Kenneth-Amy-Danny-Emily

2011 Book List

2012-01-02T19:02:00.000-08:00

I love to read. I have always been a reader. In 1st grade I always won the monthly reading challenge - and typically read about 4 or 5x more books than the other kids. When I was in the 6th grade, I remember hiding a book under my desk and would read during lessons. I was also the kid who, when my dad "made" us read for half and hour, I was thrilled whereas some of my siblings complained. As I've gotten older, I sometimes don't read as much as I would like to. One of my goals this new year is to read more! More books overall, and also to increase the diversity of my reading. For my own information - here is the list of books I read in 2011:

1. Hunger Games

2. Catching Fire

3. Mocking Jay

4. Mistborn

5. Well of Ascension

6. Hero of Ages

7. The Lost Symbol

8. Uglies

9. Graceling

10. Pretties

11. Elantris

12. Specials

13. Pride & Prejudice

14. Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone

15. Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets

16. Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban

17. Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire

18. Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix

19. Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince

20. Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows

21. The Secret Garden

22. The Ropemaker

23. Man's Search For Meaning

24. The Bronze Bow

25. Survival in Aushwitz

26. The Alchemist

Apple Valley Climbing

2011-12-20T13:38:00.000-08:00

On December 10th we decided to check out a new climbing area called Apple Valley. It took us an extra 20 minutes than usually because we missed the main turn off - and had to figure out our way through dirt roads. We got to the parking area and hiked up about 20 minutes or so. The kids had fun on the way up as the usually do. Danny is a big fan of hiking.

Here is Danny picking up - what he tells us is a stick - turns out it is a dried piece of poo

The climbing ended up not being the best. I'm not a fan of the rock here (as in the texture) plus the rock was cold, which always makes climbing difficult. Add to this the fact that the kids were crying their eyes out...well, we left after only 1 climb. Sad...

Here is a picture of Emily (who was crying the most)...she had been playing on her tummy on a blanket, and she rolled off, and was playing in the dirt and crying. Her face was covered in small rocks, dirt and grass. She started crying again after I pulled off the main piece of grass seen below...apparently she had become attached to it.

Well, the trip wasn't very successful, but I am glad to went somewhere new all the same. I always love seeing new areas and climbing new rock for a new feel and view. Hopefully our next trip will be more successful!

Meeting Santa...

2011-12-13T07:48:00.000-08:00

We had a Christmas party at church the first weekend in December and guess who showed up...SANTA CLAUS!! Danny wasn't sure what to think at first. We finally got up to see him, and Danny hesitated for just a moment, but was fine once on Santa's lap. Emily did well too...no crying! We was enthralled by Santa and Santa's elf. Danny has been excitedly talking about Santa Claus ever since!

Thanksgiving Weekend

2011-12-11T16:39:00.000-08:00

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving in Southern California. We've been traveling a lot this past summer and whatnot, and decided to just stay home this year. My brother and his family were going to come down to visit us, but got sick just days before and decided to stay home. So Kenneth and I celebrated our Thanksgiving by ourselves. It was sad at some times, but great at others!

We spent Thanksgiving morning rockclimbing at our local Riverside Quarry. Afterwards we came home to our little Thanksgiving dinner: ham, mashed potatoes, salad, asparagus and stuffing.

It was delicious! Afterwards, while the kids took their naps, I headed to Michaels to do some shopping. I was a little worried about the whole "Black Friday" craziness...but it was very anti-climatic. Apparently most people don't ask for craft supplies for Christmas :)

The day after Thanksgiving we went on a short hike - make that walk - to a place called Big Falls.

While walking up some stairs to this final look-out spot, Danny tripped and bit his lip wide open. Sad day! Talk about a lot of blood...

Danny was also excited to see the snow up there. He has a slight obsession with ice, and was happy to eat some (clean) snow. It also helped with his swollen lip.

After our hike we did a quick climb or two up the same general canyon. I kind of got concerned when the first climb we did was covered with wasps...YIKES! Needless to say I stopped after that, and Kenneth did a second climb.

The following day (Saturday) we decided to head to the beach for some fun in the sun! Only here can you play in the snow one day, and get sunburned at the beach the next! It is fabulous! We took a couple of family photos before changing into swimsuits and enjoying the water.

After the beach we headed to Malibu Creek State Park. We hiked in a ways and I was very happy to finally see some fall leaves! It was beautiful up there. We did 1 climb and then had to head back because it was already getting dark. It was a lot of fun, unfortunately we didn't get any pictures though.

Thanksgiving weekend was wonderful despite missing our family. I am so grateful for all my many blessings. I am blessed with a wonderful husband who has a good job which allows me to stay home with our two adorable kids. I'm thankful for all of our family and friends and for our home. I hope everyone else had a wonderful Thanksgiving too!

Halloween - obviously late...

2011-11-30T17:34:00.000-08:00

I realize that Halloween was awhile ago now, but I never posted pictures - and grandparents requested them. So, here you go! Kenneth was Robin Hood, I was a cat, Danny a construction worker (he LOVES tractors - see post below) and Emily was a bee.

Cute Kid Pictures

2011-11-28T10:45:00.000-08:00

Here are some random cute pictures of the kids:

Snuggling

Danny trying on my boots

There is a big tractor in the back of our apartment complex and Danny LOVES it! Daddy took him out to drive it one day.

I saw one day that Danny had put his baby in the jumper and was making him jump and swing. It was so cute!

And lastly some cute pictures of Emily!

Vegas

2011-11-28T09:23:00.000-08:00

Back in early October we headed to Vegas for a 3 day weekend. It just so happened that my brother Michael, sis-in-law Kim and nephew Jonathan were going there as well. We booked a hotel together and had a great time together - as usual!

I wanted Danny to see the Bellagio fountain show because I thought he would love it. Come to find out he was kind of scared...not sure why! I'm going to attribute it to his sleepiness...because usually my kid isn't afraid of anything! I loved it though!

While we were there we also did some rockclimbing - because if we didn't, we wouldn't be a vacation!

During our first 2 days we also got together with Michael & Kim's friends. They adopted a little boy awhile back and were able to be sealed to him in the temple! They had a party to celebrate at the church afterwards.

After Michael & Kim left we headed to Fremont Street. I'd never been before and Kenneth thought Danny would like it - which he definitely did! He was so mesmerized by all the nights and sounds. It was so cute.

Even Emily would stare up while in her carseat! It was so funny! Anyway, that was our short trip!

St. George - 11/11-11/14

2011-11-23T09:32:00.000-08:00

Kenneth had a 4 day weekend recently, so we headed up to St. George, UT to meet up with his sister Stephanie to do some rockclimbing. We had a great time!

We arrived Friday, and headed to a climbing area called Chuckwalla Wall. While there we were climbing next to a dating couple. The guy had brought along his little dog as well. Danny of course was following the dog around and petting it, and the dog seemed to be very nice. This all changed when a tiny dog walked by on the path with a family of 3. The small dog charged and was biting the tiny dog around the neck. It was crazy! I was so happy the dog hadn't bitten Danny!! It was intense.

Stephanie

Ok, I need to take this moment to let you all know how incredibly cute Danny is!! Obviously Emily is too, but I'm not featuring pictures of her right here. Anyway, Danny was totally showing off for his Aunt Steph.

We bought a harness for Danny about a month ago, but he was reluctant to put it on until now. This was Danny first official rock climb!! He did such a great job! He was so high!

Here Steph is helping him repel down - he was a little more nervous on this part!

On Saturday we headed into Snow Canyon. I love it there! So beautiful.

We started off with a short hike into a small slot canyon.

Emily is always fascinated with Danny

After our short hike we headed to the sand dunes. Danny had a lot of fun crawling around, and also had fun watching Kenneth do some back flips.

Love these girls!

Finally we arrived at our climbing destination within Snow Canyon. We did a really fun climb that was about 200 ft tall. We had quite the crown watching us! It was a lot of fun.

