Back together again…

Rich’s parents came home from their mission on Friday afternoon, and by Monday THE WHOLE FAMILY…EVERYONE….met up in California. It’s really rare when every member of their family (all 9 kids, spouses and children) can get together. Because one brother is in the Navy, and a handful are still in college etc. We had such a good time. It’s been fun being one of the oldest in this family, to watch the younger siblings get married and start families of their own.

We stayed at the Newport Marriott Villas…it’s gorgeous there! Our villa overlooked the Ocean. It was perfect!

Searching for sand crabs

Bennett’s like his momma…. he was hoping for warm tropical water. That’s not what we got!

Huntington Shops

The ANGRY FACE. He makes this face all the time.

Walking the pier and watching the surfers

These two…such cute cousins. I have a feeling in a couple of months when Bennett has teeth this won’t be so fun anymore.

 

Love this picture of Mason. Captures his love of the ocean!

Catching crabs

Rich got soooooo fried on day one, so he spent the rest of the week hiding from the sun

Headed into the Long Beach Aquarium

Seal torpedo about to make contact

BOOOOM!

Wow this post is getting too long. I will have to finish up another time.

We’re sure trying!

For the past couple of years we’ve been trying hard to eat healthier and eliminate processed food out of our diet. But when I was pregnant and sick, we didn’t try very hard. We’ve been back at it (not 100% by any means…but giving it some good effort). Both Rich and I are only pounds away from our goal weight. Some days I want to throw in the towel when my alarm sounds at 5 am for my daily workout, or my stomach is growling, or that brownie is just looking TOO GOOD! (Which lets be honest…I usually give into the brownie. UGH!). But when I’m not eating brownies I’ve really enjoyed eating fresh whole foods and doing a lot of juicing. This was Bennett trying to devour the produce before I could juice it.

Half a year…holy moly

Boy time flies when you’re having fun I guess. Sure love this growing boy!

Our favorites…

We love our new home and neighborhood. Here is some of our favorites…

The laundry chute from upstairs. Love it… until I get a toy dropped on my head while folding laundry. That’s what just happened in this picture. She thought it was so funny!

We had new carpet put in. The first time I’ve EVER picked out my own new carpet. It’s so soft and smells so good, just like this little squishy boy in the picture. I like to snuggle both.

The citrus tree in the back. Lovin me some fresh fruit to juice.

No need to explain this one. Our first pool. In Arizona a pool is like a garage is in Utah. It’s not necessary…but really it’s necessary.

The Jacuzzi tub. It’s the BEST because my kids actually want to get in a wash right away so they can then turn on the jets and watch the bubbles rise up out of the tub.

But WHAT WE LOVE MOST…. Is the amazing neighborhood we have moved into. My kids instantly had friends. Kids run up and down the street all the time here. They run from one house to another, to another (just like how I grew up). But most of the time they are just content to play outside and climb the amazing mature trees. Kids stepping away from electronics to get exercise in this day and age??? It’s almost unheard of. We have definitely found something special. I can’t help but smile when the herd of kids come to our house. I can barely get out my front door.

 I also can’t get over how green and lush this neighborhood is compared to our last. Growing green in Arizona is not easy. One day when I couldn’t find Sadie, Kendyl said to me “Mom she’s just hanging out in a bush”. Me “Huh?” So she walked me to it. Sure enough in this huge bush was a handful of kids sitting near the top inside this bush just talking away. Reminds me of my childhood where I spent countless hours building tree houses and creating magic in natures beauty.