Family, Travel & Fun

We’ve had a whirlwind two weeks!  I’ll start with the most exciting news: Mike got a job offer from McKinsey & Co. as a management consultant!  The office he’ll be based out of is in Dallas, Texas, so next summer we’re moving to Texas.  In addition to finding out that he got the job, they told him that the coming weekend they we’re having a “meet & greet,” and it would be great if he could come and meet everyone at the office.   We were all supposed to fly to Portland that same weekend for a job interview at Intel but had to change plans since Mike wanted to go to the meet & greet as well.  Mike still flew to Portland and interviewed but took the red-eye to Dallas, so he could enjoy the fun-filled weekend that McKinsey had arranged for their offerees.  My original flight to Portland had a layover in Salt Lake City, so I just changed my ticket so the kids and I could go see my parents in Park City while Mike was in Dallas.

It ended up being a great decision for a lot of reasons, one being that I got a 24-hour stomach bug; thankfully my parents were able to watch Noah and Amelia.  I don’t know what I would have done if I’d been by myself in Menlo Park while being that sick.  Noah had a great time because his cousin, Kai (my brother Jared’s son), who is almost 4 got to come over to spend the night.  It snowed 12 inches overnight, so Noah had a blast playing in the snow!

We flew back from Utah on Sunday and met Mike at the airport; we weren’t home a full 24 hours before we repacked up and headed to Orange County to be with Mike’s family for Thanksgiving.  We had a wonderful time, since we finally got a chance to celebrate the job offer together and spend some great quality time with his parents and grandma.

Here are the pictures from the last two weeks:

Noah making us desert

Finished product, it was delicious!

View from my parent's back deck.

The kids with Grandma Sandy.

Noah got to ride in Grandpa Ray's 32 Ford Hot Rod and go to a car show.

We went to our friend David Gill's wedding.

Noah at Pretend City in Irvine, CA.

Week of Highs

 Amelia rolled from her back to her tummy!  She has been working at this for the last two weeks and was very excited when she finally made it all the way over.  However, in the process she had temporarily forgotten how to go from her tummy to back… which she wasn’t so thrilled about.  But as of today she was rolling her way around her play area.

Noah had a dream come true this last weekend: he had his first ride in a friends Ferrari.  Mike and I went to his parent teacher conferences and were happy to hear how well he is doing in school!  We got to look at his journal he writes in every Monday about one thing he did over the weekend and his latest journal had a bright red Ferrari with Noah behind the wheel.

Mike also sat in his dream car, a Ferrari F40.  He had a model of this car next to his bed growing up... too bad the battery was dead!

 Some cute photos to share:

Warning: Nudity!

I love Mike for many reasons but one thing I am especially grateful for is his love of cooking.  For those of you who know me well know that the time I enjoy spending in my kitchen is when I bake.  A love of sweets runs deep among the women in my family, and I have inherited some recipes that aren’t only yummy but bring back wonderful memories of my childhood.  However, cooking a big elaborate dinner is Mike’s territory; it’s his stress relief.  

This past weekend, our good friend Chris Hughes came over for a night and Mike made a delicious garlic chicken recipe.  We all agreed that the chicken didn’t “fall” of the bone, it “jumped” off!  We had a fun night that included Chris, Mike and Noah playing the Wii, Mike’s great meal and a fun new card game Chris taught us (a passion for card games also runs deep in the women of my family).

Amelia has enjoyed bath time since her first time in her tub around two weeks old - but today was a whole new experience!  I would fill up a cup of water and would hold it about a foot above her tummy and slowly let the water out.  Boy, did she give a great reaction; she would splash her arms and legs wildly while squealing in delight!  Noah, who often likes to help at her bath time wanted to take a video of her (below).  The three of us had such a fun time, her bath lasted a LOT longer than usual, close to 30 minutes.  It was pure “Mommy Heaven”!

The older she gets the more she “studies” him and wants to interact.  It’s been so special for me to watch the two of them.  Honestly, there is no better feeling as a mother than seeing the two of them smile!

Halloween-by-the-Sea

We spent the weekend in Carmel; my mom was able to fly in and join us, making it even more fun!  The weather ended up being BEAUTIFUL, which was a surprise since rain had been in the forecast.  On Saturday, we were able to be a part of their Halloween parade, which Noah thoroughly enjoyed!  For those of you who’ve been to Carmel, you probably know how much the town loves dogs – we got to see a lot of great dog costumes!  Unfortunately, I forgot Lucy’s costume, but Mike joked that her face is scary enough that she doesn’t need one.
 

 My mom offered to watch the kids one night so Mike and I could go out on a date - two dates in two weeks… unbelievable!  Another thing Carmel is known for is all their great romantic restaurants, so boy was it hard to choose!  

We headed back home Sunday around noon so we could take the kids trick or treating in our neighborhood.  Noah was Boba Fett, a bounty hunter from Star Wars, Amelia was a banana, and Mike and I were monkeys.
 

My mom arrived late Thursday so she was able to go with me to Noah’s kindergarten parade.  His Darth Vader costume still fit from last year, so that’s what he wore.  It was so cute to see how seriously he took his role, which included him alternating between breathing like Darth Vader and humming the music that plays during the movie when there are scenes with Darth Vader.  One of my favorite costumes of the parade was a little girl dressed up like Taylor Swift.  In the video below she’s a few kids behind Noah.

One thing I really love about when my mom visits is that not only does she love going out for breakfast as much as I do; we like the same things so we always order two meals and switch halfway through.  If you’ve never been to Carmel, I highly recommend planning a trip.  It’s so relaxing and there is so much to see in the surrounding area.