CHRISTMAS!

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! We sure had a great time here. I must say this has been our most fun Christmas yet. It is so fun now that Katie is old enough to really understand what's going on (I say that every year, but I think this year it's actually true!) And even though McKenna didn't quite get it, she sure was excited and loved all the presents. EVERYTHING the girls got was a huge hit which made it so fun. Even though Christmas is not all about the gifts, we feel extremely blessed to have had such a wonderful Christmas for our children. They were very lucky to get everything they wanted and more!

Here are some memories from this year's Christmas:

Christmas Eve

opening presents on Christmas Eve

Christmas jammies & Christmas book!

writing letters to Santa to leave with egg nog & cookies

"Dear Santa, I love you. And I love McKenna..."

so excited for Santa to come!

Christmas morning (7:30 am)

waiting patiently for everyone to be ready...

evidence that Santa was here!

Santa brought a kitchen!
He also brought...

a princess tea set for Katie &

a new baby & stroller for McKenna

fun new games -

Old Maid,

Matching,

Jenga (from the Yuans - thanks!),

Candyland

Katie's craft tool box from Gran Jensen - HUGE hit

the much anticipated Princess Book!!!

Little Einsteins stuffed dolls set - Katie picked these out herself for McKenna and she LOVES them. Way to go Katie!

McKenna discovered candy canes and VERY sticky fingers

new coordinating comforters for the bunkbeds - a very ambitious project for Mom, but she did it!

Princess dolls - Ariel, Snow White, & Belle

(thanks Elena and Grandma Hopkin!)

Elmo Live!!! McKenna's new best friend!

rhythm instruments from Grandma Hopkin - so fun!

beautiful books from GG Jensen - Polar Express & Puff the Magic Dragon

As you can see, we had VERY happy children Christmas morning. We managed to get through the day with only 1 breakdown! Impressive! After we opened presents and played for a bit, we went over to Dave's Aunt Sandy & Uncle Bruce's house for Christmas brunch. It was so fun & sure was fun to spend part of Christmas with family. There we had delicious food and had fun playing Christmas songs on the chimes. The girls even participated - Katie on chime #7 and McKenna conducting!

That evening, after much needed naps for mom & the girls, we went to our great friends Jason & Erica's house for a delicious Christmas dinner. We had prime rib (yum!). We then played Old Maid and the Wii. Very fun night - more time with family :)

The girls then stayed up until almost 10:00 playing in the playroom with all of their new toys. They were playing SO WELL together I didn't dare break it up.

We had such a great day. I love Christmas and love it even more than ever as a mom. It is so fun watching our girls get so excited and happy. That is the best Christmas present for this mom.

And we were SO THRILLED to hear the news that baby Maya Yuan was able to go home on Christmas Eve. What an amazing gift for Amy & Arthur! Merry Christmas you guys!

We love you all and wish we could have spent a part of the holiday with each of you. We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas as well!

Merry Christmas
to all of you and may the spirit of Christmas
- LOVE, family, & Christ -
be with you and your family this night and always.

D.E.A.R. time

Katie & I have been reading Charlotte's Web for the past month or so and finished it today. We have discovered that Katie loves us to read chapter books to her. She gets very excited to read a chapter before naptime or bedtime and is thrilled when we finish the entire book. It started with a princess book that her Uncle Don gave to her two Christmases ago that was about 250 pages long and full of chapters. We didn't dare tackle it back then when she was 2, so we mostly just looked at the pictures and made up shorter stories to go along. This summer I started reading it to her - one chapter at a time - to see how she would like it. She ended up loving it and asking for more everyday until we finished it in October. I honestly didn't think we would ever make it through the whole thing, but she loved every second of it. When we finished Katie said, "Mom, there was no Snow White or Sleeping Beauty in that book!" She then decided that she was going to ask Santa for another princess chapter book that had ALL the princesses in it for Christmas. In hopes of keeping her interest in chapter books alive, we started reading Charlotte's Web with the goal to finish it before Christmas when hopefully Santa would bring her the exact book she requested. And we did it! We read the final three chapters today before her nap. She was so excited when we turned the last page. She knew that meant that her princess book will be here soon! We'll see if she gets what she asked for tomorrow!

