Picking Apples

A few weeks back, Living Social had a deal for Fuji apples at Clearview Orchards. We jumped on the opportunity to go apple picking! They were delicious in the Glazed Harvest Apple Cake :) 

Ada had a blast and was very serious about it. Look at that game face! 

First you pick it up, put it in the bag, bump bump...

The apple picking crew...I spot a little strawberry in there!

Ada sees a good one...

Triumphant girl leaving the orchard with one of her spoils in hand. A good day indeed :)

Ice, bath?

Have you played on Pinterest yet? It's so fun, but a total time suck. Don't say I didn't warn you!

 It is full of fun ideas like this one, which was originally "pinned" from this book.

Just add a drop of food coloring (or two for making purple, orange, and green) to your ice cubes. 

Pop a few in the tub with your kids and let them chase the cubes around before they melt.

This made bath time go from not so fun to coooooool! Ada now frequently requests, "Ice, bath?"

They didn't stain her or our tub, and the little bit of red on our bathmat (oops - they're slippery) washed out fine.

Shooting With Bubs!

Over Christmas break, my grandpa took us out to Vandenberg Air Force Base to shoot some of his guns. 

The range is right on the ocean, it is just beautiful! 

Make sure you turn the volume down to watch these videos, between the wind, gunshots, and our voices while we had earplugs in -- they're LOUD.

Matty & Seanie looking soooo cool in their protective eyewear!

They call him eagle eye.

Here's Bobba, the original cowboy, with his six-shooter! He bought it in Arizona in the 1950s. So cool :)

I loved shooting the biggun...he has an awesome rest you set it in. Makes it so much easier to steady the gun!

Channeling Sarah Palin...it was COLD! 

 Thanks for such a fun time Bobba! Love you :)

Vintage Photo Shoot

Matt, Ada & I all dressed up for a fun photo shoot with the talented Gena Susan a few weeks ago. 
Check it out HERE!

It was so fun to borrow clothes (my dress belongs to my sister Lindsay, Matt's vest, hat & bow tie are my cousin Chris' & Ada's dresses are Gena's) and take a step back in time! I did much heavier make-up than I usually do and Lindsay did my hair. I felt so glamorous! I was so glad that Matt was along for playing dress up and model, I think he's getting used to having a camera pointed at him after being married to me for 4 years :)
Thank you, Gena, for a fun evening and such gorgeous images!

DownEast Basics Giveaway!

Okay, I love DownEast. I wear one of their classic tees under just about everything. It's so nice to not have to worry about showing skin if I bend over, or stuff hanging out on top when Ada is pulling on my top. I have a couple of their dresses and other tops and love 'em! I drool over their catalog when it shows up.

See their adorable clothes HERE.

Cherry Blossoms the blog is having a giveaway HERE, so go and enter! :)

Ada's First Beach Day!

While Auntie Linds was in town, we went to Avila on St. Patrick's Day.

It was GORGEOUS out! The water was Arctic & took my breath away.

It's definitely still winter in the water, even though it didn't feel like it on the beach.

All is right with the world with Lindsay back in California.

I think between the baby, family, weather, & food...we've convinced her to move back!

It was neat because one year ago to the day, I told my mom I was pregnant.

Now look at what we have :)

She is not shy about smiling,

laughing,

singing,

or pouting.

We call her bi-polar baby because sometimes she will be happy as a clam,

then suddenly bust out the lower lip and turn into sad baby.

We kept cool in the shade of the umbrella.

Then Ada relaxed and took a nap.

She didn't get covered in sand (her pacifiers are another story), probably the only time that will ever happen!

We had yummy Crab Louie salads at The Custom House to cap off a perfect day.

I am so excited to carry on beach days with my daughter...my mom has been bringing us to Avila ever since I can remember!

Universal Studios!

To celebrate Sean's golden birthday (22 on the 22nd!), we went to Universal Studios Hollywood! We did the studio tour, Jurassic Park, Mummy, & Simpson's rides. Oh and I also dragged my mom through the haunted house. She kept trying to hide in corners and I literally had to pull her through so more scary people wouldn't get us!

It was Ada's first night in a hotel and she did great. Slept through the night in her pack-n-play and didn't make a peep. Those pack-n-plays are wonderful! We stuck it right in between the two beds and she was a happy camper.

