The End of Vacation - Forever???

After the baby shower on Saturday, we went to visit Zach's cousins - Brandon & Julie Sistrunk. She had a baby girl on December 24th and we were able to visit her in the hospital since we were here for the holidays. It was such a special time - but I'm kind of partial to Christmas babies :)

We miss them so much! And all of our CA cousins/siblings/family!

After visiting them, we had dinner at Wood Ranch with Aaron & Kristen. I am not happy they don't have that restaurant in Utah... I love their bbq! After dinner we hung out at their home for a while and got to see the kids and let Georgia run around with them until way too late. Little Paigy just loves her "Georgia Paige" so much! 

Sunday/travel day came too fast :( 

We went to church with the Wingers and I spent most of it chasing this girl in circles around the foyer:

 She even found a new friend sitting in the hallway! Just walked right up to her and backed her little bum right into her lap and then sprinkled her with graham cracker crumbs while she talked up a storm.

 She didn't seem to mind at all. Georgia kept running around but always came back to sit some more with her and pick up where she left off. 

 Playing hide and seek in the curtains... reverently of course...

 Love this baby on the go of mine!!

The flight home went pretty smoothly and soon we were back in freezing Utah. Of course it was cold and rainy when we came back. Such a nice welcome! And thanks Krissy & Matt for the rides - you guys are the best. When you aren't an hour late. Or showing up at the wrong restaurant and ruining date night. Just kidding :) you guys really are the best, thanks for picking us up! 

So grateful we got to take this last trip before we become a family of FOUR. Because who knows WHEN we'll be able to travel/be suitable for public after that!! Wish us luck!! 

Oh Boy Baby Shower!

Lucky for me, my mother in law is SO sweet and insisted on throwing me a baby shower. I am so grateful for her! Without her, I wouldn't have even had one. Baby showers are fun, especially if they are low key, which this one was. No games or activities, just lots of delicious food and catching up with friends that I dearly missed. It was perfect! She got the cutest sailing/ beach decorations and it turned out really cute.

Too bad I don't have a picture of it all after it was filled with the food! It was a brunch so she made a french toast casserole, a potato, egg, and sausage breakfast casserole, lots of fresh fruit and fruit dip, and a friend of hers made Pioneer Woman's coconut cake which was to DIE for and could probably send a middle aged man to his grave with all the fat and sugar in it but who cares!! No one asked for healthy! It was absolutely delicious. 

I loved the theme she went with! So fun.

Some of Cathy's good friends and Diane on the right who made the cake:

My beautiful sisters in law:

Former co-workers, Bree & Jessica:

Jessica is SO sweet and spoiled ME with a gift instead of baby boy - she got me a beautiful candle, lip balm, earrings, and hand lotion. It was perfect. Love her so much, she's so thoughtful.

High school friends!! Gabby:

Gabby came to my last baby shower when I was pregnant with Georgia and this was the first time she got to meet her since we moved shortly after! 

Gabby & Katherine:

So glad these friends could make it to my shower... I have missed them so much and it was so amazing to get to hear all about their lives and what was going on and have lots of laughs over high school memories and how things have changed or NOT changed at all. 

Amazingly, I was spoiled with some pretty cute boy clothes and it got me excited for little boy to come! Cathy really went above and beyond as she always does and found the cutest stuff for him as well - I don't know how she finds the best of the best, but she really does! She is such a good shopper and always finds one of a kind stuff for me. Can't wait to see the quilt she put together for him too. Thanks so much Cathy and Frank for putting this together and letting us stay with you! We love you so much. 

Next Stop - Vegas!

I had begged and begged for a "baby moon" before baby #2 comes, threatening hinting at the possible insanity that might ensue with a second child and no break from parenting! I love being a mom, it's the best job ever in the whole entire world, but I did feel like we needed a quick reset before the chaos of newborn  & toddler life sets in. Thankfully, Zach made it happen! Side note - I don't think we've ever planned a vacation more than a month or two in advance. Crazy right?! We are just last minute kinda people, kind of stressful, but I love looking forward to a vacation right around the corner and not having to wait a year for it. 

Anyway, Zach called up our go-to vacation friends - Shaun & Mindy! They are always ready to throw caution to the wind and jump on a vacation too. And the last time we went on vacation with them was two years when I was pregnant with Georgia. Why am I always the pregnant lady?!?! It is so infuriating that I have to be the fat uncomfortable one who has to be catered to and it doesn't help that Mindy is simply stunning and gorgeous without lifting a finger. Good thing I love her and she's the sweetest girl ever.

