Spring Break California Style

After weeks of CRAZINESS, i'm finally getting around to posting about our Spring Break a few weeks ago.  We have been planning to head to San Diego for such a long time and we finally made it. I am originally from there, Poway, to be exact and I've never had the opportunity to take my kids there. Nate and I have gone before but he has the worst memory and didn't remember much from our trip. At the time we were only dating. I still have some family there and my aunt and uncle were gracious enough to let us camp at their casa for the week.

The first night we got there, we just hung out and played at their house. They have a sweet backyard complete with a mickey mouse walkway, lots of running room, a trampoline, swing set, basketball hoop, bikes, rabbits, etc. It's a kids dream backyard.  We probably could have just stayed at their house all week and the girls would have been happy. They are fostering a dog that had puppies recently so Hailey was in heaven. I can't believe I didn't get a picture of her with her favorite that she carried around the ENTIRE time.  

The next day it was a bit overcast and Nate and I decided to take the girls out for a day of exploring. We first went to Balboa Park. This place is awesome. I remember going there OFTEN as a little kid. We would go to the Zoo, Concerts, Field Trips for school, etc. There are tons of museums and parks for kids. So, we took the girls to the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center. I went there all the time on Field Trips as a kid and loved it.

After the museum, we took the girls over to Mission Beach. We spent some time walking around and playing on the beach, then headed out to find some much needed food!

After the beach, the girls fell asleep on the way back to the house, so we decided to take a little drive to some of my old stomping grounds. I had to take a picture of the 7Eleven that my brothers and I always use to ride our bikes to for tootsie pops. You know, the ones with the Indian shooting a star?? That way, we could come back for another FREE one.  Then, we drove by my house I grew up in. It's changed a lot, but the memories came FLOODING back when we drove up. Our old neighbors STILL live next to it.  Then we drove past my elementary school which has also changed a ton! I remember it being much bigger. Although, I was a lot smaller then.

This picture is totally blog-worthy. 

On our drive back to Marty and Karen's house from my old neighborhood, which is only about 5 minutes away, Hailey was still asleep and Nate took a corner and her head slid down her seat and slammed right into the side of the van. It was pretty sad, but also pretty funny, i'm not gonna lie. It didn't even phase her which is why it was a bit funny. She ended up with a gnarly knot on her forehead. Poor girl.

That night, we went to visit my grandma at her place and the girls loved it. They have seen pictures of my grandma, but have never met her. Sad, I know. Luke, my cousin, headed up the activity of taking grandma's scooter out for some treks in the parking lot. At one point, Nate got the front wheels off the ground when going over a speed bump. Then, Hailey attempted the speed bump and almost launched herself right out of the scooter. Good times. After a short visit, we met up with Matt and Jess and their family at Pat & Oscars. If you haven't ever eaten there, you must. Marty and Karen were gracious enough to buy us all dinner and it was SO YUMMY. 

My cousin Jessica and I have always been really close. We are 15 months apart and we actually bought our current home from her and Matt. It was fun to see them and hang out.  Now, her sister Rachel and another cousin that I have grown close to lives in our Basement! It's becoming a family house.

The night after the amazing dinner at Oscar's, we went swimming at my aunt and uncles swim and tennis club. Ok, the girls went swimming. I stayed in the hot tub the entire time.

The next day was SEA WORLD!!!!

Shamu was cool, but it definitely is not as cool as it use to be when I was a kid. I understand their reasoning for not allowing the trainers in the water with the whales, but the show doesn't have as much WOW factor as it use to.

Next was the dolphin show. Now, the dolphin show has gotten MUCH cooler since I was a kid. It was our favorite show by far. Partly because Hailey and I share a love of dolphins. Since I was little, I always wanted to be a dolphin trainer. I should have followed that dream but moving around to places where there wasn't much opportunity to pursue that made it a little difficult. Excuses, excuses, I know. One thing that made this outing THRILLING was the fact that Hailey and I got to pet a dolphin, TWICE! We were both so excited.

Next was Journey To Atlantis. Nate forced me to go and I had to admit, I loved it. We went with Marty and Karen and it was such a fun ride. Short, but fun. Jess also came to Sea World with Brooklyn. It was the perfect weather for a perfect day!

