The Holmes Family

Isakson Family shoot

2011-12-31T10:24:00.000-08:00

My beautiful cousin asked me if I would snap some pictures of her gorgeous little family while they were visiting from Utah for Christmas. Her little boy Westley just turned one and when he came out of his shell he was such a hoot! I had fun shooting them and it seems with every new shoot I do I learn something new.
Here are some of my favorites :)

First "photoshoot"

2011-12-20T13:21:00.000-08:00

Disneyland

2011-12-20T11:05:00.000-08:00

For Melia's 5th birthday we decided to get Disney passes again (which counts for our Christmas as well) She was so happy when we pulled up to the parking structure, I know she has missed going. We took the birthday girl out for a birthday breakfast so she could enjoy her favorite chocolate chip pancakes and then spent the day at the happiest place on earth where I think the best part of her day was going on the new Little Mermaid ride and meeting Rapunzel :) It was a wonderful day!

Playing with light

2011-12-20T10:43:00.000-08:00

Sisters

2011-12-02T14:47:00.000-08:00

Two little girls

so alike

yet so different.

Each unique in her own special way.

I had a deja vu moment in the kitchen yesterday when Alana started climbing in the tupperware drawer.

This is Melia when she was 14 months old... so back in March 2008

And here is Alana doing the exact same thing at the exact same age in the exact same shirt.

So you bet I ran for my camera. Which is never too far from my side :)
Here is to broken drawers!

I feel incredibly blessed to call these beautiful girls mine.

Life Lately :)

2011-11-29T09:24:00.000-08:00

Halloween

2011-11-29T09:14:00.000-08:00

Pumpkin Patch 2011

2011-11-29T09:00:00.000-08:00

Feild trips

2011-10-25T08:22:00.000-07:00

Melia is loving that she gets to go on field trips now in preschool, and I am glad I get to join her too! These are pictures from an Apple tree farm and a pumpkin patch.

This little one loves coming along too! :)

Alana is ONE!!!

2011-10-03T09:01:00.000-07:00

I still cannot believe it and I have no idea where the time went! She turned 1 last Sunday on Sept. 25th. Miss Alana at her 12 mo appt weighs 18.4 pounds and is 28 inches long. She is my sweet little cuddlebug who loves to wave and blow kisses. Num num, momma, dadda (AND let's note that she said momma waaay before she said dada!! HAHA) and go are her favorite phrases She loves to eat EVERYTHING and gets quite mad if you are eating and she is not :) She is now walking! I'll have to post a video when I get around to it... as well as her birthday party. She absolutely adores her older sister and it is the best thing in the world to hear them playing and giggling together. I feel like the luckiest mom in the world!

A good friend of ours took the girls pictures the other day. I LOVE how they turned out.

Apple and Berry Picking

2011-09-08T11:40:00.000-07:00

This last weekend we drove up to Oak Glen and got away from the 100 degree temps and did some apple and berry picking.

Melia driving the tractor :)

Picking apples

Me and Alana... great face girl!

Add caption

This is Bryce and Melia from last years berry picking

Our pickings :)

First tap recital

2011-09-08T11:26:00.000-07:00

Melia had her first tap recital last month it was so fun to see her on stage. This girl was born to perform :)

11 months!

2011-09-08T11:11:00.000-07:00

Fun in the tub

2011-09-08T10:57:00.000-07:00

Queen for a Day

2011-08-13T08:41:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we entered Melia in the Tiny Miss Norco Pageant. My little brother's girlfriend, Kelly is Norco pageant royalty so she really wanted to be able to take Melia up on the stage with her :) It was really alot of fun and I can tell Melia REALLY enjoyed herself being on stage... just watch the video the girl is totally in her element up there. I completely admire her for that I can't stand being up in front of people!

Blowing a kiss for the crowd with Kelly

This is when she gets her crown, fast forward to about 0:40
And yes that is me screaming like a crazy person.

Posing with her crown

Alana and my mom... ignore the fact that my camera chose to focus on the truck behind them!

A cute sign Kelly made for her

Melia and her uncle Austin

QUEEN!

She also won "Best Personality"

Beautiful smile :)

More kisses for the crowd

I love the fact that "Dancing Queen" was the song playing! Such a ham she is!

Celebrating her win with a pony ride
Alana was crazy about the animals in the petting zoo :)

So now do I want to go all Tiaras and Toddlers? haha probably not but it was so much fun to see her having a good time up there. Plus it was extra fun that she won!

Mini Photoshoot :)

2011-08-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

I dont think I could ever have enough pictures of my girls :) Usually I take them but we recently went to a children's boutique party and the photographer therre was offering mini sessions for really cheap, I love how they turned out.

Its also my monthly posting for Alana who is now 10 months and is finally cutting some teeth I can feel her bottom ones barely peeking through her gums :) Solid foods here we come!

Summer so far in a nutshell...

2011-07-27T17:24:00.000-07:00

First Matching Outfits!

2011-06-17T18:37:00.000-07:00

Look who is 8 months!

2011-06-02T15:27:00.000-07:00

This little girl is CRAWLING and lifting herself up on furniture. Her favorite thing to do is to play with her big sister and the dogs. She is a super good eater and I haven't found anything she wont eat, non-edibles included! She still isn't sleeping through the night but she is such a good kid that I can let it slide for a while longer. Time is flying by much too fast but we are definitely enjoying every minute with this beautiful girl.

Utah

2011-05-22T08:49:00.000-07:00

We spent a week with my grandparents in Utah last month... here are my favorite pictures from the trip. I find that I don't have much time to write blog posts for now so the pictures will hopefully tell the stories of my posts :)

Melia flying a kite with her Grandpa

Fav pics from our mini photoshoot

My adorable cousin's little guy, Wesley

7 months

2011-05-03T12:51:00.000-07:00

This girl is 7 months old already gahhhh! She is a babble monster and is scooting and rolling across the floor constantly.She always has a smile on her face :) We had a little photo shoot last week while visiting my grandparents in Utah.

finally...

