CAL-I-FORN-I-A

What a wonderful vacation! It was so refreshing to go home to San Diego & see the old familiars (scenery, family, friends, Dog Rex). Ah, I miss it there & would move back in a heart beat! I took for granted the beach & fabulous year-round weather b/c growing up there, it was all I knew. I thought a lot of the rest of the nation had fantastic weather... I never experienced the chaning seasons until I moved to beautiful Utah. But I'm lucky to have the best of both worlds! It's worth living here & being married to such a fantastic, amazing person. When I married Tyler, Utah was apart of that package ;o)

Our long anticipated trip to CA & Disneyland went by way too fast! Despite the illness we all encountered while we were there, we really enjoyed the trip & are still grateful to have had the chance to go. The day before we left to CA, Caroline got a 12 hour stomach flu. On the 2nd day of our trip, I got the flu. Preston then had his little episode of the flu on our 2nd day at Disneyland (of all places)! Then Tyler got the flu after that. Luckily we had A ton of fun that made up for all the illness.

Disneyland was a Blast, my aunt's wedding was beautiful & when it was all over I was really sad to have to leave :( Here are some moments of our trip!

My parents Grandpa Bryan & Grandma Jodi joined us at Disneyland!!

We were loving the way Preston & Caroline interacted with Mickey Mouse.

I love how Preston has his hand on Mickey's face.

These are the 3D glasses for the Toy Story Mania ride. That is THE coolest ride ever!!

Watching the Pixar Parade at California Adventure.

On the 2nd day Preston did a lovely throw-up number at lunch time while there were lots of other sitting near eating their lunch. Poor guy ended up sleeping in the stroller for about 4 hours. When he woke up he was fine & wanted to go to Toon Town. What a bummer for a kid to get sick at Disneyland. By the look on his face you would never know he was sick that day!
Ah, it was a blast. Tyler & I felt like kids again & thankfully my parents helped a lot so we could go on some big rides. Tyler's sister Tami & her kids joined us for the 2nd day & it was nice to share that time with them as well. Even after spending 2 days there, we still didn't cover everything we wanted.

After Disneyland we were all crazy getting ready for Aunt Julie's Wedding. It was at La Jolla Beach & my Mom did all the decorations for it. She did such an amazing job & the ceremony was beautiful. It was a big celebration as it was her 1st marriage! My Uncle Rod escorted her & gave her away.
Julie married Norihiko Nakajima who is from Japan. They are so adorable. During the vows my aunt Julie said to him, "I love you Norihiko Nakajima, you nocka me out". Anyone who knows my aunt knows that she is always cracking some joke or funny line. Love Her!!!


I miss this humidity! Even though my hair went flat in 2 seconds of being outside I love what overcast can do for a family picture at the beach ;o)

Heavenly Father, THANK YOU!

I need to give a shout out to the Big Padre... We have been so blessed by His love & support that I feel the need to write this down so I can look back & remember. Tyler & I have been planning/saving-up 4 months for a trip to San Digo for 2 reasons:

1.My Aunt Julie's Wedding (It's a BIG deal, she's in her 50's & getting married for the 1st time! We're SO excited!!)
2. DISNEYLAND!!!!!!!!!!

Disneyland is known for being the happiest place on earth, which is true. Tyler & I always feel like little kids when we're there, but it is also the most expensive place on earth. We're going to Disneyland for 2 days & have been anxiously planning this for our kids. All summer long I've asked Preston, "What would you like to do today?" His reply "I want to go to Disneywand!" lol! He can hardly wait.

Well, at the beginning of Summer we decided we needed to budget for our upcoming trip since it would be around the time of our annual Halloween party & then the holidays. I prayed & told Heavenly Father our plans & asked that he would help us figure out a way to come up with the money for our trip without having to dip into our personal account. I felt peace & excitement! I didn't know how He would help us, but I KNEW He would. He gave me that clarity & peace of mind.

