California Weather in February...Ahhhh!

We hit a good weekend in February because the weather in California was perfect. Not too hot, but warm enough that you didn't have to wear a jacket. One of the first afternoons there, we went to Americana...a mall near Studio City. We had a blast just sitting there in the sun in the outdoor play area. The kids absolutely loved running wild on the grass.

Uncle Jason playing with Capri on the way to Americana

Max, Jamie, Emily, and Jason

I love the way Alex is holding Mya in this picture...so funny!

On Friday, we went to visit Steven and Annette Banks at their home in Glendale. They had the cutest house; Annette did a fantastic job decorating the place. I wish I took more pictures there.

Grandpa with the great-grandkids

While we were there, Uncle Steven invited us to visit his work place at Nickelodeon Studios. He works as one of the writers for Sponge Bob...I'm sure you've heard of it ;) I think the adults enjoyed it even more than the kids did.

We even got to hear the voice of Plankton from the true man himself!

Thanks to Uncle Steven for such a fun afternoon!

The rest of the day was spent driving to San Clemente (that is where Grandpa Banks lives) in fun California traffic. Nothing like a quick drive on the freeway on a Friday afternoon...literally, nothing like it.

San Clemente has now become one of my favorite places. It is so beautiful there! We were lucky enough to spend a couple hours at the beach on Saturday. Again, great weather! But I must say, the water was FREEZING!

WARNING! I got a little carried away with the camera (probably to avoid having to get into the water)...have fun!

Clara and Harlan

Grandpa Banks and Jason

Mya

April and Mya

Capri and Allison

Nancy and Clara

Jason taking Harlan for a ride

Alex running from the water...so cute!

Mr. Studly

Clara

Alex and Clara

Alex and Harlan

Capri and Nancy

Sand fight!

April and Grandpa Banks

Mya

Afterward, we went to the hotel that the Tuttles and Grubers were staying at for some pool time.

Still to come...Valentine's Day!

February

February definitely had its ups and downs. Jason's Grandma, Patsy Banks, passed away in the beginning of February, so the following weekend was spent in California for the funeral.

We decided to drive with Max and April's family, and left Tuesday evening. We spent the night in Beaver at April's parent's house. We woke up bright and early the next morning to continue the journey to California...to arrive just in time to shower before the viewing.

Finally arriving at the hotel after the long drive.
Let me just say, we were anxious to get out of the car...and are in no rush to have kids!

I can only remember going to one funeral, and that was when I was a very young girl. Even though I didn't have very much experience with these kinds of things, I could tell that her viewing was very special. I may not have known Patsy as much as I would have liked, but I was still very emotional. I could feel the immense love everyone had for her and the genuine loss it was to have her leave us.

Isn't she just adorable?

Here is Jason with her last summer:

While she will be dearly missed, we are comforted in knowing that she is finally at peace. The last several years of her life were filled with trials and pain. We are happy to know she is in a better place now.

Eating at Mimi's after the viewing

Her funeral was also very special and filled with joyful memories. The presiding minister said it was among the happiest funerals he had ever been to.

Grandpa lying where Grandma was to be buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park

Here we are eating at Viva after the services
(one of Grandpa Banks' favorite Mexican restaurants):

Although we were very sad with the passing of Patsy, it was a blessing to be able to gather as a family.

(More to come on the California weekend)

Date Nights

We had two great date nights in January (or at least two that we have pictures of...).

First we had a fun night of pizza and bowling with Nate, Sarah, and Richard. Jason and I get pretty competitive when it comes to games...and we definitely don't like to lose. Let's just say we lost miserably (thanks to my bowling a 45...a 45!!! I'm so ashamed!), but somehow we still had a great time!

Apparently I'm still living and walking in the drill team days...haha!

Aiden even beat me...

Another fun date night was the next day with Bryton, Jake, Jaleah, Mark, and other Tuttle family members. We all enjoyed Jaleah's dream date of Comedy Sports and drinks at Sparks Lounge.

SO chic...

