Nate, Keshia, & Kyla Meikle

Baby Brother is on his way!

2012-01-30T18:49:00.000-08:00

Christmas Break Part 2

2012-01-24T20:54:00.000-08:00

The second half of our Christmas break was spent in Utah. We had all sorts of fun playing with Peugeot and my family (Peugeot first and foremost) and seeing some Utah friends again. We also had some fun outings, first of which was to Hogle Zoo for their "Zoo Lights." We all had a great time and the lights were darling. Kyla's favorite part... the carolers. She was mesmerized.
Love these silly girls.
For some reason Kyla refused to smile for a picture so this is what we ended up with.
What do you think... do we look like sisters? :)
Our next outing was to a BYU basketball game on New Year's Day after Malawi's Pizza in Orem (so amazing!). It was Kyla's first big game and she thought it was awesome. Every time they blasted music over the speakers she was dancing around in heaven. She caught on during the National Anthem as well.
We had a good view of the entire Marriott center up at the top. The perfect place for us to park it with a 2 year old.
Enjoying the game
We also went to a UVU women's game to watch Pyper perform with her drill team and Kyla was smitten with their mascot walking around. She kept waving at him, standing on the seat, and yelling "hi beary, hi beary!!" When he walked over I thought she was going to get nervous but she gave him a high five and offered him a cracker. Pyper's team looked great and Kyla had fun watching her aunt dance.
Grandma Robin and Grandpa Ryan
The aunties and the dog
We tried to get a picture with Kyla and her little cousin London but that didn't go over too well, hence the lack of a picture posted. London is adorable though and it was fun to play with her in person.

Christmas in Idaho

2012-01-17T20:22:00.001-08:00

This year we spent Christmas in Idaho with the entire Meikle family. All 36 family members made the trek ranging from a 2 minute drive to a 34 hour drive. It was a wonderful and memorable Christmas.
During our entire 10 day stay in Idaho we only had one snow day. Sad. But we took advantage for as long as we could endure the cold.

Watching Tangled with Grandma Meikle. Kyla adores that movie and sings along to all the songs.

Have you ever heard of Agricola? It is a German board game that takes roughly 20 minutes just to explain how to play it. This game kept us up into the wee hours of the morning a few too many times.
Kyla and her girly cousins huddled around their favorite toy.
Kyla was a sheep for the family nativity. Let's just say the participation was a little weak. She was off in her own little dancing world throughout the entire nativity production, as well as the family talent show that followed.
Christmas morning was great. We had 5 families piled in the family room and there were presents and wrapping paper pieces everywhere. Kyla loved opening presents this year, but it took a while to get through them all because she needed time to play with and enjoy each one before moving on. She also loves her new snowman jammies.

Paint

2011-12-13T13:49:00.000-08:00

Kyla loves to paint. What little kid doesn't? She has always used a brush and loved it, but just recently I have introduced hand, finger, and foot painting and she thinks it is the coolest thing ever. We did a little Christmas craft the other day and she just giggled the whole time I dipped her toes in the paint. She did a great job letting me put her feet and hands in specific places, but she liked the fingerprint ornaments best because she could choose all by herself. She was pretty proud of her creation, and we think it turned out adorable too!

Thanksgiving Vacation

2011-12-09T13:25:00.001-08:00

We celebrated Thanksgiving this year with just the 3 of us in wine country. We spent 2 nights in Sonoma and Napa and loved being together. On our way north we stopped by Golden Gate Park and Kyla had a blast at their playground. It was huge and full of everything fun you can think of at age 2.

Then we drove to our bed and breakfast where they had free cookies, hot chocolate, and hors d'oeuvres, to go with a perfect sized room, and a hot tub. Kyla thought it was pretty fun swimming in such a hot pool. She didn't venture far from her little top step though.
There is always time for coloring.
The next morning we drove out to St. Helena to the #1 rated winery for 2011. It is called V. Satturi and we had a great time there. Although we don't drink wine, it was still fun to see all the barrels, and they had other tasty caramels and dips to sample. We ate a delicious picnic lunch out on their grounds and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

This was a great time to visit wine country because all the leaves were changing colors. The rows and rows of vineyards were a handful of different colors similar to this tree. Gorgeous!
In Napa we stayed at a Marriott and Kyla slept in a pack-n-play shoved into the closet. So cozy.
For Thanksgiving dinner I made reservations at a place I heard was open without even looking at the menu. When we got there I sat down to a menu full of pasta and pizza. No turkey, stuffing, potatoes, rolls, etc? I was NOT happy. Luckily they had a special for the night that was their version of a Thanksgiving dinner but it was just ok. So although our actual Thanksgiving dinner wasn't the best, our vacation as a whole made up for it. The next day we visited the Sonoma Cheese Factory and sampled tons of unique and absolutely delicious cheeses! This is a picture of all their options. Loved it! We also ate a great lunch there and played out in the park at the town square. Such a cute place.
Then before heading home we stopped by Train Town in Sonoma. Free admission... great! Turns out each ride/attraction costs an arm and a leg, so we looked around the free train station area for a bit and Kyla and I rode the carousel once. Still fun.

We had a wonderful and memorable Thanksgiving break with just us three but now I'm really looking forward to Christmas break to see our families.

17-Mile Drive

2011-12-07T14:38:00.000-08:00

During our Thanksgiving break the three of us drove down to Monterey for a day. We ate the most delicious picnic lunch, thanks to Compagno's Deli, on the beach of 17-mile drive. The seagulls kept trying to sneak a bite so Kyla kept waving her arms around and saying "Get away birds! Don't eat our food!" It was the first time she was allowed to be bossy, and she enjoyed it. After our lunch we stomped our way into the water with our rainboots. Unfortunately I didn't see a big wave coming in time to run away, and the water came pouring into Kyla boots. They were filled with freezing cold water up to the brim. On top of that, she also tripped while running, so even though we didn't plan on getting in the water I definitely should have brought towels. She was soaked! Luckily I brought a change of clothes, but no extra socks and shoes. The rest of the day she was barefoot but she loved our walks along the beach and being able to feel the sand between her toes.

After lunch we explored 17-mile drive, Carmel, then back to Pebble Beach. We drove all through the golf course and picked out our future vacation home. Kyla may also be the only 2-year-old to take a potty break by the tee box on hole 9 using the little potty chair we carted around with us all day. Then we met up with our friends the Lemmons, and they took us to a delicious Mexi-Cali restaurant with the best guacamole and salsa. We had a wonderful day together to start off our break.

Big Sister

2011-11-27T20:28:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't already know... Kyla is going to be a big sister. Baby #2 is coming in June!

Gilroy Gardens

2011-11-26T13:23:00.001-08:00

Earlier this month we spent a Saturday at Gilroy Gardens, a horticultural amusement park in garlic capital Gilroy, CA. This place was great! I got a good deal on Groupon and we spent every minute the park was open riding strawberries, paddle boat ducks, caterpillars, goldfish, carousels (Kyla's favorite), and playing at the playground and eating yummy food. We absolutely loved this place and would love to go back again.

Happy Halloween

2011-11-03T13:53:00.001-07:00

Kyla was so excited about trick-or-treating this year. I read her books about Halloween a couple weeks ago and she has been talking about costumes and candy since. Our ward had a little trunk-or-treat last week that was a warm up for the real deal on Halloween night. Just like last year she thought the glow sticks were cool, but now she knows that candy trumps all. On Halloween we walked/ran around our courtyard trying to keep up with Kyla. She was not wasting any time. She kept squealing and saying "this is so fun going to people's houses!" She also did a great job of saying thank you to everyone. In less than an hour her pumpkin bag was full of goodies. Thanks for sharing Kyla! She loved wearing her cowgirl costume and she looked pretty dang cute if you ask me.

EV Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-31T13:51:00.001-07:00

Escondido Village (where we live) organizes a pumpkin patch each year and gives one pumpkin to every graduate family. We picked a good one this year and Kyla thought all the rows of pumpkins were pretty cool.

Potty Training

2011-10-30T20:40:00.001-07:00

About two weeks ago we decided to hit the potty training, or "potty trains" as Kyla calls it. Before we completely started, Kyla and I went to the library and checked out a handful of picture potty books and Kyla loved them. She wanted to sit on the potty and "read potty books" multiple times a day. After a couple weeks of learning from books we bought some big girl panties and got to work. Day one: six wet panties. Day two: one clean panty. Yes, she picked it up fast! She could recognize when it was coming and run to the potty, pull down her pants, and go without a problem. Since day two we have had a handful of accidents. She will be too distracted with playing, or just forget, but for the most part she is doing great. Every time she has a success she puts a sticker on her potty chart and when it gets filled up she earns a headband (or forehead-band). So proud of our big girl!

