It's autumn time!

We don't exactly have autumn weather here. When it finally cools down, it's in the 90s. So I took my kids up to Flagstaff for some fall weather over a long weekend.

Our nature walk in the crisp air was so great! It helps that Uncle Neal plants crystals in his rock bed. My sweet aunt and uncle let us stay at their house. They were out of town and we missed playing with them. Carter was particularly bummed that Grandpa Neal wouldn't be there.

Gathering leaves, sticks, rocks, pine cones, and the like.

Cuteness!

Carter wouldn't smile for a picture. So I said something silly like, "There's a booger on your earlobe" and it got him smiling.

It snowed!!!! It was only a very tiny bit, and it melted when it touched the ground, but to us that was pretty darn exciting!

Hazy's first fall nature walk.

Lily sat down with a book, a mug of hot chocolate, and she was a happy girl on a cold afternoon. My daughter is just like me! She's a complete bookworm! I would read as much as she does, if I could. But I can't, because mommies have a lot of work to do. She's read over 2,000 pages for her school's read-a-thon in the last 5 weeks!

Carter was happy on this cold afternoon too: building for his vehicles. He played trains and cars all afternoon.

Hooray for long weekend trips!

I {heart} San Diego.

Aaron took me to San Diego last weekend. It was wonderful.

Here are some of my favorite things from the weekend.

Gelato. Coconut and hazelnut. If you know me really well, I don't need to say more. But I will say more, because I adore hazelnut. I fell in love with it while I lived in France on my mission. When I saw hazelnut gelato I gripped Aaron's arm in excitement. I think my strength and delight surprised him a little. Yes, we got the same gelato on our first and last days on the trip.

Pizza is my favorite food. Filippi's quite possibly has my favorite pizza. It's loaded with cheese and vegetables. The sauce is made from scratch. The only thing wanting was whole grain crust, it was white. I'll definitely be returning to Filippi's on our return trip.

We went to the San Diego temple. It is exquisitely beautiful inside. My brother, Jaren, and his wife, Melinda, were married there, so it brought back sweet memories for us.

Flowers outside the temple.

We enjoyed the Mormon Battalion in Old Town. It was educational, fun, and really well presented. Kids love it: dressing up as a battalion member, pumping water from an old well, and panning for gold. It'll be fun to bring the kids back.

Yummmmmy mexican at Cafe Coyote, at the recommendation of a pal.

Another friend tipped us off to Crystal Pier. It's a row of houses on a pier over the ocean. It was fun to walk out over the water and watch the surfers.

The charming little houses on the pier were white with blue trim. Each house had its own design cut-out on the shutters. My favorites were the light houses and sea horses.

I love the beaches in La Jolla.

Did I mention that I love the beaches in La Jolla? They are so beautiful.

I don't know what the red fabric is on the ground...I just like the picture of Aaron.

I love, love, love this man. I adored him when we got married 10 years ago. I had no idea then how much more I could possibly love and appreciate him. He is a perfect match for me, and I'm so thankful he's mine.

The seals on Children's Pool Beach were really fun to see. Again, I can't wait to take my kids back to see them.

I enjoyed the break from all my regular tasks: planning, making, and cleaning up after meals; waking up at 5:00 a.m.; trying to keep the house running, etc. And I really loved having time with just my love. But I also really missed my kids. Hence, their initials in the sand.

This beach had super cool coloring in the sand. I wish I knew what it was from. Anyone know? Anyway, it looks cool.


Sandy feet. It was too chilly to swim, but I loved walking on the beach. The sand felt good on my feet.

Thank you oodles to Jeanette, my mom-in-law, who took care of the kids so we could have a good time.

I love Aaron. I {heart} San Diego.

Wedding bells are ringing!

My baby sister is getting married next month! I'm so excited for her. She's excited too as the picture attests.

The man of her dreams gave her this beautiful ring. I still haven't met the man but I hear from the family that he's a keeper.

We threw her a bridal shower. Those fortune cookies were handmade by my amazing sister-in-law, Melinda. They contained some of the funniest fortunes I've ever heard. My aunt's fortune read, "Your future will be embarrassing." Love it!

I enjoyed meeting some of Julie's close friends and spending time with family that I don't get to see often. I administered a multiple choice test all about Kurt and Julie's courtship. It was great fun to invent make-believe scenarios about their courtship. It was fun to see which people were really in the know on Julie's life!

Fun, fun, fun!

We stayed with my big sis, Jenny, and her three kids. Can I just say we had so much fun with them?!! Lily has been waiting ages to spend time with Sarah and Amy. And she's been excited to see Ty, but oh, so afraid, he'd tickle her 'til she couldn't breathe. She laid down the law and said no tickling her...he agreed.

My Carter is such a boy. He loves to play rough, blow raspberries in people's faces, and do annoying stuff like that...well, I was delighted to see that he'd found someone who would play with him! Ty was lying on the couch. Carter came right up to him and made a very annoying sound in his face. Normally, if he did that to me I'd say, "Stop it, Carter." But awesome Tyler did it right back to Carter! So they had a little annoying sound war with each other...and Carter loved it! He's a super fun cousin! I also have to add that Tyler is a busy young man, always at work or out with friends, but he made time to spend with us while we were there. Thanks, Ty!

Sarah did Lily's makeup and hair. Lily felt so beautiful.

My beautiful nieces, Amy and Sarah.

Aunt Jen spoiled the kids and showered them with love. She's affectionately known as Aunt Skittles because she often has packs of Skittles for all the little cousins. They adore her! My beautiful sis is an amazing woman. I admire her courage, sense of humor, dedication to her family and the Lord, and her beauty.