Danny pointing out where Danny was

Sunday came around and Steph left shortly after church. Kenneth and I decided to take Danny to the Little Narrows so he could hike up the "little narrows" and to just walk around the fun rock formations.

The "Little Narrows"

Danny (fuzzy) heading through

Danny is obsessed with bugs! He picked up this stink bug while walking through the Little Narrows and insisted on holding it (and hugging it repeatedly). The day before he did the same thing but with a little green caterpillar. ;)

Can't believe how big Emily is getting - 7 months now

Exploring the little caves - and apparently taking a nap

On Monday we headed back to the Little Narrows so that I could walk through them - since I had Emily strapped to me the day before. I was very happy that I could still make it through! The last time I tried, I was about 5 months pregnant...and that didn't go so well!

We did a final climb or two before heading out.

And there you have it! We love St. George and were so happy to be able to spend a little time with Stephanie and have the kids get to know her better. Good times.

Hollywood

2011-11-09T09:49:00.000-08:00

On September 17th we decided to finally go see some of the major tourist attractions around LA. We started out by heading to the historic Chinese Theatre. It was fun to walk along the stars and see which ones we actually recognized - and how many more we were completely clueless about.

What can I say - I am addicted to Harry Potter!

Afterwards we headed to the Hollywood sign. We were at a dog park and Danny had a lot of fun watching the dogs running around, and playing on the fenced-in playground. It looked like a great park - there was a huge game of ultimate frisbee going on. There was occasionally a pause in the game when a dog ran out into the middle of the field. Danny loved it and screamed when we left. ;)

For some reason, kids always think Danny needs help walking...

Danny loves these things

Danny with his grumpy face - we made him get off the playground to come take this picture.

Afterwards we were going to attempt rockclimbing at this random place. The trail was kind of wild though, and we came to a section of the path that was covered with these:

Needless to say - I refused to go on! Sorry Kenneth!

Lastly we headed to the beach. What can I say - the beach is always amazing!

He has his happy face on again!

Hanging out with Emily

Daddy & Son

Just by the beach at Pepperdine University, they had a tribute up in honor of those who died on 9/11 in New York, Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon. The exhibit displays one flag for each victim including the flags from other nations whose citizens died that fateful day. The flags seemed to go on forever...

Well, that was the end of our touristy day in LA. Good times!

9/11 10 Year Anniversary

2011-10-19T12:10:00.000-07:00

I know this is over a month late, but we had a wonderful time at the 9/11 10-year anniversary memorial in our town of Redlands. I did not know that Redlands has a personal connection to the events of 9/11. A woman from our town died at the Pentagon, and 2 firemen were first responders at the Pentagon, and were at Ground Zero within 24 hours and stayed there for several weeks in the rescue efforts. The ceremony was wonderful. There were tributes to the various military groups, a band playing patriotic songs, a prayer read by various religious leaders in the community, and several talks by students, the mayor, and the city's Fire Chief (one of the first responders). I loved the message given that we should not be prejudice against religions, nationalities or customs, but rather we need to embrace those differences. Our city is very diversified, and I think those were great words of wisdom. The evening ended with a moment of silence, and the ringing of the bells from various churches and from the fire station in the neighborhood. It was extremely touching.

I still can't believe that it has been 10 years since the travesties of 9/11. It was very emotional going back and watching news coverage from that day, and to see the various ways Americans are now honoring those who had died. I was touched also by the official memorial which was unveiled in New York City. I'm excited to go there some day and see it for myself. Here are some photos from the day:

Danny ONLY wanted to go by the firetrucks...he was mad I made him sit down for a minute

The band, and various city and religious leaders

The firetrucks and flags

I loved all the flags

Danny checking out the truck

Apparently he freaked out with Kenneth stepped back to take the photo...

I'll never forget...

Emily at 6 Months

2011-10-17T11:59:00.000-07:00

Emily is now 6 months old! I can't believe how fast the time is going. She is so darling, and is growing up so fast. She had her 6 month appt. last week and was 14 lbs. 13 oz. (28%) and is 26.8" long (86%). She is our little model - tall and skinny! She finally likes tummy time - which is good because she can only roll from her back to stomach, and not the other way around. She LOVES her brother, and always smiles when Danny is around. She also loves to sit outside and look at the trees, and loves to be in her bouncy chair where she will often sit for hours a day! She likes her exercise!

As for Danny, he is growing like a weed. He looks bigger and bigger every day. He is also talking a lot now. He is started to say longer sentences and will repeat anything you say - so we have to be careful! He still loves to read books, and now has 2 favorite movies - Cars (which he asks to watch several times a day) and The Lion King. He spends lots of time on his "bike" and plays with the neighbor kids. He still loves Emily and tells me all day what she is doing - "Emily sleeping", "Emily crying", "Emily jumping", or "Emily eating". He is also obsessed right now with cars, trucks, tractors, and trains. He also loves rocks and is becoming VERY good at climbing and hiking. We were out rockclimbing recently and it was about a 20 minute hike to the area, and Danny walked the whole way, and climbed up all the boulders without any help - he specifically said he didn't want help. He is getting so big!

Emily also likes to sleep in her bouncy chair

Danny feeding his "baby" :)

Just hanging out

My grumpy boy

Love her look here...it's like, "What?? I'm not doing anything."

I love these little kids!

"Whodunit" on Tahquitz

2011-09-23T20:15:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, on Sep 2nd Kenneth and I had a wonderful day just the two of us, and went up to a place called Idyllwild o climb the route "Whodutin" - a 5.9 rated climb going up 800 ft. on the rock formation, Tahquitz. We started up the trail around 9 am and started climbing shortly after 10 am. The climbing was so beautiful and very fun - except for maybe a particular move or two. It was killer too on the calves! I don't know the last time I had such an intense all day workout!

Mid-way up

Here we are at the top of the mountain - 8 hours after our start

Kenneth's summit shot

Kenneth's awesome helmet hair

Beautiful sunset on the hike down

This climb was so much fun, and I know Kenneth especially liked it. His favorite climbs are multi-pitch climbs like this. It was wonderful to get out and spend some time together in such a beautiful area, doing something so fun!

Woodland & Sacramento

2011-09-07T15:36:00.000-07:00

After spending time in Lake Tahoe we headed to my Pa's house in Woodland, which is just outside of Sacramento. My sister Alisha, her husband Sai and son Inoke (pronounced e-no-k) where there from Germany. Sai, who is in the British military, will be deployed to Afghanistan for 6 months and Alisha and Inoke will be staying at my dad's house during that time. It was fun to finally meet Inoke and to see Alisha and Sai after so long.

Bath time for Danny, Jonathan and Inoke - also know as medium, light and dark

We were in luck on this trip because the Yolo County Fair was going on (less than 5 minutes from Pa's place). I was excited to take Danny and to have him see all the farm animals. He was a little hesitant about touching the big animals...

Emily - taking everything in

We found a pen for the kids - we were hoping to win 1st Prize in the "cute kid" category

Grandpa finally convinced Danny to touch an animal. He loved the rabbits. "Hop, hop!"

Checking out the catfish - apparently someone stole a ton of the fish a few days prior. Rude!

Checking out a cow

And another one...

We didn't bother going on any rides, but we took a picture with one at least!

Grandma & Grandpa

Danny LOVES tractors

Wow...I feel small

Danny & Cousin Jonathan

This is Danny throwing a tantrum because we took him off of the tractor...then he got Jonathan crying...

Okay, so Danny LOVES horses. He loves to see them in person, he has a rocking horse in his room, and he even sleeps with a huge stuffed-animal horse. While at the fair we saw the pony ride and couldn't resist. Danny was so anxious to get on. He climbed up the steps to be put on the horse before Kenneth even purchased the ticket. The man said it was fine and put Danny right on. I went to stand next to him because I was worried that he would freak out as soon as he realized it was going to walk - but no. Good thing too since I couldn't walk next to him with Emily on my chest. Anyway, these pictures tell it like it is:

I could just imagine him saying, "Look at me dad!!"

Yay!

