Future Mom Getaway

My sister & I are both pregnant together (again!) so we decided it would be perfect timing to have a little getaway with my mom before the babies come. It was so wonderful to be together and relax. We also decided we need to do it every year--although haven't told the hubbies just yet.

We stayed the first night in Portland and enjoyed Voodoo Donuts, yummy food and a visit to my cousin Jess and her family.

I got to see my sweet Allie

5, 7, 9 months (Lots of babies coming!)

Then we were off to the coast (Depoe Bay). It is such a gorgeous drive and having my mom & sister to talk with makes the time fly. We stayed at a place with a view of the ocean and we all loved looking out the window at the crashing waves. The sunsets were especially gorgeous.

We joke that we were on a food tour. We ate SO much and the food was incredible. We also watched 4 movies in 3 days, shopped at the outlets, went to candy stores for fudge, caramel popcorn and rock candy, explored various beaches along the coast and wandered a few nearby towns. It is incredible how much the coast changes in 10 miles.

Heather enjoying her chocolate

The ocean across from our place

 Wandering a totally empty beach hoping the tide wasn't coming in

 My mom & sister

 Sisters looking out at the waves. They were shockingly huge.

 Yeah we hold hands and run from big waves

 And Heather likes to pose

 Lighthouse near Newport, OR

 This beach was made out of smooth black stones and the sound of the wave pulling back was beautiful. We stood here for an hour watching the seals swimming right up next to the shore. They were so cute.

 Nye Beach in Newport at dusk

 Watching for whales--we never saw any. :(

Cannot wait until our next trip together. I love spending time with my family.

Jared did pretty awesome with the kids. I was so impressed. Every time I called he was doing something with them--playing at the park, taking them to lunch at Sweet Tomatoes or playing games. What a great dad! And apparently he wore them out. He kept sending pictures of the kids passed out. Although it was nice to hear how exhausting it is when I got home. :) Yes, yes it is.

January Happenings

January took a bit of getting back into the swing of school, activities and schedules. I would be happy if we didn't have any of those and could just be together all of the time (well with a few little breaks). We've been enjoying some down time. I figure I need to fit it in before all of my attention goes to a new little one in a couple of months.

My sister-in-law Jodie had the girl cousins over for a spa and sleepover night. SO CUTE! She sent the most adorable pictures. Elise is lucky to have this special time with cousins and a special aunt.

For Jared's birthday, I gave him a night at the Magnolia downtown. It was absolutely perfect. We went to dinner and saw a movie on 16th street. It was a warm night so it was an entertaining night of people watching. I sure loved having some time with my sweetie. With the house remodel and moving, we had not had a date night for waaaaay too long. So it was nice to be alone together. And sleeping in, waking up to a snowy day just topped it off.

Oh and I went from this

to this in only TWO weeks.

AAAAAH! Hard to believe I have 10 ½ weeks of growing left (unless this baby follows her siblings and comes 1-3 weeks early). Don't mind the naked belly. My normal shirts just won't stay down anymore...

Ringing in the New Year

We spent the last few days of 2013 in the mountains. I think I got out of my PJs once to go to the store for food and redbox movies. It was fantastic! I read two books in 4 days.

We finally made gingerbread houses since we never got to it before Christmas. They enjoyed it just as much. Cole snuck a LOT of candy.

Jared took Grey skiing and he is doing so great. Tradition: warm up with hot chocolate and fries.

While they were skiing, we were snuggling

We hurried back midday on New Year's Eve to celebrate with some friends in our new ward. It was so cute! We had lots of yummy food and they did a "countdown" and dance party early for the kids so we could go home and put them to bed. I am so glad my kiddos have some friends in the ward.

This year I wrote out three goals to work on throughout the upcoming year with concrete steps to make it happen. I really hope it works! My goals are to increase spirituality, be a more present mom and a more loving wife. I want to keep those three things at the forefront of my thoughts & actions going forward! Jared was happy to hear that I will be tickling his back more often. :)