My mommy came!

My mom came down to visit us this weekend!! I can't tell you how excited I was.  I see her on average every two months or so, but mostly as a result of our trips up North.  It was fun to have her on our turf  (seeing Seth in his natural habitat:).  One of the days she was here we went to Disneyland!

Seth was hilarious!!!  He has always been an OPINIONATED baby.  This was clearly manifested at Disneyland.  We took him on the Carousel and he loved it.  He looked so serious  as he concentrated holding the pole.  He actually tried not to smile.  We could see him holding it back.  Mid-ride he couldn't hold it back anymore and he smiled and waved as we circled.  When the ride stopped, the water-works started.   He cried as we dismounted the horses and waved bye-bye. 

BEFORE/DURING the ride

AFTER...time to get off!

 

Our next stop was the Dumbo ride--his FAVORITE.  You may think I am silly, stating that my 12 month old has a favorite, but trust me,  HE DOES have a clear front runner when it comes to rides.  We waited in line and Seth pointed at the Dumbo's as they went around.  When it was his turn, he rode with Brandon and my  mom and I rode in front.  BLISS is the only way to describe the facial expression.  Once it became clear that the ride was over, his heart broke and he cried so hard (we cracked up watching him). 

 HERE IS HIS PROGRESSION

Waiting...

Almost there...

woo hoo

complete bliss...

he can't even contain it...

slowing...

slowing...

NO!!!  It's over!

Nana showing Seth the water (he has an obsession with pointing out water and lights these days)

watching the parade

Bubbly

This Saturday we had a fun adventure.  We have been wanting to go to a store out in Eagle Rock that is known for selling all types of Soda, Galcos.  After putting it off for a long time, we finally got around to it.  Chad and Brittany met us there and we spent a small fortune on a ton of sodas.  I think that between the two families we had about 35 different sodas.  Later that evening (after a failed bonfire attempt...all the pits were full) we had dinner over here and had a taste testing of all our exotic sodas.  There was no way our poor stomachs could handle so many at once, so we limited that night just the root beer variety.  We had about 13 different root beers and tried to determine the best.  

Here is about 1/2 our our purchase!

FYI our unanimous favorite picks were Sprechers (I'm guessing German?) and Berghoffs for the creaminess.  Both used pure cane sugar and some honey.  Maybe that is the secret.  

Least favorites were: Virgils (it tasted to much like licorice) and Route 66 (for lack of carbonation and flavor)

To be fair we still have about 4 Root Beers we did not get to.  Another night we will crack open some more of our crazy soda such as:  a lavender soda, boysenberry soda, Ginger Beer, and Moxie (whatever that is?).    Fun stuff!

Halloween

For halloween this year I thought it would be fun to dress Seth as a monkey. It fits his personality and his favorite stuffed animal at the moment is his monkey from Disneyland. He was so cute in his outfit. Brandon and I were zoo keepers. We attended our ward's Trunk or Treat where my chili won fan favorite. MY CHILI...Can you believe it! I was stoked. The winners in every category happened to live here in our apts. Go Girls!!! On halloween night we went over to our friends house where we had a BBQ (can you tell we live in SoCal). We all had a great time. Thanks Nebekers!

Dada and the baby monkey!

Costume Parade

Mommy and Seth...isn't he too cute in his costume.

Our Family...a zoo!

After it got hot, Seth ditched the costume and played with the toy shopping cart!

The Boys

The Girls

A monkey and a pig

End of the night kid shot  (seth has had it...they are all so tired)

OvErLoAd!!!

Forgive me for overloading you with pictures but a first birthday is really important (to a mom, not the baby:)  Seth's first birthday is this Wednesday but Brandon will be in Florida all week so we decided to do it this Saturday.  We had it at Fox Hills Park with an animal theme.  Our friend's little girl was born a few days before Seth so we did it jointly.  How fun is that!  Seth and Eve may have been timid about their cakes at first, but once they tasted it they dug into their cakes with gusto.  We had a great time.  Enjoy the barrage!  

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Pumpkin Patch

For FHE we decided to check out what LA had to offer by way of Pumpkin Patches.  Let me tell you, West Hollywood can do patches like the rest of them:)  So it may have been in the middle of the big city, and pumpkins way overpriced, but it sure was fun.   There were even BLUE pumpkins (some silly people call them GREEN, but they for sure are blue).

See...they're blue

Look at that silly face:)

Here is a close up

Look at those cute friends!

He chose a pretty cute one!

Prop 8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_Hmdcy_lvQ

I love the end of this youtube video when it says that this is one of the most important decisions that California will make in a generation. How powerful is that statement? Don't you want to be a part of that decision? Remember to make sure you are registered to vote (last day to register is Oct. 20) and Vote Nov. 4th

Here is a link to download the reg. form if you have not yet done so.

Mom

My mom's birthday was yesterday and being so far away made it hard to really let her know how special she is to our family.   All of us kids call her almost daily.  Yes, this woman is ALWAYS on the phone.   She has always been the "do it all" woman.  Last Christmas I called her to see what she was up to and she replied "I am putting up the christmas lights and have to hurry because it is starting to rain, I'll call you back."  CRAZY, but very telling of her personality.  I could just picture her standing on ladder in a near drizzle, answering her phone.   One of her greatest examples to me of what a mother should be is my senior year of high school I needed (rather, wanted) another pair of shoes.  She took me to the mall and we spent hours shopping around...I am very picky.  I finally found a pair of dr martens (that is dating me I'm sure) that were pretty expensive.  I have a vivid memory of trying on this nice new pair of leather shoes while she stood watching me try them on (this may have been my 10th pair).  She told me that they looked good.  I remember looking over as I was unbuckling my shoes and seeing her standing there in a pair of well worn tennis shoes that had a really large hole in the side.  She obviously had no thought of buying some for herself even though I had dragged her to half a dozen shoe stores.  She hadn't picked up a single pair to try on herself.  She was only there for me, even though she needed a pair of shoes way more than I did, for sure.  I have so many memories just like this.  She is the kind of mother I want to be and I am thankful for her lessons taught through example.  Love you mom!  Happy Birthday...