Wrapping up the summer

We have been having fun the last few weeks of summer spending time with family and friends. We have been going down to Tustin almost every weekend the last month for one reason or another. We have had many play dates with friends in OC and in LA. We've been to the beach, park, swimming, movie/game nights, Disneyland, the Great Balloon Park, splash park, and then repeated many of them over and over.

We have had a great summer and are ready for our new Fall schedule to start. In fact, our Fall/Halloween decorations are up and we are already looking forward to pumpkin pie, the aroma of pumpkin spice candles, sweaters, and cooler weather. The boys' Halloween costumes have even been purchased.

Ethan starts preschool on Wednesday at a local Elementary School. Today I went to an Orientation and on Tuesday we go for a half hour to meet his teacher and see the classroom. I think he will enjoy this year. He will go everyday from 8-11am. I really like his teacher!

Tanner at 16 months

Tanner is a sweet loving little boy. He is so easy going, it's quite amazing to me really! He is content watching his older brother take the lead and show him the way. He loves balls and balloons and can't get his hands on them fast enough when spotted. He is starting to talk more each day. He will repeat lots of words but still only says a few words consistently:  baba (bottle), water, dada, mama, uh oh, thank you, truck, keys, shoes, and ball. He loves to wave hi and bye to people, can tell you where his eyes, ears, mouth and nose are, will fold his arms when we pray, he loves dogs, he is sweet to give you kisses, is a very good listener (totally understands what I'm telling him and acts on it), loves to play with his brother, and is an all over wonderful baby. He loves his little dog blanket and sucks on the tags. His blanket and mommy are his two main comforts. He loves his Daddy too and runs to the door when he comes home and wants to be held. Tanner loves his two Grandpa's and has bonded with them unlike anyone else outside our immediate family. He loves to lay with you and can often be found laying with his blanket throughout the day. If I had to describe Tanner in two words it would be loving and content. We love our Tanner boy!

7 is heaven!

It's been a great 7 years and can't wait for an eternity more! Time has gone by so fast, we've learned and grown together and made a cute little family along the way. I count my many blessings each day to have married you! You make me a happy girl. I love you!

Take me out to the ballgame!

Last weekend we went to Mormon night at the Angels. I didn't watch much of the game but always enjoy the company and atmosphere. This year Matt, Kay, Jared, myself, Ethan, Molly, and Danny all went together. Ethan was perfect! Grandpa sat next to him and taught him the ins and outs of major league baseball. The night ended with fireworks and a tummy full of hot dog, cotton candy and slurpy. Doesn't get much better than that!

Little Tan Man

Tanner has started to make funny faces when I tell him to say cheese while taking his picture. He scrunches his little face so I've gotten some pretty funny pictures of him lately. Little Tans is the sweetest little thing but we cannot get him to eat if our lives depended on it. He is so hit-or-miss but most often its a strike out for us. He is a fruit lover but that is still never a guarantee. On Saturday we took the boys to get doughnuts and that was even turned down after one bite! What kid does that? I tried to give him licorice later in the day and again it ended up on the floor. He is a bottle lover like Ethan though. We thought Ethan was a bad eater at Tanner's age but Tanner takes the cake (figuratively, not literally)!

A funny thing Tanner does is he will run as fast as he can when his diaper is off (usually after taking a tub) and start peeing on the carpet. It's pretty funny to watch such a petite little thing run away from you and get in his stance ready to pee. He also loves our computer now and will climb on the desk to pound on the keyboard or scroll on the mouse. It's interesting  how all children go through the same phases at the same age.

Our Cruise to Alaska

Thursday July 14

This morning Jared and I flew into Seattle a day early to explore the city before leaving on our cruise tomorrow.  As we were about to land it was neat looking out the window of the airplane, seeing several green islands surrounded by deep blue water, each connected to the next by a bridge. I loved seeing the landscape down below, unlike other cities we have flown into it seemed much prettier. Downtown Seattle reminds us of San Francisco where you have to pay for parking everywhere you go with bridges and markets throughout. The weather is such a contrast compared to California in July - much more drizzly and cold. We got off the plane in sandals and shirts and wished we had pants and jackets. Due to the stormy weather (and poor visibility) we decided to forego going to the top of the Space Needle; instead we found a cool park nearby that showed the skyline perfectly in the distance. We went to Pikes Fish Market to see the fishermen throw the different fish back and forth as people bought them. They throw the fish long and hard several times and come very close to people's faces at times but never missed. Throughout the market there seemed to be a theme of flowers, fresh fruit, jewelery, and jams to buy. We got to see the original Starbucks, drove around Safeco Field (baseball stadium for the Seattle Mariners) and the various piers. We’re gald we got to explore Seattle a bit before leaving for Alaska.

Friday July 15

Getting on the boat was a smooth and painless experience. In the past it has felt like a long process due to the wait in line but this didn’t seem to be the case this time. Shortly after finding our room we did first things first: find hot chocolate, get an ice cream cone and started the many rounds of Nertz. We explored the boat and went to our first dinner in the main dining hall. We were seated with three other couples which were all much older but every nice. One couple is LDS from Salt Lake City and work in the temple. There are a lot of older couples as well as large families on this cruise. We went to our first evening show which was good. It’s been fun exploring and relaxing!

Saturday July 16, 2011

Today was an "at sea" day and the barf bags are out and hanging near every stair case on the ship. I have been nauseous most of the day but luckily this evening my symptoms have subsided a bit.  This by far is the rockiest cruise I’ve been on. The other two cruises I've been on didn’t cause any problems and most of the time you couldn’t even tell you were on a ship, but this time you can’t get away from it. I have heard several other people feeling sick due to the rocky sea as well. I guess this is more normal for a cruise to Alaska but the sea should calm down a bit once we approach the Inside Passage. Being sick brought back memories of being pregnant. Smells were more intense today, and I felt extra hot and had to lay downd because I felt like I might need a barf bag of my own. We did make it to a movie showing, laid out for a bit in the freezing cold with our ice cream, went to the Captain's party, the formal dinner, evening show and played lots of Nertz. Jared is killing me almost everytime! I have to catch up.

Wrap up of the cruise

We stopped at three ports - Juneau, Skagway, and Victoria (in British Columbia, Canada). At Juneau we rode a sky cable car to the top of the mountain that overlooked the city. We went on a short hike and enjoyed the scenery, including seeing a bald eagle up close. It was a beautiful day, one we could have worn short sleeves. On the sea days we played lots of games, read a bit, watched movies and went to some of the other activities they had for us on the ship. The food this time was okay compared to the other cruises we've been on. Skagway is a mining town with old false front buildings throughout. We took a walking tour through the small town and learned more about its history as the gateway to the Klondike during the gold rush. Our last stop was one of my favorites, Victoria. It was beautiful! I loved how clean and quaint it was. We took a double decker bus around the city, getting on and off at different stops, and really enjoyed the scenery. We had a blast and can't wait for our next cruise.