Let's Bowl

Not too far from Evanston there is an awesome (seriously) bowling alley. It's fancy. They have couches to sit on instead of uncomfortable bowling chairs. No snack bar, waiters come and take your order! Every morning they have Mom & Tot bowling for just $5 per kid, moms are free! It's amazing. This was an especially rainy and cold week (spring? what?) so we headed over for a fun morning with our friends Lori and Emmett (and baby Elle).

It's so great to have Lincoln walking, but now he's all over the place.

These pictures are blurry, but for some reason all the lights were off in the place. Cosmic bowling at 10:00 am.

Parker collecting his 9 pound bowling ball!

Love those ramps

Best picture I got of Emmett & Parker

the Mormon Battalion Museum

Did you know that San Diego has a Mormon Battalion Museum? It was closed the whole first year we were here for renovations. It opened up again in January, and we finally went and checked it out last weekend. It's awesome! First, you hear/watch the story of the Battalion. I learned so much that I didn't know. Like, did you know there were some women and children that marched too? During one part we were in the "store room" and Parker got to be the soldier and wear all the gear. He was into it for like a second and then quickly stripped it off.

After the tour we went outside to pan for gold. Found some!

Then we pumped water and learned to make bricks.

We also got a family picture (proof that Lincoln is still around...poor kid).

Definitely a must see while you're in San Diego!

the Fair

We're trying to pack in as much sight seeing as possible in the next couple weeks, so yesterday we braved the traffic and headed to the San Diego County Fair! We had tons of fun playing and eating!

Parker in the smelly Livestock Pavilion

Watching the hypnotist make people shake their booty

Parker rode his first rides ALL BY HIMSELF!

On the planes. Isn't he cute?

Big Truck! (as he would say)

My favorite ride-the swings

Of course we loved seeing all the food offerings and sampling some too

Turkey Legs

Krispy Kreme chicken sandwich...totally fried!

We decided to try deep fried oreos and a deep fried twinkie

Splash Park

There is a cute little splash park near our place that I've been waiting to take Parker to (been waiting for him to walk--did you know he was walking?) A couple weeks ago we finally made it and have been a few times since! Surprisingly, he liked it best the first time. He was absolutely fearless--walked right through all the little fountains and just got soaked. He's been a little more cautious the couple times we've been back--not sure why. Either way, he gets super excited when we go! Here are some pictures I snapped. Sorry they're so bright; apparently I didn't adjust any settings on my camera.

Parker Goes to the Beach

On Saturday the weather was PERFECT so we thought we'd take the Man to the beach. It had been awhile since we'd been there, so we wanted to see how he'd react to the sand. I thought for sure he wouldn't like it because he can't stand to be on grass, but he loved it! It wasn't long after I set him on the towel, that he crawled off to explore.

He loved to pick up seaweed and rocks...

and then eat them.

This is our favorite picture of the day. Sam and I crack up every time we see it. Faceplant!

Unfortunately, Ashley

Well, since none of you want my crap, I'll share a funny little "game" my bestie Bridget posted on her blog. All you have to do is type in "Unfortunately {insert your name here} into Google and laugh and the results! Here are some of my favs.

Unfortunately, Ashley's debut in the NASCAR Canada Series did not go at all well

Unfortunately Ashley by her chosen vocation set herself up as a willing participant in this man’s criminal acts

Unfortunately, Ashley lost to Roberta Vinci, a good grass-court player in the first round of Wimbledon

Unfortunately, Ashley didn’t win an award - but she did present an award for Outstanding Reality Program.

Unfortunately, Ashley’s scummy brother Gabriel has other plans, and he wants to use Nick’s intimate knowledge of the Indian casino where he used to work to stage a robbery.

Unfortunately Ashley has a difficult time focusing on her profession while gazing into Henry's eyes.

Unfortunately Ashley will never be cool again after this episode; she'll cut her hair and become a dirty goth

Unfortunately, Ashley is a little under the weather during this recording session. Poor girl.

Love, Me

Alright, so my mom posted this little "game" on her blog and I decided to play. I thought it could be kind of fun as I'm looking for new ways to express my creativity this year. Here's the deal:

The first five people to comment on this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations.

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!

2. What I create will be just for you.

3. I'll be done this year. : )

4. You will have no clue what it is going to be.

5. I will either hand deliver or ship - depending on where you live.

The catch? Oh, yes, there's a catch. You must re-post this on your blog. Yep, that means you'll have to make stuff for other people. It doesn't have to be anything fancy...it could be food! Just as long as it's homemade and you're "paying it forward". Come on it will be fun!!!