She wanted to do her "stink eye" in this last picture :)

Muir Woods

2011-10-14T22:18:00.001-07:00

Last month we visited Muir Woods, a national park located just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. The park is full of 300-foot-tall Redwood trees and is spectacular. A path winds through the forest of trees, which touch the sky, and we had a great time walking/running the path trying to keep up with Kyla. It is amazing to think that most of the trees are 600-800 years old. Some are even older than 1000 years. It was a great Saturday outing.

Party Time

2011-10-03T14:57:00.001-07:00

Kyla's birthday party was this past weekend and it turned out to be a success. We had a bird themed party and served bird type food for snacks: cupcakes with coconut bird nests and jelly bean eggs, popcorn, gummy worms, nuts, carrots, goldfish, etc. We also had two crafts for the kids to make. One was a bird feeder out of card stock, paper plates, and yarn, all decorated with markers and stickers, and I had bags of bird seed they could take home. The other was a marble and paint craft with bird shaped paper. Then I had a high school boy come by and tie balloons for all the kids. He definitely stole the show. We probably had over 50 people, including kids, come by. It was great! Kyla had the time of her life filling up cup after cup with juice and licking frosting off cupcakes and handing me the remains. She also played hard outside with her friends and cousins that came from Sacramento. We had a wonderful time and Kyla now has a house full of awesome new toys thanks to all of her generous friends.

She was one happy two-year-old!

I made this little bird shirt for Kyla to wear for her party. It was a fun craft for me and she looked so cute in it. This is before the party...

and this is after...

Kyla is 2!

2011-09-29T14:55:00.001-07:00

Yesterday my sweet little girl had her second birthday. I can't believe how grown up she is getting, and mostly that I am a mother of a two-year-old now! Nate and I sang to her and opened presents in the morning before Nate went to school and she loved being sung to. She also adored the crocheted cat I made for her which melted my heart. It was the best reaction I could have hoped for. She kept petting it and saying it was so cute. She named it "Andy." After seeing the cat, though, she didn't want to open more presents so we had to talk her into it. It took two rounds so she finished opening presents before bed and was ecstatic to see Guess Who as her last present. I found it at a rummage sale last weekend and couldn't believe my luck. When she ripped away the first bit of wrapping paper she squealed and when we asked her what it was she said, "Robert!" because that was the face that was showing. Yes, she still remembers all of their names from the summer. So funny! She also got her first Barbie from my mom and loves it. Then we got Kara's Cupcakes before bed and she blew out 2 candles and thought it was pretty cool then gobbled up her cupcake. Her birthday party is this weekend.

Some of Kyla's latest:
-After slinging her bag of toys over her shoulder and putting on her sunglasses she will say "Goodbye mom, I'm going to my law school meetings. I'll be back in twenty minutes." Then she will walk to the door and back and say "I'm back. I learned some words and read books."
-She has a tiny Snoopy dog and she constantly wraps him in a blanket and says "Snoopy is going to snooze time."
-She loves to put on makeup with me and has her own bag of empty containers in the bathroom.
-She is obsessed with trying on shoes and now knows her left and right.
-She is recognizing letters and numbers, knows how to spell her name, and is a champ at colors, shapes, and the alphabet.
-Her favorite activity outside is playing in the playhouse and "doing some cooking." She comes up with different dishes every time but mostly it is "pasti and strawberries."
-When you ask her where we live she says "Stanford, California."
-She can now pedal herself on bikes with training wheels. So grown up!
-When we are getting in or out of our car she says "Mom hold my hand. I be careful, there are cars around."
-Her favorite songs are Rolling in the Deep, Rumor Has It, I Gotta Feeling, Born This Way, Good Life, Animal, Just the Way You Are, etc. And she knows the majority of the words, at least tries. :)
-She loves to clean and is pretty good at helping. Mostly she just makes messes so she can get towels out of the drawer and spread it around.
-She loves books, puzzles, coloring with markers, playing games, running, and going on bike rides.
-We basically have back and forth conversations all day, and I am enjoying the humor of a two-year-old.

She is my best little buddy. She makes us laugh everyday and I am so lucky to be her mom and spend my days with her.

Guess Who?

2011-09-15T14:15:00.001-07:00

Remember this game? Yep, it is Kyla's favorite.
She has always been so good at remembering people's names. She would remember a little kid's name out at our Stanford playground before I memorized it. To help illustrate her talent I will bring back the Guess Who game. After playing with the Guess Who game a handful of times she knew all but 3 of the 24 character's names. I may have told her each name only 2 or 3 times, not intending her to memorize them, just to play the game. Her little memory surprises me everyday. She is also a little chatterbox now and speaks in full sentences. I loving being able to communicate with her and hear her thoughts.

Goodbye Idaho

2011-09-13T14:36:00.001-07:00

We are back to Stanford now and our summer in Idaho has come to a close. It was bitter sweet leaving because I am so happy to be back to our little home but we sure had a fun time with our family. Good thing Christmas is only a few months away. Too bad that means we have to drive all over again! Here are a few more pictures from our summer with cousins.

At the zoo

Kissing cousins

Love those markers

Silly face

Stink eye

Who is coming?

Check out that monkey's pose! He just sat there looking at us.

Draper Park

2011-09-06T21:13:00.001-07:00

Kyla and I drove to Utah for a couple days while Nate was out of town and it was so nice to spend one last time with my family before we go back to Cali. I love being with them, especially my crazy sisters. We spent one afternoon with all the girls at Draper Park and had so much fun playing and acting silly together.

Love these girls

Priceless

Kyla was such a big helper with London's pacifier

This girl LOVES to swing

Goodbye for now Utah

Rexburg Splash Park

2011-09-01T19:57:00.001-07:00

Kyla and I spent the afternoon with our cousin Courtney and her little boy Cooper at the Rexburg splash park. The kids had a blast getting soaked in the fountains and they loved the carousel right next door. Best part is the splash park is free! I want to take it back to Cali with me. If I lived in Rexburg I would be there everyday. It was a blast!

Time in Utah

2011-08-26T13:06:00.001-07:00

In July we spent a couple weeks in Utah with family and friends. Jesse and Justine blessed their sweet little girl London Lynn at my grandparents house, and we were grateful we could be there for it.

We spent a weekend in Park City at a condo and had so much fun together. We swam in the crater at Homestead which was a blast. The water was so warm and Kyla loved floating on her back with her panda bear life jacket. We also swam at the condo pool, played games, and ate yummy food.

I miss being around my sisters so much! It was fun to act silly with them again. Kyla loved playing with them too, and especially loved chasing Peugeot, my parents dog, around everywhere. She calls him Fu-Fu.

Harry Potter night. Loved it!

Free slurpee day. Kyla was so excited about this "new treat" and loved that it turned her mouth blue.

4th of July

2011-08-22T13:02:00.001-07:00

This year we celebrated the fourth in Idaho Falls for the first time. It started off with a parade through town. I have never seen so much candy thrown out in my life (Kyla was thrilled!) and come to find out they have a $100 fine to anyone that throws out candy. Apparently nobody cared.

Kyla loves swinging these days and she didn't want to get off to watch the parade. It didn't take her long though to realize the street was the place to be to gobble up all the treats.

In the evening we took a walk around the waterfalls in the middle of town before they shot off the fireworks. Idaho Falls puts on a great show every year with the fireworks being shot from a little island in the middle of the falls. The whole town of IF was there along with half the people in Idaho I think. It was great and Kyla loved it. Her first time seeing fireworks and the latest she has ever stayed up. She mostly played with a glow stick but anytime there was a 3 second pause in the fireworks she would look up and say "uh-oh!"

And I'm still trying to figure out the best size for pictures from my blog app so don't mind the half cut off pictures in my last post :)

Fun in Idaho

2011-08-20T12:35:00.001-07:00

This summer we have been staying in Idaho Falls with family and we have had a lot of fun playing with cousins. We had cousins from South Carolina staying here and then cousins from Pocatello and Twin Falls too. We have played lots of games, colored with markers, watched movies, played in sprinklers, visited the Tautphaus Zoo, played at playgrounds, visited animals at the pet store, and played on swings. We are also learning how to share, not hit, and take turns. Yay.

In June we went to a cabin in Island Park and went boating and four-wheeling. Kyla loved it all. It has been fun spending so much time with family. I have the greatest in-laws.