He loved the scenery too

Danny was absolutely in heaven!! Anyway, back at home, we found this little clown doll in my room:

We decided to see if Emily would fit in the outfit:

Not quite, but close enough!! If she had, I think I would have borrowed that for Halloween! I love the picture with the mask on. She makes a perfect little clown! She is so adorable!

Alright, next on our list was a trip to Old Sacramento. I was excited for Danny to see all the trains - another thing on his list of favorites. I was not disappointed!

Choo choo!

P.S. Is it just me, or does he look so big in the picture! I can totally picture him as a 5-6 year old here. Weird!

Again, Danny was so mad when we took him away...

Sai, Alisha & Inoke

Danny in front of "Danny's Mini Donuts"

Michael, Kim & Jonathan

...and us! Notice Emily sucking her thumb...she ALWAYS is!

On Sunday, Alisha & Sai's son was given a baby blessing at church by my dad. Afterwards we took a couple of family photos. It is the first time we have had all the 5 Adams' kids together with their spouses and kids. We still haven't managed to take a complete family photo with my 4 step siblings. Hopefully we'll be able to get that some time in the future.

Michael, Alisha, Nathan, Tytus & Me

Sai, Alisha & Inoke

Well, that was our trip to Sacramento! I love being able to see family, even if it is just for a short time. We had a wonderful time!

Lake Tahoe

2011-09-01T12:43:00.000-07:00

My siser Alisha, her husband Sai and son Inoke flew into CA from Germany a few weeks back, and we headed up to Sacramento for the baby blessing of their son. We drove up a different way than normal and hit some sights along the way to Lake Tahoe where we stayed a night with my brother Michael, his wife Kim and son Jonathan. Here are some photos of our adventures from the two days:

High Sierras - loved seeing Mt. Whitney for the 1st time

I'm a sucker for waterfalls!

The climb we attempted...a short hike ended up taking us 2 1/2 hours...

Danny loves being outside...I think he would prefer living in the wild

This is how I felt about the hiking -

Mono Lake - they have amazing tufas sticking out of the water

More tufas

Emerald Bay in Lake Tahoe - beautiful!

Hiked down and took a tour of this "castle" - the lady built it for next to nothing and entertained celebrities here

She bought antiques from Norway, or had pieces replicated - everything was VERY detailed!

Formal dining room

Michael & Kim

Fun lady clock

This is totally a castle door!

I love turrets!

Michael, Kim & Jonathan

Our fun little family

The grounds were gorgeous! I'm a sucker for flowers

Upper Eagle Falls (not as impressive as the lower falls)

All of us

Noyce family

"Fire truck! Wee woo!" - Danny

Fun cottage on old casino resort (only ultra wealthy could afford to stay here back in the 1890s)

Love this girl!!

Fun old trolley (yes, we were allowed to take a picture in this)

Up close and unedited... :)

We had so much fun exploring the castle, and this casino and resort. At the old resort they had all the cabins set up as they were back in the day. It was crazy to see how small the cabins were where the workers lived. It was a fun day full of exploring, hiking, seeing waterfalls, and swimming. I'm glad I finally made it to Tahoe (considering I lived only 1 1/2 hours away most of my life!). We'll definitely have to go back and try out the climbing!

Annie & Hoppy's Wedding

2011-08-29T08:09:00.000-07:00

My beautiful step-sister Annie was married to her long time boyfriend, Brian Hopkins (Hoppy) on July 30th. We were happy to go and see their union as well as to see so many family members! It was absolutely beautiful!

Hoppy

Everyone taking their seats

Annie's father

Waiting for the bride

Gorgeous Annie!

They are so cute together!

Kiss, kiss

Mr. and Mrs.Hopkins

Jayne (my stepmom) and Papa Ken

Annie and our cousin Christine from Spain

Little Emily

Love Annie's face here

Papa & Jayne with the bride and groom

Danny loved the parasols...

Bride and Groom with Annie's dad and stepmom

Stepsisters Julie, Annie, Hoppy and stepbrother Charlie (Tony comes home from his mission next month!)

The Woodward clan who were able to come - Suzie, Jayne, Papa Ken, Mike and Linda

The reception was so much fun!

We had a wonderful meal, awesome toasts/song presentations from the wedding party, and then had some fun dancing! Unfortunately we didn't get to stay too late because of the kids, but we had a blast regardless! Congrats to Annie and Hoppy!!

Dome Rock

2011-08-24T07:48:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we headed out to Dome Rock (in the middle of nowhere) and did some camping and climbing. It was a pretty short trip, but pretty fun overall. Here are some photos:

The Needles in the background - due to fires we couldn't hike over there...sad day!

Getting the kids ready for bed

The morning was gorgeous!

We very much appreciate this sign

Dome Rock - this is what we climbed

The population of this town: 1 1/2 - how does that even work??

Trying to hike...didn't make it very far

Climbing with Owls & Swimming with Lifeguards

2011-08-08T09:03:00.000-07:00

We frequently go climbing at a place called the Riverside Quarry. It isn't the most beautiful place - in fact it is a place where lots of people throw their junk - very sad - but the climbing is excellent for strength training and is close to us. One Saturday morning (June 25th) we headed there and tackled this route. It may look easy, but it is my nemesis...

Once at the top of the climb, we looked into the crevasse and saw these:

Three beautiful snowy owls! It was kind of crazy, because I never knew that owls could hiss so loudly!! Who said they go "Hoo hoo!" They definitely were not happy to see us! In fact, we got a video of them:

After our climbing we headed to San Clemente beach. It was a beautiful day! The water was warm and so was the sun! Danny had an amazing time playing in the water, and was so mad when we finally took him away (he was shivering like mad in the end and still didn't want to leave!). Here are some photos:

The problem with this beach - it is BEYOND rocky...I was getting pelted!

We love this beach because it also has a little swing set and slide - which of course Danny LOVES! It's nice for him to have several things to do while we're out there.

She's getting so big! I don't know where the time is going!

Danny - always trying to work it with the ladies! I think this was right before we were leaving...he was ticked.

While Danny was playing on this slide, Kenneth went out for a swim. I was watching Kenneth and noticed he was drifting out a little bit. I didn't panic or anything because I know he knows how to get himself out of a rip tide, but I still kept my eye on him just in case. The lifeguard also saw this and obviously has no idea if a person knows how to get out of a rip tide or not, and went in after Kenneth. I must say it was kind of interesting seeing a lifeguard run into the ocean and start out knowing he's headed for my husband! Granted, Kenneth already made the appropriate corrections to his swimming direction and within 3 strokes was much closer to shore and met the lifeguard very quickly. It was funny to see them both stand up and talk for a minute. I could just hear Kenneth in my head saying, "Oh no. I was fine. I realized once I was going out I would need to change my swimming direction to "x" angle and that would bring me back into shore..." Yeah - this is exactly what he ended up telling me later! Ha! Anyway, so there's a first for Kenneth - an attempted rescue by a lifeguard! ;)

Utah Climbing

2011-08-03T15:44:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of our two main climbing adventures while we were in Utah:

Here Kenneth, Stephanie (his sister) and I are doing a multi-pitch (5 rope lengths up) route in Little Cottonwood Canyon - gorgeous! It was so much fun! I had a blast!

Here we are climbing with Kenneth's sister, Stephanie and our friend Ben, Jenalynn and their daughter Camalla from Alaska up Big Cottonwood canyon. The rivers were very large - and in the photo below the river is covering the base of several climbs that we have done in the past. It was crazy, but beautiful! It was so wonderful to see our friends from Alaska. We haven't seen them since before Danny was born. We had a wonderful time together.

Stephanie

Kenneth & Jenalynn

Me & Stephanie

Jenalynn & Camalla

Ben

Ben lending a hand as Camalla climbed

Gorgeous Big Cottonwood

One of my all-time favorite climbs!

In total we went climbing 5 times while in Utah. We had a fantastic time!

