Chilling in Arizona

After moving most of our stuff from Provo to Matt's parents' house to store it, we spent a few days with the family. We went to Disneyland on Friday and Laguna Beach and Saturday, and we had a nice Sunday just spending time together. On Monday, we packed up the essentials and headed to Arizona to my sister Holly's house. We are staying with Holly and her family until Matt is able to find a permanent job. If you know of anyone who is hiring mechanical engineers (anywhere in the country), please let us know!

This is Holly's youngest son, Ryland. He's so handsome. He's about six months older than Elise.

Elise and her cousins Savannah and Leighton

These four have so much fun playing together.

Elise is in heaven. She loves kids. And they can't get enough of her.

sweet Savannah, with my beautiful [pregnant] sister Holly in the background

added bonus: lots and lots of new books

[I realize that the book Elise happens to be pulling down is called "I'm a Big Sister," but this isn't some sly way of announcing that I'm pregnant. If you're still wondering, I most certainly am not pregnant.]

another bonus: lots of fun, new toys

silly Leighton

cute Savannah

and the baby buds (without their duds)

Ten Months

While we were at Matt's parents' house, Elise turned ten months old! I can't believe how big my baby is getting. And she loves her grandparents.

Elise and Grandpa

Elise with Grandma and Grandpa

She was so tired! Dressed in her pajamas and ready for bed.

Elise and her great-aunt Ann

What a great place to spend her ten-month birthday!

Laguna Beach

While we were visiting Matt's parents in California, we took a trip to Laguna Beach. This was my first real beach trip to the Pacific Ocean and Elise's first ever time at the beach. We had a lot of fun in spite of the circumstances. Traffic was bad, parking was worse, but the extremely high tide was the worst. The beach was really crowded because there was so little sand left that wasn't covered with water and because all the surfers were out to catch the giant waves. Needless to say, we didn't end up staying very long. I am really glad we went, still. I think Elise enjoyed it.

Grandpa, Grandma, Matt, and Elise

Daddy and Elise

Matt's sister, Natalie

Elise and I went out to enjoy the water.

Elise loved eating the sand.

Like I said, the waves were pretty big, and the tide was coming in fast. I was wearing flip flops, but none of us were wearing our bathing suits except for Elise. Matt and his sister came out to join us after a while. Matt was holding Elise when I lost my flip flop to a wave. I watched it wash out for a second, thinking it was a lost cause because the waves were so big, and then Matt said, "Don't just stand there! Go get it!" I ran to get my flip flop and managed to grab it before a wave swept me off my feet and into the water. I was holding our camera at the time, but thankfully I was able to shoot my arm up fast enough that it didn't get too wet. This is right after I got drenched. The camera lens must have had a little water on it at this point.

Please don't make fun of me for falling into the ocean.

Afterwards we went to Wahoo's for tacos. So yummy!

I had to change into my bathing suit so I would be dry.

In the mall where Wahoo's was, there was also a little pet store. We stopped by so Elise could look at the animals.

I love that she happened to do a fish face in this picture.

This is a short video of the waves coming in. Crazy!

Disneyland

While we were in California, Matt and I decided to take a trip to Disneyland. I had been to Disney World, but never Disneyland. Matt's brother, Mike, got us free tickets! Thanks, Mike!

Elise stayed at home with Grandma and Grandpa. Thanks, Patti and Craig!

We had a really good time. First, we went on the Little Mermaid ride (which is new) so we could report back to Matt's brother.

From these next pictures, it kind of looks like all we did was eat. That's not exactly true, but I was pretty excited about the food. Gluten-free options at no additional cost! And yummy too. Now, that's what I'm talking about. (Also, I think I ended up taking more pictures while we ate because that was the only time we slowed down.)

lunch: my hamburger on a gluten-free bun!

dinner: my delicious gluten-free pizza

with the [tiny] castle in the background

I never realized the Disneyland castle was so much smaller than the Disney World one.

just before the World of Color show

What a fun time!

On the Move

On July 6th we made the big move from Provo. We got a little bit of a late start because packing and cleaning were taking longer than we had planned. At least leaving later meant that Elise spent more of the traveling hours sleeping.

Bye, Provo!

Moving can be a little confusing for babies.

sleeping in the car on the way to Grandma and Grandpa's house

What is usually a nine-hour trip became a thirteen-and-a-half-hour trip because of our slower speeds from towing a trailer and from stopping more than usual with Elise. But, by 3:15 am California time, we made it! Thank goodness for Matt! He was such a trooper.

Here's to hoping that when Matt gets a job we won't have to move too far.

Independence Day 2011

Here are a few pictures of Elise's first Independence Day. Actually, these pictures are from July 2nd, when we went to see the fireworks. Elise ended up falling asleep during the fireworks show.

I clapped my hands to try to get Elise to look at the camera. It didn't work, but she started clapping too.

You can barely see her shoes, but they were the red part of her outfit.

It was so much fun to see my sister, Bridget, and her cute family.

God bless the U.S.!

Goodbye, Provo!

We are moving in a few days. I knew I wouldn't have a lot of extra time to blog because we'll be finishing up packing and cleaning, so I thought I'd post this now.

Well, goodbye Provo! We'll miss the people we're leaving behind, and of course we'll miss good old BYU (at least some things about it, anyway). Oh, and BYU creamery ice cream. And the temple being so close. But we won't miss the snow.

Here's a video of Elise waving. (Or maybe she's signing "all done"? I don't think she really knows the difference.) Matt is all tuckered out from the packing he's been doing!

Have a great Independence Day weekend!