4th Anniversary

2011-08-18T14:02:00.001-07:00

Nate and I celebrated our fourth anniversary last month and I can't believe it has been four years since our wedding day. They have definitely been four incredible years. For our anniversary we spent the night at Snowbird and ate a delicious steak dinner. We also went hot tubbing, rode the tram to the top of the mountain, rode the alpine slide, zip line, and did the rock wall and rope course. Then we went shopping and eventually got back to real life with Kyla the next afternoon. We had a great time together.

Little Fish

2011-08-18T13:50:00.001-07:00

I'm back. This summer has been extremely difficult with blogging. We left my computer in Cali but since it is on the verge of dying we bought an IPad for me to use instead which has been great except for blogging. I couldn't get images to upload so I have been buying apps and doing research and i think I have finally figured it all out. What a pain. So now I have a lot of catching up to do. These pictures are from Kyla swimming at the rec center by my parents in Utah and she absolutely loves it there. They have a great kid section with slides and fountains and shallow water. She keeps getting more and more brave every time we swim which means she tries to go off on her own and ends up under water. She also loves jumping off the side to me when she gets her courage up. We love swimming in the summer!

Family Pictures

2011-06-26T16:25:00.000-07:00

Before we left California for the summer our neighbor and friend, Teresa, took some family pictures for us and I LOVE them!! She did a perfect job and I and so happy to finally have some good looking pictures of us three.

Bay Area Discovery Museum

2011-06-12T19:41:00.001-07:00

The first Wednesday of every month is free admission day to the Bay Area Kid's Discovery Museum. Kyla and I finally took advantage of this on a somewhat rainy day and it was awesome! The place has a lot of outdoor activities and since it wasn't a perfectly sunny day it wasn't crowded. It worked out great for us because we had space and the rain didn't hinder our fun at all.
Kyla kept sitting on this turtle and saying "picture mommy picture!"

Highlight of the day, painting on the clear wall. She thought it was great!
This is the view from the playground area. The museum is right at the end of the Golden Gate Bridge and down a little windy road surrounded by trees. It is right by the edge of the water. I just kept looking around thinking how lucky I am to spend my days here and call this home for now. I am definitely taking advantage of it and loving it so much. Come out and visit us family and friends while you still can!!
Love my little buddy. She is looking so grown-up!

Silly Faces

2011-06-12T19:33:00.001-07:00

One of Kyla's favorite activities is taking silly pictures. She loves to smile and pull faces and then look at them on the camera. Here are some pictures of us having fun.

Rainy Day Play

2011-06-12T19:27:00.001-07:00

What do we do on a rainy day when we can't play outside (which is what we do every other day)? Oh, things like shopping, the library, and painting with pudding in the tub. I didn't have paint and my friend gave me this idea. It was a hit, especially because it was also delicious to eat!

Goodbye to dear friends

2011-06-12T17:47:00.001-07:00

The worst part about leaving Stanford for the summer is saying goodbye to our friends. And what makes it worse, some of our very best friends have now graduated and are moving for good. Kyla's "best friend" (as she says) is our next door neighbor Ava, and one of my best friends now is Ava's mom Lana. They have now moved back to Australia and saying goodbye to them was one of the saddest moments. We just hugged and cried. I can't believe how close we got to them in less than a year but I feel like they are some of the best friends we have ever had. We are going to miss them terribly, especially because if we are outside and they aren't, Kyla constantly says "Ava, Ava, Ava" and sits by their patio door. Oh, it is not going to be fun when we get back to Cali and I have to remind her (and myself) on a regular basis that they are gone. Looks like we are going to have to travel to Australia soon. This picture of us 4 didn't turn out great because my battery was dying in a matter of seconds so it is the only one we could catch in time.

Best Buds
Kyla was obsessed (seriously obsessed) with Ava's Dora cups and would hold them for her outside everyday. No matter where Lana put it when they came out, Kyla would find it and hold it and then give Ava drinks occasionally. So funny.
Ava's favorite thing to do with Kyla, other than the swings, was pushing Kyla around in cars as fast as she could. Kyla would squeal and laugh and love every minute.
These are the Ning boys and we are going to miss them so much too! Kirtland (or "Kiki" as Kyla would say), Spencer, and "Ty-Ty" were such sweet boys and Kyla always had so much fun playing with them. I also got to be great friends with their mom, Kim, and I am so sad to say goodbye to them too.
We have met some great people and made wonderful friendships. A lot of our friends are moving back to Chile, and since Nate served his mission there we are hoping for a reunion sometime. Thank heavens we still have friends staying at Stanford next year.

Summer Break

2011-06-12T17:15:00.001-07:00

We have finished our first year of law school and can honestly say we really enjoyed it. I'm so glad we still have some years left there because I am definitely not ready to leave Stanford. We have, however, left for the summer and are now living in Idaho Falls with a few trips to Utah planned. The 14 hour drive actually turned out quite smooth thanks to Nemo, Monsters, and Cars (twice). We are excited to spend lots of time this summer with family and friends.

I do have some posting to do on past events though. Last month Kyla and I flew to Utah to spend a week with my family. My sisters were having their dance recital and it was Pyper's last year at the studio because she has now made Bingham's drill team. Yay! Pyper and Oakley were in all of the same dances and it was so much fun watching them. They are both incredible! Kyla was a wild child throughout the recital but would stop once in a while to point out the "dancers" and dance to the music down the isles in the auditorium. I need to get some pictures from my mom since none were taken on my camera. While we were in Utah we went to Hogle Zoo (which has been remade and it is totally awesome!), swam at the rec center (also a blast), went to an aquarium, visited my grandparents, and saw lots of friends.

They had robotic dinosaurs all over the zoo for the summer and they were so lifelike! They moved so smoothly and made Kyla a little nervous at first because they were so close to her and looked like they were going to eat her up.

Don't see giraffes laying down very often.

Love Grandma!

and the wet ball.

We had so much fun with Grandpa and Grandma.

4 generations and a messy sucker

The airplane ride. Flying out, Kyla and I had to share a seat and that was pretty rough. The iPad just wasn't doing it because she couldn't hear her movie and she wanted to push the button at the bottom instead of play the games and it was making her mad. Overall the flights weren't as bad as I was expecting with a busy child (mostly because I gave her suckers). On the way home there was an empty seat next to us and we borrowed some headphones from Grandma which made a world of difference. We also bought all sorts of treats and prizes from the dollar store that made things exciting for her. She was great even though it was bedtime which usually makes her hyper and stubborn. The only problem was her ears started to hurt her and she couldn't understand why I was telling her to take a drink or suck on a sucker. She just kept grabbing her ears and screaming. We eventually got it worked out but now I know to start the drinks and suckers before descent.

Cheese-grin!

Happy Hollow Park & Zoo

2011-05-25T13:04:00.001-07:00

This park and petting zoo in San Jose was such a great place for us to spend the day with family. In addition to my parents and sisters coming, my amazing cousin Brooke drove down with her 4 kids from Sacramento. We had a great time running around the park, playing in the jungle gym, riding rides, petting and looking at animals, riding a dragon train, and laughing together.
Kyla loved the big playground. She probably could have stayed there for hours completely entertained. Nate and I had to take turns climbing around with her because we kept getting tired.
This rope wall went for quite a while (over 10 feet up going at a diagonal) and when Nate first put her on it I didn't think she was going to get too far. I was wrong. She climbed the entire way up to the top, then kept walking across it to get to the big slide again. She is a little monkey, and as you can see, she loved it!
I absolutely love this picture. She doesn't make that serious face much, and she rarely lays against us calm like that.
This was Kyla's first experience with amusement park rides, and although she seemed a little unsure at first, it didn't take her long to figure out how fun they are. Every time the bell rang to start the rides she would look up at us with big eyes and say "Oooooh!"
Nixon, Mazzy, Oliver, and Kyla riding the ladybug. They were so cute in there all together.
I thought this was a cute picture too. She loves to rock on these kind of toys and say "Rocky-roo, rocky-roo." (It's a family thing)
Oliver putting the moves on Kyla. They were being cute little buddies while they watched the monkeys.
Then he decided to show off and make her laugh. We love cousins!

Feeding the Goats

2011-05-25T13:00:00.000-07:00

Kyla has been saying "Goat food, yucky yucky" since our visit to Happy Hollow. Watch and you will see why.

Family in Cali

2011-05-24T13:13:00.001-07:00

Last month my family came out to visit and it was so great having them here to play with us. We shopped in San Fran, watched a Stanford tennis match, walked around campus and went up the Hoover Tower, played in the rain at Half Moon Bay, ate at fun restaurants, spent a day at Happy Hollow (post to come), played in our backyard, and enjoyed being together. We loved having them here.

I just love my cute sisters!
(My ponytail was too high. I promise I know how to wear a sun hat.)

