Fun with Grandpa & Grandma

December and Grandma playing together. December is wearing another one of the little outfits that almost-auntie Tarena gave her...a little purple tu-tu!

Every time Mom and I went to the grocery store or Walmart or anything, Mom would get December a bag of "Nee-Nee" (= candy). She'd get M&Ms, and December thought they were the greatest thing ever! Here December has dumped out her bag on Mom's suitcase.

And then she proceded to lay on top of the suitcase and play her own version of bobbing for apples

Mom and Dad on Friday night playing Skip-Bo with us. We like to play that game, and we played alot of it when Mom was out during the wildfires!

Desert Adventures

This adorable picture of Brad and December was actually taken at the Wild Animal Park, not the desert, but it accidentally got in the wrong post. They are looking at a little leopard-type cat that is being shown by its handler.


Here we are on the way east, out to the desert to see what we can see. December fell asleep in her car seat, as she is prone to do on long trips. As we drove through the super-windy mountains, we saw cities that had been ravaged by the wildfires. Much of the area we went through was black from the fires, and everything from the cactus plants to trees to homes were burned. We saw quite a few homes where only the foundations remained...with a motorhome or trailer sitting next to the barren foundation where the people now live. It was incredible to see how much the firefighters saved, though, too -- with the blackened line coming within yards sometimes of the homes and fields.


Here we are eating our picnic lunch in a little park in a little town that came up out of almost nowhere.



December liked playing in the dead leaves. I think she liked how they gave a satisfying crunch when she stepped on them.


This is one of my favorite pictures -- December peeking around the trunk of a tree in the park.


We were all able to get into this picture! Dad used the timer on the camera to get a picture of us in the desert state park.


Brad, December, and I in the middle of all the cactus plants


Hugging a cactus -- always a great idea


Mom and Dad in the desert


Reading the plaques on our nature trail walk.


Mom and Dad came out last week, from Tuesday to yesterday. It was soo wonderful to have them out! I liked how we were able to do alot more this time than the last time Mom was out because of the October wildfires! We did something different every day of the week, and then on Friday night and Saturday was the conference at the seminary. So on Saturday, Mom, December, and I went out shopping while the boys were at the conference. We got to sit in the hot tub at night, play cards, go out to eat, take walks, explore California, and Mom and Dad were able to meet our friends this time because our friends weren't evacuating anywhere! It was tons of fun to have Mom and Dad out.


So having them leave yesterday was really tough. I knew it would be, but still, it's no fun to say goodbye. I tried really hard not to cry all day yesterday and was occasionally successful. Brad had a rough day, too. He got sick, possibly from something he ate...and today I've started to develop his symptoms, too. Ick! December's day yesterday was no better :( She was really clingy and grouchy because she missed Grandpa and Grandma. So we all had a rough day yesterday! But we had such a great time while Mom and Dad were here. Here's a few posts to show you what we did.

Visiting the Wild Animal Park

Dad and I standing by the Wild Animal Park sign




It's funny at how human-like the gorillas act. They chase each other around, tap their temples with their fingers as if they're thinking hard, and look at their nails, like this one is. They are lots of fun to watch!


A female cobra, I believe



A bird of paradise plant...they are all over the place, and they seem to bloom all year around.



December pointing to the elephant during the elephant show


December playing 1-2-3-JUMP! with Grandpa and Daddy. She loves that game!



The lion sitting on top of the car. He's an impressive animal!


Beginning to roar. The lion was roaring much of the time we were in the park. It's pretty cool to listen to it.



Here we are taking the tram around the park as a guide points out different animals and names them.


A giraffe bending down to eat. We saw another giraffe bending down to drink water from the stream...that was fun!


An enormous rhino

The park has a beautiful view.


December riding on Daddy's shoulders. She actually isn't very fond of doing this. She only wanted to do it after she saw another little boy riding on his daddy's shoulders...and even then she was only up there for a couple of minutes.


This is my favorite bird at the Wild Animal Park. It's called a Secretary Bird. He stands about four feet tall. It's such a funny bird! In its area at the park there is also another kind of tall bird, but they don't get along that well. So they fight a bit, which is amusing! When they run around, they open up their wings (their wingspan is six and a half feet) and run like crazy animals.


Dad was feeding the tons of ducks, and December was enjoying helping him.


Isn't this a pretty duck? I don't know its official name, though.


Mom and Dad were very kind and got Brad and I passes for the Wild Animal Park, which includes entrance to the Zoo, as well. So we can go to either zoo whenever we want to! I'm really excited about that. My friends like to go there for walks with their babies, so now I can go freely, too!

Off to the Beach

Last Wednesday we went to La Jolla (pronounced "La Hoya"). Dad said that while they were here, he wanted to go out east to explore deserts, and Mom said she wanted to make sure we went west, to the ocean. So we did both. Brad and I haven't been to La Jolla since summer 2003, so it was fun to see it all again!

Here is Brad pointing out birds on the cliffs to December

One of the cliffs was peppered with pelicans...it was nice that this pelican opened his mouth wide just as I snapped the picture!

Here is everyone overlooking the ocean -- it is really a gorgeous beach to see.

December pointing to a sea-doo riding around in the ocean. I think it was a lifeguarding sea-doo, just doing patrols.

A close-up of December looking at the ocean.

This is part of the view we took in. There were even two people out swimming! But the water's pretty cold at this time of year.

December and I taking a break.

A picture of one of the nicer-looking seagulls we saw. This bird had absolutely no fear of humans. We walked extremely close to him, but he couldn't care less that we were so close.

This seagull, on the contrary, had a good reason to run! December thrilled in chasing the hordes of seagulls around the park. It was pretty cute to watch her tiny legs flailing about as she ran.

We got a pretty good workout that day! We walked a long ways up the beach and back. My calf muscles were sore for the next couple of days.

There are usually at least a few sea lions sunning themselves, but that day there were a TON of them (in varying levels of cuteness). The one on the right of the picture was super cute and active, running around and trying to get the other ones to play with him.

This one was a cute one, too. See his little smile?

I really enjoyed our time at La Jolla. If you come to visit us, we'll have to take you there. It's a great place to go!