2009 Year in Review

Since I didn't do a very good job keeping our blog updated last year, I thought I'd try and catch up on a few things that I missed. I mostly have to rely on pictures to remember what actually happened! Maybe I'll do a better job posting in 2010.

January

• We spent New Year's in Henderson with Chris & Carly and their family.
• We took a trip to Atlanta. Charlie was there on business, while Isaac visited the Georgia Aquarium, went shopping, and enjoyed room service.
• Isaac split his head open on the coffee table and we made a trip to Urgent Care.
• Isaac started a program at ICEC (Intervention Center for Early Childhood).
• Isaac & I took advantage of the warm weather & our season pass and spent some time at Disneyland.
  
  
  

February

• Isaac had a major stomach flu and couldn't keep any food down for over a week. Charlie and I ended up with it too, but we recovered in a few days.
• Janelle (Charlie's mom) and Cassi (our sister-in-law) came to visit for a long weekend.
• We all went to Miami for the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. Charlie was working and hanging out with the Food Network stars while Isaac & I were enjoying the beach and the pool.
• My parents moved back to Utah. Charlie broke his foot while helping with the move.
  

Being sick requires extra pacifiers!

March

• Charlie & I hired a baby sitter (the only time we've ever done this!) and went to a 80's party for my friend Erin's 30th birthday.
• We dog sat and spent a lot of time in the yard.
• This is always Charlie's busiest month for work. I'm not sure what Isaac and I were doing...

April

• I turned 29 and Charlie took me to lunch at the Nordstrom Cafe (one of my favorite places to eat, mostly because of their Boston Cream Cake).
• We celebrated Easter Sunday at my aunt & uncle's house. Isaac got a fun basket from the Easter Bunny.
• Isaac said his first word: "go."
• We went to Hawaii! This was our third time to Kauai, where we stayed for most of the trip. We also made a day trip to Oahu to explore the island a bit and see some of the sites there. Unfortunately, we had to cut our trip a little short and come home early because...
• Cracker broke his back. He lost the use of his back legs and was in a lot of pain. We decided to go ahead and get surgery for him to save his life. We love our dog! Our friends Sam & Sherri took care of Cracker while we were gone and took him in for surgery.
  
  
  

May

• We celebrated Cracker's 6th birthday. He had to be on "crate rest" for several weeks after his surgery. Then we had to do physical therapy with him to help him be able to walk again.
• Isaac was moved from the Infant program at ICEC to the Behavior program. This group is for children with behaviors & signs of autism.
  

June

• Isaac and I made a few more trips to Disneyland.
• We hung out with my sister & her family in Chino Hills.
• I don't have many pictures! I guess we just enjoyed the summer and played in the water.
  

Isaac & his cousins Katie and Ryan

July

• We ran the Woodbridge 10k for the 4th of July.
• We took a trip to Utah for a Wood Family Reunion. We also got to visit my parents, my sisters, and my grandparents while we were there.
• We started Isaac on a gluten free casien free (GFCF) diet.
  

August

• We went to San Francisco for a week. Charlie had to be there for work. Isaac & I went to the Aquarium, the zoo, the beach, and the pool.
• We celebrated Charlie's 32nd birthday while we were in San Francisco. We went to dinner downtown with some friends.
• We also celebrated Isaac's 2nd birthday. We had a fun day at home opening presents and eating cake.
  

Isaac had fun feeding goats at the petting zoo in San Francisco


Charlie's 32nd Birthday Dinner








Isaac playing with his new birthday toys

September

• Isaac & I got to go back to Disneyland after being blocked out for the summer months. (We really don't spend that much time at Disneyland, but I am going off pictures here & I guess I always brought my camera to Disneyland!)
• We celebrated Labor Day by relaxing at the pool. I think we actually spent a lot of Saturdays at the pool over the summer too.
• Isaac was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We had suspected this for quite awhile, so although it was not a shock to us, it was still very sad. I could write a lot more about Isaac & autism and all of his therapy and biomedical treatment, but I think most people who read this blog already know what we are dealing with. (If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.)

Isaac, Daylynn & Hudson at Disneyland


Isaac & Daniel get their first glimpse of Lightning McQueen in the Pixar Parade!

October

• Chris (Charlie's twin brother) & Carly and their family came to visit. We had fun going to the beach, the pool, and Disneyland. Cracker made friends with their dog Oliver.
• Charlie showed Isaac how to play games on the computer. He already learned how to use my iPhone several months earlier. Now I can't use either in his presence without him begging for a turn!
• We went on a field trip with ICEC to the Irvine Regional Park pumpkin patch.
• Isaac & Cracker dressed up as sharks for Halloween.

Chris, Carly, Asher & Charlie at Laguna Beach

Isaac with Jess, his speech therapist


Isaac LOVED the bounce house!

November

• Charlie & I celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary.
• Charlie's parents & his brother Kelly and wife Cassi came to visit. We hosted Thanksgiving at our house, had a bonfire at the beach, ate a lot, and went on a fishing trip.
• Isaac said his second word: "uh-oh."

