Just Because

I think my girls are so stinkin cute that I just wanted to put some pictures up of them.

This picture was taken at my grandma's funeral. I think they look so cute.

Well it is only December 7th and I feel like so much has happened so far in this month. I am almost done Christmas shopping. I love to finish it way before the BIG day because I like to just relax and enjoy this season. It is my favorite!

On Friday, I got a call from my daughters school. My oldest was on the monkey bars and fell and knocked a tooth out. She didn't just fall another girl pushed her. The girl wasn't trying to be mean but was trying to help her. So I went to go get her at school and take her to our dentist. He ended up taking out 2 more teeth because they were loose. Luckily, the were baby teeth. She was sick when we got home. She just laid on the couch. Not a fun day.



This was the next day after the swelling went down (somewhat). I think she looks so cute without her teeth!

We went to go get our Christmas tree later that day. It didn't take us long to find it. This tree is shorter than we are used to but I instantly fell in love with it.

I don't know what Karley is doing in this picture but I love the crazy face!

Last year when we went to get our tree, we wore t-shirts. This year is cold and I love it.

Here are some random shots that I thought were cute.I love this shot because of Karley's pose. She is always posing when a camera comes out.

Look at that face! She looks like a little raga muffin. I love the cheeks!

What a cute picture! They are really great to each other. They have their moments of arguing but they really do love being together.

This is Karley's typical outfit when we get home for church. She loves dance and can't wait to get back to it.

Loss

I am just returning from Idaho for the second time within a six month period. Six months ago my grandpa died and just last week my grandma died. This has been really hard on me. My grandparents were so awesome. I thought they would live forever. Seriously, they were so full of life. I just took for granted that they would always be around.

I hate funerals. I am such an emotional person. I cry when I see others crying. So going to a funeral for someone I love is so hard for me. But I was calm at my grandmas funeral because I was able to talk to her on the phone and tell her how much I love her. I didn't get that with my grandpa so I had a much harder time at his funeral. I am so thankful for their example of love. They truly loved each other. They were always holding hands. When I was thinking about them dying 6 months apart, it is kind of romantic. Sad for us who are left behind but now they are together again. It is comforting to me knowing that I will see them again.

Big Girl!

Olivia is at that stage where she is climbing everything. Today for the first time she climbed onto Karleys bed. It is not a bed that is low to the ground either. I think she wants to be a big girl and sleep in a big girl bed. She has already attempted climbing the ladder on the top bunk. The child scares me. She looks too little to be a big girl bed. Plus, I'm not ready for her to be in one.

Halloween

I didn't realize how long it has been since I wrote on my blog. My life has been busy with school and soccer. My girls love school but probably love soccer more. Mckenna has really taken to it. It is really fun to go to their games and cheer them on. I didn't think I would like it because I never really liked soccer but I guess I never gave it a chance. I just have to say that there are some crazy parents out there. They are a little too involved and start yelling at their kids telling them they aren't playing very well. I feel sorry for their kids. The season is almost over and I am kinda looking forward to getting my Saturday's back.

Last night was Halloween. My girls love dressing up. I couldn't get the girls all together because the baby wouldn't just stand there. She cracks me up. She totally has a mind of her own.

Karley is Dorothy, obviously. She makes a cute Dorothy. Mckenna is Laura Ingall's. No one at school really knew who she was. Mckenna watched Little House on the Praire a few times and decided to be Laura. I think she looks cute.

Mckenna won't like her smile here but I wanted to show the front of the dress. Thanks to my friend Kristine for letting us borrow the dress. I didn't know if I was ever going to find one and I don't sew but luckily I have a friend who does sew and made one for her daughter a few years ago.

Seriously, don't you just want to squeeze her. She was Minnie Mouse. I bought this outfit last year thinking that she will be 18 months so it will totally fit. I didn't think that she may be a little more chunky at 18 months. It was a little snug but she loved wearing it.

I just love this picture.

There really is no place like home.

First Day Of School

I can't believe I have a child in Kindergarten and another in 2nd grade. Where does the time go.
I hate to see summer go but I also love coming back to a schedule (except waking up early is really hard).
