2011-04-15T19:21:00.000-07:00

IT'S DONE!! I have been waiting to say this for the last 5 months. Besides the decor, we are moved in and enjoying our new space :)

Our Yearly Snowfall

2011-04-13T15:03:00.000-07:00

The other morning I was surprised to wake up with snow on the ground, I know it's not much but it always excites me when it sticks. I was up at sunrise (life with a baby!) so I went outside in my robe and jammies and boots and started clicking away. :)

Fun at Castle Park

2011-04-01T19:20:00.000-07:00

6 months!

2011-04-01T19:16:00.000-07:00

My girls

2011-03-17T16:15:00.000-07:00

I can't believe our Little Ms Alana is almost 6 months old. She is a gorgeous bundle of happiness, magic, joy, wonderment and love. She is a curious, observant and determined little girl full of smiles and laughs. She always has been a good sleeper and her schedule is very predictable. She is now eating rice cereal and has tried a couple fruit and veggie purees. I think peas are her favorite so far, don't you agree?

And then there is Little Ms Melia. My energetic, imaginative and thoughtful Melia, who has shot up like a weed this last year. She is now wearing her glasses 24/7. I think they make her look much older than she is. I had straightened her hair for a princess tea that she went to. Her hair goes halfway down her back and it was weird to see this straight haired child running through the house :)

Time please slow down... my babies are growing up much too quickly!

Snow Day

2011-03-05T14:37:00.000-08:00

Funny girl

2011-02-01T18:21:00.000-08:00

Sisters

2011-02-01T17:35:00.000-08:00

There is no better friend than a sister. And there is no better sister than you.

- Author Unknown

4 months!

2011-01-31T15:29:00.000-08:00

Finally Blessing Pics!

2011-01-12T17:18:00.000-08:00

Look what Santa brought!

2011-01-12T17:14:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-21T09:37:00.000-08:00

Wishing you a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year!

Love,

The Holmes

My favorite pics of the week

2010-12-17T17:01:00.000-08:00

Melia's birthday and a Blessing day photo shoot

2010-12-17T16:53:00.000-08:00

Sorry for all the wordless posts, I don't have the patience to type with one hand while holding the baby so I choose to not. Hopefully I can cram this out before she wakes up!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELIA!!!!!!!

This week my little girl turned 4! Can you believe it? Me neither! We blessed Alana on Sunday and had a little party for Melia afterwards. My mother in law took most of the pics of the party but I did manage to snap some of the pinata. And of course it was a princess themed party, and of course she wore pink.

We had wonderful plans to take her Disneyland on Tuesday so she could spend her birthday at her most favorite place, but she was up all Monday night coughing and sneezing and woke up SICK on her birthday :( Poor thing! So we had to cancel our Disneyland plans (with a huge promise we go back as soon as we aren't blacked out) We made her her favorite chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, she was feeling a bit better in the afternoon so we took her to eat at Red Robin and then went to go see the movie Tangled (btw is the cuuuutest movie ever)

I think she had a pretty good day. We are all sick with the stinkin cold now though. I guess a family who lives together gets sick together. Poor Alana is a snorty little piggy and is not a fan of the booger sucker.

Speaking of the cute little bug, here she is at 10 weeks.

On Sunday we had such great love and support show by our family and friends that came out to Alana's blessing. She was such a good girl and she got to wear MY old blessing dress that my grandma had made for me... which looked pretty dang good for being 26 years old! It's not the one in the pics below, my uncle has all the pics of that day. These pics I just took this week and she is wearing Melia's blessing dress.

Melia made sure that Alana was looking her best at all times

Grandma with her grandbabies :)

2010-12-17T11:50:00.000-08:00

My little sister is married!

2010-12-17T11:42:00.000-08:00

2 months

2010-12-01T17:35:00.000-08:00

Here is my little squish, I can't believe how fast two months have flown by :)

At her appt today she weighed 11 pounds exactly and is 21 and 3/4 inches long. She had to get 3 shots today :( She wasn't too happy about that. I just love this girl!!!

6 weeks

2010-11-06T18:48:00.000-07:00

Halloween

2010-11-04T13:06:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Patch Fun

2010-11-04T12:40:00.000-07:00

Catching up...

2010-11-01T17:17:00.000-07:00

So finding time to blog is much harder when there is a baby in the house! I am writing this one handed with sleeping baby in-arm as we speak... er type actually. If I find myself thinking I have extra time I am busy consuming it by either showering or cleaning or cooking... sadly not much time for anything else! Oh well.

Firstly thank you for your prayers and support, my grandma thank heavens is on a slow but steady road to recovery. Some days are better then others and it is great to hear of her daily progress, mostly little things like hearing she can feed herself, hold a conversation, sit up on the side of the bed and stand a few minutes with assistance. It might be weeks or months before she is home again, but I can't wait for that because I know that she is this blogs #1 fan and to have her read it and send me emails once again is what I really look forward too :)

The day that it all had happened was my birthday, so to hear such bad news made it a bittersweet day for me, but Bryce made it better by suprising me with a family get together honoring yours truly. I really don't know how he got it all planned without me knowing... I am probably the worlds curious (not nosey :) ) person ever and I usually know everything that goes on in our household, which makes it hard to surprise me. lol. It was fun and super sweet of him to do that for me :)

I had the worlds best cupcake! Man I could eat one of those everyday of my life :)

The next weekend we were able to see my other grandparents (my dad's side) who live in Washington, and who we don't get to see as often as I would like! :) Here we are eating at Las Fuentes...yum!

