Never a dull moment

We have been so busy with all the activities that go along with Christmastime that I haven't had a chance to update my blog. We have had a lot of visitors, holiday parties, and other year-end activities. My only complaint is that I don't have time to do everything San Diego has to offer. Here is a look at a few things we have been up to.We decided to go with a real tree from a farm. (Thanks to all who voted.) It was a fun experience to get all bundled up to go pick out our tree. It was about 50 degrees- brrrr!

Looks like Mitchell found the perfect tree. I have decided that I really like having a real tree. I think the one we got is gorgeous and it smells great too. I think we will stick with real trees, at least for now. It is somehow refreshing!

December in San Diego. It has actually gotten quite chilly in the evenings, but afternoons are still warm. Yes, warm enough for swimming suits.

We enjoyed a visit from our Orange County cousins and we went to see the lights at the San Diego temple. From left to right: Hillary, Owen, Lilly, Madison, Mitchell, and Angie.

Madison and Lilly really loved the life-size Nativity on the San Diego Temple grounds.

Go Cougars!

We went as a family to see the BYU Cougars play football against San Diego State. It was a fun game. I think there were more Cougar fans than Aztec fans. BYU won, I don't think it was much of a contest. You can't see very well, but all of us are wearing BYU attire. Rah rah rah rah rah Gooooooo Cougars!

I thought Madison looked adorable with all of her accesories. She is really into clips, jewelry, head bands (obviously), curling her hair and other girly things. Also, it was quite a feat that she is wearing jeans in this picture. I can't remember the last time she wore pants before this time. She usually only wears dresses and skirts.

Ice Skating, once every 7 years

Last weekend Eliot and I went on a date. We went ice skating and out to dinner. I planned the evening and I was sort of trying to recreate the night we got engaged. We were engaged over the Thanksgiving Holiday 7 years ago. Needless to say, my ice skating abilities have not approved over the last 7 years.

Here we are in Washington D.C. in November 2000. We went Ice Skating on the Mall (not to be confused with a shopping mall), with the Lincoln Memorial in view. The weather was freezing and Eliot ran all over the city to buy me a scarf, which I still have. We ice skated for awhile, it was my first time ice skating ever, and then Eliot took me to dinner at Occoquan Inn. A quaint little place serving fancy fare like duck and red snapper. It was delish! On our after dinner stroll Eliot popped the question and the rest is history.

Here we are 7 years later in Coronado, California, November 2007. We went ice skating at the Hotel Del which is a famous hotel right on the beach of the Pacific Ocean. The weather was chilly (for Southern California), but after a few minutes of ice skating we were ready to shed our winter coats and scarves. We could see the Pacific Ocean from the rink and hear the ocean waves. After ice skating, we dined at the Coronado Boathouse. Another quaint place with fancy food. It was fun to remember our engagement and relive it a little. Maybe in another 7 years we will try ice skating again.

Gobble, Gobble

For our pre-Thanksgiving celebration we went to the San Diego Zoo with Melissa. We had a lot of fun and San Diego Zoo is truly the best zoo I have ever been too. It is beautiful and there are many animals to see. The weather was perfect that day. We had a great time!

Melissa had the idea to find animals in the zoo that resembled each other both in looks, sort of, and characteristics. Here is what we decided...

Eliot- Polar Bear

Angie- Meerkat

Melissa- Red Panda

Madison- Pink Flamingo

Mitchell- Swamp Monkey

It was really fun to compare personality traits with each other and try to figure out which animals we resembled.

Here is our group at the world famous San Diego Zoo. November 21, 2007.

Mitchell's First Haircut

This actually took place several weeks ago, before the San Diego Fires, but I am just getting to it now. It took us awhile to get Mitchell's hair cut. We knew that it would make him look so grown up. We finally had it done and we were right, he does look like a little man now instead of a baby. I guess it is okay since he is now 18 months old.

BEFORE

AFTER

Think Happy Thoughts

The kids definitely inherited Eliot's love for sweets. They are partial to chocolate, however, and not just candy. Sometimes I am amazed that they are even my children because they have inherited so many "Eliot" characteristics. I guess the Ward genes are dominant.

Madison and Mitchell loved going door-to-door in our neighborhood. They looked so cute together in the Peter Pan and Tinkerbell costumes.

