Thanksgiving in Monterey

We decided to take a trip to Monterey for Thanksgiving since we weren't with our extended family this year. Monterey has been on our list of places to visit in California for the past year, so this holiday provided the perfect opportunity for a little getaway.

The moment we arrived at the hotel, Brynn tucked herself in with Isaac for a little snuggle while Abby and Aaron jumped across from bed to bed. Joseph took them down to see the ocean at 10:00 at night to get a little of their excess energy out. Isaac and I stayed in the room. When Joseph came back he said it was funny to watch the kids. Abby was trying to run out by the tide and Brynn stayed close to Joseph on the sand. Aaron kept yelling/crying, "No Abby! No Abby! Tum (Come) back!"

Our main reason for going to Monterey was to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was fantastic. We loved it so much that we bought an annual membership, so we'll definitely be back in the coming months.

The kids couldn't decide which exhibit was their favorite, there were so many wonderful ones, but my favorite was the moon jellyfish (below). They were beautiful and bounced so gracefully through the water. It was theraputic and relaxing to watch them.

The large 2 or 3 story aquarium was very impressive.

The girl's really liked the the manarays, stingrays, and batrays and even got to pet a batray. The picture below isn't that great, but if you can see their facial expressions from the reflection on the glass it's pretty cute.

Abby loved touching the starfish, but the lady guarding them had to keep reminding her, "Just pet with one finger please!" When the lady wasn't looking Abby would try to squish the starfish and then pick it up and turn it over to see what the back looked like. As soon as the lady would look her way, Abby hurried to put the fish down. I think the lady was afraid she was going to run off with it. She's just a curious 4-almost-5-year-old.

I was surprised that Aaron was comfortable enough to touch the starfish, Brynn of course kept it to only one finger and was searching for the nearest hand sanitizer immediately after.

The girls were fascinated with the batrays and started crying when we walked away from the exhibit before they were able to touch one. We headed back over to give them a feel.

Overlooking beautiful Monterey Bay.

We had reservations for our Thanksgiving Dinner a few blocks away at a restaurant on Cannery Row. It was a quaint street shopping district next to the aquarium.

Our Brynn just "hatched" from a penguin shell.

It always trips me up a little to be in California during the holidays. It does get colder, but because the weather is still pretty nice Thanksgiving and Christmas seem to sneak up on me. Northern California is perfect for me, we have seasons, but they aren't as extreme as other places we have lived....best part of all, NO SNOW! (Unless you make the 2 hour drive to Tahoe to play in it, which is what snow is for anyway, right?)

The view from the restaurant.

Afterward we spent some time at the beach to let the kids play a little and to enjoy the sunset. It was a pretty simple and relaxing holiday....that is as simple and relaxing as a holiday or travel can be with 4 children in tow. :)

Joseph seems to capture such beautiful scenes, even with our simple old Sony camera. I'm always impressed at what he comes up with. We enjoyed this beautiful sunset....and left feeling very thankful for all of our blessings.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Open Mouth...Insert Foot

Today while we were waiting in line at Costco, Joseph noticed this furry friend stuffed into an over-sized Costco cart a couple of checkstands away from us. He said under his breath, "That is the biggest waste of fluff I have ever seen!" I couldn't see what he was talking about and I thought he was talking about something the lady ahead of us was buying, so I said, "Shhhh!" He then took my head in his hands and directed my vision to the enormous beast shown above. I started to laugh, and I think that's when the lady in front of us wondered what was up. Joseph decided to include her in our "little secret" by saying, "I was just telling my wife, that's the biggest waste of fluff I've ever seen, seriously, why would anyone buy one of those things?" She then turned to him and said, "He's buying that for my daughter." Joe responded with, "Where in the world are you going to keep it?" (I was waiting for her to say "just kidding" but she was completely serious.) "She'll sleep with it, along with all the other stuffed animals she has." I felt the blood rushing to my face from embarrassment and awkwardness, all I could think to say was, "Wow you must have really big bedrooms!"

I know that kids love stuffed animals, my kids drool over the soft, fluffy, furry friends... literally and figuratively... so we have a rule, if it doesn't fit in the washing machine, it doesn't belong in our house. But, I guess it's good that there are people out there willing to give these critters a home.

And Joseph has learned to keep his opinions about other's Costco purchases to himself.

(For the record, the stats of the mass: over 5 feet long and almost 2 feet wide and tall.)

Go BYU! Crush those Utes!

Thanks Chad and Jenn! We knew we could count on you two to help us show our support to our Alma Mater!

3 Weeks with Isaac

Isaac turned 3 weeks old yesterday! We have had a busy few weeks with this little guy filled with some ups and some downs. Things are looking up now and we are enjoying every minute of his littleness and his sweetness. We know his days of being itty bitty are fleeting. We're still in survival mode, but our heads are above water and our feet are kicking hard to keep them that way.

It seems everyone asks how he sleeps. Well, Isaac is sleeping well. That is, as well as a nursing newborn can. He does wake up every few hours to eat, but usually goes back to sleep right after. (I did listen to the pediatrician, and he does sleep on his back at night, but sometimes during the day he favors the tummy!)

At the appointment with the doctor yesterday he weighed 9 lbs. 11 oz.! It's amazing to me how much a baby grows the 21 months following conception. It really is quite a miracle.

Whenever Abby hears him make a sound, she says, while racing from the bathroom with dripping freshly washed hands, "Oh, I got it Mom! I got it! I've got it all taken care of!" That's our Abby! All three of the older kids are loving on him constantly. Whenever he makes even the slightest of peeps, Brynn and Abby race to wash their hands to hold him. All three older kids had fevers of 103-104 last week so we tried to keep them away, but they are making up for that now.