I have a couple more posts going up... hopefully I can get them done before this little one wakes up!

2010-10-18T21:15:00.000-07:00

You really never realize what a precious gift life is until it is in the balance. I write this as my beautiful grandma lies in University hospital in Salt Lake as she suddenly is battling for her life. I consider my grandma one of my best friends, a person who I look up to, get advice from and laugh often with, and I cannot imagine a world where she is not in it. She is one of the most kindest, loving, giving, caring persons in the world.

She is everything to my grandpa

She is everything to my family

She is who I hope to become like one day

I wish I could squeeze her hand to let her know I can't stop thinking about her and to tell her how much I love and admire her.

Please keep her in your prayers, and don't let a day go by without telling those around you how much they are truly loved.

I can now die happy...

2010-10-13T10:27:00.000-07:00

For those who know me, know that I LOOOOVE Jack Johnson.

Bryce calls me obsessed.

But I prefer the word "enthusiastic"

ANYWAYS, it was SO fantastic. We had dinner with friends at Javier's at the Irvine Spectrum, it's an amazing Mexican cantina and grill. Grilled chicken and stuffed poblano chilis?

Yes Please!

Glad we ate out there because the freeway off ramp was a hot mess.

Heard covers from Steve Miller and Sublime.

UH MAZE ING

( BTW seeing Sublime is next month ) wooot!

The aroma that filled the air was not very appealing, but that's what you get when your surrounded by tree huggers.

Dang Hippies

To sum it up it was pretty much the best night ever, only next time I'm gonna try to snag better seats.

Thanks for listening

My Adorable Family :)

2010-10-10T03:47:00.000-07:00

Today we went out with a good friend of ours to take some family pictures. Here are a couple shots... more to come!

Can't Stop...

2010-10-06T11:25:00.000-07:00

...taking pictures of this little one

Alana is such a good baby, is becoming a better sleeper at night... but watch out, if her diaper is wet or if she is hungry, she wastes NO time in letting you know! We just love her so much :)

She has her two week doctors appt. tomorrow and I am curious to see if she has gained all her weight back and to see how she is measuring up. She does have a birthmark above her right eye but the doctor says it should fade in the next couple of years. She has her daddy's long toes and fingers and my nose...we are still debating on whose eyes she has, maybe in a couple of weeks we can tell a little more! I'll have to pull up a pic of Melia at this age to compare them, they are pretty identical except Melia was more rounded and filled out and Alana's features are more narrow and skinny. I just adore my girls!!!!!!!!!

So in Love...

2010-09-30T03:12:00.000-07:00

...with this little girl :) I love this picture, Alana looks so happy to be alive! It reminds me of a poem my grandma shared with me recently.

My day old child lay in my arms

With my lips against her ear

I whispered strongly, "How I wish-

I wish that you could hear!"

"I've a hundred wonderful things

To say, (a tiny cough and a nod).

Hurry hurry hurry and grow

So I can tell you about God."

My day old baby's mouth was still

And my words only tickled her ear.

But a kind of light passed through

Her eyes and I saw this thought appear"

"How I wish I had a voice and words

I've a hundred things to say.

Before I forget I'd tell you of God-

I left Him yesterday."
-------------------------------

Here is a run down of what happened that night

Here is Alana... still in my belly, but it is the last picture I have of her in there! This is my mom and I waiting in a triage room. Little did I know I would be sitting there earlier that evening. It was just a regular quiet Friday night at home around 8 pm when all of the sudden I felt a POP and a GUSH... holy moly I have never felt more scared in my life. Bryce was at work 35 minutes away, my neighbor was not home and I could not get a clear mind on what I should do. Thank goodness my prayers were answered and I got a hold of Bryce and my neighbor shortly after.

Also having your water break is so icky and pretty disgusting lol.

My wonderful neighbor, Donna helped me get ready for the hospital while I waited for Bryce's sister to pick me up and she also took Melia in for us all weekend. SO grateful for her! So the rest of the night in a nutshell, got to the hospital on pretty much the busiest night of the year in labor and delivery around 9pm. Sat in the waiting room for a half hour... remember my water had broke already... not a fun experience. Finally went into a triage room where my contractions started OUCH. I had my epidural really fast with Melia so I had never really experienced bad labor pains before.

I finally got my epidural about 1 am after having crazy contractions every couple minutes for the last almost 3 hours. I was a 5 and 80% effaced. So at 3:13 am the nurse let me know if I felt I needed to push or was feeling pressure at the site (which I never felt having Melia) and to let her know, otherwise they weren't planning on checking me until about 4 or 5 am. All of the sudden I just knew she was coming... fast! I told the nurse she should check me because I thought I was feeling slight pressure. The nurse had said something that made me laugh as soon as she had flipped up the sheet to check me and her face was full of surprise... she yelled "get the doctor in here fast!" She told me not to breathe, laugh, push, etc. because I guess the baby's head popped out as I had laughed. The doctor barely had time to throw gloves on (she had to suit up after the delivery!) and with that baby Alana just kind of let herself out, no pushing required! Can you think of an easier delivery? It was pretty amazing.

So here are some pictures of the first 5 days of her cute little life.

Just born :)

This business of being born is exhausting... for mommy and baby

Melia singing to Alana

Ready to go home from the hospital

Cute baby toes!

Such a cutie Melia just loves her to death

Cute little smirk

So cute <3>

Relaxing

This is pretty much her life right now... the girl is a marathon sleeper during the day but not so much at night :)

Bryce loves his girls!

LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!

I remember stressing out before Alana was born about having a baby around again. Melia is Little Miss Independent so I was weary of the feedings and diaper changes and having another kid connected at the hip for the next couple years, I don't know why, it's not like those are bad things. But now I absolutely LOVE it. I wake up in the morning and I can't wait to hold her, feed her and even change her diapers all day long! Having a baby in the house again is definitely a lot easier then I had expected. But then again Bryce is home and is a HUGE help to me so I just hope that in a month when he goes back to work I have a better handle on things.

