As Sweet as Ghirardelli Chocolate

I love these pictures of Gpa Robby and Gma Trish with the boys. They are so sweet. Here we are at Ghirardelli Square in SF. This was Trish's first time meeting the boys. She was wonderful with them. We all really enjoyed spending the day hanging out with my dad and Trish. It was awesome.

I do have to give my dad some credit here. He is known for being a goof-ball. So, to get this many smiling photos of him and only one silly one is pretty dang impressive. :0)

Music to My Ears

Here are some pics of my dad and Christian at my favorite park in San Francisco, the Golden Gate Park. This is the playground they have there. These pics were taken back in May when the whole family went out for Robin's wedding. We were so happy to get to meet up with my dad and Trish, and of course, their puppies.

Christian and Gpa Robby

Christian meeting their sweet dogs

And of course, we couldn't hang out at the park w/out some guitar playing!
The boys absolutely love listening to their grandpa sing and play the guitar. Both of my boys absolutely love music, either playing an instrument or dancing along to it. The video below is one of my most favorite memories with my dad and the boys. It was music to my ears. It was the cutest thing ever! Their dogs even joined in and accompanied my dad on vocals. It's really quite hilarious!

Hip Hip Hooray!

It's preschool time everybody!

Today was Lincoln's first day (second year) at preschool.

We started the day off by cutting his hair. Lincoln hates that part, but the stars must have been aligned for me this morning because he hardly put up a fuss. Thank goodness!

To top that off, Ms. Julie (his teacher/girlfriend from last year and now for this year too) said he did a fantastic job today. (She was especially emphasizing that he ate all his lunch. See, Lincoln has been a pretty picky eater most of his young life, and so Jon and I have been doing what we call 'extreme intervention' to try and help him eat more types of foods this whole summer. He has improved tremendously and we are very proud of him, and not to mention relieved. So, right now I'm working on getting Lincoln to like sandwiches for lunch so that it'll be easier for me to make his lunch in the morning. So far, so good. Hip hip hooray!)

And according to Lincoln, Ms. Julie was right. He did do a fantastic job today. When we were driving home he told me all about how nice he was to the other kids and how he shared with them. Yea Linkie! That's what I like to hear. He's the oldest in his class now, so it will be great if he can set a good example.



So adorable! I could just eat him up. I love when I can catch a real smile. Good job, Link!

Big brother and little brother

Sitting at his 'desk'

"Yes, I'm pretty much on of the best people I know."

(to quote his shirt)


Another reason why this day was so great...

I worked out finally!!!
It's seriously like one of the first times that I've worked out this pregnancy. Now that Lincoln is in preschool I can use our neglected treadmill while Crisco naps. It felt soooooo good. I made myself go for one hour and walked around 3.2 miles. And stretched afterward! One of my favorite parts. My plan is to exercise every Tue and Thur when Lincoln is in preschool.

My other goal is to use the rest of the time that Christian is napping to work on my family history. Today I got a whole hour. I'm so excited to finally get back to this. It's been way too long. I definitely know that I have family on the other side of the veil that are waiting for me to take their names to the temple. This will feel so good to make progress on my family history again.

Pensacola Beach

While we visited my gma Dolly in Mississippi, Lincoln and I got to take a day trip to Florida. We had such a blast swimming in the ocean, jumping the waves, and playing in the sand. The water was warm and the sand was white. That was Lincoln's first time swimming in the ocean and he did a great job being careful and listening to mommy. Unfortunately, I got way sunburned (but never pealed, thank you very much! Lincoln just browned some more like my dad. I swear the kid has some latin in him. He can dance and he can tan.) Too bad Daddy wasn't there to join in on the fun. The poor guy was busy taking care of patients in the dental clinic and working late at night in the lab. Some day, some day. Someday will be soon if the AF moves us to Biloxi. Day trips to Florida as a family would be sweet!

"Watch me suck in my stomach, guys!"

I know that looks scary, but don't worry everyone. Lincoln is actually above average in his weight percentile and still right on the top for height. It's Chirstian that we're more concerned with. He's my skinny-minny ranking 5th on the percentile for weight. Yikes! Weird, cuz he'll eat anything I give him. I think it's that he has a small appetite. Lincoln's the just the opposite.

Rocket to the Moon!

On our road trip to Mississippi, Lincoln spotted this ginormous rocket alongside the road at an Alabama rest stop. We didn't have time to stop, so we promised that we would stop on our way back home. Needless to say, my boy would not stop talking about the 'rocket to the moon' that he was going to go inside the whole trip. Even though it was gated off, he still got a huge kick out of seeing a real rocket. It was a really great attraction.

The troopers:
Nonni, Christian, and Lincoln

Some Cool Cars in Monterey

No idea what this thing is

Not surprising, we spotted this one in Carmel.

We absolutely LOVED our bug. It totally set the tone to having a very fun and carefree trip.
(And, Jon picked it out. What a lady's man)

More Monterey...

the bad girl

and the good guy

Trying to Look as GQ as the Gardens

The Gorgeous Gardens

Here are some pictures of the beautiful gardens at the Old Monterey Inn.
One morning I woke up early just to go outside, sip hot chocolate, meditate, and breathe in the heavenly California costal air. It was so peaceful and serene. Definitely one of my favorite parts about the B&B.

Two hummingbirds taking a bath on the fountain right in front of where I was sitting. Couldn't get anymore perfect, especially since my darling was by my side to enjoy it, too.

Just Chillin' on the Steps

"I Caught a Fish!"

(this actually has nothing to do with the fish, I just thought the statue was really cool...)

Lincoln's first time fishing.
Free at the fair. How awesome is that?! The pond was stocked with tons of cat fist and flounder-type fish. They first give the kids a lesson, and then help them catch a fish. It was a great experience.

Mom totally dropping the ball and missing the fish in the shot. Opps!

Here we go. Lincoln is trying to touch it and Dad's telling him to be gentle. 'Eww, gross' are what Lincoln and I are thinking of the slimy creature.