Emily's 1st Campout

2011-08-03T12:04:00.000-07:00

So, this is way old, but my mom still wanted me to blog about it. We took Emily on her 1st campout awhile back on June 10th. We went with our friends Bennet, Gwyne and their baby Adaline (about 2 weeks younger than Emily). We headed to Holcomb Valley up by Big Bear Lake and did some climbing on our own before the scouts got there (the reason for the campout). We even invested in a family tent so we could finally all sleep in the same one - Danny used to be in his own! Anyway, here are some photos:

Utah Adventures

2011-08-03T09:17:00.000-07:00

Here are the rest of our pictures from our trip to Utah...now about 3 weeks ago!

The first set is from Danny's 2nd birthday party!! I can't believe my little boy is already TWO!! He is so funny, and so good with Emily. He LOVES to talk (but not usually in a large crowd unless he knows the people really well). He is obsessed with 1) trucks 2) books 3) animals (and making their noises) and 4) ring around the rosies. He is so fun!

Here are some photos of our outing to the Discovery Park near grandma & grandpa's house. Danny loves to play at the park and had a blast!

Here is a picture with our old Dinner Group!! Everyone was there except Kendall & Melissa and their clan, and Danny Kimball who had to go back to work in Colorado on the weekdays - we say him again on the weekend. It was so fun to see everyone and their kids (when we started the dinner group there was only 1 kid!). It was just like old times...but with lots of kids to chase after!

One of our days in Utah Kenneth's dad rented a jet ski and we went out to Utah Lake with it. Danny had so much fun playing in the water and chasing after the ducks. It was SO fun going on the jet ski! Danny loved it! The only bad part was when the thunderstorm came across the lake, and the millions of bugs flew to us...it made packing up, well, disgusting!

Last but not least, here is a photo of Emily with Aunt Leone. She was in a car accident a few weeks earlier and was in a rehabilitation center because she broke her ankle. She was very excited to see the kids and we were very excited to see her and Kenneth's grandma who was also there visiting.

There were lots of other fun things we did on our trip which we didn't get pictures of - mainly our day at Seven Peaks water park which was a blast!! Danny & Emily both enjoyed the water, and while they napped Kenneth and I were able to go on all the fun slides! It was amazing! Also, we spent a fun evening at my brother Michael's house and we had a game night and made grilled pizza on the BBQ! It was so delicious!

Anyway, I'll be posting a separate post with some of our awesome climbing pictures from the trip! That's coming next!

Maple Canyon & Go Carting

2011-07-11T15:20:00.000-07:00

Firstly, isn't this girl cute!?

And this little boy too!

Well, we headed out to Utah about a week and a half ago and stayed for 10 days! It was a lot of fun, and we filled our days up with lots of fun activities. We first stopped in Maple Canyon while driving up and did several climbs. It was so fun, and SOO beautiful! It was so incredibly green in Utah - I feel in love with the state all over again.


Maple Canyon - all the climbs were long, long, long!

We arrived in Utah on Friday afternoon, and spent some time with our family friend Britney. Afterwards we spent some time driving around on the Go-Cart Kenneth's parents have. It was a lot of fun to see Danny on it. He loved it!

Just a side note...Danny loves to say, "HOT!" and then proceeds to touch everything that is hot - we can't seem to get him to stop. So, after riding the go-cart what does he do? He says "HOT" and then touches the exhaust pipe!! He got a small blister on a few fingers...maybe he will now realize that when something is hot, it hurts to touch it!!

More pictures are to come, but overall here is the list of things we did while in Utah. This is more for me to remember what to blog about!

Fri - Maple Canyon, Britney, Go Carting
Sat - multi-pitch climbing in Little Cottonwood with Stephanie, extended family BBQ
Sun - church, visit with Heidi
Mon - family BBQ, Danny's B-Day party and fireworks
Tues - climbing in Big Cottonwood with Steph, Ben & Jenalynn, temple sealings with family
Wed - climbing in American Fork canyon, shopping with Steph & Chantale, Dinner Group at the park
Thurs - Jet-skiing at Utah Lake
Fri - Seven Peaks water park, J Dawgs, and climbing in Rock Canyon
Sat - walk/run 5K in honor of Wendy & Maylee Mack, visit Rachelle's house, see our SL house, visit Grandma & Aunt Leone, grilled pizza and games with Michael & Kim and Jose & Analee

More posts coming soon!

Sacramento - Part 4 - Grandpa & Family Park Gathering

2011-06-28T22:00:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, our last full day in Sacramento I went to visit my Grandpa Cliff with Danny, Emily, Michael, Kim & Jonathan. Kenneth was napping when we left, so we decided to leave him behind. I haven't seen my Grandpa for a long time, and his health isn't so great. He is in a nursing home and suffers from dementia. We recently learned that he has various tumors in his lymph nodes, and he probably will not be with us much longer. We (as in me and my brother) wanted to see him and introduce our kids to him.

When we got to the nursing home Danny, who was walking with Uncle Michael got really scared because all the ladies in their wheelchairs wanted to touch him and were saying what a cute boy he was. Poor Danny didn't like random strangers reaching out to him! He ran to me and kept saying, "Up! Up!" He wouldn't let me put him down at all while we were there. At least he let us take a picture with Grandpa without getting upset!

After out trip to see Grandpa we headed to the park by my dad's house and met up with all of my siblings (minus Alisha's family in Germany) and let the kids play together. It was relaxing and so fun to see all the kids playing. Here are some of the photos:

Kenneth pushing my nieces (Belen & Victoria) and nephews (Daniel & Tytus Andrew)

My mom, nephew Issac, brother Tytus, & his son Enoch

Sister-in-law Sharon - married to Tytus

Kenneth being a kid

Just hangin' around

Brother Michael w/ his son Jonathan

Danny having some time alone with his hand in his pocket - a MUST for him. Also my brother Nathan in the background with nieces and nephews

He LOVED this thing!

Danny with his cousin Tommy

One more of my boys flying together

Before we left Monday morning, my aunt Jennifer and her two sons came over to say hello. The kids all went in the backyard and ate some more cherries and blackberries. They were delicious!

Jennifer & kids, Michael, Kim & Jonathan, Pa A & Jayne and Us

Well, that's all of it! We had such a wonderful time! We'll be out there again in about a month and a half when my sister Alisha and her family will be in town from Germany! Whoo hoo!

My Cute Boy!

2011-06-27T17:07:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of my little boy! I thought he deserved a little post dedicated just to him.

Taking his baby for a ride!

Here are the many faces of Danny. He is so funny, and he always cracks himself up!

Cheesy Smile

Excited Smile

Surprised or "Uh Oh!" face

Random park day -

My child is a monkey

I think this girl thought Danny couldn't walk or play by himself. She went down every slide with him, held his hand going up the stairs and dragged him everywhere she went...

Did I mention that Danny is now in a big boy bed!! We skipped the toddler bed stage, because we just don't see the point, and went for twin bunk beds instead! Danny LOVES to play on them, and spent most of the first few days just climbing up and down the ladder. We initially put him on the bottom bunk, but he fell off, so now he sleeps on the top bunk - because it actually has a rail! He likes it much better up there. I heard terrible stories about transitioning a kid to a big bed, but we only had the first night that was kind of rough. And "rough" in our case was putting him back in bed like 4 times - and it took him about an hour longer to fall asleep. Not too bad!! After that he was a pro!

Don't look at the major mess of toys behind him...

Love you Danny! Thanks for bringing so much laughter into my life!

Emily at 2 Months!

2011-06-25T20:05:00.000-07:00

My sweet little girl turned 2 months on June 11th - I can't believe how fast the time is going! We're headed to Utah next week, and by the time we get back she will be 3 months! Crazy! Anyway, she had her 2 month appointment, and was 9lb. 14 oz. and 22 in. long. She is definitely growing!! I can't believe she is getting so big, though lots of people remind me that she still looks like a newborn! My friend's baby was over 10 lb. so she laughs that Emily is STILL smaller than her kids ever were! Ha!

