Goodbye 2008... Hello 2009!!

I had a couple of friends do a similar post and I thought it was such a cute idea, thanks guys!
It has been a incredibly eventful year and I cannot wait to see what 2009 has in store for our family.

Here are some of my favorite 2008 highlights...

January

In January we got our first dog

February

In February Melia was FINALLY walking

March

In March Melia broke our kitchen drawer - her favorite hangout

April

In April Melia went four wheeling up some mountains in Utah

May

In May Melia had her first Disneyland trip

June

In June we enjoyed going to the beach almost every weekend

July

In July Melia said a sad goodbye to her paci

August

In August we discovered that Melia loves to express her self through art


(and I was introduced to the fabulous world of blogging!!)

September

In September we went to a cousin's wedding where this adorable picture was taken

October

In October we went to Utah again for Conference...

and Melia turned out to be the worlds cutest flapper!

November

In November we spent Thanksgiving with our wonderful family, this is a 4 generations picture

December

In December Melia turned 2...

and it snowed...

and we had a fabulous Christmas!!




Happy New Year everyone!

Pre Christmas post...

I am so totally and completely bummed right now. It's now the day after all of the grand Christmas festivities and I am all ready to post about all of the fun we had... but wait...where oh where is my life and soul, the air I breathe...my beloved camera???

Dang I have just realized that it is sitting on top of my aunt's computer desk. Poo.

So instead of a Christmas post, here is my PRE- Christmas post!

Lets see where shall I start?? Well we did have a baking day, where we made just about a kajillion cookies. Also kajilliion is a real number if you were wondering.

There were cookies...

and cookies...

and more cookies OH MY!!!

And for as long as I live I don't ever want to see or taste any more of this...

which I am sure that feeling will pass within the next 48 hours or so.
I have a deep and complicated love with baked goods.






Please, don't be fooled... don't let Bryce's phony scowl lead you to believe that this is true...

See... he was loving every second he had in the kitchen - oh how I love my husband <3




Oh and we did celebrate yet ANOTHER birthday - Bryce turned 27 on the 23rd.
We celebrated by going to one of Bryce's favorite restaurant (cheap restaurant that is, he really chose the wrong time to be born - so his fault for being four weeks late, his poor mother!!)
El Torito. He was serenaded a mariachi version of Happy Birthday and got some birthday flan. Dude seriously what is better than flan!? But of course Melia stole the lime light once again... she seriously has a problem with that...haha OK she is just so darn cute who couldn't pay attention to her??
And don't mind the silly dancing husband...lol he will do anything for his daughter haha!




Only it was a bittersweet day to start with. We attended his uncle's funeral that morning.

Keith McDermott was such an example to my husband throughout his life, and was sadly diagnosed with a brain tumor 8 short weeks ago and passed away on the 19th at age 51. It really shows how precious and fragile life can really be. We will always truly miss him!

Tis' the season to be grateful for wonderful friends that are still just as wonderful as I remember them being. We are now all old and married with kids (mostly) but still the best of friends.
(So super corny to say but I truly love facebook and myspace for the people it has brought back into my life <3)

And last but not least there was a wedding! Here is the handsome new couple along with the bridal party

The pretty little flower girl...
who decided to play with poinsettia leaves and then rub her eyes...
poor girl she got all red and swollen =(

So I can't wait until I get my camera back so I can actually post Christmas... but it might be awhile... =(

Hope every ones Christmas was just as good as mine.

It was a snowy night!

Last night when our TV went out I couldn't figure out why and then my neighbor knocked on my door and said "Do you know what is happening right now??" So I looked and much to my surprise this is what I saw!

What the heck is all of this cold white stuff that is very seldom to fall in Yucaipa??

So just in case you couldn't tell...

Snow!!!! Wow I was like a kid again. I have only been in snow maybe 2 or 3 times in my whole life so snow is a really big deal for me. So after I called basically everyone I know to brag about the snow, I bundled Melia up and we went out in the cold. I don't think she really liked it, watch the video and you'll know what I mean. Our puppy Annie totally loved it, but Bella didn't like it too much either. We got at least a good 3 inches or more that stayed through the night so Bryce was able to enjoy it too when he got home.

