petting zoo

Lately I've noticed that whenever we see an animal, Kendall gets super excited. I thought it was a good time to take her to her first "zoo". I put that in quotes because we went to the petting zoo in Oak Glen, which is VERY small and not that exciting. But she loved seeing the animals and grunted/growled as they moved about. Cam had a great time too, mainly running around and chasing the peacocks. :)

walking

Lately Kendall has turned a corner. She didn't used to be that great at walks. She would quickly get squirmy in the stroller and I would end up carrying her the rest of the way home. But lately she has really taken to it and I'm so glad. I love going on walks because...

*It is something for us to do while Cam is at school. How many times can we switch rooms to play with different toys? :)
*It's good for her to be outside and viewing different scenery.
*It's an instant boost. When I'm feeling down or just stir crazy, I immediately feel better once we start out on a walk.
*It's good exercise.
*It's interesting. Before having kids, I NEVER went for walks for the sake of going for a walk. I love how having kids forces me to get out and I always enjoy seeing who is sitting outside of Starbucks, taking their dog for a walk, walking home from school, etc.
*It gives me a little "me" time. Walking is one time where I don't have to be "on" as a mom. I can relax and listen to music. Today's playlist included Jimmy Buffet, Jason Moraz, and Phil Collins (I know, quite a random list).

40th

Last night we celebrated my parents' 40th anniversary. They aren't the big party type, but I wanted to plan something special for them. I decorated our table, bought some roses, and had a few other things up my sleeve. We first ate a super tasty and easy dinner I made from a recipe my sister gave me a long time ago.

After dinner I gave them each a quiz to take. The questions were mainly about favorite memories they had of their marriage as well as things they loved about one another. It was so sweet to hear. I then showed them a video of my nieces (who live in Germany) singing Happy Anniversary. Afterward I gave them the gift from my sister and I. It was a picture of their wedding day, with a message from each of us on it. We then ate cake and ice cream. I had borrowed a fun cake pan from a friend and it turned out really well.

Happy 40th, Mom and Dad!!! Thanks for giving Susan and I such a perfect example of what a loving-always talking kindly about one another-never arguing in front of us-enjoying to be with one another-loving Christ-marriage looks like. :)

V is for Vegas

The last time my in laws were in town, they told us to find a date this summer when we could go to Vegas and they would watch the kids. I can't tell you how excited we are, and it's still several months away. One day when we were feeling especially "kid drained," Chris came up with a good idea to put us in a better mood.

So...every time we are feeling frustrated or overwhelmed, we'll look at each other and flash our "V" sign. This not only makes us laugh, but it reminds us that a nice and relaxing trip to Vegas is in the near future. :)

quirks and habits

*When I dip into our jar of peanuts, I hate getting halves. I always pick out the whole peanuts.

*A big pet peeve of mine has to do with windshield wipers. I HATE when people have their wipers going full blast and it is only sprinkling. I'm constantly adjusting my speed when it rains and have been known to reach over and adjust them when Chris is driving.

*I put Kendall's paci in my mouth before I give it to her if it has dropped on the ground. I've read that this is bad due to the bacteria in my own mouth. But I would rather her have my bacteria than nasty hair/dirt from the ground!

*I recheck our oven about 3 times before I head to bed (if I have used it that day). I usually end up getting out of bed, "just to make sure" before I drift off to sleep. Not that an oven left on would start a fire...but you never know. :)

*I love the crumbs at the bottom of chip/cracker bags, especially Cheeze its. That is where the real saltiness is!

*An overcooked cookie is really not worth eating.

the beach

We just got back from a very exhausting, but totally worth it weekend at our aunt's condo in Port Hueneme. It was great to be in a different place, with different parks, within walking distance of the ocean...you get the picture. It was so nice of Noonie to let us use her place and we are grateful for the fun getaway.

We went to Santa Barbara on Sunday. There were some people raising money for a wildlife organization. They were letting people hold snakes in return for a small donation. Cam jumped right in and held one. He enjoyed it, but I think the snake was a little too boring for him. :)



We ate at our favorite restaurant, Palazzio's. What a sight we must have been. Kendall is in her yelling phase and exercised this throughout the meal. Then Cam was loudly asking everyone that passed by, "EXCUSE ME. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?". Luckily it wasn't too crowded so we weren't annoying that many people. :)


An after-meal dessert of frozen yogurt, minus the actual yogurt. Cam isn't a fan of frozen yogurt or ice cream, but boy he loves the toppings!


This is right below Noonie's condo. Cam loved walking on the logs.


Overall the car rides were awesome, as far as the kids were concerned. However, I was VERY ready to be out of my designated spot between the car seats in the back. Here we are about 30 minutes from home and VERY ready to be there. :)

snow day

While this probably isn't that big of a deal for many people, a day where they cancelled school because of the amount of snow was huge for us! We woke up to such a beautiful sight and it wasn't long before all the neighborhood kids were out playing in the snow.





Here was Cam's indoor, snow activity...take a look.