Happy Easter!

2011-04-27T13:11:00.000-07:00

Recent Projects

2011-04-26T14:13:00.001-07:00

Here are some of my latest crochet projects. I made a little bunny shaker for Kyla for Easter. I crocheted around a plastic egg filled with rice and Kyla loves it. She called it her bunny shaker and kept giving it hugs and carrying it around with her. The excitement is already starting to wear off but it was cute while it lasted.
I made this flower headband for my sister Pyper's birthday. I saw a picture of one like this on Etsy so I found a flower pattern I liked and made the rest up. I'm so mad I didn't get a picture of her wearing it while they were in town visiting us (posts to come) because it looked so dang cute on her. I may just have to make one for myself now!
And last but not least, I made this kitty for my little niece London. My friend from Japan makes these and I fell in love the first second I saw them. She found an English pattern for me and I was thrilled! It is stuffed and has beans in the bum, feet, and hands. It was such a fun project to make. Kyla absolutely loved this Kitty and would carry it around with her and give it hugs. She kept calling it "Yandy" and we eventually realized she was saying "Londy" because we told her it was for baby London. Too cute. I definitely need to make her one now.

Happy Birthday Nate!

2011-04-16T13:37:00.001-07:00

For Nate's birthday I surprised him for the first time in our entire marriage - I promise it's harder than you think. We went to the Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach for a round of golf (thank you Groupon!). We had a great time together while Kyla was watched by our friend Candice. We were pleasantly surprised that she didn't even cry when we left and she ended up doing great for the whole 6 hours. The golf course was beautiful and considering it was supposed to rain the weather turned out perfect for a golf day, especially because we walked. It was the hardest course we have seen but Nate played well and only lost a couple balls. :) After golf we spent a little time on the gorgeous 17-mile drive and then had dinner with our friends the Buchanans and the Lemmons.
Clubhouse
I loved this tree.
Happy Birthday Nate!!

Spring Break Excursions

2011-04-11T13:06:00.000-07:00

Nate's sister Julie and her family & friends came out during spring break so we met up with them and Angie's gang to see the sites. Even though it was cold and rainy we went to Half Moon Bay because a few of them had never seen the beach before. We caught a few minutes of sunshine but it didn't last long. We got dumped on in a matter of minutes and by the time we ran back to the cars we were all soaked. Still, it's fun to see the ocean.
Yes, we were dressed in our winter clothes to visit the beach. Welcome to Northern California.
Kyla saw a dog run onto the beach and she couldn't contain her excitement!
Walking the path with dad. The Ritz Carleton hotel is right at the top of the hill overlooking the ocean. This is definitely the place to go when visiting Half Moon Bay.
Love these two!
Then we spent time in San Fran walking along the Golden Gate bridge and driving around town.
Cousins Aubrey & Matthew
We walked through China Town and felt like we were in another country. That's as close as it gets to experiencing China for now.
Then we had dinner at the Stinking Rose. What a name huh! My cousins recommended it and told us you will leave this place reeking of garlic for days. The restaurant's motto is "We serve our garlic with food." They weren't kidding, and we loved it! So delicious and garlicy! This is as close as I got to a group picture from our day.
Then a quick drive down Lombard street. These zig-zags will never cease to amaze me.

Alcatraz

2011-04-01T14:01:00.001-07:00

Nate and I had our first spring break since before we can remember and we definitely made the best of it. One of our afternoons was spent with our good friends, the Porter's, in San Francisco. We took a tour cruise to Alcatraz and had lunch at Pier 39. It was a little rainy but only at the most convenient times. We loved the experience and spending time with our friends. Kyla loved looking over the edge of the boat at the water and kept saying "Ooooh!" at the splashing waves.

Nate said it looked like he was posing in this picture but I just happened to catch the perfect moment.

Alcatraz Island

This was originally the Warden's house but it burnt down and this is all that remains.

I liked a few different sites around the island so here are some neat pictures.

Rows and rows of tiny cells inside the prison.

I couldn't believe how small they were.

I can't remember what these cells were called but there were only about 6 and they were designated for the inmates who were acting up and needed to be put in their place. There were no beds, sinks, or tables. It was a square metal room with no lights and when the door closed it was pitch black. Just standing in it felt eerie.

The first lighthouse on the West coast. Before the island served as a prison it was a military outpost.

San Francisco skyline

Entrance. You can also see our little headsets that we wore to hear the audio tour. It was all done by former inmates and prison guards and they told lots of interesting stories about escape attempts, the inmates starting riots, life in the prison, and it even pointed out marks on the floor where grenades exploded and specific cells that guards were killed during one failed escape attempt. So sad.

This is a picture of how two brothers actually escaped. They dug out their vents with spoons and climbed up the pipes in the middle of the night!

Fun day in San Fran. We love these guys!

Baby Booties

2011-03-28T14:46:00.001-07:00

Yes, I am still on my crochet kick and I love it. Unless you crochet often, this --> Sc in next 14 sts, hdc in next 2 sts, working in hdc, dec 1 st over next 2 sts, hdc in next 2 sts, sc in next 14 sts - may look like another language. That's what is so fun about these crochet patterns. Here comes my nerdy side, but it reminded me of when I started a new math class and I got my textbook. I would glance through the whole thing and look at all the formulas and think, "There is no way. I have no idea what this is saying!" Then before I knew it the semester would be over and I would understand every equation in the book! (Well, most) It was so fulfilling! But hey, that's just me the math freak. So naturally, figuring out this new language/formula and creating something made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And what makes it even better is now I have fun things to give to people as gifts! Exhibit A above is my first bootie attempt I gave to my cousin Brooke for her new little girl Penelope. This second pair is what I made for my friend Candice who is having a little girl in a couple weeks (and I totally made up those flowers!). Just wait until you see what I'm making for my brand new niece, London. I'm so excited!! I'll post pictures when I'm done.
That second pair of booties came with me and Kyla to Candice's baby shower in Monterrey last week, and it was the most darling baby shower I have ever seen! Nan and Angie went all out and the place was adorable. Not to mention the food was divine and the company was great. Little Charlotte is going to be all done up in some of the cutest things I've seen for baby girls.

Tiny Dancer

2011-03-22T19:45:00.000-07:00

Playing with Cousins

2011-03-22T19:33:00.000-07:00

Kyla and I spent a day with Angie, Mathew, and Aubrey and had a good/interesting time. We met in Concord at an indoor play place since it was raining and it turned out to be just shy of a nightmare. It was similar to Chuck-E-Cheese but there were hundreds of people, lots of strong cologne/perfume and smoke smells, and kids running each other over and saying terrible cuss words. That's just some of the mess we found ourselves in. We went to the mall instead and had fun there walking around the stores and eating dinner. Then a few days later we met up with them in San Francisco at the Exploratorium. That place is definitely tailored to older kids but we had fun pushing buttons and watching little experiments take place. Unfortunately we found ourselves in the terrible SF traffic coming home, but other than that it was a good day too.

San Jose Discovery Museum

2011-03-09T12:24:00.000-08:00

This museum is the greatest place I have ever seen for kids. Kyla was in heaven and she played hard for 3-1/2 hours straight! We had to leave because they were closing otherwise we could have gone through the entire place again. We went with our friends Morgan and Eva and the girls were all over the place exploring their little hearts out. This place had full-sized vehicles, a water zone with fountains and balls, rooms dedicated to art projects, and all sorts of things to twist, pull, crank, push, smell, turn, stack, climb, hear, roll, touch, wear, draw, read, and more. I seriously couldn't believe all the things they had to do there. Only down side: Kyla's admission price and mine were the exact same and parking was $7. Yikes! Well worth it though. We had a ball!

