Holiday Projects

I somehow found the "crafty" bone in my body this year. I made a few things for friends and family for the holidays.

For my mom, a few people in our church ward, and a friend, I made these table runners.Our theme for the family gift exchange this year was favorites. I took it as my favorite Christmas present, which happens to be PJs. I'm just glad that none of these turned out too small!My Aunt gets new jammies every year, so I made some matching ones for her Bunny.

I made Chloe her Abby Cadabby blanket, which was probably the easiest thing I did, just adding an edge around a piece of fleece.

I also made a family name plaque, a crib sheet, and some stockings that I forgot to take pictures of. Either way, you can see where my argument for being "busy" versus Jared's claim of me being "lazy" came from now.

California Musts

November 28, 2009
There are a few things that have become traditions when we make our way to California. I love going to the beach. Jared is not much of a fan, but he'll humor me each time. My family told us last year of a place in Pacifica and it has quickly become one of our favorites. We also find ourselves eating at Stack's Restaurant (a diner that serves good pancakes) as a sort of "goodbye" each visit. We were glad to have the time with my family. Chloe wasn't liking the 15 minute wait, and decided to seat herself at an empty table near the entrance.The only "must" we missed out on this trip was the Little Store. There is always a next time though, right?

Thanksgiving

November 26, 2009
It was nice to have a change of scenery for the holidays, but we were still grateful to be around family. We had a lovely Thanksgiving table for 5. My Aunt Julie and I prepared the entire feast. Since it was our first time ever cooking a Thanksgiving meal, we took baby steps with the turkey, and roasted a turkey breast instead of a whole bird. It ended up looking like it came right out of a magazine and it was SO juicy. I doubt that I could ever duplicate how well it went. We'll chalk it up to beginner's luck.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium

November 24, 2009
After spending some time with our friends, we drove north to visit my family in the Bay Area. Because Jared had never been before, we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Chloe enjoyed the play and hands-on exhibits and we all loved the seahorses and jellyfish.

Hollywood

November 22, 2009
We didn't realize at first that our hotel was only about 15 minutes away from Hollywood. So when we found that out, we made a little trip down there to see the "stars." Jared and I aren't celebrity stalkers, so we had no need to take a tour of their neighborhoods, etc. We just went up and down the walk of fame, took a very long, back-roads way to the Hollywood sign, and sat down for some gelato.

In front of the Chinese Theater Kevin Spacey's star. He's one of our faves. Chloe was excited to see so many flavors. She even let me have a little bit of mine.

Strange Views

So one of our favorite parts of our visit with Taylor and Sara was on the night we arrived. We went out to a restaurant with them in a shopping area very similar to Salt Lake's Gateway. We were just walking around after our meal and we decided to take a picture in front of the very large Christmas tree that was set up in the center. We asked a young girl if she wouldn't mind taking the photo, so that all of us could be in it. She instructed us to smile, just as she tilted the camera slightly askew and snapped a diagonal photo. We all had no idea why she would have done that, until I got the picture printed out. Ends up she squeezed every bit of our group and as much of the tree in the shot as she could.
We did not end up with a traditional shot, but rather a memorable one.

California Trip

November 20-23, 2009
Late November we decided to do what any person living in snowy conditions might. We made a trek to warmer weather. We had the opportunity to drive out to California to visit some friends and family. We saw our good friends Taylor and Sara, who we have missed ever since they moved out to the Burbank area for his animation internship. We went with them to Disneyland. Chloe was in awe in the Small World ride, but soon after knocked out and missed most of the adventure. Even so, we had a great time.