......McLove

2012-01-18T11:27:00.000-08:00

Photographs :)

the whole Mclovin fam

the Avery cheeser

the Liam boy

Thanks Jill for the fun photog sesh:)

2011-11-22T11:56:00.000-08:00

October was a good month:)

Avery turned 4!! We took her to Disneyland on her bday and then had a small cousin party for her Sailor style.

Liam turned ONE!! We had a combined party with his cousin Nixon at the beach. This guy LOVED his cake:)

Liam the lion man was a lion for Halloween and was quite adorable:)

Avery was a sailor girl and loved her costume:)

November has been good to us too! At the beginning of the month we moved to SAN CLEMENTE. We love waking up to this gorgeous view and love our new town:)

2011-10-19T13:59:00.000-07:00

Hello Mr. Blog ... it's been a while

and I have a lot of catching up to do! For now i'll give a short update :) Scott and I had our NINE year anniversary last month and I turned the big THREE-OH!!

Avery started preschool and is loving it!!

Liam is our little piano man and loves playing with any type of ball.

All is well in Mclove land:)

2011-08-19T11:13:00.000-07:00

Baby Loves

We have been having a lot of fun! We just got back from a fun trip to Zion and St. George. Before I blog about those fun happenings I decided it's time to unload some phone pics:)

Avery is such a fun sassy little love and our Liam is the sweetest boy I know. Sure love these two and Mr. Scoots too:)

2011-07-17T20:52:00.000-07:00

*S*U*M*M*E*R* *T*I*M*E*

Summer is our favorite season and we have celebrated it's perfect weather by spending most of our time at the beach:)

Avery has been surfing it up with her Daddy ...

Dancing and going to open gymnastics with her mama

We've all enjoyed the fair

and had a wonderful 4th of July

Wish it could be summer all year long :)

2011-06-28T09:59:00.000-07:00

Our Joy School Graduate :)

Avery completed her first year of Joy School and absolutely loved it!

We had the best group of kids and moms! Avery was so sad the school year ended and can't wait for preschool next year!

2011-05-25T11:14:00.000-07:00

Behind on Blogger

It's been almost 2 months since I last updated so here are a bunch of posts in a row:) All is well with our fam. We LOVE our Liam boy and our Avery girl and they are both growing up faster then we imagined.

Liam is now a mover, talker, sitter, baby food eater and water lover. Avery is still our spunky funky girl. We are off to the river tomorrow and can't wait! It's Liam's first time:)

2011-05-25T11:09:00.000-07:00

Water Babies

Just like his big sis Liam LOVES the water! Swimming is his new favorite hobby:)

Fun in the sun at the Catamaran Resort. Can't wait for summer!

2011-05-25T10:29:00.000-07:00

Tree Swinging

We went with a bunch of friends out to this amazing tree swing. It was awesome. Avery had no fear and had a blast swinging around!

2011-05-25T10:02:00.000-07:00

Hip Hop'n Easter

Easter was wonderful. It's one of my favorite holidays. Avery had a fun time celebrating with her Joyschool class

And we had a wonderful time celebrating with family. Smith parties are always wild and crazy! This one was nothing short of that:) Happy VERY belated Easter!

2011-04-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

Hair-emony Ceremony

People were starting to compare Liam's do to Justin Beiber's or the Beetles'

Avery told us her brother was starting to look like a sister

So we gave little dude the chop suey ... bye bye rockstar mullet

Hello teenage looking Liam

We love our little lion man ... long mane or short:)

2011-03-14T15:29:00.000-07:00

Weekend Adventures

A few weekends ago we visited the pirate ships in downtown San Diego. Avery was frightened of the pirate until he called her a princess and gave her a red ruby:)

The next weekend we visited Balboa fun island in Newport. We did all of things I liked to do as a kid. We took the ferry, rode the ferris wheel and had a sprinkle dipped balboa bar:) Yum!

2011-02-15T18:09:00.000-08:00

L~O~V~E~ly

I loved having 3 Valentines this year:)

It made Vday that much sweeter!

2011-01-29T13:59:00.000-08:00

3 months

Our little dude turned 3 months yesterday. He is such a sweet baby. I feel like we've had him forever.

We joined Noelle's pre-school class on their field trip to Sea World this week. The girls had a blast!

I took Avery today to have her first tennis lesson and the teacher stood us up :( We had fun playing anyway:) Can't believe it's January with this amazing weather. We have been loving it!

