Christmastime and CALIFORNIA

It's March and I am finally blogging the "to be continued" post. It was a very busy holiday season followed by more busy-ness afterwards. Jason's sister and her two kids; Adam and Noreen, came to visit for about a week. Here are a few more pics from Christmas and their visit:

Pretty girls

Stockings

Cousins!

The morning after Christmas (Monday) it was GO-TIME! Jen and her kids were heading home while we were heading to California. We wanted to be on the road by 8am but it didn't happen. It was also Maddy's birthday. Nothing too major although there was a locked-keys- in the car incident, but we were on the road around noon. Our drive down was relatively uneventful. There were no storms or driving issues through the passes. We drove about 12 hours before we reached Redding, CA where we stayed the night in a motel. The next morning, we hit the road again and made it to Santa Paula, CA around dinnertime. Santa Paula is about 60 miles north-west of Los Angeles. We stayed in a cute historic hotel called The Glen Tavern Inn. It is actually known for being haunted and has an exciting history. We did not see any ghosts but it being an old building, it had it's share of creeks and other sounds. The hotel is beautiful and our room was so nice! Here are some pics:

Glen Tavern Inn

Our room, 1st floor

The beautiful hotel lobby

Palm trees? 78 degrees in December? YES please!

 I did not get any pictures of Dave and Frankie's house but it was absolutely adorable! I loved the diverse architecture of the small city of Santa Paula and their home is absolutely beautiful. I forgot it's actual definition but it reminded me of the house from Hansel and Gretel. Situated on a large lot, they have an INCREDIBLE back yard complete with koi pond, cactus, palm trees, a mini backyard-orchard with lemon, grapefruit and orange trees. The weather was fantastic our entire trip and the sunshine was a nice break from the rain in Seattle. Here are some pics from their backyard:

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The girls LOVED the backyard

Maddy and Grandma Frankie

Feeding the koi fish. They have around 30!!

Picking oranges for fresh o.j.

My loves :)

Our 7-day trip to CA was absolutely unforgettable. Everything from; visiting Dave and Frankie at their home, to staying in a haunted hotel. Seeing the sunset at Ventura Beach, to seeing the sites in L.A. and Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Disneyland, Malibu and everything in between. It was perfect. Dave is in a local band and we had the opportunity to watch them rehearse. This was SO cool and we all loved it! Jason has the pics and videos on his phone and I will upload them onto the blog soon. Savannah and Maddy joined them by singing along and playing instruments. What amazing memories we will all have!

Unfortunately the reason for the last-minute trip was due to Dave being recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and cancer of the duodeum. We were so very lucky to spend this time with them before he was to begin treatment and the battle against cancer. The moments and memories we shared will be cherished for a life time and I am so happy we spent this time together.

to be continued....

Still much more to blog about so check back soon to read about Christmas, our trip to visit grandpa and grandma in California (Jason's biological dad Dave, and his wife Frankie), DISNEYLAND and the exciting months ahead!!

Christmas 2011

Christmas came and went faster than ever so here is a recap of what we did:

We decided to visit a tree farm to get our tree this year and it was so fun! We sipped hot chocolate and walked through the woods to find our perfect tree. Stephanie and Mathew joined us and although all three kids were whining about the cold, it is definitely something we will do every year!

Jason's sister Jen and her two kids; Adam and Noreen, came to spend Christmas with us again this year. It is becoming some-what of an annual tradition (this was the second year). They stayed for a week and we had a great time! We took the kids to a gingerbread house making party at my friend Alisha's. We had a fantastic turn out and the kids had a blast! Here are some pics from the party:

Thanksgiving 2011

We anxiously awaited the holiday with so much to be thankful for. My dad, mom and both of my sisters flew up to spend Thanksgiving with us (for the first time ever!). We packed a lot in to their week-long stay and, of course, it went by too fast.

They arrived in the afternoon the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Jason was working so the girls and I met them for lunch at Purple Cafe in Kirkland which was about half way from the airport to our house. We were SO excited that we arrived over an hour early! After lunch we headed north to their hotel in downtown Everett then to our house to relax until Jason came home from work. We went to La Palmera for dinner that evening.

Wednesday we went to Maltby Cafe for a yummy breakfast then my sisters and I snuck away to Alderwood Mall for a little shopping. That night we went to Emory's on Silverlake in Everett for dinner. I have been a few times for brunch (which is yummy) but this was our first time for dinner- AWESOME!

