Vegas

We got back yesterday from a long-weekend trip to Las Vegas.  Our family always does the get up and leave at 4 am thing. The more time with sleeping kids the better!

Our trip to Vegas was really fun, but not what we had planned. Steven's parents are on a mission in Germany, so we haven't seen much of Steven's family. We planned the whole trip so that the girls could play with their cousins who they have been missing.

Well... sadly, right when the car was packed and we were getting ready to go, we found out that their cousins all had hand, foot, and mouth disease. Instead of hanging out with cousins, we did a lot with just our little family. The girls still had a blast. Aubrey really loved staying in "grandma and grandpa's really big house" when she was the only one there to run wild.

We visited the Las Vegas children's museum. The mini grocery store was by far the biggest hit. They are girls through and through.

After the children's museum, we decided to play tourists. We did the Bellagio fountains, walked around the strip, and visited the wildlife habitat in the Flamingo. And that... was enough of the strip for me. Too many crazy people.

With my mini-me. Aubrey loves my shorter hair because "we are twins."

We were excited to get to see Tyler and Katie, and hang out with Jason and Shanna. Even if the kids all couldn't be together, it was great to see the adults. Jason and Shanna were so good to the girls, and came swimming with us on Saturday.

We also spent Saturday getting family pictures. I'm just a little bit excited to see how those turned out. I'm becoming the crazy mom that makes everybody dress up and do family pictures all the time.

Cora and Royal (second cousins) also decided to see just how wet non swim diapers could get during an impromptu kiddie pool session.

We got to eat all the food we have been missing. I love the Bay Area, but my favorite restaurants are not here. Cafe Rio, Zupas, and Firehouse Subs were delicious. Oh, and Steven also enjoyed an all-you-can eat sushi lunch with his brother. I guess he is used to the fancy food eating at LinkedIn every day :)

The car trips even went really well. My girls are so good in the car, and so horrible on airplanes. I will always remember the flight when 18-month-old Aubrey chucked a cup of ice water all over the man in front of us. I will take a 9 hour car ride over a 2 hour flight any day.

We love to visit Las Vegas. It was weird to go and not spend the whole time with family, but we are excited for Christmas when Steven's whole family will be there.

Mother's Day Weekend

We had a fun mother's day weekend as a family. The girls had a great time coloring pictures for Grandma. Cora had less fun sitting still for the picture, but I did manage to get one shot of her both holding the sign and looking at the camera.

I'm so grateful to be a mom. When the days are hard (and as a young mom they are often hard) I just look at those sweet little girls when they are sleeping, and I am in awe that they are my daughters and I get to raise them. 

Motherhood is such an amazing gift. I also know that Mother's Day can be difficult for many. I remember in the months before I was able to get pregnant with Aubrey just aching to have a baby. I was pregnant but didn't know it four years ago on Mother's Day. I was sad that I was not a mother yet, but Steven made me feel so special and amazing that day. I hope all women can feel loved today. 

And... I'm so grateful for all the mother's in my life. Especially my mom. She is amazing. I could go on and on about how wonderful she is. I love you mom!

Our Saturday this weekend was busy. We got up early and drove to Vacaville for Aubrey's first bike race. She is such a tough, fun little girl. She was one of only three girls out of 60 kids, but she didn't let that stop her. She was most excited that she got a "gold necklace" (aka medal). She even took it to bed last night.

After the bike race, our whole group drove to the Jelly Belly factory and took the tour. The tour was right during nap time, but we kept them going with lots of jelly bean samples. The sugar rush got them through, and they all crashed on the drive home. What a fun day with friends. 

Jelly Belly certainly has some interesting flavors. Yuck.

Then today, my mothers day has really been delightful. I was treated to raspberry crepes and fresh picked flowers in bed this morning. I even had a little helper to eat them with me.

I got to take a nap, go on a walk, eat frozen yogurt, and have dinner made by Steven and the girls. Aubrey also sang a song during church with the primary. Since Aubrey has a late December birthday, she is the youngest kid in primary. She looked so little up there!

Here is also a picture of part of the mother's day card Aubrey made for me at church. I cracked up at, "She's not a superhero. She's just a mom." I guess I"m also raising another generation of clean freaks. I also have my mom to blame :) I love my girls.