Introducing...

2010-09-28T09:43:00.000-07:00

Ms. Alana Kate Holmes

Born on September 25th 2010

3:13 am

7 lbs. 2 oz. 20" inches

Perfect in every way!

Working on the full post, i'm trying to gather all the pics my family took, can you believe my camera went kersplat when I was delivering??? :( Anyways we are just loving our new baby girl!!!

Some Fun Pics for Ya'll :)

2010-09-19T02:30:00.000-07:00

Some friends and I went down to the UCR botanical gardens yesterday to have a little photo shoot. I wasn't planning on getting any real maternity pics taken - I feel like a total goober in front of the camera by myself! So after a bit I was able to relax and enjoy it, it turned out to be totally fun. Thank you Breanna!!! I swear that girl is so talented she needs to someday have her own photography/videography/art studio :) So... enjoy! Im hoping these will be the last pics you see of me pregnant since little Alana is due anytime this week! I can't wait!

I'm Ready...

2010-09-14T10:23:00.000-07:00

Everything is done, bassinet is up, so is the bouncer, swing and car seat. Her clothes are all Dreft fresh (mmm love that smell) and diaper/hospital bag is ready to go. Heck I even cleaned places in my house I've never cleaned before just because.

Mentally I THINK I'm ready for labor, including the epidural (which scares me to death! but a scary needle prick seems much better then hours of labor pain), delivery, becoming a dairy farm once again, countless diaper changes and long and hopefully not tooo sleepless nights.

I can't wait to see who she looks like, I'm hoping maybe me because I think Melia looks just like Bryce! I can't wait to hold her safely in my arms and tell her she has been born into quite the crazy family... but I think she might already know that ;)
It's been almost 4 years since I've done all of this but I know Melia is ready to be a big sister, Bryce is ready to be a daddy again, and I have to say I'M READY TOO!

C-U-T-E!

2010-09-02T15:55:00.000-07:00

Found this idea on Etsy and I was going to order them and then thought HEY (lightbulb clicking on) I can make that! SO that is my project for this week. I'll most likely do a matching headband for each.

And Another...

2010-09-01T19:25:00.000-07:00

I think I am addicted... this one was pretty easy to put together, just time consuming but I'm sure as I make more I'll get faster at it. But I think it turned out way cute :)

Baby Shower :D

2010-08-28T20:25:00.000-07:00

So of course as soon as I show up I check my camera and the batteries are completely dead... grrrr. Thank goodness for my friend Miranda who snapped pics throughout the afternoon.

Today I was grateful for all the family and friends (esp. my wonderful MIL and GMIL and SIL who made it all happen! How did I ever luck out with such great in laws!! :D) who came and hung out and showed their love and support. Secondly I was so grateful that it was only 80 degrees instead of 180 degrees! We really lucked out, the heat wave ended as of yesterday! So here are just a few shots of the afternoon, most especially for you grandma B :)

Cute little sign in sheet, now Alana needs to arrive so we can add her picture in!

My adorable 6 month old niece Savannah who steals my heart every time I see her... I will be so sad when she has to move up to Washington at the end of the year! :(

Yummy ribbon sandwiches

My FAV water punch... seriously the best. You can find how to make it on my recipe blog

Chowin down... eeek check out mama's roots. I think I need to make a hair appt ASAP haha

Some of the guests

The cheesecake... can we say chocolate almond crusted with fresh raspberry puree? I swear that serving dish was bare in two minutes flat. It was fun to make too!

The cupcakes that were slooooowly melting... lol you can see the vanilla bean specks in them they were yummy!

My momma and sisters

My super friend Miranda who helped me out SO much today :)

Food shot

Nice! Can't complain when she only wants her fruit and veggies!!

Some decor

The stash!

Now I am ready to set up shop for this baby, it won't be too long now. I got some GREAT gifts and now I know what she still needs so hopefully I can get my butt into gear so we are ready for her. Besides when is this whole nesting thing supposed to start?? I am still too tired and lack energy to get the simplest of tasks done. Oh well I guess that is what Bryce is good for huh? :)

A New Hair Bow...

2010-08-27T08:52:00.001-07:00

Being shown off by the cutest model too! This one was so super easy to learn, I love it's vintagey (is that even a word?) vibe. I know I could really frill them up with peacock or ostrich feathers or rhinestones too. I also love that I got 20 yards of this fabric in many colors for 6 bucks! Wooo I'll be making these suckers forever! I started this as a hobby and surprise! I've had multiple friends that want me to sell them! I don't have enough stamina and energy to start "mass" producing bows and flowers right now, but who knows, in the future I just might set up shop one day!

Raspberry Pickin'

2010-08-17T16:22:00.001-07:00

Last week we went up to Oak Glen to do some serious berry pickin'

This was our super sweet ride to the patch, Melia was oober excited about it.

First hay/tractor ride!

Only the best for us! We taught her which ones were ripe and I think she did a pretty good job for the most part! Bright red or pink = no Deep reddish purple = Yes!

Had to get the best ones away from the crowd even if it meant trudging through trees and bushes and hey if I got a nice booty shot as well, I figure that's a double win for me :)

Our stash

And what better way to end a day at Rileys then with an apple crumb pie?

A new hobby and 34 weeeks!

2010-08-17T10:09:00.000-07:00

I recently had a friend teach me how to make the cutest hair bows. That got me started on a crafting kick and I've learned two more styles since then. Good thing I have two girls (well almost!) to be my models :) I can say I have learned a lot about fabric types and hand sewing (as well as poking and burning my fingertips off!) this last week, Joanne's is no longer a scary intimidating place full of wacky crafters, for I am now one of those wacky crafters :) I enjoy creating these but can only do it for so long, my dang back kills me after just a few, I might have to set up a crafting post right next to me on the couch!

