The Opposite of Wester

This Easter was pretty cool. We missed Diane, and Daniel and Tyisa, but those of us that got together had a great time! I went to my parents' ward and it was so nice to be there with them and go to Relief Society with my mamma again. When we got home, David, Melissa, and the boys were already there and Nancy was on her way. Jacob joined us a little later with Josh and Dylan.

We started out by adoring Baby Jonathan's adorable outfit on his very first Easter. Here he is loving his beautiful grandma.

This was immediately followed by the start of the inevitable gun fight, which continued sporadically throughout the night.

Then came the Easter egg hunt. Each little guy found some eggs, which were stuffed with the most delicious gummy bear fruit snacks ever.

We enjoyed dinner together and watched some Phineas and Ferb, which was...interesting. Next, we grown-ups played Moods. It's a truly amazing game if you've never played!

And of course the little guys dyed eggs. This year we had a Star Wars egg dye pack that came with a 3D poster thingy, so of course, Cy had to test out the glasses!

Bahahaha! Don't even act like that's not amazing! lol I sure do love those little guys! It truly was another great day together!

General Conference, Family, and Magic!

This past weekend, I drove up to Utah with my parents. We went up to see Conference and ended up doing so much more and having a really great time!

We left Thursday right after work and drove to Cedar City where we stayed at a little place called Knights Inn. I think that it really was an inn for knights because it had those little sparkly things on the ceiling (which I happen to love...not even being sarcastic) and I don't think a real knight would settle for less than that, right? Anyhow, the bed was super comfy and it was a good night.

We woke up early the next morning and got on our way. We stopped in Filmore to get gas and decided to make a quick stop at Utah's old territorial state house where we were able to take a short tour and take a little break from being in the car.

Our next stop was BYU in Provo, where we were meeting Daniel and Tyisa to go see the Carl Bloch exhibit. It was AMAZING! Such beautiful pictures and an awesome presentation. We rented iPads that were loaded with extra info about the paintings. Here are just a couple of the beautiful paintings we saw:

In person, these paintings were extra beautiful and it was great to be able to see them with Daniel and Tyisa.

Next, we drove up to Salt Lake City where we met Diane at Cafe Rio. We had dinner together and while we were there we found out that Daniel and Tyisa were going to join us later that evening and join in our sleepover, rather than just coming up the next morning. Diane, Daniel, Tyisa, and I ended up staying up past 3 am just talking and having a good time! It was such a great evening...even with the extreme sleep deprivation! : )

Saturday morning we had a yummy homemade breakfast and then watched Conference on TV. We hung out all day and then Daniel and Dad had tickets to go to the Priesthood Session that evening. Here's some of our craziness:

My mom, Diane, Tyisa, and I went to do some shopping at Wal Mart while the guys were gone. It was not my favorite way to spend the evening, but it worked out. After Dad and Daniel got back, we made milkshakes, talked, and watched Tangled. Later, when Daniel and Tyisa were getting ready to drive back to their place in Springville, it started to snow! It snowed, and snowed, and snowed some more. In the morning, we woke up to this:

So, naturally, we had to take a million pictures! : )

Then, we got to attend the Sunday morning session of Conference in the Conference Center, which is always cool:

I have always wanted to see Temple Square in the snow and I finally got my chance!

After that, we hopped in the car and drove home so we could be back in time for work the next morning. It was such a fun weekend and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to be with my family members that I don't often get to see. My family means absolutely everything to me and this was just another reminder of why.

Lives, Fortune, and Sacred Honor

Something that many don't know about me is that I am a history junkie. Not a history buff. I'm not one to be able to rattle off a bunch of names, dates, and blah blah blah, BUT I love to learn cool stories about history. After all, those people in the history books were just that: people. People that were motivated and sometimes inspired to do important things. My absolute favorite time period is early American History, and in particular, the American Revolution. Man! Sometimes I get goosebumps when I hear stories from that time. It's humbling to know that people were willing to pledge their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor (as was written in the Declaration of Independence) aka EVERYTHING they valued, so that they could establish a land "choice above all others". I just feel so connected to those people, for some reason. I am pretty much obsessed with learning all I can about that it.

Sometimes, I'm super nerdy about it too. I was doing some research about Paul Revere's ride (just for kicks, not for school, work, etc.) and came across a dead link on the Paul Revere House website. I was frantic! I just wanted to read that page! haha! I actually wrote an email to report the dead link and asked if they could send me a different link to the info (and they did)!

Anyhow, over the years, I have come across, or been referred to, many great books, both novels and kiddie stories, that are amazing and can be used to teach ourselves and children about the rich heritage of our nation. I'll just share two, for now. Both of these are children's books that are truthful, captivating, informative, and most importantly, they portray the people we've come to know as heroes, as ordinary people that made choices and acted upon what they knew to be right.

The first:
"Can't You Make Them Behave, King George?" by Jean Fritz

I love this book! It tells lots of information about the infamous King George and shows him in a light that we do not often see him in. I highly recommend this book, as well as ALL other books by Jean Fritz. She has written tons of books about history and all are phenomenal.

