Naughty or Nice??

Since we took an early-December trip to Utah... we enjoyed a nice quiet Christmas morning at home. We stayed in our p.j.s almost the entire day!Kids on stairs... pre-present! Gotta love the Christmas morning anticipation!
Girls and their new (quite annoyingly loud) barbies.

Zack and his new train
This is what Santa brought... anyone want to join Z??

Winter Wedding

We took a little (well... not so little) road trip to Utah for Josh's youngest sister's wedding. It was fun to have all of the cousins dressed up. We forgot our camera... but thanks to family members who are more on-the-ball than us... we have the following: Annie and all the girls.
Annie, Parker and all the boys... yeah that's Zack being a sissy cry baby.

The incriminating photo!

26 Miles Across the Sea...

Santa Catalina is the place for me! Josh was so nice to keep the kids for the weekend and Kerry and I went to Catalina Island. We had so much fun and met a few very interesting people. We watched movies, went on a lovely walk (where Kerry had some international visitors convinced that I was a star from Desperate Housewives... I know I know... they're thinking, "she sure is ugly... those makeup artists must be really good!), went kayaking, took a couple of naps... and enjoyed being bystanders at the local karaoke bar. What a perfect way to finish a wonderful week with Kerry here! Thanks KAM... come back anytime!

After our little kayak trip... in our rubber pants which didn't work so well for me. Seriously... there is a reason MC Hammer pants went out of style after a month!

Turkey Trot

Kerry talked me into doing a 10k while she was here. Dana Point has a run through the harbor on Thanksgiving morning. We had a blast. Kerry lovingly brought the rain from London. We were soaked within the first 5 minutes. My pants almost fell off a couple of times from being so wet and our sneakers took a few days to dry out. But overall lots of fun and laughter... and no Ker... I'm not retiring yet :) And no everyone else... we're really not this ugly... are we?

Hey Shug!!

Kerry and I were able to see The Color Purple. It far surpassed our expectations. The talent and music were amazing... and the story humbling. Well done Oprah!

The Happiest Place on Earth!

We decided to start our Disneyland passes while my favorite friend Kerry was here from London. We gave the kids a choice of Disneyland or toys for Christmas. Lucky for us... we get a year of happiness from Disneyland... and the girls won't have more toys to clean up :)Our first ride of the day... Soarin' over California. Makenna was thoroughly convinced that we were flying. The castle with the lights on... ready for Christmas!

Halloween, Halloween...

Trick or Treat!

According to Zack?? Definitely Trick!!! This is me trying to put on his costume for our Trunk or Treat party... clearly he wasn't digging Halloween... so far!

But then... he learned that C-A-N-D-Y was involved... and now it's his favorite holiday! The kids dressed up in different decades this year... B was a hippie, M was a 50s girl and Z was a NKOTB?

Life is definitely better the more candy you have!

Huntington Beach

We were driving around with Josh's mom in the evening and noticed the sunset was beautiful... so we took a little detour to the beach. This is the pier in Huntington Beach... about 3 miles from our house. Catalina Island is in the background at the end of the pier.

We are soooo happy...

When Grandma comes!

Grandma came and spent a week with us in October. She is a wonderful guest to have and the kids absolutely adore her. Thanks for all the fun and all of your help Grandma. We love you.

Donuts... mmmmmmmmmm.

A little visit to the pet shop

Breakfast with Grandma

Too Big? Too Small?? Just Right!

We went on our annual Pumpkin Hunt... although our pumpkin patch has much more than just pumpkins as the photos show. Happy Harvest everyone!Makenna trying to find the perfect one!
B is still a little taller than M.
Girls on the hay stacks.
They have a little petting zoo... the kids tried to feed the goats.
Z trying to figure out why his 4-wheeler isn't working... hint hint... the kids before put quarters in :)
Pre-Haunted house... Makenna didn't make it in... can you tell by her face she was already scared?

Date Night!

