Medford and San Diego

I am SUCH a terrible blogger. This trip was all the way back in May and I am finally posting pictures from it. haha! So, instead of a play by play of what happened I will mostly just let the pictures speak for themselves.

I spent about 5 days in San Diego with my sister, Devrey, and her awesome family! Then I flew up to Medford to see my parents and Hannah and Hope at home. It was such a wonderful trip and we made so many amazing memories together. Family is everything!

Oliver and Hope eating gogurts in Dad's truck

I love my sisters!

Mom presented dad with the bouquet after winning our croquet match! haha. So cute!

Our "sneak out girls night" at Shari's! It's tradition!

Hannah and Hope playing in the river with Oliver.

This kid doesn't care about cold. I love it!

Auntie Hope helping Oliver look over the bridge.

Oliver loves his Mimi!

Our family spot! 

Oliver playing in the dirt with Papa.... diaperless. haha

He tolerates my kisses!

I love my handsome little boy.

Devrey literally lives next door to the San Diego temple. It was gorgeous!

We took walks on the grounds almost every day.

Luke and Oliver playing at the beach

More beach time!

Carousel ride with Oliver and Dev and Luke!

We all hiked to Black's Beach together (it was actually a nude beach.... haha)

Cousins!

Luke and Ollie in the tub together. They will LOVE this pic someday. ;)

Chris and Dev and I got a sitter for the kids and had a night out together!

I love my sis so much I can hardly stand it!

Dev and Chris! Such an amazing couple!

Renting a surrey to explore San Diego together! I love that the boys match!

Sea World!

Oliver loved the dolphin show

I love my bailers!

The orca show

Hand feeding the sting rays.... haha! My face says it all.

Marathon

I completed a New Year's resolution! Hooray! I ran my first marathon in May with Austin by my side. He and I trained all year (even in the snow) for this day and we did great! We finished in just over 4 hours (I think the exact time was 4:11)... so not SO great... but still. For my first marathon I didn't care what time I got. My goal was just to finish the entire thing without walking at all. And, we did it! We ran the entire time.

For the first 13 miles I had a really hard time. I was suffering from morning sickness and all the farm smells really got to me. I don't mean to use my pregnancy as an excuse but MAN those smells! UGH! I about died. And when anyone with strong perfume ran by I wanted to chase after them screaming, "who the heck wears perfume for a race, you idiot?!!". Austin thought I was being pretty hilarious! It was so great to have him there encouraging me and helping me through the first half.

Then, I miraculously got a bunch of energy around mile 13 that kept me strong the rest of the time. So, when we hit mile 20ish and Austin started getting shaky I was able to push him on and keep him running strong until the end!

We made such a great team! I'm so lucky I had him as my running partner. 

We didn't take any pictures except this one... and it's not that great. But, here you go!

Valentine's Eve

My super cool Valentine (a.k.a. Austin) went camping in the freezing snow with his scout troupe on Valentine's day. haha! So, we celebrated on Valentine's Eve this year. We got a sitter for Oliver and tried The Real Seafood Co. in downtown Ann Arbor. We had been dying to try it ever since we moved here. And, maybe we had anticipated that night for way too long or something because the food was actually very disappointing. Expensive food should blow you away. But, this food... meh. I'd give it a 6. Except the bread! Oh my goodness that bread! 

Valentine's Day.... ugh! Definitely not my most favorite holiday. It's supposed to be a special, romantic holiday full of love and flowers and chocolates and expensive, unnecessary gifting to significant others. Don't get me wrong, I love love and chocolate and flowers just as much as the next girl. I just think every single day of the year should be full of love and service to our partners and children. Why should I put this one specific day on a pedestal when I receive love, support, friendship, kindness and affection every single day? Ok. That's the end of my little rant.

Well, anyway... I still love any excuse to bake delicious things and make my boys happy. For the last 4 years I have carried on a tradition started by my mom which is to bake and decorate a heart cake for my little family.  I love this tradition. Every year as I bake and decorate the heart cakes I can't help but think about my mom slaving away in the kitchen to make our cakes. We were always so excited to rush home and see our OWN CAKES on the counter with our names on them. That was the most loving and memorable thing she could have ever done for us on Valentine's Day. No matter how good or bad our day had gone we knew we would have those little cakes waiting for us at home. I loved that.  

Austin and Oliver's Valentine cakes

Austin's cake

Ollie's cake

My little valentine

What a handsome little devil

Visit from the Family!

In mid January my parents and two sisters, Hannah (16) and Hope (10) came out here to freezing cold Michigan for a visit! Although it was only for a few days it was still SOO wonderful! It definitely recharged my battery!

A lot of the time we just hung out in the apartment playing games, making food, watching movies, etc. But, everyday we braved the 0ºF weather and went out for at least a few hours. We visited Detroit and had lunch in Mexican town, we went to one of our favorite parks (Geddes Park) and walked on the icy trails, we shopped a little at the mall and let Ollie play at the children's play area, and we ate at one of my favorite restaurants in Ann Arbor called Jerusalem Garden. 

My favorite was just being together in the apartment. We were all bundled in cozy sweaters and socks and playing tons of fun games together and I even got to have my Daddy's unbakers (no-bake cookies) one night! 

I love my family so much! It was so nice to show them where we live and give them a little taste of Ann Arbor. Seeing them for a few days filled my bucket and will help me get through another 8 or so months until I can see them again.

On a walk at Geddes Park

"Ice Skating" on the frozen river at Geddes Park

Ollie loves Papa and Mimi so much!

Sliding around on the frozen river

We visited a neighborhood in the middle of Detroit that has been turned into an art project called the Heidelberg Project. All the houses in this neighborhood have turned their yards and houses into unique themed art pieces. It was really a crazy experience.

The abandoned Michigan Central Station used to be Detroit's main rail depot. It is so sad to see such a majestic and historic building totally abandoned and unkempt. 

All the windows have been broken and the whole inside is in ruin from all the break-ins. 

My boys. I love them!

Wrestling around with Papa is one of Ollie's favorite things

Austin helping Hannah with her Science homework

Apparently I'm not too big to be leg lifted

Auntie Hope put her foot in the tub, then her legs and then eventually just got all the way in. haha!

Playing games together! Ollie loves Auntie Hannah!