2011-01-25T15:12:00.000-08:00

Two Peas in a pod

I took this picture of Liam last week and felt like I was having deja vu. I was looking at some old pictures of Avery today and found out why. So cute. I miss baby Avery and her squishy cheeks!

2011-01-06T17:28:00.000-08:00

Holly Jolly Holidays

Christmas Eve Cutie Pies

We spent Christmas in St. George this year with the McDonald family. Avery was so happy that Santa found her there and brought her what she wished for:)

It was great to see everyone and to see the ...

SNOW!

We went tubbing at Brian Head Christmas Day and had a blast! Avery charged the big tubbing hill all by herself! Thank you McDonald's for a fun Christmas Vacation:)

2010-12-14T19:02:00.000-08:00

Coronado and Cousin Love

We went down and spent a festive night in Coronado. They had fireworks, an ice skating rink, kiddie games, a Santa appearance and we got to see the Christensens and their darling kiddos:)

Look at those two Santas:) These cousins are too cute together. My brother Chris and his wife Nicole had their sweet little Nixon 11 days after Liam was born. They love each other already:)

2010-11-30T17:00:00.000-08:00

Good Times

Our Thanksgiving was wonderful! It consisted of family, friends, food and football.

On Thanksgiving day Liam turned 1 month!! He is such a joy:)

Next up ... Christmas! We picked out a cute tiny tree last night. Avery loves it and can't stop giving it hugs! This time of year is wonderful. Happy holidays!

2010-11-22T22:14:00.000-08:00

3.5 weeks later ...

Life has been great with our boy! And we are still crazy about our girl ... who is very crazy about our boy:)

2010-11-08T12:35:00.000-08:00

Our Baby Love

Little Liam is 12 days old now! We have loved every minute of him so far. He is such a sweet baby:)

Here he is just a few days old and with some of his buddies.

Avery loves being a big sister! She has been a good helper and loves to love on Liam (sometimes a little too much:).

Most of these pictures were taken in the hospital and are already over a week old! Time is flying by. We are crazy about our little guy.

2010-11-02T13:01:00.000-07:00

Little Liam our Love

We couldn't be any more crazy about our little sweetie! Everything went great with his arrival and we are loving our boy so much!

Avery is very proud to be a big sister. It is just darling:)

2010-10-28T22:15:00.000-07:00

This is Shellie's sister updating this and the pics take forever to load ... I posted more on her facebook account, so go there for more info :) Shellie and Liam are doing great. He is an adorable baby.

2010-10-25T20:01:00.000-07:00

The 3 Year Old Mermaid

Tomorrow is Avery's 3rd birthday! Since the baby is due any time now we had a little get together this weekend to make sure we got some partying in. She requested it be all mermaid style.

Avery had a blast and is excited to turn 3! We will see if she gets a little brother for her birthday:)

2010-10-15T09:26:00.000-07:00

The Latest

Scott had Columbus Day off so we went up and spent the day in beautiful Laguna.

Avery's cousin Macady had a fairy bday party and Avery loved being a fairy for the day.

We now have less then 2 weeks until baby brother arrives! Avery is getting really excited. I am feeling round and ready:)

2010-10-05T16:37:00.000-07:00

Birthday Weekend

The last year of my 20s has arrived and we celebrated all weekend long (2 weekends ago:) We went to a Padres game and had a blast.

Had dinner with Jake and Lindsey and went to Avery's crush Conrad's Bday party.

Then had a family dinner on my actual Bday. The cake decor crew out did themselves this year with an awesome beach cake and frosted barbie doll:) It was a great weekend!

2010-09-20T16:05:00.000-07:00

Sandy Girl

Scott and I have recently considered re-naming Avery "Sandy". She loves to roll around in the sand and it sticks like crazy to her sunblock. This equals an extremely sandy girl! It is funny to look at but Avery never seems to mind one bit. I think the names Sandy and Shellie sound pretty cute together ... We will see:)

2010-09-12T09:15:00.000-07:00

Pics from the phone

Black and whites

The banana wetsuit

Sea World

Clowning around

My camera is on its last leg so I have been taking a bunch of photos with my phone. The quality is bad but I figured I'd put them up anyway:)

2010-08-29T16:51:00.001-07:00

The Haps

Life has been busy busy busy the last 4 weeks ... we moved the last week of July out of Bakersfield and to our new town Cardiff by the Sea. It is just adorable and Avery, Scott and I are in heaven with all there is to do around here:) Scott has been surfing a ton, Avery and I have been enjoying the beach, friends and VGs donuts yum yum!

