I Love Finals Week!

Though it may be the nemesis of every student on earth, turns out Finals Week is a teacher's dream come true! Especially when you live in Southern California and it's 75 degrees out all week long!! On Thursday, I was done with school by 10:30am and decided to hit up the beach with Libby. It was the perfect day and she loved it almost as much as I did. As we teachers like to say, "Test and rest, baby, test and rest!"

The cutest beach bum ever!
I love those fat little legs!

The south end of Montage beach on a beautiful, hot January day.

The north end was just as great! The water was FREEZING, but Libby still put her toes in and enjoyed playing in (and eating some) sand. Do you think writing "sand" in her baby book as her "first solid food" is a little much?! Turns out it's true!

We convinced Grammy to come join us on her lunch break. She only got to stay for about 15 minutes, but I'd say it was totally worth it! You just can't pass up days like this!

I think her face in this one is hilarious! I'll post more pictures of our pool day later. She's gonna love the water, whether she likes it or not! ;)

Laura's Baby Shower

Babies, babies, babies!!! On Saturday, January 22nd, we threw another baby shower. This one was for Laura Varga and her baby boy (due Feb. 9th). We made it an ABC's shower with lots of bright colors and had a great time. We had an incredible turn out and Laura was truly spoiled! Thanks to everyone who helped and came to celebrate this exciting time with us!

Me with the guest of honor.
My mom and Libby at the food table. We had a chocolate fountain (courtesy of Sarah's mom) and it was a hit! I was worried that 10:00am might be a little too early for chocolate, but apparently women like chocolate ALL day long! ;)

Here's the scene before the crowds arrived.

Sarah, Laura, me, and Natalie

Thank goodness for the great weather! Here are a few guests enjoying the sunny day in the backyard.

Some of our younger guests enjoying the goods! ;)

Sarah came up with a darling game that was right up Laura's alley. She's an amazing pianist and music is a big part of her life, so Sarah did a "finish the nursery rhyme song" game that was really cute and fun.

Laura showing off some of her cute gifts. They're doing a monkey theme for the nursery and I can only imagine how cute it will be!

Kimi, Laura, and Shannon

Libby's German Outfit

Some of our good friends from Germany came to visit us back in August when I was still pregnant. They brought several gifts for Libby (she is sooooo spoiled - people from all around the world give her gifts!) and this is the first one that she fits into. What a cute little tiger!

I figured that it was the perfect outfit for her to wear while her Uncle Paul was here - he's a true Deutschland fan!
Here we are ready to go for a run down to the beach on Martin Luther King, Jr. day. I was so glad that Paul came to hang out with us - too bad Brad couldn't get off of work! We made sure to have enough fun for him, too, though.

Top of the World!

The Sunday of Ellie's visit was Stake Conference (which meant church was at 10:00 rather than 1:00 - halleluyah!) so we took advantage of the afternoon and went to Top of the World park in Laguna Beach for a picnic. It was another beautiful day and we had lots of fun!

If this isn't the cutest picture in the entire world, I don't know what is! She looked so cute for Stake Conference.
Mommy and Libby all dolled up for church.

Eating our picnic at Top of the World overlooking all of the valley.

After dinner we hiked around the park a bit. Ellie sure loved it, and so did the rest of us.

Thank goodness for the Baby Bjorn - we love that thing! Libby was all smiles as we hiked around the area and went places no stroller would ever be able to manuever!

The sunset was AMAZING! Watching the sun disappear over Catalina Island was awesome! And the colors just kept getting better and better. I love January in Southern California! ;)

What a cute couple! I have the best parents in the whole world!

The whole gang on a fantastic night! After our picnic we finished up the night at my parents house for a few rounds of Dominoes with Britt, Coop, and Tall Paul who drove down from UT to join us. He said the sunset was almost as great on the highway as it was over the ocean (doubtful, but we'll let him think so!).

California Adventure!

On Saturday, the boys got to join in on the fun and we all went to California Adventure. We had a great time and were there ALL day long! Ellie and Libby were both first-timers there, too, and I think it's official - they're sold on the place!

The whole gang hanging out with Pluto.
Libby's very first ride! It was the Monsters Inc. ride and I have to say - I don't think any of us were too impressed with it...not even Libby! Her face says it all!
A terrible picture, but it's tradition to take one here every time we come, so here it is.