Anyway, Emily is adorable! I love her so much and am so happy she is part of our family. She just recently has started smiling a little more, and we've found some tricks to help her be less fussy...she is definitely a drama queen, though is getting better. Danny loves her so much and is so concerned about her. Whenever she cries he yells, "UH OH!" and then RUNS over to her. If she's sleeping in our bedroom he knocks on the door, or if she is in her little chair he runs over and rocks it to help her stop crying. He constantly wants to hold her, and when he does he likes to give her kisses on her head. What a sweet little boy I have!

Emily is working on her smiling...sometimes she does it, and other times she's stubborn. Here is a smile we FINALLY caught on camera!

Also, Kenneth gave Emily a baby blessing at church on June 5th. My dad & stepmom Jayne were able to come down as well as my mom and her husband Ron. We were so happy they were able to make it and were able to spend time with us and share in this special moment. The blessing was beautiful and I couldn't ask for a better family! We were terrible and didn't get pictures that day - Emily was pretty fussy after church with all the hype, but we did manage to get picture of her in her blessing dress a little later. Here are some of them:

Well there you go! Hope you enjoyed the pictures of my favorite little girl!!

Sacramento - Part 3 - Family BBQ & B-Day Party

2011-06-22T09:15:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we went to the park for a family BBQ and birthday party for my 1 year old cousin, Shannon Ruth! It was so wonderful to see so many aunts, uncles and cousins - some I haven't seen in over 5 years! Happy Birthday Shannon Ruth! Here are some pictures:

My brother Nathan wanted to do a pull up contest. Here were the results:

Kenneth - 13 - WINNER< WINNER< WINNER!

Nathan - 12

Michael - 4/5

Karen - 1

Papa - This was his funny attempt...0

I cheated and did a chin up...only 1 - I just had a kid 1 month earlier!

My brother Nathan and his wife Karen

It actually started raining and people were leaving before we sang Happy Birthday. We hurried and gathered those still there, sang Happy Birthday (twice because it was recorded the first time) and ate some fabulous cake. The weather didn't cooperate very well, but we all had a wonderful time still.

Shannon Ruth's Strawberry Shortcake cake

Aunt Yvonne (pregnant with a little boy), Uncle Erik & Shannon Ruth

Danny enjoying his cake


Brother Michael, his wife Kim and son Jonathan

Sacramento - Part 2 - Fairytale Town!

2011-06-21T01:00:00.001-07:00

On Friday afternoon we headed to Fairytale Town with my brothers Michael and Tytus and their families.

Jonathan - love that kid!

"The Crooked Mile" - it was so fun!! Danny almost fell off a couple of times. He couldn't control his momentum!

Pretty sure the stairs leading up to this slide wouldn't pass safety codes, but it was so much fun!!

Hanging out with the donkey

Danny & Cousin Jonathan checking out the goats from "Billy Goats Gruff"

Choo Choo!! Danny loves his trains!

I think Danny is the cutest Tin Man! I'm thinking we may need to do that for Halloween!

Jonathan, Danny, Tommy & Elijah - Danny likes to set the example by climbing on everything

Danny loved the ducks! It took forever to get him to go see something else.

And here are just some random photos from my dad's house:

That is a spring wreath on his head...he's been really into hats lately!

EMILY! My good friend Heather made the shirt for her.

She started to smile in this trip, and this is as close to a picture of it as I could get. I love that she just stares at Daddy! Adorable!

Sacramento - Part 1

2011-06-17T21:42:00.000-07:00

We headed up to Sacramento 2 weeks ago for a 4 day weekend. My brother from Salt Lake City was there as well, so we had a little mini family reunion (besides my sister who lives in Germany). It was a lot of fun! We took tons of pictures, so I'm going to break this up for you!

We arrived on Thursday evening, and Friday morning we headed to the park down the street with Danny to let him get out some of his energy - that kids has a lot of it! Here are some of the pictures:

He LOVED these little spring vehicles! He had a blast!

BUBBLES!

And here are some pictures of Danny playing & eating in Lito y Lita's backyard (grandma & grandpa)

He LOVED the blackberries!

Gardening...or at least throwing some dirt around

Playing with Cousin Jonathan

More pictures to come tomorrow!

Kenneth's B-Day!

2011-06-11T17:39:00.000-07:00

Kenneth celebrated his 28th birthday last month on the 21st. We had a wonderful day together and were able to celebrate with some time alone. Danny and Emily were watched by our friend while we went to Santa Monica for the day.

We headed to Santa Monica and went all all the rides on the pier. We had a great time acting like little kids, and watching the kids themselves. They were all so cute and were so excited to be there. I'm excited to take our own kids there someday!

New York Trapeze School

Cute kid singing (with his brother) on the pier

I hate snakes!! Gross!

After going on several rides, we headed to Bubba Gump Shrimp (also on the pier). I was actually brave and ordered shrimp! Even more amazing...I liked it!

La Jolla Tidepools

2011-06-02T09:34:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back we headed to La Jolla to look at the tide pools. It was fun to watch Danny poke all the crabs and watch them scurry away. He had a blast. Enjoy!

Looking for fun shells and rocks

Yes...Emily always sits leaning in her carrier...

Lunch time!

CRABS!

Danny exploring

I love the way the rocks, sand and water all look

Brotherly Love

2011-05-20T23:28:00.000-07:00

I found Danny like this the other day. Emily was hanging out on the couch, and Danny climbed right up and started reading to her! It was adorable! Danny is (usually) so sweet with his little sister. I think he kind of loves her. :-)

Little Emily

2011-05-19T12:16:00.000-07:00

I love this little girl...

She does this great scared face - ALL the time!

A random photo we took of Emily at 1 month. She was up to 7lb at that point. As this photo points out Emily's favorite places to sleep are on the couch, on our bed, or on me! I'm hoping this is just because she is sick...we need longer sleeping periods in the crib! Here's hoping for a miracle!

Canyon Photos

2011-05-15T03:52:00.000-07:00

We headed up our local canyon on a Sunday to check out the river scene for photos. The wind was crazy that day, so our pictures didn't turn out to be our favorite, but we still had lots of fun. Danny especially loved it and spent most of the time throwing rocks into the river and saying over and over again, "water!"

This is where Emily hung out while Kenneth & I took some photos. She kind of loved it!

Hospital Babies

2011-05-11T14:40:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from Emily's emergency hospital stay at 2 weeks. I included a picture from when Danny was in the NICU after he was born as well to compare. What is with us and our babies having to stay in the hospital? Hopefully our future children won't follow the same pattern!

This one is Danny. I didn't realize how little hair he had compared to Emily!

Emily's 1st Time Out Climbing

2011-05-10T16:16:00.000-07:00

On April 23rd Emily experienced her first time out rockclimbing. It was also the first time I have climbed in the last 3 months. It felt great!

Bath Time!

2011-05-10T16:05:00.000-07:00

Emily loves a good bath!

Easter Family Photos

2011-04-29T19:01:00.000-07:00

On Easter afternoon we went and took some family photos. I loved all the bright colors of the season! Here are some of my favorites.

Enjoy!

Emily's 2 Week Appointment, 2 Ambulance Rides, and 2 Night Hospital Stay ;(

2011-04-28T15:01:00.000-07:00

On Monday, April 25th Emily had her 2 week doctor's appointment. Everything looked really good. She gained back most of the weight she lost after she was born. Here were her stats:

weight: 5lb. 12 oz.
height: 19.5"

The doctor was very happy that she was back up (basically) to her pre-pregnancy weight. We had been working on that the week before. She is eating and sleeping well.

Monday night everything seemed to change. It was around 8:30pm and Danny was already asleep. Kenneth and I were in the living room, me on one couch and Kenneth on the other. I had fed Emily at 8, and she feel asleep, so I was going to see if she would eat any milk from a bottle to fill her up before going to bed for the night. She was awake, and I tried giving her the bottle, but after just a few seconds I took it out because she didn't seem interested. As soon as I took the bottle out, I knew something was wrong. Emily was unable to get any breath in, and you could tell she was distressed because her entire body was seized up, and she was arching her back and was trying to get air in but was unable to. At first I started rubbing her back thinking that maybe some milk had just gone down the wrong way, but she still would not breath. Kenneth came over, and took her, and tried to see if there was anything in her mouth - there wasn't. Her little face started to turn purple. I called 911 while Kenneth tried to get her airway to open. While checking to see if there was anything in her mouth he put his finger in, and when he did so, it opened her airway a little bit so she could get a tiny half-breath before her throat closed up again and she stopped breathing once more.