I wish I had more picutres of all we have been up to but I keep forgetting to bring my camera ... we have been to Sea World, gone sailing, visited Legoland, the aquarium at Legoland and gone to a bunch of new restraunts and beaches. Last weekend we hit the central coast to attend one of my best highschool friend's wedding up in Santa Ynez. It was gorgeous!! Kim made a beautiful bride and planned the most gorgeous wedding ever. Kevin was a handsome groom too but somehow didn't get in any of my photos:(

We have LOVED living closer to so many amazing friends and family. We have missed them all so much! So far we are loving our new town and life is good. Only 2 months until little dude arrives!! Time is flying ...

2010-08-05T12:38:00.000-07:00

Mr. and Mrs. Tyler Gardner

My brother is a married man as of last Saturday! Rachele and Tyler had a party and a half of a wedding! There were about 500 people that came to their reception and we danced until 11! We are happy to have another Gardner sister and had such a blast on their special day!

2010-07-20T11:29:00.000-07:00

Party Party Party

We have been celebrating Scott's 30 bday for weeks. I think he has enjoyed his 30s so far:) On Scott's actual Bday we met up with some of our Pepperdine friends and ate at the Cheesecake factory! Yum!

The next weekend we headed down south for his big 30th bash! It was a blast the boys played a football game that lasted almost 2 hours, the ladies chatted it up and the kids played at the park. We had some yummy pizza, cake and a pinata! Wish I would have taken more pictures of the crew we had there. Thanks to everyone who came! It was a fun party:)

2010-07-07T11:12:00.000-07:00

A Happy 4th!!!

We spent the weekend on the river. It was too much fun!

Our neighbors built an amazing water slide. It was a riot!

We had a tie dye party and went to the firework show as twins. Haha:)

It was a perfect weekend with fantastic company:)

2010-07-02T08:30:00.000-07:00

Happy 30th Birthday Scoots!!!

The twenties were good to you ... crazy that they are now in the past! Hope your day is wonderful and that your next 30 years are as super as the first 30! We love you birthday boy:)

2010-06-30T10:55:00.000-07:00

The Fish

Avery love, love, loves to swim. She just finished her swim lesson session and LOVED it! She loved the fact that she had a teacher and that she was a student. She got a "special ribbon" in the middle of her session when they moved her up from being a Goldfishy to a Tadpole. Boy was she excited! She put the ribbon on the fridge and admires it all the time:) Sorry for the blurry pictures, I had to take them through the glass window).

2010-06-24T10:40:00.000-07:00

Happiest place on Earth?

It was this day to this girl:) Avery's reward for potty training was going to Disneyland with her Grandma Kimmy. Boy was she excited!! We had her amped up about it for months (we had taken her when she was teeny but she was too small to remember). This was about a month ago and Avery still can't stop talking about all the fun she had. She even talked Grandma Kimmy into getting her a huge Minnie Mouse stuffed animal for a souvenir. Sneaky girl:) We hope to take her back soon!

2010-06-06T17:17:00.000-07:00

Memorial on the River

We had a blast Memorial weekend out at my parents river house. Avery surfed it up 3 times and loved whipping around on the tube, quads and sea doos.

We enjoyed spending time with family, loved being out on the water and even got a special visit from the Christensens:) Avery cried when it was time to go and wished we could have stayed all summer. Would be nice. We love river trips!

2010-06-02T10:15:00.000-07:00

Exciting News

We found out last week that we are going to have a

BOY!!! We (especially this dude pictured above) are super excited!! We can't wait to see his sweet face!!

2010-05-13T15:43:00.000-07:00

Jazzy Jazz

Scott's firm gave us some sweet tickets to a jazz festival last weekend. The music was good, the food was yummy and the weather was perfect! We had a blast and Scott taught Avery some very jazzy dance moves:)

2010-05-10T11:47:00.000-07:00

A Very Happy Mama and a Happy Mother's Day!

My Mother's Day was perfectly wonderful! Avery made me this cute little garden box at a Lowe's children workshop on Saturday and a cute little card in nursery!

She also helped pick me some beautiful roses from our yard:) Scott was the sweetest to me all day long and didn't let me do anything. He made us all three meals and cleaned them all up (so nice:) He also got me a cute new outfit!

