Our California Adventures!

I know you've all been dying to know all about what we did on our Christmas/New Years vacation. Settle down and get ready. . . this might take awhile! :)

Kirsten played outside and loved it every day. She woke up really early every morning (before 7 am!) and usually the first thing she said was "Mimi." It meant she wanted to go outside and see my parents' dog, Millie. She just loves Millie!
We visited Stephen's Aunt Mary and Uncle Lance on Coronado Island and Kirsten got some fun presents from all the relatives! She was shy around the strangers, but she liked their dog, of course.

We had a few bonfires in the backyard and roasted hot dogs and made s'mores. It made me miss camping!

We got to eat at some of my favorite restaurants that we don't have in Seattle. The Old Town Mexican Cafe, Chili's, Fuddruckers, Old California Mining Company, Rubios. . . YUM!!!

We took a walk by the San Diego Harbor and saw the boats! It was a gorgeous day!

Kirsten fed the chickens pretty much every day. She is braver than me! I don't even like doing that!

She loved scattering their food everywhere and it was really fun to watch her.

We rang in the New Year at about 7:00 with Kirsten. . .

And then at midnight with all the adults! My cousin Tammy and her family stayed over and we played Apples to Apples until midnight.

Kirsten made great friends with Tammy's cute son Andy. Andy was so good with her, and she followed him around and even said his name!

Kirsten pretended she was going kayaking. . .

Played with the water faucet in my parents' yard. . .

Picked apples and pet the kitties. . .

And I realized even more how badly I want a cute little puppy like this one someday! Isn't that maltese the cutest? A neighbor brought him over to play and I just wanted to snuggle with him all day.

We ate a pretty wild dinner at the Elephant Bar Restaurant!

And went to my cousin Pam's wedding and reception at the very end of the trip. She was such a beautiful and happy bride!

Whew! We were busy! But we definitely had a ton of fun!!!

I'm Going Home Tomorrow!

My pictures still won't load onto this slow internet connection's pages, so I'll save the post of "What we did on our vacation" for later and do something I almost never do. . . a picture-free post! Gasp! What am I thinking???

Here are the things that I miss about my home in Seattle and what I'm most looking forward to seeing again tomorrow night:

1. Stephen! Of course I'm excited, since I haven't seen my husband in almost two weeks! Kirsten will be thrilled to see him again too.

2. My cute kitties! I really have missed them both! When I go to sleep at night I imagine them curled up on my pillow around my face, like they both love to do, and it makes me wish I could pet them. I hope they're excited to see me!

3. Speaking of my pillow. . . I'm excited to sleep in my own bed again with my real pillow!

4. The TREES! I seriously miss all the tall, gorgeous pine trees!

5. Our DVR. Is it pathetic to be so attached to an electronic device? Once you own a DVR, it's just so hard to live without one for any length of time! I'm looking forward to watching the shows that are saved on there and being able to record anything I want.

6. I'm excited to see my friends up there again! Even though I've had a really awesome time playing games with friends down here. I've had such a great time down here with Brandon, Tiffany, Hyrum, and Kim! Thanks for hanging out with me guys!

7. Some late Christmas gifts and cards are still waiting at home for me to open! Christmas all over again!

8. Stephen has been hard at work painting the third bedroom and our upstairs hallway while we've been gone. I'm so excited to see the results! I'll post pictures too after I see them.

This will be our last flight with Kirsten as a "lap child" because I'm sure we won't be flying with her again until after she turns 2 in May. I hope it's a good flight, and I'm hoping for plenty of empty seats so she can have her own seat anyway. We always seem to fly the full flights, but this time is a Monday and it's after the holiday season, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for empty seats!

It's been great spending time in San Diego. Watch for a post soon about all our adventures down here! For now. . . Seattle here I come!!!

Our Day In LA!

Wow, I am finally able to blog again! I'm still in San Diego, and my parents' computer has been having major issues. I haven't been able to upload any pictures onto my blog until today! I've figured out that two of the most annoying things in the world are:

#1- Really slow internet when you're used to high-speed cable

AND

#2- Live TV when you're used to a DVR

I'm going crazy!!!

Anyway. . . guess where we went just a couple days before Christmas?I was reminded why we don't go to LA very often. . . it took 3 hours each way in traffic to get there! And we didn't spend much time in Hollywood, but we did get to eat yummy nachos at the Pig 'n Whistle Restaurant and stop by Grauman's Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard.

I got to put my hand in the hand print of Gene Kelly, my favorite dancer ever!

There's not a whole ton to do on Hollywood Boulevard, but after that we headed to the Getty Museum- Southern California's biggest and best art museum. And it's great because after you pay for the parking, the museum itself is free!

So here it is. . . a picture of me looking pregnant. :) This fountain is at the Getty Museum.

I was a humanities major in college with an art history emphasis, so I have spent many hours studying and analyzing great works of art. I loved being able to go to a museum again and see some beautiful works of art, even though I felt kind of dumb because my art history knowledge has most definitely faded. I just can't remember everything I used to know!
This was one of my favorite paintings in the museum. . . done by the English painter, Turner. It's just gorgeous!

