vegas baby!

Tim and I took a quick getaway this past weekend without the kiddos. (Thanks to my amazing sis-in-law.) We kept it local and low key. We usually take a trip around our wedding anniversary and this was the belated one for this year.
One of my best friends who I have known since middle school lives in Las Vegas so we figured this would be a great way to see her and her cute family also and see the city that we usually drive through but never really stop to experience.
We left Thursday morning, and half way there I realized I forgot my camera. I was livid! All those photo opps! Grr..
Anyways, that day we just chatted it up with my bestie and went out to dinner at this local cafe called DW Bistro. It had great Jamaican type cuisine. My burger and sweet potato fries had a little spicy party in my mouth. It was way good.
Friday was our eventful day. We went to see the Las Vegas temple, did the Fremont Experience, hit the outlets, ate at a Spanish tapas restaurant called Firefly, saw the Cirque du Soleil show Le Reve, and then finished the day off by eating the famous frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity at Ceasar's Palace.
Le Reve was fascinating. That was the main reason why we wanted to go to Vegas for this trip. Tim and I have never seen a show in Vegas before! I wanted to see a Cirque du Soleil show and we were recommended to see this show because of the ballroom dancing on water which I of course loved. I imagine a lot of shows in Vegas are like this one. It was flashy, so much to see at once, amazing crazy stunts and choreography. It was so fun to sit back and just enjoy being entertained.


Saturday we went to visit Hoover Dam. It was freaky scary! Plus, it doesn't help that I literally thought I was going to be blown over board by the strong winds. Warning: Do not bring young kids to this!! I kept thinking about my girls and my fears kept getting worse. I looked only once over the dam and then I was done.
Also, kinda funny to be literally in the middle of two time zones. Nevada in one minute, walk across the dam, which takes like 2 minutes, and then you are an hour ahead in Arizona!

Even though the weekend went by fast I can't say enough how important and awesome it is to get away as a couple from time to time. It works wonders on our relationship where we can just focus all our attention and efforts on each other. No kids pulling at us, no where we had to be, just us with no real schedule! I look forward to being able to do it more often now that the girls are older and way easier. Gotta fit it all in before baby #3, yikes! (Not an announcement, by the way.) haha

pitter patter

Marisa was 12 1/2 months exactly when she started walking. I thought for sure Natalie would walk sooner because she has always been SO active and has physically shown even at a few weeks old that she wants to do more than she can age appropriately do. But I have to say that it is sweet that Natalie started walking at exactly 12 1/2 months too. Today!

Tim has been traveling and working a lot lately so it was perfect that he was home when Natalie started walking for the first time. He was so happy that he got to witness it.
I love the awkward movements of first time walking. I love the unsteadyness, I love the intense concentration on their faces, I love the sweet look of satisfaction on their faces when they successfully walk to their chosen destination, I love the curiousity, and I especially love the sounds of little bare feet on my floor. :)

road trip

I wish I could say that this was the girls the whole time we drove up to Utah, but it wasn't. The drive up was not pleasant, let's put it that way.:) Marisa was fine, but Natalie had the hardest time. I'm sure she was thinking, "Why am I still in my carseat?" Needless to say, we stopped in St. George on the way back for the night to break things up a bit. It made a HUGE difference.
So, most people who know me well know that I am not a spontaneous person. Too stressful for me. I'm a planner. So last minute to decide to take a short weekend road trip is NOT like me. It was peer pressure. My best friend Lindsie and Tim literally peer pressured me to do it. haha
After being cornered in every way I gave in to their crazy ideas and headed north. Lindsie knows that it took a lot for me to say yes so she graced me with a "spontaneous dance", she called it, and a toe-touch for going out of my comfort zone. haha I have the best of friends.
So our little family packed up and left Thursday morning and we were back in California Monday afternoon. Crazy, I know.

The first thing on my Utah list was to visit BYU. I'm such a dork. I totally miss school and I REALLY wanted to see campus. I wish I could go back in time, wear my backpack to school, go to my classes and learn, go back and ballroom dance, and have no other worry in the world. Back when there was very minimal responsiblity. ;) But visiting will have to do.
We visited the good ol' Wilk and saw the Hinckley building for the first time. We also took Marisa back to our colleges. Marisa saw the newsroom where I spent a lot of my time and we walked through the Tanner building and saw all the new additions.










The next day we went to Temple Square and saw the Lion House, the Salt Lake City temple, looked out at the Observation deck, ate at Nauvoo Cafe, and watched the Joseph Smith movie. As always, I felt the spirit testify to me again that the church is true. I hope the girls felt it too and I hope that they always keep their goals toward the temple.












