Muir Woods

In May we had the pleasure of welcoming some great visitors to our home. We took the opportunity to visit some of the places we love in Northern California. Joseph picked up Uncle Casey and Aunt Melissa, Cousin Annabelle, and Uncle Isaac from their adventure in San Franscisco. They stopped at his favorite photo spot on the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge, before meeting up with the rest of us at our hotel.

After an elegant dining experience at In N Out we headed to the pool to enjoy some ice cream and swimming. Casey and Melissa's camera takes vibrant pictures. It was fun to see how the color turned out with their camera, as opposed to the ol' point and shoot that we're accustom to using.

The kids swam until after dark and then we headed to bed, but not before giving Baby Isaac and Baby Annabelle and chance to get reacquainted. Annabelle thought Isaac looked good enough to eat, she headed straight in to plant a baby kiss right on his lips!

We awoke to a deluxe continental breakfast where everyone in our group under the age of 12 consumed enough carbohydrates to last through 2 weeks of hard endurance training. To their credit, they did use up some of that excess energy as we hiked through Muir Woods and played at Stinson Beach. But isn't that the beauty of all-you-can-eat muffins, english muffins, eggo waffles, bagels, oatmeal, toast, sugar cereal, pastries, biscuits, and donuts?

I love Muir Woods, it is beautiful, great for ALL ages and very versatile for all types of hikers. You can do as little or as much hiking as you would like and leave satisfied, recognizing you have experienced the wonder of God's beautiful creation.

Up next.....Stinson Beach

Good Bye Sweet Friend!

Brynn had to do something very hard last week. She had to say good-bye to her best friend, Brianna. Brianna's family is moving to Japan for 3 years. It has been lots of fun to see their budding relationship over the past 2 years. Brianna is such a beautiful, smart and good girl, I couldn't have picked a better friend for Brynn. When we found out 6 months ago that she was moving, I had to bite my lip and hold back the tears, but when they left last Friday, we both cried. Brynn has been such a great friend. On a number of occasions, Brynn invited Brianna to church and church activities with us, she is such a great example of a friend and missionary. It never worked out for Brianna to attend, but Brynn never gave up and continued to invite. Before Brianna left Brynn wanted to do something special for her. She wrote a poem about butterflies and then gave Brianna a necklace with a butterfly pendant, she also kept a matching one for herself. I have worked myself up with worry about this whole deal and the emotional impact this would all have on Brynn, but she is dealing with it like a champ and she is finding lots of new friends to play with. It's hard to be the parent and have no control over what your child feels, but it's amazing how some of the greatest spiriual lessons come from being a parent.

One of the things that is making this a little easier for Brynn is that June is a really busy month for her getting ready for her ballet show with Applegate Dance Studio. This year she has been asked to play the role of young Aurora in Tchaikovsky's classical ballet The Sleeping Beauty. She is also one of the Flower Girls in Act III of the ballet. We are so proud of her and can't wait to see her perform on stage. As the young Aurora she is the only child on stage with all of the teenage and adult dancers and she does so well. She is so sweet and professional, it's been very fun to watch her rehearse. The dress being made for her to wear is absolutely stunning. It will be a fun experience.

Saying Good-Bye to Unwelcome Guests!

Why can't it be considered cute for my legs to look like this? I'm in the process of removing about 5 pounds. I wouldn't go as far as to call it the "D" word, just working my behind off to do just that...work my behind off! I have a whole new respect for anyone who has removed weight. While I would like to blame these extra few pounds on the owner of these cute little chunky thighs, dubbing them "baby weight," it was me who enjoyed too many oatmeal chocolate chip cookies on more days than I would like to admit. I take full responsibility. But, some blame has to go to the hormonal avalanche that pregnancy sets off. All of those lovely lipoprotein lipase enzymes that kick into high gear and settle in the hip, thigh and butt region, making themselves right at home like unwanted guests. It's time to remove them before they become too comfortable!

