Empire State Mine

Wow, I have really sucked at blogging.  I started this post more than two weeks ago...geesh!  Here is an attempt to catch up.  

We had a playdate about a month ago with cousins and friends.  I got this picture of all the kids during lunch.  It has been so nice for my kids to hang out with some of their cousins while my sister and her family are here en route to Hawaii.  

Letty was in town for Thanksgiving.  She spent the night with us one night and we played Monopoly.  I hadn't played the game in years, it was really fun.

While Letty was in town we drove up to Grass Valley and visited Empire State Mines.  Santa was there that day so we got the token Santa pictures.  My kids were NOT fans, at all.  

It was such a beautiful day.  The background in this picture looks like a painting.  

The kids had such a great time running around and playing.  We have a picture of my family visiting this exact area when we were our kids ages. Pretty crazy.

All the ladies.

Letty donated a shirt to our local consignment store and I went in at a later date and bought it.  Haha.  We have a very similar style I guess.

I convinced Chrissy and Dave to take four days and go to Monterey.  They never went on a honeymoon and with all the stress of moving etc, I really thought they needed it.  We kept the kids and everyone had a great time. 

 The Sunday they left the weather was beautiful so we went on a walk.  We took Max's diaper off mid way because it was super soggy.  After that the poor kid couldn't keep his pants up.

We played in the leaves,

had races down the driveway,

and got frozen yogurt.  It was fun to spend time with my niece and nephew.  We really missed them while they were in NC.

Nathan and Ollie get along really well.  Ollie always wants Nathan to come over.  The last night they were here Nathan and Ollie slept together.  So sweet.

Max and Nathan have a relationship that is a little more volatile.  Here I caught them in a good moment, watching a movie together.

Birthday and Thanksgiving

Last week was a pretty awesome week.  On Tuesday I turned 30 years old...crazy!  I spent the day having lunch and shopping with my mom and sisters.  That evening Jason had something planned for me and it ended up being a surprise birthday party.  He did a great job and I was totally surprised.  It was fun to visit with friends and family and celebrate the end of my youth :)  He also got me an iPhone 5, which is pretty awesome.

Wednesday was me and Jason's 9th wedding anniversary.  I love our life together and I love Jason very much.  I know I made the right choice 9 years ago.  We didn't do much on the actual day, but we are going out this weekend.  

Then Thursday was Thanksgiving.  I love Thanksgiving!  I don't know if it is because it is so close to my birthday or because I love all the food, but it is definitely one of my favorite holidays.  It has been my family's tradition to play soccer with friends on Thanksgiving morning.  It is always really fun and it helps burn some of the extra calories that come with the holiday.

My parents recently bought a new home.  It is still in Lincoln and really close to their old place, it is just bigger and newer.  Our family fits much better in their new place.  They hosted Thanksgiving this year.    It was delicious and I just am so thankful for my whole family, they are so awesome and I love them all so much.

For the second year now we hosted a game night at our house after Thanksgiving for any family who wanted to come. It was so hilarious and fun.  I think I may have burned more calories laughing than I did playing soccer that morning :)  

Palm Springs

A couple of weeks ago Jason and I headed down to Palm Springs so Jason could attend the California State Beekeepers Association conference.  We left early Monday morning and came back Thursday afternoon.  On our flight down we had a layover in Salt Lake (I know, makes a lot of sense right) and while we were sitting there we noticed this guy that looked really familiar.  Jason said that to him and he said that he is an actor.  Right after he said that I recognized him as Juno's dad.  Anyway, he was a pretty nice guy and he stayed pretty incognito.

 The resort/casino/spa/convention was about 25 minutes outside of Palm Springs.  We took a limo there and pretty much stayed there the whole time since we didn't have a rental car. There was a bowling alley connected to the resort so the first night we went bowling.  It was a lot of fun.  Jason won best two out of three, but I think I gave him a run for his money :)  He did take a bowling class in college after all.  

We didn't take too many pictures while we were there.  Tuesday Jason spent most of the day at the convention while I took a shuttle to the outlets that were close by.  I spent most of the day there and it was so awesome.  I took my time shopping and while I didn't get much, I enjoyed the alone time.  That evening we ate dinner at the buffet, it was ok.

Wednesday Jason spent the morning and early afternoon at the convention while I slept in, watched tv and read my book.  Jason had the afternoon free so we walked over to the outlets and spent the afternoon there. On the way we stopped at Hadleys which is a store with tons of dried fruits and nuts.  There is also a little restaurant there so we tried it out and it was really good.  They are famous for their date shakes.  We tried the banana date shake and it was pretty delicious.  

Thursday Jason spent the morning at the convention.  I got us all packed up and then headed to the Womens Auxiliary Luncheon.  It was nice to meet some other women in the beekeeping world.  I had to cut out early so we could catch the shuttle to the airport.  It was a great little getaway, Jason learned a lot and met a lot of people and I really enjoyed just relaxing. I am so grateful to my mother in law, my parents and most of all my sister Chrissy who kept our kids for us.  I look forward to next year.