On Monday morning, we were ready to make the drive at 10am. Saying goodbye to Georgie was bitter sweet as I'm sure all mom's feel the first time around... but I had no room for tears... we were with friends and I wasn't going to turn into a basket case over it :) the drive wasn't too bad for being 8.5 months pregnant. Endless conversation with friends makes for a short trip - we were there before we knew it! And excited too, Zach had booked us a room at the Bellagio for a great price and we were so excited to feel so grand!! That was short lived... apparently it was March Madness and the valet was backed up to the entrance and the check in line was a 45 minute wait - totally packed with people! It wasn't the experience we were looking forward to (our room wasn't facing the beautiful fountains, we were off to the left wing and facing the freeway) but I still thought the room was beautiful and relaxing and the bed and pillows were like sleeping on clouds. I was happy to be there! And excited to be in the center of the Strip and right in the action for once - we have always stayed off the Strip which is such a pain to get around or walk around and have aching feet every night. I felt pampered :) already. 

We all met up at the pool and hung out while the sun went down and sipped on a Pina Coladas and Strawberry Daquiries. Mindy and I even got carded and wouldn't serve us at the bar because we didn't have ID's. Yep, they carded a pregnant lady and wouldn't serve me. They said we had to find a server who was walking around to get our order. Funny! 

The first night, I was totally surprised to be treated to a nice Ruth's Chris dinner!! I hadn't been there since our anniversary 3 years ago and I was so excited to eat a delicious steak and totally on a whim. I ordered a salad that was so so good and the 20 oz bone in ribeye (forget the filet mignon, I go for flavor) which is ridiculous! It's huge. I knew I couldn't eat it all but that Zach would be able to help me out - he always gets the filet. Our booth was so big we felt like we were sitting across the room from Shaun and Mindy!

It looks like a totally different restaurant haha.

It was a great end to the first night. We hung out a little and then turned in for a relaxing day tomorrow. The boys were going golfing so Mindy and I decided to order room service for breakfast, hit the spa, and then meet up at the pool later! 

I had never ordered room service before so that morning, I had to hang up mid sentence and really think my order through! It was not an easy decision. I realized that the only time I'd ever ordered room service was on the cruises which is all included and you can order everything on the menu and it doesn't matter if you don't eat half of it because it's included. I finally decided on chocolate chip pancakes and breakfast potatoes. The pancakes were perfect, I hardly had room for the potatoes! Not to worry - Zach polished it off 4 hours later when he got back from golf :) 

After breakfast I made my way to the spa. It was lovely, I only wish I'd had a friend with me to hang out and enjoy it with (and distract myself from the large naked women in the water) but Mindy had her massage in her room so it was just me! I was nervous about feeling weird/uncomfortable since I was so late in pregnancy but my masseuse was great and it felt wonderful. They even gave me a cute little Mama To Be gift of lotions and oils that I loved. The spa made me miss my sisters and family - the last time I'd been was our New Years gift a couple years ago when my parents got us all a spa day together at the Four Seasons. I'll always think of them now when I go to a spa! 

Finally it was pool time! Don't mind the old burnt-to-a-crisp guy in the background, spread eagle for the camera. Lovely. 

Zach met up with us to swim after golf and Shaun got lost to the Casino :) Swimming was a DELIGHT. Oh my gosh I forgot how it felt to feel so light and airy, it really did wonders for me. I couldn't stop dancing around in the water and only got out to eat more food. And the best part - that lightweight feeling stayed with me all night, I felt great! 

For dinner we ate at Holstein's - an amazing burger restaurant in the Cosmopolitan next door. I'd been there with my family last time and wanted to go again. The nomnom burger had cheese and lettuce and kettle chips on it and burger sauce and it's amaaaazing and so is their Brown Cow Float which is just a rootbeer float with pop rocks on it - mind blown! I resolved to go home and stock up on the candy of my childhood to make my own. But I didn't really have to. BECAUSE WE WENT BACK TWO MORE TIMES. And Shaun would have gone back again if we'd let him haha he loved it! We kept making plans to venture out and try new restaurants that were recommended by friends who lived there, but we always came back to Holstein's. We are just simple people and know what we like I guess. 

One of the nights we got dressed up and went to a Cirque Du Soleil show - "O". I forgot what it was like to wear fun clothes and not have to worry about a baby pulling on them!! Here's my growing bump:

I also forgot what it was like to DO MY HAIR. I totally forgot that I used to be creative and was good at up-dos! There was a time when I didn't ever wear my hair down. Now I never wear it up. Clearly I need to switch it up, I'm getting boring.