Here she is relaxing in the hotel room :)

It was a beautiful, warm day and we loved the water spritzer things while you stand in line. So refreshing :)

We had Ada in the stroller with the shades over her, she stayed pretty cool. She had so much fun people watching and smiling. The only time she cried was on the studio tour when the earthquake hits because people were screaming. Once that was over she was happy again!

I love the things you learn when bringing a baby somewhere for the first time. Did you know there is such a thing as child swap passes? Here's how it works: someone stays with the baby while everyone else goes on the ride. Once they get off the ride, you switch places and get a pass to the front of the line with one other person! GENIUS & AWESOME.

This worked out well for us...I was able to feed and change Ada then Auntie Linds (who was in town on her spring break) got some quality time in.

Also wonderful: the all-you-can-eat passes! We may or may not have cheated the system a bit, but we ate a ton of good food :) Burgers, pizza, Panda Express, oh my. A nursing momma is a HUNGRY momma!

I Scream, You Scream

We all scream for FREE ice cream!

On Friday, Doc Burnstein's was giving out free ice cream!

It was due to a labor dispute of sorts, you can read the full story here.

Needless to say, we were there! The line wasn't that long, and luckily we beat the rain.

Here's Evelyn catching a ride on Dad, and Gray catching one with Grandpa.

Cousins! Ada & Evelyn are 8 months apart.

Love this little mug :)

I got chocolate with peanut butter cups and peanut butter in a sugar cone. YUM! Matt got cookie dough of course. Ada had some in her hair...good ol' baby carriers :)

This ice cream shop used to be called Burnardo'z.

I have memories of coming here with Bobba after boating at Lake Lopez!

JAM!

It's a summer tradition in our family to make strawberry jam. Ever since I can remember, Nana has made jam to last our WHOLE family last the year through! This is incredible, seeing as Sean goes through about a jar a day. I might be exaggerating. But seriously, that kid eats PB&Js like nobody's business!
Every time Lindsay and/or Rach come home from Utah, what do they make sure and take back with them? Strawberry jam. 

What is requested when we drive out to Utah to visit them? Strawberry jam.
What is served at dinners with Nana's homemade bread? Strawberry jam.
We love this stuff :)

Step 1: Start with succulent Santa Maria jam berries, wash.

Step 2: Mash!

Step 3: Add zee sugar

Step 4: Let sit, add pectin. Stir, stir, stir. My mom teased me about my face when I was on hour 3 of jam making and stirring as I stared off into space. I looked thrilled I guess ;)

Step 5: Pour into containers and put in Nana & Bobba's freezer!

Sandy says, "You guys are boring...just in the kitchen working all day. Play with me!" 

Hooray for strawberry jam 2009!

Next summer, little Ada will be there with us learning the ways of jam making :)

Click here to hear the song I was singing all day...throwback to jazz dance class '93!

Stakeout

At my mom's on Sunday, this is what took place. A stakeout. Three hunters luring out their prey..."gaining their trust," as Sean put it. Hold very, very still.

Sandy! You moved! Now the rats will never come out of the bougainvillea to eat the peanut butter. Yup, the back bougainvillea bush has a lair a la The Rats of NIMH.

The plan is to gain their trust then exterminate them. I'm surprised the neighborhood cats haven't done something about them yet. Sandy is too slow...she just barks them back into their secret lair!
My mom was on the phone with Lindsay giving her a play-by-play on the action.
Yes, we are easily entertained :)

4th of July!

We had a wonderful day celebrating our nation's freedom.

First, Matt and I headed down to Lompoc to join the Millers for yummy burgers, juicy watermelon, Shrek corn (ask Ryan about that one), and badminton! Don't mind me hitting it over the fence...oops!

Of course we forgot our camera. I'm forgetting lots of stuff these days...pregnancy brain is real! Matt was so sad because he wanted to document the momentous occasion! The last time he remembers his family doing something like this was Thanksgiving when he was 7 years old. It was wonderful :)

In the evening, we drove to the beach to watch the fireworks with some of my family visiting from Kansas.

Here is Matt telling his riveting story of Francis Scott Key to Jessie, Becca, Chris, Daniel, Colleen, and my mom.

Two of my beautiful cousins, Becca and Jessie.

The best accidental picture ever!

And the beautiful fireworks at Oceano. It was great because we had these right over our head, and could see Pismo's show down the coast as well.

Some people ditched their fire, so we swooped in and took it over! We sang Johnny Cash, Tom Petty, & Foo Fighters songs accompanied by Matt on guitar. It was a perfect day!