I am enjoying this time reading with Katie and hope that she continues to love reading, and reading with her mom, for a long time. I had never read Charlotte's Web before. I loved the animated movie as a child (and still do) so I knew the story well. I loved the book just as much as the movie, probably a little more (no surprise). The last two chapters were pretty emotional for me though. I don't know if it was the writing or the hormones, but Charlotte's death and Wilbur's new friendship with her daughters at the end definitely got me. What a sweet story of friendship and love. I would definitely recommend reading this classic children's story if you haven't already. And if you have, read it again!

Drop Everything And Read

My Very Own Personal Blog!

So...
I have started my own personal blog. Since I started this blog with the intention of it being our family blog, and have kind of taken it over as my own... So I have decided to take all my personal thoughts and randomness and put it on its own blog. Why I think that anybody is ever going to want to read it? I'm not sure. But this blog will now be dedicated to the Jensen FAMILY - pictures, videos, family updates, and such.

My new blog is called So Buttons
(so-ingbuttons.blogspot.com)
It still is very much a work in progress, but it's something. Hope you enjoy!

Woman of Habit

(This just happened a few minutes ago)

I was standing in the kitchen eating my dinner. Dave took Katie hometeaching with him and McKenna was done with her dinner. McKenna walks into the kitchen, opens the drawer with our "paper" goods in it, pulls out a sandwich bag, and says "cereal, Mama, cereal" while shaking it at me. When I took it from her, she then leads me into the mudroom/laundry room/pantry to the Cheerios. She then says "look Mama!" and pulls out the cereal. I put a small handful of Cheerios into her bag. She then runs off to the playroom saying "Whoa-Boz Mama! Whoa-Boz!" (Whoa-Boz = The Wizard of Oz). I then follow her to the playroom where I see that she has already turned the movie on. She sits down, starts eating her cereal, while watching her favorite movie "Whoa-Boz." She sure is a girl who knows what she wants and knows how to get it.

This happens at least once everyday. :)

This One's For Mom

When my brother went home for Thanksgiving, he told my mom that I didn't look pregnant. So, whenever I talk to my mom she brings that up and doesn't seem to believe that I'm getting big, so this one's for you mom. Proof that I am in fact growing! I still can't figure out how my brother could have missed seeing this belly...

Tag

I wasn't technically tagged, but MK did say anyone who wanted to...and I thought it would be fun......so.....

The tag is to post the eighth picture in the eighth folder on your computer.

This is the eighth picture in the eighth folder on my computer (well, in my picture folder)...kind of. I admit that I go overboard with the folders inside folders. My eighth folder was "2008." Inside that folder was a folder for each month - eighth one was "May 2008." Inside that folder were many folders as well (told you...) but there weren't eight. So I opened the first one - "Hogle Zoo - Katie's Birthday" - and this was the eighth picture:
(wow, did any of that make any sense?)

This is Katie & I on her third birthday at the Hogle Zoo, infront of the bear habitat - no bear of course :) For some reason we thought the bear was in the picture...? Whatever, it's cute of us and I'm glad to have the picture!

Tag: Erica, Becca, Kari, Kelly, Terri, anyone else who wants to do it!

(phew! that was kind of exhausting...)

Battle of the Jensen Singers

These girls crack me up!

For Your Entertainment :)

Get ready...

This is pretty funny...

Master Tigress vs. the Snake

Master Tigress vs. the Snake

Part II: Princess Style

The Turkey

I don't have many pictures from Thanksgiving (actually only 2), but I did get a picture of the turkey. Yes, I have officially cooked my first Thanksgiving turkey (actually my first any kind of turkey) and I have to say I think it was a success. We had a great time having Thanksgiving dinner at our house with great friends and family. We're so glad that some of our most favorite people were able to join us throughout the day! Sad that we didn't get to see the rest of you that we love so much :( - but we hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Now on to Christmas...!

btw - it was actually done even though the little red thing didn't pop up like it was supposed to...don't worry I didn't poison our friends!

