California Vacay - July 2015

July 3rd, we started our long-awaited trip to California with the Sherwood family. It was the start of the best week! I took this picture of Lance, Suzanne, and Abby snoozing in the car. We started the day really early :) Noah rode in Poppy & Grandma's truck with Ellie and Roxy, and the girls didn't come on this trip with us.

Abby was prepared with her sunglasses for a week in the sun...

... and so excited to hit the beach when we got to Newport!

It was fun to be there on the 4th of July. There were TONS of people on the beach, and also tons of people circling the streets on their bikes or just walking... as if they were in a parade or something. We had fun on the beach that day, and just as much fun people watching from the porch and balcony of the beach house! That night we watched fireworks from the sand.

The next day (Sunday), we hung out around the beach house, took a bike ride down to the pier, and prepared for our variety show that night. There were some great performances at the 3rd Annual Sherwood Family variety show!

1st, Brad performed magic tricks for the kids

Next up, the Gibbons family (and Jax's friends Carson & Hayden) performed their "family fued" skit. The Gibbons played the MERCER family, that's right... Roy D. Sharon Jean, Raymond, and Lateesha. This was so unexpected and hilarious!

We also got to watch a video performance of Riggs. We missed his personality on this trip and especially on the night of our variety show!

Our family performed a skit, imitating the "thrilla killa clowns" from Saturday Night Live, who on SNL are imitating the Insane Clown Posse. We sang the song "Magical Mysteries"...

The Cummards did "EW!!" from Jimmy Fallon. It was the bomb! They also video-taped a music video to the EW song and shared it with us that night. SO funny!

 Sara, Mir-i-am, and step-dad Gary

The Baldwins pulled out another surprise with the "Dope Zebra" performance. Our kids (especially the babies) love to watch this zebra dancing online. It's a regular on Grandma's ipad. I'm not sure how it was found in the first place, but we figured out that it was a dance used for a CHUCK TESTA commercial. (Chuck Testa is a taxidermist.) There were so many awesome parts to the Baldwins' performance, including Davis in zebra dance shorts, Scott dancing in a zebra costume, and Davis being scared of his parents in the costume!

Lucy did a solo dance and it's obvious that she was made for the stage. She LOVES performing and is so good at it!

Ellie, Roxy, and Lucy all did a dance together as well...

Danielle put on her Tayler Trojans cheer uniform and performed a few cheers that she personalized for our family... including a cheer for Bryan, the 5-minute & 12 second mile runner / hall-of-famer, as well as a rivalry cheer for those of us that went to Brimhall Jr. High: "bobcats for breakfast, bobcats for lunch, bobcats for dinner... crunch crunch crunch"! She was so cute.

Next up was the sisters number. We did "Wannabe" from the spice girls. Auburn was SPORTY, Suzanne BABY, Danielle GINGER, Alisse SCARY, and I was POSH.

The closing number came from Poppy and Grandma, aka Sonny & Cher! They danced to "shake your booty" and invited everyone to get up and dance with them. It was a great night and another great variety show!

Monday, we went to Knotts Berry Farm. We were all split up for most of the day but had an easy time finding each other throughout the day, thanks to our matching shirts! Abby even got to do a few baby/kid rides and was scared for the most part. Russ and Noah participated in a basketball shoot-off challenge. We had dinner at Mrs. Knotts' and finished off the night with some awesome roller coaster action!

 

Russ and Abby ended the day on the "baby train" and took some selfies!

The rest of our week was spent hanging out on the beach, bike riding, eating lots of donuts & other food we love in California, and just enjoying being with our family. Noah had a blast sharing a room and doing everything with Jax and his friends. They walked to circle K multiple times a day to get themselves drinks and snacks. Abby loved playing with the other girls and bossing Davis around. Russ and I loved being together, away from work and home. I also loved being with my mom and sisters for an entire week. The weather was perfect and we loved the house that we stayed in. This vacation was seriously so perfect! These are some pictures we took throughout the week, in random order...

Alisse took some cute pictures of Abby while we were at the beach, to document her cute (and sassy) 2-year-old self!

Our last few nights on vacation were spent eating dinner at Stacked with our whole group, and going to Balboa the very last night for dessert...