Jess and Karen took off and the rest of us hung out for the remainder of the day. Luke was sweet enough to bring some money to make the girls a Sea World Penny. They each got to pick their design and they loved it. They absolutely love Luke. He was their best buddy while we were there. We rode the SkyTower which was cool because it allows you to see the entire park from the air. Also, this tower use to be the PSA SkyTower which was an airline my dad use to work for back in the day. Now it's owned by Southwest, I believe. It's a little ironic that it's also one huge elevator which is also the industry my dad is currently in. Oh the memories.  See that bouncy trampoline thing in the bottom right corner? That was my favorite thing to play on at Sea World when I was little. It was truly nostalgic for me.  We got the girls some little souvenirs and that was that.  They were exhausted.  Something that has changed that made me a little sad was that when I was little, they had this HUGE map on the ground of the United States. Whenever we went on field trips, we would stand on our state and take pictures. Now, they have replaced it with a grassy hill and flags representing the states.  Cool, but not AS cool.

This was the end of our day at Sea World. It was a great day. Thanks to my family for sticking it out with us and being great hosts.

After Sea World, we headed over to my cousin Nate's apartment. He lives in a building right in the middle of downtown San Diego. He and his girlfriend Maile were nice enough to have us over for a bbq and to watch the Padres game. You might think i'm talking about watching it on TV, but nonetheless, we got to see it from up above on the ACTUAL stadium. Their apartment building has a sweet set up on the roof where you can host parties and do BBQ's. They have stadium seating that faces the stadium. :-) It got a little cold, but it was so worth it. 

The next morning, we went out to breakfast with Karen, Luke, Zach and Steph and had a really yummy breakfast at the Pancake House. MMMM....  Then we ran by target where Steph and I bought matching shirts that are so darling.

 Back to the house to pack, then on the road again where it poured almost the entire time. I must add that I drove MOST of the trip because being a passenger made me nauseous. Now, we know why, but at the time, driving that much royally stinks.

We had such a fun time and we can't wait to go back and do it again. We owe a HUGE thanks to Marty and Karen and the rest of the family for making it such a great trip. Thanks for setting everything up and thanks for spending so much time with us. 

Till next time....

I'm going to have to back track to our Spring Break Vacation after this post, but I wanted to post about this while it was fresh in my mind.  This past weekend, we (Nate & I) were lucky and blessed enough to attend the temple with Adam & Tonna. Adam is Nate's brother and we've been looking forward to this day for some time. They were sealed in the Salt lake City Temple on Saturday the 21st of April. It was a beautiful day full of tears, smiles, laughter, food, intense feelings and most of all, it was full of love.  

It was so great to be in such a sacred place with so many people we love. We are so excited for them to embark on this new chapter in life and I know great blessings will come their way.  

Aside from how amazing this time was, I endured a scary first.  Up until the Friday night before the Sealing, I had never had anyone besides my mother or my mother in law put my children to bed. As described in previous posts, I have some intense issues with night time. With that, comes anxiety about leaving my kids at night. (it's pretty much one of the most frustrating issues ever).  So, I knew how important this event was and I knew I WANTED to be there.  I asked someone I trust to the moon and back with my kids and she was very willing to take on the challenge. Not only did she have to take on my kids, but she had to deal with my anxiety about it as well! Lucky her!  Needless to say, everything went fine, as I always KNOW that it will and everyone survived.

We were running ON TIME to the endowment session on Friday night, but apparently, it's a busy night at the Temple so when we got there 15 minutes early, they had already seated the 7pm session which we were suppose to be in for Adam and Tonna.  After pretty much begging to let us sneak in, they suggested we do sealings instead and meet everyone after. So, we did. And, I have to admit, it was an amazing experience. We met up with everyone afterwards then headed home to check on our kiddos.

Saturday was a stressful situation just because we were having a hard time finding someone to watch our girls while we went to the sealing in Salt Lake.  A couple days before, we heard from Nate's sister Jess that her mother in law was willing to watch them for us and it was a lifesaver. So, we dropped the kids off at their house and headed to the temple. It was the same day as the Salt Lake Marathon, so there was CRAZY traffic but we made it on time, even quite a bit early, and it all turned out so perfect.  

After the sealing, we had lunch across the street at City Creek and it was catered by the Red Iguana, which is a family favorite. Good times!

(Hailey and Addy with their Aunt and Uncle)

After the afternoon events, it was time to go home and regroup from such a great weekend with family.

Coming Soon...

We needed a new family picture....

This past week, we headed off to San Diego for Spring Break. I have some family there so I was particularly excited to see everyone that I don't get to see often.  The trip itself was interesting.  I was wondering why I was suddenly car sick.  As long as I was driving, I was fine. Lucky for Nate, I ended up driving MOST of the trip to and from San Diego.  

We got home Sunday night and the following morning, Monday, the 16th, I just couldn't wait any longer to find out what the heck was going on. So, while at Target with my mom and sister in law, I announced I needed to use the restroom and hurried and bought a pregnancy test and used the restroom at Target. Yep, that's how I roll.  I immediately called Nate and shared the news to which his reply was "serious? that's not real."  Yes it is, my friends. And we are so stinking excited.

