Thank you Santa!

Santa (AKA: My parents) gave us a cruise for Christmas! Jake had never been on a cruise before and so he was excited, and I was extra excited because of his excitement. We scheduled the time off work and were good to go! We left January 17th and drove to SoCal. We met up with Jake's friend B and his girlfriend N for a delicious dinner! There is a BBQ restaurant called Lucille's that Jake loves so we met up there. We were in practice mode for our Cruise because we ate SO. MUCH. FOOD. But it was worth it!

We grabbed some juice boxes for our drive down to SoCal. 

The following day we met up with the family and got aboard the ship! We were expecting long lines at the dock, but the lines were quick. We got aboard and then went promptly to the buffet and ate our guts out! They have a service where you pay $6.00 a day to have all the soda you want instead of paying $2.00 or whatever it is for each drink, so we got that for Jake (and Dad, T, and B) and he was pleased! We played a round of chess (J and I vs. Jake because he is more clever than us, and we still got creamed!) relaxed, and had a delightful dinner! Then Jake and I went up on deck to watch the boat sail off. It was really beautiful and the breeze was so nice!

J and I wandering around and discovering the ship

Playing chess

At the send off

The next day we woke up and were in Catalina Island! It is an island just off of California and it was such a lovely place. We spent the morning driving around in golf carts on a scavenger hunt learning fun and interesting things about the Island. We went back to the boat and swam (there were water slides and hot tubs - the pool was always crowded with little kids so it was hard to get a good swim in). Jake and I each had a book to read for the cruise so we spent some time reading and relaxing each day. That night was formal night and everyone dressed up for dinner and they served fancy foods. It was a lot of fun to see everyone dressed up. After dinner we went to a comedy show and laughed super hard! Also, each night we played games after dinner in the Lido restaurant and had after dinner snacks ;)

The family on Catalina Island

Formal Night

At the comedy show

Dad and I on the ferry to Catalina

Mom and me playing games

Catalina Island from the ship

J, T, and B in their golf cart driving around Catalina

The cruise ship: Carnival Imagination

The next day was Sea day so we spent the day eating brunch, walking around, reading, playing games, relaxing, and napping. There was Harry Potter Trivia, Hasbro Game Show, and other activities to do which were fun. 

B and I on deck relaxing (I was reading and he was watching a movie)

T and I at Harry Potter Trivia 

The last day we woke up in Ensenada Mexico! We had a blast! We drove to La Bufadora which is a blow hole and watched the water. We saw whales too! We went shopping in the flea market and got ourselves a very nice blanket as well as snuggled with a Jaguar! Needless to say when we got back to the ship we were hungry and tired! We ate lunch and then promptly fell asleep! We were woken up by B knocking on our door telling us it was time for dinner.....oops! We jumped out of bed and away we went! One of the funnest parts about a cruise is that someone cleans your room - TWICE - in one day! Once while you are gone at breakfast and once while you are gone at dinner. They make it so nice and tidy and leave treats and fun towel animals. We had the best housekeeper. His name was Arturo and he remembered all of our names and would always ask us about our day. We loved him!

Our little bear towel animal! We also had a bunny and a heart.

B, Jake, me, and J in Ensenada

Zeus the Jaguar. He was just hanging out on the side of the road with his owner and we HAD to take a picture with him. He was so playful - only 20 months old! He started to play bite at my leg, and that made me a little nervous, but it ended out being quite fun!

Us at La Bufadora. We had to hurry and take a picture because it would shoot the water up really high, people next to us were getting soaked!

We had a fabulous time and are so grateful that we were able to spend so much time with our family! Thank you so much Santa Claus! We love you!

Alcatraz

We visited Alcatraz this last weekend. We rode the train down to the city and spent the afternoon there. Neither of us had been to Alcatraz before so we were pretty excited to go. It was very interesting. There was definitely a creepy vibe there, but it was so cool at the same time. We loved reading the histories of people that were inmates there. This week are going to watch the movie, "Escape From Alcatraz" now that we have been there. The views of the city from the island were spectacular. You could see both bridges and all the buildings. We definitely want to go back again and do the audio tour with former inmates narrating. Our favorite part of the tour was looking at the prison cells of the 3 inmates that had escaped through the vents in their rooms. Their vents were very small. IMPOSSIBLE to fit a grown man's body through but they had stolen spoons from the dining hall and had dug their vents out and created holes big enough to fit their bodies through. Those were the only 3 inmates that were not recaptured after escaping. Super intense. It was awesome, and we want to go again!

The City

On the train to San Fransisco

Golden Gate Bridge

Bay Bridge

Me!

Prison cell. Oddly enough, this was roughly the same size as my room in my house growing up! I felt right at home!

Thanksgiving

I know that thanksgiving has been past for quite a while, but life has been crazy! We had a great thanksgiving with my family. They came to California to see us and spend some time here. It was a lot of fun! We played games, watched a movie, went to see thw giant sequioas, and saw BYU play. Not to mention, a delicious thanksgiving dinner with Jake's brother's family. We had a great time. We are grateful for the time of year when we can focus on all our blessings.

It was really fun to go to a BYU game with my family. I got way into the game and Jake wasn't annoyed with all my questions!

I think J had way too much fun at the Calaveras state park. He kept referring to himself as a spider monkey! B had a good time too! 

All my boys! Dad, J, B, and Jake! I am so glad that everyone was able to come and spend time with us for the holidays.