Our Electrical Engineer

2011-03-02T20:35:00.001-08:00

Check out this little girl with wires. Who wouldn't want this cutie fixing their electrical problems? We spent an afternoon at the local discovery museum again and she was busy with this table for a good 30 min. Her concentration face is so cute!
Kyla also rocked at Plinko. So not only will she be an electrical engineer, she will also be a future Price is Right showcase showdown champion.
Revisiting our buddy, the frog.
Our little Kyla is also a chatter box and discovers new words everyday. Lately she says "Kyla" anytime she sees a picture of herself on the wall, my phone, or the computer. She has also mastered "Meikle, totem pole, basketball," and a slew of other smaller words. She is a champ at remembering our friend's and neighbor's names and loves bike rides. When I tell her it is time for lunch she says, "daddy! strollie!" (aka stroller). She pretty much knows all of her books now and while she is looking at them she will pull out words from the pages on her own. She is a smart little cookie with a great memory. So fun! I especially love the play-by-play commentating of her thoughts, feelings, wants, and surroundings. Our conversations are always entertaining.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-16T11:44:00.001-08:00

For V-Day I crocheted Kyla a sun hat with a heart pinned on it. I am excited about crocheting right now and plan on making some flowers to switch out as an accessory on her hat. I also made her a little felt heart bean-bag from left over felt I had. We have been playing "Where's the heart?" around the living room and she is having fun finding and hiding it. She's especially good at finding it after she puts it under the pillow herself.
Nate and I celebrated Valentine's at home with a nice dinner and a chocolate fondue dessert. Nate's surprise for me started off by practically giving me a heart-attack. Kyla and I had just got home from the store and I rushed her upstairs to put her down for a nap. A few minutes later I walked outside to get our groceries and they were sitting on the ground by our front door and our car was gone. What kind of thief leaves the groceries if they steal a car, right? Well I had a hard time using that bit of sense to calm me down and started freaking out. The bike wasn't in the back, which meant Nate was still on campus, and he wasn't answering my 3 immediate phone calls, which meant he was probably in class or the library. Well, I was wrong on both accounts. He texted me laughing and said to relax and that he would be back in a few minutes. My poor neighbor, I probably stressed her out with the way I was acting when I told her my car was stolen! A few minutes later Nate walks in laughing with a rose and said, "We have car insurance, don't stress." Right. Well thanks for the surprise Nate, but please don't ever do that to me again!

A Little Dress for Tabitha

2011-02-16T11:40:00.001-08:00

One of my very best friends, Kaylynn, had a beautiful baby girl recently named Tabitha. I was so excited about this little girl arriving that I felt inspired to sew my first ever baby dress. I love the way it turned out, I just hope it fits and doesn't fall apart! Now that I have my first behind me, I feel a little more confident to attempt one for Kyla. We'll see when/if I get around to it. :)
Here is a link to the blog that shared this pattern. It's super easy!

California Sun

2011-02-10T10:45:00.000-08:00

Can't get enough of this California sun and our little California girl.

Ben Linus

2011-02-07T19:30:00.000-08:00

For all of you crazy Lost fans out there that share our same love, look who came to campus! The philosophy and film department brought in Michael Emerson/Ben Linus for an interview and you bet we were there. The questions were a little out there, but it was fun listening to him in person. He was funny and clever and it made us miss our favorite show all over again. I tried to take pictures but they ended up a little blurryAnd for those of you who miss the greatest tv show ever made, here are a couple of Ben's great moments...

"Wow, you guys have some real trust issues, don't you? Guess it makes sense she didn't tell you. I mean, with the two of you fighting all the time. Of course, if I was one of them - these people that you seem to think are your enemies - what would I do? Well, there'd be no balloon, so I'd draw a map to a real secluded place like a cave or some underbrush - good place for a trap - an ambush. And when your friends got there a bunch of my people would be waiting for them. Then they'd use them to trade for me. I guess it's a good thing I'm not one of them, huh?... You guys got any milk?"

"Oh... so now, after all this time, you've decided to stop ignoring me. 35 years I lived on this island, and all I ever heard was your name over and over. Richard would bring me your instructions - all those slips of paper, all those lists - and I never questioned anything. I did as I was told. But when I dared to ask to see you myself, I was told, "You have to wait. You have to be patient." But when HE asked to see you? He gets marched straight up here as if was Moses. So... why him? Hmm? What was it that was so wrong with me? What about me?"

Video from the Zoo

2011-02-07T19:27:00.000-08:00

San Francisco Zoo

2011-01-29T11:52:00.000-08:00

Nate, Kyla, and I spent a beautiful day at the San Fran Zoo with our friends the Birbachs. We first had brunch at an awesome restaurant in SF called Luna Park and they served the greatest french toast I have ever had in my entire life, and I get french toast everywhere! Huckleberry syrup, mascarpone, and fresh berries. I haven't stopped thinking about it since and already can't wait to go back. Then we took our little girlies to the zoo and we all loved it. The great thing about the zoo is it is entertaining for all ages. That and under 3 years old gets in free. We saw all sorts of fun animals and enjoyed the sunshine and a good walk.
Kyla and her friend Molly enjoying a little lunch break.
This is the craziest looking monkey I have ever seen and his fangs are enough to take him seriously.
The penguins enjoying a refreshing dip in the sun. These are the first penguins I have seen outside in the sunshine instead of with ice, and that's because they are from Chile. Ola pingüinos!
The wandering peacock. We decided he had been let out on good behavior.
The closest I have ever been to a bear. He walked right up to the glass that was separating us to say hi.
Then came Kyla's favorite part. They had a kid's area with a petting zoo where they had goats and sheep roaming around for you to feed and touch. Kyla was going nuts she was so excited. She was squealing and running around and loving every second.
The goat licked her hand to get the bits of food she was holding.
She thought it was great.
Howdy partner!
What a fun day! We love SF.

Hiking "The Dish"

2011-01-24T16:46:00.000-08:00

There is an awesome path up in the rolling green hills right behind Stanford's campus and we finally took a stroll. We went with our friends Joel and Gaby (Joel is in Nate's section at school). We saw the beautiful scene of Palo Alto and campus while the sun was starting to go down. The path closes at 5:00 pm due to the mountain lions' "feeding time." All along the path there are directions on how to defend yourself against a mountain lion. Yikes! Luckily all we ran into was a white gangly bird that looked like a stretched out pelican. The path is about 3.5 miles and at the top of the hill is a humongous and curious looking satellite everyone calls "the dish." We have no idea what it does or what it is there for, but it was cool to see. By the time I thought to take pictures of the sites it started to get foggy so they didn't turn out, but we did get a picture next to the craziest trees I've ever seen. I'm not sure what kind they are, we heard maybe a walnut tree, but they are everywhere up there and I think they look so cool.

A Few More

2011-01-20T17:01:00.001-08:00

Here are the last few pictures from Christmas. No specific event, just cute pictures of Kyla.
She was a little timid when we first got to Utah
This is Kyla giving Grandma Robin the stink eye when we first got there. Now she yells "Ma-maw" anytime I pick up my phone.
Didn't need time to warm up to Grandma's toys however
And she loved the barking Christmas dog
Showing us her teeth
Then we cheered and she loved that
Our little bookworm

More from Christmas

2011-01-12T16:06:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve we drove to Temple Square to look at the lights with my family and ate Cafe Rio - oh how we have missed you, sweet pork salad, out in Cali!
Kyla loved seeing the temple. We have a big picture in our house that she always says "temple" to when she sees it, and seeing it in real life amazed her. She couldn't stop looking at it.
Walking with dad.
Christmas morning was fun to see Kyla get excited over her new toys and the wrapping paper everywhere. It didn't last long but I bet each year gets more and more exciting to watch your kids.
In Utah we saw a bunch of our friends. All the Cougarettes got together for a double baby shower and I didn't end up getting a group picture (I don't have facebook either so I can't get one from the others - I know, I know) but I did take this adorable picture of Kyla and her new found friend Savannah Clark (one month age difference). They were two darling peas in a pod.
All my roommates/high school girlfriends got together for lunch and showing off the new babies. All boys but Kyla. It was so great to see them all, especially because Mindy just got back from her mission to Fiji!
A picture of us from a night with my family and the Price's. I love this man and I sure loved being with him all day, every day over the break.

Thorn Christmas Party

2011-01-06T15:42:00.000-08:00

This Christmas we spent half of our break in Idaho and half in Utah. We spent a lot of time visiting friends and family and enjoyed spending so much time with each other. Kyla loved playing with all her cousins in Idaho and started to understand the concept of "playing with" other kids. She also learned "no" and would attack the Christmas tree and bring us the glass ornaments saying "no, no, no" then run off with them clutched to her body. This was done at least one hundred times so although she understands the word "no" she hasn't chosen to act accordingly yet. This applies to pushing buttons on the TV and DVD player as well. In Utah my family was ecstatic to see us (let's be honest, mostly Kyla) and they were in for a real treat because they hadn't seen her since she started walking. Now she runs everywhere and talks up a storm. She had a blast chasing Peugeot (my parent's dog) around all day, everyday and she now says Ma-mah, Pa-pa, Pyper, Lu, Jesse, and Stine all the time. Nate was in heaven playing the Wii and somehow talked us all into putting hours towards defeating the entire Mario game. We had a great time doing it and basically getting in Nate's way. We added an extra challenge for him. :) The following pictures are from our Thorn Christmas Party with all my extended Thorn family. If anyone wants to know what Kyla's crazy, adorable personality is like, the following sequence of pictures accurately depicts it...