While on the phone with 911 they had Kenneth attempt to clear her airway again, but nothing worked. She was basically choking on a ton of mucus that was in her mouth and nose. We knew this must be the case because when the dispatcher told Kenneth to give her rescue breaths nothing went in. It was so incredibly scary. It was the scariest moment of my life. Seeing my precious little girl not breathing - with her eyes so big and wide - you could tell she could see mom and dad and was just thinking, "someone help me!"

The paramedics arrived probably about 5 minutes after this all began. After evaluating her they suctioned out her nose and mouth really well, which helped tremendously. Afterward we headed to the hospital so that tests could be done. Emily and I went via ambulance to the local Redlands Community Hospital. Kenneth took Danny over to our friend/neighbor's place and then followed. Once at the hospital Emily was doing much better. They did some blood tests, x-rays and pulled some mucus samples from her nose. There was no fluid in her lungs, but from the other tests they determined that she has RSV. She most likely got it from someone in the family since we've all been sick the last 2 weeks. RSV (which is a respiratory virus) leads to increased secretions - hence the mucus, and they think that she choked on some milk plus the mucus plus her lack of gag reflex is what led to her not being able to breath.

We stayed in the ER from 9pm (Monday) to 4am (Tuesday). We were then transferred to our Kaiser hospital in Fontana so Emily could be admitted for observation. Emily and I then took our second ambulance ride. Once she was admitted to the Kaiser hospital, they reconfirmed that she did, in fact have RSV. They also determined that she suffers from apnea (where she randomly stops breathing for a given amount of time). That wouldn't have helped with her choking incident. Because of the apnea they decided to administer oxygen and to monitor her for a day longer. The oxygen seemed to help her with her breathing - as long as she didn't pull out the nasal canula, which she did several times. We'll have to compare pictures of our two kiddos with their oxygen tubes...

After monitoring Emily for a day and a half or so, the doctors felt she was stable, and good enough to go home. We were officially discharged Wednesday around 4:30 pm. We are grateful to be home now, and are happy that Emily is doing so much better. I must admit, however, that last night while sleeping, I was so worried every time Emily would make a noise. I am so grateful for the service our wonderful friends here in Southern California have done for us, with watching Danny, and providing meals. Also, thanks to all our family and friends who have been praying for our little one. And lastly, thanks to Kenneth and our friend Bennett who gave Emily a wonderful Priesthood blessing while she was in the hospital. It provided much needed comfort, and I know it made a difference. Thanks again to everyone. We love our little Emily so much, and we are so happy she is home.

San Diego

2011-04-25T13:27:00.000-07:00

Since Emily was born while we were in San Diego, we kind of skipped over the pictures from San Diego. So, here are some photos of us at the beach. We had a wonderful time!

Our first day in San Diego. We walked out on the Pacific Beach pier to watch all the surfers :)

The sky was beautiful that night!

Kenneth loves to watch the surfers to pick up tips. They were amazing!

Our second day at San Diego. Here is a photo of Danny with the Noyce grandparents.

It's kind of weird to see pregnancy pictures now that Emily is here! Here is our family photo on the pier.

Danny LOVES birds! He follows them around every time we go to the beach.

...and Kenneth is obsessed with taking pictures of birds!

The Noyce grandparents showed Danny that he can see the ocean between the wooden slats. So, naturally, Danny liked to stop in the middle of the pier, lay down, point down through the slats and say, "ocean!!" over and over again. It took awhile to finally get him to stand up again...

While there, we spend a lot of time taking walks up and down the boardwalk. Danny typically fell asleep during these walks...as seen above!

More walking!

Here we are on the beach...I love Danny's face. He is so excited by everything he sees.

Danny and his shovel. He filled up his bucket with water, and then would dump water onto the sand...or onto my foot. ;)

Playing with grandma in the waves. It is amazing how much warmer the water is in San Diego compared to LA.

Danny had so much fun in the water! Kind of shocking, because usually he is scared of the waves!

And lastly, a gorgeous sunset photo Kenneth captured...

Well, those are most of the photos we got before I went into labor (besides the ones in a previous post showing Emily on the beach too). Hope you enjoyed them!

High Heels, Mohawks & Weird Sleeping Positions...

2011-04-25T12:21:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of funny pictures we've taken of Danny lately.

Danny has been all about the shoes lately. He is constantly putting on different shoes and tries walking around. He found my high heels most recently and was having so much fun walking around!

My friend Heather, who has 2 little girls, lives vicariously through Danny until she has a boy of her own. Danny's hair was looking crazy with his long hair, so we decided to cut a mullet - which didn't really work - so we changed it up into a mohawk instead! It was so cute, and I actually kind of love it.

Side view of the mohawk

Lastly, Danny has been a little sick lately. One evening he was really cranky, and Kenneth finally got him to sit by him to cuddle. Danny initially was laying on Kenneth's chest, but eventually turned himself around and completely fell asleep in this position. It looked so uncomfortable, but apparently he loved it!

Story of Emily

2011-04-18T13:50:00.000-07:00

I've had some requests for the birth story of Emily, so here it is! It starts with us going down to San Diego on Thursday the 7th to meet up with Kenneth's parents for a week at their condo on Pacific Beach. We had a wonderful time hanging out on the beach and taking walks along the boardwalk. On Saturday night Kenneth's dad became ill. Sunday morning around 12:30 a.m. I woke up with contractions that were pretty strong. Kenneth ended up vomiting that night, and so did I around 2 a.m. It was pretty lame having that on top of the contractions!

I was finally able to fall asleep around 4 a.m. I woke up at 6 a.m. and timed my contractions at 3-5 minutes apart. They stayed that way for several hours so we decided to head to the hospital. I was planning on delivering in Fontana (closer to home), but I was definitely not attached to my midwife there, so we decided just to go to the San Diego hospital. Also, we didn't want to drive all the way back home just to have them turn me away.

Once at the hospital they told me I was 2 cm and contracting every 3 minutes. The midwife told us to go and walk for about 2 hours, and also told me to try to eat some soup or something since I hadn't eaten anything since the night before. We go out, and start walking, and stop to get soup - which did not settle well with my stomach! I felt much better after getting that out! Nasty, I know. We head back to the hospital 2 hours later and I was about 3.5 cm. I was given the option of either being admitted and getting pictocin to help out, or to go home. We decided to be admitted. Not only were we anxious to meet out little girl, but it was also VERY convenient timing. Kenneth's parents were there and were able to watch Danny for us, and this way they would also be able to see her before heading home to Utah.

After being admitted I was given antibiotics for 4 hours and then was given Pictocin at 6:15 p.m. Kenneth and I hung out and slept for a little bit. I was having lots of contractions, but couldn't feel them! Apparently I have a higher pain tolerance than I ever thought I did. The nurses thought I was weird because I was always smiling through these crazy contractions. :) Around 1 a.m. on the 11th I was feeling a little uncomfortable so I opted to get my epidural before it was too late! I feel back asleep until 4:15 a.m. At that point the midwife came to check my progress and I was 4.5 cm and my water broke. Just about 10 minutes later I started feeling more and more pressure. A nurse came in to check my vitals and I let her know. The midwife came back in the check me and I was already at 10 cm! Talk about progressing quickly!

I ended up pushing only 3 times and Emily was out!! I was very happy to finally find out that she was, infact a GIRL! Haha! It was also amazing to be able to hold her after she was born. With Danny he was taken pretty much immediately to get worked on, so it was quite the experience being able to hold my little girl, and to spend that immediate family time together after her birth.

