Family Pictures December 2009

The first photo of the day. Chris would have been happy to stop right after this.

Camilla all grown up!

Luke showing his muscles off.

I love this picture of Lizzie and her daddy.

This is pretty much the attitude for the day. Luke was pretty easy going and happy, Lizzie had exploring to do, and Camilla was all attitude and sassiness.

So, we went and had a little family photo shoot this past Saturday to update our family picture. Our same photographer from January, DK Brittain, did these shots too. She suggested downtown Gilbert for some fun and funky shots. Thanks to Alexa, we pulled some outfits together and she did the kiddos hair and then headed downtown for "the beating." As most of you know, Chris adores being photographed and looks forward to this all year. It started out well enough, but Camilla quickly thought she'd like to turn it into a photo shoot all about her. She had many sassy poses she thought she needed to get in and was a little poutty when she was told to do something else. Lizzie was mesmerized by her new world to explore and was especially interested in all of the water that was around our first location (think splash pad, water falls, etc). She had a mission of her own in mind. Luke was pretty laid back and easy going. After about an hour and a half, she had filled up her memory card with 500 plus photos. Here are just a few of my favorites. She was able to capture a ton of great shots of each of the kiddos. The family ones turned out nicely too.

It's about time

So, it's probably time for a new post, since we have had three birthdays, plus many other happenings since our previous post. I have been overwhelmed with posting, because there is so much to catch up on, but I'll just do a quick highlights post. On April 30, Luke had his 4th Birthday, and is now crusising closer to his 5th. At the beginning of June, Camilla had her kindergarten celebration, finishing out a great year with Mrs. Moore. June and July were filled with lots of traveling, as we headed up to Utah for Spencer and Jen's wedding (we helped set them up), visiting with the Roberts and the Nortons, celebrating our 10th Wedding Anniversary, and then heading up to Northern Idaho for our nephew's baptism. We made it home a few weeks before school started. In the "fall" (late July), Camilla started 1st Grade and Luke started preschool with several buddies. In September, Lizzie turned the big 1! We were lucky to have my mom here to help celebrate, along with other family that is more "local." Also, in September, Chris made it back to Dallas for the big BYU game in the new Texas stadium. We also all journeyed up to UT for the weekend for the BYU vs. FSU game. Chris took Camilla and Luke and endured the beating, with my brother in law, Jon. I got to spend the day with Alli and Lizzie. In October, we got to spend part of fall break in California. We visited Sea World and Legoland and enjoyed some time at the beach. It was a nice getaway. November brought Camilla's 7th birthday and a visit from Chris's parents and sister, Kylee, for Thanksgiving. Now we are only a few weeks from Christmas and looking forward to another break from school. Next post will be about more current times or a catch up of pictures.

They say it's your birthday....

It is our favorite guy's birthday! Happy Birthday Chris/Daddy! We are so glad you are ours.

Chris got to celebrate his birthday early with a trip out East. He and my dad met in SC for a trip to Augusta to watch a Master's practice round. He was invited 9 years ago, but because of a conflict with law school finals, he didn't get to go. I think he had the time of his life enjoying the beautiful course and some of golf's greatest golfers. I hope he will be able to go back again. They also fit in a few rounds of golf, one at a TCP course (Thanks to Danny Heid and his bishop). He also got to visit with our good friends the Heids. Thanks for hosting them for Conference. He was also thoughtful and flew my mom out to spend that time with me and the kiddos. We had a great visit too. (Picture overload from the trip to come soon).

Tonight, we will hit one of Chris's favorites, Cafe Rio and then enjoy some cake and presents at home. Luke is excited to show him the decorations he helped to put up and Camilla has made the sweetest card.

We are so thankful for all Chris does for us. He is such a hard worker and wonderful supporter of our family. Even though he works from home (most days), he is up early working and back at it after the kids are in bed. He spends time with each of the children before bed, playing their favorite songs on the IPOD and singing along. Everyone enjoys his yummy grilling and all of his funny jokes. He is the best dad and husband. Happy Birthday!

Last day in San Diego - Balboa Park

In downtown San Diego, there is a great park, Balboa Park. It is where the San Diego Zoo is located, along with numerous museums and gardens. It is a beautiful place and you could easily spend several days there and not see everything. We decided to go do a little exploring before heading home from San Diego and decided that Balboa Park was the perfect location. We enjoyed a little lunch and some of the gardens. It was a perfect way to spend our last day in San Diego before hitting the road.

Poor Lizzie was always strapped into something. She was a trooper. She was probably the happiest to return home, so she could explore on the floor to hearts content.

They have a rose garden that I am sure is magnificent when in full bloom. There were some blooms, but not a whole lot. I love the smell of fresh roses.

Camilla and Luke posing in the cactus garden.

Chris and Lizzie

An interesting "cactus tree" with a hollowed out trunk.

These flowers were all over in San Diego (especially along the freeways). They must be a good ground cover. Very bright and vibrant.

Lizzie, Camilla, Luke, and Kelly

The architecture of the buildings was beautiful (and Chris's favorite shot--from behind).

Luke and Camilla enjoyed watching the Koi fish.