What Have YOU Done?

This is pretty fun. TAG if you are reading this!
(Thanks for the fun idea Julie)

To participate, just copy and paste in your own blog, and bold all of the things you have done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Seen Mount Rushmore in person
101. Learned to play an instrument

This makes me want to make a list of all the things I want to do/see in my life...maybe I should do that....

The Baileys

We love the Baileys!

Maddy, Zach, Danny, Abby, McKenna, Joey, Katie

We had so much fun a couple weekends ago going down the St. George to visit our good friends the Baileys. We are so glad that we were able to go and glad that they let us come! We had a fun time. The kids had a blast playing the whole time. We are lucky to have such great friends - that are still our friends even when they move far away! We miss you guys and can't wait for our next "vacation" together!

Evidence

Looks like we have some busy little bodies around our house
Here is some evidence I found this evening...

smudges

pen


not sure what this is...

more pen

20-something

22 weeks pregnant with Katie

23 weeks pregnant with McKenna

20 weeks pregnant with Baby #3

and feeling WAY more pregnant than I did with Baby #1 or #2,

but equally happy to be having a girl :)

Halloween

We had a great Halloween! Here are some pictures - sorry the pictures are kind of backwards :) You get the idea though - we had fun!

Our Jack-o-Lantern pizza for Halloween dinner

Getting ready to Trick-or-Treat with friend Grace.

(McKenna = mouse, Katie = Bel, Grace = cat)

So excited!

Katie had a Halloween party at preschool and had SO MUCH FUN

We carved pumpkins too - Katie & McKenna even designed their own :)

Family picture #2 of the year

Hay bail maze at the pumpkin patch

Picking out our pumpkins

Peace, Love, and GIRLS!!!

It's a GIRL

Here's our little baby girl giving us the peace sign in our ultrasound this morning. We are so happy and excited for another girl! I have to admit that I thought it was going to be a boy, but I wasn't at all surprised when we found out she was a girl. We're getting so used to this that I could even tell on the ultrasound before the nurse even told us :) Even though I wasn't surprised, I couldn't stop from laughing. "Of course it's a girl," I thought. "That's what we do!"

Everything looked great and the baby looks perfect. I still am amazed that this little baby is inside of me. What a miracle this whole process is! And I also wanted to reassure everyone who might be concerned, Dave will NOT be shooting himself. Luckily we cleared that up with Katie before the ultrasound so she knows that dad is excited for another daughter :)

Recipe: .Pot Roast Made Easy

Our ward has group that gets together every two months or so and puts together Freezer Meals. It is fabulous! Not only do I get new ideas and recipes, I get my freezer stocked with yummy meals that are already put together and ready to cook. And, the meals feed a large family, so I always half my recipes so I have double of all the meals. So great!

So we met this past Saturday and I made the Pot Roast Made Easy recipe yesterday for Sunday dinner. It was so yummy and I wanted to share it. Like I said, I halved the recipe and it ended up being a perfect amount for our family. Although, next time I will add more vegetables. They were SO GOOD and I definitely wished there were more.

Pot Roast Made Easy

3 lb pork roast
1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix
1 pkg. brown gravy mix
1 pkg. Italian dressing mix
1 cup water
1/2 onion, chopped
2-3 potatoes, cut in quarters
1 lb baby carrots

Cook ingredients in a crockpot on low 6-8 hours.

Another MIX

I haven't named this mix yet, but after finishing it and listening to it I'm realizing that all the songs are pretty depressing. Should I be concerned? I strangely enjoy listening to songs with great music, that can be blasted on a car stereo while singing my lungs out, and apparently extremely desperate and depressing lyrics. Hmm... I'm not quite sure what that says about me...
Anyway, great songs. Check them out if you get a chance.