Later that night we went to Sundance to eat at one of the best restuarants ever. Not only did Tim propose to me at Foundry Grill, but it is delicious food. The lemonade is by far the best. Real raspberries in my raspberry lemonade. There are cute little shops next door and at one of the shops we got some yummy artisan lollipops. Sara, Mike, Fernando, and Leslie joined us. In the car Marisa said, "I miss Sara and Mike and Fernando and Leslie" as we were driving to SLC after dinner. She loves being around family and can't get enough of everybody.










Lastly, on Sunday before heading home, we spent time with the Hart family. Every Sunday night they all gather at Grandma Donna's house. I wish we lived there for just that reason alone. Being able to see family all of the time.






It was a fun spontaneous trip and we are glad we did it. Any family time with Tim that we can squeeze in is worth it. Marisa said she wanted to go back to Utah so we will definetly have to be back soon.

being silly

One day I was sitting on the couch reading my book when Marisa plopped herself next to me kinda glaring at me. I looked up to see this face.


I asked her what that face was for and she replied, "That's my bad guy face." I LAUGHED OUT LOUD so hard. Isn't that the cutest bad guy face you have ever seen? haha


This incident was not so silly, but it was one of those moments where I just gave up and didn't even react. I just sighed, then laughed, then took this picture. What possessed her to dot her whole body with a marker??


Lastly, I love this picture of Marisa. It totally captures her natural silly smile. Right before I took this picture she quickly grabbed her pink chalk and dotted the tip of her nose. Love her.

forever friends

There are a few people you will ever meet that will always be your forever friends. You know, the kind of friends that you'll keep in touch no matter what. That is how I feel about my friend Lindsie. I love her, her family, her kids, everything. :) She is one of those people that I want in my life always.
Linds and her kiddos came back to visit us in California and it was so fun. Marisa and I loved having our bffs back again.






Ok, so I have to explain the pictures above. Marisa and Cruz would play for hours with each other without hardly any disputes. It was so pleasant. One of the games they would play is they would take their "testers" they called them, these remote controls that Marisa has for some cars of hers, and use them to get real life cars as they came driving by. haha Yes. This entertained them for a long time. They would sit side by side on the edge of the sidewalk, and Cruz would call, "Marisa, here comes a car!" and then they both would proceed to take their "testers" and move them back and forth as fast as they could until the car was gone. Hilarious.




Come back again Linds! I can use late night talks and laughter with you anytime!

1 year check-up

Weight: 18 pounds 5 ounces 10 percentile
Height: 28.75 inches 40 percentile
Head: 17.5 inches 30 percentile

Natalie is getting bigger! YAY!

it's official

Today is Natalie's offical birthday. We started the day off by leaving really early in the morning to the beach. (I needed to save a firepit for a YM/YW activity tonight.)

Happy Birthday, Natalie!

a white affair

We celebrated Natalie's 1st birthday a few days early because of family being in town. I had "a white affair" themed birthday party.
Natalie had fun opening her present. Grandpa and Grandma got Natalie her very own pink car! Now Marisa can ride her pink bike along side with Natalie and her pink car.














After Natalie opened her gift we sang "Happy Birthday" and had cupcakes and homemade peach icecream. Tim's favorite. I made Natalie's individual birthday cake and the cupcakes with a little help from big sister Marisa.
Like Marisa, Natalie didn't really know what to do with her cake at first. But with a little encouragement from her cousins it didn't take long to make a huge mess. She managed to splatter chocolate frosting all over my walls and floor. I don't think she even ate anything. Just a few licks.




































Natalie you love...
to dance. The second you hear music or any kind of beat you immediately start dancing. I can tell you already know rhythm.
to climb everything.
to eat strawberries.
to cuddle.
to tease and make us laugh on purpose.
to play in the water.

You don't like...
getting your diaper changed.
sharing toys with Marisa.
meat, except for BBQ pulled pork.

You can say...
uh-oh
yucky
mama, mom
dada

Natalie you are so pleasant, super friendly, and outgoing. You are a very expressive little girl. You have a million different facial expressions and they are each hilarious and so adorable. You definetly let it known what you are feeling.
You finally have a tooth coming in! You love to flash that gummy smile of yours to everyone and I am sad to see it go.
You like to do everything by yourself.
Marisa loves having a little sister and friend to play with. Marisa calls you "little one" and "baby".
You are a very active little one. Many times mothers I know and don't know have told me, "You have your hands full with her!" ;) I'm in for it aren't I?
You definetly are a momma's girl, but I don't mind at all.

Our lives have been enrichly blessed since you arrived. We are so glad you are ours and that our Heavenly Father has entrusted us with you. You have such a sweet spirit and we love you, Natalie. Happy Birthday, little girl!