She loved eating the olives off of her little pointer finger.
She was the perfect little angel in the nativity that all the grand kids acted out. Well, she at least looked the part. Participation was a little weak.
Her first gift this Christmas was a stuffed lion from my parents and she adores it. She loves to growl so it was perfect.

I don't think I could love this little face anymore than I do.
I love my family and it was so great to be with them again. These last 4 months have been the longest I have ever gone without seeing them (that makes me sound like a child) so it was nice to spend time with them again. I especially can't believe how grown up my sisters are getting! They are beautiful. And my sweet sister-in-law is expecting a little girl in March and I'm so happy for them. Kyla will love having a little girl cousin to maul. :)

24

2011-01-02T18:58:00.000-08:00

We celebrated my 24th birthday in Idaho Falls and Nate and I went snowboarding together for our third time in 3 years. We practically had Kelly's Canyon all to ourselves with my first time on fresh powder.

Christmas Crafts

2010-12-28T18:20:00.000-08:00

This Christmas I busied myself with all sorts of fun Christmas crafts for gifts and I had a great time making them all. Nothing fancy, but this is what I have been up to after Kyla went to bed...

I finally made us some Christmas stockings! Super easy and simple but I love them.
I finished Kyla's quiet book and I'm hoping it will help her sit longer than 30 seconds in church. I'm not getting my hopes up though.

Then last minute I decided to make some finger puppets for Kyla's stocking (all from leftover felt so they cost nothing). Again, super easy but I love them and Kyla loves sticking her finger inside and making the animal noises.
I made this neck warmer for my sister's birthday and I also made myself a white one out of DI sweaters.
My biggest project was a casserole carrier that I made for my brother and sister-in-law but I forgot to take a picture of it. It was by far my biggest sewing project to date and it turned out pretty good. I was proud of myself at least. :) Gotta love the crafts!

Playing in the Snow

2010-12-10T15:51:00.001-08:00

Still in Idaho of course. We took Kyla out for her first time playing in the snow and all she did was sit and fuss for a while. She finally warmed up to the idea after swinging in the swing (one of her favorite things to do in our playground) and eventually got to the point where she didn't want to go back inside. She also liked eating the snow with Nate.

The Hall's House

2010-12-04T09:55:00.000-08:00

While we were in Idaho we visited our good friends, the Hall's, and had the greatest time playing at their beautiful home. They have an amazing playroom full of every toy imaginable and three energetic boys to top it off. It is better than a theme park! And all the paintings on the walls were done by Logan's mom - she is SO talented!
Oooo, Sparkly!
Isn't that amazing?!They have an inflatable bounce house. So cool!
With a slide. Can you tell she LOVES slides?
This is their adjoined learning room full of books, puzzles, arts & crafts.An indoor roller coaster. Also a favorite.
The dog party tree! This has always been my favorite Dr. Suess picture.
What a fun evening. We, especially Kyla, had a blast and didn't want to leave the fun behind. Can't wait to see them again at Christmas time!

Kyla on the roller coaster.

Thanksgiving break

2010-11-30T19:58:00.001-08:00

Welcome to Idaho! Our first time seeing snow this year.
Nope, don't miss it. We'll keep our sunshine in Cali.
Sneaking a roll before the grand meal.
Prep time
Turkey makes me sleepy.We had a great Thanksgiving break with the Meikles in Idaho. It was definitely freezing cold there, but we loved being with family and friends. Kyla had a blast playing with her cousins and exploring new places.
She did a great job being "soft" (with both ends)
Nice.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-16T21:01:00.000-08:00

Thanks to some local Interior Design companies giving away their fabric samples, this little guy almost cost me nothing to make. I decided to buy stuffing instead of using some out of our couch pillows. If anyone is looking for a super simple Thanksgiving craft you can check out this pattern.

Playing in a Pile of Leaves

2010-11-11T16:35:00.000-08:00

Suckers

2010-11-03T15:15:00.001-07:00

This is a continuation of the last post that I forgot to add in. Kyla has discovered the joy of candy and sweets. We spent the evening at our friends and Kyla found their left over Halloween candy. She had a riot eating through plastic wrappers to get taffy and cardboard boxes to get nerds, and she came across her favorite treat...suckers! She was sticky and covered in slobber by the end of the night.As you can see, the pig-tails only partially made it through the entire day.

More Candy!

2010-11-03T14:50:00.000-07:00

Saturday was our ward Halloween party and it was the most extravagant ward function I have ever seen. We combined with another ward and there were so many costumes, games, activities, food, and treats that is was complete heaven for all the kids there. They had a trunk-or-treat out in the parking lot and people decorated their trunks better than I even considered decorating my house! Kyla jumped all over picking out candy and putting them in her pumpkin bag. She was having a blast until she picked out a glow stick. Then she was completely occupied and the party was over.
Saturday was also a flag football day for us. Kyla was ready to run routes right along side the guys.
Then for round three of Halloween we trick-or-treated around our courtyard. We only went to 5 different doors because Kyla kept getting distracted with the toys, swings, carved pumpkins, etc. We handed out candy to all the kids that came by and in 30 min I ran out! We had to give out the candy that Kyla had gathered the past few nights. Dang. Kyla did, however, trick-or-treat out of somebody's bag when they stopped by our place, so we got a few treats in the end.
And I finally did it. Kyla has pig-tails! I thought they turned out adorable but I was reminded why I hardly ever fix her hair anymore. I was chasing her all over the place and she screamed and pulled them out a handful of times before I could get her little hands distracted. Worth it, but maybe only once in a while.
80 degrees in November. We love California!

Law School Trick-or-Treat

2010-10-29T21:20:00.000-07:00

The law school had a little trick-or-treat and snacks activity planned for the day and I was so excited to dress Kyla up. We reused her birthday butterfly outfit, but with the sparkly flower in her hair everyone kept calling her a fairy. We eventually decided that is now what her costume is. I have also been looking forward to sending my one-year-old out to gather candy for me so much that I sewed her a felt pumpkin bag for my goodies. She liked carrying it around and thought it was fun picking out treats and putting them in her bag. She's a natural trick-or-treater, or a typical kid I guess.
Kyla's little friend, Molly the ballerina.
We helped her pick out the best kinds. When she got to the bags and bowls before us we ended up with Smarties. No good.
Yummy! Thanks dad for sharing the Reeses Pieces.

Jelly Belly Factory!

2010-10-23T13:38:00.001-07:00

Free tour, free jelly bellies, fun, and family = the greatest Thursday. My sister-in-law, Angie, and I planned a play day with Kyla and her twins, Aubrey & Matthew. Kyla and I drove to Vacaville to meet up with them for lunch, a Jelly Belly Factory Tour, fun around the Nut Tree Park, and dinner. We loved spending time with them and we love to have family so close (1-1/2 hours in California, I have come to find, is close).

Discovery Museum

2010-10-16T16:04:00.001-07:00

Kyla and I spent the afternoon at a local kids discovery museum with my friend Morgan and her little girl Eva. She had so much fun exploring and checking out the place. There was also a little zoo outside that was pretty cute. Kyla kept trying to climb in with the bunnies and ducks, and she thought walking over the bridge was the neatest thing in the world.

Stanford Football

2010-10-16T15:55:00.000-07:00

Thanks to some great friends we have met in our court, Nate and I were able to go to the Stanford vs. USC game last week. It was our first time being together in the crowd of a college football game. Nate hasn't been anywhere but on the sidelines since 2004. It was fun to be together. Kyla had a babysitter for a couple hours then my friend Mary and I ran home during the game to put our kids to bed. By the time we made it back to the game there was only a few minutes left, but they were sure exciting. It was a great game and Stanford ended up winning on the last play of the game. So exciting! Thanks Porters for a fun date night.

Kyla is 1!!