I was given through inspiration that there was something I was going to do that would allow me to come up with the money. I'm a hairstylist so I thouhgt, Maybe I'll get more clients & come up with the money that way??? Yes, that did happen but that was not all. I was cleaning one morning & a thought came to me, "you could do glitter toes". I stopped what I was doing, did some research online, & found out that I was licensed to do glitter toes! So I bought all the materials, taught myself how to do them & used a ginny-pig to make sure I was doing it correctly... thanks Kattie ;o)

Well a few nights ago Tyler & I figured out an exact budget of what our trip would cost us (gas, food, Disneyland, shopping). I then proceeded to count the cash I had come up with doing hair & glitter toes this summer & to my astonishment we were $10 over the amount we had budgeted! I instatnly realized that Heavenly Father answered my prayers & He totally helped us out. Wow, Im not a fan of repetitive Christian music, but "Our God is an Awesome God... Our God is an Awesome God"...

THANK U, THANK U to all my wonderful friends & family who had glitter toe parties & came to me to have their hair done. You were all apart of His helping hand & I'm truly grateful to you aswell.

Friends Forever

When Preston isn't teasing Caroline to death, she REALLY loves him. And when Caroline isn't screaming at Preston for being in "her space" he really enjoys her company. Preston always loves his sister though, regardless. I've never seen a big brother treat a little sister so sweetly. They get along most of the time. I love the days that Caroline follows Preston everywhere around the house as they play so well together. I've captured some darling pictures of them recently & I must add that none of these were staged (minus the 1st one). They climbed in the basket together & in the last pictures, Caroline inched herself next to Preston as close as she posibbly could while they enjoyed their apples.

Ah! I just LOVE you Preston & Caroline! As you grow, I hope you will continue to be the best of friends.

Preston's 1st Day of Preschool

Cutest Boy in the WORLD! Preston Loves school, he loves his teacher & he loves all the social interaction. He looks forward to school every week. Every time I pick him up I ask "So what did you do today!?" And he says, "I don't know". Or I ask him, "What are your friend's names?" And it's the same,"I don't know". Then a few hours later in a conversation with someone else, he excitedly explains details of school and all his friend's. So I've stopped asking him Right when I pick him up, rather I ask him during dinner or at bedtime. He's an open book during those one-on-one moments. He's JUST like his Dad! ...which is a very good thing, of course ;o)

With Preston at school, Caroline & Mommy like to run errands together or stay home & just veg. This is exactly how you'll find her most mornings, all snuggled up on the couch & watching her morning cartoons. Little peanut!

Preston's Sweet Spot

My kids are little sneakers, always getting into things they're not supposed to. They manage to figure out every child proof system in our house. Preston pushes stools & chairs around everywhere. Well, he has a corner that he likes to hide in once he scores a treat or snack. I often find Caroline nestled by his side in his "sweet spot" (as we like to call that particular corner). I'll find them both hiding there behind the couch & end table. It's the silence followed by the crinkling sound of a wrapper that gives them away... as well as the abandoned chair still hanging out in my pantry. The one nice thing about all this is that Preston always shares whatever jackpot he finds with his sister. Last week, they broke in the pantry & shared 3/4 of a king size symphony bar! Caroline had chocolate smeared from ear to ear. I tell him, "Just Ask! And I will say Yes!" It's not like I don't give my kids treats. They get them everyday, believe me... we use all kinds of bribery in our house to get Preston to eat his dinner. My children are definately not deprived of sweets b/c Dad & Mom both have a sweet tooth so there's always something sweet in our pantry & the little buggers know it!

Well, I was looking through my library of pictures & came across these photos that I took earlier this summer. I chuckled to myself when I realized these photos. It's really quite funny that I have a picture of both of them being naughty. I most definately need a picture of them in their little corner ;o)

I snuck behind him & yelled "Hey!" as I took this picture ;o) Caught ya' red handed Boy!

If there's dirt around, you can be darn sure to find Caroline playing in it! This plant is now outside.