California versus the Northwest

Please help me:

I may try to completely ignore January 2011 in this blog, but you, the reader, must hold me to it. I still need to AT LEAST blog about:

1. Brookie visits the Northwest

2. Elsie's birthday!

3. Trip to So Cal

4. Cam's birthday!

5. Castrating and selling all the pigs

6. Portland

So, help me remember to do that tomorrow. Right now the sick baby finally fell asleep and the hard drive is in the other room, so I don't have the energy to finish it tonight. I don't even have enough energy to proof read this when I'm done, so apologies for the bad spelling and grammar and using "awesome" "great" and "fun" too many times.

So. Can't believe it's already MARCH in two days. Isn't it always that way? Especially when you have a newborn. I can't even get myself out of sweatpants, never mind take the time to look at the calendar and realize how time is slipping past.

I HAVE noticed that spring was SUPPOSED to arrive two weeks ago, but it didn't. While I'm freezingly wishing it was here, it's probably a good thing since we haven't started the seeds for the garden or finished plowing and leveling the "farm" and seeding the grass. The kids haven't finished their "rock picking" (they still have 12 buckets each to go) either, but with snow on the ground again, I had to give them a three day extension into March (they were supposed to finish in February). So la vie. I guess it won't be winter forever.

The photos today are a BIG mixture of a bunch of stuff. The one above is from an iPhone photo of Rialto Beach when I went there with my friend Brooke who was visiting. We had a great four days while she was here. This day was especially memorable because she got partially eaten by a wave when she wasn't paying attention. More on that later...

In between Cam and Elsie's bdays in January, Ana and I went to Orange County. I got to go to my in-laws' annual women's reunion and I brought Ana along so she could hang out with my mom who lives down there.

This is in the Phoenix airport where we were melting while waiting for our connection. DON'T YOU LOVE THE CARPET?!

While we were in So.Cal, my mom, Ana, Poem and I drove to Barstow to meet up with my sister Sonna who drove up from Las Vegas. Her son Gabe is 5 months in this photo and Poem is 6 weeks. Awwwwww....

Their beauty is overwhelming. That's my awesome mom on the far left, then Sonna...my younger and lovelier sister...., then moi.

Oh. This photo is to remind me to post some day about how we sold all the pigs. This is the last little piglet who now lives on a little farm across the river from us. Jonah traded him and his brother for some lambs who will move to our farm when they are weaned.

Elsie is a very good colorer.

Jonah making raw milk mozerella cheese (iPhone photo, pardon the blur)

Jonah potty training Poem. She was at about 95% (not including night time... that's a long way off) until she got this cold and she just can't focus as well.... hopefully she'll be back up to par when she feels better.

More on this later because I can tell you are DYING for the details...because there is nothing like talking about kids' elimination patterns on National Blogovision.

OH! and I also need to talk about our trip to Portland in January. It's hard to talk about it though because it makes me pine for the Voodoo Doughnuts we consumed while there... BEST EVER. Especially the Sweet Tart Doughnut.

Here are some "two months old" photos of Po.

She's still pretty serious, but she is also fairly generous with the smiles. It's hard to smile when you have that much cheek, but she still does it!

January and February donated their Saturdays (and Thursday evenings) to BASKETBALL. Cam did SO much better this year and had a number of assists and baskets! He's definitely an offensive player.

He's the shortest guy out there, but look at him jump!

Ana, on the other hand, is a defensive player. She had a frustrating season, but she still loves playing and I hope she'll want to keep playing... I think watching SPACE JAM last night for Family Movie Night has really boosted her love for the game.

I just couldn't take it anymore and I talked Ana into a little hair change. Here's the before.

And after! I used a $3 hair color at home kit and somehow got to this color... but we both like it so who cares if it is NOTHING like the color on the box.

Okay. Somehow this photo snuck in.

We did have some warm weather last month and this month so we went on some walks. It's nice when Ana rides Coco because then Elsie can have a break when she gets tired.

Okay, back to the hair. Here it is straightened!

We've taken much of the cold days as an opportunity to rearrange the house and get more organized. One day when I went to organize the linen closet, I screamed when I looked up. Our "outdoor only" farm cat tries so hard every day to sneak in the house for her afternoon nap. The door to this closet had been closed for at least a whole day, so the whole thing is still a mystery to me.

Okay. So sometime in the beginning of February, my mom let me know she and her husband Ken were going to be sealed in the San Diego temple on President's Day weekend. Awesome! But it also meant that last minute flights and babysitters and other logistics had to be quickly thrown together. Luckily it all worked out, even if Jonah's and my luggage didn't make it to San Diego in time for us to have a clean set of clothes for the sealing.

Above is a photo of my gorgeous sister Sonna and my mom's BFF Donna.

It was such a treat to get to go to SoCal AGAIN! Two times in four weeks!! Am I lucky or what!? Plus, the weather here was cold for the three days we were gone and it was PERFECT in SoCal, so that made me feel vindicated. The best part, besides the actual sealing, was that Jonah got to come too. Yea!

I am obsessed with how AWESOME my sister is...

The San Diego temple.

Ken and my mom eloped in Hawaii two years ago, but they had their marriage "sealed" for time and eternity in the Temple last weekend.

My cute mom got leis for she and Ken and the kids. Look how happy she is!

My mom and two of her gorgeous sisters. JoRita on the left and Julie on the right (Julie's daughter Jenye was watching my kids up here in Seattle. THANKS JENYE!)