Thursday (Thanksgiving) sipped Bloody Mary's at our house along with some fruit and yogurt to snack on. Our Salty's reservation was for 3:15 and we were seated right away. Dinner was fantastic! It was so nice to just be able to relax while enjoying an incredible feast together. After dinner we made our way home and took a 'nothing short of a food coma' nap- then my sisters and I decided to do some black Friday shopping. Many stores opened at midnight (and some earlier!). First we stopped at Toys R Us, they opened at 9pm and we arrived a little after 11pm thinking the crowed would have died down. No such luck, there was still a long line outside and in the rain. We headed north to the Seattle Premium Outlets. We got some awesome deals then crawled into bed around 3am. It was crazy busy and we ended up parking by the casino. We stopped in to use the bathroom and for giggles we put a few bucks in a penny slot machine. Katie lost her money within seconds but I walked away with $13 (after only putting in $3!)

Friday- my dad and I went to Costco. He always gives us a "Costco Care Package" for Christmas every year. Then we met up with everyone else at Jersey Mike's.  Later that evening, we went to Claim Jumper for dinner.

Saturday- we went took the Santa Train to Snoquamie, it was really fun and the kids had a blast! Afterwards we went home and actually cooked dinner rather than going out. We made 'thick-juicy-steaks' (as my dad always calls them), giant tiger prawns, baked potatoes, steamed asparagus, and salad with "dad's famous dressing" (another family favorite).

Sunday- Christmas shopping!!! Then The Keg for dinner.

Monday- Savannah missed school in order to spend the last little bit of their vacation with us. We went to Blue Moon Burger's in Fremont then walked up to the troll and around some of the neat shops in the Seattle neighborhood. Then we said our goodbye's- until next time!
I am posting this one week after they left and can I just say, I am STILL full from all the eating we did!

GWL- 11/2011

The first weekend in November we took a quick trip to Great Wolf Lodge. It was Jason and Maddy's first time at the lodge and Savannah and I couldn't wait to show them the ropes. I even bought a waterproof camera! We invited Stephanie and Mathew to join in on the fun too!

On our way!

MagiQuest

                                           A splashing good-time!!

                                   

                             

                                'KidsKamp'- bunkbeds in our room

                     Until next time....

Holidays

I love the holiday season and while I look forward to it every year, I also am amazed by just how fast each year flies by. This year is going to be wonderful as my family will be flying up to spend the week in Seattle. I have lived away from my family in Utah for 9 years now and have spent nearly all the last 9 Thanksgiving without them. I worked 8 years for Sprint (in retail) which meant I worked the day before and after Thanksgiving and long hours during the holiday season. Jason often had to work before and after Thanksgiving as well and since I do not know how to cook, we spend Thanksgiving at Salty's on Alki. It's perfect for us, no cooking, no cleaning and just enjoying yummy food while spending the day together. Salty's features a wonderful Thanksgiving buffet in their beautifully decorated restaurant featuring fantastic views of Seattle. They serve all the traditional foods of Thanksgiving and so much more-- including seafood! I, myself am not a huge turkey fan so I am very happy to feast on Dungeness crab and Prime Rib instead!
Since I am still not working, my dad, mom, and both of my sisters started planning their Thanksgiving trip to Seattle months ago. My dad is an AMAZING cook and looked forward to preparing dinner at our house. The last time my mom, dad, and sisters were all in town at the same time was for my wedding- so quite a special treat! My family loves to come visit and we do so much tourist-y stuff when ever they come. My dad is the type of cook that way over-plans for meals. If there will be 10 of us, he will cook for 20! All the planning, shopping, and prep for Thanksgiving would take up the vast majority of their trip so we decided on Salty's. That way we can spend the maximum amount of relaxation time together. We will still cook meals at home but this will be nice because we won't have the added stress of all that goes into Thanksgiving. We have many fun things planned (mostly including eating at their fav restaurants) and our first visit on the Santa Train so stay tuned for pics!

525,600 minutes

How do you measure a year? (gotta love 'RENT')

November 6th 2011 marked one year since I lost my job. I had a list of goals I wanted to accomplish if I were to ever become unemployed including: Zumba every day, take Savannah to and from school ON TIME each and every day, lose weight, have a squeaky- clean house, go to school to become a nurse, prepare and cook nearly all meals at home, and not miss any more moments with Jason and our girls. I am sad to say that I have only done about 2 of the things on my list; start school and not miss any more family moments. But, I am happy for the memories we have made over the past year. We are so blessed and have so much to be thankful for and for once, I am not too busy working to enjoy it all.

Looking back on the past 525,600 minutes I can't believe how fast they went by. Not going to give up on my list though because it's better late than never!

Looking ahead to the next year (and beyond) I still have much to look forward to and will be working on accomplishing goals from the first year.