Emily's final stats are as follows:

*Born 2 weeks early*
Weight: 5lb. 13.2 oz.
Height: 20 inches
Head Circumference: 12.5 inches
Belly: 12.5 inches

She was born to tons of dark hair, and she reminds me a lot of Danny when he was born - especially her nose and mouth. She is a great eater and sleeps pretty well! Hopefully that continues to get better and doesn't head in the other direction. Here are lots of fun pictures!

Emily with Grandma Noyce

Daddy & Daughter

Emily & Grandpa Noyce

My 3 kids! ;)

Emily's first outing (the day we came home from the hospital) to the beach!

First family photo!

When we were released from the hospital, Emily's weight was down to 5lb 6oz. At her doctor's appointment this last Friday she was down to 5 lb. 5.7 oz. They weighed her again today and she was 5lb. 5.2 oz. Her doctor is watching her closely because by 2 weeks old, she needs to back up to her birth weight. Well, I think that is all of the updates so far! Look back here for more info and pictures!!

Baby Emily

2011-04-12T09:59:00.001-07:00

For those of you who haven't seen the few photos on facebook yet, here are a few. I'll let Amy fill in all of the details later, but here are the stats; Baby Emily was born at 5:03 AM on Monday 4-11-2011, she weighs 5lbs 13oz and is 20 inches long.

Danny & Friends

2011-04-06T20:51:00.000-07:00

The other day I was hanging out with my friends Heather (and daughters Ella and Rachel) & Asia (with son Romney). They were having a blast playing in Heather's blow-up pool and running around in the grass. Kenneth came home from work and came to join us. We were watching the lizards that crawl everywhere around our complex, and Kenneth (being the man he is) went over to catch a lizard to let the kids play with it. It was so funny to see Danny and Romney enthralled by the lizard while Ella ran away screaming! Here are some fun photos from the day.

Trying to be brave

Romney wasn't happy in the beginning...

Love this photo!

Danny's friend Ella.

Me & Baby Rachel (Ella's sister)

No words needed...

2011-04-03T15:23:00.000-07:00

...except that I adore this kid!

California Pizza Kitchen w/ Family

2011-04-01T12:47:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday my dad, stepmom (Jayne) and their friend Merri visited us on their way back to Sacramento from St. George, UT. It was nice to see them even if it was just for a few short hours.

Getting ready to leave...

We were able to chat at our place for an hour or so, and then headed to California Pizza Kitchen where we met up with my step siblings Charlie, Annie and Annie's fiance - Hoppy. It was my first time at the CPK and it was fabulous!! We had a great time chatting and catching up before we headed our separate ways.

(starting bottom left and going clockwise) Charlie, Merri, Me, Danny, Kenneth, Jayne, Annie & Hoppy

Me, Danny and my Pa A (dad)

Kenneth & Pa A

Thank you for the visit and the pictures Pa!

Family Visit

2011-03-25T21:09:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Kenneth's sister Chantale and her husband Mike came and visited for a week. I think they wanted to experiences the sun again (since Utah doesn't see much of it during winter). They were able to go to Magic Mountain, Knott's Berry Farm, the beach (with me and Danny) and we took them down to Joshua Tree with our friends one day. We really had fun spending time with them. We didn't get many pictures of them, so I'll include the few we have here.

My pregnancy photo from the trip...

Mike climbing

Chantale

Wow...that's apparently all I have. I'll have to get their copies from the beach. Anyway, thanks for visiting us!!

35 Weeks Pregnant

2011-03-20T15:28:00.000-07:00

Here I am 35 weeks pregnant. I'm happy Emily is cooking longer than Danny did...but I can't wait to not be pregnant! I can't wait to meet Emily!

Huntington Beach

2011-03-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

A little over a week ago we headed out to Huntington Beach. I love our little beach trips as a family!

Have I mentioned lately that I LOVE living in Southern California??

Family Outing

2011-03-05T08:31:00.000-08:00

Another trip to Joshua Tree...a month late. This documents the last time I went climbing this pregnancy. We had a fun time just walking around and getting pictures of all the beauty that is Joshua Tree.

Enjoy!

Collage of Danny at Play

2011-02-27T16:23:00.000-08:00

Every weekend, especially Sundays - we tend to spend a lot of time outside either reading, or walking around the complex (where Danny tries relentlessly to chase the neighboring cat). Here are some random photos covering several of such days showing Danny at play. I think they're pretty cute. ;) Enjoy!

This is Danny doing his "old man pose"

Kisses for mama

Hope you enjoyed!

Danny Showing Off

2011-02-12T08:28:00.000-08:00

Danny had his 18 month appt yesterday (a month late) and here are his stats:

weight - 24 lb. 10 oz.
height - 33.43 inches
head circumference - 18.31 inches

Danny had a rough day overall yesterday. He had 2 shots and had his blood drawn - which really hurt because they had to dig around for the vein. He got his fingers smashed while at the grocery store, he was bitten, and he tripped and knocked his head hard on the floor. Yikes!

Anyway, here's a video of Danny showing some of the words he can say. We took this video a day earlier...so he was in a much better mood! I've had several family members ask me what he can say and what kinds of things he can do, so this will show you a little bit. Enjoy!

Point Dume Beach

2011-02-08T12:23:00.000-08:00

Well, we went to the beach recently, but not for what you'd expect...or maybe you would from us - climbing! I love the beach, and was craving a beach day, so we found some climbing ON the beach! What could be better! We'll definitely have to go back to Point Dume when the water gets warmer!

We headed out with our friend Bennett and Gwynne, and also Asia and her son Romney (Danny's little friend). It was Asia's first time climbing!

The rock!

Asia and Romney

Hola!

Love that man!

Asia's first climb!

Camping in Joshua Tree

2011-02-07T21:46:00.000-08:00

In mid January we were invited to go camping in Joshua tree with our friends Bennett and Gwynne (who is also pregnant,and due just a few days before me). We had a wonderful time together!! The camping was awesome, and we enjoyed some fabulous brownies (we had to stick to the edges though...), hiked around some old mines and did some climbing. Here are some pictures!

Danny loves the fire! He watched intently as Bennett made the morning pancakes.

My boy is a rugged boy!

An old miner's home

The two prego ladies

Exploring an old mine. It was so fun!

Bennett & Gwynne

Here are some pretty pictures I took while we were climbing. I love J-Tree!

And can't finish without a cute picture of my Danny boy!

Christmas - A Month Late

2011-01-23T07:50:00.000-08:00

So, I decided to finally blog about Christmas! Yea! I must admit that the holiday feels somewhat different here in Southern California. I got very used to the "White Christmas" I experienced for several years while in Utah, and I must admit that I loved it. I was having a hard time getting in the spirit here in CA while the weather was in the 70s. Anyway, I did finally get in the spirit the last two weeks or so, and was very excited for the music, lights, family, laughter, and of course birth of our Savior.

This year we headed up to Sacramento/Woodland to spend Christmas with my family. Everyone was there except for my sister Alisha and her husband Sai who live in Germany. We did get to see a lot of them on Skype though! Thank goodness for modern technology! Kenneth and I celebrated our own Christmas the Sunday before we headed out.

This was one of my favorite pictures of Danny. He got a "baby" from his Noyce grandparents, and as soon as he opened it he started snuggling with it. He is going to be a great big brother!

This has become a favorite with Danny. At first he couldn't figure out how to scoot around on it and would just push it everywhere. Now he is constantly on it.

Once we headed up to northern CA we stayed at my dad's house (Pa A) along with Michael & Kim. We had a fun time joking with my dad about his lack of tree (that happens every year) so on the 23rd he went out in search of a tree, and this is what he came home with:

You have to realize that a couple of Christmas' ago he got a tree that had no top...so we thought this year he decided to get a tree with no bottom...he did end up buying a fake tree to actually decorate though. Thank goodness!

Papa with Danny & Jonathan

On the 23rd we went with my brothers Michael & Nathan (and their families) to do some last minute stocking shopping and then headed over to the "Santa House." Unfortunately Santa was late for his appearance so we didn't get to see him, but we enjoyed the lights nonetheless.