Walking through the streets of Berkeley! J is such a ham!

I love this man! 

Giant Sequoias! 30 ft. In diameter! I wanted to take a picture and Jake said that it had to be with the biggest tree! It was amazing. I love all the intricate details in all of God's creations. 

The City

We had family in town last weekend so we all took a trip to the city! It was such a beautiful day and a fun time to spend with family. We went to Pier 39 and saw the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, the sea lions, the WWII ships, an old fashioned arcade, and Ghirardelli Square. Needless to say, we had a good time.

Our trip started with an accidental, but much welcomed drive through of China town! It was super awesome. There were so many shops compacted into such a small space.

We got to the Pier and got some lunch (Clam Chowder for those who are fans of that and crepes for those who are not! - Let me just say, Jake and I had crepes and were very very pleased! YUM!)

This is L and M. Two of our cute cute nephews. 

They were such troopers going all over the city with us! 

We went to this old fashioned arcade that each game about 25 cents. We had a blast trying the games and finding out our futures from "fortune tellers". 

These pictures are from the ships we were able to get on and look around. It was really awesome to see the living quarters for the crew - the beds were SO tiny and the bunks were so close together. There was a ferry boat too that had old fashioned cars. There was one called "The Woody" that was made of wood. Jake and I laughed thinking about driving that car around now... Not very safe. 

Me and L before we left in the morning. He is such a happy boy!

Alcatraz. Jake and I are planning a trip to tour Alcatraz next month. It should be really cool.

The Golden Gate Bridge.

The Waite brothers. I know this is one of those cheesy pictures, but I am kinda cheesy. I loved watching them together and how they interacted. Brothers are fun. I know that Jake admires and looks up to his brothers so much. I just had to capture this moment.

The sea lions on Pier 39. There was a sign that said the male sea lions can weigh up to 850 lbs. Yikes! The female sea lions weigh around 220 lbs. if I remember correctly. As we walked along the Pier there was a HUGE sea lion laying alone on the boat docks sun bathing. It was really cool. I love that they live in such a populated place.

Funny story:

As we were walking along the street there are all kinds of people selling things, performing, and showing their talents. There is one guy who hides behind this little bush (and by little bush I mean little. It covers barely his face) and "jumps" out at people as they walk by. WELL, as we were walking by - I was oblivious to his whereabouts and looking at the city around me - he jumped out at the little boy next to me. I FREAKED OUT! I screamed and my heart starting pumping so hard. Everyone laughed at me. It was really funny. I am quite jumpy and get scared at basically anything. It was a good time. Next time I will be prepared!

Our last stop of the day was to Ghirardelli Square where we had delicious ice cream. Jake and I shared a cookie sundae. Cookies N' Cream ice cream, hot fudge, and crumbled chocolate chip cookies on top. Y.U.M. Ghirardelli Square was a fun place to go. It is so different from the rest of the city. It reminded me a little of the place my family goes to for Thanksgiving sometimes - kinda artsy and eclectic. 

We had a fun time in the city - unfortunately the fun ended as we left the city, because the card ride home sparked our new adventure: THE FLU. M started throwing up in the car, and within a few hours so were the rest of us. Luckily it was a 24 hour bug and now we are all feeling better.

Till next time San Fransisco.

October's Festivities

So.... this month has been full of ups and downs. There has been a lot going on, and I haven't had time to post. But here we go! Jake and I both had our birthdays. For Jake's birthday we had dinner at his brother's house with some friends. It was a blast! We are grateful that we have great friends! I also made Jake sticky buns (at his request) and snickers cake (his favorite).

For my birthday Jake gave me a shower speaker and so now I can jam in the shower! I LOVE it! We went out to Famous Daves and had some delicious food! I love the grilled pineapple!! Yum yum!

This month we also went to a corn maze for FHE. It was a lot of fun! We got COMPLETELY lost and it was PITCH black, but we wandered around until we found our way out. (Next year we are going to go during the day). We also had a Halloween party with our ward. There was a chili cook off, carnival games, and a trunk-or-treat. We had a fun time! 

The corn maze!!

Me and my good friend M, she looks so good!

A nerd and a black widow! Love him!

Labor Day

We went down to Vegas for the holiday weekend. It was a quick trip, but we had a great time. We live in CA and were definitely going to get caught in the traffic to Vegas with every other Californian so we went up through the Sonora pass. It was BEAUTIFUL! I think Jake said, "wow this beautiful" at least every 5 minutes (he is so adorable!). The drive was a little longer than we expected because the mountain was very steep. We enjoyed our ride down though! These are a few pictures from our drive through the "back streets of CA."

Harley Davidson

Once we got to Vegas we spent time with family and had a great time! We were able to meet up with one of Jake's mission companions and his family. I was nervous because they only spoke Spanish, and I don't speak much... really none at all! But it went a lot better than I thought. I had such a good time and I feel that they became such dear friends so quickly. The language barrier wasn't really a barrier at all. 

We got to spend time with our niece and our nephews while we were there too! We went bowling, played hide and seek, and everyone came over for a big delicious breakfast! We had so much fun. We wished we lived closer to our family so we could see them more often. It was such a fun trip. On our way home we drove through SoCal (Jake wan't thrilled by the idea of driving through the steep mountain again). Can't wait for our next trip!

Jake recently started calling me Kimberlina and then we saw this road sign and thought it was funny!

Please disregard the bug guts on our windshield!