Palm Springs

For my 34th birthday, Jim took me to Palm Springs for the weekend! We stayed at the Villa Royale Inn, a bed and breakfast about three minutes from the downtown area. It was very relaxing, very quiet, and just what we both needed. It was the first weekend we had had, just the two of us, in about three and a half years. Sometimes it seems it's all about the kids, so we took the time for ourselves. :) Sofia went to her Nana's house for her first sleepover over there (the first sleepover she ever had was at her Auntie Cassie's house with her cousins), and Talyon went to Steve's house.
We're hoping to get one more weekend in before baby Charlie is born at the end of June, so we're trying to get that planned now before life happens again!!

At Las Casuelas Terraza Restaurant

Some pictures of the place we stayed, Villa Royale Inn in Palm Springs

Where we layed out on Saturday
View from our lounge chairs, this is the door to our room

Reading before getting ready for dinner...

Europe Restaurant at the Inn, where we had a marvelous two-hour dinner on Saturday night

Some pictures we took on the way home, since I was certainly not in a hurry to be home!

March 2009

Thank you to my father-in-law Ken, who finally gave me the motivation to take some pregnancy pictures. I kept putting it off, but then got the word from Idaho that they wanted to see baby Charlie! Here are some pictures of Sofia as well, she made breakfast last weekend with her Daddy, one of our favorite weekend rituals. She's actually getting quite good at breaking the eggs, we only have to fish out a few pieces of shell at the end. :) She's also good at stirring without spilling, and now she's getting to the point where she knows not to touch the hot pans, so we'll let her stir something on the stove while we're holding her and watching her. She loves it!! I'm sure she'll enjoy her next trip to see her family in Idaho, since both her Grandma Mary and Papa Ken love to cook! She's also starting to play with her dolls a lot more, and still adores her tea parties. I think she'll probably get a doll house for her birthday this year.

As for myself, I have a lot more energy than I did a month ago, and I'm not sick at all anymore. The stretching ligaments are a source of constant pain, but other than that I'm great! Jim has been working a lot (still), but we are REALLY looking forward to our first weekend away together in.... drum roll please... three and a half years. No kidding. We're going to Palm Springs for two nights, staying at a beautiful and quiet (no kids allowed! Ha!) bed and breakfast in the foothills. My husband sure does know how to spoil me, especially on my birthday. I still wonder daily how I got so lucky in love!!
Enjoy the pictures, and I'll check back again soon.
Hugs and kisses to our family in Idaho.




It's not really cold here, but Sofia loves wearing all of her accessories. A true girl.







Making breakfast with Daddy!

24 weeks pregnant with Baby Charlie. And you can see all of my blooming freesia!

The Holiday Season

December was kind of a bear for me this year. It was so nice to be in California and have cool weather and rain on Christmas day(!), but this pregnancy is really kicking my butt so it was difficult for me to get everything prepared. We made it though, so I can look back on it with a smile.

One afternoon my sister Cassie came over with her three boys and baked gingerbread men, sugar cookies, and fudge with me and Sofia. The kids named themselves the "tasters", so that was their main job. It was a ton of fun, and we got a lot accomplished. I think we baked for about eight hours!!

Sofia and I also logged a lot of hours at the mall, and one afternoon we had a nice lunch together and went to see Santa. Sofia was not to keen on sitting on the boisterous old man's lap, so thankfully I was prepared and ready to sit with her. Even then, I told the photographer to take it quickly!!

On Christmas Eve, our family went to my Grandpa and Grandma Sawyer's house in Solana Beach. They love seeing the great-grandkids, and it was good to see them again as well. After a few hours there, we drove up to Temple City to see Grandma June and the rest of the Mutters.

Christmas morning we spent at our own house, but that afternoon we went to my mom's house for lunch and dinner. The whole family was there (my brother and his family, my sister and her family), and Sofia went crazy all day long opening gifts, playing with her cousins, and stealing candy and cookies from the table. She really enjoyed the holiday this year and made everything worth it. And isn't that what it's all about?

