A Time of Thanks...

Thanksgiving...a time of thanks and spending time with your family, big or small!! We had the privilege to spend 10 days in California with Jason's whole family during this holiday. It was exciting to see everyone and getting Kyler together with his cousin's. I'm grateful and full of thanks for such an amazing family Jason has and the memories we get to share with them, so thank you Grammy and Grandpa and all our Aunts, Uncles and cousin's for such an enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday!

November 21st- 5:00am Friday morning we left for the airport! Kyler was a trooper in the morning, but had a rough last leg of the trip into Fresno! Can't blame him- it was a long day:)

But, getting to Grandpa and Grammy's to play in all the leaves made everything better!On Sunday, after we got Kyler a little warmed up to his Grandpa Rex and Grammy, we snuck away during his afternoon nap after church for a quick vacation up the coast!

First stop... Carmel and Monterey! This was one of the stops on 17 Mile Drive. It was so windy and cold, but this is the only picture we got of the both of us...Dorks:)

We stayed in Monterey at this hotel. (Our room was the one with the door open!)

We were right next to Bubba Gumps and here is the one and only "Forest Gump":) This picture is funny in so many ways, but the one I will share is because of Jason's military haircut!

Before our trip, he went to an older Sports Clips he hadn't been to in a while and on file, some how, they had he got a 1 on the sides. So, when his hairdresser came back and asked him if it was a 1 he usually gets, he said yes- thinking the stages of clippers counted by the quarter inch.

Well... to his surprise, they count 1, 2, 3, 4 and he should have had a 4, but it was too late after she made the first cut. When he figured it out, he asked her to blend it out longer, and instead she blended it all the way up to the top. So, as you can see, he got the military crew cut! I was cracking up at how funny he looked because he has never had his hair that short!!

Monday- after a filling breakfast and a little shopping on Cannery Row, we headed to San Francisco where the rest of our vacation would be!

Driving up the PCH 1 right along the coast. It was a beautiful drive!

We didn't waste any time, because we heard it was going to get rainy the next couple of days, so we headed straight for Fisherman's Wharf!

Alcatraz Island in the Background

Riding the cable cars was quite the experience. They were scary at some points going down the steep hills in San Francisco- enough to where I dropped a shopping bag with a picture frame we had just bought. Needless to say, those things stop for nothing, so hopefully one of the million homeless people we saw picked it up and sold if for a little cash!

Tuesday- This was our first full day in San Francisco. We had a 2 hour tour of the city planned and a tour of Alcatraz Island later on, so we hoped on the cable cars again that morning and headed out for the whole day!

The tour we took was in these old fashioned cars that took you all over San Francisco.

The "Crookedest" street in the world! (at the very top of the hill)

It amazed me from the beginning how crammed in the houses are on each block! People are just living on top of each other and it feels a little claustrophobic. This house was so adorable but a prime example of what you saw all over San Francisco streets!

Mrs. Doubtfire's home- the one used in the movie!

The Golden Gate Bridge

Last stop on the tour, Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory and hot coco to go!

We then had yummy sourdough bread bowls with soup on the wharf and headed for our tour of Alcatraz.

One of the many prison cells we saw!

Standing on the island, this is SF in the background! It was a huge punishment for the prisoners to hear the laughter and sounds of the city, especially on New Years, while trapped in their cells. It was an interesting tour!

Jason works for Matson Integrated Logistics and SF is one of their huge freight ports for his company. So, it was neat to see his freight boxes piled on these tankers out at sea and even the 18 wheelers driving all over SF roads!

Wednesday- we came home just in time because the rain had started coming down just as we left SF that morning! We were anxious at that time to get home to our little boy and family that had arrived in from Utah! But, the trip was a ton of fun and much needed!

Obviously we had no worries, as we came home to Kyler already well adjusted to his grandparents and cousins that came all the way from Utah! Here is Kyler pushing Sarah in the car! They are 2 months apart!

Thursday- "TURKEY DAY" Sorry, no pictures of that day, but lots of yummy food and desserts! A complete day of eating and relaxing!

Friday- we had breakfast with one of Jason's Uncles and his family!

Later that night, we had an early Christmas with Jason's side of the family! Kyler has become a pro at opening gifts now! No help needed from mommy anymore:(

Thank you Grandpa and Grammy for my first "Build a Bear" Moose:)

Kyler is in his new PJ's from Grammy that say "Having a Melt Down" and boy did we have plenty of those on our trip! But sadly, I discovered Kyler's 4th, and last for now, molar had poked through his gum the day we were home from California, so it explained a lot!!

Kyler and his cousin Sarah both got musical drum sets from their Aunt Lynnsey and Uncle Tyler and they had a blast banging on them!

Saturday- our last day with our cousins before they left! We were trying so hard to get Kyler and Sarah to kiss, but she kept going in for the kill and Kyler just ignored her! Finally, Kyler put the toy down he was playing with and realized what we were telling him to do then there was no stopping him! This was the best shot I could get, but Sarah also has her arm around him on the other side!

Grammy was determined to have a picture with all her grand kids before they left the next day! They did so good sitting there, but what you don't see is the 9 other people (adults) jumping around, clapping, and saying silly things in the background to make them smile! That would have made a great picture!!

Tickle wars with Aunt Kali!

The guys were all glued to a football game on TV and the girls wanted to get out for a little bit, so we all went to a local ice cream shop to chat while the guys watched the kiddos! But we couldn't resist bringing the little ones home a yummy gingerbread cookie from the bakery!

Kyler doesn't look too thrilled, but it was because he was concentrating so hard on eating the icing off the cookie, that he did not want to look up at the camera! So this is a "hurry and take your picture mom so I can get back to my cookie" shot:)

Micah and Eliza

Sunday- our last day to hang out with family before our journey home! We just enjoyed each others company and I did all the packing and laundry so it was ready to go for the next day!

Giddy up daddy!!

Uncle Tyler was sneaky with the whipped cream bottle and I know this wasn't the first time my child had it squirted in his mouth, but I managed to capture it on film! Kyler does his, what we call, "happy feet" dance after his Uncle Tyler spoils him with the good stuff!!


We love you all and already miss you tons! Thanks for a great trip!