California Spring Break 2013

OK, I know.  I'm behind again.  We have had a few trips and visitors so I am hoping to get caught up to now very soon.  And, I got a new laptop for my birthday and Ash's condition on giving it to me was that I had to blog more.  :)  Yay for first blog from the laptop!  The first laptop I have ever owned.  I'm so behind!!

On to more exciting things....

We road tripped to northern California for spring break at the end of March.  We were able to visit my old Lawrence friends, Leigh Ann and Nate and their daughter Emerson in Sacramento.  Had a lot of fun with them catching up and letting the kids play.  Sacramento also has an awesome railroad museum.  I think Ash and I thought it was cooler than the kids did!

Emmie's little trampoline was quite the hit!  Yes, they are in their pajamas outside first thing in the morning.

Ash geeking out at the California Railroad Museum.

The kids were bored by the time Ash saw everything he wanted to at the museum.  Ha!

From Sacramento we went to St. Helena to stay with Ash's aunt Deb, uncle Bob and cousin Anthony.  The kids LOVED running around their property.  Harper learned within the first hour we were there that you can't walk on lily pads on a koi pond.  Helena learned that it is always spring in California, leading her to proclaim that we need to move there.  Deb was kind enough to watch the kids for us one day so Ash and I could spend the day wine tasting.  Ash's cousin Lisa set us up on the most amazing tours / tastings.  So fun to have a day to ourselves.

Harper restraining himself from throwing the giant rocks in the pond.

Me at the vineyard that I will forever remember for having the most generous pours ever.  :)

Easter Eggs with Aunt Deb.

 From St. Helena we did a little day trip to Point Reyes National Seashore.  Such a beautiful place.  It was foggy when we were there, but still very lush, beautiful and fun.  We stopped and did a couple of hikes and hung out on the beach.  We even saw an elephant seal beach with over 300 elephant seals on it!  Definitely worth a stop if you're in the area.

Harper showing us which way to go on our hike.

From there we crashed at our college friend's place in San Francisco.  Phil, Dana and little Layla were excellent hosts.  We grilled, watched basketball, went to the zoo, rode the bus and the train all around the city (the kids' favorite part of the trip) and spent a day at Fisherman's Wharf.  Harper discovered a love of eating crab, Helena discovered she didn't really like accidentally picking up a crab on the beach.

The view from Phil and Dana's house.  Fun to see the bay and the fog roll in at different times.

Checking out the wares...

Ash ate an obscene amount of crab...

Helena ate an obscene amount of sourdough...

Family picture!!

Helena & Layla - Matching Target sweaters!! :)

The kids loved the 'gold man' street performer.

Harper fell asleep on the train...pretty funny. We did three transfers and he never woke up.

Thanks again to our wonderful friends and family for hosting us and making our spring break totally awesome.  Love, love, love me some California.  We'll be back.

-Emily :)

Easter 2013

Happy Easter everyone!  Just got back from a California spring break trip on Saturday night so Easter was a little subdued around here (think meals from the freezer / car and pajamas for the adults all day!)  Thankfully the Easter bunny remembered to organize the baskets before the trip!

I did make the kids dress up and hunt eggs in the backyard. :)  Enjoy the pics!

-Emily :)

Such a good little picture taker. :)

Itching to hunt eggs...

OK, that's enough...can we go yet?

Cheese!

Show us your baskets!

No, show us your face....then defiance about showing the face.

OK fine...one last decent one.

So exciting!

Displaying the one egg his sister let him find. :( Poor kid, it'll be better next year.

Ski Day Sunday

All geared up and on the slope.

We took Helena out for her first day of ski school last Sunday.  It was extremely busy since we haven't had much snow and the 27" on a weekend definitely drew the crowds.  We actually had to park a mile away from the resort on the road and hike uphill to the resort.  This leads to tired legs...and more drama later. :)

But first, the fun part.  Here's Helena 'skiing'.  We were pretty far away so the pic my phone took is a bit grainy.  She did well for her first time...there were scared noises coming out of her and some tears, but that was to be expected. :)  She was excited after it was all over so that's what counts.

Snowplowing down the bunny hill

 Ash and I had a great time enjoying the new snow.  It was a BEAUTIFUL bluebird day.

Snowy, snowy tree.

Glistening snow and clouds from the top of the mountain.  Breathtaking.

So then the beautiful, magical, busy ski day took a turn for the worse.  I walked back a mile in my ski gear to get our car to pick up Ash & Helena and....it. wasn't. there.  Which is a weird feeling, you know, when your car isn't where you left it.  You feel crazy.  Stupid.  Confused.  And when you call your husband to tell him the car isn't there he also tells you you are crazy, stupid, confused.  But, the car was gone.  For real.  Stolen? Towed?  No idea.  From what I could tell we hadn't parked in a no parking zone.  So, me and my gear hiked BACK UP THE MOUNTAIN a mile, almost in tears, to see WTF was going on.