We have been trying for two years. Ever since our last pregnancy flop and an 'oh so awesome' D&C, we've had no luck. We went through 3 rounds of Clomid and nada! Given our past with losing Addy's twin and the Blighted Ovum (go ahead and google that) we weren't sure WHAT the heck was going on. So, our doctor suggested getting in touch with a Specialist (also a suggestion from my super smart sister in law). Well, that sometimes takes a while to be seen, so in the mean time, our doctor who is absolutely amazing, ran some tests. One of which was called a Hysterosalpingogram or HSG (you can google that too). Then there were blood tests and other things I won't go into... this is a PG blog, afterall.  EVERYTHING came back normal. SO confusing.

Now, here we are!  

I've already been in for 2 blood tests this week to make sure my levels are rising and I have an ultrasound early next week. 

We told Hailey and Addy that night and they were so so so excited. The conversation went like this:

Nate: Do you guys know what pregnant means?

Tiff: Do you remember when Pepper (our guinea pig) was pregnant?

Hailey: Yes

Tiff: What happened to Pepper?

Hailey: She had babies.

Addy: Blank stare, sucking her thumb.

Nate: Well, mommy is pregnant.

Hailey: (with just about as much excitement as you can imagine) You're gonna have a BABY???? I think it's a girl.

Addy: I think it will be a boy AND a girl.

Oh goodness. We love children.  They have been telling EVERYONE since. Even some random girl at ice skating lessons the other night. 

So, here's to the hopes of a happy and healthy pregnancy. . . .

Easter 2012

Easter was super fun this year. Hailey and Addy are at such fun ages. They are really begining to understand the 'meaning' behind why we have holidays.  This year when asked in Primary "why do we celebrate Easter?" Hailey raised her hand and when they called on her, she confidently said "because it's the day Jesus came alive again"  Since I am in Primary, I heard this sweet answer and my heart melted. Not only because she knew why this day was so special, but she wasn't afraid to just say it.  I was a proud mother that day, as I am most days.  

Of course, we had to enjoy some of the fun traditions and festivities of Easter with our little gems and also with our extended family. 

Yes those are ADORABLE girls and yes, those are baby chicks.  We picked these little critters up and got to take care of them for a week before taking them to Grandma in Las Vegas.

Hailey and Addy in their oh-so-cute Easter Dresses.

Complete with matching sparkly shoes.

This was Addy after our easter egg hunt in our backyard.

Both girls with their 'loot'

Dinner at Scott and Val's.

Valerie and Grandma McMurray pulled off another amazing meal for Easter complete with Ham, Roasted Veggies, Rolls (which I contributed) salad, potatoes and.....

This amazing Trifle. YUM.

Hailey wasted no time in the traditional Easter egg hunt at grandma and grandpa's house.  Hailey made roughly $10 and Addy made roughly $8. Nate came away with over $20 and I had $7. Not bad, I must say, not bad.

Melissa was the lucky winner of the $20 bill this year.

Another exciting treat was that the girls got to 

see their cousin Spencer.

 He moved away a few months back and they have missed him a lot.

It was a great day with family and friends and such a special day to be celebrated.

Climbing the " Y "

Nate realized he'd be home this past Saturday which was Conference Weekend. Knowing that the girls would have many moments of boredom, we decided to break up the day a bit with a little family trip up the mountain. Hailey has done this once before with Nate, but Addy and I were first timers. I climbed the 'Y' with my young women, but had to come down prematurely with a few girls that were struggling.  This time, we made it to the very top and it was very rewarding.  Addy and Hailey had a blast along the way climbing rocks and playing in the dirt. I had a few panic moments with my girls just being so fearless. 

I absolutely love these two girls. They are just awesome. And, I love that they love each other so much.

Nate declared "i'm the king of the mountain"

Nate called this picture 'the chosen one'

This picture was taken for my Father-in-law.  Nate tells me this story about when he was a kid and his dad made them hike the 'Y' STRAIGHT UP. No trail people, straight up.

My favorite picture. . . Hailey picking her nose. Classic.

On the way up, we were at this switchback when this guy came up and told us he was there to video tape his friend propose at the top. He then asked us if he could ask us a couple questions on video for the happy couple. We agreed and the questions were:

' What advice would you give to the newlyweds?'

our answer: COMMUNICATION

'What would you do differently?"

Our answer: go out more and take advantage of alone time.

Once we got to the top, we witnessed a VERY akward proposal. It was pretty awesome.

This was an adventure I will never ever forget. I'm sentimental, what can I say. I'm super proud of my little munchkins.