California/Idaho Adventures

So, at the end of the summer, Kaylie got to fly all by herself to California and spend the week with her Aunt Darby and Grandma and Grandpa Harden. Lucky girl! I was a bit nervous to just throw my little girl on an airplane and say, "Well, hope you make it!" But, she was so confident and excited to go that it made it a bit easier.

Here are some pictures from her trip...

The first day that she was there, they took a boat out to Catalina Island. Apparently this was a platform that fishermen clean fish on!

This picture was taken at the LA Temple grounds. Darby has church in a building on the temple grounds.

Of course, you can't go to California without going to the beach! But, Kaylie is a girl after my own heart. She didn't care for the beach much because of all the sand and salt water! In our opinion, a chlorinated pool surrounded by concrete is WAY better! : ) And, there aren't animals that can bite your leg off in one chomp at the local pool!

Kaylie was pretty excited to visit Kermit the Frog's star in Hollywood! She also saw John Wayne and Michael Jackson's stars, along with some others, but Kermit was definitely her favorite.

After spending a few days with Darby in LA, they jumped on a train and rode out to Riverside to go to Grandma Harden's house.

After Kaylie spent a couple of days with Grandma and Grandpa, they jumped in the car and drove to Idaho, where they were meeting us for Penelope's (Dayna and Ben's newest addition) baby blessing. For us, it was a quick weekend trip. We drove up on Friday and came home Sunday. But, it was a fun trip, nonetheless. While we were there, we made sure to visit Drew and I's old stomping ground of Ricks College. YES, RICKS COLLEGE...not BYU Idaho. It will always be RICKS to me! It was fun to see all of the changes that have been made since we were there 12+ years ago. I think that the best addition, of course, is the new temple. It's beautiful! It sits up at the top of the hill and you can see for miles when you're on the grounds.

We made sure to visit Big Jud's, a really yummy hamburger joint where they have a 1 lb. burger challenge. Go Ben! He ate the 1 lb. burger!

We even attempted to take some updated family pictures with everyone. Unfortunately, it was so sunny, that we couldn't get everyone with their eyes open at one shot, but at least it satisfied Diane's needs for updated pictures!

All-in-all, we had a really fun end of the summer trip. We got to see everyone on Drew's side and the kids got to play with their cousins that we don't get to see more than once or twice a year. Thanks, Harden Clan, for the fun time and memories! : )

What a nice surprise!

I know, I know! It's been forever since I've done my blog. Sorry, but life happens. But, since I'm really behind, that means that there will be several posts in a short time to catch me back up, so that will make up for the lost time, right!? : )

So, this first "catch-up" post is all the way back from my birthday (6-18) and my anniversary (6-25). Because they are both so close together, Drew decided to combine them and surprise me with a fun scavenger hunt and a couple of nights without kids! It was such a fun surprise! Mom showed up at the park where the kids and I were playing with a bunch of balloons and a camera! So, here is the scavenger hunt, thanks to mom and her photography skills.

There was a clue in the first balloon that told me to go somewhere where we always go to get snacks for a movie. (and thanks to mom and Mallory for putting each clue into a cute little rhyme! I had all of the clues somewhere, but I can't find them to tell you exactly what they said, but they were clever and cute.)

So, that clue led me to the dollar store! That's where we go to get candy to sneak into the movies!

When I bought the candy, the clerk gave me the next clue, which told me to go to the theater.

At the theater, there was a gift card waiting for me. The girl in the window was so cute. I went to leave with the envelope and clue and she stopped me and asked me if I would read it in front of her! She was pretty impressed with Drew and thought it was very romantic. The next clue led me to the Safeway floral counter.


At Safeway, there were some daisies waiting for me (my favorite!) and another clue that told me to go to my favorite restaurant for lunch. Well, that's an easy one!


OLIVE GARDEN!!! Love it! And, who was there waiting for me?

What an awesome husband I have!
I love him so much for his thoughtfulness. We had a fun couple of days (and nights...wink, wink!) while mom kept the kids at her house. Thaks everyone for helping Drew pull this one off! He's got big shoes to fill next year...I think that the only thing that could beat this year is a trip somewhere next year! : )