The second:
"John, Paul, George, and Ben" by Lane Smith

I love this book because it is written in a lighthearted, humorous tone that kids find fun and also because it portrays the Founding Fathers during their childhood. Also, there is a true/false section that debunks some commonly known falsehoods used in the story (like George Washington and the cherry tree) and also gives some interesting lesser known trivia.

Walking in LA

On Saturday I went on a great adventure with Nancy, Jacob, and Josh and Dylan. We did an entire day in LA using only public transportation. It was my first time ever using public transportation so locally and it was way cool!
We took the Metrolink to Union Station,

then we took the subway for a while

then ended up on a bus, which dropped us off right in front of the La Brea Tar Pits. I hadn't been there for a long time, so I was excited!

I LOVE this kind of stuff! I'm a nerd when it comes to historical stuff and things like this totally blow my mind!

We went through the museum and saw some of the bones that they've excavated from the tar pits and got to learn about the history of the land.

Next, we walked down the street for a little while to catch the next bus. The section of the street we walked down is called the "Miracle Mile" and it has tons of museums.

Is it dark where you are? If so, the LA County Museum of Art has JUST what you need:

LAMPS! Lots of them!

Anyways...we took the bus to the Third Street Promenade and walked around a little bit. We saw Buca di Beppo and decided to eat dinner there. It was delish!

Next, it was off to the Santa Monica Pier. We walked on the pier a little bit, but mainly spent time on the beach.

I was a little nervous since it was only the day after the California coast had been struck by a little tsunami, as a result of Japan's huge earthquake. I know that by the time it got to us, it was negligible, but it was also the first time in my entire life that there had ever even been a threat to our area, so I was allowed to be a little nervous. : )

It was the boys' first time at the beach and they were loving the sand...especially throwing it.

After hanging out on the beach for a little while, we caught the express bus back to Union Station and took the Metrolink back home. It was such a fun day and was totally different than our typical outings. We mainly took the trains and buses because Josh and Dylan are fascinated with them, but we adults thought it was pretty awesome too!

Happy Birthday, Mr. President...

Since we had a 3 day weekend for Presidents Day, we decided to head on down to San Diego for some fun. David and Melissa and the boys decided to join us too. Sunday, after church, we drove to San Diego and checked into the hotel. We had a room right next to David's and Melissa's, which was cool because it meant that we could hang out without having to go all over the place. Also, the boys thought it was way cool to go back and forth between the two rooms. After we checked in, we went down to Old Town to tour the Mormon Battalion Visitor Center. My parents and I had been there before, but David and Melissa had not. It is way cool now that they've changed it up. After the presentation, we went to the back courtyard where the boys got to pan for gold and use an old fashioned well water pump. The boys loved it! Cy got super soaked and it was freezing cold, so we went back to the hotel when they had had their fun. Here we are at the visitor center:

You can tell how much fun they had by how soaked they are!

The next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel and then went to the zoo. We, of course, saw a bunch of animals. However, it was the big fake animals that seemed to capture the boys' attention the most.

After several hours in the zoo, we went to Balboa Park, which is pretty much right outside the zoo. David, Melissa, and the boys went on the little railroad train that was there. My dad rode that train when he was a little boy, and so did David, so it was cool that David got to take his own kids on it.

My dad said it was painted exactly the same even when he was a kid.

The boys also went on a little flying swing ride and enjoyed themselves.

They also rode the carousel, which has also been there since my dad was little.

I love the way the carousel is painted. I'll bet the pictures drawn and painted on the carousel are original because they look like something straight out of the era. I love it when history (even little paintings on a kiddie ride) is preserved! I think it's even cooler that they even still had the brass ring! Way cool!

After that, we decided to go to a place called Phil's BBQ for dinner; it was recommended to David by some co-workers and we wanted to try it out. We drove all the way there, only to find a sign that said, "Closed Mondays". Seriously!?!?!
We ended up going to Old Town to eat and we had some amazing Mexican food at a restaurant that was in the courtyard right next to Geppetto's.

***Side Note: Geppetto's toy shoppe is BACK!!! It's a little toy store that we used to go to every time we went to Old Town throughout my entire childhood, which was very often. We used to have a shelf in our house that held a bunch of little cartoon figures and it was quite a conversation piece. Many of those little figures came from Geppetto's. Sadly, we went to Old Town about a year ago and it was closed and completely empty. Sad, sad day. This time, I looked, longingly, over to where it had been all those years and was amazed to see that the beautiful Geppeto's sign had returned! Of course we went in. It isn't quite the same as it had been before...not as well stocked, but it was there and that's good enough for my nostalgic self! : )

After that, we headed home to get ready to start the work week. Blah! ; )

Love it!

It's A Jungle Out There!

I can't believe I haven't blogged this until now! Sheesh! A few weeks back, my whole family (all those that live in CA, at least) went to the Wild Animal Park in San Diego together. When I was a kid, we used to get annual passes to there and the San Diego Zoo and we used to go all the time. However, as the years went on, we got passes to other places and took a little break from the San Diego animal scene. It was cool to go back and now we all have passes again. Plus, it was Baby Jonathan's very first major outing!