After we ate too many homemade cream puffs we decided to go for a walk. When we opened the door we saw the wildest rain storm ever!! The neighborhood kids were frolicking in it so we decided to join them (it was definitely beach umbrella worthy).

When the sky cleared we went on a walk to visit some beautiful horses. It was such a nice day! I am so greatful to be a mother and to have such a wondeful Mom, Mother in-Law and Mother's in my life! I especailly love having such an adorable doll who calls me Mom!

2010-05-04T13:47:00.000-07:00

Mi Familia

I was just browsing through old photos and came across this picture from my brother's wedding last summer. I can't believe how much our family has grown in the last few years. Since this photo two babies have been born, one more sister in-law will be added this summer and three more babies will be born by the fall! Crazy and wild! This weekend we went home for a wedding. It was so fun to be with family and see old friends. (P.S. How much do you love Avery's pose:)

2010-04-30T11:44:00.000-07:00

Old McDonald Weekend

Scott's whole fam was in town last weekend which was the first time we were ALL together in quite a while. We had a really nice time and Avery was really happy to see Grandma and Grandpa Old McDonald, Uncle Jefe and Aunt Diva. Thanks for visitng:)

2010-04-28T13:36:00.000-07:00

Two and a half

Avery turned 2 and 1/2 on Monday! We celebrated with cupcakes and some huge candles. My sister showed me how to upload a video on here (finally) so here is Avery's 1/2 bday song. (Hope you like Scott's vintage hang ten shirt it was my Grandpas:)

2010-04-22T20:59:00.000-07:00

Remember when ...

We had a tiny newborn baby?? Lucky for us we are about to be parents to a cute little baby again! Coming sometime around November 3rd. We couldn't be any more excited!

2010-04-21T12:22:00.000-07:00

We rocked and we rolled ... again

Avery loved the skating rink so much that she wanted to return. My Mom and sis Hayley came in town and joined us. I laughed the whole time as my Mom pulled out her old moves from her Jr. high days. Hilarious!! Wish I had it on film. Avery started on the slow skates but wanted to try the fast skates. They were super out of control for her but she refused to go back to the slow ones. Our little fighter girl!

2010-04-15T12:55:00.000-07:00

Bunny Mania

Hunt #1 with park friends. Avery loved the bunny and collecting eggs.

Hunt #2 in San Clemente this hunt is so fun! There are activities galore. Avery's favorite was the pony ride!

Hunt #3 the annual Smith cousin hunt. This hunt is the wildest and the most fun! All of the cousins even the oldies participate and it is major pandemonium! After the hunt we go to a park and have a confetti egg fight. It is hilarious. Poor Scott was almost a casualty this year. Avery sure hunted it up and loved every minute of it! She wishes that Easter was every weekend and even blessed the Easter Bunny in her prayers at night:)

2010-03-31T10:19:00.000-07:00

Central Coasting

We did some serious coasting up the coast last week. It was awesome. We took the scenic route and it was just beautiful. We stopped somewhere along the coast for Scott to get a cold surf session in and then headed to Monterey. What a beautiful town. We enjoyed walking around Fisherman's Warf and Cannery Row. Scott took Avery to the aquarium the next day while I did some window shopping. Then we took Avery to the Dennis the Menace park which was very cool!

We then headed down toward San Luis Obispo for the rest of the weekend. Scott had a rugby game, we met up with friends and spent a lot of time at the beach. It was such a nice weekend with beautiful weather!! It is sooo gorgeous along the coast.

2010-03-29T19:40:00.000-07:00

Fashionista

This morning I told Avery to pick out an outfit and this is what she came back wearing... last year's swim suit and her Daddy's socks. Not quite sure where she picked up these poses but she had me cracking up everytime I told her to smile:)

2010-03-24T17:28:00.000-07:00

Shout out to Airman

Watch this link and be inspired! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udaF3Y2N7Xk This picture is old ... and I am loving Scott's turquoise towel. On the right is Erik the star of this youtube video. He is my brother Tyler's best friend and family to me. He is a hero to many and I look up to him for his amazing attitude:)

2010-03-19T09:36:00.000-07:00

Splish Splash

Avery fell in love with this shamu pool at the store the other day. I couldn't resist with this nice weather we have had lately. She was soooo excited when we blew it up that she wanted to sleep in it. Scott made it into a little fort bed and she slept in it for a couple hours. She woke up the next morning anxious to fill it up and swim. The water was super cold but she loved it!

