Under the pier

As I've said time and time (and time) again, Santa Monica is one of our favorite places on the planet. It's a one-size-fits-all stop to get your LA fix -- the beach, the pier, the shopping, you name it. We love it. One of the things we'd always walked by but never stepped into is the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, located right under the pier. We finally decided to check it out with my baby brothers in tow. As it turns out, it's a great little aquarium with a good representation of the fish in the bay, cute grandma volunteers, and fun touch tanks. And at two bucks a pop, it was quality entertainment.

Families are forever

One of the most beautiful beliefs we share as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that families can be together forever. Temples are an integral part of that process, and few things are more special than visiting a temple together with our family. When my family was in town, we spent a few hours together at the Los Angeles Temple on Santa Monica Boulevard.

The new(ish) interactive visitors' center kept the babies entertained while the big kids were inside the temple, and we toured it a bit as a family before leaving.

It was time well spent.

Nine

Of all my childhood birthdays, there are two that stand out from the others in my memory. The first is my fifth birthday, for which I had a treasure troll cake and a big birthday party complete with an elaborate scavenger hunt. I remember that scene at our Layton home, with our beautiful golden retriever Schatzi playing in the backyard as the treasure was brought down from its hiding place on the roof. I'm guessing it was the totally-cool-for-a-five-year-old hiding place that ingrained that birthday in my memory.

The other memorable birthday was the one that I spent away from home. It was my seventh birthday, and it was extra special because I spent it at my grandparents' home in Southern Utah. I wore my Aunt Lisa's long black t-shirt as a dress with a belt around my waist (oh yeah, I was way ahead on that trend) and jumped on the trampoline with my cousins. My Grandma had a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and Barney come to the party. It was awesome to have the fake Donatello there (yes, I knew he was fake), but sort of embarrassing to have the big purple dinosaur in attendance (didn't Grandma know that I was 7 and far too mature for such things?). Despite the Barney appearance, the fact that my Grandma and everyone went out of their way to make sure I had a fun birthday obviously wasn't lost on me. I remember feeling really loved and special.

So when we figured out that Kaleb would be spending his ninth birthday at our home in California, we wanted to make sure he felt special, too. 

We decorated the house with streamers, balloons and birthday signs, woke Kaleb up for reveille, taught him how to drive on the dry lake bed (because he is, after all, nine whole years old), ordered a few sonic booms, let him help Matt grill a special birthday dinner, bought his favorite ice cream, and made a delicious feathery fudge airplane cake from scratch. It was a success.

Joshie and Gabey added a nice touch by becoming sound managers for the cake and presents extravaganza. They added Star Wars sound effects for Kaleb's entrance, blowing out of the candles, and each presents. It was classic.

Discs in the desert

Remember that one time Matt and I went land sailing? It was one of the most fun and unique things we've done out here, and we couldn't wait to share it with my family. Unfortunately, the wind didn't pick up enough on the day we had it booked, so after having a little fun driving on the dry lake bed, we headed back home in search of an afternoon activity. Frisbee golf ended up being the winner and it hit the spot. Even the babies got the hang of it in no time at all!

So nice to finally meet you

This had been a long time in the making. When we announced our pregnancy to my family at the beginning of the year, they immediately penciled in a trip to California over UEA weekend (Utah schools' fall break). Jake was six weeks old then, so it was perfect timing to play host to his seven youngest aunts and uncles. We had so much fun during their visit! Too much, in fact, for just one blog post, so I'm going to split it up into a post a day throughout this week.

My family pulled into our driveway at nearly 2 a.m. on a Thursday. (Jake and I were wide awake anyway, of course!) It was the best thing ever to see them all walk through the door to meet our sweet baby boy. Sharing Jake with people we love -- that really love him too -- has been one of my favorite things about this new stage in our lives.

Meeting Grandpa:

 Catching up with Grammie:

 Jake's littlest uncle, four-year-old Gabey Baby:

 Six-year-old Uncle Joshie's convincing impression of Jake's hungry cry:

Nine-year-old Kaleb (who got to meet Jake on his birthday!):

Uncle Matthew:

Aunt Coley:

Uncle Kiken (Christian):

Aunt Heidi:

This picture is actually from Heidi's first visit, but I love it so!

We were extra lucky that weekend, because just 12 hours earlier, the Chamberlains took a Jake detour on their way to Disneyland. They were the first members of Matt's family to meet our little guy, and it meant so much to me and Matt that they would go out of their way to make it happen. We only wish they could have stayed longer!

The whole clan -- Uncle Dave, Aunt Monica, and cousins Joseph, Joshua, Nelson, Hannah, Elizabeth, John and Samuel.