Lately

 Life has just been moving along lately. In big news, Steven finished the rough draft of his book. All 15 chapters completed and it is even available for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

We don't really know exactly how long the editing process takes from here, but he is happy to be done with the bulk of the work. I really don't know how he did it. Months of waking up at 4:30 am... he is impressive. And tired...

Cora is getting over a stomach bug, so Steven was more than willing to sleep and cuddle with her until 9 am yesterday morning. My girls are sleep only in the crib types, so this was a rare treat for him.

It makes me sad to see Cora sick. She is normally such a loving, funny little girl. She gets comments on those beautiful eyes everywhere we go. And... I love the post-nap pigtails in this picture. One up, and one sicking straight out.

Aubrey is growing up so much. She has been very into wearing skirts/dresses only, doing her hair, and all things girly. She frequently tells me things like, "I bet all my friends will love my new dress." Oh dear.

Having two daughters is payback for all the hours my own mother spent braiding my hair. Aubrey loves little braids and wavy hair and convinces me to do it often.

But, along with that girly side, she is still wild and crazy and darn athletic. She can now swim across the pool and is doing her first bike race (on her balance bike) next weekend. Steven is so excited.

She also loves roller coasters and all rides. She is a screamer.

The weather has been so gorgeous and we have been spending our days outside.

And that... is life lately. Nothing too exciting going on around here. We (hope) this is our year to recover from the past few that have been just crazy. We are enjoying it. 

Easter

Our family had a wonderful Easter weekend. We feel blessed to celebrate our Savior and I love teaching my children about the real meaning of holidays and why we celebrate.

Aubrey is just grasping the concepts, but she can tell you all about Easter and I think it is adorable. On the way home from church she said, "When Jesus grow up, he got nails in his hands. Then they took a really big rock and they put it in front of the door. Mom... I saw it in a picture at Sunbeams. When they opened it, he wasn't in there! Mom, he was all gone! And now Jesus lives again." I love the sweetness and innocence of children.

Thursday night we decorated eggs, and other than Cora drinking (yes, drinking) the pink egg dye when we were not looking, things went smoothly. Then, yesterday we celebrated all the Easter bunny/candy part of Easter. We also milked the Easter bunny all week for good behavior. Steven even threatened to text the Easter bunny and tell him not to come when Aubrey wouldn't go to bed :)

The girls loved finding eggs and their baskets. The Easter bunny got them both new Saltwater sandals and bike helmets.

The only bad part about this weekend has been my jaw. When I was a senior in high school, my jaw locked shut. After a year of trying to open it, I had surgery, therapy, etc. Well... I woke up Saturday morning with it locked again. It has unlocked since then but it is still really tight. So, I am slightly freaking out about the possibility of going through all that again. I have spent the weekend eating smoothies and oatmeal.

Anyways... the rest of Saturday was spent at the ward egg hunt, playing in the backyard, swimming, and going out for dinner. Aubrey declared yesterday "The most awesomest day ever."

Today, we gave the girls their matching Easter dresses, took some quick pictures before 9 am church, went to church, and now it is lovely nap time. I love having little girls that I can doll up in matching dresses.

The rest of our day will be spent at a bbq with a bunch of friends. I always miss my family on big holidays, but we are so grateful to have good friends.

Happy Easter!

Phone

 Steven and I recently got new phones. I am admittedly a late adopter of technology. We all have our "things" that we like to spend money on (clothes.... kids.... travel... entertainment are a few of mine) but I really don't care about having the latest fancy gadget.

So, my poor tech-loving husband spent a long time trying to convince me it was time to upgrade. And, while most of it doesn't matter to me, I love the new phone camera. Now, when I take pictures with my phone you can actually tell who is in the picture. So, here are some recent highlights from my new camera phone:

I mentioned before about how Cora is constantly putting things in her mouth. Last week, I decided to battle the rainy day with finger-paint, and discovered that yes, she really will try to eat anything.