This last style I just learned but haven't finished yet but the end result SHOULD look something like this.
I don't know how much time I'll have for my new hobby after the next 6 weeks so I'm trying to learn all that I can right now.
Speaking of being 34 weeks...
Here it is... 34 week belly! This is my good friend Wendy at her baby shower on Saturday, she is 3 weeks ahead of me and she is also having a girl. Bryce and her hubs Ben have been friends since about middle school. It's been fun to have someone be in the same boat as me, to gripe and complain about my sickness and pains to, and to compare our growing bellys and to appreciate together such a great blessing to be having these sweet little girls :)

I'm having a rotten dang time loading videos on here... I've tried loading straight from my computer and on fliker and have had no luck getting them to load properly uggghhhhh. So very annoying!

Happy Birthday MOM

2010-07-26T10:15:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we celebrated with my mom for her birthday. We swam and BBQ'd and just enjoyed hanging out as a family.

Ready for some pool action!

I like to call this one
"Evolution of the cannonball"

Hanging in the spa

Of course a swim day can't be complete without lots of jumps!

Soccer and Swim

2010-07-20T07:52:00.001-07:00

We have been keeping Melia busy with different things this summer. Now that next year she'll be old enough to start real leagues and teams we thought we'd try to see what she likes best. She started dancing 9 months ago and we took a break from that this month to try soccer and swim. She seems to love both, especially swim. In soccer she needs a little push sometimes during skills practice but then loves to run and play in the games.

First is soccer...

Learning to stop the ball

A little help from her coach

Playing on the green team!

... and swim...

It's so nice to see Melia more comfortable in the water now. Before she was a total spaz and couldn't get out of her comfort zone. Now she swims along with the teacher on her tummy and back (with no more screaming! YAY) and is comfortable floating on her back and dunking her head. These pics are from the first day of practice. I'll have to take some shots the last day so you can see her improvement.

Her favorite part of practice... jumping time!

Blowing bubbles

Hanging out with her swim buddies

4th of July pics

2010-07-14T16:02:00.000-07:00

Our 4th of July was a great day of BBQing, swimming, park going, and firework watching. We started at Sylvan Park to get our show tickets and to have a little fun. It was extra special this year because usually we have to do all the celebration without Bryce, he's had to work on the 4th for the last 5 years! So to be out as a family together on that day was so great to me :) Melia enjoyed a snow cone and shared our incredible sparkling strawberry lemonade and we stayed to listen to the band play some good old classic rock.

We then went home where I made this crazy good dessert

(you can get the recipe here!) and then headed off to a good friends for some swimming and good food and great company. We finished up the night at the U of R for the firework show. Melia is funny, she used to love watching the fireworks but this year the poor girl was scared to death all night.

I think this was the only time she took her hands off her ears was to play a princess game on her aunties phone. Bryce looks pretty into it too ;) She wouldn't take her hands off her ears for the whole 2 hours before the show and by the end of the show she was sobbing under a blanket :( She's just not a fan of loud noises I guess. But it was an awesome day and I'm so glad I was able to share it with my whole family.

Melia's 1st Hike

2010-07-06T18:58:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we drove up to Forest Falls which was only about 15-20 min away, or some reason I always thought is was further, maybe that's why we had never gone before! The weather was perfect and it was absolutely beautiful up there. Melia had a blast playing in the waterfall, jumping off rocks and looking for sparkly stones. I think it's going to become a popular lunch spot for us.

Last week...

2010-07-06T16:15:00.000-07:00

Last week Bryce was gone at a gang convention all week in Anahiem.

I went absolutely nuts!

Don't ask me why, I think it's all the pregnancy hormones that made me a complete hot mess. So when I say we went out to make sure Melia didn't get bored what I mean is I had to get out of the house so I didn't turn into this emotional clingy psychopath. Ha!

He got a heck of a lot of training in that area which is great for him. He now is a court recognized gang expert which means the judge will allow him to testify against those creepers to get them off the streets. Yay :) Its unreal what this guy has accomplished these last couple years. Since he was hired on he has become a Training Officer, a County Underwater Search and Recovery member, a Gang Task Force member and now a court recognized gang expert! He is also going to school for his BA right now (which speaking of we pulled out our first school loan... ugh I knew it would come one day!). Its like everything he sets out to do he gets it done. I feel so blessed to be married such a determined and smart hardworker.

Sooooo during the week I took Melia to a music class at the library, we hung out at the beach and went to a water park (which i forgot to bring my camera to dangit!) Doesn't sound like a whole lot but in between me actually having a car to drive last week it seemed like we were gone a lot. We had some icky car drama, one car needed all new tires and the other car needed its windshield replaced... an then taken back because it wasn't sealed properly ahhhh it was nuts. So glad its over now, I just hate how expensive car repair can be!

Melia is such a goober in this video!

Boom sticks Melia... not telescopes (what she called them)

Much better!

My Lovelys!

2010-06-28T09:21:00.001-07:00

I took this picture on Father's Day, I think it perfectly captures Melia's fun and crazy personality. Good thing Bryce loves his girls! Our girl number 2 will be here in 3 months now... so crazy to think I'll have 2 kids. I think we have narrowed down our names (thank goodness!) So far we have Sienna, Alana (which is also Hawaiian like Melia) and Alexis (we would call her Lexie). Don't know which one we will pick yet... or maybe Ill hear another one in the next couple months I like. But at least I am grateful Bryce and I can agree on these. I think that is the hardest part is finding a name you can agree on.

