Over the river and through the woods...

to Yosemite we go! Last weekend we packed up our kids, our bags, and our minivan and ventured to Yosemite National Park to spend the weekend with Brad's brothers and their wives. I know by now that the word "vacation" doesn't exist in our vocabulary since we have a three year old and a one and a half year old. So we weren't planning for a rejuvenating, relaxing three days, but just time to spend with family to enjoy California's beauty and play with the kids.


And our kids are pretty decent travelers. They (especially Jacob) acclimate very well and fall into great sleep patterns even when away from home, so I wasn't too worried about that. What I was worried about was the drive there. And unfortunately my worries were justified, as Abby screamed (yes, screamed) 3 1/2 of the 4 hour drive. Screaming for 3 1/2 hours you might ask? Is that really even possible? Yes, I assure you, it is, and it is certainly one of the most unenjoyable things one will ever experience. And just to make matters worse, she decided to finally fall asleep 2 MILES from our destination. Brad was a little perturbed and kept trying to wake her up, "Abby, you don't get to sleep now!" But nothing would rouse her from her slumber. Apparently 3 1/2 hours of screaming can really take it out of you!

So, driving time aside, we had a wonderful weekend. It was my first trip to Yosemite and it was really breathtaking. I can't even imagine what it would look like if it wasn't a drought season (we actually played in Mirror Lake and didn't even get wet--there wasn't ANY water!). We biked, hiked, and I, of course, bought Jacob a souvenir shirt to commemorate our stay. It was so nice to see Greg and Carrie (who live about 4 hours away from us) and see them interact with Jacob and Abby. It was also great to spend more time with Jason and Kacee (who live about 15 minutes from us) and have all the Squires' boys under one roof. We Squires' women are pretty blessed ladies to have married into such an awesome family of Christ seeking men. It was really an uplifting weekend of good conversations, fun (we had a pet coyote that lived behind our home. Ok, I of course was terrified of it, but I don't claim to be an out-doorsy girl), and even a little relaxation (I finished a book! That in itself is a huge thing!)

The Squires Sisters

Jacob taking a dip in the river

Abby in Mirror Lake

I hope for many more of these family vacations in the future. They are so great for the adults, and so important for Jacob and Abby. It is really awesome to be doing something and know that we are creating lasting memories for them to cherish throughout their own lives.

Jacob and Uncle Greg taking in Bridal Veil Falls
Jacob playing the "drums"

Hat's My Girl!

Abby loves accessories. More specifically, she loves anything that can be put in her hair or on her head. She currently has a hat obsession. In fact, every time she sees a hat she says, "hat, hat, hat" until you pick it up and put in on her (this actually has lead to more than one purchase of an unintended hat at TJ Maxx or Marshalls).

Luckily she didn't inherit my unfortunate bad hat head. She, instead, looks quite cute in hats. So I'll continue buying them as long as she continues liking them. Not only does she look adorable, but they work to keep the sun's rays off those cute as a button little cheeks of hers.

I'm it!

My good friend Jaime tagged me, so here goes...

Four jobs I've had:
1. Police Officer Candidate Test Proctor
2. Miller's Outpost Retail Clerk (yes...before it was Anchor Blue)
3. Capitol Focus Intern
4. Capitol Focus Program Director (I just couldn't get enough of politics at the time;)

Four movies I've seen more than once:
1. You've Got Mail (my ALL TIME favorite movie)

"People always say that change is a good thing, but what it really means is that something that you didn't want to happen, has happened." -- Kathleen Kelly, You've Got Mail

2. The Saint (I had a weird Val Kilmer thing in high school)
3. The Notebook (though nothing is better than actually reading a Nicholas Sparks novel)
4. The Little Mermaid (I'm secretly--not so secret now that I've blogged it--so excited that I have a little girl as an excuse to watch it again and again. I think I have it memorized.)

Four TV shows I watch:
1. Anything dance related--So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing with the Stars
2. Datelines, Primetimes, 20/20 (Brad and I actually TiVo all of these so we always have something to watch)
3. The Office
4. Grey's Anatomy (although we'll see if I keep it up this season--last season wasn't the greatest)

Four places I've been:
1. Costa Rica
2. Florida
3. Maui
4. Most vacation spots in California

Four people who email me regularly:
1. Bible Study girls
2. Gymboree (uh-oh...does that mean I spend too much money there?)
3. Jenn
4. Brad (I know, we're dorks...we also IM eachother when he's out in his office, too)

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Fair Oaks Roll from Mikuni Sushi
2. Prime Rib and Mashed Potatoes (I'm definitely a meat and potatoes girl)
3. Carmel Frappucinno (is that considered a food?)
4. Diet Coke (those who know me well know I have one every day for breakfast)

Four things I'm looking forward to in the next year:
1. Abby talking (I know she has so much to say and is getting frustrated that it won't come out)
2. Relay for Life (it feels so good to use my event planning experience to not only do something that honors Dad, but that also brings hope to those affected by cancer)
3. Disneyland through my children's eyes (it doesn't get much better, right?)
4. Celebrating our 5 year anniversary on Sept. 6th (I love you, Brad! Thanks for putting up with all my quirks for 5 years already!)


I'm tagging Greg and Carrie, my wonderful bro and sis-in laws! You each have to do it! (Unless you don't want to...no pressure.)

He's Growing Up.

I can't believe how big Jacob has gotten these days. Not just in size, but in the way he acts and interacts. He's become so empathetic, a trait not typical of three year olds. It's almost like he knows when to talk, knows when to listen, and knows when to say something hysterical just to get my mind off of adult things. He is quite an old soul when it comes to that.

But he's still a fun-loving, rough and tumble, full of energy boy as well. And I love that about him, too. I love every part of him and every little piece that makes up this amazing little boy.

