California... thank you.

Well, our long anticipated visit to Southern California is over. *Sigh* There is so much to share, and I intend on sharing it, but for those of you who don't want to read my mile long post I'll sum up our trip in 5 little words: Sun, Water, Rest, Fun, Disney.

Okay, now for the detailed version...

When we arrived in Palm Springs on July 1st it was 114 degrees! We had Vitamin D coming out of our wazoos and it felt good!!! We had dinner with my Grandparents and then walked around the local street fair. Grandma bought Gracie a little puppy figurine to add to her already out of control puppy collection. We took a dip in the salt water pool at around 9pm and it felt like heaven on earth - by then it was a cooler 95 degrees outside, there was a slight wisp of wind that flew in every couple of minutes and the pool was a comfortable 80 degrees . We swam like fishies for the next few days... every morning we'd wake up to an anxious little girl just itching to make a splash in the pool. We'd take a morning dip, workout, then take another dip in the pool. Then we'd shower and leave on a mini adventure - something new everyday.

( "Someday, when I grow big, I want to be a real swimmer!" )

Friday we stayed pool side all day. In the evening we left Gracie at Grandma and Grandpa's while Mark and I went on a little date to the movies.

Saturday Mark and I woke up early and took a jog together, just us two. It was a pleasant 70 degrees at 6am and Mark and I thoroughly enjoyed running down paths we'd never crossed before - such a nice moment in time. We met up with my grandparents later that morning and left for the "Living Desert" zoo. It was great seeing some animals that we don't have here in our local zoos. Also, the vegetation in Palm Springs is something spectacular - so many different types of Palm trees, cacti, and flowers. It was such an adventure and we really had a great time - even though it was 110 degrees outside! Sunscreen and ice water were a definite must have!

Later that night we went over to my grandparent's for a delicious homemade spaghetti dinner that my Grandma prepared for us. Gracie had such a blast getting spoiled by her great-grandparent's and I think they had a great time doing the spoiling!

Sunday was the 4th of July. We had the option of driving to Palm Desert to watch the big fireworks display but opted to stay at home and watch fireworks from my grandparent's patio. The idea of walking around large crowds of people in the HOT heat just didn't appeal to either one of us. So we made Sunday another lazy day and stayed pool side for most of it. My Grandma gave us 3-D glasses to wear during the fireworks and they certainly did put an interesting spin on them!

(Gracie with her Great-Grandma Marlene and her Great-Grandpa Tom).

On Monday we went up the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway (it's the largest tramway in the western hemisphere - reaching 8,500 feet above sea level). It is definitely a must do.

Also, my grandma gave Gracie "the world". She introduced her to one of the coolest sprinklers I have ever seen...Tuesday we had another lazy poolside day - nothing says vacation like the sun beating down on you while you lay on an air mattress in a private pool - doing absolutely nothing. Like I mentioned before, heaven on earth.

Later that night we went out to dinner with my grandparents. They treated us to a delicious meal at one of their favorite restaurants. Towards the end of the meal our waitress brought out a dessert, placed it in front of Mark and began singing 'Happy Birthday'. I was just getting ready to inform her that she had the wrong table when my grandma told me that she secretly lined it up - Mark's birthday is in two weeks and she wanted to celebrate him. What a lovely surprise! Our time in Palm Springs was PERFECT. Seriously, I mean it. Usually vacations leave you feeling like you need another vacation, but our stay in Palm Springs was quite the opposite - it left us feeling relaxed and rejuvenated. Now, as if that weren't enough, when we left Palm Springs our trip was not over - we had one more thing on our agenda... DISNEYLAND!

We left Wednesday morning and made the drive in record time - getting lost only once. We checked into our hotel room which was ready hours before it was scheduled to be - woo hoo! We packed up some essentials and then made the short one mile trek to the gates of Disneyland...

Here's some things we saw:

Here's some things we learned:

Some rides are scary...

Some rides are worth 'pickin'...