Isaac's ICEC School Picture

December

• After 5 months and not seeing any major improvements, we took Isaac off of the GFCF diet. Now that he can eat cheese again, he has a third word: "eeeese!"
• We had a nice quiet Christmas at home. Isaac loved having all the decorations up and seeing Christmas lights everywhere. He loves his new car garage and his tricycle.
• On New Year's Eve we drove to San Diego & spent the day at Sea World. Isaac had fun seeing dolphins, penguins, whales, sharks, and a polar bear. His favorite thing was the gondola ride across Mission Bay.
  

Isaac looking at the dolphins at Sea World

Isaac watching penguins

And I think that about wraps it up. I'm sure there are plenty of things I missed. Overall, 2009 was a good year but we certainly had our ups and downs. We are looking forward to a wonderful 2010. Happy New Year everyone!

Thanksgiving 2009

For the first time since we've been married, Charlie & I decided not to go anywhere for Thanksgiving. It was nice to be able to stay home and enjoy the holiday, and have family come visit us. Charlie's parents came from New Mexico, and Charlie's brother Kelly & his wife Cassi came from Utah. We also had my sister Sandy & her family come over to join us for dinner. The food was fantastic and we enjoyed eating leftovers for several days afterwards.

Cassi & Kelly

Charlie's Parents: Karl & Janelle

Sandy, baby Hailey, and Ryan

Chris & Katie

Charlie & Carrie (and Isaac in the corner)

Earlier in the day we went to the park across the street to play bocci ball and enjoy the sunny 84 degree weather! Isaac had a great time playing & digging with his trucks in the dirt... until he realized he was missing out on all the fun with the bocci balls. The game came to an end when he decided to get in on the action and start grabbing the balls off the court!

Isaac before he discovered the bocci balls!

Every time Charlie's dad has come to visit us he has wanted to go fishing, but it has never worked out before. So this time we made sure to work it in! The day after Thanskgiving Charlie, Karl, Kelly & Cassi took a half day fishing trip out of the Newport harbor. They caught over 30 Perch, which are pretty small little fish, but they had a good time. Janelle, Isaac, and I stayed home and hit up a few Black Friday sales, went to lunch, and then relaxed and watched a movie.

Kelly, Cassi & Karl

Saturday night after Charlie's parents left, we took Kelly & Cassi up to LA for a Mariachi show! This place is the real deal. We were the only white people in the entire restaurant. It was a fun night and Isaac really got into it. He kept standing up in his seat to dance and clapping with the audience at the end of each song.




We had a fun holiday and are now looking forward to a quiet Christmas at home.

Trick or Treat!

Watch out for these two little sharks! Here they are last night at the church "Trunk or Treat."

And today playing in the backyard.

Isaac actually likes wearing his costume! He thinks it is fun to put it on and go look at himself in the mirror. We think he makes a pretty cute little shark.

I have never been a big fan of Halloween, but I must admit it is pretty fun dressing Isaac & Cracker up! Here they are in 2007 and 2008. Any suggestions for 2010?

Back to the Blog

Yes, it has been nearly 5 months since our last blog post. No, I don't have any great excuses. I kept meaning to update it but then I felt overwhelmed by all of the stuff I missed and think I should write about. So I am just going to go forward from today. Maybe I'll catch up on the older stuff later... and maybe I won't.

This morning we went to the Tanaka Farms pumpkin patch with some friends. I have known this place existed, but I had no idea how huge it was! We took a wagon ride around the farm and over to the pumpkin patch. Isaac loves tractors, so he was excited to ride on the wagon being pulled by a big tractor.

Inside the tents - another tractor! And pumpkins.

The ride back took us through all the fields and Isaac enjoyed checking out the scenery.

In other news, the A/C in our car broke this week. It was cool and rainy the day that it happened so I didn't think it would be a big deal. But then yesterday it was 85 and today it was close to 90 and Isaac and I were being cooked! I didn't know if I could be without a car and get to & from the mechanic to pick it up, since Charlie is in China right now and our other car is sitting in the parking lot at LAX. Luckily I have known my mechanic for years (way back to the days of my old Corolla), so he offered to give me a loaner car. And here it is:

A 1995 Chrysler Lebaron. After sitting on the shredded driver's seat, with my hands literally sticking to the steering wheel, listening to all sorts of rattling, and praying the roof didn't blow off on the drive home, I have never been so grateful for our Acura!

Hawaii

At the end of April, we took our annual trip to Hawaii. We went to the island of Kauai. We had a nice relaxing time. Unfortunately, it already seems like it was so long ago!

We spent the week relaxing, waking up late, going to the beach, relaxing at night, and spending good quality time as a family.

We rented a condo on Poipu Beach. It was the perfect location and had beautiful grass lawns and Isaac loved to run around and chase the birds




Here is the beach in front on our condo. It was perfect. We spent most of the week laying on this beach.