Last of our vacation pics

2010-06-09T09:38:00.000-07:00

I feel like our vacation is 100% completely over now. Of course it was over the day the plane landed back in LA, but it's the sentimental things that keep it going for me. You know, it's the little reminders you get, like all the sand that pours out of your luggage as you unpack, the excitement of showing everyone the pictures you had developed, and the way you close your eyes and breathe in the scent of all the sample body washes and shampoos you use from the hotel that you stashed in your makeup bag... daily. (Come on it was Bath and Body Works! And if they didn't want me to take them they wouldn't have kept replenishing them :D )

But alas, the mosquito bites are merely scars, my whole body has finished shedding (g'bye Caribbean tan!) the luggage has been cleaned, the pictures have all been enjoyed and seen, and the body washes and shampoo's last drops were used this morning. Boo.

So I am relishing in posting these last pictures to my blog, enjoy them for me will ya? ;)

There was a big theme on the island... Pirates!

We visited a real pirate cave that real pirates used to use back in the day that kept them safe during hurricanes. It was about a mile long and connected to the beach. It was too cool!

Cute little parrots

Ew for two reasons: Firstly my "do not poo on my head" look is disgusting and secondly you can see all my icky sweatiness :P haha yucky!

A pirates life for me!

You might have to click on this pic to enlarge it to see a little friend "hanging" around.
And no I did not hang around much longer after that to see if he had more friends!

And while my in laws wanted to further explore the bat caves with other creepy crawlys... hahaha yeah no thanks!

... we went out to the beach to hang out in the breeze. Cave = no breeze and nasty drippy sweat over every single inch of your body. Just so ya know.

And the last pirate pic is with my good ole buddy...uhhh... Pirate Richard.

HAHA! Moving on!

One of my top things to do was (and still is) to swim with dolphins, but I knew being pregnant that it wasn't going to be able to happen so this is about as close as it was gonna get! No complaints though he was an excellent kisser :) Actually it felt like a couple good socks in the face.

And I can never forget all the good eats we had along the way. I wish I would have snapped a pic of everything I ate! It was just amazing :)
Normal burger? No
Jerk Chicken burger? Yesssss

And this... ahhhh this was just a masterpiece :) Would have to go back just to have this again!

Me and my luuuva... it was a rediculously nice get away for sure...

absolutely no complaints!
But to see this sweet little face the morning she woke up made my heart the happiest ever :)

Grand Cayman numero tres!

2010-06-08T08:57:00.000-07:00

Sorry Folks if your tired of hearing about our vacation but I have TONS of pics!!

What better way to spend time on an island than at the beach!!!!

Yes that is Bryce up there

Whoa kudos to Bryce for his artistic beach shot! lol

Grand Cayman numero dos!

2010-06-06T18:31:00.000-07:00

On our trip we did lots of things...

we went to Hell and back...

visited a sea turtle farm...

The pictures don't do these creatures justice! They had little baby sea turtles to huemongo full size turtles that were close to five feet long! They were HUUUUUGE!

saw lots of wildlife...

these green guys guys were everywhere! And the fine for killing an endangered blue iguana? 10,000 bucks baby! No kidding!

Reef shark

took some scenic hikes...

and of course there is more to come!

Grand Cayman numero uno!

2010-06-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

Whew! And we are back from a nothing less then fabulous vacation! Here we are in the Miami airport while waiting during our lay over. The flight wasn't too too long about 5 hours to Miami... but being 6 months pregnant made it feel like we were flying for EVER! Very uncomfortable! The weather was clear and it was neat to see the Gulf of Mexico, Florida Keys and Cuba. Ready to get our vacation on!

The next set of pics are from our first night there. We arrived at about 8pm and were instantly won over by the islands beauty and friendliness but we could have done without the nasty mosquitoes and humidity! You have to take two showers every day to feel clean over there and just to wear shorts and a tank top is too much clothing! It was HOT HOT HOT. I had never been in that much humidity before and during the afternoon everyone is just dripping sweat (perfect time for hitting the beach!) lol

Thank goodness the mosquitoes were only there that night... I guess they come right after they have a storm which they had the night before we got there. Those suckers got me about 10 times on my feet and I was so itchy for about 3 days. Here is another trip... learning how to drive on the left side of the road in a car with the steering wheel on the right! SCARY to say the least, good thing I didn't have to drive!

By the time we got to the Marriott it was about 9pm and we were starving! There was nothing open so we had no choice but to go to the EXTREMELY overpriced hotel BBQ buffet... I hate spending unnecessary money! Good thing the food was good!

Our room

The boys

The food... or at least my plate that is. Island citrus salmon and jerk chicken and their sweet potatoes were bangin!

The girls

Down by the water... here's a good belly shot for all of you folks out there! 24 weeks!

The sand was like powder! It was AMAZING to walk in

Macho macho men... :)

Lots of pictures to come!

Until next week...

2010-05-29T09:20:00.000-07:00

Somewhere beyond the sea
Somewhere waitin' for me
My lover stands on golden sand
And watches the ships that go sailin'

Somewhere beyond the sea
She's there watchin' for me
If I could fly like birds on high
Then straight to her arms I'd go sailin'

I love this song and I get it stuck in my head every time we go on vacation :)
I am now feeling the stress of leaving my little girl behind as we are leaving for Grand Cayman in the morning. Good thing she will still be asleep when we leave, I don't think I could handle saying goodbye without totally losing it! We fly into Miami and then will be on the islands for a week. I am TOO excited and there is still so much I feel I need to get done today before we leave.

Glad I can finally get a new stamp in my passport! Here is to many more world travels! Can't wait to take so phenomenal pictures to post for everyone.
Passport - check
Sunscreen - check
International calling card (for the paranoid mom in me) - check
Cute sun dresses and sandals - check

Let's GO!