2010-03-17T10:15:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day

currently reminiscing our good times in Ireland...

Ireland was exactly the way I imagined it ... very green and beautiful.

Our cab driver that picked us up from the airport was for sure a leprechaun, all the clothes in the window displays were green, the food was good and the people were as friendly as ever (of course I loved their accents). We got to camp on the coast line, Scott surfed in the freezing cold water and we visited the Blarney castle. Hopefully we will return some day. In the mean time I will enjoy being Irish on this green holiday:)

2010-03-11T20:25:00.000-08:00

The tennis bug

I just started giving Avery tennis lessons. She is totally into it. I think it is time to buy her a smaller racket though, she can hardly hold this one up. Don't you just love the shoes she chose to wear.

2010-03-09T16:00:00.000-08:00

Afianced

My brother Tyler is an engaged man as of Friday night!! We are excited for Rachele to join the family:) Happy engagement you two love birds!

2010-03-08T14:13:00.000-08:00

Say Cheese

We were at a clothing store when Avery spotted this cute little red bench. She hopped right on it and made this pose. I of course had to capture it:) Look how long she has gotten!

2010-03-02T09:05:00.000-08:00

Rock N Rollerin'

We took Avery for her first visit to the roller rink. We were inspired by all of the ice skating we've been watching during the olympics. Avery and Scott did some pretty good imitations of ice dancing out on the rink (which just so happens to be Scott's favorite olympic sport hahaha:) Avery wasn't a bit nervous and loved every minute! We rolled around for about an hour until her tiny quads tired out from her super heavy skates!

2010-02-22T15:27:00.000-08:00

***Snow Day***

We made an unexpected stop in a little town called Tehachapi the other week. There was gorgeous snow and we couldn't resist. We hadn't packed any snow clothes so we stopped and bought some gloves, shoes and snow pants for Avery at a local thrift shop (which explains her mis-matched outfit:). Avery had the TIME OF HER LIFE! She loved making snowballs with her Dad (to throw at me) and would run and dive into the snow piles head first. She played until she couldn't feel her feet! I think we will need to visit the snow more often:)

2010-02-18T16:53:00.000-08:00

Oh, Oh, Oh the sweetest thing ...

We had the sweetest weekend and the most fabulous Valentine's day. I am in the process of downloading all of my photos to share but had to put this one up in the mean time:) We bought this adorable cupcake down in Laguna on the most perfect beach day ... It was sweet.

2010-02-08T21:35:00.000-08:00

La Princesa

This princess dress hides in the back of Avery's closest every day. Anytime she sees it she refuses to wear anything else.

The other day she spotted it when I opened her closet a little too far:) The result was Princess Avery all day long. She danced like a princess the whole afternoon until she passed out on the floor.

Notice her awesome hair do ... she told me that princesses must wear lots of flowers and bows.

2010-02-03T11:45:00.000-08:00

BFF

Last weekend we went down to Seal Beach to visit the Christensens. We had a great weekend...played some volleyball, took the girls for a wagon ride, built sand castles, Scott got to surf and Becca and I got some seriously hilarious massages in little Saigon. Thanks for the fun weekend Christensens ... you made us miss the beach and all our friends that much more:)

2010-01-21T15:27:00.000-08:00

Vandyland came to town

We had so much fun with the Vandermydes last weekend. We went all over B-field. We took the kiddos to Murray Family farms which they loved and boogied it up at the Crystal Palace. We wish they were our neighbors so we could party all the time. Come back soon Tanno, Wintey and Map!!

2010-01-12T17:37:00.000-08:00

Mr. Golden Sun~Welcome back~We missed you

Avery and I were so happy to feel the 71 degree weather today. We celebrated with an outdoor lunch party. The hot sun made us hungry for some ice cream so we set off on a bike ride in search of the perfect ice cream cone...

we settled for one scoop of rainbow sherbet at Thrifty but after Avery's first lick she said "yum yum yum delicioso" :)

After our delicioso ice cream, we rode over to the grocery store and picked up too many groceries for our little bike trailor trunk. Avery had to ride with some of the groceries on her lap and the trailor was awfully heavy to peddle home:) We sure LOVED the sunshine today and hope it sticks around for a while!