Scrap-stravaganza!

So last weekend my sister and I had our annual Scrap-stravaganza! Ok, really we just get up ridiculously early for a Saturday, drive two and a half hours, and meet up with other crazy scrapbooking women to learn new techniques, buy fun paper and embellishments, and for a moment, forget the responsibilities of being a wife and mother. It's the ultimate "me" time.

This year Erin and I decided that we were going to stay overnight and attend the crop (which didn't happen--I'll get to that later). So we arrived super early, Starbucks in hand and sleep in our eyes, to attend the first class. Yes, that's right. We take classes. And we pay for them. And it's something we enjoy. Go figure, right? Our first class was called, "All Boy" and we completed an adorable layout which I ultimately used to finally finish Jacob's SECOND birthday party layout. I'm a year behind, I know, but each of these layouts takes time and lots of it. For once it would be nice to not be a perfectionist so I could actually get things done.

This is my "desk" during my "class"

After our first class we ventured onto the "floor" to check out all of the exhibitor booths. There were rows and rows this year. It seemed much more crowded than last year. So much so that Erin and I had to get out the map (yes, there was a map) and draw out our plan of attack. We figured we could wind our way up and down the aisles and cover half of the ground before lunch and our second class. We did pretty good, and I must say, we didn't break the bank either. Last year I got a little crazy, buying everything that I thought I could ever use to scrapbook. Since I still have about 88% of last year's goods still in their wrappers I came prepared with a list of the essentials and stocked up only on these. Mickey Mouse stickers for our Disneyland trip (which hasn't happened yet) and fish embellishments for Jacob's "first catch" page.

After lunch we attended our second class. Not my favorite experience. One crabby lady yelled at the woman scrapping next to her. Maybe she forgot to eat, I don't know, but whatever the excuse, it was weird. And uncomfortable. The class kind of went downhill from there and Erin and I were both a little anxious that the Angry Scrapper might lose it again, so we decided to ditch class and go back to the shopping.

We enjoyed the ultimate no kids dinner at PF Changs (we were there for an hour and a half and didn't have to leave because our kids were screaming or because someone had pooped). It was awesome and really a good time as sisters to connect, to process everything we've been through this past year, and to experience some healing. It was really good for my soul.

So after unwinding we decided that the last thing we wanted to do was join a room full of women (meaning over 200 scrappers) and scrapbook. That sounded too noisy, too cramped, and too estrogen-filled. So instead we called room service at our hotel and ordered TV trays. Yep, no food, just the tray please. We spread out all of our paper, stickers, and embellishments onto our beds and scrapped until 1:00 am, Olympics on in the background.

This was my scrapping station

The weekend really couldn't have been any better. And as awesome as it was to spend a day with just my sister and without any responsibilites, we both talked the whole way home about our kids and what they might have done with their dad's that weekend. I guess I owe my hobby to them in a way, because without them, I wouldn't have so many precious memories to fill the pages of my scrapbook.

Bodega Bay and beyond...

It's taken me a while to post about our recent vacation. I think mostly because for me, I would have gotten too stressed to blog right when coming home. What's the point of a vacation if you're going to jump right back into daily life as soon as your feet are planted back on familiar ground? So I've slowly meandered my way back into our daily routine and in the middle of it forgotten to post. I'm sorry. I hope these pictures make up for the delay in blogging.

Jacob's first fish! Jacob and Daddy had so much fun at the trout farm.

Jacob was so excited that he caught dinner. He turned to Nona and said, "I'm so proud" and also told us that he would be happy to catch dinner for the following night.

We spent one evening at the Salmon Creek beach. It was a bit windy, Abby didn't like the sand between her toes, and the water was freezing, but we loved it!

That night we celebrated my birthday. I was surprised with a new adorable purse from Brad, a beautiful necklace from my mom, and New Kids on the Block concert tickets from my sister! Can it get any better?

The next morning we bundled up and headed to the beach again to visit the tidepools. Jacob was very excited and even held a starfish (don't worry, it was floating around...we didn't peel it off of a rock.)

We have so many wonderful memories from this family vacation. Here are a few more of my favorite pictures of my favorite people.

For the Record.

After losing countless post-it notes with highly valuable information (Abby rolls over--June 15, 2007, Jacob goes to his first movie--January 2008, etc., etc.) I've decided to start recording some of these milestones here on our blog. My hope is that someday they'll make the transfer from the world wide web to their baby books.

So here are the past weeks events:

July 25, 2008: Jacob catches his first fish on our vacation in Bodega Bay! Brad took the kids to a little trout farm while I got to shop with my mom and my sister for my birthday. He was so excited and showed me the two little fish that he caught as soon as I walked in the door. Uncle Will even fried them up for dinner and as we were eating Jacob leaned over to Nonna and said, "I'm so proud." What a great memory for all of us! (Check back soon for pictures of our vacation and this highlight.)

July 30, 2008: Abby, our little girl of few words, says "I love you." Well, it doesn't quite sound like "I love you", but it's always in response to our declarations of love, so I'm certain that's what she's trying to say. Nevertheless, it is so adorable to hear from her and I can't get enough of it.

August 1, 2008: Abby says "Papa." This was actually very heartbreaking for me. For those at Dad's memorial you've seen our huge family portrait. This now hangs in our stairway and Abby always points at it and says, "Nonna" and I continue by naming all of the other relatives in the picture. Today she repeated, "Papa" after me. Obviously I knew there would come a day when she would be able to say the word, "Papa." But I wasn't prepared for it to come now, and I wasn't prepared to see her little fingers pointing at him in the picture. Part of me is glad that she now has a name for the face that I so often show her, but my heart breaks that she will never remember this amazing man. Though it's a difficult milestone to record, it's something that I always want to remember.