On March 5th, the day before my birthday, I woke up to a huge surprise. I said goodbye to Brandon and then it wasn't until about 20 minutes after he left that I noticed a letter taped to the wall. It was actually a poem that Brandon had written to me and it was all about his elaborate plan he had been working on for weeks for my birthday. I discovered in the poem that I was to pack my bags because we would be leaving the next morning for 5 nights in California! As I was reading it, I kept saying, "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!!" Avery kept asking me, "What, Mommy? What, Mommy?" I was seriously in shock. I knew that Brandon had something planned for me because he specifically requested that we do Avery's B-day party on Friday, the 5th instead of on Saturday, the 6th like I had originally planned. I had no idea it was going to be a vacation though! Brandon took care of everything - he arranged babysitting with grandparents, he notified Avery's teacher at school, and he even rescheduled the doctor's appointments that I had for the following week.
So, on Saturday morning, we dropped the kids off and we were off to California. We stopped in Palm Springs on the way to do a little shopping at the outlets there. Then that night we stayed in a hotel in Agoura Hills, which is near L.A. It was really pretty there - they have green hills everywhere (hence the name) and it is peaceful and quiet. It had actually rained pretty much the whole day and night on Saturday, so we were happy to wake up to a beautiful Sunday morning, and it really didn't rain much during the rest of our trip. Here are some pictures and highlights of our trip: These pictures were taken at The Getty Center, which is a really amazing museum and public center. It has incredible architecture and is set at the top of a huge hill, so the views from the balconies are really amazing. You really could spend all day there looking at all the exhibits and seeing everything they have there.
We walked through the painting and ancient artifacts galleries, but were actually more amazed at the building structure and surroundings itself.
This was a view of the garden center from one of the balconies.
I love tulips, so I had Brandon take some pictures of these beautiful yellow ones. They had so many different types of flowers and vegetation there.
This was down in the garden center, which was really cool. I still don't know how they make and maintain that maze of flowers and shrubs in the middle of the water.
It was quite windy that day, so please ignore my crazy hair. We had such a great time there though. After we left The Getty Center, we drove down to San Diego and spent the rest of our nights in a hotel right in downtown. There is really so much to do there, you could spend weeks there if you had the time and money. The streets are lined with hundreds of restaurants, there are several malls and shopping centers nearby, two different movie theaters to choose from, and the harbor is also within walking distance so you are still close to the water. We loved staying downtown. We are usually close to the beach when we go there, but it was too cold to go to the beach anyway and there are so many other things to do in San Diego besides the beach.
This picture at the temple was actually taken on the last day we were there. We were able to do sealings in the San Diego temple on the morning we drove home. It was so amazing to be there. We had never been on the inside of that temple, and it was really incredible.
These last pictures were taken at the Wild Animal Park in San Diego. It was a beautiful day (a little chilly in the shade, but still nice :) This park is set up much differently than the zoo in that the animals are not caged or blocked off like the zoo animals are. They have thousands of acres of land and they basically let the animals roam around as if they would in their natural habitat.
This macaw actually talked to people as they came in the park. He would say, "Hello, how are you?" It was pretty funny.
They had tons of giraffes there. This one kept sticking its long, black tongue out. They are pretty amazing to watch.
This lion definitely ruled its "territory". He was eating some meat at the time and was definitely guarding it from the other lions.
They had three cheetahs out at one point, but we couldn't get a good shot of all three of them.
We walked through the painting and ancient artifacts galleries, but were actually more amazed at the building structure and surroundings itself.
This was a view of the garden center from one of the balconies.
I love tulips, so I had Brandon take some pictures of these beautiful yellow ones. They had so many different types of flowers and vegetation there.
This was down in the garden center, which was really cool. I still don't know how they make and maintain that maze of flowers and shrubs in the middle of the water.