2010-01-04T14:14:00.000-08:00

Worker Bees

The McDonald clan came to town and brought their gardening gloves. They helped us with some last finishing touches on our house and with this...

the demolition of our long cement runway out to our ... helicopter pad/dance floor? It was pretty ugly and we have been wanting to get rid of it since we moved in. Scott, his brother and Dad broke the whole thing up with a sledge hammer (now we can finally plant the rest of our grass:). We also got to celebrate a second Christmas with the McDs and enjoy some time together. It was great. Thanks for all your help guys:)

2009-12-29T22:33:00.000-08:00

Christmas in pictures...lots of pictures

Pre-Christmas activities

Christmas Eve

Christmas

Our Christmas was just wondeful! My favorite part had to be Avery as a Shepherd in the Nativity play. It was just hilarious! I will try to post a video of it later. Hope everyone's Christmas was grand :)

2009-12-22T10:15:00.000-08:00

EXCITED ...

that Scott is off work from tomorrow til Monday, to visit friends in Malibu tomorrow night, to go to Knotts on Christmas Eve with our Smith cousins, for the nativity and PJ party Christmas Eve night, for Christmas morning with little Avers, for my Dad's egg burritos, for Christmas day and night festivites, and for the McDonald fam to come visit us for New Years. Very grateful for the holiday season to celebrate the birth of our Savior and to be with those we love. Happy holidays!!

2009-12-12T15:20:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

2009-12-08T19:05:00.000-08:00

Laguna Lovin'

A couple weekends ago we visited our old church in Laguna Beach. We have been to Laguna a ton of times since we moved but we hadn't been back to church there. It was so fun to see so many familiar faces and crazy to see how much the kids there had grown up. After church we went and walked around the Montage. If you haven't been there you definitely should go. It is beautiful! We wished we would have packed lunches and some extra clothes so that we could have had a nice picnic but ... we had a nice time wandering around and snaping pictures:)

2009-12-01T09:46:00.000-08:00

Turkey Time

We started our Thanksgiving nice and early with the annual Turkey bowl and volleyball game.

The weather was sooo nice (80 degrees) so after we went swimming! The boys played melon ball and had a blast beating eachother up!

My family has a talent show every year and this year we decided to do a silly lip sinc with Chris and Nicole rather then our usual guitar song.

The day after Thanksgiving my brother Tyler put on his turkey tennis tournament. Ty and Rachele took first place leaving us in the dust.

We spent the rest of the weekend at the beach and hanging with family and friends. We missed the McDonald's but were glad we got to see some of our family on Scott's side:) Oh how I love this time of year!

2009-11-25T17:58:00.000-08:00

Happy Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone has a happy and grateful day!

2009-11-17T08:39:00.000-08:00

Gone Fishin'

Our weekend was a lot of fun! We had some friends up on Friday until Sunday morning and then Abe and Merivale and their girls were here from Sunday afternoon until last night. It was so nice to have a full house. These pictures are from our visit to the BEAUTIFUL Kern river on Saturday. We loved it there. We really enjoyed the gorgeous surroundings and Ethan had a good time fishing (even though we didn't stay long enough to catch anything). We are excited to go back.

2009-11-08T22:03:00.000-08:00

The 2 year old and the lady bug.

We celebrated Avery's 2nd Bday a couple weekends ago. She had so much fun with her friends and enjoyed opening her gifts. Every time she opened a present she would have the most surprised expression on her face and say oh my goodness! It was too funny:)

The same night of Avery's party was my parents trunk or treat. We dressed as a family of insects. Avery LOVED trunk or treating. Sadly Scott and I missed out on Halloween night since we were in Mexico but Avery had a blast trick or treating with her cousins!

2009-11-04T21:51:00.000-08:00

Way down in Mexico

Our trip was so much fun! We stayed in Todos Santos which is an adorable little artsy town (kind of like Laguna Beach but in Mexico) about an hour north of Cabo. We rented a place with my cousin Jake and his wife Lindsey. The house turned out to be amazing (minus the mosquito infestation).

Sadly the surf wasn't amazing but we had a blast exploring the coast, being in the sun and playing in the warm water. Every meal we had was SO delicious and we managed to only get pulled over by the cops twice. We were sooo sad to leave but so excited to see our little Avery girl:)

2009-10-27T17:07:00.000-07:00

Remember this picture...

Probably not:) I posted this 2 and a half years ago when we got back from Cabo. Tomorrow we are heading back for a whole week (and this time I won't be pregnant). We are going with my cousin and his wife and leaving Avery behind... I am sure she will have a blast with her 3 cousins! See you when we get back.

2009-10-26T21:16:00.000-07:00

Two years ago today...

