House Swap

Two weekends ago we did a fun house-swap with Jen's in-laws, the Stewarts. Their whole gang came to SoCal and stayed in our house and my parents' house and we stayed in their place in Las Vegas. We had a wonderful time relaxing and enjoying a quiet, mellow weekend. The pool and putting green were among our favorite activities.

Here's where we spent the majority of our time - in the "Stewart Spa Resort". It was the ideal place for a little weekend getaway. And, other than the first day, it wasn't toooooo terribly hot.

On Friday afternoon and evening, we got together with two of my good friends all growing up, Cassie and Hayley. Cassie just had a baby girl a few months ago, so it was extra fun to get to see little Scarlett! I love spending time with old friends.

My mom and I decided to use some of our relaxation time to piece together a quilt for the baby. It was really fun and turned out great, if I do say so myself! Mom did all the sewing and I did the cutting, ironing, and piecing - we make a great team!

On Saturday night we went to the Mirage to see "LOVE" - the Beatles Cirque du Soliel show. It was absolutely amazing and I would highly recommend it! There were everything from rollerbladers to break dancers to trapeze-artists to acrobats hanging from ropes in the ceiling. The stage was constantly changing and it was truly sensory overload - in the best way imaginable!

After the show we walked the strip for awhile and had a great time seeing the sites of exciting Las Vegas. It really is a sight to see. We watched the Bellagio water show and had to get a picture in front of the pseudo Eiffel Tower. Not nearly as impressive as the real thing, but still pretty cool!

We finished off the trip with more time lounging around in the pool, playing bocce ball, and hitting up the putting green. Thanks, Stewarts! It was a great last hurrah before our lives change forever... ;)

Visitors all the way from Germany!

I got to spend all day on Friday with our wonderful friends from Germany: Martin, Susi, and Dean. They had shown us such a great time while we were in Germany, we couldn't wait to return the favor! Too bad we only got a day to do it...and Brad had to work most of it! But it was a great day and as Dean said, it's pretty amazing that we live on opposite sides of the world, but we still get to see each other so frequently. Hooray for modern travel!

Here are Martin and Dean in our living room. Crazy! They're actually here! It felt almost surreal to have them in my very own home, halfway around the world! It was such a treat for me to get to play tour-guide barbie and show them around our neck of the woods.

My mom was nice enough to let us borrow her convertible for the day and they all LOVED it! The true California experience, complete with sunburns and all! ;)

Martin said he loved Mexican food, so I decided to take them to the most authentic Mexican place around - Pedro's Tacos. Even though Martin and I were the only ones that thoroughly enjoyed our meals, we had a great time. And I introduced them all to Horchata...not a German favorite, apparently. They did think it was funny the the San Juan Mission is our version of "old" in California. Yeah, I guess a 200 year old mission that's falling apart pales in comparison to the ancient castles and landmarks they have everywhere around their house!

After lunch we headed to what are normally the tide pools in Dana Point. However, we've had unseasonably high tides lately and all the tide pools were covered - Bummer! Especially since I had been telling them how cool sea-anenomes are. But, it wasn't a total bust, we still had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the gorgeous day!

We stopped by the Chart House (not to eat, but to take some great pictures) before heading down to Laguna Main so Susi could shop to her little heart's content! The view of the Harbor was fantastic!

We finished off the day with a great dinner at Ruby's (per Dean's request) with a party of 10 of us. Brad was finally able to join us, as well as my parents, and Dean's host family from last year. We love our Germans and can't wait to see them again! ;)

Day Trip to LA

After having coordinated and taught a German Foreign Exchange Student program last summer, I turned over my title to Jessica Shea. She took over the program this year and invited me to join them on any of the activities. So, I decided to hop on the bus and do the LA sightseeing tour with them. We hit up all the major sights: Venice Beach, Santa Monica Pier, The Farmer's Market and the Grove, Rodeo Drive, and Grauman's Chinese Theatre. It was a fun adventure and made me miss my cute Germans from last year! ;)

Our second stop was Santa Monica Pier (after seeing all the crazies at Venice Beach). Here I am, looking very pregnant between this year's German teacher, Elizabeth, and my replacement, Jessica. The three of us had a great time together touring LA!

Here we are on Santa Monica Pier. Not a great shot of the sights, but I guess that's what you get for asking a stranger to take your picture. Oh, well!

Elizabeth and I on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.

After cruising through Rodeo drive, we finished off the day at Grauman's Chinese theatre before beginning our trek back home. I have to say - it is soooo nice to have a bus driver that has to fight the LA traffic, and not me!

My Ward Baby Shower

Saturday, July 24th was the day, Sarah's house was the place, 10:00am was the time, and ABSOLUTELY AMAZING was the event! My friends threw me the best Baby Shower ever! I am so grateful for everyone who planned, helped, and came to celebrate this exciting day with me - thanks for making it one for the record books!