18 Weeks & Utah Girl's Trip

That's a sweet potato for those who don't recognize it :)
Your fetus has become amazingly mobile (at least compared to you), passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing. And, baby's finally big enough that you'll be able to feel those movements soon.
I feel little happy flutters and rolls throughout the day. I can't wait until Matt can feel his happy baby too!
...
Here I am at 4 1/2 months pregnant. Maternity jeans are my new favorite thing. I think everyone needs a pair of these!

Just kidding...here I am for reals ;) That thing at Motherhood Maternity cracked me up though...it was all lumpy and awkward. I sent the picture to Matt and he was so confused. We laughed!

My mom and I drove out to UT to see Lindsay and Rachel and have some girl time! It was so fun. We shopped and ate out a ton. We went to: Cafe Rio, Kneaders, Mimi's Cafe, The Red Iguana, Macaroni Grill, Gurus, Sweet Tooth Fairy, and then some. I feel like we ate the whole time! It was all sooooo yummy! Oh and we got fudge at the BYU Bookstore, along with cinnamon bears for my mom & Matt.
Here are my old roomies, Allison and Natalie; I think we look alike in this picture. We had so much fun catching up! The last time the whole group of friends got together was when I was in town last year for Spring Break. I didn't plan it this way, but while I was in town - they were meeting up for dinner! So I surprised everyone (except Allison) and showed up. It was awesome :)

I don't have a picture with everyone in it...I was a loser and left my camera at the hotel. All in attendance: Eric & Kari + bun in the oven, Thomas, Mason & Allison, Natalie & Brian. After dinner we went to the Allen's and played with their adorable daughter, Ellie. Then we watched a slideshow of old pictures of us...ahhh memory lane!
...
Okay, have any of you tried the Dyson hand dryer before?! (Same guy that makes the best vacuum cleaners in the world). It will change your life!!!! The first time I used one was in the Continental terminal at LAX. I was floored! The security lady and I got into a huge conversation about how incredible it is. It actually gets under my wedding bands dry! Usually water gets stuck under there.
This one was in IKEA in Draper and I was sooo excited to see it again! I made my mom and sister try it, it's so fast and like a little whirlwind for your hands.
My mom was so cute in IKEA, she bought so many cute wooden toys for the baby. We ooh-ed and ahh-ed over all of the adorable children's room setups.

See the bird in the clouds? He was hanging out above St. George. Where we stopped for Cafe Rio a second time :)

It was a wonderful, relaxing trip. Minus the day my mom got sick and Lindsay and I did homework in the library all day. The rest of the time was great though!

Conan & CA Adventure

CONAN O'BRIEN!!!!!!!!!! Lindsay got us tickets and we went to the 3rd night of taping! He was hilarious, as always. We've been watching him since it was just him & Andy on Late Night! He did the hips, made fun of the random yellers, did his Arnold impression, and gave a great monologue. Max Weinberg & The Max Weinberg 7 were incredible! We were even there for the very first In The Year 3000! I just love LaBamba's falsetto...so funny!
My favorite line from that skit: "In the year 3000, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook will merge to form one super time-wasting website called YouTwitFace!"

The guests were Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Bradley Cooper. Julia is SO tiny! She had on some 5" heels and was still only about 5'5". I wanted her to do the Elaine dance, but she didn't :( Sheryl Crow played, and she is about the same size! She was wearing huge heels too. After the show, she brought her cute little boy out and showed him the set. Bradley Cooper was a sleazy creep, as he plays in most of his movies. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made a surprise appearance, and he made Conan look like a little guy!
We had fun walking around Universal Studios after dinner at Bubba-Gump. Here is Matt on his new bike...

Matt had to go home that night for work, so the ladies stayed in Anaheim and went to California Adventureland (as my mom calls it)! ;)
Here is Lindsay on her L! We take a picture every time we go.

It was the perfect day. No crowds, perfect weather, and short lines!

My mom and sister made us go on the stationary gondolas on the Sun Wheel. I shouldn't have told them how freaked out my sister-in-law gets on the gliding ones!

Santa Maria is famous at CA Adventure. At one restaurant, they have Santa Maria-style Tri-Tip! Also, it was a wine and food expo that week, and they had a Santa Maria Valley wine booth set up.
Goofy loved Lindsay & I :)

Lindsay, Mommy, & I on the street to nowhere. We had such a fun trip!