This is a picture of Abby on the way home. When we were almost home, she kept saying "go back to the beach house". I felt the same way! One week wasn't quite long enough. Thank you to my mom & dad (Grandma & Poppy) for providing the best vacation for us! It was one of the best ever!

June 2015

June 1st, Abby started her two weeks of swimming lessons with Jessalyn. She was the crier of her group! It was nice to go to swimming lessons first thing every morning, because that meant dad could be there before going to work!

Abby loves her "panda boo"s

I had to snap a picture of Abby reading a book to her baby doll!

I took Noah and Abby to dinner and shopping at the mall one night when Russ was out of town. We rode the carousel while we were there, and Abby chose the bunny like she always does!

Abby was cracking me up when she saw these mannequins. There was an adult woman, and adult man, and then the little girl as seen in this picture. She stopped and looked at the mannequins then said "mommy daddy abby". Then she started talking to the little girl mannequin!

Another funny thing that Abby did that night at the mall: when we were passing by the escalator, she said to me "mommy, crocodile up and down, ok?" I think that she thinks and escalator is called an alligator, and her smart little brain associated crocodiles with alligators.

Abby is growing up before my eyes (insert sad face). She put her baby doll in the bumbo and then got a brush and the spray bottle. She mimicks everything I do, because I always sit her in the bumbo to do her hair, and I almost always use the spray bottle too.

Cute girl after nursery (which she LOVES).

One of the perks of Abby's swim lessons: she was WORN OUT every day. She took some great naps on the days that she woke up early and went to her lessons.

Abby went through a week or two where all she wanted to wear on her feet were these boots! I thought this picture defined her life so well... she had her favorite book, her baby and bottle, her boots, and her binky.which she can't live without.

By the end of the two weeks when Abby did swim lessons, she was doing much better. Still not loving it though!

She loved getting her licorice treat at the end of each day and then became so cool when talking about the lesson she had just cried through! haha

This cool cat loves her pockets!

Grandpa Price's house is always a great time!

Cousins Kailee, Sophie, Chad, Noah, Abby

Abby wanted to brush my hair one day and I was so happy to let her! I could get used to it! As she was "styling" my hair, she said "mommy, 2 ponytails?"

This girl LOVES technology. She knows just how to work "Abbyshone" (Abby's phone). Whenever she asks for "abbyshone" I say to her "it's not Abby's phone, who's phone is it?" And then she laughs and says "Mommy's old shone".

It's hard to see this picture, but I was working out right there in the family room and Abby found a place to sit and watch me. She was saying things like "good job, Mom!", "just one more Mommy!", and "yay mommy!" She's the best!

Father's Day with the best dad in the world!

Technology addict!

This was so sweet... Abby was sitting on Russ's lap and watching our family movie from 2013. She was crying the way an adult would cry about something that touched them. She was not sad, just emotional. I took this picture as she was watching the part when she was born. So funny and so sweet!

It is so typical for Russ to fall asleep early, before getting ready for bed. Him and I are so opposite in that way. It was rare for Abby to be falling asleep with him because she's usually a night owl like her mama!

Donut date with Abby and mom... just because we needed a treat!

Our nightly routine usually goes something like this: The kids shower / bathe and get ready for bed. We have family prayer (usually pretty late). Noah goes downstairs to get in bed while Russ and I have our prayer together. Abby follows him down. Russ and I will pray and then get sidetracked, usually because it's the first time since he's been home from work - that we can talk without interruptions. Noah texts me from downstairs and tells me that Abby is bugging him. I go down to tuck Noah in and bring Abby up. Half the time, Noah is sleeping but Abby is on his ipod. 

On this particular night, Abby was trying to take a blanket and a few of her panda bears down with her. It looks like she didn't make it without dropping her bears, and it would be like Abby to sit there and cry for someone to fix her problem, instead of just changing her plan on how to get herself and everything down the stairs. She has some OCD tendencies :) Anyway, I found her sound asleep on the stairs. It was so cute!

This is the "so serious" Abby getting her bangs cut. Cutest little girl ever!

Deer (Abby) in the headlights!