Life in the Houts House: June 2009

We just got home a few days ago from our 10 day trip to San Diego to visit Adam's family. Adeline finally got to meet her cousin Janie, her Great-Grandmother Mommom, her Great Aunt Margee and Great Uncle Glenn, Uncle Alex, Uncle Matt and Tia Caro. (Adam's parents already met sweet Adeline here in Idaho, but they were there too and enjoyed special time with the girls). We also got to spend time with Adam's good friend Jack and his adorable family. We missed seeing Uncle Avery and Aunt Chrissy (they are in Wiscosin). Ella had a wonderful time with Janie. She wants to be just like her! It was so great to see everyone. The girls did great on the plane and seemed to adjust well to all the bouncing around from house to house.

Thank you Grammy Jane for the vacation, gifts and love :)

(We took hundreds of pictures, so I made slideshows of some of my favorites)

Grammy Jane's condo is basically a block from the beach, so we were able to have some lovely beach days. It was so relaxing. I was able to take Adeline on a couple of little walk/jogs in the stroller for some great naps. Ella and her cousin Janie had a blast playing together in the waves and in the sand. Adeline had fun crawling in the sand and chasing the waves.

Grammy Jane took us all to Disneyland and Ella had SOOOO much fun. She got scared on some of the rides, but recovered well. The highlight was the character breakfast and Ella's dreams came true when she met some of the Disney Princesses. Watching Ella meet the princesses was the best part for us as well. (Well, that and we saw the drummer for Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. So that was a highlight for Adam for sure!) Ella had her face painted as a cat (she has an alter-ego, SuperCat) but a lot of it was cried away when she was on the Pirates ride. We were all exhausted when the day was done and Ella snored the whole ride back to San Diego.

We were also treated to a baseball game at the beautiful Petco Park in Downtown San Diego. It was the Padres vs. Mariners (a bit of a conflict of interest for me!) The Mariners won. It was a quick, well-pitched game.........not a lot of hits. We didn't get there until the 3rd inning because Ella was so exhausted from going to Disneyland the day before that she couldn't walk (so she says). So, long story made short: Ella threw a wee bit of a fit and was refusing to walk, so we waited it out until she was done and was willing to walk. Fun times ;) Unforgettable memories!!

My Birthday happened to be while we were there. It was great. I had 3 Birthday cakes! We had lunch with Mommom on my Birthday :) Margee and Glenn hosted a great Birthday party for me :) and we stayed at their house for 2 nights, relaxing and hanging out. UG made us lattes each morning and AM made great breakfasts. Grammy Jane took me and Ella to get pedicures and spoiled all of us the entire time.

I was happy I was able to spend time with our cutie-pie niece, Janie. She is a sweet girl. Ella spent TONS of time with her, including 3 sleepovers! The 3 cousins all had their pictures taken together at the mall.

We are happy to be home again, but are so grateful for the opportunity to spend time and make memories with family.

We had a very fun Memorial Day Weekend. I made our Indian-Inspired BBQ for the 3rd year in a row. Yummy stuff! Tandoori style wings, Curry deviled eggs, Ginger-Lime Fruit Salad, Cucumber Salad. We love it! Ella too! The Fruit Salad is too spicy for her, so I make her own with just honey and lime (no mint or ginger).

Ella got a new (to her) bike. It belonged to Lucy, the oldest daughter in the Ross Family. (THANK YOU soooooooooooo much. She LOVES it!!) She fell a few times (even with her training wheels) but was so brave. One time she actually said "I'm OK" while she was falling. She just wants to be a big kid! There was a policeman riding through our neighborhood and he stopped to say HI to Ella and commented on her helmet. She blushed :)

(pictures in reverse order, ooooops)