They're off to see the Wizard

This year we wanted to send our family Halloween cards, so we took these pictures today after church. We had a lot of fun. Lauren doesn't know what the Wizard of Oz is, so we're trying to find someone to borrow it from so she knows who Dorothy is. Once she saw her Ruby Slippers, she immediately wanted to put them on, when I did the next day she started jumping up and down, she loves them. A.J. is not a huge fan of his costume, mostly because it's meant for cooler weather, which we have been having but at 3:30 in the afternoon today it was a little warm so he didn't last for too long. So it's a good thing we got some good shots quickly.

More ponies for Penny

Every Wednesday in The Village at Claremont they close one of their streets and hold a fair. They have a band playing and different vendors. We went a couple weeks ago and of course Lauren saw a girl riding a pony so she insisted the whole time to "ride the horsey" or "ride Chili", she calls every horse that even her stuffed pink unicorn is Chili. Chili is actually a miniature horse that my mother in law has at her house in New Harmony. So we went over to the ponies and they had a petting zoo right next to it as well. So we did both.

And he's off!

A.J. has started crawling, albeit a "wounded soldier" crawl, at least he's getting somewhere by himself. He's so strong and solid it's hilarious, I just laugh when I watch him, he's got all these little quirks and tricks he does now. He'll shake his head as a part of communicating now, so he'll shake his head back and forth then I'll do it then he'll do it back, it's so funny. He also has monkey feet which you'll see in the video, he'll put anything between those feet and just hold it. I've posted a lot of video today because it's all on Todd's phone, so while I have his phone hooked up to the computer I'm gonna do everything at once so I don't keep stealing it from him. Back to A.J., he just turned 8 months old and growing up fast wearing 12 month clothes already. He's just a big kid and a teddy bear, he loves contact and cuddling. Now that he can crawl he'll make his way over to either me or Todd and pull at our pant legs, which I'm guessing is his sign for pick me up because when we don't he starts fussing, ha. He also has a very piercing scream, which is not out of anger or distress, just cuz...which is what makes it annoyingly funny. He eats like a machine and compared to Lauren who eats like a bird, just astounds me. Anyway, here's a couple videos starring A.J. for once ;)

County Fair time!

I've never been to the L.A. County Fair and this year I found out that opening weekend was a great deal, dollar to get in, dollar drinks, dollar carnival rides, so we went with our friends Chris and Mary and their son Peter. Every year growing up I've only been to Box Elder's county fair, it isn't advertised on television or have famous rock and roll groups, it's small with no big crowds anywhere which I appreciate now. BE's fair displays it's local talent, through quilt making, jams and baking etc., photography, art, and some really good cobbler.
Going back to the L.A. fair though, our friends met at our place since the fairgrounds were only a few miles away. I had prepared myself with the fact that there will be a LOT of people there, but nothing can prepare you for opening weekend at the country's biggest county fair. It took us almost a half hour to park, driving in long lines and merging with the line next to us, funneling us through the speedway into the massive parking lot. Walking to the entrance took a little longer than parking but we finally got in. First thing we did was make a game plan, lunch was number one so we started walking and I spotted a bunch of trucks lined up on one road, they were all food trucks that drive around L.A., some of them have been featured on Food Network. I got very excited so we looked at them. The very first one was a Crepe truck and that's what we went with, Todd and I shared and we ordered the Caprese Crepe, the flavor was fantastic! Todd was very happy.
After we went to look at the animals, they had a lot of birds and reptiles in the animal area,  here's Lauren enjoying it.

After looking at the animals, we went to check out the dinosaur exhibit, it had a life size mechanical T-Rex, and it was inside a huge warehouse, air conditioned thank goodness. After that we went next door and there was a Princess/Knight area for little kids. They could dress up like their favorite Princesses and have tea time and meet Princesses.

  

After that we went to check out the farm animals in the barns. There was a petting barn so I took Lauren and Mary took Peter. Lauren gave every sheep and goat a hug, after that I had to wipe down her whole face. After fifty requests from Lauren throughout the whole day we finally went to the pony rides, this was her high light of the day. She rode the pony like she rides one every single day, she's such a natural.

The last thing we did were the carnival rides, first we rode the little train, then the hot air balloons that lift you up the ground and spin you around, and last was the monster trucks. Lauren laughed hard every time we rode over the smashed cars in the ride. What a day, the fair was definitely crowded, annoyingly so, and who knows if we'll go next year. These kinds of experiences just make me miss what I had growing up. Don't get me wrong, I love California and would be upset if we had to move but a part of me wishes my kids would have the same things I did growing up in a small city with Peach Days, kickball at grandma's, and seeing familiar faces everywhere you go. We don't have that here, but we do have our Claremont First Street fair every Wednesdays, story time at the library on Fridays and picnics in the park with our ward every first Friday of the month. I can't wait to take my kids to Disneyland, just 30 minutes away instead of 12 hours when I grew up and to all the museums and historical sites in LA that are so close to where we live. So I guess I just have to tell myself that my kids will definitely grow up in a different world than I did but they too will have fond memories of their community and ward family.