My fav photo of the week

2010-05-11T21:07:00.000-07:00

Couldn't be happier!!!!

2010-04-27T12:48:00.000-07:00

How to dig your own grave...

2010-04-15T10:07:00.001-07:00

First you take a dog. Not just any dog, a dog too smart for it's own britches who thinks out of the box. A dog whose owners think it can do no wrong... a dog who was apparently bored out of her mind while her owners were on vacation.

Why in fact we have a dog just like that... who made sure we were good and gone before mutating into some sort of new gopher dog breed, and got to diggin, and diggin.... and diggin.

So one day when her owners returned from their vacation, the master owner decided to do some yard work...
I can almost hear him saying "WHAT THE..."

"You have got to be kidding me! MIDGET!!!!"

and yes he is all the way underground...

"Did you do this....???"

"...this monstrosity of a tunnel??"

"But I was hot and it's so nice down here...and I needed my own place..."

"and....oh...oops I'm sorry"

Unfortunately "I'm sorry" doesn't cut it around here... so what did the owner do?
Well he buried that darn dog of course!

OK not really... but darn that crazy dog if she ever tries it again!

I knew we'd do it!

2010-04-15T09:52:00.001-07:00

We renewed our Disneyland passes after taking a couple months off, and we have missed it! My tard camera ran out of batteries during the day *doh*! so I missed shots of us eating at the Blue Bayou. So mad about that! I wish I had those pictures because honestly I don't think I'll ever go back there. The food was pricy and not that great. I mean if I am paying 35 bucks for a plate I expect it to taste halfway decent! I enjoyed my salad and that was about it. I don't know, maybe I was just grossed out by the smell of the gumbo... being preggers this time I am super sensitive to smells and the cajun seasonings smelled like poop to me. lol Oh well it was sure fun though! I hope they get alot of use this summer, maybe it'll be all that walking that will get this baby out of me in September hehe.

Our good friends Jeremy and Heather... but I like to call them Heremy :)

Melia and Heather on Toy Story... one of our fav's! I ALMOST beat Bryce this time... sigh! Someday :)

My little buggy

Telling daddy about bugs

It's fun to be back there!

Some Last Utah Pics

2010-04-15T09:16:00.000-07:00

Draper Temple

Temple Square shot from 26th floor of church business building

the valley

Love this!

Love this statue

More thumbs up... i guess that was in that week!

More Utah Fun...

2010-04-14T15:23:00.000-07:00

While on vacation we got to spend alot of time outside in the CHILLY weather. I wasn't used to it only reaching 40 degrees all day long I would have frozen my tush off! My light sweaters and jeans just weren't going to cut it up there, thanks to grandparents who are stocked up with big jackets and gloves and warm clothes!

The girls getting bloooown away in a snow storm. I just love Melia's face in this pic.

Tasting the snow

Just having some silly fun

Melia had her first ride on the quad with her daddy. In the video you can hear her laughing so hard! She had so much fun on it, last year she wouldn't even hardly go near those things.
Love this!

Thumbs up!

Having fun with her auntie

We also visited the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake. It was covered in snow and ch-ch-cha-chilly... I am surprised I had my jacket off and if you zoom in close you can probably see giant goosebumps on my arms.

Beautiful clear day!

My little sister and her fiance

Still not sure why all the kids get a kick of touching these things... but I could hardly tear Melia away from it!

This little monkey reminded me of the one off of Night of the Museum

Like last year, Melia still wasn't a fan of this elephant... it does make some awful dying elephant sounds! So I don't blame her! :)
Melia's most favorites were the monkeys, the baby elephant,

and the giraffes.

This years gorilla pic...
Last years gorilla pic...
We are no longer afraid of the monkey! hehe

Snow day and Easter

2010-04-13T14:00:00.001-07:00

We woke up on Easter to find a little snow outside...Yeah it's not much but Melia sure had a blast in it. She got to play while we were all getting ready to attend the afternoon session of conference... which was amazing and of course I forgot my camera *doh*. But it was such a blessing to hear the words of our prophet and leaders and to be in the same room as them all... nothing less of Uh-mazing!

Here are some shots of Melia I did get that day...

Licked those blocks clean!

Hard work to get up...

but the little monkey made it!

Bubbles in the snow
Then there was an easter egg hunt... brrr it was too cold to have it outside so we had it in the front room

Her collection

We had a great dinner with family and a wonderful Easter! Hope yours was just as awesome!

First In n Out

2010-04-13T13:50:00.000-07:00

gotta start the habit early!...yes it's that good! We stopped in St. George (last call for In n Out while in Utah!) Melia isn't a big beef fan so we got her's grilled cheese style.

mmmmm cheesy In n Out goodness

My own Buddy Holly

2010-04-13T13:36:00.000-07:00

OOOoooweeeOOO I look just like Buddy Holly!

We have these 3D glasses from the movies that have become Melia's favorite. They are kinda retro and I think she looks terribly cute :)

Playing Catch up... our early Easter

2010-04-13T10:15:00.000-07:00

... On Easter which was celebrated early because of our trip to Utah

See all these? Yup, all mines!

...and this one is my most favorite

...because the easter bunny brought me "Princess and the Frog" to watch on the way to Grandma's house

...and these are the eggs I did all by myself!

Happy (early) Easter!

Baby appt. # Dos!

2010-03-31T09:38:00.000-07:00

I went in for my second doctors appointment yesterday. I can say the whole time I've ever been pregnant (even with Melia) I am completely freaked out and worrysome about bringing a new baby into the world... until I hear those first loud beats of the babies heart for the first time. After that I feel this calm feeling wash over me, and a good dose of reality too, that there is an actual living being that my body is caring for and that even though 180 days sounds like forever, that this little person will be here before I know it! I had some wishful thinking last week as it seemed my morning sickness was going away... but its come back full force! Atleast its just in the mornings usually though,not all day like before!