Our little Avery entered this world. It was a crazy entry but she has blessed our lives since the day she arrived. Avery is spunky, super funny and a bucket of love. We feel so blessed to be her parents and have loved watching her grow. Happy birthday Avery girl we love you like crazy!!

2009-10-20T22:43:00.000-07:00

Garden of Weed'n

Lately we have spent all our free time on our new yard. Growing up with the last name Gardner you would think that I would be some what of a pro. However...I am not:( Avery on the other hand stays close to her Gardner roots by helping us with yard work every chance she gets. She is hilarious and always wants to be right in the middle of whatever we are doing. Which is usually right in the way (hahaha).We have done a lot of work and still have a long way to go. We will have to post before and after pictures when we are done (if we finish before we are 100 years old).

2009-10-16T14:27:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Patch Kid

Halloween time is one of my favorites!! We went to pick out our pumpkins last weekend at Murray Family farms. We took a hayride out to the patch and got to pick the pumpkins right off of the vine. It was very cool. Avery's grandma McDonald was in town to help us pick the perfect pumpkin. We had fun at the petting zoo and in the corn maze. The corn kernel pool was the best though. I think we need one for our backyard. Now time to decide what everyone will be for Halloween...

2009-10-05T16:43:00.000-07:00

It's a jungle out there...

Ok, maybe not a jungle, but we have had some of nature's friends visiting us lately. We have had butterflies (Avery likes to call them fee-flies),

frogs and toads that live in our bushes,

and a very large tortoise (we named Leo) that I tried to catch for a pet but got out run by. I know how pathetic it sounds to get out run by a turtle but he ran into our neighbors garage before I could catch him.We are now on the hunt for Leo. If you see him tell him we miss him:)

2009-09-23T16:43:00.000-07:00

Chris and Nicole are hitched!

A couple weeks ago these two love birds tied the knot! Their wedding was magical and the whole weekend was a blast! Friday night we went to their wedding dinner on a Yacht in Newport, Saturday they got married in the Newport Beach temple and then had their reception that night. It was a major party at my parents house. Avery and her cousins seriously danced the night away. Chris and Nicole are now living in Costa Rica...waiting for us to come and visit them. Oh, the life...

2009-09-18T16:38:00.000-07:00

In the craziness of moving...

(since we moved twice in 2 weeks) I forgot to mention we got into our HOUSE and are loving it!!

I think Aves is loving it the most. She loves having room to run and a backyard to prance around in:)

2009-09-14T16:12:00.000-07:00

LOVE~LOVE~LOVE~LOVE~LOVE~

LOVE~LOVE

We TiEd ThE KnOt 7 YeArS AgO ToDaY:)

It WaS a LoVeLy DaY...aNd It HaS BeEn An EvEn LoVeLiEr 7 YeArS.

HeRe'S to 7x7x7x7x7x7x7x7x7x7x7xx7x7x7x7x7x7 more together:)

2009-09-09T19:38:00.000-07:00

LABOR DAYIN' IT RIVER STYLE

We went to my parents house on the Colorado river for the weekend. It was a blast and Avery had the time of her life!

2009-08-11T09:08:00.000-07:00

Inland Gidget

Sorry for the Euro swim attire she wanted her rash guard off ;)

2009-07-31T23:56:00.000-07:00

Lately... We have been busy visiting friends and hanging with family. Gotta love the summer:) Can't believe it is August already!

2009-07-27T10:33:00.000-07:00

Ocean Blue
I stole my brother Chris' camera to take some photos of Avery girl. My sister edited this one for me and I think it is just so precious.

2009-07-23T15:07:00.000-07:00

Christopher + Nicolette = MARRIAGE My brother Chris is getting hitched to this beautiful bride-to-be August 29th! We love Nicole and are excited for her to join our family!!

2009-07-22T10:52:00.000-07:00

HILARIOUS!

2009-07-09T10:26:00.000-07:00

Another year bites the dust...

Last Thursday was Scott's bday! We celebrated at an Angels game. Avery had a blast and cheered as loud as her Daddy! It was too cute:)

2009-07-09T10:24:00.000-07:00

The 'stache bandit

2009-06-25T18:38:00.000-07:00

Pretty Sure...

