A New Day Every Day

While Scarlett traipsed around the mission with Juan and his sister, Migdalia... I had a long, lesiurely lunch with these ladies. (Friends/Roomies from London) Fun day, all around!

Giving the kitty loves! Who doesn't think overalls, rain boots and a fanny pack make a pretty sweet outfit? My mom got Scarlett a rain coat and boots. Which she, of course, has to wear all the time!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in our favorite place-- hawaii! We're going back in July, so that lessens the pain of being home a little bit! So happy to go to Maui! This was at our favorite restaurant in Maui, The Gazebo. We had a little restaurant outside our room that played live hawaiian music every night. So we could stay in and still feel a "part of the scene" We saw the amazing race while we were waiting for our rental car. We were super excited, mostly because it's our favorite show! Scarlett not sure about her lei. She yanked it off right after this. Cheesy smiles at dinner in lahaina. This is the ocean view from our room. Our first day there was a little damp, but it did amazing things with the color of the ocean! Scarlett playing receptionist!

Thanks to Shana for saving me from the utter devastation of the loss of my pictures by giving me hers!! Luckily we do a lot of stuff together! (Some of these are repeats from Shana's blog, so you're not having deja vu) Scarlett loved her bumble bee costume. A few days ago, she found it and insisted I put it on her. Trying to get all the kids together for a Christmas picture! It was fun- and no, they weren't cooperative at all! Scarlett enjoyed her cousins Luke and Mia, though. Now that they're a little older she's finding them more interestng. She always forces them to hug her and give her kisses. The phrase "Scarlett, GENTLE !!" has been heard a lot more often around our house lately! Shana and I took Chloe and Scarlett to an indoor gym/bouncey place. It was fun, mostly because we go to sit back and not chase!

So... if you're wondering why you haven't seen any new pictures lately... I lost my camera!! I think it was stolen, which is the worst part. LOST you can always find. Anyway, so I thought I'd give a wordy up-date and throw in pictures as I get them. (Luckily, all the recent events like Halloween have been covered by other people's cameras as well!) But here's what's happening in our family lately: Scarlett is a very feisty, very chatty twenty one month old. She has tons of words, most of which I can't understand, but I pretend to because I want to encourage her talking. Her favorite activity is to play with the phone: When I'm on the other line, she likes to pick up the office phone and say "Hi" to whoever I'm talking to. It's sometimes cute, sometimes not. She then garbles some stuff, usually says "Dora" or "Elmo" somewhere in there, then hangs up after a cheerful "BUH BYE". Her other favorite phon...

So Scarlett's climbing out of her crib now. We videotaped her to see how she does it and it's quite the process! So, needless to say, the last two nights we've been woken up by little feet coming into our room and then a loud "BAAA" noise. Which is Scarlett speak for "Wake up!!!" I honestly don't know what to do. I think she's too young for a big-girl bed. I don't think she can comprehend the idea of staying in her own room, especially if she has unlimited access to the rest of the house. I was thinking about a crib tent, but I'm afraid she'll freak out. But I'm more afraid that she's going to hurt herself climbing out of her crib in the middle of the night. AHHH. Just when you think you have things figured out....

Scarlett had a little bit of a "bangs in the face" problem. So she got her first trim! She was a very good girl and sat VERY still when the scissors came near!!

With her friend and neighbor Addie I don't know if she was fake sleeping or smiling in her sleep! She's started to enjoy putting her finger in her nose... uh oh!! It's not "picking" yet, though!! Scarlett likes to take her Mr. Potato head glasses and read!! I think she thinks she's being like Mommy and Daddy!

Of course we went up to Camanche a lot this summer!! And of course I always forgot to bring my camera! Ready for the water!! We went up with our neighbors...Scarlett and Addie had a great time getting into the stuff under the sink! With nana in the boat!

she rides with the luggage! With Daddy at one mile Playing with Ryan Dancing with the music at concert in the park! At Caper Acres... a cool park that I never visited ONCE the whole time I lived in Chico!! I never even knew it existed!! This is a little late... but we've been busy!! Here are some pictures of what we've been doing since the end of summer! In August, we went to visit our friends Ryan and Shari in Chico. It felt like we were going home. It was neat to get to introduce Scarlett to all the places where we used to hang out!!

Some of you already know...some of you may be surprised to know that I'm pregnant again! I'm due March 28th. (I'm 11 weeks along) We have to be crazy to do this twice, right???

Okay, I guess I'm it. I have to come up with seven little known facts about myself. Which is pretty hard, considering I feel like I'm an open book. 1. I'm very inarticulate. I really struggle for the right word or phrasing (especially in class) and I think I sound dumb a lot. 2. I really love to have all the new gadgets and gizmos that come out, but when I get one I really only know how to use one or two features. And I'm too lazy to sit and look through the owner's manual!! 3. I hate traffic so much I compose letters to Caltrans and the Sacramento City Gov't as I drive. They're always mean and hateful, but as soon as I get to my destination it's over. 4. If I didn't have family here, I think I'd move out of California. I don't really like the culture, the politics, the housing costs or the weather. 5. I hate the sound of people eating. I get very annoyed at noisy eaters. 6. I have three reoccuring dreams: 1) I'm trying to ...

So here's an update on my updating status... I promise to put lots of pictures up soon! We've been pretty busy over here-- I went back to work on August 18th, and Juan is going back next week. So lots to keep our brains scrambled! Oh, and on August 26th we celebrated three years of wedded bliss. Three years!! I guess we're no longer newlyweds. Well, anyway, in honor of that beautiful, long-ago day here's a picture of that, at least: Man, I was tan!!

This is a little hard to watch... but Scarlett certainly enjoyed herself!! Bike helmet had to be firmly on, of course...

Another reason why it's awesome to teach and have summer vacation: last minute camping trips! Juan and I decided to take off to North Lake Tahoe for a couple of days. We had a lot of fun and got VERY dirty. These pictures were taken while rafting down the Truckee River. I highly recommend it! Scarlett was really good and didn't try to climb out of the boat or anything. And the scenery couldn't be beat. Ready for crusing on the bikes! Look, Ma!! Dirty Hands!! This looks like she's fighting the bike helmet-- actually, she insisted on wearing it the whole weekend. Bike Helmet+Dirt+Dinner= Gross Kid Sweet moment between daddy and daughter