We also enjoyed the food- The Shrimp Station in Waimea.





Last year- we tooks a great picture of Isaac on this wave. He was only 9 months old and he waved perfectly at the camera while we was riding the wave. This year- at 20 months, he wasn't so cooperative.

We took a day trip to Oahu and explored the island. In the picture below is 'China Man's Hat'

We also wen to the North Shore and went to the famous 'Pipeline' where the surfers ride very big waves. Unfortunately- the waves were not big and there weren't many surfers. We must have gone the wrong time of day.

Here is Isaac and Charlie at the Pipeline

We also visited the Dole Pineapple Plantation. Isaac thought these fish were really cool!

Isaac and Mom

We had a nice time seeing Pearl Harbor.

Isaac didn't like going in the water- but he loved laying out in the sun! (Don't worry- he was lathered in SPF 50 all week long.)

And he was a pretty good traveler. On the afternoon flight over- he was great. On the red-eye flight back- he didn't sleep at all, but didn't do too bad.

We are already looking forward to next year's trip.

Weekend

One of the reasons that we bought this condo was because of the yard. Considering we live in California, and in Irvine, and in a condo... our yard is actually quite huge! We spent several hours on Saturday getting it cleaned up and ready for spring. And that's when Isaac discovered the joy of a garden hose.
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He probably spent half an hour playing in the water. It was really fun to watch him play and giggle in delight.

Our ward boundaries for church were changed a few weeks ago, so now we have a whole new ward and new callings too. Charlie & I are now teaching the 9 year olds in Primary. This Sunday was our first week teaching and meeting our new class: Jonathan, Joe, Rider, Staten, Anna-Julia, Maya, Audrey, and Alex. We are looking forward to a fun year with these kids!

Also on Sunday our friends brought over their dog Bubba; a 15-month old Golden Retriever. They left Bubba with us for the day while they were down in San Diego.

Bubba is a big, playful, rambunctious puppy! We all had fun with him except for Cracker. Cracker is a little prejudice and does not like other dogs unless they are dachshunds. He did like Bubba's big bone though!

The Real Housewife of Orange County

From looking at our blog, some of you might think that all we do is travel. False. The real truth is just that most of my life is not that exciting to write about! I've looked through my photos from the last few weeks and tried to find something that might be interesting enough to post and here's what I've got...

80's Party!

My friend Erin turned 30 and had a fun 80's themed birthday party. We got to go all out and get dressed up for the occasion. We even hired a baby sitter for the night!


Charlie Broke His Foot


My parents moved to Utah at the end of February and we went over to help them finish packing and load up the truck. If anyone knows my mom, you know that she has one of the cleanest homes you will ever enter. So in order to keep the carpet from getting dirty during the move (even though it is not her carpet anymore), she lined the stairs with plastic. Plastic stairs = slippery stairs. Next thing you know, Charlie is on the ground and all of the boxes he was carrying are on his foot.


I Broke the Trash Can


Like I said, my everyday life is not that interesting. But since we are on the subject of things that are broken, why not? I was just going to empty it but it slipped out of my hand. Charlie is out of town so of course I had to take a picture for him to see what happened. And now you all get to see too!

On Mondays I Baby Sit

My friend Sherri takes a pilates class on Monday mornings and I watch Daniel and Lucie for her. It is kind of fun having double kids and double dachshunds for a few hours! And Sherri watches Isaac for me too so it is a great trade off.

St. Patrick's Day

For St. Patrick's Day we made corned beef & brocolli. Yes, brocolli not cabbage. We made cabbage the year that I was pregnant and the smell made me so sick that I don't think I'll ever be able to eat cooked cabbage again. Anyway, Isaac loved the corned beef AND the brocolli! He is a great little eater. Sometimes I have to trick him into taking that first bite of something new, but once he tastes it, he'll eat pretty much anything.

Santa Ana Zoo

For all of you locals, did you know that there is a zoo in Santa Ana? I didn't! But now I know and so do you. It is much closer than San Diego or LA and much cheaper too - only $7 (and kids 2 and under are free). Of course, as you might expect, it is also much smaller. Charlie was out of town over the weekend so I was looking for things to keep Isaac & I busy. Sherri & her family joined us on Saturday and we spent a couple hours at the zoo. The highlights for Isaac were (see photos above): the elephant, the train, and the goats. Next time maybe we will even get to ride the elephant.

And last but not least...

I Painted the Baseboards!

I totally just went and took a picture so I could show off all my hard work. Charlie is at his big event of the year in Chicago (standing on his broken foot all day, poor guy!) so what better time for me to paint the baseboards, right? Especially since we have had them for over a year now! They came primed white so it wasn't that noticeable (please tell me you haven't all been noticing my ugly baseboards for the past year), but you could still see nail holes and unfinished spots. Not anymore! My baseboards are pretty and semi-glossy white now.

And that is what I have been up to in the past few weeks. Or at least what I took pictures of.