I am crazy about this little bucket of love. 20 months today:)

2009-06-25T16:25:00.000-07:00

The Doggone boy is gone... I am sad to hear the news of Michael Jackson's passing. He was a legend. His music, dance moves and music videos were the best. The first C.D. I ever bought was Bad. Captain E.O. is still my favorite thing that ever hit Disneyland. I remember my girl friends and I protesting and picketing down main street at Disneyland when they decided to replace Captain E.O. with Honey I shrunk the kids (remember that D?) This is a sad day. I was really looking forward to his come back and always hoped to someday find out that he was innocent for all of his accusations (I know, I know). At least we can still rock out to his amazing tunes:)

2009-06-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

2009-06-08T10:28:00.000-07:00

Wake up San Francisco Two weekends ago my cousin Matt got married in Oakland so we decided to head up to San Fran for the weekend. The wedding was a blast and we loved the city. I felt like I was in an episode of Full House the whole time:)

2009-05-27T09:56:00.000-07:00

Everything grows with love...
Yesterday Avery turned 19 months old! My friend got Avery this dress when she was sooo small. I remember thinking that there was absolutely NO way that she would ever be big/old enough to wear it. I hid it in the back of her closet and figured I wouldn't have to take it out forever. I found it the other day and realized that she has already almost out grown it. It made me sad to think how fast time flies by. It seemed like just yesterday...

2009-05-27T09:27:00.000-07:00

The Circus came to town!

A few weekends ago the Culpepper Merriweather Circus came to the park just a block from us! Avery and I went and we had a blast! I have ALWAYS loved going to the circus. It was Averys first time and she loved it. When the Lion did a fancy trick the whole audience was silent and Avery yelled out Wow! Everyone turned around and started cracking up. She of course loved the attention and kept saying it over and over again. It was hilarious.

2009-05-12T15:34:00.000-07:00

WheRe a KiD cAn Be A KiD

We went to chuckie cheese for Avery's friend's (adorable twins) birthday. Avery loved it there and thought everything was a ride, even the lamp posts. She kept hugging them and waiting for them to do something. She also HAD to wear her sunglasses (that she insisted on buying from the store). The twins are so cute and I still want a set of my own someday).

2009-05-10T23:17:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day!

To all mothers and women yet to be mothers~hope your day is happy as can be. I am so grateful to be a mother. It is my favorite thing ever:)

2009-04-24T10:37:00.000-07:00

Earth Day

In honor of our lovely Earth's special day, Avery and I went on a nature walk!

We saw some beautiful flowers,trees and birds. Oh how I love this beautiful Earth. Wish we could have celebrated Earth day at the beach though. It was HOT!

2009-04-24T09:42:00.000-07:00

STRiKE A PoSE

So Avery LOVES this fuzzy purple crown. She hates leaving home without it. My girlfriend Kim brought it to her from NY with a matching purse that she carries around everywhere as well:) We were walking out the door the other day and I told Avery that we were going to a party. She ran back in and grabbed her crown and purse and then headed out the door. Too funny!

2009-04-14T12:11:00.000-07:00

Hippity Hop'n Easter

Avery was hilarious during the Egg hunt. She decided to drive around in the car to get the eggs, then feed her candy to Thumper.

Avery, Macady and Hayley had matching Easter dresses and looked so cute, we had a money hunt and Scott raced all the little kids for a dollar bill and we got to see lots of friends and family:) It was an excellent Easter!

2009-04-08T11:41:00.000-07:00

ANGELS GAME

Scott's firm gave us tickets to the Angels/Dodgers game and being big Angel's fans we couldn't resist driving all the way down to Dodger stadium. Our good friends Matt and Whitney live near the stadium so we got to go party with them:) Avery is so into their baby Tanner it is hilarious!

2009-03-31T17:28:00.000-07:00

Family Reunion

Last weekend we attended a huge Gardner reunion in St. George. There were 1,000 Gardners there. My great(x4) Grandfather Robert Gardner helped settle St. George and was the first mayor and bishop there. In his honor they put a huge statue of him in the city center. Elder Holland (who is a Gardner) dedicated and unveiled the statue. It was really awesome! We had a blast visiting with relatives we hadn't seen forever and we also got to visit the McDonald fam. It was a great weekend.

2009-03-31T16:33:00.001-07:00

The great outdoors!

A couple of weekends ago we headed down to San Clemente State Park to have our first family campout. I know it isn't that exotic of a location but it was a blast. (Minus the 1 hour of sleep I got since Avery decided to share a sleeping bag with me and take up all the space:)

2009-03-23T10:30:00.000-07:00

Smile