My bro Tyler wasn't able to make it, but here are my mom's girls (me and Sonna) and three of Ken's four kids.

CUTE!

So, this weekend trip was truly off-the-hook because we just kept going from one awesome thing to another. After an AMAZING luncheon at Jake's Restaurant in Del Mar, then the Temple Sealing, we left that side of the family and went with my sister and her family to visit the other side of my family at my dad's new townhouse on Mission Beach. He hadn't met Poem yet, so they had a good 24 hours getting acquainted.

She LOVED her Papa.

Jonah and I had SO much fun at the townhouse...walking along the lake and beach....watching some Willy Wonka... eating too much pizza.... Wish we could have stayed longer. We're trying to find an excuse to go down there again soon.

Sonna had me take a few family photos before we left:

Matching grey stripes!

Again, the cute.

After San Diego, we went up to Orange County and stayed at my mom's house for the last two days. We had a blast getting my aunts to play Beetles' Rock Band with us. We also ate REALLY well, as we always do when we are with my mom. She is the master of healthy-tasty.

On Monday, Presidents' Day, we met Jonah's brother Noah and his family at Laguna Beach. Noah lives just ten minutes from my mom's house... but even though they just moved there in November, they are already relocating to San Diego. Wow. That's rough....

Anyway, Noah has a son named McKay who is 5. He and my Cam (7) are buds, but McKay is as tall as Cam despite the height difference. They also look very much alike. Almost twins.

Ruthie is my sister Sonna's almost-4-year-old. She LOVES Cam. She was upset Cam didn't come with us. Then Sonna's family and my mom also came to the beach where we were hanging out with Noah's family.

PERFECT!

I told Ruthie she'd get to meet Cam's cousin. When she saw McKay, she was speechless and asked if it was Cam's brother. McKay was impressed to meet someone younger than him that is as tall as him... because while McKay may be super tall, Ruthie is ginormous.

They were thick as thieves the whole day. I LOVE when both sides of our family all get together. LOOOVE it. I wish all the relatives on Jonah's side and my side could all be together all the time. Then I'd get all my favorite people in one place. It'd be like my wedding every single day.

Here's Noah's gorgeous wife Kristi and my mom and Ken and guess who's knee those are.... Jonahs youngest sister Charity who was fortuitously in town from SanFran for a job interview! What luck.

Poem with Auntie Charity.

Poem with her two cousins... one from her dad's family and one from her mom's. Somehow the cousin from my side is lighter than the one from Jonah's side... Genetics don't make any sense.

Also, sorry Gabe about the hat. That's your Grandma's fault. She thought your head was cold and she borrowed Poem's hat. Sorry.

Poem is only missing one cousin, my brother Tyler's daughter Riley.... then she'd have ALL her 2010 cuzzies. She'll have one 2011 cuzzie in a few weeks too. She has more cousins born close to her than any of my other kids. She's pretty lucky to have four cousins her same age!

Poem with Cubby.

Poem and Gabe.

We just HAD to do some jumping photos. Once again, Sonna rocks.

Look at her GVHS Cheerleading moves! You've still got it! Goooooo GATORS!

Cheerleaders versus Frogs.

Sonna's husband Sloan and daughter Ruthie.

So, what a gorgeous and delightful weekend.... and we came home and picked up our safe and happy kids from my cousin Jenye's house and came home and everything was great and then next day we woke up to this:

SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

School cancelled. Snowed in. Ice everywhere. One plow for the entire region so when it snows, no one moves.

The photo above is a poor little new calf at the farm next door who is totally depressed to have left the womb to be born into this freezing wasteland. Don't worry little guy... life isn't always going to be so cold and colorless.... summer will come.... and then someday you'll be beef.

But just to brighten up the last vestiges of winter, our butterflies emerged from their cocoons just as we were snowed in. The girls got a little caterpillar kit from my mom for Christmas, and now we have five painted lady butterflies.

What better thing to do on snowy white days then get out the camera?

Elsie LOVES our daily dance parties.

The chickens are glad we live where it only snows a couple times a year. But, they sure do look nice with the white backdrop!

Above is Mr. Mouth, the patriarch of the flock.

And Ponyo, the famous chicken. She's still going strong, but she needs a shampoo.

.

The cochin bantam Squirt, one of the flock's matriarchs.

Beetlejuice, the rooster who wants to take over Mr.Mouth's position as top rooster.

Ana and her horse Coco.

Some closeups of Beetlejuice.

Legotron actually LOVES the snow. She is the master of kitty soccer, so she loves all the "balls" made by the snow for her to bat around the yard.

Ana loves snow balls too. She just sits in the snow for hours and throws snow balls at the house windows.

Jonah got my cousins' four wheeler going for some first class "hookie bobbin".

Look how handsome!

Ah ohhh....

YES! That was AWESOME!

When Ana got tired of plowing her face through the snow, I told her we could do some photos out in the snow. This is the first outfit she came up with:

This is the outfit Elsie came up with:

They have different style I guess.

Ana borrowed Elsie's birthday cape (my mom made it and I told her to start taking orders. I want one for sure) for a second round of photos before it got too dark:

Man these girls LOVE the camera. I'm so glad... because if you notice, Cam is NOWHERE in this entire blog post. If I had four kids who hated the camera as much as he does, I'd have nothing to blog about.

Yea! Time for bed! Thanks for journeying with us.