2010-10-04T21:31:00.001-07:00

I still can't believe our little girl is already a one-year-old. This past year has gone by so fast, and so much has changed, but it has been the greatest experience ever. We love being parents, and Kyla is the sweetest and funnest little girl. We are so grateful to have her in our lives. This past week we celebrated her birthday by throwing a butterfly party in our backyard. All our family from Sacramento and Vacaville came to celebrate with us, and even my mom flew in from Utah! We decorated the place with paper butterflies everywhere, put together a garden of gummy butterflies, had a butterfly paint project, and threw in some sidewalk chalk, bubbles, and our playground full of toys. We even shared the park with the President of Chile, of all people, who was in town meeting with political and business leaders.
Of course Kyla was adorable in her little butterfly outfit, and I was surprised how much she liked wearing her tutu and wings. I was also happy the wings turned out because they were my little craft for the week and I was skeptical of my vision coming to life.
The cousins jumped all over the butterfly theme and came all decked out as well.
These pictures are a little out of order, but you will get the idea. I was so excited about this cake. I saw the general idea online and it is actually why I chose to do her party with butterflies. I used whipped cream and fruit to decorate it. Kyla is a big time foodie and loves to feed herself, so I thought for sure this cake would be a huge hit for her. It turns out she was scared and would only eat what we fed to her. I'm not sure if she didn't like that everyone was watching her or that the cake looked like a creature and was slimy, but it just wasn't for her. She ended up on my lap getting both of us covered in cake.
We also had yummy butterfly sugar cookies, homemade frosting, and candy for everyone to decorate their own cookies.
Kyla loved opening her presents almost as much as all the little cousins. They couldn't resist helping her and at one point Kyla was pushing them out of the way so she could see what her presents were. They were so cute and enthusiastic. Kyla's baby cabbage patch (a 1st birthday tradition in my family) was Kyla's favorite gift. She kept giving it loves and saying "baby!"
She also loved the stroller we gave her to take her baby on walks outside and her real necklaces to wear now instead of her colored rope.
As the party started to die down we took everyone on a walk around campus to show them the area. It turned out to be a great day full of lots of fun, food, and family. Thanks everyone for helping us celebrate our darling little girl.

San Francisco & Kyla's real birthday day

2010-10-04T16:14:00.001-07:00

To help us celebrate Kyla's birthday, my mom came to stay with us for a week and it was so great having her here. She helped us out so much to organize Kyla's party and keep things running smoothly. We also had so much fun exploring California with her. We spent an afternoon in San Francisco and once we finally got there, after transportation insanity, we had a great time at Pier 39 and Ghirardelli Square.

Then on Kyla's real birthday day we drove to Oakland and my mom and Kyla played outside while I went to the temple. Thanks mom! After I was done we walked around the gardens on the roof to look at all the pretty flowers. Check out that little walker!
After a nice Italian dinner that evening, we sang "Happy Birthday" to Kyla with the help of my family on Skype, opened some more presents, and ate cupcakes.
Happy Birthday Kyla! We love you.

Monterey Bay

2010-09-21T20:08:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we spent the day with our friends, the Lemmons and the Buchanans, in Monterey Bay and we had the greatest time. We watched the BYU game (sad) at the Lemmon's home and they surprised us with homemade J-Dawgs. I guess they sell their sauce now so Jeff and Nan brought back a huge bottle from Provo to share with us. Yummy! Then after the game we biked along the beach to the Monterey Aquarium. Kyla LOVED the bike ride on Nate's back; the entire time she said "weee!" and "doggy!" while we passed all the hundreds of dogs along the trail. The aquarium was incredible. There were so many amazing sea creatures there and Nan was the best tour guide we could have asked for. After the aquarium we got some delicious frozen yogurt, ate it by the beach, then biked back. Then Nate, Kyla, and I joined the Buchanans for a wonderful dinner at their apartment. It was such a fun day spent with some of our favorite people.

Is that not the cutest thing?

Kyla loved touching the kelp and starfish.

Yes, this is a real animal. It's called the Leafy Sea Dragon. Isn't that crazy!?

I love flamingos and how they balance on one toothpick leg.

There were all kinds of jellyfish there. I love to watch them move, but they sure don't feel good on your leg. Bad times in Mexico for me.

Kyla skipped her second nap but was walking around the aquarium and going 100 miles an hour the entire day. By the time we biked back for the evening she was totally shot. I have never seen her so out of it before. It was adorable. She couldn't stay awake for the life of her.

2010-09-13T15:33:00.000-07:00

Every time Kyla sees this colored rope we call her "necklace" she puts it around her neck and then happily goes about the rest of her playing. A girly girl at heart.

This is "comfy cozy" on our couch pillows. She loves to throw them on the ground and giggle.

Kyla is SO BIG! Her arms reach up without fail.

For Labor Day we drove to Half Moon Bay to play on the beach for a little while. It was absolutely freezing, yet again, Kyla loved it and didn't want to leave.

Kyla and I stroll to campus every day and meet Nate for lunch. We love this part of the day, especially when Kyla takes walks with her dad in the grass. And as of the last couple days Kyla is now an independent walker. She only takes a handful of steps each time but she keeps getting more and more comfortable and sturdy.

These are Kyla's bedroom crafts I have made recently. She needed a board for her bows and I used the leftover fabric to make some matching wood squares.

I'm on the map! (we found the google car and I just couldn't resist)

Our Little Walker

2010-08-27T21:17:00.000-07:00

She's on her way!

Beach Baby!

2010-08-27T20:25:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we took Kyla to the beach for her first time. We drove to Santa Cruz with my family and went to Half Moon Bay. They have a huge boardwalk and carnival there right on the beach. We had a good time and Kyla loved the water. If she could walk on her own we would have been chasing her down as she charged the waves completely fearless. She couldn't get enough.

Home Sweet Palo Alto

2010-08-24T14:57:00.001-07:00

We have arrived!

Last Wednesday we said goodbye to Provo and after a long drive and staying nights with family we moved into our new apartment Saturday afternoon. When we first saw our place we were skeptical as to whether or not we could fit all our stuff but once we got creative and organized we fit perfectly and love the place. It couldn't be more perfect (except maybe if there were drawers or counters in the bathroom). So far our neighbors are from Ireland, Australia, Iran, and Korea and everyone is so nice. My family came out with us to help us move and we couldn't have done it without them. They were the greatest help physically and emotionally. We had a lot of fun hanging out with them and exploring Palo Alto together. Goodbyes were tough but we are excited to start this new adventure in beautiful, sunny California.

Our dear, beastly Budget truck. Nate (and Kyla!) did a great job handling that monster.

Road trip with my favorite girls!

Our front door... nothing special.

Our backyard... Kyla's heaven!

Lots of unpacking to do.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the funnest "welcome to Stanford" gift. Kyla loves it already.

I'm sure going to miss my family. Thank heavens for Skype!

A random picture of Kyla eating corn on the cob for her first time. She caught on real quick and couldn't get enough. Unfortunately her little bumb had to deal with major consequences. Needless to say we are going to stay away from corn for a while.

Jars, Lids, & Giggles

2010-08-24T14:52:00.000-07:00

2010-08-11T20:45:00.000-07:00

This past month has been full of a lot of fun events. Nate and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary by spending the day at Gateway together while my mom watched Kyla. We saw Inception (awesome movie, highly recommended) and went to dinner at Flemming's. I love our stake house tradition to celebrate our anniversary each year. Then the 3 of us spent the night in a suite at Little America. Nate is the greatest at surprises. The next morning we practically had the pool to ourselves and had fun swimming around with our water baby.

We have spent a lot of time with family lately, in particular we had a family reunion with Nate's entire family at Island Park and stayed with 36 people in one cabin. It was surprisingly not as packed and crazy as we anticipated and we had a great time. We spent a lot of time boating on the lake (wakeboarding and surfing). Kyla loved the boat and all the cousins. We discovered she is a champ at climbing stairs but while some cousins were watching her they didn't realize she sometimes takes a break and sits down in the middle of her climb which resulted in "front-flips, back-flips, and side-flips" down the stairs according to our very literal 7 year old nephew. Poor little girl. It was pretty traumatic, but the next morning she was back climbing again like nothing happened. Good thing babies are so limber!

We also spent an afternoon with my family golfing at Homestead which will be our last time until we move. Yes, we will be moving to California in exactly one week. I'm excited but it still doesn't seem real. It is going to be hard for me to say goodbyes but we have a great adventure ahead of us.

Mohawk during bathtime at Grandma Robin's

Our little pianist

Sweet jumps

Surfing

Nothing exciting but at least I got up and out. I did try jumping my very last run and let's just say I don't plan on doing that again any time soon. Ouch.

I absolutely LOVE these lifejacket pictures

Family picture in Idaho

All the grandkids

Swimming and lounging at Little America

"Cheers!" to cousins

Treats?

