Baby Moon, Oregon Coast

Monday afternoon Aaron and I left Lincoln with Aaron's mom and Aaron's sister Sydni and headed out on our baby moon (for those of you that haven't heard of a baby moon, it's supposed to be the romantic trip you and your husband are supposed to take together before the baby comes and ruins life as you know it.) . Okay, the baby moon thing is more of a joke, but since we baby-sat Zac for a few days in Oct. Syd offered to watch Lincoln so Aaron and I could get away for a few days. We decided to go to Seaside on the Oregon Coast, a couple hours south of Vancouver, WA.

Since it was off-season down there we found a killer deal on a cute little condo right on the beach. We only paid $115 for two nights! The two pictures above are of the view out of our bedroom window.

The first night we were there we went for a very chilly walk along the beach at sunset. We got some beautiful pictures. All the rest of the pictures on the page were from that walk.

We made it to the coast in time for a late lunch. We stopped at a little cafe and I had homemade tomato soup with cheese sandwiches and Aaron had a bacon cheese burger. It was delicious. We decided to save the rest of the little shops for the next day. So we walked along the beach for awhile. When the sun set, we went back to our condo and worked on the blog for awhile, making the new background to fit the winter season. When we got hungry we ordered pizza and had it delivered, which hit the spot. After dinner we worked on the blog some more and just enjoyed the time together talking and not worrying about Lincoln's bedtime or what time he was going to wake up in the morning.

The second day we slept in for a really long time. It was so nice not to have any kind of agenda, but to be able to relax and just lay around all morning. Aaron made a trip to a local grocery store and got us muffins, yogurt, and orange juice. Then we spent the morning reading books and looking out the window at the beautiful ocean. Hunger was what finally motivated us to get up and get going around lunch time. :) We went to a place called Pig 'N Pancake where we only ordered hot chocolate and french fries because the wait was so long. After that we walked down the street and looked at all the little gift shops and stores. Then we walked along the beach again. And then we went and got our car and drove to the outlet mall. It was kind of funny because last time I was there in June with my sisters-in-law I could have spent a million dollars, but as Aaron and I were walking through we just couldn't even find anything we "needed" not even for Lincoln at the Osh Kosh outlet (I know mom you're wondering if you raised me right because I was at an Osh Kosh outlet and didn't even get one thing). I guess that proves that Christmas was a huge success because we just couldn't think of anything we wanted to get.

That night we ate dinner at a restaurant called Doogers. Originally the plan was to each get a bowl of their homemade clam chowder, but as we were looking at the menu the Salmon sounded too good to pass up. So we split a Salmon instead. To this day, I still have not had fresh clam chowder from the coast! Haha! But the salmon was SO good, and so fresh. And it was so nice to be out on a date with only my husband and not my child. After dinner we went back to the condo and played 3 games of Blockus (our new board game). Aaron beat me twice, but I did manage to win one!

In the morning we had to be out by 11:00am and we just barely made it :) (Mostly my fault.) After we got checked out we went down to the shops one more time to find Lincoln a souvenir. We got him a little fuzzy seal. It's cute. Then we got some salt water taffy for Lisa, Sydni, and Debbie to say thanks for taking care of Lincoln while we got away.

While the Parents are Away...

...the Lincoln will play! Here are some pictures of Lincoln and his cousin Aneya having fun at bedtime while Aaron and I were at Whitney's wedding.

Thanks again Lisa for watching Linc while we were gone.

Whitney's Wedding

Friday afternoon we headed up to Seattle to attend Aaron's cousin Whitney's wedding. Whitney was my friend in the dorms and she is the one who introduced me to Aaron. I'm so excited for her to be married. She married a guy named Kirk Bean who seems like a really nice guy. They go together really well. They were married in the Seattle temple. It was beautiful.

The ceremony was really good too. One of the things the sealer said that I really like was "You make it together or you don't make it." I thought that was such a cool motto for marriage, but also for families. I was really happy to have Aaron sitting beside me in the ceiling room and to remember all about our wedding day 2 and a half years ago when we were in the same place as Whit and Kirk.

Here are the bridesmaids, me, Sydni, Laura, and Stevie. If we look a little tense it's because it was FREEZING outside and we were all shivering and very excited to return to our coats after pictures.

