BIG NEWS of the Day

Jaden rolled from his back to his front today. I didn't even see it but when I looked once he was on his back and when I looked again, he was on his front in hot pursuit of today's favorite toy - the Desetin box!!! We'll see if sometime soon we can get that captured on camera but here is the after picture! Here is a bit more of what we've been up to in Southern CA!

Ahhhhh.....sunny weather without ROASTING in the heat! Southern CA is pretty nice!

Since we're staying in a dorm with only showers and we could only bring two suitcases on the plane we're having to be creative for bathtime. Jaden is WAY TOO BIG for bathing in such a small sink but h wasn't fond of the shower so we have had to make do. He seems to be enjoying it up close and personal with the baby in the mirror!

On Sunday we went to church and were surprised to see Peter Brakke who volunteered at the mission one summer before we were married. It as great to see him because it was such a surprise and we hadn't seen him since our wedding!

He lives by the beach so we got to walk on the boardwalk, watch people fish on the pier at Newport Beach, eat a yummy lunch, and enjoy the sun.

Daddy has been studying and reading a lot and Jaden is always very interested n books and papers...

But sometimes you just need to do some hands on reading yourself!

Jaden has been sitting up and balancing much better but, he is still a little wobbly. Since the floor in the dorm where we are staying is so hard I put pillows all around him so he could play on his own but wouldn't bonk his head too hard if he tipped over. He has a good time "going fishing" for the toys that fall in the cracks!

I'll work on posting some videos later!

Just in Case...

Just in case you aren't bored yet. Here are a few videos from our CA adventures!

Here is Jaden having a great time with the FREE toy - a plastic cup from the airplane! He kept throwing his toys on the floor but this one entertained him for awhile so we took with us as we exited the plane!

Enjoying the waves at the beach - although the water was WAY too cold to get in (it felt like ICE hitting your feet!)

Playing in the sand...Jaden had fun although I think he must have thought the texture was really strange. For the most part we kept him from getting it in his mouth.

Of course, then he tipped over and got it all over his face anyway!

Time in California

So, we've been in CA for about a week and Jaden has had a lot of firsts....
1st time in California
1st time meeting Randy
1st Farmer's Market
1st time meeting kittens
1st time playing in the grass
1st time attending an outdoor wedding
1st time (and 2nd) seeing fireworks
1st time at the beach
1st time in the sand (not in the water yet though! - TOO COLD!!!

We have had a lot of fun already and there were way too many cute pictures to limit so I made a little slideshow. Jaden is getting more and more expressive and picking a favorite picture was tough cause his silly faces have me smiling!

One thing that needs a little explaining is the wedding that we went too. Randy (who we were visiting) was the reader in a wedding. The family had met us before and has been to the mission before and since we were Randy's guests, wanted us to attend the rehearsal dinner and wedding with him. The family is so nice, sweet, friendly, and down to earth it is nearly IMPOSSIBLE to believe the kind of house they live in! You'll see from the pictures some of the unbelievable things about it
- 10,000 square feet - I think most of our house fits in their kitchen! and when we looked at the 1st level we though it was huge and later realized there were another 3 rooms that we hadn't seen!
- a HUGE patio complete with fireplace, rotissire big enough to grill an entire pig, and an outdoor kitchen with a grill approximatley the size of a bathtub!
- amazing pool and hot tub complete with mini waterslide and rocky backdrop full of waterfalls
- birdbath, nature trail, flower gardens
- their OWN lake...no, not a lake that they live on with other people - the WHOLE LAKE is theirs including a walking path all the way around, the beach, the dock, and the little island in the middle

anyway...you get the idea...the place is huge and gorgeous.

At the wedding we heard a rumor that the wine served was about $100 a bottle wine and, after the bride and groom's first dance there was a specatcular fireworks show at least half of the one the city put on the night before!

Enjoy the photos - and check out Jaden's travel log for his updated mileage!

Catching Up....

So, we're in CA now, and I"ll get to that in a minute....but here are a few pics of what we did the Sunday before we left town! We all went over to Karl and Jeanette's for lunch and I actually tried out a few new recipies that everyone loved! I decided for ONCE I should post about something OTHER than Jaden so here you go!!!

Jeanette made the Southwestern Pulled Pork from a recipie I gave her and it was a HUGE hit!

The Cuban Bean Salad has a lot of wierd ingredients but everyone loved it too!

http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/cuban-bean-salad-52289.aspx

And this yummy Orange Jicama salad was a refreshing tangy and sweet worthy of repeating as well! http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/orange-jicama-salad-50406.aspx

Kinda risky trying out 3 new recipies in one meal but it was GOOD STUFF!!!