Here we all are together right before we got on the little tram thing that takes you around to see the animal habitats:

Later, our friend, Anthony, also joined us.

We had a great time together and just took our time going through the park, since we all have passes and can go back anytime to see the things we missed. We spent lots of time in the petting zoo and watching the gorillas. Afterward, we all went to Round Table Pizza in Escondido and enjoyed a yummy dinner. All the little boys (except Baby Jonathan) went and ate in their own little booth. It was cute to see them act like little grown-ups, getting to eat in their own little space.

Then after dinner, the boys enjoyed a nice round of wrestling. Perhaps, I'm a bad auntie for just watching, laughing, and taking pictures, but I don't care! haha! It was awesome!

We had an amazing day!

I Love To See The Temple!

It's true. I really do love the temple. One year ago, yesterday, I went through the temple for the first time. To commemorate it, I decided to go back and do a session in Newport Beach, where I went for my first time through. My dad wasn't feeling so good, so just my mom and I went together. Though I wish that my dad could've gone too, I always enjoy spending quality time with my mamma. : ) Unfortunately, there wasn't anyone else around to get a picture of the two of us together, but we did at least get a couple of solo shots.

I am always in awe of how beautiful the temple is!

I never imagined I would be one of those people who would be all into it and excited about going back again and again, but I am! I'm so grateful that my bishop encouraged me to consider going. It really has changed my life for the better and I wonder how I ever lived without the blessing of being able to go there and feel the peace that is always found in the temple. Such a blessing!

Calico Ghost Town

Since we get MLK day off of work, we decided to go someplace fabulous. So, my parents and I took my 3 oldest nephews to Calico Ghost Town for the day. In the summer time, Calico, which is just outside of Barstow, feels like it's actually located on the sun, so this January day was just perfect for our adventure. It was a perfect place to take the boys because they had never been there before (Joey went when he was little, but doesn't remember it well) and it's a place where there's enough to do, but not so much that you have to run around trying to see everything. Also, it wasn't very crowded.

When I was a little girl, I would occasionally get to go on outings with my grandparents, sans my parents, and I remember thinking it was the coolest thing; I still remember those days fondly...even after all of these years. So, I think it's pretty cool that my parents got to give my nephews an experience like that too. Someday, maybe they'll be able to take my kids someplace special too!

Without further adieu, here are some pictures of the day:

Here are my nephews and my parents at the entrance of Calico. They boys were SO excited about the "wetters on the wocks!" as Cy called them. Everytime they came back into view while we drove, the boys would point them out. They're so sweet!

We went into this store and the boys each got to pick out a candy stick. My parents always used to buy those for us when we would go places like Old Town, San Diego, where they sold them. The boys loved them and I think they all actually finished them, rather than abandoning them after just a few licks.

We got to take the train around and they told us a little bit about the old mines that used to be in use at Calico. The boys thought it was cool that the train was bumpy like a real train : ) They laughed and held on tight when it would jolt forward.

This is the Maggie Mine and it...ummm...put the "ghost" in Ghost Town for sure. Call me crazy, but while we were in there, there were lots of uncomfortable spots and footsteps behind us when nobody was there. Calico is famous for its haunts and I guess it completed the experience to get to witness a couple firsthand. : )

While his big brothers were in the bathroom, Cy entertained himself by trying to stack all of these little pebbles. He would gather a pile and then stack them up. He got way into it and, at one point, sat flat on the ground in the dirt to get better leverage. He's so freakin' adorable!

Joey, Aaron, and Cy wanted to play on the stage, so we snapped a picture. After this, Cy ran around it in circles over and over again and then told me how it smelled like poo. Horse poo, to be exact. lol

I just had to include this one; I love my dad! He cracks me up! : )

They had some tables with checker boards painted on them and my dad played with the boys.

This house made out of glass bottles was super cool!

This is one of the last shots of the day. We had a great time and definitely slept well that night after all of that walking! Phew!

In the Air There's a Feeling of Christmas!

First and foremost, I would just like to start off with a couple of pictures of Christmas decorations at my house. Usually, by the time Christmas rolls around, we're all crawling to the finish line, absolutely exhausted, and completely ready for break. So, we don't go all out with our decor, but I love what we do put up. Since this might be my last Christmas in the nursery (see Peter Pan), I was a little more reflective and decided to take a couple of pictures.

This was our tree for the year. My mom and I went and picked it out. We decided that it was the most beautiful tree in all of Lowe's : )

This is one of my Snow White ornaments. Snow White was my camp name and I was way excited to get this ornament a few years ago.

It seems like everyone has that one special ornament on their tree, and this is ours. Growing up, we didn't have lots of ornaments on our tree, other than different colored Christmas balls. This is one of the few and it always held a place of honor on our tree. It was a privilege to get to be the one to put it up. We still stick, primarily, to the classic colored balls and so this ornament still has its time to shine each year. I love it and it will always be a special memory for me.