Enjoying Fall

Now that Jason is home and the holidays are upon us, we are staying busy.  Next week is my last week of working 3 days a week.  I will miss it a little, but I am excited to be home with my boys again, I have missed them.  We are looking forward to the holidays and spending time with family and friends.  

After Halloween last year, I bought some outside decorations.  Jason and I are both not very good at decorating, but we gave it our best effort.  Our neighbors across the street have AWESOME decorations, maybe we can learn from them.

A couple of weeks ago I hosted the Relief Society dinner group at my house.  It was really fun.  I made Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables.  Everything was really good and it was a lot of fun.  This is a centerpiece I made to go with my fall tablecloth.  It is a white pumpkin filled with flowers.

We went to the local Auburn pumpkin patch, Poppy Lane, with Ollie's preschool.  It was a lot of fun.  There were bounce houses, pony rides and a hay ride.  

That same evening we went to Cal Expo with Jan and Michelle to check out the Auto Show.  We have gone to a lot of auto shows together.  They are a lot of fun. Almost every kind of car is there and you can get in them and push all the buttons :) The first time I realized that I liked Jason we were at an auto show together.  I remember him crawling under a jeep to get a better look at something and thinking, "he is so cute".  I have a picture of that date and I love when I come across it and remember those feelings.

I rushed out of the auto show so I could make it to my brothers graduation.  He is now a paralegal.  I am so proud of him.  He has been working full time at a bankruptcy firm and going to school at night, so it has not been easy.  Way to go Jack!

The next day we went to Lincoln to celebrate the opening of Lincoln Boulevard.  When I lived in Lincoln, Highway 65 was a two lane road that went right through the middle of town.  As Lincoln has grown, Hwy 65 has become a pretty big highway and so they recently opened a bypass.  Now the old highway 65 is Lincoln Blvd.  I miss my little town :(  The celebration was a lot of fun though and reminded me of what a cool little community Lincoln is.  There was a parade, booths, bands etc.  We had a great time.  The family ate at Old Town Pizza for lunch to celebrate my brothers graduation.

That evening Jason and I attended the Placer County Farm Bureau Hoedown (that is really what it was called) in Lincoln.  It was pretty fun.  The tri-tip was amazing, and we met some really nice people that will be good contacts for Jason to have in the future.  

Jason's sister Michelle came to town for about 10 days.  I hardly took any pictures :( but we got to spend a lot of time with her and her adorable baby Taylor.  The boys LOVED Taylor and they were so sweet with her.  Jenny and Ezra came into town the following week, so we had a ton of fun with them as well.  We spent a day at Apple Hill, which is located in the foothills and has over 50 different farms and ranches.  Each farm has different things to offer.  We stopped at one and bought some apples and pears, ate apple cider donuts and drank the freshly squeezed apple juice. 

Ez, Ollie and Max.  These three are going to cause a lot of trouble together I think, but they are SO cute :)

 We went to another farm that had a little train for us to ride.   It was fun and the boys totally loved it.  We stopped at one more farm and bought an apple pie and carmel apples.  It was a really fun day.  That evening Jason's family came over to our house for dinner and games.

We went to Jason's parents for dinner on Sunday night.  Aunt Shelley read the boys this potty book probably about 15 times.  Our boys are so lucky to have such fun aunts!  Jenny and Michelle were both so fun with them.  

That evening we carved our pumpkins so we were ready for trunk or treat the next day.  I didn't take any pictures at that, but they had chili and cornbread and tons of trunk or treating.  We have a really great ward.

Monday we went and hung out with everyone one more time before they had to leave.  Here is Ollie and Taylor.  Taylor is one loved baby.  All her cousins doted over her the whole time.  I think she feared for her life at the beginning, but by the end she found them pretty entertaining.

For Halloween this year the kids (actually Ollie made the decision) wanted to be Batman and Robin again. I bought a few costumes on clearance after last halloween, but they weren't interested.  Fine with me.  Ollie dressed up for preschool on Wednesday which means Max wore his costume all day as well.  Max pretty much just wants to do everything is big brother does, it is really cute. Ollie's costume still fit him pretty good, but Max's was a little on the small side.  I guess that rules these costumes out for next year :)  Maggie took them trick or treating in Downtown Auburn Wednesday afternoon.   She said they got a lot of attention, and I must admit they were pretty dang cute.  Our neighborhood gets around 300 trick or treaters.  We put a "be back soon" sign on our door and headed out.  They both really loved it this year (last year Ollie wouldn't even say trick or treat).  Max pretty much just said "treat" and "thank you".  Having kids makes holidays so much fun!

Jason was a beekeeper, what a stretch, I know.  He said it was better than nothing and most people don't know that he actually IS a beekeeper.

"Trick or Treat".