Our October

On October 9th Laylie turned 5! We we went to Disneyland a few days before her birthday where we had the most fantastic time. She felt completely blessed by all the special treatment and was so thrilled her birthday wish had came true - to go to the happiest place on earth. We had the best family day where we were able to ride on tons of rides, meet Tinker-Bell and Mickey Mouse, watch the awesome Disney parade, and enjoy everything that Disneyland has to offer. It was a perfect birthday adventure to spend with our big 5 year old.

On her actual birthday she woke up to a surprise where Jason and I had decorated our home with a "Frozen" theme. She was so happy and couldn't wait to celebrate that evening with my family. We enjoyed the night, eating cupcakes, playing games, and sitting around together loving on Laylie J. We can't believe she is already such a big girl and we are truly so thankful for the little girl she is turning out to be. Our smart, sweet, caring, sensitive, loving, and thoughtful young lady.

Some other fun exciting news: Rael is potty trained folks! It took her one full day to get the concept down and she is now a pro. We are so proud and now have less diapers laying around our home. Way to go Rael!!!!

In mid-October we had so much fun getting into the spirit of Fall and heading to pumpkin patches. We met my whole family at Bates Nut Farm where we mostly sat under some trees because it was 90 degrees outside. We still tried to make the most of the day with the burning hot sun shining down on us as we rode the hay ride and fed some animals. We loved it!

On Halloween it was a little more chilly, so I bundled up my girls and we headed down the street to the local pumpkin patch. We had a great time playing in their bounce houses and taking some pictures with Jesslan and Grandma.

Halloween night we had so much fun! Our little family dressed up as a "Hawaiian Family." Laylie and Rael looked so cute in their hula outfits, and they danced the night away. My family came over for the evening to eat dinner and go trick-or-treating. We had the best time and the greatest part is that everyone dressed up. It was our first Halloween in our new neighborhood and I must say - it was a huge success. Every house was fully decorated and there were people everywhere. It was such a fun and memorable night!

Happy Fall and we hope the Holidays that are coming will be blessed!!

Life during the summer...

Summer time is my favorite season. The warm weather, the delicious fruit, BBQs, play dates outside with friends, pool days, beach days and the greatest adventures always seem to take place during the summer which I just get so happy and thrilled about. 

We have had non-stop fun lately and it's time to remember the good times during our summer.

Laylie had her first dance camp this summer and had a wonderful time learning new techniques and dances. At the end of the week we were able to watch her perform and she did such a fantastic job. She had Boston as a teacher who has been a long-time friend of ours - Boston was our flower girl in our wedding and now she is teaching Laylie wonderful things. 

We went on a super fun week get-away to Palm Desert with our good friends the Williams. We stayed in our annual time-share at the JW Marriott and truly had an awesome week. We spent hours upon hours at the pools, relaxed in our condo, watched movies, laughed a lot and ate delicious food. It was a joyous week!

Special events happened during the summer, like Rael's first haircut, Laylie lost her 1st tooth, and 1st day of Pre-K - and, as always, having a good time outside in our front-yard.  

We had another extremely fun week long vacation to Zion!! We loaded up our car with every piece of camping gear possible, a big cooler of food, our tent, and bikes. After a 9 hour non-stop car ride where the girls did fantastic we arrived at beautiful Zion. We met our life-long friends the Clarks and the Barrons - what an awesome week we had. We went on long hikes, played everyday at the river, went on bike rides, went into town for pizza and ice cream, and stayed up late by the fire with good conversations. There were tears when we had to say goodbye, but we really did make some unforgettable memories in such a glorious place. 

After arriving home from Zion we were on our way to Malibu, CA for my cousin Chapman's wedding. We all dressed up, hung out with tons of family and ran around the beautiful outdoor wedding to see Hannah and Chap make their sweet vows. 

We are looking forward to Fall and Winter and enjoying each day~