In the lobby of the Bellagio after the show:

Actually we all came out of it feeling like we were done seeing Cirque Du Soleil for a few years. It was so slow and dark that it almost put them to sleep and me into labor! I was so uncomfortable by the end. Part of the problem was that we went to the 10pm showing. Mistake. We resolved to seeing something exciting the next night but Jabbawockeez were already sold out by the time we went to buy tickets :( so bummed. 

One of the days, Mindy and I enjoyed some girl time and retail therapy while the boys golfed. Oddly, I do way more shopping when I'm pregnant then when I'm not!! It's so terrible! It just makes me feel better to think that someday I will be normal sized again and able to wear cute things. But I guess it all evens out - I stock up on cute stuff now because post-delivery, I'll be on house arrest, unsuitable for the public eye, and won't have time to shop for quite some time with two babies in diapers. Right?? That's my justification. Let me have it. 

The last night, we all hung out together, stuffed ourselves SICK with Cheesecake Factory (I know, really exciting... again with the not branching out) and after asking 457 times what we want to do, ended up exploring different hotels. And by exploring, I mean that Mindy and I shopped some more, admired the Gondola canal inside the Venetian, and somehow wound up in a completely different hotel and had to call the guys to come pick us up because my feet were swollen and I was about to collapse from exhaustion. The boys had also gotten lost...to the casino...and we were at a different casino trying to find them forever until I wanted to cry and thought I was going to have the baby right there on the floor in the middle of all that smoke. We finally went to the valet and they informed us that the shops wind around and connect to another hotel!! Aside from the exhaustion, it was pretty funny.

 My girl Mindy and I (and my awkward bump that is looking for action):

Meanwhile back in Orange County...

One of the first nights in Vegas, I was scrolling through my social media and saw this picture posted by our beloved Jordan (Zach's brother):

I just about died when I saw it, it made me so happy!! I missed her so much I just kept going back to check that picture again and again. She looks so silly, I love her! 

I asked Cathy and Frank to send me pictures when they could.

 And there's always FaceTime!

She really isn't impressed by FaceTime much anymore... she would just look at us, kind of laugh like "why are you on a screen..." and then go about playing some more. 

Video from Frank regarding the price of gold ;) :

One of the days, Cathy & Frank took Georgia to Disneyland with some of the cousins and I was so sad I couldn't be there! They were so sweet and sent us lots of pictures and videos. 

 Looked like fun but they did mention she didn't not enjoy the stroller much (shocker) and I was kind of glad I didn't have to chase her around or try to please her that whole day. 

 Or deal with this:

Haha what a gem. She had grabbed a water bottle and accidentally soaked herself. Drama queen!! 

So grateful to have one set of parents here to take care of our baby while we take a break :) they were wonderful and loved (or so they said) watching her. Said she slept well and was happy! 

When Friday morning came I was so excited to get home to her! I couldn't wait to see her reaction. When we pulled up, Nana brought her outside and at first she just kind of stared at us and then reached for us and was happy but no "MAMA" or "DADA" and clapping and laughing and screaming like we hoped. haha just kidding. She's so funny, as soon as she saw Mindy, she went right to her and started up a conversation like we hadn't even been gone. We spent a lot of time outside with her just playing and laughing. 

We were SO happy to have her back!!! Which lasted all of about 2 hours and then I wanted to permanently blow my ear drums out from the endless whining and tears and screaming that followed... oh joy :) 

I don't know if all the excitement of having us home again just made her extra needy and tired but she just wanted our full and complete attention all night long which was not helpful when I had to help decorate for the baby shower the next morning! Finally we just put her down to bed and then Zach and I got to go celebrate his brother's birthday that night at Medieval Times in Buena Park. We met up with Ryan & Julie and about 6 of their other best friend or family couples. I'd never been and figured it should be interesting! And it was indeed interesting :) you pay for dinner in an arena while watching a very animated show of horsemen competing in a jousting tournament for the title of champion. The acting was so funny, and we got to sit by the royal birthday couple, AND there happened to be a pretty big earthquake! It was actually kind of scary but before I realized how scary it was, I was more disgusted by the massive amounts of dust and debris floating down from the light fixtures and ceiling... all over our food and drinks... yummy! Haha. At the other end of the arena something like a light fixture fell from the ceiling but they didn't even miss a beat! Kept right on with the show. Funny that the only couple who ended up leaving the show were the ones with no kids... they were worried about the open diet cokes they left on their coffee table and were certain it was seeping into their white rugs :) funny! We enjoyed the rest of the show with these lovely people:

And sat through a couple of after shocks, but nothing big. The food actually wasn't bad and there were Sprinkles cupcakes to be had by all. I was so stuffed at the end and dying to get out of that stuffy arena and the TINIEST stadium seats ever - not a pregnant lady's ideal seating arrangement! But it was a great night and we had fun celebrating Ryan's birthday. A great way to end our Vegas trip and keep the party going for a little bit longer!

