Beach

We were able to spend our Memorial Day at the beach. Love the beach.

And we realized after we got home that we spent last Memorial Day at the beach. A lot has changed in a year!

Aubrey has a lot more hair for one thing. I almost forgot she was such a little bald baby.

She will seriously sit and play in the sand for HOURS. I really have never seen another kid love sand like she does.

I never thought I would get to this point, but California now feels like home. If only it were not so darn expensive we would probably stay here forever. We have a good life here.

And, this has nothing to do with the beach, but my old roommate Heather came to visit today! She was in town and stopped by. Aubrey loved her and I loved catching up. Has it really been six years since we were roomies at BYU? I'm starting to feel old.

A Day in the Life

I get to hang out with this cutie all day:

She is sweet, generous, and tons of fun.

She is also mischievous, sassy, and way too clever for her own good. 

I don't want to forget any of these crazy, fun-filled, tantrum-filled days. So to help me remember, here is a typical "day in the life" at our house, with today as a snapshot. 

6:30-7:00: Dragged myself out of bed, and got started on "morning chores." 2 loads of laundry, unloaded the dishwasher, cleaned up the apartment, ate a bowl of granola. Chatted with Steven as he got ready for work.

7:45: Steven left on his bike to work, and I hear miss Aubrey waking up in her crib. Breakfast for Aubrey. She (sadly, unlike her mother) is NOT a morning person. She wakes up and is little miss grumpy until she has a full belly.

8:15: Strap a very unwilling Aubrey into the stroller and go for a run. Run by the park. Aubrey and I make some new friends, climb, and go down the slide over and over. 

Then I bring out the bucket and shovel and she plops herself down in the sand for a good hour. I wipe down the stroller, help build a few sand castles, and fill out my California Primary election voter card that I have been ignoring for the past few weeks. 

10:00: Run home. Fold laundry. Attempt to take a shower. Aubrey freaks out and so she comes in the shower too. I have yet to find a way to shower without her sleeping or Steven home. *sigh* Aubrey "helps" me with my make-up.

11:30: Lunchtime: Strawberries, and leftover meatball subs. We read some books. Aubrey picks out Dilbert. Steven will be so proud :)

12:00-2:15: Naptime! Whahoo. While she naps, I finish the laundry, pay some bills (so exciting), update our accounting, make a shopping list, and waste time on Pinterest and Babycenter (my guilty pleasure). 

3:00: Meet some friends at the pool. I bemoan my super sun-burned shoulders from Tuesday's pool day (does anybody else slather their kid with sunscreen like crazy and completely forget about themselves?) and try to keep Aubrey from drowning. I also get to hang out and chat. Love this part about being a mom!

5:00: Home to change. Aubrey walks around in my high-heels yelling "shoes, shoes." She is truly a girl.

6:00: Steven is HOME. We decide to go the Chipotle for dinner. This part is not typical. I love to cook and so we rarely eat out, but the cupboards were looking pretty empty...

7:00: Due to empty cupboards, we go grocery shopping at Target and Fresh & Easy. I LOVE shopping with Steven around to help. 

8:00: Aubrey goes to bed and falls asleep in about 10 seconds. I've been very blessed with a good little sleeper.

9:00: And now, I will finish up the blog, probably watch an episode of Lost with Steven (our third attempt at watching the series.... haven't figured out why everybody thinks it is so amazing yet...), catch up on our day together, and go to bed!

That is a day in our crazy life. Every day is different, but they are definitely busy. I love it and am so grateful for my little family.

LA Again

We have spent the past week with my family. First, my parents and brother came to visit us in good ole' Santa Clara. We had lots of fun:

One of my favorite activities was visiting Alcatraz. All of the pictures are on my brothers phone, but that was a really cool place. I definitely recommend it, even though I felt kind of spooky the whole time. But, don't worry. We finished off our SF trip on a lighter note with $9 ice cream sundaes from Ghirardelli's. Best ice cream EVER.

We all then made the trek down here to LA (where Aubrey and I still are) for little Zachary's blessing day:

Not all were happy about taking family photos. 

But, it is good to document us all being together, because it doesn't happen enough!

I read a quote the other day that said, "if I could apparate, my life would be so much easier and cheaper." 

I totally agree. Just our immediate families live in Vancouver, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Salt Lake, Provo, Calgary, and Portland(soon to be Indiana). I think both sets of parents should invest in an airline!