The long-awaited day of Great America's grand opening finally came. The first 2500 people through the gates got a souvenir cup good for free refills all season. We don't even really drink soda, but I wanted one of those cups! Steven thought I was crazy. Well... we were there a half-hour before the park even opened on a rainy Saturday and we still didn't get one. Some people are even crazier. We did have a great time anyways. Aubrey even convinced Steven to ride the log ride twice in the rain. That is love.

Cora and Aubrey are becoming great little friends. And typical siblings. Cora loves to tease Aubrey, and at times Aubrey just tolerates Cora, but you can tell they really love each other. Cora pretty much thinks Aubrey is the greatest thing in the world, and I love the look on her face in this picture that proves it.

We spent the morning today at the Palo Alto Children's Museum and Zoo with my friend Stephanie. She is moving in three weeks. Boo. Seriously, every time I make a good friend, they move away!

 This little museum is a great way to spend a morning. Cora spent a good ten minutes staring at the bunnies, and surprisingly Aubrey's favorite part was learning about all the bugs and insects.

This last picture makes me laugh. They love anything that is dress-up.

Interview

Three-year-olds can be quite funny, and I love watching the way Aubrey's little mind works to figure out the world around her. Here is a little "interview" I gave to Aubrey yesterday. She makes me laugh everyday.

Paige: What is your name?
Aubrey: The McDonald's girl.
Paige: Ok? What is your real name?
Aubrey: Cinderella
Paige: How about your real name?
Aubrey: *sigh* I guess Aubrey.

Paige: How old are you?
Aubrey: I'm free (aka three)

Paige: What is you favorite activity?
Aubrey: Family Home Evening (I suspect the "treat" part is why.)

Paige: What is your favorite book?
Aubrey: The princess book from Costco ( I concur. That book comes with a button and If I have to hear that song one more time...)

Paige: What is your favorite song?
Aubrey: "Let it Go" (I along with every other parent can sing 'Let It Go' in my sleep.)

Paige: What does Daddy do at work?
Aubrey: Um... He writes his book. And eats treats.

Paige: What do you want for your birthday?
Aubrey: Oh! I want a tiny little box for underwear and I want a big box with toys. (Okay?)

Paige: What is your favorite place to go?
Aubrey: Great America! (It opens this weekend and she has been asking to go daily for months.)

Paige: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Aubrey: A mommy like you because I love you. (I like this answer.)

Paige: Who is your favorite person?
Aubrey: A ghost.... or Cora.

Paige: What is your favorite toy?
Aubrey: My tiny pink cake that I lost at Faith's house.

Paige: What makes you happy?
Aubrey: Mom gives me lots of hugs and dad gives me hugs before he goes to work.

Paige: What scares you?
Aubrey: The real monsters that you showed me and... (launches into some very long story about monsters.)

Paige: When you get sick what makes you feel better?
Aubrey: I throw up in the bowl and in the hallway two weeks ago.
Paige: And what makes you feel better?
Aubrey: I get lots and lots of shows.

Paige: Do you like sharing a room with Cora?
Aubrey: Yes, I love her. I jump on her and she laughs. (ugh... this part is true. She keeps climbing into Cora's crib at bedtime.)

And that... is a look into the mind of my spunky, funny, sweet three-year-old. I'm lucky to be her mom.

Grandma

After my dad left last week, we have had this whole week to hang out with my mom, and it was great. The past four times she has visited (morning sickness, NICU, moving, broken leg), she has been helping us deal with some major event. It was so nice to just have fun without something going on.

We went shopping, got my yard/garden all ready for spring, went to swimming and gymnastics, lots of bike rides, Steven and I went to the temple, cleaned the cars/house, ate lots of yummy food, went to the beach, and just hung out.

We didn't see much of Steven, but that was the plan. He worked hard and now only has 4/15 chapters left to write on his book.

We had so much fun, but we were not great at taking pictures. The only pictures we took were of when we went to the beach. Ahh... I love the beach. I'm glad that my girls love it too. Cora, especially, is an outdoor beach baby. That girl would spend all day outside if we let her. She is like a little puppy and hangs out by the back door waiting for me to let her go play.

 We have tried many beaches, but right now we are loving Capitola beach. You can park right on the beach, the town is full of the cutest beach houses, and it isn't very crowded.

 Thanks for coming Grandma! We will all miss you a ton....