Osh Kosh B'Gosh my kids are cute

Vacation Hangover

So Tuesday my family went to the Getty Museum, if you've never been there and you live in Southern California, go! That place holds a lot of memories for Todd and I as well. Todd took me there the first week I moved to Rancho Cucamonga and where our friendship started. When you first get there you park in their underground parking lot, you do have to pay a parking fee of $15, but it's a pretty good deal when you see Rembrandt and Monet paintings for free. There's something for everyone, for Todd it's the impressionist art, for me it's the medieval books and the furniture owned by french royalty.
After parking, you go up the elevator to the train, a little subway-like train that takes you around the mountain and climbs up to the museum. The first location we visited were the gardens, unfortunately we couldn't walk through because they were renovating all the flowers but you could still look down at it and take pictures. Lauren really like the waterfall going into the garden, she got to make a wish and throw a coin into it. She wished to be a princess, what else? Right next to the garden is a huge outdoor eating area, we brought lunch with us and found a table and ate. After lunch is when things started going downhill...My mom and I took Lauren to the children's room of the museum to play around while the guys went upstairs to the paintings. We didn't stay for very long. You can't see everything when you go just once, there's way too much there and it's a huge place. We left to try to beat traffic but didn't succeed and got home super tired. My grandparents called us on our way back and told us to meet up with them and Johnny's family at Souplantation, some of us were not too happy but we went and ate and enjoyed being with family.
After the kids went to sleep we stayed up talking the night away, My parents recounted their story about when they met and their engagement, Paul and I were shocked to find out the day after my dad got back from his mission he proposed! I knew their relationship was fast but I had no idea how fast. Then Todd and I told our story and we all laughed and joked around till it got late, then my parents and my brother went back to their hotel room. The next day we stayed in because Lauren was acting different, wanting to lay down all the time and being extra cuddly, then Paul started getting queasy. Then it was my turn, then Todd's, then my mom's and my dad. We all got food poisoning! It was my family's last day here and that's how we spent it, yuck. Luckily by the next day when they had to leave everyone was feeling better, my mom was the last one still with an upset stomach. That's what you get when you party too hard in California ;)

California knows how to party...

A part of my family drove down from Utah the day before Lauren's birthday and spent a week with us. My parents and one of my brothers, Paul. My grandparents came too but stayed with my Aunt and went out with my cousins during the week. Our week was packed with lots of fun things, first up was Sunday, the day after Lauren's birthday. We attended my cousin Johnny's ward in Rialto because he was being set apart as a high priest and then joined the High Council. Todd wasn't able to join us because of some last minute meeting he had to attend because he's in the Elders Quorum presidency. He was on his way to meet us afterwards at the park where we were having lunch when he called me telling me he got a call from the stake telling him that they wanted to set him apart today as 1st counselor in the Quorum. He knew this day was coming he just didn't know it would be that day. So he picked me up at my aunt's house and I left the kids with grandma and grandpa. I went back to be there for Todd and then drove all the way back to Fontana to meet everyone at the park. What a crazy day! The park was awesome, the whole playground was covered by a massive tent which is great for whities like my daughter and myself, I wish I had pictures but I don't.
Afterwards my parents and brother went back to their hotel which is right down the street from our apartment and we all took naps. Then I made navajo tacos, they are probably one of my favorite foods and we all were starving after sleeping so it was the perfect meal.
The next day we went to Newport. The weather was perfect like usual, cool breeze from the ocean and the warmth from the sun. Our first stop in Newport was the Newport Sports Museum. It's free for the public and really cool if you're into sports, it has everything.

They had a basketball court inside, that's why Lauren's shoes are off.

First was football, we saw O.J. Simpson's signed football, then we went into the golfing hall.

Next was basketball, our personal favorite.

Then the basketball shoes, the pictures don't show you how massive they are.

There was a surf hall, that was neat too. I found these shorts, so cute...their style hasn't changed much.

The tag says, "Quicksilver Boardshorts circa 1976"

A.J. spit up all over himself at the museum, really bad. So he was just in his diaper half the time we were there. Good thing we were right across the street from Fashion Island, we ran into Macy's and got him a new outfit, one fit for Newport. A polo shirt with the word Surf on it and little shorts with surfboards printed on it. Now he fit right in :)

Next stop, Ruby's on the Pier! It was only a 15 minute wait and the pier isn't a bad place to wait, watching all the people on the beach run into the waves and the surfers swimming past all the breaks. Huge yachts and fishing boats out in the distance. Lauren wanted to jump right in, which is scary but funny at the same time.

After Ruby's we walked over to the Ferry that takes you to Balboa Island. A little man-made island with a little community on it. All the houses are different and the icecream we got on main street was really good. The shops were full of great things, like electric guitars covered in california license plates, very cool. That store did not want people taking pictures so no pictures of that either. We went home after that and relaxed.
Todd and I love Newport, we would move there in a second if we could, we have so many fun memories there. The first year we were married we went kayaking in the little gulf at Newport and some friends joined us and now with both our kids we walked around Balboa Island, we will definitely be back so we can daydream some more about living at the beach.