Three Days in California

We took a short but very sweet trip to California this week. On Monday we left early in the morning and got to Mamita's (my grandma) house that early afternoon. We're so grateful to be able to stay with Mamita whenever we go to Southern California. We spent the rest of the day visiting her and my great-aunt who had just flown in from Mexico City. Needless to say, we spoke a lot of Spanish during our stay!

Tuesday morning, after a good night's rest, we met the rest of my family at Disneyland. This was Jaxon's first time at Disneyland, and he loved it. He thought the rides were interesting, but his favorite thing was watching the parade and pointing out any stairs and ceiling fans (his obsession).

This was pretty much his expression on every ride

Tarzan's Treehouse was his favorite because of all the stairs!

While Jaxon was watching the parade with his cousins and grandparents, Travis and I took advantage of the short lines and went on the Matterhorn. It was very thrilling, until the ride got stuck. We had to wait until the crew members came up and rescued us. We thought we were going to die when the bobsled behind us came zipping around the corner- but fortunately it was on the second track next to us. Scary! But we did get a special FastPass to any ride in the park, and we walked through the Matterhorn on our way down! They told us not to take any pictures, but you didn't miss much. It pretty much looked like a warehouse with boxes, pipes, dripping water, etc.

On Wednesday, we spent the morning making guacamole with Mamita and tia- two guacamole experts. Travis and I have been wanting Mamita to teach us how to make her guacamole, so this was our chance. I don't even like guacamole, but this was fantastic. Too bad we can't just go pick our own avocados from a tree in our backyard like Mamita can...

Jaxon was happy to eat the guacamole with a spoon

That afternoon, we went to the beach. This was also Jaxon's first time seeing the ocean. He loved it! He would giggle every time the waves washed over him.

We left early the next day, but we definitely made the most of our little trip!

Graduation!

Oh, how the pride swells! :) You'll have to excuse me, I feel I could brag on and on about my husband- I'm just so proud of him! Yesterday, Travis graduated not only with one, but two masters in two very unrelated fields! He received his MBA and a Masters in Mechanical Engineering. He really has the best of both worlds. Anyway, I'm just beaming with pride for him. :) He's worked so long and so hard for this- and we feel so blessed to have been able to do it all without student loans!

Both our parents were able to be there to support him, and after convocation we had a delicious dinner at Brick Oven (Travis's favorite). The celebration continues as we head to Disneyland next week! Then he starts his new job the week after. Congratulations, Travis! We love you!

Kayaking

Big news! We now own a kayak. An inflatable one, that is (like we'd really have room for a hard shell kayak!). :)

And the best part is we got it for free with our Amazon points! We wanted to start a hobby or something that our family could get into and would be a fun family tradition for years to come. And since we live so close to different bodies of water, we figured why not kayaking?

(Me trying a solo run)

It arrived a couple days ago and we couldn't wait to break it in. Jaxon just wanted to jump in the water the whole time, but he still enjoyed the ride and watching the ducks alongside us.

The three of us can fit in it, but there's less room for Jaxon to move around. It be nice to one day get another one so we can pack camping gear. Here's to a new family tradition!

Easter 2013

We had a fantastic Easter weekend. It's nice that Jaxon is now old enough to engage in some Easter festivities. On Friday Jaxon and I went to an Easter party hosted by the MBA society (unfortunately, Travis had a meeting). We had lots of fun!

There was even a fun Easter egg hunt at the end.

Saturday, it was such a beautiful day outside that Travis grilled us some hot dogs and we enjoyed a nice long walk along the Provo River Trail. We saw a swing along the way and had some spontaneous fun.

Easter morning, Jaxon woke us up bright and early. He thoroughly enjoyed his Easter baskets. Guess which basket is from us and which is from my mom? Yeah, ours is the home-made paper one. We're cheap like that.

One good thing about Jaxon being this young is that Travis and I can still enjoy his treats!

Feeding the Ducks

Last week, my mom took Jaxon and I to feed the ducks at a nearby park.

Not surprisingly, Jaxon became an "honorary duck" and was more involved in the eating than the feeding! I tell you, this kid thinks with his stomach...

This one's mine!

Yum!

Afterwards, we headed to the playground and had lots of fun on the slides and swings.

We're so glad the weather is finally getting warmer and we've been able to spend more time out of the house! Hooray for spring!

Just Chillin'

Well, March is almost here and it is still plenty cold. Jaxon still prefers to go outside whenever we can, but he's been very patient waiting for warm weather to arrive.

 He does this while we change his diaper, too. :)

One day when I made some rolls for soup, I noticed someone had been snitching...

Guess that's what I deserve for leaving the pan too close to the edge.

Jaxon loves to wear our "zapatos", though he can barely walk in them.

Today I decided to pass some time by taking out my flute. I played a couple of times for Jaxon when he was a newborn, but that was over a year ago so this was practically brand new to him. He bobbed his head side to side as I played some primary songs. Then he wanted a go at it.

But he ultimately decided it work best as a walking stick.

Valentine's Day Getaway

This year's Valentine's Day was a blast! Since it's been a long winter and we've been stuck inside the house for much of it, I decided to surprise my family with an overnight stay at a nearby hotel. It was so much fun! But first, here are the pictures taken prior to our hotel stay.

The day before Valentine's Day, we made and decorated sugar cookies. Two things have I learned from this. 1. Do NOT give babies a frosted cookie AFTER taking a bath and 2. Do NOT give babies any kind of sugar less than an hour before bedtime.
  

Jaxon loved the frosting

Valentine's Day gifts for my boys. Although not pictured here was a beautiful bouquet of roses that "someone" hid in the dryer for me to find. :) Thanks, Husband!

Don't worry, the flashcards are the for Spanish alphabet.
I know "bee"doesn't start with an "A" in English.

Travis made me a special breakfast.

After a yummy late lunch at Mi Ranchito (our favorite Mexican restaurant, and where we first met), we packed our bags and some popcorn, rented The Avengers from Redbox, and checked into our hotel which was just down the street from our house. I guess you could call it a "stay-cation"!

Jaxon loved to be in the pool again. It's certainly been a while since we've been swimming! He especially loved being spun around by daddy and stepping off the edge into his arms. We were surprised he was brave enough to do it!

It was such a fun getaway and a much needed one, too! Here's hoping we can make it to spring! :)