I'm goin' to Disneyland

Our dreams came true when we went to Disneyland on Saturday (thanks to wonderful and generous in-laws and Christine Smith!). Despite the large crowds, it was the perfect day to go, the weather was great and the kids were happy (for the most part). I didn't do such a good job at taking this picture, I was just too anxious to get in the park.

Grace loved the Dumbo ride, Clark however wasn't as thrilled. Here are some other pics of our fun-filled day:

Clark was pretty disappointed to leave the 'happiest place on earth', but who could blame him. No worries, we'll go back anytime anyone wants to go!

The Bonnie Hunt Show

(warning: no pictures in this entry)

Little known fact: the Bonnie Hunt Show is taped in front of a live studio audience right here in Culver City. The show's season is ending this week, so I wanted to go. It was fun! I went with my friend, Christa (one of the nicest people you'll ever meet!). If you want to check it out, it's going to air tomorrow (wednesday) (check your local listings=). We sat on the 2nd row, just right of the band (you may not recognize me with my bronzed skin and platinum blonde hair). One of my biggest motivations to go was to see what kind of freebies we could get. Not to ruin the surprise, but we each got a case of Bush's Grillin' Beans, a basket full of Lubriderm lotion, and the complete series on DVD of Andy Richter Controls the Universe. I dunno, the guy to get us all jazzed up sure got my hopes up with saying what great freebies we would be getting. But I can't complain. Anyone want some beans?

We're official

Who knew that owning a LA Dodgers hat made you an official resident of LA!?

We have been unpacked for a couple of weeks now, I just finally remembered to grab the cord out of Clark's room before naptime to download the pictures. Our living space is very quaint and cozy (otherwise known as very small:)

Here is a shot taken by Grace just outside our front door:

Our quaint, yellow, very out-dated (thank goodness they thought of adding a dishwasher) kitchen:

And our cozy living/dining/entry/playroom space:

Not pictured:
bedrooms (nothing to brag about)
backyard (seriously nothing to brag about)
bathroom (it's just a cozy bathroom)
For those who are now tempted to come and see us, you can see it all for yourselves in person. We'd love to see ya!

One Last Thing...

Before we left Portland, I really wanted our family pictures taken by the incredibly talented Courtney Blaisdell. My wish was granted. These are just a few of my favorites.

There are so many things that I've loved since living in Oregon. My list of things that I will miss certainly out weigh the things I will not miss. I thought I would post a few.

miss:

I have really enjoyed cooking on this brand new flat top stove. In our new place, the stove looks like it's been there since the house was built. It will take some adjusting. No promises on how my cooking will turn out in CA.

miss:

I won't miss the fridge itself, just the water disposal. It has been a real luxury.

miss:

I will miss looking at these 3 beautiful heads of hair. Grace has made some really great friends here. Luckily she is excited to move to our new home, near disneyland. But I do think once we are there and she realizes her friends won't be there, she'll have a hard time. What am I saying? I think I'll have a harder time than she will. I too have made some really good friends here. What more could a girl ask for than good friends who put up with all my flaws. But thank goodness for email and facebook.

miss:

I'm really going to miss the Oregon Zoo. I know you can't tell by the picture, but this was taken there. We bought an annual pass, along with the rest of Portland. I have really enjoyed just going when the weather was decent and taking in all that it has to offer.

miss:

This is our view from the kitchen window. Sometimes there are deer out there. Oregon is just beautiful!

miss:

Our little preschool co-op has been a wonderful experience for us. I know Grace looked forward to it every week, as did I (except for those weeks I had to teach:) I could not have asked for a better group of moms (and kids) to work with. Thanks for making our little group so fun!

not miss:

Our place has two of these. Our new place has none. No contest.

A hunting we will go

(Grass skirts and coconut bras provided by Grammy from Hawaii trip.)

A couple of weeks ago, Andy and I were in pursuit to find a new place to call home in LA. We felt that the best place to keep the kids was with our family. So we headed for Utah, relaxed for a couple of days then headed to sunny California. It was a very stressful quick trip, but in the end we found a cute little 3 bedroom house to rent. We took pictures along the way of the houses we were most interested, but we were so pressed for time (to catch our flight) we forgot to take any pictures of the one we ended up with. We were able to stay in Utah for Conference weekend (my favorite) then head home to Portland. We have been busy ever since trying to get things ready for the big move. So if you don't see any new posts for a while, you'll know why.

Birthday Girl

Although her birthday was a couple of weeks ago, what kind of mother would I be if I didn't post this special day? We had a fun-filled day of preschool, out-0f-this-world pizza, dinner provided by Rachel (thank you!), and of course, birthday cake!

Later on that week we had a little birthday bash of bowling. It was crazy, but I think everyone enjoyed themselves, including the birthday girl. Thanks for all who came and wished her a happy birthday and spoiled her rotten!

well, all I can say is...I am really proud to be Grace's mom! hard to believe she's a little independent four year old already. I love you sweetie!