Stop And Stare - One Republic
Forever May You Run - Gavin Rossdale
Behind These Hazel Eyes - Kelly Clarkson
All Around Me - Flyleaf
Only One - Yellowcard
Glycerine - Bush
Broken - Lifehouse
Everytime - Britney Spears (probably the most depressing of them all)
Big Girls Don't Cry - Fergie
Fall For You - Second Hand Serenade
Catch Me When I Fall - Ashlee Simpson
Love Remains the Same - Gavin Rossdale
The Kill - 30 Seconds to Mars
Fall To Pieces - Velvet Revolver
When You're Gone - Avril Levigne
Wild Horses - The Sundays
Because of You - Kelly Clarkson
Boston - Augustana

I will definitely shoot for a more uplifting theme in my next mix. Until then...enjoy!

Breaking Dawn

So, tonight I finally did it. I finally finished Breaking Dawn. I know, I know, it has taken me quite a long time, but I have always been a slow reader and never had the attention span (or the ability to stay awake long enough) to read a book in a day or two. I think I have only done that once (a volume of the Goosebumps series when I was about 12 years old). But tonight I have finished it. Surprisingly enough I managed to make it all the way through without any idea what was going to happen. I had heard several reviews, but luckily no one spoiled the ending for me. And...

I'm not sure I know what it is that some people didn't like about the ending (please don't comment on this in case some readers still haven't read it). I am anxious to talk to some of my "Twilight" reading friends to find out what it is that disappointed them in the end. I thought overall it was a good book. I was definitley entertained the whole time and had no idea what was going to happen. In my mind that's a pretty good book - as long as it can keep my attention and I can't figure out the ending, I'm satisfied. Then again, I do admit that I am pretty easily entertained. There are very few books that I have not liked, few that I have LOVED. Most books I enjoy.

I still think "New Moon" is my favorite of the saga. Being a Jacob fan, I really did love that book the most. Although my feelings towards Jacob changed in "Breaking Dawn," I ended with content feelings toward him. But I LOVED him in "New Moon" and I'm still not convinced that Bella shouldn't have chosen him back in book 2. Then again, the rest of the story wouldn't exist if that was the case...

So, I know this post is rather vague, because like I said I don't want to give anything away. But I do want to put it out there that I am one that liked "Breaking Dawn" (it seems like most people don't like it too much) and feel content about the way the series ended.

I do feel, however, that after these months I've dedicated to Stephenie Meyer and her vampire stories, I should probably go read my scriptures or at least something of a little more substance and value :)

How could they do that to the pregnant lady...?

Tonight, being Priesthood Session, my husband is going to be gone for the evening. He always goes out with some guys in our ward after Priesthood to play video games for the rest of the night. I already was planning on him being gone for the whole night and made plans with my girlfriend to get together, watch Grey's, and eat food. Perfect night! But then...
My husband's cousins called him this morning inviting him to go out to dinner before Priesthood. And where did they have to invite him to go? TUCANOS! Not only is Tucanos one of my favorite restaurants that we go to very rarely, but pretty much all they serve there is STEAK. AHHHH!!!! Which brings me to my point - How could they do that to the pregnant lady?!!! Now I have been planning and scheming in my mind all day how to arrange my evening to include steak. Not just any steak, really good steak. I almost made a reservation for myself to go to Tucanos with the girls after Priesthood started so I would be sure not to run into my husband and cousins, but then decided that would be a bit extreme. I finally decided on take out (steak of course) which I can now bring to my friends house and resume our evening as planned. My goodness. What's a pregnant girl to do?

My answer was to make sure I get steak, and top the night off with MK's famous double chocolate carmel brownies. YUM! Mary, I still LOVE you for sharing that recipe with me!

(BTW...this is post #100 - wow!)