They had their reception at Clyce Mansion. It was a really pretty building. Here are the bridesmaids again with the bride and groom. And one with just the bride.

Aaron and I wanted to get a picture of just us and Whitney. We both think the world of her, and we are so excited to spend more time with her now that she's an old married couple! :)

I think this picture is funny. Sydni was rubbing Aaron's head, but it kind of looked like she killed him or something. It made us laugh.

We were lucky enough to be able to leave Lincoln with Aaron's sister Lisa, back in Vancouver, for a night. THANK YOU LISA! Seriously, I don't think we would have had a very good time trying to juggle in naps and bedtime and keeping Lincoln out of all the breakable stuff, and still hit all the events I had to attend as a bridesmaid. Besides, Lincoln had a lot more fun hanging out with his aunt and uncle and cousins then he would have at the wedding I'm sure.

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

And a white Christmas is definitely what we got. The "Arctic Blast" continued into Christmas Day, but it sure made it beautiful to look outside. This is the view from the front porch of Chuck and Debbie's house Christmas morning.

We had a wonderful, relaxing Christmas morning. Lincoln slept in, and so did everyone else. We got up and ate cinnamon rolls and eggs for breakfast. Here is the Christmas tree before the unwrapping began.

This might be my new favorite picture of Lincoln. Doesn't he look cute in his little Christmas jammies, sitting in front of the Christmas tree? I'm not bias or anything ;) but he sure is a cute kid.

Here are Chuck and Debbie opening the "Secret Project" Christmas present Aaron and I spent hours and hours making for them. It's a book and each member of the family wrote them a letter of appreciation, or favorite memories, or the ones who couldn't write drew pictures, and the ones who couldn't draw got their hands or feet traced. Then Aaron and I took all those letters and glued each one onto a separate page and used our fancy scrapbooking skills to make each page look nice. The cool thing was is that each page was unique and it matched the personality of the person whose letter was on that page. The book was probably my favorite Christmas present to give this year.

Lincoln did a lot better opening presents this year than he did last year. He was a pro at getting the wrapping paper off, it was the tape that he had trouble with. In this picture I'm helping him with the tape.

Here is our family, right after Lincoln opened his blocks. Only time will tell if he really likes them or not, there was way to much going on this morning for him to really keep his attention on one thing for too long.

Kelly and Ryan were also there for Christmas morning. Kelly got an awesome set of speakers for his computer, and Ryan got a book and something else I can't remember. We had Kelly's name this year and we gave him an oil wrench for his car and a plastic container to put all the old oil in. (I know, sounds thrilling doesn't it? That's what I thought too, but it's what he wanted.) Ryan gave his parents and Lisa pictures frames that he made himself, with a picture or their choice from his adventures around the world. They were really cool looking, and of course the pictures were amazing.

Maybe it was all the excitement, who knows, but Lincoln got pretty cranky towards the end of unwrapping presents and was sent to bed for a Christmas morning nap. Soon after we put him down, Sydni and Jake and Zac came over. I was glad they were able to make it over, even in all the snow. The only sad part was that Lincoln was taking a nap and not around to play with Zac.

I wanted to show the awesome present Lincoln got from Grandma and Grandpa Swan, but he was being so crabby we didn't get a picture of him on it. So Zac is going to model it for us instead. :) Here is Zac sitting on Lincoln's new radio flyer scooter. It has four wheels, and a bell that dings, and it's just the right size for Lincoln's short little legs. I can't wait for him to get this thing outside on the sidewalk where he'll really be able to ride.

Later in the day we went over to Lisa's house for a wonderful ham dinner. (Which, unfortunately, I do not have any pictures of...if anyone does and wants to send them my way...) Everything was delicious and it was so nice to hang out with all the family. We really missed Stacey and Rob and their kids, they were the only ones not present.

I also got a wonderful Christmas surprise, a phone call from Kyle! I didn't think he'd be able to call me because I wasn't at my parents house. But he had some extra minutes on his calling card, so he gave me a ring. I was so excited. I think I forget sometimes that Kyle is in Guatemala, especially because we were living in Texas for eight months and didn't see our families, but talking to Ky on the phone made me realize how much I miss the kid! Anyways, he's doing well. He'll be home mid-July.

