Roommate Love!

When I went to school at BYU-Idaho, I lived with a few sets of amazing girls. I lived with 7 other girls at Bristol Manor in the Winter Semester of 2003. It was a fun semester filled with a lot of laughter, some feisty moments, crying, dirty dishes, sleepovers in the front room, etc. All of the roommates bonded really quick and I made good friendships with each one.

It was sad when the semester was done and we had to part ways. Although we didn't mean to some of us lost track of one another but I am glad that we have all reconnected some way or another but I am especially grateful that a couple of my roommates live a couple of hours away, so roadtrip! We went a week ago to visit them. It had been about 8 years since I had seen them. It was way too long but once we saw each other it was like the good times never stopped. We went and played around Monterey for the day.

We first played at a park and ate McDonald's for lunch. The kids loved running around and we enjoyed sitting in the sun. I was actually surprised at how sunny it was and I was severely disappointed that I didn't have my flip flops on! After we went to walk around Fisherman's Wharf, where we stopped at an Italian Cafe and enjoyed the most delicious ice cream.

This is the whole group, the three roommates, three husbands and eight kids! The background is amazing but we had to look right into the bright sun! That is why half the kids are not even looking at the camera and most of us are closing our eyes. Gavin was smart and brought sunglasses!

An attempt at a family photo.

At the end of the wharf there is a man that will bring his birds and allow people to put them on their shoulders or hold them in their hands. James was squirming in my arms to get to touch the birds. The owner told me to put him down and put the bird on his shoulder. James LOVED it. He would turn in a circle to try and get a better view of the bird.

A few of the friends posing for the camera.

The kids are hiding behind pillars to try and surprise their parents.

The roommates!

We then went back and had homemade pizza. It was so good, I am sure James liked the pizza but he didn't want the ranch to go to waste. He would just stick his fingers in the ranch and lick it off. The addiction is already starting.

I'm a big girl now!

Brielle is officially in Primary. This is her first day of Sunbeams and Primary, on 1/1/2012. The funny thing is that I am her teacher! It is fun to see how big she is and get to enjoy in how much she learns and knows but I'll tell you that it can be a power struggle. She has one strong personality and I don't think we know how to handle the whole idea of her mom being her teacher.

San Fran Baby!

On our Christmas vacation we decided to head over to the bay area for a day. I love the bay area. Certain members of my family, Bren you will remain nameless, do not share the same love. So I think the way to cure that is to go as often as we can and have extreme amounts of fun.

We started off at the Exploratorium. We had a picnic lunch while watching James chasing away all the birds. We took our time around the grounds, feeding the ducks, taking pictures and making new friends. We had a little boy join us and share our bread to help feed the ducks!

Next we went to Ghirardelli Square. Love this place. Our favorite thing to do is to go in the Ghirardelli store and get our free piece of chocolate, then we just walk through and out! Aren't we so cheap! We took a walk by all the vendors set up where surprisingly Bren and I found a photograph that we both loved. So we bought it and now are on the hunt for a perfect frame for it.

The kids lovin' life at Ghiradelli Square!

Bren and I hunched over so we wouldn't look too tall in the picture, instead we just look weird! Go figure.

Our last stop was at Pier 39. We went to the arcade and played a few games. I had to dig through my purse and found four quarters. The kids had a blast. We then decided to call it a day and head home, it was pretty early still but there were a lot of people at San Fran because New Years Eve was the next day.

Brielle hurt her finger while playing air hockey. She accidentally put her finger in front of the goal and her dad shot a little too hard.

Playing air hockey with dad.

Our Princess

For Christmas she received a beach towel of the Little Mermaid. She wouldn't give up the towel at bedtime and insisted on sleeping with it, so her dad took this shot before bedtime.

Busted

We had jelly beans in our backpack we take to church. Brielle found them one day and started to eat a few. I told her you can have four and that is it. I took the backpack and zipped it up. A few minutes later I came back into her room and she was eating more. I told her no more and took the backpack. About twenty minutes later she came out of her room looking like this. She had eaten all the jelly beans in the backpack. Don't you love that she couldn't hide the evidence. She had blue on her tongue, fingers and face. Brielle you are busted!

Brielle's Mug Shot 2012

Is it just me or does she not look sorry for what she did?