2010-07-14T14:41:00.000-07:00

Kyla recently had her 9 month Dr. appointment and she is 16.5 pounds (13%) and 29 inches (90%). Still tall and skinny. She has got a little motor in her, speed crawls everywhere, and pulls herself up on everything. We can hardly keep up with her and she has got some sweet bruises to prove it. She waves now at anyone who says "hi" and we have no idea where she picked it up. Smart little girl. She is tons of fun and makes us laugh everyday with her darling personality.
We took her to the 4th of July Provo parade and she was in heaven waving at everyone on the floats and dancing to all the music. She even gathered up some candy for me... thanks Kyla!
We visited the ducks again but this time Kyla was awake and we had bread. It made for a much more exciting visit.
We found her in here one morning and she was so proud of the little seat she had discovered for herself.
We have been taking her swimming quite a bit lately and she loves it. She gets so excited to crawl around in the shallow water. It sure wears her out though. Last time we went to the pool she got so tired, while she was crawling around she let out a big yawn and then laid down in the water. She popped right up quite surprised but was so sleepy she just laid right on Nate and didn't move (which isn't like her - she is too busy to cuddle). It was so cute and funny.
So sweet!
I made her a fun summer tutu and then ended up buying a ball that matched perfectly. We had to have a photo shoot.
Showing off her standing skills and little chub on the legs. Love it!

She also has a favorite song "Solo" by Iyaz. Anytime that song turns on she immediately starts to dance. It has saved us several times now during screaming moments in the car and it works every time when nothing else will. She loves music and dancing. That's my girl!

Summer Clothes & Painted Toes

2010-06-09T20:46:00.000-07:00

We love summer! Kyla is soaking up the sun and can't get enough of outside. For Memorial Day I painted her toes for the first time and it only took about 4 times on each foot to get the polish on and dried before she got away from me and rubbed it all over the place. We also went on a nice walk and got a snow cone from the best place in Provo. Kyla had fun with our straws and ate some of the shaved ice plain (sorry baby, no sugar for you yet).
Kyla has now advanced her first pilates move into balancing on her bum with her feet up off the ground. She sits this way all the time... abs of steel!
She has also mastered the art of crawling and getting into everything imaginable in our little apartment. She has got a little motor in her and we love it just as much as she does. She also thinks it's the funniest thing when she pulls herself up on couches, stairs, legs, her carseat, etc.

Fun Videos

2010-05-31T16:01:00.000-07:00

Golfing and More

2010-05-31T15:38:00.000-07:00

Kyla experienced her first golf day with me, Nate, and my parents up at Homestead and absolutely loved it! She loves being outside so it was the perfect day for her. She barely made a peep the whole time on the course. Great golf etiquette.

Kyla drove us up to Idaho for Mother's Day. Nate's mom didn't know we were coming and we surprised her by leaving Kyla in the middle of her living room floor while we were hiding around the corner. Jean came home and was so surprised to see little Kyla playing all alone.
This was the first time Kyla tried her rice crackers and now she can't get enough of them. They are a perfect solution to a fussy baby in church.
This is now how Kyla sleeps. She crawls up to the corner of her crib and sticks her bum up in the air, leaving her blankets behind most of the time. So sweet!

Kyla's Fabulous Photo Shoot

2010-05-04T18:54:00.001-07:00

Move over supermodels, Kyla Jean is coming through! Kyla had her first little photo shoot and she was so much fun. It took her a bit to give in and smile at us, but I love her serious faces just as much. I'm sure Nate, my mom, and I were a sight to see singing and dancing around the room to entertain her. I couldn't decide which pictures to share so why not... here are all of them. :)

Thank you Jessie O'Neal!!! They are perfect!

http://www.jessieonealphotography.blogspot.com/

Graduation

2010-04-27T19:44:00.001-07:00

I officially graduated in December but was finally able to celebrate at my college Convocation last Friday. The program was nice, and shorter than I expected (never a bad thing), and it felt good to walk and finish my college experience. Yay for my Civil Engineering degree preparing me for my full time job: stay-at-home mom. I wouldn't want it any other way.

Our little family

The greatest graduate job in the world

My darling sisters

The most supportive parents ever

Also... we went to Kyla's first baseball game - a two-out-bottom-of-the-ninth home run to beat Utah. Go Cougars! Kyla wasn't all that happy with the sudden outbreaks of cheering from the crowd but she loved the sunshine and had fun sitting on the field afterward.

Our cousin, Nicholas Birch, is a pitcher on the team

And... reading time with mom

An answer to our prayers...

2010-04-21T20:19:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, on Nate's birthday, we received some terrific news. As some of you know, Nate applied to law school a few months ago and lately we have been trying to decide where to go. The past couple months we had narrowed it down to Michigan or BYU (or Stanford but we weren't holding our breath since 8000 other people were hopeful to get one of the 150 spots). We had been praying, fasting, and weighing out each aspect of the two schools and for some reason we just couldn't settle on either of them and feel good about it. Then came the phone call that changed our lives... The Dean of Admissions from Stanford Law School. After a few moments of shock and several tears, I am happy to say we will now be moving to Palo Alto this August. We couldn't be more happy and we both feel so blessed for this amazing opportunity. This news has come with several tender mercies that remind us how much the Lord's hand is in our lives.

This past weekend was actually the admitted students weekend on campus so we packed up and drove 12 hours out to the bay area. It only took us seconds to fall in love with the place: sunshine, palm trees, a gorgeous campus, and more friendly people than I have ever met. The place is beautiful and we are already so excited to move out there.
Kyla did great during the car ride. I really think she handled it better than me. Even though it looks like she is in the passenger seat, we really own a European car and she was driving. :)
She absolutely LOVED playing in the grass and soaking up the sunshine.
A couple pictures of the sites
Our new home come August...

Big Events

2010-04-06T08:45:00.000-07:00

Kyla is now 6 months. At her doctor appointment she weighed just under 15 lbs (26th percentile) and measured 26 in. (59th percentile). The shots weren't so great this time... she screamed louder and harder than I have ever heard. Luckily it didn't last too long. She has a tooth already half way in and drools and chews on everything so much I won't be surprised to see four more teeth soon. She is a pro at sitting and rolling all over the place and has lately incorporated this new skill into each diaper change. Yay. Still no crawling, but she loves to walk around while holding our hands. She is also great at eating and so far eats anything and everything we spoon her way. She even ate the not-so-popular peas that smelled like an old pile of garbage with a smile on her face. Peaches have definitely been the biggest hit so far though.

For my dad's birthday we spent the evening at Zermatt in Midway and took Kyla swimming for the first time. It was so fun! She looked absolutely adorable in her little swim suit (thanks Grandma!) and she did great in the pool. She was pretty serious the whole time but seemed to like the water. It wore her out though and she crashed before we even left.

Check out those first positions! She is a natural. :)

Kyla is already a fan of the Easter Bunny too. :)

Easter Sunday with her aunts
Her Easter dress

Some firsts for Kyla

2010-03-13T11:16:00.000-08:00

We took Kyla to her first basketball game at the Marriott Center and she was thrilled. We went to the women's game so it wouldn't be as loud, but she loved all the music, horns, and whistles. She couldn't keep her eyes off the court (it was a struggle to even take this picture). One of the cheerleaders brought her up a little cheer bear so now she has a memento. She loves being out and about to all the social events...we have quite the social butterfly.

We have also started Kyla on rice cereal and she is still figuring out how to keep it in her mouth. Instead of opening her mouth when the spoon starts coming to her she sticks out her tongue and it makes me laugh every time. She is figuring it out though and is already trying to feed herself.
She was pretty excited if you couldn't tell :)
She is also getting better at reading time but mostly she just wants to suck on the book so she usually gets frustrated.
And piggy-back time with dad. She looks a little unsure of the idea though.

2010-03-04T12:09:00.000-08:00

Kyla turned 5 months this past Sunday, and I think she gained a pound and grew 6 inches over night. She is growing and changing so much we can hardly keep up with her. She is a pro at rolling over to her back so she never stays on her tummy anymore. She is going to be walking before she figures out how to crawl. She is getting close to sitting on her own though. It is so cute to watch her figure out how to balance herself. This is her first picture sitting all on her own!

This was the second picture attempt but she couldn't quite find her balance long enough.
On Monday my mom came and watched Kyla while Nate and I went snowboarding at Sundance. Finally, my second time ever! (thanks to Kyla) We had a great time together. During our day out I caught a glimpse of how exciting gliding over the snow and carving can actually be. However, during this same half day I took some major falls and have spent the last few days recovering. You know you aren't an experienced snowboarder when every muscle and joint in your body (shoulders, back, butt, wrists, etc) ache when you are done. I'm getting closer though and can't wait to be able to carve down the mountain with Nate.
A couple weeks ago we also enjoyed a night out together to see Cougarettes in Concert. The show was outstanding! It was a lot of fun to see my Coug friends and catch up with them. My aunt watched Kyla for us and the next few days her voice was hoarse from crying all night. Looks like she is developing a parent preference (not to mention she refuses to take a bottle now). The joys of a stubborn baby - she takes after her dad. :)