Posing in front of all of our favorite rides: Ellie's was the Ferris Wheel and for the rest of us it's California Screamin' all the way! Ellie wasn't so convinced that California Screamin' was all that great - we couldn't get her to go on it again to save our lives!

Grammy took Libby on her first carousel ride while I was screamin' it up on California Screamin'! Thank goodness for that stroller pass! ;)

Cute Ellie on the swings.

The nighttime version of Paradise Pier and the Ferris Wheel. Do we look like we're still having fun? (We are...don't worry!)

Ellie and I posing with some Minnie Mouse treasures.

The traditional "dung picture" - another must-have at California Adventure.

Pops, Ellie, and I living it up on the "teacups" (or ladybugs...whatever!).

We finished off the night at the 10:15 showing of World of Color. It was amazing and we were so glad we stayed to see it. I was falling asleep standing up, but man, it was great! What a day! Thanks for turning 8, Elle, we all enjoyed it!

The Kaye Club

Two weeks ago Ellie got to fly here all by herself for her 8th birthday trip. My parents are way over the top and fly all of their grandkids out to visit them for a long weekend when they turn 8, and then again when they turn 12. Brad and I are lucky enough to live close by, so we get to join in all the fun! On Friday, I took off from work a few hours early and we had a girls day. We drove up to LA so Ellie could go to the American Girl Doll Store (one of only 3 in the whole country!) and be truly spoiled. On the drive up we realized that all 4 of us (Kandy, Rebecca, Ellie, and Elizabeth) have the same middle name. So, thus the "Kaye Club" was born! ;)

Not only was Ellie fortunate enough to get to go to the American Girl Doll Store, but she was so spoiled we even got to eat at the cafe there! They have special seats for the dolls to sit in and everything there is soooo cute! Any girl's dream come true!
Mom, Ellie, and Ellie's doll (Rebecca) enjoying the yummy dessert.

Not Libby's best shot, but she enjoyed the girls' day, too!

After dining at the cafe and spending lots of time at the store, we cruised around the Grove a bit longer and enjoyed the fountain and other shops there.

We finished out our girls' day on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Ellie had never been (nor had Libby), so it was fun to show some first-timers around, crazies and all!

More Fun in Washington

We were lucky enough to get to spend a whole week in Washington and had a great time. Here are a few picture of some of the highlights of the rest of the trip.

Libby got this "marshmallow suit" hand-me-down from Ellie and we were so excited to be someplace cold enough to necessitate it! She looked like a little marshmallow puff and I'm sure felt just like Ralphie in "A Christmas Story"!
Mindy and Tony had gotten this outfit for her earlier, so we thought it appropo that we get their picture with her wearing it. I love the little vest!

Tall Paul as uncle-extraordinaire! He was a hit with all the nieces and nephews.

Even though Paul and Diann's birthdays both already passed (Nov. 20th and Dec. 14th), we celebrated them a few days after Christmas. Diann made Paul's (and also Brad's) favorite cake - the black forest cake. It's legendary in this family, and I think you can see why! They both turned 65 this year, so I thought it was hilarious that the sum total of their ages made the cake. If 130 doesn't make you feel old, I don't know what will!!!

Mindy and Tony got all of the babies matching PJs for Christmas, so we decided to get a cousins PJ picture. It started out cordially enough with Libby and Chase...

But soon turned ugly!

Once we got Libby calmed down and coerced Lily into joining us, we tried all three. This is the best one. Well, it was a good try, right?!?

We also did a Macbeth clan family picture. While a few others were posing with the real photographer, we got a couple of snapshots of our little family. Can't wait to see the real thing!

We spent one night hanging out with a bunch of Brad's friends and their families. The get-togethers have sure changed over the years, but we still managed to stay out till 1:30am! This is Libby with Mia (Bryan and Stacie's second girl) who is just a week and a day older than Libby. Again, many pictures were taken and this is the best - what can you do?! Babies smile on their own time, I guess.

John and Jamie invited us out to their farm to hang out and ride their fun toys - motorcycles, 4-wheelers, and even a 3-wheeler. Here are Libby and I all duded up in John and Chase's warm gear. We sure were glad they were willing to share! Turns out I'm not too much of a pro with all things motorized, but it was really fun and Brad had a blast playing around with his big brother.

Brad took Libby on a spin on the 4-wheeler before giving her up to play on the real toys himself. She didn't love the experience, but she'll learn. It was a ton of fun and we hope Jamie will invite us back - she stayed inside with two screaming babies while we played! What a champ! We owe you big time, Jamie! ;)