Josh and Makenna went on a date to play miniature golf. After Makenna was asked what she liked best about the date she said, "I liked golf because I got the ball in the hole everytime. And I also liked it because I won. I got 80 and Dad got 65 or something."

Brooklyn & I went on a date to Mamma Mia... no photos... but lots of dancing and singing!

If you don't have good toys...

Make sure your neighbors do!!!

This is Zack with our neighbor boy, Connor. He's super friendly... and he likes to share!! Zack had the ride of his life. Thanks little buddy... whatcha doin' tomorrow??

Life's a Beach

Some friends of ours had a bonfire at the beach... how can you say no when they're in charge of the fire? We had a great time. The girls loved playing in the water and sand and Z... well we'll just say that by the end of the night... he had no problems eating his s'more with sand in it. B & M enjoying the water.
Sisters!
Z making a very Josh face
Brooklyn made friends with a bunny. And since she didn't bring a sweater... it was a perfect match.

First Day of School

So nothing crazy on the first day of school... no tears, no lost kids, no calculus.
The girls' top three:
1. No school uniforms (they realized at the end of last year that school uniforms aren't "cool"... newsflash... YES they are!)
2. Both girls have a great teacher (who doesn't on the first day though?)
3. Nobody monitors what they eat for lunch and in what order

Air Miles

So a lame excuse for not updating our blog... but here is a list of our flights over the past month:
1. London to LA
2. OC to Salt Lake
3. Salt Lake to OC
4. LA to London
5. London to Prague
6. Budapest to London
7. London to Salt Lake
8. Salt Lake to OC
9. OC to Birmingham, Alabama and back
Thank you American Airlines... can I have a free trip to London now?
PS We're not counting Josh's travels to NYC and Utah over the next week.
PPS Hopefully I'm back online now!

Tooth Fairy

That little fairy has been leaving lots of glitter trails in our house lately!

Fountain Valley... A Nice Place to Live

The Golden State... looks like we're always having a party!
Empty boxes... looks like we have worked hard (remember... looks can be deceiving!)
Outside of house... looked much better when we had four cars in front! Serious white trash!
Fresh OJ anyone? juicy bits or no juicy bits?

Our Europe Goodbye!

Josh and I had the chance to return to London and take a short trip before we were officially moved back to the States. We spent some time in London, then Prague, Vienna & Budapest, then I stayed with my lovely friend Kerry for a couple of days before a very hard goodbye! Kerry and me in London... check out the double rainbow (especially since you can't really see us!)
Josh & me saying farewell to Ben.
Prague, Czech Republic
Vienna, Austria (seriously... can you be too cool for school with the free bikes? I guess I thought so!)
Budapest, Hungary (they may not do well in Eurovision... but they have a beautiful city!)

Baby Friends

While in Utah, I had the chance to meet up with some friends from our BYU ward. We've grown in numbers... seriously... how many little kids can 5 women have? We had a blast. Renae hosted this time and borrowed a super fun summer blow up thinger and the kids (although definitely the fairest of them all) had a great time. Thanks Nae Nae! L to R: Renae, me, Mindy, Amber, Tepoe Girls and Linzee

Z Man

Farewell London!

We are in the midst of our move back to California. But just wanted to take a moment to say goodbye. Our time in London has been life-changing. We will never forget the friends we've made and experiences we have had. On Sunday we said goodbye to so many wonderful friends. It was a sad day knowing that we may never see some of these great people again. It's always a bittersweet thing to move... like finishing a great book that you don't want to end. Thank you dear friends. We will miss you! Thank you for all you have taught us. You have greatly blessed our lives. Our bishop and other counselor in the bishopric.
Yodit is our friend from Eritrea (formerly part of Ethiopia). She joined the church last March. She is a very faithful woman and has blessed our lives immensely. I was able to go to the temple with her in June and it is a lovely memory.
Kerry with the girls and Yodit's son, Beemnet and Joyce's daughter, Tara.