My incredible friends that spoiled me rotten! I am the luckiest girl alive to have such great friends - thanks for making my shower the BEST ever! I love you, girls! ;)
It's not a party without food! Not only did it all look great, it tasted great, too! Sarah made the diaper-cake. Officially the cutest diaper-cake known to man - it was a hit and will be on display in my house for awhile if you want to stop by and see it (until we need to break it apart and actually use it, of course!).

Shalon was in charge of decorations and she went all out - it looked fantastic! She made this adorable mobile and the cute "It's a Girl" thing in the background. There were cute little tissue puff-balls hanging throughout the house, too. Wow! Great job, Shalon!

Some of my awesome friends.

Jaime and Callie were both there to share the fun - how cool to have two of my best friends from High School in town for the big event, too.

Some of the guests awaiting the cutest Baby Shower Game ever! Cindy videotaped Brad doing various baby chores (changing clothes, strapping into a car seat, etc.) on her newborn baby. She timed him and we had to guess how long it would take. She then quizzed him on baby terms (like episiotomy and colostrum) and gave us multiple choice options for what he said. It was the best game ever! And, no, I didn't win...I wasn't even close! How sad! Brad was a great sport, as always. He'll be the best dad in the whole world!

Gotta love the gift-opening faces. A sample of one of the many adorable outfits our little girl is going to look darling in! ;)

The pre- and post-labor belly comparison. Cindy is looking great already!

USS Midway and the Mormon Battalion

On the final day of Grammy and Pops Camp, we all drove down to the harbor in San Diego to tour the USS Midway - a fully operational aircraft carrier. It was a great experience for all of us and made me appreciate even more all that our servicemen do for us.

Some of the gang out in front of the ship - hard to believe that ships are that big, huh?

My dad served on the Ticonderoga (a smaller version of the USS Midway) during Vietnam, so he was our own personal tour guide through the ship. It was so neat to get to hear his stories and to be able to envision what life must have been like for him - what a great hero for all of us kids!

The kids got to climb in the pilot's chair for a photo-op. Here's Syd hamming it up, as always! ;)

Zane looking fearsome behind the stick. I'd say he must take after his dad, what do you think?

After a great tour of the ship, we headed to the completely renovated Mormon Battalion. It was AWESOME! If you haven't been since they've redone it, I highly recommend it. After the tour they had a little area where the kids get to pan for gold and play with an old water pump. It was a big hit.

While the kids panned for gold Amy and I tried to soak up the only few rays of sun we saw all day. Who knew June Gloom would last through July?!?

On the last night of Camp, all 16 of us ended up under one roof. Yeah, that was one crowded house! But it sure was fun.

The Fourth of July and Grammy Camp

The fourth of July was a hit this year! It just so happened to fall on the week of Grammy Camp (where my parents take all the grandkids for a full week and let the parents go do whatever they want). The theme this year was the Hunger Games and the kids loved it! They did a lot of the things mentioned in the book, but with a twist (i.e. they didn't all try to actually kill each other!). What an amazing week it was - too bad work got in the way for us boring adults!

Part of the book talks about a Tribute Parade where the contestants get to dress up in crazy costumes and be introduced to the crowd, so the kids all raided the costume box and came up with some doozies. Zane won with his vest-turned-loincloth, complete with a poopshoot in the back!

After a good, old-fashioned, all-American BBQ we were put to work as judges before heading over the lake for fireworks.

While we waited for the fireworks to start, the kids all played with poppers - the only legal "fireworks" allowed.

Taking Max for a walk while we waited for the fireworks to start. It was so fun spending time with him - I can't wait to have my own.

Brad having way too much fun with the glowsticks. You can bet that no one was fighting over getting to play with his after he was done with them!

All the kids had fun feeling their new cousin move. The baby was going crazy throughout the whole fireworks show. Ellie sat on my lap and was getting kicked and punched the whole time...and loving it!

We Love Company!

After a fake out last year, we were so excited that the Itos (Bryce, Kristina and Lily) were able to come visit us this year! We hit up the beach, the pool, and the San Diego Zoo while they were here. It was so fun to have them and we can't wait for them to come back again!

We went to the San Diego Zoo on Saturday and had a blast - it really is the best zoo ever! We got a late start and hit some traffic, so we had to do a sprint through the zoo. We started out on the bus tour so we could see as much as possible, and then had to pick and choose from there. But, I'd say we did a pretty darn good job of hitting the highlights.

Bryce said he had never seen a live panda before, so they were a must-see for all of us!

We usually don't take the time to see the pandas since there's always a line, but we were so glad we did this time - they were adorable!

Bryce, Kristina, and Lily checking out the crocodiles.

The baby flamingos were so cute and got us so excited for our baby to come soon.

Since our day at the Zoo was cut short (they closed early at 5:00 for a private event - BOOOO!), we had time to head to La Jolla Cove before the sun set. We love it there, even if the clouds had already rolled in.

We met up with the Changs at the end of the day at the Zoo and they joined us for La Jolla Cove and dinner.

Lily and Brad had a blast running around the park in La Jolla Cove. She's too cute! :)