Friday, December 25, 2009

Snow

12/21 - the Rim in Payson

Didn't think we'd be seeing snow in AZ...
hence Owen's shorts and my flip flops.

My feet have never been so cold!

Falling snow is so pretty...and such a rare thing for us.
12/22 - Sally's first snowfall

Merry Christmas!

Friday, December 18, 2009

I Collect Stars and Kids

Last year I put this ornament in my cart at Target.
When loading up my car I realized it never made it onto the little checkout conveyor belt.
So I put it in my glove compartment to pay for at my next Target trip.
A year later (that would be 3 days ago) I remembered to take it back.
Didn't show up in their computer anymore so they just gave it to me.
And that's how I got a free $1.99 ornament from Target.

This is the Target star I bought this year. And love. Been filling our tree w/stars our whole marriage.

And this is a cute picture.

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

When in Monterey, Get a Monterey Pine

12/5

Mostly because they are the cheapest ones on the mountain.

But also, they smell good and barely shed.

Which I'm sure any freshly cut tree would do.

But I wouldn't know cause
this was my first time cutting one down...ever!

I loved it.

And by loved it, I mean I loved taking pictures of it.
Collage for Nichole

Justin had mandatory study hall Saturday
so we got help cutting/transporting the tree from friends.


12/7

We love our hairy, awkward tree.

Saturday, December 05, 2009

They Ate their Veggies for This

Pacific Grove Christmas Parade - 12/3

Seriously this is a big deal...Drew ate broccoli, cauliflower, AND mushrooms without crying to go see Santa.

Owen cried (over one little piece of mushroom), but he still ate it.

I need to find a Santa to see every night.

Thursday, December 03, 2009

Redone

My $10 bench from Craig's List got a new paint job.


And it converts to a desk.

My $20 Craig's List dresser also got redone.

They both look fabulous from far away in dim lighting.
My painting skills are not the best.

But it's about time these got done!
They've been sitting in my garage for 3 months.
I was touching up the bench/desk in Sally's room
the night before my family got here.
Apparently I need deadlines.

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Mini Tree Decorating




They loaded up the tree
Justin used last time he was in Iraq.
And took their work very seriously.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Thanksgiving Weekend

Not even gonna try to edit myself with pictures here...my family came for Thanksgiving weekend and it was the best.

Started at the aquarium.
Those are sand dollars. One of my favorite exhibits.

Snack time and ocean viewing on the deck.

Jason didn't get enough at snack time...

Then Karen's boys really wanted to visit Dennis the Menace Park after Cole talked it up. It IS an awesome park, though!
I'm pretty sure Owen had never heard the word, "hike" until that day. He had fun learning football from Briant.

Nice water bottle pillow, Jason.

At least they're not picking their own noses...

Kids stayed behind so we could go party on the Wharf with some clam chowder.
I'd like to thank Dad for taking his wig off for the picture. If you must see the wig, visit Karen's blog. I can't give it anymore publicity than it got that night.

On to Thanksgiving...
We ate at Lover's Point. Dad went down early and cooked the turkey in his special turkey cooker he rigged up last year.

Chad & Cherisse's family joined us...

and so did our friends from here the Eady's.

Other Thanksgiving faces:

Cash is Sally's newest friend (he's Ashley's (Derek's girlfriend) son).








Sally loves babies, especially real ones.

Cash, Sally, and Gwen at Lover's Point.

Now here the ball saga begins. Owen's ball got stuck in a real high tree (Dad). At least 3 more got stuck multiple times while all the guys were trying to get that first one down. You'd think they'd learn. Literally HOURS were spent trying to get these balls down. We had all sorts of spectators and people trying to help...so funny.

Still waiting for them to figure out how to get those balls down...

Friday started w/Sally wanting every bow we own in her hair.

This is what happens when Jared gets you for Christmas.
The results of his Black Friday shopping. Lucky me!

We had big plans for Friday but the weather was bad...cold/windy/rainy.
We braved Earthbound Farms anyway.



Then Dad & Jared went to Home Depot and got PVC pipe to get the balls down. Got Chad's football but Jared's baseball and Dad's rope/lock (lasso) are still up there for some lucky finder.

During round 2 of ball retrieving we tide pooled there at Lover's Point.
Everyone collected 10 sea stars and put them all together so they could be friends.


All the guys brought up mountain bikes and went exploring any free moment. Here they are on their way to do the 17-mile drive in Pebble Beach.

We were smart and drove it. Why had I never done this until then? It was amazing! Right up there with Point Lobos. The wind made the waves crazy...watching them was like a show.

Karen got stuck w/all the little boys who weren't really into the drive and all the stops our car wanted to make. But we (Mom, Cole, Sally, and I) just enjoyed our little selves during our beautiful drive listening to Christmas music.


This is the lone cypress, the logo for Pebble Beach:

That night was a first for the boys of my family. Justin had never been to a skating rink before!

But he was doing good...way better than me who has been before. Jared (way back there) skated like he's worked there all his life.

Drew loved it.

So did Owen but he could only handle so much falling. Notice he's the only one w/out skates. He just wanted to enjoy his treasure...vampire teeth. They've been wanting some ever since seeing the Max & Ruby Halloween episode.

Last day....Saturday! :( It was good, though. We went up to Nisene Marks in Aptos (thanks to Rochel's tip when I was searching for good off-road mountain biking trails through Redwoods). Jared & Jason couldn't even contain themselves when we got there. As soon as the bikes were unloaded they were off. I even went down one little hill on Cole's bike and it was so fun!

Anyway, here we are enjoying the Redwoods.


A banana slug...gross.




We LOVED having everyone here. It really was the best weekend. Thank you for coming!!!