My Turn

One word (or two or three...) answers:

Your {preferred} name: Megan
Your hair? short
Your mother? talented
Your father? wise
Your favorite thing? right now - sleep
Your dream last night? confusing
Your dream/goal? to be happy
Your favorite drink? Mr. Pibb/Dr. Pepper
The room you're in? kitchen
Your ex? no idea
Your hobby? baking
Your fear? tragic accident - especially within my family
Where do you want to be in 6 years? here
Where were you last night? home
What you're not? perfect
Muffins? yes please
One of your wish list items? swing set
Time? flies by
Where you grew up? Needham, MA
The last thing you did? ate
Favorite weather? rainy days (we don't get many)
What are you wearing? jeans
Your favorite book? Siddhartha
Your TV? on
Your pet? Baxter
Your computer? on
Your mood? content
Missing someone? yes
Your car? Jeep
Something you're not wearing? shoes
Favorite store? Old Navy
Love someone? yes
Your favorite color/shade? pink
Last thing you ate? pizza/Mr. Pibb
Your life? great
Your friends? awesome
What are you thinking right now? one word answers are hard
What are you doing at this moment? blogging
Your summer: HOT
Your relationship status: married
What do you do when you can't sleep? drive (in my head) from my house in Needham to Needham High (I always fall asleep before I get there)
When is the last time you laughed? last night?
Last time you cried? Sunday

The other morning I found McKenna in her crib in the morning completely naked. Yesterday, when I got her up from her nap she wasn't wearing a shirt, and this morning she had one arm out of her jammies. I think we have begun the battle to keep clothes on...

1/4 Century Celebration

Yesterday was my birthday, and yes I have reached my 1/4 century mark. I have to admit, I feel like I should already be at least 25 by now. I don't know if that's normal...but I definitely feel older than I actually am. But the past 25 years have definitely treated me well and I am very grateful.

My birthday celebrations were perfect. My birthday started off great at midnight with "Happy Birthday" sung to me by some of our great friends. Later that morning, after our night's sleep, Katie had preschool so McKenna and I had some quality time together. I really have been loving McKenna time. She is such a fun little girl and I love being her mom. After we picked Katie up from preschool, we met my brother Brian on BYU campus for lunch. He took us out on his Dining Plus card - to the Skyroom - which was awesome, very thoughtful, and brought back a lot of really great memories. He also got me an awesome shirt from the Kenny Chesney concert he went to. The shirt says "She comes from Boston." I LOVE IT (and am wearing it in the pictures below). That trip to BYU was a little tiring for us all, so me and the girls went home for an afternoon nap.
That night we had THIS:

and only this for dinner. That's all I wanted (gotta love pregnancy cravings). Nothing else sounded good - I just wanted to fill up on steak. Haha. It was great.

I was sporting my lovely Pink Eye for my birthday pictures (gross, I know). Thought it was worth documenting both occasions :)

The girls helping me blow out my candles. Steak and cake = perfect birthday meal :)

This cracked me up. Before we even cut the cake the girls had already stuck the fingers in it and McKenna's face was instantly covered (of course). When I told her to say "cheese" for the camera she looked up at me and said "CAKE!" It was hilarious.

The night ended with some catching up on some of my favorite shows that we had DVR-ed. Perfectly relaxing evening. It was great. I was very excited about my WONDERFUL gifts from hubby, moms, and friends, and birthday wishes from everyone. I felt very loved and remembered. Thank you so much for making my birthday special!

Family Reunion Provo/St. George

So, as I was uploading my pictures, I realized that I don't have a single picture from the Hopkin Family reunion last week. Unbelievable! I know my mom took some pictures, thank goodness, because I apparently have none.

Our family fun continued after our trip to San Jose, when my parents, my sister Jen and her family, and my brother Brian all came out to Utah. So fun! We had some time with my parents alone the first week. We went to Cascade Springs, the park, walked by the river, and had fun. Our girls LOVE grandparents! And how lucky that they got to see all four in one month!