It's so cute to watch Brynn with him. Sometimes I hear him cry when I'm taking care of something else, miraculously he stops crying and then I look over and realize it's because Brynn has picked him up and is being a little mother to him. It brings sweet feelings to witness your children be so nurturing to one another. (Brynn and Jospeh have nicknamed him Wully Bill, alluding to Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again, ask Joseph sometime to tell you why)

One of my favorite sights, is seeing Brynn curled up on the couch with Isaac atop her chest. They look so cozy and cute.

Aaron continues to really like the little guy. He is amazed by his smallness and is very sweet and kind to his little brother. (Though he isn't always as sweet and kind to me!)

I am feeling a deep sense of love and gratitude for my family right now. Joseph has been so patient, helpful and kind. He's been a great strength to me as we work to bring some of the normalcy back to our everyday life.

My mom said to me over and over again while she was here, that looking back, the days of young children were so hard and so tiring, but at the same time, the best years, with everyone home at night, tucked safely in their beds, under the same roof. I am loving these days and when I look at the evidence of my children all around my house, I am trying to remember to enjoy every aspect of it. Life is very good.

Grandpa Vest's Funeral

The funeral service for Grandpa was really nice and uplifting. It was quite a delight to get to sit and hear stories about such a fun and crazy man. The bishop remarked that it's too bad it takes a person dying to really learn all about who they were. Makes me want to ask my parents lots of questions about their younger years.

Dad gave a wonderful talk sharing gospel principles and the plan of happiness as well as intermixed with many wonderful stories. I felt such a sense of gratitude for my dad and for the person he is as he spoke that day. It was such a hard week for him, he handled the circumstances of Grandpa's death with such respect and courage and I am very proud to call him Dad.

I had the unique experience growing up of living within a few minutes of both sets of grandparents. This afforded me the opportunity to get to spend time with them on a regular basis and because of that I have many wonderful memories. My grandparents had 3 children and 14 grandchildren. Because there aren't very many of us, my dad and his sisters thought it would be nice if we all got up and shared a small memory or tribute of grandpa. It was so much fun to do and to hear. I wish that could happen at every funeral, but sheer numbers usually prevent that from being possible. It was fun to hear all of the different stories and things about Grandpa that were shared. Some were similar and shared by all or a few and some were unique to each individual, which showed just what a great Grandpa he was. I related the following story.

During my high school years, I worked as a swimming instructor and lifeguard at the Spanish Fork Swimming Pool. As an employee I was given a summer swim pass for my personal use and for the use of my family members. There was no one else who used this privilege more than Grandpa Vest. Only he used it slightly differently than it was intended. Open swim was after 1:00 p.m. This time didn't work for Grandpa and Grandpa was notorious for doing things his way. He would show up at the pool nearly everyday during the summer right in the middle of swimming lessons. It wasn't convenient for him to come during the regular swim hours, so he did things his way. He would show up wearing his Temple View Estates ball cap and his white shirt that barely covered one of his two "Speedo" type swimming suits. It would either be his army green speedo or his Americana speedo. Sometimes he would wear his white cargo knickers over the speedo, but often he would come in with his white shirt. It looked like the man was coming to the pool wth a shirt and nothing else! He always carried a rolled up towel tucked underneath his arm.

Grandpa would swim his laps in the pool and then make his way over to me while I instructed swimmers. He would say, "Whattayaknow Amy Jo from Kokomo?" (He as called me this ever since I can remember) To which I would always say, "Hi Grandpa, How was your swim today!" He would say, "Great! I've just got to get Virginia down here, you think you could teach her to swim?" (Virginia is my grandmother and she didn't like the water, he was always trying to get me to teach her swimming lessons.)

Grandpa would then get out of the pool and dry off and proceed to sun bathe. Granpda had a unique way of sunbathing. He believed you needed to tan evenly on each side, so he rotated like a rotisserie chicken. Five minutes on front, five minutes on back and five minutes on each side. It always looked so funny to see him trying to balance on his side to get an even tan.

When he was finished he would put his shirt back on. Throw on his hat and tuck his towel under his arm and be on his way. People at the pool always wondered who the old man was who helped himself to an open swim during swim lessons, and I always let them know, that's my grandpa. I tried to explain to him that he should come during pool hours, but he always informed me, he didn't like coming in the afternoons. The apologized to the pool manager and told him that I had informed my Grandpa of the hours of open swim, he laughed and said, "He's not bothering anyone, let him come when he wants."

I think it was fun for all of us to get to share a part of our relationship with Grandpa with everyone else. There are many other memories I need to record....all in due time.

I am always humbled when I see the American Legion at a funeral. I feel grateful for the sacrifice others have made in my behalf, and for the sacrifices that are continually being made everyday for me to enjoy the life I do. I love everything about the presentation of the military rites, the bugles, the flag, the 21 gun salute, the honor and respect given. It was a great time for reflecton being the day before Veteran's Day.

The original Vest Family. Front row left to right, Emily, Amy, Chad, Mom, Back row Scott, Wade, and Dad. I love these people and so do my children. It was a pleasure being with each of them.

Everyone in the Vest Family, minus my hubby and kiddos and Kaden who was with his Grandma Christensen. Psst: If anyone has a better picture, email it to me.

My dad was able to meet little Isaac about a month sooner than we had expected! That was the silver lining of this trip.

Auntie Em - I finally got to meet her fiance Stephen on this trip. He had football practice and couldn't make it to the funeral, but we are excited for them.

Wade and his cute wife Sara! We love you guys!