The botanical garden had a lot of interesting flowers and plants. They had a little "touching garden" where you could have a hands on experience. A lot of herbs to rub your fingers on and smell the plants (spearmint, rosemary, basil, lavender, etc.). The most interesting to me where the leaves of a variety of geraniums. There were apple scented, lemon scented, lime scented, vanilla scented, among others. Who knew? The kids spent quite a bit of time in this part of the garden.

Camilla posing in front of another fountain.

Luke and Camilla loved the "rocky mountains" we drove through. They were interested in the huge rocks.

Luke on the drive home. He finally gave in to his exhaustion.

Camilla was a BIG helper in the car. She helped with both Luke and Lizzie. The last hour of the trip, Lizzie had had enough and Camilla tried everything to help pacify her. She was a great big sister and helper to her mom and dad.

We had a great time in San Diego, but as with any vacation, it was great to get home!

A Visit with Aunt Catherine and Uncle Nick and Camilla loses her first tooth

On Sunday, we drove up to Ramona to visit Chris's Aunt Catherine (Norton) and Uncle Nick. We also visited with Chris's cousin Brady and his family, who live next door. Camilla and Luke made themselves at home and enjoyed playing with Brady's daughter, Jaclynn. Aunt Catherine made us a lovely dinner of chicken, rice, stuffing, and jello. You'll have to ask Chris about his new "favorite" jello salad (I'll give you a hint, it involved lemon jello, some crushed pineapple, cucumbers and a little onion. Apparently, it was one that Grandma Norton used to make, but it wasn't one Chris remembered. Chris requested that Aunt Catherine make it for his dad when he comes to visit in a few weeks.) We had a good visit. Can you believe Uncle Nick will be 96 this summer? Doesn't he look great?
Playing Lincoln Logs

Camilla discovered her first loose tooth a few weeks ago. She has been working on it ever since. She was showing it off at Aunt Catherine's, and Jodi told her that Aunt Catherine had a lot of practice pulling teeth (from all of her years teaching). Aunt Catherine told Camilla she would see if it was ready to come out and pulled it out. Camilla was a little nervous with the blood, but was excited to lose her first tooth. (Luke decided he didn't want to lose any teeth ever).

Camilla showing off her tooth.

Do you see the little gap?

Camilla with Aunt Catherine

Camilla sound asleep, awaiting the tooth fairy. Don't you love the crossed arms? The tooth fairy did find her. She left her a note with $5 (a $2 bill and 3 ones) and a pack of gum. She was thrilled.

Luke tuckered out. He would fall asleep in the car while we were going to get dinner, and then wouldn't want to go to sleep. Luckily, this day, he got his nap in on our way to Ramona in the early afternoon.

Lizzie sleeping in her own bed.

Ferry ride from Coronado Island

We took a ferry ride from Coronado to San Diego Port and then back to San Diego. It was a fun way to see down town San Diego. Coronado is a neat place to visit too. I wish we had more time to explore Coronado. It would have been neat to tour the battleship too. Maybe on our next trip.
The Norton's getting ready for our trip back to Coronado.

Lukey Luke

Millie

Lizzie

There were quite a few sailboats and yachts in the San Diego Bay.

Phil the Sea Lion sunning himself.

A Navy ship that you can tour in the bay.

We pulled in to dock between two cruise ships. They were massive.

People were boarding this cruise ship.

U.S. Coast Guard boat

Naval Security, the Prowler

Spring Break - Phil's BBQ

Chris and I enjoyed the baby back ribs. Yum.

The yummy onion rings, served with ranch dressing.

Camilla and Luke had some boneless chicken. Also very tasty.

Chris enjoying a rib.

Camilla enjoying her lunch.

Luke loving his root beer.

Lizzie trying to get her hands on some BBQ.

If you know Chris, you know he takes his BBQ/meat seriously. He knows what he likes and he can cook it too. We lived in Texas, so we have eaten a lot of BBQ (in too many hole in the wall type of places). One night when we were headed to dinner, we passed Phil's BBQ. Now, most places in this area had an obvious wait outside of their doors, but at Phil's, the line came out the door, down the front of the building, and wrapped clear around the other side of the building. Of course, Chris thought he needed to check them out, so the next day, we ventured there for lunch. Luckily, we arrived when the line was just barely out the door, so our wait wasn't too long.

At Phil's BBQ, you order when you first walk in. They give you a buzzer and you wait to pounce on a table, as you see someone clearing out (much like the Cafe Rio concept). Thankfully, we were able to pounce quickly. Our server, Kenny, was energetic and upbeat and apologizes for not having the table cleaned off quickly enough (we did kick the people out of their booth, what were we expecting?). Our food was done relatively quickly, and was brought out by one of the managers. He saw that the chicken we ordered was for the kids and said that if the BBQ sauce was too hot to let him know and he would bring out another order without the sauce (very accommodating). The sauce was great, so we didn't need him to do that. We were all very happy with our meal (Chris and I enjoyed the baby back ribs and the kiddos had some chicken). Chris declared it about the best barbecue he has had, so that is high praise. Next time, we will likely try something else (the roasted chicken, the brisket sandwich, the pulled pork sandwich, lots of choices). So, if you find yourself in San Diego, we highly recommend Phil's BBQ, and if you find yourself in AZ, I highly recommend Chris's BBQ!