It was quite windy that day, so please ignore my crazy hair. We had such a great time there though. After we left The Getty Center, we drove down to San Diego and spent the rest of our nights in a hotel right in downtown. There is really so much to do there, you could spend weeks there if you had the time and money. The streets are lined with hundreds of restaurants, there are several malls and shopping centers nearby, two different movie theaters to choose from, and the harbor is also within walking distance so you are still close to the water. We loved staying downtown. We are usually close to the beach when we go there, but it was too cold to go to the beach anyway and there are so many other things to do in San Diego besides the beach.
This picture at the temple was actually taken on the last day we were there. We were able to do sealings in the San Diego temple on the morning we drove home. It was so amazing to be there. We had never been on the inside of that temple, and it was really incredible.
These last pictures were taken at the Wild Animal Park in San Diego. It was a beautiful day (a little chilly in the shade, but still nice :) This park is set up much differently than the zoo in that the animals are not caged or blocked off like the zoo animals are. They have thousands of acres of land and they basically let the animals roam around as if they would in their natural habitat.
This macaw actually talked to people as they came in the park. He would say, "Hello, how are you?" It was pretty funny.
They had tons of giraffes there. This one kept sticking its long, black tongue out. They are pretty amazing to watch.
This lion definitely ruled its "territory". He was eating some meat at the time and was definitely guarding it from the other lions.
They had three cheetahs out at one point, but we couldn't get a good shot of all three of them. It was just beautiful there and GREEN everywhere we went. It's funny that whenever we go to California (or anywhere) for that matter, we are always amazed at the color and variation of the landscape there. We are so accustomed to the Arizona desert and brown dirt everywhere. I guess that's one perk to living here - you appreciate the color you see everywhere you go.
Anyway, we had such a fun vacation - it was my best birthday ever! It was so nice to get a break and to spend some quality time just as a couple. That is not so easy to do these days, and since Brandon will be travelling soon for work, it was really nice to be able to get away together before that happens. We are eternally grateful for grandparents who watched the kids (and our dog) for us while we were gone and who made this trip possible. We are so lucky to have them in our lives and we are excited to be moving closer to them soon!
Yes, we are moving by the way. Many of you know this already but we are moving to Mesa in the middle of April and we are very excited. We will of course miss our friends and ward members in Casa Grande. We have lived here for almost 5 1/2 years, so we have a lot of good memories here, but we feel like it's time for a change for us and we are definitely looking forward to it. The next few weeks will be quite busy, so blogging may be put on hold for a while, but I will definitely update it as soon as we get settled in. I am so glad we have blogs and emails and so many different forms of communication to keep in touch with people. It makes moving and saying goodbye to friends a little easier.
After dinner, she opened her presents. We got her a sleepover bag, which came with a sleeping bag, a water bottle, and a backpack to carry it all in. She also got a new bedspread and sheets, which she desperately needed. She had been sleeping with her Care Bears bedspread since she was 2 years old and it was getting pretty worn. Brandon bought a few outfits for her too, which will be perfect for the spring and summer time.
On Friday, March 5th, we had Avery's Butterfly Birthday party. It was really fun to decorate and come up with ideas for a butterfly theme..JPG)
This was my attempt at a butterfly cake. It didn't quite stay together as well as I had hoped, but the kids didn't seem to mind..JPG)
.JPG)
I made all of these butterflies out of colored tissue paper and black pipe cleaners. Then I hung them from the ceiling all over the house downstairs. They were super easy to make and they were fun decorations..JPG)
We played "Pin the Antennae on the Butterfly" which was fun. They each made their own antennae out of the black pipe cleaners and then tried to pin them to the butterfly while they were blindfolded. Some of the girls put their antennae on their birthday hats too, which actually was a cute idea..JPG)
Of course, Avery's favorite part was opening her presents. She got a lot of fun girly stuff from all of her friends. Hayden, on the other hand, did not like this part of the party. She cried the whole time and was very sad that none of the presents were for her. .JPG)
.JPG)
The butterfly pinata was a big hit (no pun intended). They each got a turn to whack at it before it broke open. It was filled with mostly toys and a little bit of candy. I didn't want them to go home with a pound of sugar in their bags, plus the little cheap toys entertained them for a while..JPG)
These were some silly glasses that Avery got from the pinata. What a silly girl..JPG)
The whole party gang: Savannah, Avery, Hailey, Lauren, Brianna, Jenna, Mackenzie, and Paige. Avery had a great time, and I can't believe she's 6 years old now! It never ceases to amaze me how fast the time flies. We love Avery to pieces and feel so blessed to have her in our family. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AVERY!!.JPG)
These are the deer that the kids got to feed. Hayden actually did all the feeding and Kiley was content just sticking her fingers in each of the animals' mouths. They are definitely not scared of animals!