Turns out our car was towed for being 'improperly parked'.  We didn't receive a ticket from the police, not even a warning and when we went to retrieve our car the next day (you know, because the towing place was CLOSED when we initially figured our where our car was), it was at a 'business' that can only be described as a crack house with a fence around it.

So, without ranting too much more, let's just say I wouldn't financially recommend getting your car towed from the top of a mountain.  Or having to take a cab to your friend's house from the top of a mountain.

And speaking of our friends-- a big THANK YOU AGAIN to Jolena and Nate who not only watched Harper for us that day, but also fed us when we finally got to their house, and drove us 30 minutes to our house from their house and let us borrow their extra car seat so we could safely drive with the kids the next day.  (Yep, both car seats were in said towed car.)

And, if you see Ash in the next few months, do yourself a favor and don't ask about the towing.  He's irate.  In a lawsuit type of way.  So expect to get an earful if you want the full story.

- Emily :)

Christmas Eve 2011

Our first of many Christmas events is always Christmas Eve at my Grandma Millie's.  We eat shrimp and pie and open presents.  This year it was so warm we even got in a walk around the lake!

Great Grandma Millie and Great Grandpa Bill with Harper, Kane, Helena & Ellie.

A family gathering isn't complete until Uncle Justin gives horsey rides.

The girls showing off their purses.

Ash & Jess snacking and drinking before dinner.

My dad's main job: fry shrimp.

My grandma ruining a perfectly good pan of jello. ;)

And then there was this:

It started when Jess decided it would be funny to have the kids 'smell' the pies and pushed their faces in it a little bit.  But then Ellie got really upset when it was her 'turn' and Jess felt bad and said, "look, I'll do it too."  And that's when Justin and I went in for the kill -- he pushing her face full force into the pie and me giving her a wet willy of whipped cream.  It was an opportunity we just couldn't pass up.

Jess took it in good humor, but then after Ash & Justin made a liquor store run, Jessica got her revenge on Justin.  And Evan got it all on 'tape'.

https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?v=749939728072&set=vb.46103297&type=2&theater

She got him good.  It was hilarious.  I'm still not sure how I escaped.

-Emily :)

The Princess and the Golfer

Happy Halloween everyone!

We had a fun weekend of friend/school parties/pumpkin carving and trick-or-treating/parades today. 

Helena was scared to dress up because she thought that people wouldn't know who she was.  Seriously.  There was actual crying about this.  I reassured her that her costume wasn't that good.  I'm not sure if she gets my humor sometimes.  I remember when I was five, I thought the same thing about my mom painting my face blue to complete my Smurfette costume. Then I was peeved nobody knew who I was....just a girl in a white dress.

Here's our Princess Presto from Super Why.  Go Spelling Power!


With Dad as Buzz Lightyear.

Getting ready to trick or treat!

Harper killed it as a golfer. Although I felt bad because after wearing this, he now definitely knows the word "itchy" and what it means. :)  He caught onto trick-or-treating FAST.  Saying, "TREAT TREAT!" and "Thank you!" and "Bye!" almost every time!  Bonus of the allergy issue, mom and dad immediately pocketed all peanuty items...you know, for safety.

-Emily :)

Red Rock Country - Part 2

We ventured down to Southern Utah right before Easter.  Here's part 2 of my trip report. :)

We visited Zion National Park (our 2nd time there) and Bryce Canyon National Park with the kiddos.  It was a tad ambitious, we were a bit rushed and got home later than we wanted to.  But, it was incredible scenery and the kids were really good considering we spent most of the day in and out of the car.  I've got to say that there isn't much more I'd rather do than visit a National Park.  I'm a total nature nerd.  I can't wait until the kids are older and we can take them on some serious adventuring!

Waterfall we hiked to in Zion National Park.  Gorgeous.

Helena on Ash's back hiking in Zion.  One of her less whinier moments.

Wearing Harper wearing his ranger hat.  Kid is about to outgrow the front pack!

Beautiful view.  River is rockin'!

Hoodoos at Bryce Canyon National Park.  Probably the coolest geological thing I've ever seen.

 

Off into the distance near Sunset Point.

These pictures do not adequately portray how awesome this was.

And finally, we weren't able to stop here because the kids were napping...but, I'm not going to miss it next time.

Diner advertising they are the "Home of the Ho-Made Pies".  Tres risque for Southern Utah.  And, hilarious.

-Emily :)