I am so excited that in a month (April 27th) we'll have our first ultrasound to find out if it's a boy or a girl... sweet holy moly I cannot wait for that day! People have asked me if we've thought of any names yet and honestly the answer is simply no. Haha I just have stuck that thought in the back of my mind until we find out the sex of the baby, I might as well make it a little easier on myself to just focus on boy names or girl names instead of both. I have no idea what this child's name could be! I'm finding myself having the hardest time with the whole name business with this kid... My kid is going to be the one at the hospital for 3 days and still doesnt have a name lol!
Anyways, this weekend we are road tripping it to Utah for Easter with my grandparents and also to attend Conference! This is our second time going and I am really excited... I do hope they let me sneak my snacks in the conf. center hehe!

On another vacation note... we are going here the first week of June

Hmmm Caribbean anyone?

Cayman Islands here we come!!!

Yo Summer!!

2010-03-24T08:11:00.001-07:00

...you are taking waaay too long to get here so we have chosen to venture outside without you! This week slip n slide, next week it's the pool and maybe even the beach! But don't take it too seriously though, Spring is treating us well but we still think you are way cooler... I mean hotter?
Oh and please excuse the wardrobe malfunction!

Bring it on!

Trying it out for the first time... eh not too successful yet...

This is how its done girl!!!!

This is much more fun!
Heeere I come!

Annie is trying to figure out how to get in on all the fun

Got some shots of the dogs too... and yes I know we need to mow our lawn! I swear it got mowed last weekend but with this heat its on crack!

Momma Bella

Curious Annie

Watchful Midge.

We've silenced the t indefinetly... no longer a midget is she now! lol

Wipeout!

Calling it quits

Baby Update Numero Uno

2010-03-03T09:01:00.000-08:00

So I had my first doctors appointment yesterday... wasn't exactly looking forward to the scale, the pap smear the blood taken and the urine samples. Geez isn't having a baby so glamorous? haha. Fortunately I have not gained any weight yet which is beyond me because I have to eat at least every hour and a half to two hours to not be sick. And I had to pee in a cup twice... in a half hour! They are lucky I can produce! I'm like seriously can't I just go upstairs and borrow some? haha.

My OB wheeled in the ultrasound machine and we got to see the baby briefly but the beans still too small to see clearly, next appt will be perfect to hear the heartbeat and see the little one. I did learn that I have a tilted uterus though. No wonder I have to pee so bad all the time. I seriously have to get up 3 times at night to go. I thought it was way to early for that but that explains the slight pain and pressure when I've gotta go because I've got something leaning on my bladder! It is supposed to straighten out by the 2nd trimester by itself.

I had looked on the computer before my appt to see when i'd be due and it had said Oct.2. But my OB says it looks like Sept 26th now! Almost a whole week earlier! It's going by super slow right now I think because I've been sick but I am sure this spring and summer will just fly by.

Advice would be nice!

2010-02-25T10:24:00.000-08:00

Oh man so this pregnancy so far has not been very kind to me... I am constantly on a roller coaster of nauseousness throughout the whole day, every day for the last two weeks. I remember being sick with Melia but then I would puke and have relief and be fine for the rest of the day. Sadly no relief yet for me so far... what helped you the most when you were sick? ANY advise or tips would be great! I just feel bad for Melia because I can't really take her any where because I am never feeling ok! I don't want to complain to anyone so I guess I'll get it all out on here :)
Thanks guys :)

I spy...

2010-02-18T09:24:00.000-08:00

I spy something different on my page... do you??? :)

Part Dos

2010-01-25T17:23:00.000-08:00

Since Sunday was so crowded at Oak Glen, we decided to go back the next day to go sledding. It was clear, no crowds whatsoever! We even had the entire sledding hill to ourselves :) Melia is such a dare devil and wanted to go by herself right away. We built a snowman and then had breakfast up at Apple Annie's, our favorite little restaurant up there. It was a great morning!

Yum!

Making the snowman

I know lets make a little chinese man

This girl meant business when she was throwing snowballs

Getting ready for another run with dad

She could never make it back up the hill all the way, she'd get about half way and fall all the way back down again
I love that you can hear her giggling all the way down

Then flying off with mom...

and of course, all my herself :)

Oak GLen - Part Uno

2010-01-25T16:47:00.001-08:00

SNOW!

2010-01-25T16:08:00.000-08:00

B-e-a-u tiful sunsets

2010-01-25T15:44:00.000-08:00

We get them about this time every year and they are gorgeous. It makes me look forward to the end of the day just to snap another great pic.

Another reeeediculously late post...

2010-01-25T15:06:00.001-08:00

Lots more Christmas pics, we had a great time with all our family. Even though it seemed like we were running from one house to the next, how blessed we are to be surrounded by those we love.

A post so late it's retarted...

2010-01-25T14:44:00.001-08:00

I feel like slapping my own wrist for being such a bad blogger lately! I don't keep a journal or anything (although I think this counts!) so this is all I will have to look back on for years to come. What I mean is that it's the end of January and I am looking back at my Christmas photos realizing I never posted them! Yikes... so here they are, better late then never! Here is me playing catch up on the next three or four posts! :P

Here is our pathetic looking gingerbread house... yeeah time to work on my piping skills you think? lol but I've got no patience when it comes to these things. Melia had a blast eating (was supposed to be decorating) the house.

We had a night over at my dad and his new wife's home.

Melia got a magic wand and then had to turn everyone into a princess or a frog or a pig...

I just hope Janice realized what kind of family she married into... :)

She Danced!

2010-01-20T10:38:00.000-08:00

You probably remember Melia's last performance... hehe
But this time she did her momma proud! She just did so good I could gush about her all day long :)

RAWR!