Another fun day in January included Jason's visit to the Train Exhibit at Thanksgiving Point. Unfortunately, I had to work, but Jason was able to meet up with the Gruber clan for some quality train time. Apparently there are some crazy train folk out there...

Mya is too dang cute!

Jason's Day!

On January 14th, Jason turned 24!

The Sunday before his birthday, we celebrated with the Grubers (Nancy was going to be out of town on and after his birthday). We had a great party with food, gifts, and cake!

I love the glee on his face!

On the actual day of his birthday, we both took work off and enjoyed a great day of skiing at Snowbird.

Another beautiful day!

We love treating ourselves to the sandwiches at the market there.

On the way home, we made the most important stop of the day...Texas Roadhouse! And yes, Jason got the special treatment...

...on the saddle!

At the end of the day, we returned home and I surprised him with this puppy:

An iPod Touch...his very first mp3 player!

The following Sunday was spent with the Arbons, where my family had prepared a delicious Cafe Rio-ish Pork Salad and homemade pies!

Three days of celebration...See, I'm not the only one who milks my birthday!

Happy Birthday Jason! With many more to come!

In the Name of Fishing...

This illustrates the crack of dawn in the bloody cold...

who considers this fun?


Jason considers this fun!

At least it's a pretty sight though, right?

Mid January, Jason went with his brother, Max, and some other guys to Strawberry Reservoir for ice fishing! Since I was not there, I'll leave it up to Jason to tell about it:

"It was extremely cold, but completely worth it! Fortunately, we had a tent and a heater. We caught some nice sized cutthroats and rainbows. It was my first time doing it, and I definitely plan on doing it again. My idea of bringing hot chocolate and hot cider was a big hit! It was cool hearing the sounds of the ice crack when the sun came out...huge, high-pitched, echoing noises! Unfortunately, Max's friend, who bought a whole bunch of fishing gear, was the only one who got skunked."

(To help decipher the above message, skunked = not catching any fish.)

Needless to say...WE'RE HAVING FISH TONIGHT!

Here Comes the Queen

Right after New Years comes Camry's birthday (January 2nd). For whatever reason, Camry's birthday literally became CAMRY'S DAY for our whole family. For as long as I can remember sibling birthdays, there has always been a birthday dinner...and possibly a party if they wanted to throw one for their friends. I don't know if this is a new celebration strategy for 2010 (if so...I'm excited because my birthday comes soon), but morning to about 10:00 PM was spent in "worshiping" Camry! The day started off with a great breakfast. We had to come prepared with a game in Camry's honor...or at least something she would approve of. Jason and I brought Mario Kart for the Wii. Other games brought included Telestrations, Guess What Movie That Line is From (a game created by Kimberly), and obviously several other games.

The activity that took the cake was my Dad's brilliant idea for all of us to go to Barnes & Noble to help Camry pick out a book for her birthday. We were all given 15-20 minutes to browse the store for books that Camry might like. By the time we met up, each of us had around 3 books. Then we were supposed to explain our choices to Camry. Camry was not aloud to find her own book, but had to choose from the ones presented to her. Sounds like a neat idea...however, when you have 7 people with 3 or so books...that puts you around 21 books...and that puts you leaving the bookstore an hour or two later!

To Camry and my mom's credit, they did not intend all of the activities to take as long as they did. Plus, the day actually ended up being pretty fun! Love you Cam! Love you Fam!

(However, next year we really might need to consider
spending your birthday in Idaho again... ;) )

Happy New Year!

2010!

Wow, I finally made it to this year...but I'm already 4 months behind! Blast! Hopefully I will be able to breeze through the last few months quickly. Our New Years celebration consisted of the following things: Jaleah and Mark Tuttle, a fondue party, Rock Band, Ticket to Ride, and a drive home at 2:00 am (way past my bedtime).

Jaleah's neighborhood friends were having a fun New Years party and they were nice enough to let us tag along. The food was great and the company was even better. We had a great time (quite a different experience from last year...falling asleep before midnight...)

Ticket to Ride...such a fun (and frustrating when you play against Jaleah) game!

Let's keep it short and sweet :)