This Hole in the Wall was a new exhibit this year. There are a bunch of holes in the wall where the goats stick their heads out for you to feed and pet them. It is really fun. All the goats have bells on their necks too so you can hear them when they poke their heads through.
For some reason Kiley wouldn't stand up next to the goats. She would just sit or lay down and stick her fingers in their mouths. Thankfully they didn't bite!
This is Hayden's friend Kaitlyn. She is a friend from our neighborhood and is in Hayden's preschool group.
The donkeys were fun to feed also. Hayden was in love with the baby donkey.
Once again, Kiley was getting up close and personal in their mouths. I'm really surprised she didn't get bitten by any of them!
My baby :)
The lorikeet aviary is a lot of fun too. They will land just about anywhere - especially if you have nectar to feed them. The guy who worked there put one of them on Hayden's head and she was so excited. Kiley was running around chasing the birds wherever they went. She said, "Birdie! Birdie!" about a thousand times. It was cute.
As soon as I opened the lid to the nectar, there were four or five lorikeets that landed on me all trying to get some. It was really funny. One of the moms in there had birds going all the way up here arms and on her head. I think Hayden got the idea to have one on her head from her.
On the Monday night before Christmas, I found out that Santa would be at the Dillard's here, so the girls got to take pictures with Santa again. They are kinda blurry because I just copied and pasted from the website that they were uploaded to instead of purchasing the photos for a fortune.
Avery and Hayden had a great time, but Kiley was not digging the whole Santa thing..bmp)
The Sunday night before Christmas, we had dinner and a nice evening at Brandon's dad's house. They got all of us fleece sweatshirts, which have been worn almost every day since then. Christmas Eve was spent at my parents' house. We had Mexican food, had a white elephant gift exchange, and hung out with cousins and family. My parents got us a new vacuum (hooray) and a Best Buy gift card for Brandon, as well as lots of fun toys for the girls. Unfortunately, we forgot our camera at both houses :( but we had a great time.
Christmas morning was so much fun this year! I think it gets better every year as our kids get older. Santa brought Avery a new Barbie scooter, Hayden a collection of Littlest Pet Shops, and a Sit-and-Spin toy for Kiley.
Kiley and Ginger hanging out with all the wrapping paper.
Avery also got a new toy guitar which plays five different songs just by strumming your fingers on it. It's pretty fun actually. After opening presents, we had our usual fried mush, sausage, and orange julius breakfast. We invited the missionaries to partake in the feast with us and it was fun to have them over. I wish we had taken a picture with them, but the cameras were resting for a few hours that day.
After breakfast, we got dressed and went up to Grandma Dorothy's house (Brandon's mom) and had lunch, opened gifts, and played at the park. The girls got a Littlest Pet Shop Adoption Center playhouse, which they love, and tons of new Littlest Pet Shops to add to their collection. Brandon and I got the Beatles Rock Band game and a beautiful clock from his sister Erin.
Grandma Dorothy with Avery.
Grandma and Hayden.
Grandma and Kiley.
Grandma and Eliza (cousin).
Mommy & Kiley.
Avery testing out the new scooter. She LOVES that thing!
Kiley running around. The park is a great place for her :)
