California Adventures

Ok, now I realize this should have been done in like 15 different posts, but here is the synopsis of our Christmas vacation.

These first 2 pictures were the Sunday before Christmas of our little cuties in their Christmas outfits my mom got them. Funny story about Ashlyn's shoes: She didn't have any black ones, and white would look ridiculous with this outfit, so we went shopping. She tried on 1 pair, and she was kind of indifferent towards them. Ashlyn then put on this pair and said "that's better!". She refused to try on any other shoes, and would not even take them off to pay for them. She wore them out of the store. It's a good thing they were on sale!

Here we are on the plane. The kiddos did surprisingly well. Jaxon slept the entire time, and Ashlyn, well, let's just say it's a good thing we each had our own little screen. "Happy Feet" kept her occupied until she finally fell asleep.

We arrived in LA around 5am on Christmas Eve. Poor Taylor had to make the trek down to the airport to pick us up. Thanks Tay!

Santa comes to my parent's house every Christmas Eve to bring the little kids presents. We had been trying to warm Ashlyn up to the idea of Santa since before Thanksgiving in preparation for this night. She may not be smiling, but she sure isn't crying. Success!

And Santa brought her a "Dora" movie and dolls!

Jaxon is just happy to be held.

This crown came with her Dora DVD. This girl is so into princesses lately.Christmas morning. We actually had to wake Ashlyn up so she wouldn't miss all the present opening. The poor girl was kept up 'til at least 11 every night, but at least she would sleep in most mornings. Today was no exception.Reading a Disney Princess "look and find" book with G-paJason assuming his usual position

Ashlyn's favorite gifts were the "My Little Ponies" that Grandma got for her. When all was said and done, Jason asked her if she liked Christmas. Ashlyn quickly answered "No! I like my ponies!"

Later Christmas day Mike and Amber came over with their kids. Ashlyn LOVED playing with her cousins. Spencer even let Ashlyn have a turn on his brand new DS!This is my super cute smiley nephew Joshua. He belongs to Brooke and Tami. They came over later Christmas night. He was born on 9/9. Josh and Jax are only 2 months apart. Ashlyn had been talking about riding Grandpa's motorcycle for weeks. We finally took her for a ride on Saturday the 27th, and when I asked her if she liked it she said no. But when I asked her why, her reason was "It's cold outside!" I think we've been in Hawaii too long...Later that night we blessed Jaxon at my parent's home. When I first got Jaxon dressed in his clothes to be blessed in, he spit up all over them. He was absolutely soaked! Luckily, Mrs. Rachel Nichols (formerly Adams) had brought over this super cute suit for him. It was perfect!

The 4 of us right before the blessing. Jaxon may look unhappy here, but he was super good during the blessing.Me with my sweet boy in his sweet suit. Thanks Matt and Rachel! And thanks to Matt and Melissa McIntosh for taking the pictures for us that night!The Adams family...du du du dun *click click*. Bishop Frank made sure everything was done by the book. After most everyone had left, Uncle Tay taught Ashlyn how to jump off the stairs onto pillows. I think she looks like she is playing an air guitar.On Sunday night we had a cookie decorating contest. It was fun to see what kind of shapes people could come up with. We had a sea horse, some palm trees, a guitar......but I'm pretty sure this one was the winner. Tami baked each piece separately before assembling it. Too bad it got eaten before she had a chance to frost it!On Monday we went to Olive Garden with my mom, Amber and kids, Matt and Rachel, and Sarah and Debi Adams. Ashlyn fell asleep on the way, and so we just laid her on the floor where she slept through most of lunch. After lunch we went to Victoria Gardens (sans Adams and Nichols) to ride a train. But first we had to have a quick photo shoot.
Spencer, Ashlyn, Brinley, Staci

Jason modeling Pottery Barn's furniture

Ashlyn did NOT want to get off the train. We literally had to pull her off kicking and screaming. It made us really nervous for how she would react to ...

DISNEYLAND!!

Tuesday, December 30th was our 4th anniversary. What better way to celebrate than with family and friends at the happiest place on earth?
This is one of my favorite pictures. First of all, I love that Ashlyn and my mom are matching. Second, their faces crack me up. They both look so excited!

The Dumbo ride! Princess Ashlyn

We waited in line FOREVER to meet the princesses. Ariel, Jasmine, and Snow White were there. Ashlyn went right up to them and gave big hugs, but she still wouldn't smile. When we left them, she said "I wanna go see Mermaid". Little Stinker.

Jason and Jax on "Small World"

It was all decked out for Christmas. We thought this sign was especially fitting.
The "Bug's Life" 3-D video at California Adventure.

Watching the Electrical Parade. Ashlyn was waving to the people on the floats.

New Year's Eve was spent playing games and eating lots of yummy food. I didn't take a single picture. Sad day.

New Years Day was simply gorgeous. It had warmed up to almost 90! So, we decided to go swimming. Kira and Ryan were the only ones brave enough to jump in the pool though. The rest of us stuck to the hot tub.
Ashlyn loves the water. She even let me take her under a few times! I really want her to be swimming on her own this year. Hopefully she'll be just as brave in the ocean!
Ry-guyJ-Dog and KiKiThe most beautiful backyard in YucaipaPlaying "Hearts" with Brooke and Tami.On Friday we went to the temple with Taylor and Aubree. After we ate lunch at my favorite Mexican restaurant Cuca's. It was delicious! Man, I miss that place!Mike and Amber now store their trampoline in my parent's backyard. Since Ashlyn is a little jumping bean, she was in heaven on this thing.My babiesAnd 90% of the time you could find Jason here. Guitar Hero was played way more than any game should be played. Let's just say that we will not be buying any video game system in the near future. However, he was pretty excited to beat a few songs on expert.

Even little Ash tried to get in on the action. Rocker Babe!

Our last night. Ashlyn and Kira were hammin' it up for the camera. Cute cousins!

We were there for a week and a half, but it wasn't long enough. We didn't get to do everything or see everyone we wanted to, but it was still filled with lots of food, fun, friends, and family. Hopefully it won't be too long before we meet again!