Then Jen, Luis, Elena, and Sofia came and boy was that fun too. The cousins had a blast together. It was especially fun watching McKenna and Sofia run around together and have "conversations." We all went to St. George for the weekend for the Hopkin Family Society Board Meeting. Our family wasn't officially part of the board this year, but we couldn't resist the opportunity to be with family and to see Les Miserables. We also were able to visit our great friends the Baileys who live down there. We miss them so much and were happy to see them, even though it was very short. It was a great trip, St. George is beautiful and fun, but man was it HOT. I have a whole new concept of what it means to be hot outside. Provo feels cool compared to St. George!

When we got back from St. George, we still had a week of family fun. Brian came into town that Sunday that we returned. He's heading out here for school - started BYU this week. I am SO EXCITED to have a sibling here again and psyched for time to hang out with Brian. Hopefully I will be able to bribe him enough with food to come see us often.

All in all it was WONDERFUL to have family here just as it was WONDERFUL to be able to visit the rest of our family the week before. It almost felt like we were all actually living close to family for a while there - boy would that be nice. I'm excited that we will be getting another family visit next week from my brother Dan and his son Taylor. We love their visits too and are excited to see them.

Anyone else wanna come visit? If we plan it right, we could have family around almost every weekend, or every other. We would love it!!!

Family Reunion in San Jose

We had a fun Jensen Family reunion in San Jose this past August and for some reason I am just uploading the pictures of the trip onto my computer now. That just goes to show how busy this month has been and how quickly time has flown by! So, finally I am blogging about our trip to San Jose.

The reunion was so much fun. Everyone (minus Elder Steve of course) was there. We had a great time catching up with everyone, including cousins, Aunts & Uncles, and friends. Everytime we are around family we wish we lived closer to everyone and could get together more often. Once or twice a year just isn't enough.

We had a fun reunion day on Wednesday while we were there. Grandma planned a fun water game for the kids, we had a family dance, swimming, and then had a yummy BBQ and family night. It was perfect and felt really good to just be together.

Dave was able to go visit his best friend Jason Honey and his family in Roseville. This is the girls with their cute son Jacob.

On Monday of our trip (sorry for the mixed up chronology) we went to the Children Discovery Museum in downtown San Jose with Grandma. The museum was prefect for our girls. Every exhibit they loved. We spent most of our time in the water station. Both girls loved it. It was a blast!

Everyone with the purple museum with the Alice & Wonderland rabbit

The bubble station was a huge hit

Tea party in Alice & Wonderland exhibit

McKenna LOVED the rabbit hole. She could've crawled back and forth all day.

The Beach!

When we were in San Jose we had a chance to go to a beach in Santa Cruz. It was so fun!! We don't get to go to the beach often so it really was a treat. This was McKenna's first time, and it had been a long time since Katie has gone - she may not even remember ever going. It was a little chilly so we didn't swim, but we had a blast playing in the sand, collecting shells, and walking in the water.

Happy girls!

Very rare family photo op

Even if it was 150 degrees, I'm not sure I would've wanted to swim in that...

There were an insane amount of birds!

This video is priceless to me. McKenna's first time at the beach, first time feeling sand on her feet, and first time seeing the ocean. She was a little unsure at first, but quickly loved it.

I Can Feel It Comin In the Air...

Ok, call me crazy, but even in the midst of this 90+ weather I can feel fall just around the corner. I love it! I know that by the end of every season it seems like I can't WAIT for the next one to come. That's why I say "Thank goodness for four seasons!" I LOVE LOVE LOVE fall. I love the sunny, but cool days with cold mornings and nights. I love the fall colors, the smell of burning fireplaces, and getting cozy in hoodies or sweaters. I love it! And for some reason, fall really reminds me of home, even if I'm not enjoying the brilliant New England fall colors. Fall always has been my favorite season. It reminds me of after school snacks, Saturday morning soccer games in the cold, the anticipation of all the Holidays (including my birthday!), jumping in huge piles of leaves, and all my favorite things about living in New England. Even being so far away, all the smells, sounds, and feelings that fall brings bring me back to my most wonderful memories of home.