Beautiful Boy

Photo Shoot at In N Out Hamburger.  Pretty good, huh?

2014 Wrap up

I am actually happy to say goodbye to 2014.  I am not sure why, but it has been a challenging year, not because of any big major event, but because of the small day to day demands.  The rain, green hillsides, and mild temperatures have brightened my spirit the past few weeks.  The Lord is good to us.

where would we be without cookies for Santa? (which we forgot to put out)

busybody Emmy... She'll be jabbering about things and then suddenly get nose to nose with me and say "please Mommy?"  

beautiful Katie.  What a hightlight to have a sister in California with me!

Go Buckeyes!  

Cowboy fairy princess, dancing to her favorite song, "Let it go".  She can sing the words, too.

Oh, we love our cousins.  

Ruth and Eleanor take a break from girl time for some New Year's Eve appetizers

Heather and Crystal, my best friends from BYU, pay me a visit!  

While Joseph was away

Joseph and David left on Friday night for a 48 hour trip to attend a wedding in Gilbert, AZ.  Since Emmy had such a hard time with our last road trip and has been fighting a two week goobery nose and ear infection, I stayed home with the littles.  Needless to say, James was devastated when the time came for Joseph and David to leave.  With some quick thinking, we found a few fun things to do.  

Here it is.. another picture with Santa.  We stumbled upon a storytime with Santa at the Ritz Carlton, while looking at the gingerbread display.

Not sure how this counts as a gingerbread display... but it was pretty amazing.  I liked the dogs on the surfboard.

James has a friend at school with Mexican heritage.  His mom unexpectedly invited us to a Posadas celebration and since we had nothing going on, I accepted.  This was definitely the highlight of the season for me.  Lots of food, traditional poncha (minus the rum), and traditional mexican music.  Ruth and James are pictured here holding candles during a song that asks the inn keeper to let Mary and Joseph inside.  At the end of the song, those waiting outside are invited inside and the celebration begins.  

The kids were then ushered into a line, shortest to tallest and were given a few swings at the pinata.  The adults all gathered around the kids and cheered and sang to them while they gave it a try.  When it finally burst open, it was like Halloween all over again, except with confetti and Mexican candy.  The kids loved it. We were there for three hours and the party was definitely far from over when we left.  I feel really grateful that we were included in the festivities.  What a treat that my kids got to have a cultural experience.

Gearing up for Christmas

We've been off on a zooming ride wth the festivities of the season.  This was our first of three visits with Santa (we just keep running into him everywhere!)  He is my favorite... Bishop Gibby, formerly in our ward and now in his 80s.  Though he doesn't live in the area anymore, he still comes every year for the kids.  

One of my friends had the crazy idea to gather a group of 4 year olds with their mommies to attend the nutcracker.  We found out that though they were on the young side, they still enjoyed themselves and left devoted to becoming future ballerinas.

Ruth and I had fun getting all dolled up for our date.  We got out our most sparkly accessories and even curled our hair!

Ruth's dance class presented a short Christmas presentation.  She is quite the ham at the dance studio; in fact, a completely bubbly persona comes out that you'd never know exists.

James at his Kindergarten music performance.  He looked this nervous the whole time.  I asked him why and he said, "because there were so many people!"

December in California

Last week I went through the yearly homesickness.  It always seems to happen around this time of year.  I miss the beautiful fall weather and colors of the eastcoast.  I miss the culture.  I also miss the excitement of the first snow.  California will likely always be my home, but I think that a chunk of my heart will always remain in Pennsylvania.  In the midst of all my longing, Joseph told me to wake up and appreciate living in such a nice place.  Considering the amount of people that are willing to pay a small fortune to live here, I admit that he is right.  I took a stroll yesterday through my yard and took a few pictures of what December looks like in California:

Pilot is looking a bit shaggy these days.  I think that if we grow the beard out a bit more, he could pass as Santa Clause.  This doggy face would probably gross out most people, but I think it's cute.

Ever slept 6 people in a hotel room?  We sure did!   I don't recommend it, especially when the baby throws up in the middle of the night.  Those are the moments when joseph and I promise each other that we will never travel with kids again!  (Yeah right)

Emmy on Thanksgiving Day.  I'm quite in love with this little person.  Ruth has nicknamed her "Em".  Whenever I hear that, I always think of my own sister, Emily.

The Wild Wild West

We traveled on Thanksgiving day from Phoenix to Tombstone for a quick experience of the wild Wild West.  Surpisingly, it really IS a different place:  if there is anywhere in America where cowboy life is alive and well, it would be here.  It is also in the middle of nowhere.  Our budding cowboy, James, keeps saying that he wants to live there when he grows up.  Really?!!

Tombstone was founded by a miner in the area who landed on silver. When he first began mining in the hills here, all the skeptics told him that he'd likely dig up his tombstone.... hence the name, Tombstone.  The funny thing about Tombstone is that there is a small fee for everything, including museums and historical sites.  After we paid the fee for the stagecoach, we were suprised to discover that they also expect tips!  All I had in my wallet was $1.00 and a $20.00 bill.  I don't think the driver was too happy with our meager offering.

The kids really enjoyed watching a staged shootout.  We chose a comical one and the kids thought it was hilarious.  Ruth cried everytime a gun shot and Emmy laughed.  It's funny to now have two girls with such different personalities.  

Our last stop was Boothill cemetery, which held lots of casualties from Indian raids as well as a handful of outlaws.  What I learned from our visit was that the Wild West really was wild.  I also learned that this would've been an aweful place to be a woman.