I won't miss them on myself because I have the pleasure of squeezing these beauties...and they are fun to squeeze!

"Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness." Edward Stanley

Abby's New Do

Abby got a new "do" a few weeks ago. She begged me to keep it a secret from Grandma Rowene until she comes in June, but Abby doesn't understand how hard it is to keep a secret from someone I talk to nearly every day, especially when it's such a cute secret. But, I kept my word, and didn't say a word. Today I was looking at how great it looked, and told Abby that her hair would probably be long again before Grandma saw it, she consented and we took the pictures this morning. Then we were emailed Aunt Melissa's comment this afternoon and so that gave me the umph to get it posted! So thanks Melissa, perfect timing!

Abby has great hair and the cut is very cute with her darling face!

We weren't planning on a haircut, but one day she came and told me that Aaron cut her hair (untrue). Then that night on her way to get her jammies on, she stopped by the bathroom and took a swipe out of her bangs. After this haircut, she stuck her head in a bucket in the backyard and didn't like the way some of her hair hung in her face, so she took another swipe at it. I told her that she couldn't just cut her hair whenever there was a piece out of place, and if she did, I would shave it so that there was no more hair to cut. She hasn't cut since. She cut her bangs about 3/4 inch long. They have grown a little,but there are still some shorter pieces underneath. In this picture, they are still a little wet, but when they dry, they actually look pretty good. When they grow out a bit more, we'll even them up and I think we'll let her keep bangs for a while. Before, she complained alot about getting hair in her face. Hopefully this will help. When she first had it cut, she reminded me of that woman from the new Indiana Jones movie, with the very short bob and blunt bangs. Of course, Abby is much nicer and cuter than that woman.

I love the natural highlights my kids get in their hair. They look better than any colorist could ever do.

Wa-la! We love you Abby, but please, come to us if you want a new haircut! No more doing it yourself.

Mother's Day 2009

We had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend together. I am so happy to be a mom. Joseph didn't have meetings until 8:00 on Sunday morning, so that was the best Mother's Day gift of all, someone to help me get everyone ready for church. It was especially nice since I had to give a talk in sacrament meeting and a little thought on visiting teaching during Relief Society. I gave him specific instructions to not make breakfast in bed, because we couldn't be late for church. He listened and I was very grateful! After a nice dinner we went on a walk in the Village Homes area. Earlier in the week Brynn was playing with her friend Hannah and Hannah told her about how her mom had climbed the tree earlier. Brynn said, "My mom doesn't like to climb trees." I said, "I certainly DO like to climb trees, whatever made you think that I didn't." She told me it was because I never do. I told her it was because I am always holding a baby. Her request for Mother's Day was to have me climb a tree with her. So that's exactly what we did. Not the most appropriate activity for a Sunday afternoon, but hey, I needed someone there to hold Isaac.

And here we are climbing the fig tree. It was alot of fun, and it made Brynn so happy to have me climb the tree with her. She went back to her friend the next week and told her, "My mom climbed the tree! She just had to have an Isaac-holder." Yea, I've returned to "cool" status again, until next week anyway.

All the gravity pulling the fat in my face down as I am trying to balance...lovely! :)

Isaac loved playing in the grass.

Point Lobos State Reserve~Carmel, CA

We visited Point Lobos State Reserve to see some of the Sea Lions that had just giving birth to their Sea Pups. It was a beautiful hike overlooking the ocean.

Isaac has become quite the little hiker. He's pretty content to sit perched in his little pack taking it all in.

We went to church in the Monterey Ward on Sunday and Joseph ran into one of our ward members from Woodland....small world. Turns out his wife's family is from Carmel, so he attends that ward when they visit. It was a wonderful trip, with wonderful people we love. When we dropped Grandma and Grandpa off at the airport, Aaron started to get a pouty lip and said over and over "Gamma, Gampa..." I too, felt like I was leaving part of my heart there on the curbside, but I am grateful for the memories we were able to create.