Christmas - A Month Late

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! ;)

Halloween...a little late

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 ;)

The 4th of July Extravaganza

Kenneth & I spent the 4th of July with my brother Michael, his wife Kim, and their baby Jonathan. We were so excited to have them come visit! We are always excited when we get to visit with family members. They arrived in the evening on the 2rd and on the 3rd we woke up and headed to San Clemente Beach and afterward went to the pool.

At the beach...


Kim & Cousin Jonathan (Yes...Kim & I have the same swimsuit top)



Danny - watching me - watching the boys

The men striking a pose

And last but not least - the BEST photo sequence of the afternoon:








We had a great time!

Once we got to the pool...
Here's Danny floating in their...floating device. He loved it, but I was afraid he would just throw his face into the water. He loves swimming!

Michael & Jonathan (I LOVE his little Ducky towel)

Splash, splash, splash!

Kim helping Danny learn to float

They spent the night that evening, and then on the 4th we attended church and then headed down to San Diego in the evening for a BBQ and fireworks on the beach with Kim's good friend Nicomi and her family. The food was amazing, the people, wonderful and the fireworks...well, they would have been great if they hadn't exploded in the large smoke cloud. Oh, and did I mention the marshmallow war on the beach directly after the fireworks? Yeah, that was awesome - though it was best on the walk home when we saw the news reporter and his camera man sitting on top of a van being pelted with marshmellows. The camera man looked like he was having a blast. The reporter...not so much. He called the cops! Where did you think you were going? (The Marshmellow War is a tradition at this beach). It was hysterical!





I think Danny was a little out of it after the fireworks...

The reporter who was so irked by being pelted by marshmallows. For some reason he must have thought he was the only one being hit!

Well, Happy 4th everyone (a couple of weeks late of course). I'll be posting photos and video of Danny's 1st Birthday next!

Bear Lake & Easter

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. I was out of town all of last week. Kenneth's parents have a time share in Bear Lake (Garden City, UT) and we went up for a break. Kenneth was able to stay only Friday-Sunday, while Danny & I stayed from Friday-Friday.

Over the initial weekend we had the privilege to listen to the leaders of our church during General Conference. The messages which were shared were truly inspiring. There was a lot of focus on the family which was wonderful since I need all the help I can get!! I cannot wait for the Ensign (church magazine) to come out next month which will feature all of the talks. I am excited to re-read the messages and to apply the teachings into my life.


I realized this was the first photo of Kenneth holding Danny while asleep. Darling!





The rest of the week at Bear Lake went well. I missed Kenneth a ton, and it was difficult because Danny was not feeling well/teething. He woke up quite often at night, and I couldn't just let him cry himself to sleep like he does at home. Not when there are people sleeping above and below us! He has been much better since coming home.






Danny kept giving the most adorable sour face!

It was hilarious at Bear Lake because there were blizzards every day (which always seemed to melt by the end of the day) except Thursday. The sun finally came out so I decided to take Danny swimming for the first time!! He was absolutely adorable and LOVED the pool! He was splashing away like crazy! It was so fun!







Since coming home, I've just been getting things organized at home. Yesterday (Sunday) we had dinner at Kenneth's parent's home with his siblings and had a little Easter egg hunt (since we didn't do anything at Bear Lake). Danny wasn't all that interested in the hunt, except for sucking on the occasional egg. ;)







We also took Danny on the trampoline for the first time this past Sunday. He loved it!







Danny has also improved quite a bit on his crawling! I can't remember how to load the video in the higher quality, so I'll do that tomorrow so you can see. Thanks!