It was truly a fun Halloween. The kids had a great time and thus Eliot and I did too.

Find a Pumpkin...

The pumpkin patch we went to had all varieties of pumpkins. The bluish pumpkins were called Fairytale Pumpkins, so naturally Madison had to have one. Here she is with the pumpkin she picked out.

The other day Madison said "I wish that I could marry Mitchell." When Eliot asked her why she wanted to marry Mitchell she responded, "I don't know, because we love each other." It was really sweet. These two have such a fun time together!

Another "like father, like son" moment. Notice how hard Mitchell is concentrating and how he is sticking his tongue out. Eliot often does the same when he is deep in concentration. Mitchell was so cute because it looked like he believed he was pushing the wagon all by himself.

Fall Apple Picking

We have been apple picking every fall for several years now. It is one of our favorite things to do together as a family. We spent the afternoon in Julian, California sampling apple cider, apple pie, and carmel apples. Then we got to work and picked our own apples at an orchard just outside of town. (sidenote: this area has been evacuated today due to wildfires. We are not threatened here, near the coast, but the air quality is extremely poor. The air is dark with smoke and particles.) We picked several bags full of apples and really enjoyed ourselves. This week we did many fun things with our apples. We ate them raw, we made applesauce, we used them as stamps to make art, and we also made Grandpa Jack's Favorite Applesauce Cookies- a personal favorite of mine too. I messed up the recipe so I had to double it and ended up making about 12 dozen cookies. I was baking all day, but I have enjoyed having the cookies around- maybe a little too much. I was wishing I could take several dozen to Grandpa so that he could enjoy them too. The cookies will always remind me of him and I have been thinking about him constantly. Apple picking was a fun way to bring in the fall as it always is.

Hawaii Top 11 on Angie's Camera

We had a wonderful time on our trip to Hawaii. I am certainly one who loves to travel. I love seeing new places, meeting new people, tasting new food, hearing new sounds, and all around having new experiences. Special thanks to my husband who indulges my need for all types of travel. It was an awesome way to bring in our thirties. Here's to many more years and many more experiences to come!

1. Spending time with my honey! (In this picture we were at a black sand beach.)
2. Cruising on the road to Hana with the top down!
3. All kinds of waterfalls; short ones, tall ones, fat ones, skinny ones- all very neato. (Remember that song, "Don't go chasing waterfalls, please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to." What does that mean anyway? We were all about chasing waterfalls on this trip.

4. Hanging out with friends and family and getting some good grub while we were at it. More specifically, sushi and steak -yum!

5. Learning to Paddle Board and not falling once.


6. Being with Darl, Michelle, and Mitchell Gleed! They were so kind and extremely hospitable.

7. Finding exotic and secluded beaches. Notice the red sand. (Also of note, some of the beaches were so secluded that many people visiting them were scantily clad, I mean very scantily clad. In other words, a whole group of nudists showed up while we were at this beach. C'mon now, that ruins it for everybody, for real!)


8. Ocean view rooms at every stop. 9. Picking breakfast out of the backyard.



10. Seeing where those yummy mac nuts come from.
11. Kayaking through Kealakekua Bay where we saw hundreds of dolphins.
(This is the infamous bay where Captain James Cook was killed.)

Big Jud's... Just eat it!

Believe it or not, Natalie and I thought about making hamburgers this size years ago. We always talked about making our huge, 'bread bowl' hamburgers. I guess Big Jud got to it first. It wasn't necessarily how I wanted to be remembered anyway.

Madison and Nathan patiently waiting for the food.

Mitchell digging into the French Fries. Very good, especially with fry sauce.

I can't imagine trying to eat the whole thing myself. It was challenging enough to eat a quarter of it.

J.A.N. Sisters

I have been feeling nostalgic all day because tomorrow I am turning 30 years old. This seemingly large number has given me pause and I have been reflecting on my past. As I was looking through all of my photo albums and scrapbooks I noticed a recurring theme. In every stage of my life I have pictures with two beautiful girls on either side of me, my sisters. So today, I am going to "throw it back" sister style and give tribute to my wonderful sisters. How lucky I am to be in the middle of such fabulous ladies. They have always been there for me through the good times and bad. I have always had my sisters by my side in every way and I will forever be grateful for that blessing in my life. I love you!