My first rainbow since we left Hawaii... I'm glad it came on Christmas morning. :)

Jim starting the fire on Christmas morning.


Presents!

At Nana's house

Autumn

It's been a while since my last post, I know. I blame it on the computer being upstairs and most of our (meaning mine and sofia's) days are spent down below. :) Also, there has been a real lack of inspiration for taking pictures since we left Hawaii. Don't get me wrong... I love California. I love that my family is ten minutes away and that it won't take me a whole year to learn where things are located. But we don't go on hikes or to the beach anymore, most of our outside time is spent at the park or in the backyard. In fact, I have even become comfortable with Sofia playing in the backyard by herself (with tomo following close behind). And this is an incredible lifesaver lately because I'm pregnant and sick as a dog. You read correctly, I'm pregnant!! It's nearly ten weeks now, and I feel really good about this one. I can already feel a little tight ball growing in my tummy, and the morning sickness is strong (a misnomer, really, since it lasts all day and gets worse in the evenings). So... we've been spending a lot of time at home. Sofia is hooked on Diego, she loves to play with her dog, and her new thing is tea parties. Her nana taught her how to have one, and now that's her mainstay. She has two different sets, and will offer you a cup if you are within five feet of her. Today, in fact, she learned that she can fill up the pot herself in the bathroom sink via her stepstool, so despite the bathroom floor being constantly wet, it's actually kind of nice not having to fill it up for her ten times a day. And she's very good at cleaning up after herself (the attempt is there at least).
Backing up... Sofia was a pink carebear for halloween this year. Talyon dressed up as a girl (it's quite convenient for him that he wears the same size as his stepmom, but my feet are too small for him so he had to beg nana for some shoes) and went trick or treating with his friends. Jim and I took Sofia trick or treating with her cousins, aunts and uncles. It was quite a scene, very fun. Sofia caught on *very* quickly that even though she had to go up to strangers, the reward was one very fine piece of candy if she was brave enough. And boy was she brave. She didn't care. She was even trying to trick or treat me the next day!! Something to the effect of "TICK TEEEEET !!!!" Thanksgiving we spent at my dad's house with my brother and his family, and of course my dad and stepmom. It was really nice, the food was good, and it was actually raining for a while. It felt so nice to have a chill in the air for the holiday and not be in 80-90 degree heat.

So I'll keep you updated on what's new, hopefully more often than I have been. Right now we're getting ready for Christmas (slow process being sick), and I'm hoping- Hoping!- that I'll feel well enough to have a party and have some friends and family over.

San Francisco

Sofia and I went to San Francisco last week to visit the city and my best friends in the world. We stayed at Kyle's house, hung out with Samantha and met baby Roxy, had dinner with Michelle, and I was the matron of honor in Christina's wedding. It was a wonderful week! Jim and Nana met us in Tiburon on Friday, and for the rest of the weekend Sofia hung out with Nana so Jim and I could be at the wedding without distraction. It was a blast, probably the most fun I have had at a wedding since my own. And while we were in the city, Sofia and I did some shopping, we went to Stow Lake to feed the ducks and look at turtles, we went to the best tot lot ever in Golden Gate Park, road the carousel, and went out to dinner every night with friends.
I miss the city, I really do, but after being there with my baby... I'm glad I live in the 'burbs. We took every single form of public transportation on the way there... we flew to Oakland, took a bus to the bart station, took BART (subway) into the city, then hailed a cab to Kyle's house. And mind you, I had two large suitcases, a carseat, a diaper bag and a purse AND a sleeping 24 pound toddler strapped to my chest via my sling. I don't know how I did it. I think my pride kept me afloat... "I can do this. I spent five years in the city. I can do this." ahhhh... it's good to be back. And next time we go, I'm hiring a driver to pick me up.


Eating at Chow in the castro




At Stow Lake and Golden Gate Park







At Ocean Beach with Samantha and her new baby Roxy








And, finally, pictures from the wedding weekend