We spent Christmas Eve with my siblings, Mom & Ron at Nathan's house. It was the first time Danny has been around all of his cousins (9 of them) and unfortunately one of the cousins kept beating him up! Danny probably got 3 bruises from this trip...in a matter of 3 hours!

Danny after being attacked by his cousin

A new afghan for Danny! Thanks mom!

Christmas day we spent with the siblings, Pa A and Jayne.

All the kids laying on the floor while "Lita" reads them a Christmas story

Us with my Grandma Ruth!! The cutest grandma you may ever find!

Me with Alisha & Sai via Skype

Well there you go! We had a wonderful (though short) time in Sacramento for the holidays. We are so blessed with great family members and were excited to be with them all and to reflect on the birth of our Savior. Merry Christmas! ;)

Less than 100

2011-01-18T10:25:00.000-08:00

Oh my!! I only have 97 days left until my due date. Less than 100 days people! Where did all the time go??

25 Weeks

2011-01-12T12:27:00.000-08:00

I am now 25 weeks! This pregnancy seems to be going fast yet slow at the same time. I only have 15 weeks left (if she comes on time) and only 9 weeks if she comes when Danny did! We took pictures this Sunday, so here they are. Danny wanted in on the fun too...

Please don't leave!

2011-01-11T14:00:00.001-08:00

So, I've been trying to blog about Christmas and also to put an updated pregnancy picture up, but my blog account is apparently full when it comes to pictures. We need to buy more space or something before I can put up any more pictures. I will try to do that in the next day or two. Please don't leave my blog though! We'll be back very soon! THANKS!

Thanksgiving in St. George, UT

2010-12-29T13:21:00.000-08:00

Kenneth and I headed to St. George, UT for a week during Thanksgiving to visit with Kenneth's family. We stayed in a lovely condo, and were able to enjoy the beautiful outdoors.

Here we are climbing just across the street from our condo:

Kenneth rigging up a harness for his nephew Aidan's first time climbing

Aidan's first climb!


Kenneth obviously misses his sister Steph...we mostly do this to make her uncomfortable.

Here are some pictures from a little hike we did:

There are a bunch of waterfalls/pools you can swim in during the summer. Here UT Dad is climbing up to a higher level

At the base of the pools

The next day Kenneth and I went to do some climbing by ourselves at Chuckwalla Wall. We forgot to take pictures...so this is the only one. Kenneth still wants to document that we went there though:


Getting set up...

The following day we went to the Little Narrows with UT Dad, Chantale, Mike & Aidan. Kenneth and I did a climb (which ended up being freezing in the shade). Afterwards we tried to take Danny up the "little narrows" but he was not having that! Anyway, here are some photos:

Danny loves helping with the rope

Danny loves climbing up on rocks. He is going to be quite the pro in a few years.

While at the condo, Danny had one of his worst falls off of the couch (as he was trying to play with the doorknob to the patio). He got a massive bruise on his face:

Kenneth's Trip to Washington D.C.

2010-12-29T12:35:00.000-08:00

Kenneth headed to D.C. bac k in October for work. I'm obviously behind considering he's headed back there later in January! I can't wait to be able to go with him in the future!

Here are some iconic sights:

And some photos from the Smithsonian:

Balboa Park

2010-12-29T12:04:00.000-08:00

I'm playing major catch-up here. We headed to San Diego back in mid-October to visit my brother Michael, his wife Kim and their son who were in town from Utah for a friend's wedding. We spent a little time around Balboa park, which was beautiful! We definitely need to spend some more time there!

Beautiful carvings on the buildings

Our lunch-time stop

The beautiful ponds in front of the arboretum


Pretty flowers

Gorgeous church (?) in the background. It is so pretty!

And some shots of the reception:

Groom's cake - he's a fisherman! Cute!

Wedding cake

And although we don't have any pictures of the bride and groom, we did get some of the mom's and kiddos!

Love this photo!

Kim wanted her "movie star" photo taken. She loved the airbrushed make-up!

Jonathan - Danny's favorite little buddy!

Danny's New Talent - Longboarding

2010-12-11T21:28:00.000-08:00

Danny has a new favorite hobby - longboarding! We were playing out in our parking lot a little while ago, and Danny was so excited to hop on the longboard himself. He is so cute! He loves to lie down on it while Daddy pushes him, or he'll sit on it and scoot himself around. He also loves watching Daddy do tricks on his longboard/skateboard - he laughs his head off! It is absolutely adorable!

Bath Time!

2010-12-09T12:45:00.000-08:00

Our little boy LOVES his bathes (well, until you're actually bathing him). I love his little Santa beard, and his red bum. Enjoy!

Don't worry...that's a tan line, not a dirt line!

New Jack City

2010-12-09T12:36:00.000-08:00

I'm playing major catch-up here. We headed to New Jack City (about an hour north east) for Kenneth's 4 day weekend in mid November. We actually headed to Joshua Tree first, but after finding zero campsites, we headed to New Jack City instead. New Jack City is fabulous because there are very few people there - which means open camp grounds, and open climbing areas - and it doesn't cost anything to get in. So, for those of you who want to join us on a fun camping/climbing adventure, please let us know! Anyway, here are some photos:

It was SO bright! Danny loved to slide down all these rocks :)

Climbing at our campsite

Kenneth climbing

Sunbathing

Pretty scenes

Beautiful stars!

We're having a...

2010-11-23T14:50:00.000-08:00

GIRL!!

We had our ultrasound this morning and determined that we are having a little girl (or a kitten according to Kenneth). I am SO excited! Having one of each - who could ask for more?! She was measuring small compared to my due date, so I think my midwife will officially be changing that at my next appt. According to the calendar I should be 18 weeks, but the baby - I mean Emily, is only measuring 16 weeks. It was lucky we could tell she was a she at all!

During the ultrasound she was sucking her thumb, and then apparently lost her thumb, so we saw her open and close her mouth several times trying to find it again. Then, while trying to determine the gender she had her legs crossed initially, and then stuck her hands down there to cover herself up. What a modest little thing! We were able to see several glances overall though, and determined the gender. Apparently our little girl is not only modest, but stubborn as well. ;)

Bring on the dresses and bows! I can't wait!

Boy or Girl?

2010-11-19T11:41:00.000-08:00

We find out next week whether we will be having a little boy or girl. Any guesses out there? Will we be having an Austin Jack or an Emily Beth?

Halloween...a little late

2010-11-14T20:57:00.000-08:00

We were able to celebrate Halloween this year with my Pa A (that's my dad), Jayne (stepmom) and sister Alisha who was in town from Germany. They drove down from Sacramento the day before Halloween. We got together with my step siblings for lunch, and then were rushing to get ready for our ward's Trunk or Treat. The Trunk-or-Treat is a safe alternative to traditional trick-or-treating. People decorate the trunks of their cars and pass out candy to the children as the come by. Afterwards there is a Chili Cook-off, and a parade where all the kids (and adults) can show off their costumes.

We were kind of lame, and due to the rush we had to come up with costumes last minute. Danny's grandma bought him a cute little skeleton shirt that worked for him, so he was set.

Danny managed to chew through several pieces of candy, and his mouth is FULL of his spoils

Kenneth locked himself in our bedroom for a few minutes and whipped up this costume, and I had some bunny ears and quickly transformed myself:

Kenneth was a huge success as a Ninja, especially with the 7 year old kids we teach every Sunday!

And luckily Jayne came prepared with some options for herself and Alisha. Pa A opted on not dressing up, but provided some candy in addition to our Otter Pops to hand out to the kids.

The pregnant sisters

Jayne (she always does the best costumes!) and Pa A

Unfortunately, I only have the few pictures Alisha left for us, so that's all I've got to offer you all! I must say that Kenneth, Alisha and I all enjoyed Danny's candy! Who says Trick-or-Treating isn't for the parents...and aunts?

Thank you Kim for reminding me that I have been a slacker when it comes to blogging ;)