Some rides are sexy (*Wink, wink*) ...

Most rides are FUN!!!
And dreams do come true...
Gracie met her favorite princess, Ariel (from 'The Little Mermaid'). Also, she met Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Mulan, and Snow White. By far, Gracie's favorite part of Disneyland was "eating lunch at Ariel's house".
California, you were good to us... thank you.

We'll leave you with a video of Gracie's 'Disney Dance'...

What a weekend!

Wow! This past weekend was a blast! We spent Friday night at the Great Wolf Lodge with Mark's parents, his sister Cami, and her 4 kids. It was so much FUN!!!

We played all day at the waterpark.

Then we watched the story time show in the lobby.

After the show, Gracie and Kaylin met "Violet" - the newest member of the 'Great Wolf family'.

Later that night Gracie and Kaylin snuggled up to a movie in Gracie's bunk bed.

At the end of the day...

We woke up and continued playing at the water park.

This next photo I captured when Mark got off the slide - he was completely unaware that I had taken it. When I saw it I couldn't stop laughing... it totally reminded me of a line from the movie "Tommy Boy" - "Uh, could you show me where the weight room is?... I'll just go check it out!"

Late Saturday afternoon we headed home to Mark's parent's house. We stayed up all night playing Cranium with our nephews... it was a blast spending time with Tyler, Ethan, and Brennan - they're so smart and funny! Gracies sure going to miss Kaylin and 'her boys' - Mark and I will too.

We went to church on Sunday and then headed up to the Ice Caves for a family hike. It was a lot fun and the perfect way to end our weekend.

The things you say...

* The other day we went to Bowman Bay with Gracie's cousins (who are currently up here visiting from Arizona). We had a great time playing on the beach and hiking up the trails. While her cousin Brennan (8) was picking on her cousin Kaylin (3) Gracie became very protective over Kaylin and went up to Brennan, grabbed him by the shirt and said, "You mess with my friend, you pay!"

* Last night while we tucked Gracie into bed she asked if she could sleep with Mommy and Daddy. I told her 'no, not tonight'. She said, "please, please, please?" Mark said, "No bud, not tonight." She said okay and we continued reading. A few minutes later she asked again. I said, "Gracie, you're sleeping in your bed tonight." She looked up at her bedroom wall and pointed to a picture of Jesus and said, "Jesus told me I can sleep in your room!"

* While making dinner, Mark surprised me with a little smooch. I returned the affection and he squeezed my back end - Gracie walked up to us and said, "Um guys... that's disgusting!"

* While "milking" a cow at the Everett Children's museum Gracie looked up at me and said, "Look Momma! I'm pulling it's weiner!"

For a recent Primary sharing time lesson I had the kids dress up like Nephi. When we came home from church Gracie wanted to wear the costume. Here's a picture of her as Nephi - ready to hunt!

In this next picture Gracie is being "tough"... I wouldn't mess with her!

May Play

Well, the month of May certainly did fly by! And we had a lot of fun playing with friends and family. My brother (uncle Andrew) and I took Gracie and my kid sister Maddy to the Everett Children's Museum, and I do believe Gracie had a great time!! In fact, she probably would have pitched a tent and stayed the night had it been an option!

We spent some QT with Grandma "GG" (Gracie's Great-Grandma). Grandma Janis (or "GG") is by far one of the funniest people I know and Gracie LOVES being around her! Grandma always has something up her sleeve to make you laugh. On this particular day she had bought some goofy glasses and enlisted the help of Gracie and Maddy to perform a little skit - it was very funny and cute!

