ariel ride being her favorite rides- she went on all of them multiple, MULTIPLE times.

 She most certainly did not like the Pirates ride, and she will tell anyone who listens. 

And this little lady would just cover her eyes on ALL THE RIDES.

We loved the entertainment, particularly all the Frozen shows and sing-a-longs.

 

The highlight of the trip:

We waited in line for an hour but the girls were thrilled to meet Queen Elsa.

Then we dined with these Princesses and B, thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Zonked.

The flight home was an interesting one. We have all heard about the measles outbreak in California, but what hasn't been broadcasted is the whooping cough epidemic they were having. Although, both girls are vaccinated both came home with it. Right before the flight Brooklyn threw up... down my shirt. It was an epic motherhood moment.

Fire Station

We took a tour of our local fire station. Unfortunately, there was a house fire so most of the firefighters and the fire truck were gone doing their job. But we still had a great time, the kids wouldn't have known the wiser.

 I didn't know there was a difference between a fire truck and a fire engine, to be considered a fire truck it must have 170 ft. of ladders, now you know too.

 Thanks to Fireman Steve, who was darling with the kids, we all had a great time.

Grandma

We said goodbye to Brad's grandma this week. 

A genuine sweet heart of a woman. 

She cherished her family above any thing on this earth.

She was a wonderful Grandma. 

 With our little Califlower.

At the funeral Brad's uncles shared beautiful memories. 

I learned a thing or two about her. 

For one thing, during WWII she worked at the Air force base in the propeller shop . 

I later said to Brad, "Your Grandma was Rosie the Riveter - that.is.awesome."

His uncles shared a few things I loved (and I am so happy I thought to write it down)

His Uncle Jeff said, "My mother wasn't just surviving 6 children but thriving". 

As a young mom this hit me quite hard. 

I don't want to just survive I want to thrive as a mother. 

Something his Uncle Jody shared was her motto at Christmas time. 

"Christmas: a time to be grateful and a time to give"

I will be adopting this. 

Uncle Jody said when you went to visit her she always had a diet coke in her hand and another one for you.

This made me smile because my fondest memory I have of her was a visit 

while sipping on a diet coke. 

Every spring the family did a spring clean up at their house. Well, Grandma did not like throwing things away. This particular year I happened to be 3 days overdue with Broccoli. Obviously, I was useless but Uncle Jody gave me the job to distract Grandma so she wouldn't see what was being thrown away. So we spent the morning in her kitchen baking cookies, discussing babies, and sipping diet coke ( I was 3 days over due - I was in the mindset this child was NEVER going to come, please don't judge me).

It was a peaceful quiet day, a sweet memory. 

I am grateful for this magnificent woman, for welcoming me with open arms, loving my children, but mainly for the role she played in my husband's life.

For contributing to his soft side.

For loving him so deeply, that he never doubted her love. 

He is a better man, husband, father because of her.

And she will be missed.

January...

I can't believe January is half over! Seriously, the month I feel that drags has gone pretty fast.

 They said it was suppose to be the year of the "El Nino" so I figured we would just hunker down for the season, but we have had some pretty spectacular days this month. We are still taking plenty of walks and soaking up the cold sun rays. The sun is the sun in my book :) However, it really hasn't snowed much here which makes me a little nervous because last time winter was like this our state was on fire the entire summer.

But what we've been up to:

I painted my bathroom - I actually painted it in November, but I still have to finish the little things or in other words the no fun things, and well I have been taking my sweet time. This week though, this week I will finally complete it.

 My phone has been commandeered to take funny face pictures. It's okay because I love these two faces.

 Puddle splashing.

And we have a new cousin dog, let me introduce you to Berkeley. It's Uncle "Tris's" (seriously, i will be so sad when B can finally say his name correctly) dog, well actually it's his girlfriend's dog but he is claiming him. We got to have him for the weekend. He is a tri-colored Australian shepherd and an absolute nutty sweetheart, so obviously he fits right in.

 Oh, you know roller blading in the house.

 Lot's of dress up.

 "Huggies"

 She kind of likes the water.

Our neighbor got a cat, she was just a tiny bit ecstatic.

After hearing some whining from the little one I came into the room to find this scene.

I didn't give them those apples nor did I put Califlower in her high chair. 

So um yeah.

Halloween 2014

We had a great Halloween, especially since MeMe and Pop Pop came out for a visit.

 We had ourselves a little Pirate and her Mermaid friend. Unfortunately, the Mermaid wasn't in the mood for photos. 

 The one photo I could get of her costume.

I had this great idea to curl thin fine hair. After a lot of time, a can of hairspray and a whole lot of lollipops, this was the result. The next day I went out and bought one of those curling wands, where has that been my entire life?

Winter Picnic

We finally got winter here, so Brad put together a little winter picnic. 

We put on our snow clothes, packed some firewood, marshmallows and hot dogs and headed up the canyon. 

The girls were all smiles at first, but ready to go home near the end.

(Luckily we snapped the pictures in the beginning)

We did have fun. The fire kept us warm and we built a snow castle, and the marshmallows 

were a perfect winter treat.