Monterey

John planned an awesome trip to Monterey for my birthday. We had such a great time. It is seriously so beautiful there. 

The first night we headed to Fisherman's Wharf for some fish and chips. 

We loved that EVERY single restaurant on the wharf let you try samples of their clam chowder! We had probably 8 different little cups of soup! So good!!

We went to the aquarium the next day. It is a fantastic place for kids! Brandon loved looking at all the sea life and learning new things.

Brighton helped us navigate around the place by eating our map. :) 

The jellyfish, penguins and otters were our favorites!

There was water right by our hotel, so we went out to feed the birds. They must have people feeding them all the time because they were super friendly...almost too friendly!

Here we are at Dennis the Menace Park. By far the best park we have ever been to!!

On our last day, we went back to the aquarium for one more visit. 

We had such a fun mini vacation! 

#34

So last Sunday I turned the big 34...which just so happens to be John's favorite number. I think it might be a lucky number too because I had seriously the BEST birthday that I can remember. Julie, Angie, Greg, Lily, Parker and London all came into town and stayed for an awesome weekend! 

Of course we started it off by enjoying some Kinders BBQ. 

Jump Sky High was our next stop. 

Parker doing a flip into the foam pit!

Later that night we stuffed ourselves with pizza and Oreo truffles! Thank you Julie!

On Sunday after church, we headed to the Marina park to feed the ducks. We ended up feeding a lot more seagulls than ducks!

Brandon and London doing some exploring.

Angie took some family photos for us. :) 

 My sisters made me the most delicious meal and then we played the flour game and the water game. Two of our family favorites! They wanted to make me a cake but because most all cakes have some dairy, I opted for some Mint Oreos. Here is the picture of my "cake" this year! Ha!

Brighty playing the flour game. Baby with a knife...not a good idea! 

It was unbelievably fun having some of my family in town. 

Such a Happy Birthday for me! :)

One more thing...my amazing friend Rachel made me this super adorable and YUMMY cake! Love her!

I love this month

February has been wonderful. We experienced a seriously rough start to the year over here, so it is refreshing to have had such a great month so far. Starting early on our Valentine cards was awesome. We had fun making some silly ones! Brandon sent this to his cousins :)

For his classmates we made cell phone valentines. So fun to take treats to our sweet neighbors and make Brandon's teacher a "kiss tree." We "heart attacked" a wonderful family from the ward. Brandon LOVES leaving treats and paper hearts all over the door, then running away as I ring the bell. ;)

I had a blast taking Valentine pictures of Brighty. Why is it that girls are ridiculously fun to dress up and take pictures of? I cannot begin to count the number of pics I have of this child. Ha!

I also enjoyed doing the "12 Days of Valentines" for my guys. Each day starting on Feb. 3, they would wake up to a surprise (1 for the first day, 2 for the second, and so on). Brandon really got a kick out of it. :) This was one of his gifts, a chocolate heart to break with a little hammer. 

On the 12th day (Valentine's day) John and Brandon had to follow 12 clues around the house to find the last surprise- a Pokemon book and stuffed animal for Bran, and two work shirts for John...I know,
SO romantic! Ha!

We got super lucky to have Nana and Papa John come stay with us for a weekend. They helped celebrate my birthday a few days early! We went to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch and I ate my very first bit of dairy in 4 months!! The peanut butter cheesecake was absolutely unbelievable! I will say that I got VERY sick afterwards though. Still...I think it was worth it. ;)

For my valentine gift, John got me the watch I have been dreaming about. I was SO surprised! 

He is the best. 

 Greg, Angie, Lily and Julie are coming in tonight for more birthday fun, and I can barely contain my excitement! I cannot wait to celebrate with them all weekend. 

Yahoo for family and February! 

I love this month!