Emma's 1st Birthday!

My baby turned 1 on October 17th! Say what?! We celebrated a few days early since Dave's dad was getting married the day after her birthday and we figured things were going to be pretty busy. So the Sunday before her birthday we partied with family. But of course, first is the decoration I made. Yes, I saw it on Pinterest, where else? And I love the way it came out. I made a picture garland.

 Here's a close up of the pictures I used.

And here's the finished product.

Anyway, for her party we did dinner, cake, opened presents, and played games.

Emma's cupcake.

The cupcake cake. I have yet to figure out how to nicely frost this kind of cake.

 She liked the cake but I don't think she liked being messy.

The wonderful family who came to celebrate with us.

Her presents.

The morning of her actual birthday we had a special breakfast of cinnamon rolls and put her in her birthday outfit...I was very tempted to write birthday suit. :)

And then the rest of the day was spent at my father-in-law's house prepping for the wedding the next day and just spending time with all the family that came into town.

 There was flower prepping and food prepping.

And Jocelyn and Uncle Mike had fun with a "face" game.  This picture cracks me up.  And I love that Ben photobombed it.

Preschool Pumpkin Patch

In the beginning of October the girls and I went to Fog Willows Farm with Jocelyn's preschool group. It's a pumpkin patch and absolutely perfect for 3 year olds. We started with a picnic lunch.

Then the fun began. There were pumpkins everywhere. The girls loved the hay ride, playing on the hay bails, seeing all the animals, watching the bees, petting the goats, and then picking a pumpkin to take home.

 

I was so proud of Jocelyn.  She was the only one brave enough to get in with the goats and pet them.

Girls Getaway!

It's time to finish up last September. My friend Kae and I got away from it all. We have the best husbands! They stayed behind and watched the girls while Kae and I went to southern California for a GIRLS GETAWAY!! And we had some fun. Before we left, we prepped. We planned on going to Disneyland so we made our own shirts. I think they turned out fantabulously!

After the prep was done, a couple days later we left. We stayed with Dave's Uncle Ron and Aunt Billie. They are the awesomest!

Our first full day was our Disneyland day. We hit all the major rides, watched the light show and fireworks, tried some tasty goodness, and of course got some awesome pics.

 Who doesn't love Mickey!?

 Kae made fun of me for closing my eyes.

We naturally had to get the Dole Whip Floats.

It wouldn't be a Disneyland trip without the iconic castle picture.

I beat Kae!  That's all that needs to be said about the Buzz Lightyear ride.

Ha!  Now whose eyes are closed.

The next day we took it easy. We went to the beach and soaked up some much needed sun. I mean seriously, look at my legs, especially standing next to Kae. Note to self: get a tan.

Not far from the beach is the Newport Beach Temple. So we stopped to check it out.

Then we surprised my brother-in-law and his wife and baby by dropping by. I knew they lived nearby but I didn't realize just how close they were. It was fun to see them and to meet my nephew, Sammy, for the first time. He's the happiest baby ever!

That night we hung out with Ron and Billie. We watched a movie and they took us to get some shaved ice. It was delicious! And we just enjoyed chatting away.

The next day we went to church briefly and then headed home. We had a blast but were excited to get back home to our families who are the best!

The Circus

Last month, Dave and I took Jocelyn to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. I hadn't been to the circus since I was in middle school so I was really excited! We didn't tell Jocey where we were going so we could enjoy her reaction to what was to come.

Unfortunately, Jocey wasn't as entertained as we thought. I think it was a little too long and she was a little grumpy but it was still fun.

There were all kinds of animals like lions and tigers and elephants and horses. But honestly, I think we enjoyed the acts better. There was the Torres motorcycle family that was ridiculously awesome and had me on the edge of my seat because of their daredevil antics. I also loved the China National Acrobatic Troupe. They were incredibly nimble and quick and fantastic.   Sadly, I only took a couple pictures so you'll just have to go see the show for yourself.

All in all, we enjoyed it and I got this smile from Jocelyn, eventually.

Labor Day Tradition

In case you haven't caught on, every Labor Day, we get together with our friends, the Gieslers, who we know from when we lived in Monterey. And we love it! This year they came up to our neck of the woods and we had a blast. They actually came up the day Dave got home from his month long TDY (see previous post), so it felt like a party to welcome him home.

We started off by playing at our splash park. Then we of course had to watch a football game (curse football season) but Sunshine was brilliant and planned ahead. While the boys watched sports, us girls made a craft. And we made an awesome craft, though I have yet to finish mine. It's a wreath made with pages from a book. Here's a picture of the one Sunshine made.

The Gieslers only stayed for the weekend, so on Sunday we went to church and played games, and then Monday we went to Fairytale Town and the kids had fun playing on all the toys.

 
Dave had fun too.

 Now back to the kids.

After playing hard we had lunch and then to top it off as all things should be topped off, we went to Vampire Penguin. It is one of my favorite places now. It's so unique and delicious. It's a shaved ice dessert place but like none other you have ever tasted.

And then the fun ended and we all had to get back to reality. Can't wait until next year Gieslers!

No Dave

Once upon a time, Dave was gone for the entire month of August for work. This is what the girls and I did while he was gone.

I finally made the wall art for the master bedroom. It's not perfect, but I love how it turned out.

The girls were really good and super cute, especially when they discovered my high heels.

Thankfully, in the middle of the month, we had some family come for a visit. Dave's brother Josh, his wife Tara, and their cute little boy Ben came to play. We had fun just playing and talking together. We went to our neighborhood splash park one day and fun was had by all.

 
After all the family headed home, Jocelyn started preschool. Myself and five other moms are teaching our cute girls. Preschool is two days a week for 2 1/2 hours and we switch each week, taking a turn to host and teach. It's been great so far and Jocey loves it!

And for me, the biggest accomplishment during that month was that I worked out every single day (with the exception of Sunday). And it payed off. I've lost at least 10lbs. Since Dave has come home I haven't been as good but I'm still working out and still losing weight. I love it!

We were so happy to have Dave home. However, surprisingly, the month went by quickly. And it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I had great friends that invited us over for dinners and we had play dates and I had a girls night and as mentioned above, we had family visit, so it helped to make everything go smoothly. Plus, I think it really made a huge difference from other times Dave has been gone, that we got to Skype him every day. So we did see him most every day. But I think we'll wait quite awhile before letting him go for that long again.