southern california vacation

so i got back from my 7 day vacation with my boy & girl - mitch & payton. we stayed at mitch's sisters house with her family . they are so wonderful and welcoming! i really loved it. we went to the beach, universal studios, disneyland and did so many other fun things. it was such a sweet fun filled vacation and i am so happy. i love my little family so much ! here are some photos from the trip ...

first day at the beach

mitch & i's date day - went to olvera street

roller blading champions ....

we went to universal studios too

super cheesey photo of us in front of the universal studios globe

payton & i laughing because we were tickling

disneyland ! she was tired at first... so no smiles.

but once we got into the park she was so excited !

her "1st visit" pin !

(that i had to wear all day because she didn't like how big it was)

she loved meeting minnie

& ariel of course

pay , dad & cheshire cat

she loved her cotton candy ...

and we shared ! perfect way to end the disneyland experience !

but now that i'm back here in northern california, my body is sore, my back hurts, my mind is restless and i miss the guts outta payton & mitch ! its sad. can't wait to go back to utah... *sigh*

california

so i touched down in sunny california last saturday . it was about 60 degrees. and it was confusing because.. its january. blue clear skies and rays of sunshine? the family working in the garden? people in shorts? flip flops? t-shirts? where are the boots, jackets and jeans? yeah california is WEIRD!

i just miss mitch & payton. in the spring i want to bring them here. they'd love love love it. its so free and open here . hills and forests. secret areas and good eats. its just nice. i need to discover utah more and uncover the cool parts and the good eats and the free areas. i just get so lost there still... haha .

so ive just been takin it easy while bein here. nothing fancy. just catching up on my sleep, saw a couple good pals. loungin around this house. and snuggling my cat anouk .. who loves me still so much. we love each other. anouk sel dean. shes chasing a ping pong ball right now and i just took a picture of her 'stalking it' .. check it out :

i havent taken any pictures really since ive been here. i took some pictures of the cats. cause im a cat lady. today im hanging out with audra and jackie and we are gonna take pictures then. it'll be fun. i think we are going to coloma to explore.

not gonna lie.. i can't wait to back to utah to my little family and sleep in my own bed and hug my mitch. even tho utah isnt so pretty right now its still gonna be soo good to be back. well. see ya/.

snow

last night we had a craazzzzyyy wind & rain storm. i thought the house was going to blow away. the rain was pelting the house so hard & the wind was sending ripples and waves across the pavement. so this morning upon waking .. we look outside and there is snow on the mountains... oh boy... freezing. i need more clothes for this kind of weather. brrrr.

view from our front porch

day dream ...

i want a stone path leading up to my front door. with glitter, sea shells & special rocks scattered around. i want old rusty objects placed in my garden for the plants to grow up & around them. i want wind chimes made of wood hanging from low branches. i want a bird bath. i want stumps for benches. i want my front door to be painted red. i want bird feeders hanging above the railings outside of a big window so we can watch the birds together & try to name them.

i want a big cozy couch with colorful pillows & blankets along the back. i want curtains that i created hanging in our big clear windows. i want pictures of our family in various types of frames all over the wall of our stair case. i want objects that represent us placed on small shelves amongst the pictures of our family, so that it tells a story. i want a room filled with book shelves for all our books to live. all mixed together on different shelves, with no order to them - but we'll know exactly where each book lives.

i want ivy growing up the sides of the house. & a big sunflower garden, right next to the pumpkins & vegetables. i want an herb garden outside the kitchen door. so we can pick what we need for the dinners we eat at our kitchen table. i want a big window in front of our bed. so when we wake up we can see a new piece of art everyday. i want a toy room. for the kids to imagine their days away. with wonders and surprises everywhere they look. i want an art studio, for us to get creative and have fun trying new things. i want chickens to give us fresh eggs, but far back in the yard so they don't wake us up - but can still keep us company when we let them out to roam. i want a small pond. for the frogs to put on their nightly symphony. i want a lot of trees, but not too much. because one of our favorites things to do is watch the stars put on their show.

a hammock or two. a swinging love seat. a tire swing & a wooden swing. a tree house. a picnic bench to eat outside on when the weather is ideal. a shed full of our tools & our bikes. a river near by for him to go fishing. the ocean not to far away for us to take beach trips. the mountains real close for hikes & camping. a lake for kayaking and floating. a back deck that has the most spectacular view. just might be the most favorite place to be in the whole house.

a big round bath with steps leading up to it, with jets of course. plants on the edges. stained glass window customized. swirly handmade brass decorations hanging from the ceiling with glass bits and marbles & feathers to catch the light and wind to relax the mind and catch the eye. a family room. with cozy chairs & couches & pillows. somewhere we can all relax together. even tho we can relax together in any room in any place. painted walls. earth colors. different in each room. everything is tied together & makes sense. because we made it and built it together. we love it all and its all us. its just enough. not too much, not to little. just right. we easily maintain it. we enjoy it. its all that is love.

story that makes me cry every time

i am highly addicted to stephens gourmet hot cocoa. i have it every morning & every night, as long as my schedule permits it. who knows if its healthy or not... all i know is its delicious. this is not the story that makes me cry.

this is the story. it starts with my dad being away in europe for about 3 weeks. and my brother being in Afghanistan for quite some time. well, my brother came home last week and hes staying until the 26th. my dad just got home on monday night, and no one had told him that my brother was home. so it was a surprise. my dad walks in the door & hugs miranda, my sister, and sees people on the back porch. (my brother & two friends) he registers after a minute that its my brother. he goes "zachary?" in his sweet little french accent (i can just picture this all in my head) and his eyes start to water. he stands in the entry way with his hands over his eyes then walks forward and he stumbles over his luggage and goes out onto the back porch and hugs my brother zac and cries openly in front of everyone because hes so happy & excited to have him home. i'm crying again right now. i don't know what it is about this story that hits a string in my heart but it does every time. and i cry because i'm happy and loved not because i'm sad. i just love my family so much & i love how we all love each other.
my sister called me that night it happened to tell me and she was laughing lightly at it and when she heard from my end of the phone she said "are you crying?" and i said yes then she started to cry too. then my mom called me this morning and i told her i cried when miranda told me the story and so my mom told me the story in more detail & i cried again and then it made her cry and oh man. i'm just glad i'm seeing them all next week or else i'd be a mess.


well. i should go to sleep now. how the heck is it 1 in the morning? am i crazy?

i have 8 horrible mosquito bites

the worst one is on my foot. its swollen & itches like crazy no matter how much anti-itch cream i cake on it. which foot could it be... hmm...

i leave for california tonight at 4AM .

here some photos from my, easton & eli's little hike up the canyon -

"ah ah ah ah ah ... cookIE" - eli