The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me you did will win a marvelous homemade gift by me! Go!

Election Day and San Jorge

Here's a picture of Sam and Parker on Election Day. We lucked out because our assigned polling location was the main office of our apartment complex. So we walked over and didn't even have to stand in line! Parker sported his red, white, and blue pants, and even got an "I Voted" sticker!

This past weekend Sam and I packed up the Man and headed down to St. George to see my cousin Logan perform with the Young Ambassadors. We spent some time with him at the temple in the morning.

I just noticed the bride in the background!

The group gave an impromptu performance for the missionaries in the visitors center. It was beautiful, I wish I would have thought to take a video of it!

The performance was Saturday night at Tuacahn (such a cool theater!). It was fabulous. They sang a variety of songs from all decades and genres. Logan sang "Tell Her About It" by Billy Joel and "Everything" by Michael Buble. He was wonderful. My favorite section was the 80's (which Logan's first solo was in) because they also sang "Break My Stride" (love that song!) and "Seize the Day" from Newsies!

Here is a funny picture I took of the little man the other day. He was trying to escape from his swing. He's so awesome and continues to make us laugh everyday!

Mickey Time

A few weeks ago when our friends came to California, Sam and I decided we needed to become Disney season ticket holders (woot woot!). SOOOO...we went to Disneyland today! It was, of course, still decorated for HALLOWEEN (spooky) which was super fun. We walked around, took in the atmosphere, went on a couple rides, and had corn dogs(thank you Tod & Lauren for introducing us to them, they're amazing).

Parker loves the Jungle Cruise

Sleeping on Pirates of the Caribbean

The Haunted Mansion was all redone with a Nightmare Before Christmas theme. If you have a chance to go before it goes back to normal, do--it's completely cool.

Happy Halloween!

Life's a Beach

Last weekend we spent a few days at the beach with some friends and had a seriously good time. After a month of abnormally high temperatures here in San Diego, it cooled off as soon as everyone got to town, but we still had fun! We rented a house in Carlsbad and spent a couple days sitting on the beach, boogie boarding, and going to Disneyland.

Parker

Ashley and Parker

Chelsie and Jeff
Lauren, Tod, Jeff, and Chelsie in their fort

Sam and Jeff catching some waves

Tod, Sam, and Jeff

Parker and his godfather

Celebrating Lauren's birthday!

Playing a little Cranium

Brandon, Jeff, and Parker
Halloween time at California Adventure

Tod, Lauren, Jeff, Chelsie, Brittany, Brandon, me, Sam and Parker

Thanks for such a great time everyone! Can't wait til next year :)

the City of Roses

Two weekends ago, Parker and I headed up to Portland for my cousin Jennifer's wedding. She married a great guy, Michael, and we had such a fun time with family!

This was Parker's second plane trip, and he did great. On the way there we had an empty seat next to us, so he slept almost the whole way. (Thank you!!!)

The night we got there (Thursday), we went to the rehearsal dinner at Old Town Pizza in Portland. Apparently it's a Portland institution. The pizza was really good, and it was cool place. Parker looked at the menu, but decided to just enjoy his hand instead.

The next night was the wedding. It was held at a historic hotel downtown, the Multnomah, (which is now an Embassy Suites). The wedding was beautiful, and so was Jennifer!

Here I am with my date for the evening. He was the most handsome guy there.My grandma, and her children (minus my dad who was stuck in Texas)

Mr. and Mrs. Rogers dancing their first dance.

Aunt Vickie, Aunt Terri, Christa, and me at the reception.

Aunt Carollyn was the hit of the reception.

On Saturday my mom, Parker, and I were able to spend some time with the other side of the family. We went to the Portland farmer's market in the morning (which was awesome, but I don't have pics of). Then we headed back to Grandma and Grandpa's to hang with them and the Best family.
Mom got Parker laughing a ton. I wish I would have gotten a video of the lengths she went to to make him laugh. It was funnier than he was!
Uncle Rich and Parker

Spencer, Tracy, Rich, and Grandma

Andrew

I love this one of Parker

We also went over the the Wilkes and got to see Aunt Leigh Anne, Uncle Jim, and Tessa for a little bit, of course I forgot to take pictures, but thanks for having us over! It was so nice to see our family after so long.

My little pilot and I headed home on Sunday morning. We had a few delays on the way, but we finally made it and were glad to see Sam again!

Thanks Christa for letting me rip off some of your pics!