At the end of the month Mark and I decided to take Gracie on a hunt for roasting sticks and firewood in the woods behind our house. We grabbed Gracie's wagon and a hatchet and set off on our "s'mores adventure". It didn't take long to gather the firewood and sticks because a recent windstorm had done most of the work for us - thank you Mother nature! When we got back home we took some left over stones we had from a recent landscaping project and built a little fire pit. Then my handsome Eagle Scout put his skills to the test and built us a toasty little fire. We each taught Gracie our "trick" for roasting the perfect marshmallow: Mark told her to be patient, "the perfect marshmallow takes time". I told her to stick it in the flame and catch it on fire - "sure, it gets a little burnt, but that's what tastes so yummy". Gracie didn't have the patience for waiting and thought the burnt marshmallows looked "disgusting" (her words). In the end, we found out Gracie likes to eat marhmallows straight from the bag. We also learned that not everyone likes s'mores... huh, go figure. So, the s'mores didn't tickle Gracie's taste buds and it started to rain towards the end but all in all it sure was fun!!

Goof balls

Lately I haven't been feeling very well due to some issues I'm having with my kidneys and it's been tough on us as a family... "when mom's not happy, nobodys happy." Today we decided to get out our costume prop's box and be silly. It made for some good laughs...

Mullet + aviator sunglasses = one sexy dude! *wink, wink*

All "goofed up" and still adorable! Man, I love this little girl!

I've never looked so good before!

Even Parker participated... what a stud. Sort of looks like a vanilla 'Snoop dog'.

Happy Mother's Day

Yes... I have cracked your security system and infiltrated your blog my sweet. Now it's time to blog about you, wifey. What can I say about you Anne? What can I say about the woman who gave birth to my daughter, only to have me leave for work 4 days later. What can I say about a Mother who's husband was home only on the weekends for the first 6 months of her child's life? What can I say about a Mother who, after just having given birth, had to wake up during all the multiple morning-hour feedings, alone? What can I say about a Mother who suffered postpartum depression without ever telling me, because she didn't want to burden me while I was training? What can I say about a Mother who sacrificed her job and her personal life so that she could raise my daughter? What can I say about a Mother who has raised the most intense, but at the same time sweetest little girl?

I knew when I met you that you would be a great Mother. I thought, as we both did, that we would be able to have more than one child. Time will tell if we will be able to bring another intense/sweet child into this world. But no matter what happens, you are still a great Mother. I look forward to the future as you continue to be a Mother for Gracie and as we try to make another child to call you Mother. No matter what happens I love you. Grace loves you.

Sometimes in the early morning hours when I am driving around at work, I think about what would happen to our family if you weren't in it; I can't picture anything, because you are everything to us. I love you and Happy Mother's day.

My 'famous twin'

Over the past few years I've been told a couple dozen times that I look like Kelly Ripa. When a stranger stares at me with a puzzled look on their face, I can feel the question brewing... "Do you know who you look like?" I chuckle and think to myself, 'Kelly Ripa?'. They of course proceed to tell me exactly that. Kelly Ripa, huh? ... I guess I can see a few similarities - blonde hair, big smiles, and hubbies named 'Mark', but the similarities end there. She has green eyes and I have blue (although she wears blue contacts), she has a pointed nose and I was blessed with my father's 'pig nose', she weighs in at 112 lbs and I last weighed that much in the 9th grade! I guess if she ever needed a 30lb overweight stunt double, I'm available. I didn't really think much of my "famous twin" until a few weeks ago when my sweet daughter thought she recognized me on the television...
I was flipping through the channels when Gracie said, "Stop mom!" I stopped flipping and said, "What is it?" She then said, "Go back!!" I said, "Okay..." and I began slowly flipping back the channels one by one. She then hollered, "STOP!!" A little confused I said, "Gracie, what is it?" She pointed to the t.v. and said, " That's you momma!" I looked up at the screen and lo and behold there was Kelly Ripa sitting next to Regis! I called Mark at work and told him the funny story and then I got to thinking... If my own child thinks I look like Miss Ripa, maybe there is some resemblance? So I went online and found a picture of Kelly, I pinned my hair like hers and snapped a few shots. I still don't see the resemblance...



All in all, I guess I'm flattered that people think I look like someone as pretty as Kelly Rippa. It could definitely be worse... "Hey! Has anyone ever told you that you look just like Courtney Love?"