Mckenna was quite excited to back into school. She was excited to see her friends and meet her new teacher.





















Karley looks a little scared here but she was excited too. I got to spend the first day with her. They ask the parents of kindergartners to stay and enjoy some activities with their child. So really we are there for about an hour and then their day is over. But the next day we had to say goodbye at the door. She loves school, just like her big sister.

Beach House!

Every year we get a beach house in Newport Beach with my family. That consist of my parents, four brother and their families. We really love this vacation. My girls look forward to it every year. This year I was worried because I thought the baby would be so hard on the beach. But she really wasn't. For the most part she stayed right by us. She only wandered a few times . Here are some pictures of the girls at the beach.


The reason this picture is so bright is because Ryan said I should put it on the mode for when it is sunny. It is way too bright looking. I'm bummed because I like to get a close up of the girls and I took this picture on the last day.

This is my youngest brother Nick.

Every night, we walk to the pier and every time we go Mckenna has to get a chocolate banana with sprinkles on it. She loves theses things.

I love her belly hanging out of her swim suit. This picture was our last day on the beach. It was freezing that day. You can see my nephew with a towel wrapped around him.

Every year, we rent bikes and ride them to Balboa Island. It is really fun. It was Olivia's first time. Right after this picture was taken she fell asleep. It was during her nap time.

Another tradition we have is going to Crab Cooker on our last night. We love this place. I have been going here since I was a little girl.

I forgot to take pictures of the many nights that we played Rock Band. My sister in law brought wigs and we had so much fun rockin out. She posted them on YouTube. I had no idea she was taping them and I didn't know she would post them on youtube. Oh well! I made a fool of myself but it was totally worth it.

I love that we do this every year. We have great memories from the 9 years that we have been going and I look forward to the many more memories that we will have.

Home Sweet Home!

The girls and I just got back from Idaho. It was a last minute trip. I really wanted to go this summer but it was hard to figure out. I was talking to my mom and she said "just come" and I did. We left a few days later. We drove for thirteen hours. It was hard at the end but I have to say the girls were really good. I know that I am crazy for doing it all in one day but I just wanted to get there. It was fun to be there. We didn't do anything big but we just enjoyed being in Idaho. It really is a beautiful state. The skies are beautiful. Life is slower there. I had to get used to it. After eight days I was ready to go home. The girls could have stayed way longer but not me . I missed my husband too much.

This slip-n-slide was used a lot during our time there. The girls loved it!

I love this picture of them walking together.

What is cuter than a chunky baby in a swimsuit?!

The girls started playing with my mom's makeup and then I just took it further and made them look like this. My favorite part is the uni-brows. They were cracking me up. After we were done, they were acting like models so I just started taking pictures.

I couldn't do the full 13 hours again on the way home so we stayed in St. George, Utah. We had a lot of fun there. We went out to dinner at Ruby Tuesday's and surprisingly it was really good food. Then we went to Neilson's Frozen Custard ( so good). We went to the St. George Temple. It is so beautiful. Ryan told me that his grandma and grandpa were married there. They lived in Los Angeles but that was the closest temple to them at the time. How cool! We also went swimming at the hotel. I was trying to wear them out so they would sleep good that night.

It was a fun trip but I am so glad to be home. Now I just need a vacation from the kids.

Mud Run!!!!

Last Saturday Ryan and I did a mud run. It was so much fun. I was really nervous and didn't sleep well the night before. I didn't know what to expect. I knew there was going to be mud but I didn't know how difficult the course would be. We had to jump walls and crawl through mud and then we tread through nasty smelling water and crawled in sand and then through more mud. It was dirty but it was awesome. I did the 5k this year. Next year maybe the 10k. All I know is that I will definitely be doing this again. Ryan stayed with me the whole time. Actually I told him to take off because I thought I was holding him back but once he saw the mud he waited for me because he wanted to see me get all muddy. It was so much fun to do this with Ryan.

Here is the group we ran with. They were such a fun group.

This is after the run. We were muddier before but they have you run through water.

This is a pile of shoes after the run. There was no way I was going to save them. They either donate them or recycle them. I love this picture.