Next Stop - Camarillo

Visiting CA, I knew I had to make time to meet my newest little nephew, Madden! 

I can't believe I didn't even get a picture with him, but he's such a cutie! And has so much hair haha. I am always baffled by the babies with lots of hair... Georgia still hasn't ever had a haircut... 

Cutter loves his little brother:

And these two little princesses were little friendies all day long!!! (Yes, I'm bringing friendies back)

 They are lame blurry pictures but they never sat still! 

They actually spent most of the day hanging out in the backyard and munching on "caaa-koes" - well Fin scarfed the crackers down hahaha little munchkin, every few minutes she could be heard "can I have mo caaakoes??? caaakoes??" And Jacky finished off the fishy crackers and apple chips sooo none for the road home! Haha. Then they went on a walk to the park around the corner and Georgia came back wearing this crown. Apparently she had kept it on the whole time haha.

Watching kid shows and relaxing:

It only lasted a few hours, but all the siblings (in USA) were back together again!! Poor Cait in Korea on her mission almost cried when she saw the picture... 

Oh and Jake's long time girlfriend (and by long, I mean the longest relationship he's ever had?) Jacky was there too! But somehow she didn't make it in the pictures... oops. 

Jake and Jacky finally had to leave to take our sister Krissy back to the airport to go home to Utah that afternoon but for a few whole hours, we got to spend time together!!! I love these people.... we are all so different and share so many similarities too. We are all in different phases of our lives and it makes for such an exciting time! I love them more than ever. So grateful for eternal families and the bonds I share with these amazing people! I never have enough time or food or laughs with them...

Adventure Week - First Stop OC

 We flew in to LAX late Friday night - all went pretty smoothly, Georgia was fine because we stocked the iPad with new shows and brought treats (seriously HOW did parents survive without iPads back then?!) but even then, it was quite uncomfortable to travel being 8.5 months pregnant and trying to squeeze G on my lap when she wanted to sit with me. Not fun. But I was SO excited to be going home!!! To my surprise/delight Georgia went right down in a pack n play at the Winger's home when we got in at 10pm and didn't make a peep! I thought she would be freaked out and scared not being in her bed but she was perfect and slept normal hours - it gave me comfort that it was really ok for us to be leaving her with Nana & Papa for 5 days and it was time to take a vacation just me and Zach! 

On Saturday we hit the beach ASAP! Our days in CA were pretty jam packed with family events so I made SURE to squeeze in a couple hours at the beach for my baby girl!!!! Oh how she loves the beach... it wasn't even the normal perfect weather, it was warm but very breezy, especially on the shore, but that didn't stop us from having the perfect beach day :)

All new summer stuff... can you tell I'm just DYING for summer weather in Utah! It's taking it's sweet time... 

Georgia was happy as could be as soon as she saw that weather. She running straight towards it then stopped abruptly and turned around to face me, put her hands out, and asked me a very animated jibber jabber question: 

I love her so much!!! Modeling her swimwear for me :) : 

 And off to the water!

 It was really pretty chilly down by the water but it didn't stop her for a second! Even when she fell in and got soaked haha. Zach sat with her for a good time in the cold wet sand and built "sand castles" (more like sand piles) for her to smash. 

When she was shivering and goosebumpy, we brought her back up to the warm sand and let her dry.

 Baby bumcheeks are the BEST:

 Even Uncle Jordy was there to soak up the sun with us.

 We ended up at our FAVORITE beach grub spot, Jane's Corndog's and ordered the usual - Rootbeer freezes and chili cheese fries! 

 Yummmmmm!

Georgia loves her Uncle Jordy, probably because he looks so much like her daddy. Whatever it is, he's a teddy bear and loves her back! 

After the beach, we went home and got cleaned up, gave G a nap, and got ready for Bonnie's baptism that afternoon. It was such a beautiful thing to see and reflect back on my own baptism and it was so good being all together with the entire family!! Georgia had 100 cousins to play with and she was running around having the time of her life... with a super soggy diaper. Lovely :) 

That night, we put G to bed and left her with Nana & Papa and went to meet our new little identical twin Nephews, Cash & Cruz! 

It was so weird to hold a baby again... and it's so weird that I will have one so soon... they seem so tiny and fragile! Brought back so many memories of Georgia's newborn days. They are so precious and we are so excited for Cameron & Channie and their family of 7 now!