Christmas in the East

In December, Nick and I headed home for a Christmas visit. We went home 2 weeks before Christmas, because tickets are much more reasonable, and we were able to have someone watch the dogs.

We flew into Dayton, then drove to Indiana to spend 3 days with Nick's mom. It was REALLY funny telling her we were having a girl. Nick's mom has been saying for EVER that she wants a girl (she has 3 grandsons already). I had bought a "grandma's brag book" in pink to reveal the gender to her--and she didn't notice at first! She was proudly holding it up and showing it around. Her husband Nick said, "You can put pictures of your grandsons in there," and when I said, "Why would I do that? It's pink," is when it finally sunk in. I really wish we had this on video, because she literally screamed for about 20 seconds.

After a few days in Indiana, we went back to Ohio and spent a few days in my hometown. We had my family's celebrations all on Saturday--my mom's side in the morning, and my dad's side in the evening.

Family Photos

Meant to write this post before the Thanksgiving one.  Oh, well.

There are a few things I regret about mom's passing. We truly never thought she would pass away so quickly after her diagnosis that we couldn't do these things. 

1. We never got to go on a family vacation. Mom, Dad and I went to Washington, DC in 2010, but Ashley wasn't with us. Mom, Dad and I went to Ireland to see Ashley in 2008, but she wasn't married yet, and Nick didn't come with us. I really wanted to go on a vacation with Brandon and Ashley, Mom and Dad, and Nick and I. Really, I wanted to go to a place like North Carolina, rent an ocean front house, and bring all 3 of our "babies" with us: Gus, Waldo, and Stella.

2. I never got my mom to do one of those recordable books so that my kids could hear her read a story to them. She taught me my love of reading, and I really wanted her to record one of those, I just didn't buy one before she became so bad she couldn't really read.

3. We didn't get a family portrait done. I am a family photographer, for goodness' sake, but we were always so busy, or just never in the same city. I have one family picture we did at Christmas, and it turns out that's the last picture we have together. We don't have on coordinating outfits, half of us are in sweats, but I love the pic because it's of all of us.

Well, when our family came down to San Diego, I said we had to have a family portrait done! I talked with my friend Shari, a photographer herself, and asked if she would be willing to take the pics for us, and she graciously gave her time up for us. Because we're all grown-ups, it didn't take long to get the few shots I wanted.

The whole fam together:

The next 2 are my favorites. A bird flock flew overhead--Ashley and I are infamously freaked out by birds. Then we had a good laugh.

Papa Bear and his cubs:

Brandon and Ashley:

Seesters:

Nick and I:

The men:

If there's a lesson to be learned in this, it's to stop making plans, or wishing for something, and DO IT. You'll only regret later the things that you DON'T do.

Thanksgiving

Last year, at Thanksgiving, Nick and I didn't really have any friends. Not trying to be melodramatic or anything--we just didn't really know anyone yet, so we didn't really have anywhere to go. We didn't have plans for Thanksgiving, so we took a last-minute invitation from one of Nick's co-workers, and headed to their house for the day.

But this year, we had plans!

Nick and I attend Ecclesia Hollywood, and we were invited to Joseph and Katie's house for Thanksgiving. It was a potluck-style dinner, and it was heavenly!  There were lots of Midwestern AND Californian foods, and all the Californian foods got eaten first--so by the time I went through the line, there were LOTS of my favorites left!

It was a great, relaxing day. Even though there were over 40 people at J&K's house, it didn't feel crowded because they have a big front yard/driveway area where people hung out, and the kids were running around in the side/back yards, so they weren't in the way. Plus, Joseph and Katie rented a bounce house, so they were nice and busy with that. :)

Here's a few pics of our day, plus a pic of the whole group (minus 3 kids) that we took:

Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk

Like I said in the last post, my family was brought down to San Diego by my cousin Jennifer in order to celebrate her walking in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk.  This walk is a 3-Day, 60 mile course. It happens in several different states.  You can find out more about it at this website: http://www.the3day.org

It was really great to spend time with her and my Uncle Kenzie, as well as having my entire immediate family in the same state for once!  We were able to stay with our family friends the Jensens while we were here, which was also great to be able to catch up with them.

We met Jennifer at several places along the course, cheering her on with our homemade signs.  Jennifer stayed in the Walk Camps overnight, so we didn't see her a lot, but when we did we made sure to cheer extra loud for her. :)

I took over 700 photos during our weekend, so obviously I won't post them all here. Here are a few highlights:

This is the bag that Jennifer carried with mom's picture on it. Little known fact: Jennifer spent the night with mom over her last two nights here on Earth.  We are so thankful for her dedication to mom.

The morning of the first day. It was COLD outside!

We wrote a note for Jennifer and I put it inside the "O" so it was easy to find. :)

Cheering along the course near Torrey Pines golf course.

Here she comes!

The whole cheer crew on Saturday (minus my hubs, who was taking the picture).

Me, Avalyn, and Brinley, my two cheerleaders. Brinley was very interested in getting to talk to the baby while I was there. :)

Jenny's tentmate and new friend Janet. They ended up walking together most of the last day, I think.

I am interested in doing the 3 Day sometime. It is a great physical challenge (20 miles a day for 3 days in a row), as well as a challenge to raise money in support of breast cancer research.  I am so proud of Jennifer for all that she has done over the years to support breast cancer awareness and research, and all she has done to honor mom.

Weekend in San Diego

My cousin Jenny walked in the 3-Day Susan G. Komen breast cancer walk in San Diego in November. She amazingly paid for my dad, sister, and brother-in-law to fly out and support her. It was great to be able to spend the weekend as a family, honoring mom and honoring Jenny's hard work.

While we were there, we did an afternoon on Coronado Beach, and walked through Hotel Del. I love the gold-flecked sand. Ashley and Brandon got to experience the wicked-cold Pacific Ocean water (Brandon for the first time), which was hilarious.