Family Vacation–Part 1

We headed out on Sept. 21st for a 9-day long family vacation where we also sprinkled in a little bit of work for David. We flew out Friday, the 21st, to Vegas. The flight was brutal because it was an 8:00 flight, Bailey was exhausted, and we were surrounded by a bunch of drunk idiots who were heading to Vegas for a friends Bachelor party. But, we survived it! Once we landed we finally got all of our stuff and were into our rental car by about 10:30. We were very fortunate and even though we paid for a large sedan, we were able to get a minivan. It was really nice not to be cramped into a sedan the whole time. We headed down to David’s sisters house in LA and got in about 3:30. Bailey didn’t sleep great that night which meant David and I didn’t sleep well, but again, we survived. We headed out on Saturday around 12:30 to meet my cousin down at my Aunt’s grave. We stopped in Perris on our way so I could show David where I lived when I was down there, and so we could get flowers for the grave. Lyndee met us at the grave and it was good to see her. It was nice to have my family with me there because Aunt Lynette meant so much to me and neither David nor my kids had the opportunity to meet her. Aunt Lynette was an incredibly amazing woman!

When we left the cemetery we headed down to Oceanside so we could play in the sand and water. The kids loved it, and so did David and I. I would wonder at times if David was loving it more than the kids. We had a blast playing in the waves and the sand. Bailey wasn’t a big fan of the water, but Tucker couldn’t get enough of it. Bailey really liked the sand….literally, she kept eating it, and it was gross. Silly girl! I was bad and didn’t take very many pictures. But the few I got are really cute!

Mommy and her Beach Beauty

Daddy and his wave jumping buddy!

After the beach we headed to my cousin Vicky’s house and had dinner with my cousins and their families. It was so good to see them. I miss seeing them as often as I used to. We used to spend a week down at their house every summer. It was always fun. My kids had SO much fun with their kids. Vicky’s house is so kid friendly that they were able to just run and play. David and I can’t wait until we have the chance to go down and visit again.

Sunday morning we woke up and headed down to Knott’s Berry Farm with David’s sister and her 3 boys. After  Tucker getting carsick on the way there, we managed to get there around 11:00. As soon as we got into the park it was all about Tucker. We did pretty much anything and everything that he wanted to do and it was SO much fun! Tucker was a daredevil and wanted to try any ride that he was tall enough for. He loves rollercoasters. His favorite was one that spun in circles as it went around the track. I was surprised how much he liked it, but he rode it 3 or 4 times! We also went on the rip roaring rapids ride and got drenched, but Tucker loved it. My favorite part was that the 4 of us were able to go on the log ride together and we all loved it.

 Riley, Tucker, Teddy and Caleb ready to hit the park running!

Tucker and I riding the hot air balloon ride!

Just chillin’ in the Balloon!

The boys playing on the rocks while waiting for the log ride

Mommy and Bailey waiting patiently

Our time in LA was well spent and we loved every minute of it. We were so exhausted Sunday evening that we felt like we should be heading home Monday morning, but instead we were heading onto leg 2 of our family vacation! Stay tuned…

First Pony Tail

Bailey had her first pony tail today. I will be the first to admit that I am not great at doing pony tails. However, I will learn. Afterall, I have a cute little girl who will want all sorts of fun stuff done to her hair. These are the best pictures I could get of the little princess today.

Grandpa Bailey’s Chair

Whenever my kids sit in this chair like this, I feel like in a way they are sitting in their Great Grandpa Bailey's lap. This chair was in my Grandparents house when my Mom was young. It has always been referred to as the Grandpa Bailey chair. I know that my Grandpa would love to sit in this chair and hold all of his Great Grandchildren, instead he is constantly watching over us all from Heaven. :) I especially love this picture of Bailey because she was named after my Grandpa Bailey. So I know that they will always have a special connection. :)

A bit of a splurge…

So, with David’s new promotion came new paycheck as well. This is the first time that David has gotten a raise and we weren’t moving or expecting a new baby. After the last year that we have had, we decided that it was time to  treat ourselves a little bit on a splurge. So, we decided to trade in our Corolla for a new family car. David and I both really liked the GMC Acadia, so that is what we started after. We researched online and looked at a ton of different cars. We finally found one we liked at Wilsonville Honda. On Wednesday, August 22nd, I headed up to Wilsonville Honda to meet David there after he got off of work. Apparently David had been looking at their inventory online and found an Acura MDX that he really liked. So, after we test drove a Honda Odyssey and a GMC Acadia, David really wanted to drive the MDX. As soon as he started driving I really liked it. Then, it was my turn to get behind the wheel… Oh, it was FUN to drive! We were pretty much sold on it right away. When I got there, I asked them to give us a price for what they would give us for each of our cars. Then maybe we would trade in whichever one was worth more. Well, we sat down to do the paperwork, and they offered us more than we thought so we decided… trade in both cars! Yes, we are CRAZY! But, we figured why not get 2 cars for the same price that we were going to pay for 1 car. So, we left Honda that night at 10:30 the new owners of an Acura MDX. We were pretty excited. The car is great. It is black exterior with black leather interior, and wood trim. It has a sun roof, navigation, and everything can be controlled by my voice. It is pretty much the nicest car I have ever owned. I am super excited.

The next day, Thursday, we had to go back to Honda to redo the loan papers to go through our Credit Union, so that evening we headed on down to Ron Tonkin Acura in Beaverton. We there, quickly fell in love with an Acura TSX, which is now David’s new car. We got a great deal on it, and David loves it. The best part if is that we can comfortably fit the four of us in it for a day trip. David’s car is pretty much a miniature (sedan) version of mine. It has all of the same features, and is black on black just like mine. We are both in love with our cars.  

They look pretty cute next to each other. Tucker says that Daddy’s car is like a race car, but he loves Mommy’s car.

David’s Promotion

This June marked David being graduated from college for 4-years. It is amazing to me how fast the time has flown and how much has changed since then. Among many things that have changed and gone on in our lives, one of the biggest things is David’s growth in his position and company.

Right out of college David started with a company called Sunwest Management. Shortly after he started there, the company got into financial trouble and started to head south. In 2010, the company was bought out by another larger company, Emeritus. This is who David works for now, Emeritus. Because of his diligence and hard work, he showed them that he was someone worth keeping on. Yes, I am bragging right now because David really put himself out there and was not willing to accept no for an answer, and because of that the company literally made up a position for him to hold until they felt he had the experience necessary to become a Divisional Financial Analyst. Well, on August 13th, the time had come that they felt confident in his ability. David got the long awaited, well deserved promotion to Divisional Financial Analyst (DFA). He is so excited to have this title now. The funny thing is that he is not doing anything different than he was before. He just has the experience now where they feel comfortable giving him the title. It is a definite boost for him. To make it even better, we absolutely love this company that he works with, he loves the people that he works with, and he loves what he does every day. We truly feel blessed to be where we are. Along with the promotion came a raise. which is always helpful. This is the first time that David has gotten a raise and we weren’t moving to a bigger place, or having a baby. So, we were excited to be able to celebrate a little bit….