in memory of christmas

we both agreed it was the best one of all. is there anything more fun than seeing your two year old open and exclaim over his presents? (he would have been totally happy with his stocking alone. ha!) or the christmas miracle of asher REALLY learning how to sit up and play with his toys and then keep sitting up all day long. or the fun we had having a little party to celebrate Christ's birth? and then there is the fact that we get to just relax and enjoy each other's company all day long with no distractions. ahhhhhh. :)





it was a happy happy holiday and instead of being too sad it's over, which inevitably we are, we are keeping the fun going today. just got back from a perfect beach day and now the boys are bathed and napping. i love the holidays. hope yours was special too!

a-campin we did go

hoomaluhia botanical gardens are GORGEOUS! remember this post where i invited people to come be crazy with us and camp? well, the allreds, millers, and parkers must have been feeling crazy cuz they said they wanted to and i think we all wondered how things would go- and maybe even expected the worst- but things went great!

the kids had so much fun and just ran in circles the whole time. it was really fun for all of us to watch them play and get along so well. it was a really good group/mix/number of people at our perfect site. we ate a lot of junk, which is mandatory when you are camping for some reason.

when we asked ambrose about the whole experience after we were home, showered, and mostly unpacked today he said this: (and in a very serious, and contemplative tone mind you)

"friends, um marsh-yeddows (marshmallows), DUCKS! (i dont have pictures of that so i will steal them when my friends post theirs), camping, sleep mommy daddy asher TENT!!, cook da marsh-yeddows and a stick, PLAY!!!'

that about sums it up really. our small tent was a good size for our snuggly little family and i slept like a log (i think i was just tired, but really it wasnt bad). asher slept really great too. i think he liked the cooler weather- he didnt wake up drenched in sweat once! we had such a great time that we want to do it again and again and again. cant wait.

and finally, the HAIRCUT!

we were in vegas the night before we left, and my sister brittany did this:




isnt he so cute and handsome? he looks all grown up (tear, sniffle) but he is still my baby!

well, this concludes all the vacation pictures! hope you enjoyed looking through at least some of them.

WE HAD THE BEST TIME! it wasnt always action packed and i think that was definitely a good thing. i already miss all the extra adults around to help me manage my children, but i think it is definitely time for me to get myself together and figure it all out.

thank you family for having us, driving to see us, feeding us and making us feel so loved! it is really something to feel so secure and happy with the ones you love.

venice beach lives on

my dad is cool. he has always taken us to santa monica beach, urban outfitters on 3rd street promenade, and VENICE BEACH. if you have never been then you have to go. it is a stretch of crazy all along the coast and i love it. random shops, fortune tellers, vendors, hippie handcrafts galore and other odds 'n ends that you would never need. there is a lot of art, henna, rasta paraphernalia, and much much more. it is one of the best things about my childhood/teenage years. i love it.

it is decidedly less fun with a two year old who doesnt cherish hippie handcrafts as much as his mom and an infant who just wants to nurse all the time.... but it was worth the hassle, i assure you.

after everyone indulged me with a nice long walk at venice beach, looking for the perfect long sundress to replace my old one that was stolen by a roommate back in the day (we never found one)- we headed to IKEA!!!! (aka- heaven) and parked in the family parking and my mom held asher, thomas stayed with napping ambrose in the car and me and my dad had a GRAND OLD TIME whisking around the store- finding a perfect stash of things for the boys new room. it was AWESOME!