This is the kind of snow I can deal with. The once or twice a year snow thats just enough to play in and enjoy without having to worry about closed roads or icy sidewalks or having to plow it off the driveway. It was all gone by about 1pm or so, I can say I do miss it already! It was so beautiful to watch falling and the hills and mountains looked gorgeous!

Melia in the snow...or rather slush...

Annie the snow dog ran like a bullet through the snow

Bella was not so enthusiastic about it all

My car

It's snowing!!!

For some reason I thought puppy paws were cute in the snow

the backyard

Am I too mean for throwing a snowball at Melia??

Knott's Freezing Farm

On Tuesday we decided to go to Knott's even though it poured the day before and it was about 50 degrees outside. You might think we were crazy but it turned into a pretty sweet deal. We didn't have to wait in one line the whole day. We had a blast going with Bryce's cousin Shane and his fiancee Hillary they are two kooky little lovebirds who were fun to hang with.

My poor old decrepit husband's stomach can only take so much twisting and turning before he had to call it quits...which was after like 2 rides. Haha OK he did a little better then that but I swear I am going to need a new roller coaster buddy soon to fill the position. Poor guy!

After we met up with Bryce's sisters who had watched Melia and had dinner at a very cute Italian place in Fullerton called Angelo & Vinci's. We have made it a sort of tradition to eat there when we are out that way. The food is amazing and the atmosphere is fabulous. I love to get out with friends whenever I can =)

We have really lucked out on the weather this week too. Sunday stayed clear for the party and then yesterday stayed clear for us too! But what is up with all of this rain!! I attempted to go to Walmart in Beaumont today and I turned around after Oak Valley Pkwy when it was 31 degrees outside and I was wiping ice off my car! Didn't somebody clue the weather in that this is Southern California?? This nonsense needs to stop so I can get my shopping done!!!

The four crazy's

Shane and Hillary just got engaged... aren't they so cute!!



Me and my love...I was trying not to get the camera wet, we were on the log ride...in 50 degree weather




Rollercoaster fun...I heart the Boomerang!

Eating yummy pizza and tortillinis!

The Very Merry Birthday Par-tay!

So all the hard work paid off! We had a really fun time this year at Melia's party. We had oodles of people squished into our little home (but plenty of warm bodies!!) We are very blessed to have so much family so close to us. We ditched the rain (thank goodness!) but man was it C-C-Cold!!

Melia woke up about an hour into her party - which was OK because I was running around like a crazy woman trying to get things prepared and cooked and decorated...etc. Her eyes just lit up when we walked into the room when she saw all of her favorite people...well most of her favorite people anyways (we were missing a few if you can believe that! You think I had enough people in my house??) Imagine this craziness around the whole house!!



So I'm thinking I am going to make a tradition of making tamales every Christmas. This is the second year I have done it and everyone has told me that they are expecting them next year! Haha who ever thought this white girl could be such a mean tamale maker! Anyone who wants to make them with me let me know!! It's really easier than you think it is. A big thanks to those who helped out with the food, you are lifesavers!



I ended up opening most of Melia's gifts myself. She opened the first couple and then figured she would rather play with those instead of opening the rest!

We also had a pinata this year again. Melia had a blast hitting and kicking it around



We had a mini bouncer in the garage for the couple of kids that were there (Thank you Shanell!!)
Melia had so much fun jumping with her cousins and friends





So this is my daughter eating her cake like some sissy la la girl with a fork and a napkin! She hates getting her hands dirty - she wouldn't eat her cake until I gave her a fork.
Also I promise you I did do my daughter's hair SO cute for today - but obviously it didn't stay that long so she sported a fro most of the night. =)

Ok and I meant to turn this picture around...oh well!!

Happy Birthday Melia! Hope you had so much fun! We love you!

Until the second she went to bed and the second she woke up she has been riding this inch worm around...

and making cookies in her new kitchen! So cute right!

Can't wait until next year!!