They also had some wonderful paintings by Monet and some of my other favorite Impressionist painters. I love Impressionist art!

The museum sits up on a hill, so there's an amazing view of LA from the museum!

It was a really fun day, even though it was a looooong time spent in the car. We can all be glad we don't have to deal with LA traffic every day!

Our Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve was lots of fun! Kirsten's too young to understand what it is yet, but I dressed her in her Christmas jammies and Mickey Mouse Santa hat and took some pictures of her by the tree. She loved taking the ornaments off!
We learned all kinds of things this year about celebrating Christmas with a toddler who's too young to understand Christmas or Santa Clause. I have to say. . . I'm excited for next year, when she'll actually be excited too!

Lesson #1: Don't hang any ornaments you care about on the bottom half of the tree. Even if you don't think she can reach them, she probably can!

I set up her cute presents around the tree. . .

Stuffed the stockings with care. . .

And then discovered on Christmas morning. . .
Lesson #2: Don't expect your toddler to care about the presents you put so much thought into. At least we got some cute Christmas morning pictures on the stairs!

We opened our stockings first. . .

And then all the presents!!!

Lesson #3: Enjoy the fact that even though she doesn't light up with joy about her presents, at least she's not making mile-long lists of toys she wants and changing her mind at the last minute.

We really did have a wonderful Christmas! And we're so grateful to everyone who helped to make it so great. For all of you who sent us cards or gifts. . . Thank you! We love you!

Some Fun New Year's Giveaways!

A few of my blog friends are doing some AWESOME giveaways on their blogs, so I just had to share them all!

Merrianne is giving away a whole box of surprises! I'm dying to know what they are!My friend at April Showers is giving away gift certificates for Bath and Body Works and some awesome cosmetics!

Over at Forever and Always there's a fun giveaway for a pair of adorable baby shoes from See Kai Run. I really want to win this pair for Kirsten!
And then I was thrilled to see that I won a beautiful art print from my friend Shauna! I chose 'Security', the second image that is shown. It's gorgeous! Everyone can get one too from this generous artist and here is the information about it:

I wanted to share these beautiful pictures and what the artist has to say about each one of them! You can ALL win a FREE signed 8x10 print of your choice (out of the three prints), by copying and posting to your blog or website this whole post! After you post then send an e-mail to David (contact@bowman-art.com) with your website or blog address telling him you posted it and that you read about this offer on my blog. Also send him your name and mailing address and he will send your signed 8x10 print of your choice :)

David Bowman: has had a passion for art ever since he could pick up a pencil. He loves creating images of the Savior that inspire and uplift. Along with his Christian fine art, David has also written and illustrated a series of scripture storybooks for children titled "Who's Your Hero". Check out his website at www.bowman-art.com to see more of his precious art.



"Innocence"
The Savior tells us we need to become as little children to inherit the kingdom of God. I've often wondered what it is about little children Jesus loves most, and I think its their innocence. They are clean slates, seeing the world and others through untarnished eyes. Their hearts are pure, without the baggage of cynicism and self-doubt. In this piece, I've tried to imagine how a child would act upon meeting the Master for the first time. Without reservation or inhibition, I think he would simply want to play with Him. He would be at complete ease, allowing his pure little heart to soak in the love and laughter of His pure, infinite heart. Its no wonder Christ delights in these little ones and sets them up to be our examples.


"Security"
One of the greatest human needs is a sense of security. In all aspects of life, we naturally gravitate towards anything that makes us feel safe. In this piece, I wanted to convey a sense of complete peace and calm like only the Savior can provide. It's a security that allows us to rest assured, without fear or worry, when we put ourselves trustingly in His arms. Little children have that inherent kind of trust in their parents, so it's fitting that the man and girl who modeled for "Security" are actually father and daughter. They generated
the exact feel I was looking for.



"My Child"
This piece conveys an intimate, up-close-and-personal feeling of the Savior's love. Notice how all the lines draw your attention and point towards Jesus' face in the center. I chose the name "My Child" because the only thing that could compare (even remotely) to Christ's compassion for us is the love of a parent for his/her child. This image is also intended to put things in perspective. Above all, we are God's children first. He allows us the privelege of experiencing parenthood for ourselves and we are entrusted to be the mothers and fathers of His children here on earth.

The Little Christmas Baker

Before Christmas, we had a little elf helping us making Christmas goodies for the first time. . . She was so thrilled to help Grandma roll out the dough for the sugar cookies. Especially because she got to EAT the cookie dough! She was in heaven!

This is me and my brother putting the final touches on the Santa cookies.

Kirsten also had a great time on Christmas eve, helping to make the orange rolls!

It was so gross. . . she would pick up an entire roll of dough and just take a big bite out of it!

She had flour all over her by the time we were done.

We also made pretzel rods dipped in caramel and chocolate! YUM! We made a big mess making them, but they were super good. Totally worth it!

We love making Christmas treats! And we especially love eating them afterwards. It's been a yummy Christmastime around here!