fancy dresses

bubbly drinks

we partied all night long

We’ll try not to let Esther have too much this year.

New Years Day 2007

Daddy got the cable we needed for the kids’ V-Motion video game hooked up this morning.  The kids are so glad!

(post title written by Esther)

We had a good time at our Ward Christmas party.  Esther & Jared were so excited when Santa came out!  They’ve been asking for weeks when they were going to get to talk to Santa this year. 

This is the first year that I didn’t have a kid crying because they were afraid of Santa.  It was so nice!  They waited in line eagerly, then happily climbed in his lap.   They talked for a few minutes (I think they both asked for teddy bears- Jared wanted a blue one) and got treats from Santa. 

Afterward, they kept saying that it was the REAL Santa.  They’ve seen some not-so-real-looking ones on TV and at stores.  Just look at him!  I believe it was the real one, too. 

It was magical.

My big brother and his wife walk across the Cal Poly stage today.

I wish I could be there to cheer for them.  It is so exciting and I am very proud of their hard work.

Congrats Grads!

I learned about SwagBucks from my friend Rachel.  This is pretty cool.  Its one of those search engines that reward/pay you to use them. 

My mom got us all using Blingo a while ago. (Ever heard of it?)  If you searched with them, you could randomly win prizes.  I searched.  I never won anything.  I know it wasn’t a hoax or anything because my mom won stuff (movie tickets, even cash, I think).  But I’m not the type to win stuff.  So, Blingo didn’t work out for me.

What I like about SwagBucks is that if you search, you will earn their bucks.  I’ve been doing this for about a month now and I already have over 40 swagbucks.  40 was my goal because you can trade 40 points in for a $25 restaurant.com gift certificate.  Rachel’s favorite prize is 45 points for a $5 amazon.com gift certificate.  There are different options.  Anyway, now that I’m feeling sick all the time, I don’t think I should go to any restaurants.  I think I’ll just save up my points and eat out a lot during my 2nd trimester. 

There are other ways to earn points, but so far I’ve just been using the search engine.  Almost everyday, I check the same handfull of blogs/websites.  Now, I type the name into swagbucks to search for it instead of using my Favorites.  Anyway, pretty easy way to pay for date night once a month. 

Use the link above, or this one here, to sign up.  (I’ll get free swagbucks if you do.  hee hee)

In October, we had such a nice trip to Apple Hill! 

#1 High Hill Farms

We started at High Hill (the crowd confirms that everyone does).  Only because sometimes you can watch them making cider through a window, they give free samples, and I knew we could buy a a gallon of cider to take home. 

At the Fudge Shop, we shared a caramel apple.  I had never had a real one.  Real, like made from a fresh apple and homemade caramel candy.  It was delicious!!

#20 Apple Ridge Ranch

Our next stop was Apple Ridge Ranch, for dinner.  We’d never been to this farm before, and I wanted to make sure to go to some new ones.  We were not disappointed!

We started by having some BBQ tri-tip sandwiches.  The meat itself was really mild, but you add as much of their homemade BBQ sauce as you want.  It was really good!  I liked being able to make it just the way I like it.  Tom & I should have shared a plate.

They have  an old tractor there the kids played around on.

Apple Ridge Ranch also has a “petting farm” with the cutest sheep and goats ever!  They were so sweet!  That’s where we found out that sheep and goats really like Tom. 

After a short nature walk, we went to our next stop.

#38 Abel’s Apple Acres

This place is famous for their Apple Doughnuts.  After reading about them, I knew I’d be skipping the apple pie to try them.  They are the greatest!  Warm & soft on the inside, crunchy with cinnamon-sugar coating on the outside.  To die for!  (Posting this is really making me hungry- which means a lot since I’ve been queasy lately.  I think we’ll have to make a trip back before they close on Christmas Eve.)

We ate them on these cute rustic swings that line the deck.

The kids love photo cut-outs!  They spent a while running back and forth between these.

Lots of good food & family fun at Apple Hill.  Can’t wait til we go back!

We’re expecting #3 the end of July!

While I was “out”, my baby turned four! 

He wanted Chick-fil-A for lunch.  My kids love that place.  They think the cows are funny.

Next, we took him to Build-A-Bear-Workshop.  It was his first time.  Magic!  (That place is really very cool.)

He named his bear “Bear”.

Finally, we went to the theaters to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.  We all thought it was fun & silly.

Its hard to believe he’s already four.  He’s growing up so fast.  He’ll start school next year.

I love that kid.