Newport Beach with the Henriods

We had a fun reunion with the entire Henriod Clan. Joel made some awesome t-shirts and hats for the occasion. The week included sun, sand, waves, sparkle nail polish, Ruby's shakes, Minute to Win it games, The Help book discussion, SeaWorld, family pics, golf, bolo/ladder/poor man's golf, and way too much Angry Birds. All in all, we had a BLAST! Thanks for the memories! Can't wait for next year:)

Beach party!
(part of the group)

Me and the Hubby just celebrated our 10th anniversary...

...and look what we've been up to!

Minute to win it
The Black Unicorn (stack 7 ding dongs and hold for 3 seconds)


Knocking over 6 soda cans with a yo-yo tied to your back belt buckle

Oh, the clean up! Sand is everywhere!

Notice the hat...

and the shirts...

a couple of beach babes

Bolo/ladder/poor man's golf

a couple of cute surfers (the one on the left is mine!)

yes, even Tessa plays Angry Birds...

The ones who started it all

Could it be? Is it she? Is she actually going to attempt to post?

Well, here I am! It has been a while, but I feel like I am ready to re-enter this strange land of blogging. I have not forgotten y'all, and I hope you haven't forgotten me...

We have so much to be grateful for today!
We have a beautiful family with healthy, happy children.
We have the Gospel of Jesus Christ which gives us understanding
and hope for good things to come.
We have amazing extended family who support us in so many ways.
We have incredible friends who love us and look out for us,
(and continue to read our neglected blog).
We have an incredible dad and husband who works so hard to provide the food
(and a crazy, energetic mom to put it on the table).
I could go on and on...

Today I am happy to say that we are one day away from being home owners in La Canada Flintridge! Again, a HUGE blessing, one that we didn't see coming so soon.
I have to admit that I have had one foot in the water this whole time, ready to leave the minute Joel says he is done with Cali. Now, we are entirely and completely committed to this place.
We aren't going anywhere!

This Summer has been pretty lazy, which is exactly the way I like it. We've enjoyed a few vacations so far, and have a few more to come. The kids have been keeping busy with swimming, piano lessons, play-dates with cousins, and sleep-overs at grandparents.

Life is good...

A few pictures from Cedar City
sassy kids after a fun hike

check out these wildflowers!

one of the newest junior rangers at Cedar Break National Monument

Please, mommy, I want to swim in this lake!

Tessa on the fence

Cedar Breaks National Monument (joel takes all the pics)

A "light" entertainment night with Macbeth

Shakespeare Festival with awesome people..good times!

A few moments from Newport Beach...
baseball at the beach

sweet cousins - Elle and Clara

Tessa striking a pose for the camera

having too much fun to check the shoes...

Tess touches my cheek when she wants my attention. Love that!Check out that hair! Pretty awesome, just don't focus on the new bangs (bummer)

not afraid to have fun!

And a few more...
Kimball is getting stronger. He is very proud of his 24 pack

don't kids look awesome in goggles?

Super cute in a tutu!

That's all folks! See you soon! Come visit in Sunny California...

Carpenteria

What a fun ward camp out. We went up the road a bit to Carpenteria State Beach (just south of Santa Barbara). We all slept in a tent, together...
The weather was BEAUTIFUL, and the kids had a blast.
How embarrassing that Clara 5 had never slept in a tent before this trip! What kind of parents are we??? Well, we survived the freezing night and now have a new place to camp.
(I love my kids!)

My boy

My sweet red-head

Baby love

Things are getting brighter!

It feels like Spring has sprung and the world looks a little happier. We couldn't ask for better weather. These are the days that I am happy to be in L.A. It's all for the weather!
So, it's time to start blogging again. Here we go.

This is our home (that we rent). We live a block from the school, 7 minutes to work, and 5 minutes to church. La Cañada is a wonderful, small town with good, good people and amazing schools. We hope to call this home (as in be able to afford a house here) for a long time.

This is our backyard. Kind of a jungle, but a trampoline makes any yard fun, right? That's what we keep trying to tell the kids!

Speaking of our sweet little hellions, I need some advice. What do you do with a 20 month old who prefers crayons to fruits and veggies, a 5 year old who threatens to run away at least once a day, and a 7 year old who constantly has his fingers in his mouth, wiggling his teeth?
We have some issues...

Looks like we won't be having our annual mustache party this year, but I hear lots of y'all are continuing the tradition. Here's our famous eggnog recipe.

Joel's Famous Egg-Nog

12 Egg Yolks

2 Cups Sugar

4 Cups Cold Milk

4 Cups Cream

Vanilla

Nutmeg

1-2 Tbls. Rum Flavoring

I saw this and wanted to share! Starting to feel the Christmas spirit that I've so desperately wanted. Let the Holidays begin!

Our first 1/2 Marathon

My sister, Brookie, talked me into jogging a 1/2 Marathon in November. ME? Run? Are you kidding me? So, we trained for about 7 weeks, and we did it! I am so proud of myself. I can't say that I'm addicted to races, but I do appreciate a good work-out now. Thanks Brooke. I couldn't have done it without you!

Brooke is in red and I am right in front of her. Can you find us?

Thanks, Joel and Tyler, for supporting us and cheering us on. It was a fun weekend in Santa Barbara, and we were so glad that you came.

Check out these babies!

Here are some new photos of my babies taken by Britta Anne. She did such an amazing job on all of our family photos. Tessa is almost 18 months and totally wild. She loves pulling out, climbing up, and getting on everything. She pretty much runs the show around here. Clara (5) loves school, loves piano, and loves brother and sister. She is pretty savvy and pretty darn manipulative. Her fiery personality definitely keeps us awake. Kimball (7) is proud to be the president of all the cousins. He loves learning, sword fighting, and all things energetic and "violent." In fact, he says his talent is "violence," but actually, he is the sweetest kid around. Kimball is always perceptive of anyone who needs a friend.
I'm done bragging, but did I mention how darn cute these guys are???