Merry Christmas Everyone...and to all a good night! (ok, so that was a couple different stories all thrown into one line, but it's ok.)

Twas the Night Before Christmas

I felt like Christmas Eve kind of snuck up on me this year. It's not that I wasn't ready for it. All my shopping was done, the candy was made, presents were wrapped and under the tree. Maybe it was because we've been snowed in the last few days and then all the sudden here is Christmas Eve! But we had a great time. Debbie made us a wonderful dinner. Then we were going to read the Christmas story out of the scriptures but decided that the story would be more reverent if Lincoln got put to bed first. Which meant we needed to open our one Christmas Eve present of jammies so that Lincoln could wear his to bed.

I didn't get a good picture of Lincoln opening his jammies, but they are really cute. They are red footie jammies with little monkey faces all over them. Then it was my turn. Aaron decided that he wanted to pick out mine this year, instead of having me do it. I'll admit I was a little nervous. But he got the perfect ones. The bottoms are warm and soft, and the top is warm and light weight and buttons down the front which will come in really handy in a few short months. :) Aaron didn't want pjs this year because he doesn't really wear them, so he opted for a bathrobe. I was pretty excited about his bathrobe actually. It's an $80 one that I got on sale for $25, got to love those day after Thanksgiving sales! Besides, Aaron's been a dad long enough, it's time he had a bathrobe.

In the middle of our pajama photo shoot my mom called to say they were opening Kyle's present to the family. Kyle (on a mission in Guatemala) had sent a Christmas package to the family, with the instructions that it was to be opened on Christmas Eve when all the family was together. Well, since Aaron and I were in Washington there was no chance of our family all being together, so we decided having us on the phone while they opened it was good enough. I was pretty impressed with what Kyle thought up for his gift. He had written each individual member of our family a letter sharing his testimony about the birth of the Savior. Included with the letters were pictures of him doing various random missionary things. I wanted to share the letter on here. Those of you who knew him before the mission might not believe he wrote this, but he doesn't pay anyone to write his letters for him; I already asked. :)

"Dearest Krystal, Aaron, Lincoln & Shark Bait,

This Christmas I'm sharing individual testimony to everyone. Christmas is my favorite time of year. Every year we read in Luke the story of Christ's birth but this year I wanted to point your attention to the Book of Mormon's account of our Savior's physical arrival to the world. In 3 Nephi 1 we have the full account of what happened on this half of the world that first Christmas Eve. I want to share a little part of that. 3 Nephi 1:13-14 reads 'Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I fulfill all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my Holy Prophets. Behold, I come unto my own, to fulfill all things which I have made known unto the children of men from the foundation of the world, and to do the will, both of the father and of the son -- of the father because of me, and of the son because of my flesh. And behold the time is at hand, and this night shall the sign be given.'

How would it be to be Nephi? To be the people in the Americas? To see these long awaited signs? Or would they be saying the same of us? 'How would it be to have the fullness of the gospel?' 'To have temple marriage?' 'To prepare the way for the Millenium?' Because that's what we are doing. Christmas is about the Atonement. A gift second to none. How often do we step back and really ponder how great a gift it is? Christmas is the perfect season for it. There is a spirit in the air because for a little season each year people become a little more Christ-like; a little more giving. I hope we can extend the 'Christmas Spirit' longer this year. And strive to be just a little more Christ-like each day.

The church is true. There is no doubt in my heart we are building the kingdom Christ established that first Christmas when he came into this world.

I love you guys, Merry Christmas!

Elder Kyle Stewart Lemmon

I thought that was an awesome letter. And such a perfect gift to be read aloud Christmas Eve. Way to go Ky!

After the phone call, I put Lincoln to bed and then we read the Christmas story with Aaron's family. I always really like this part of Christmas Eve. It always reminds me that I probably should have taken more time to think about the Savior all through out that holiday season and less time worrying about gifts and candy and wrapping paper.

Then I made cinnamon rolls so we could have them for breakfast the next morning. Then Aaron and I stayed up super late putting the finishing touches on the Christmas present we made for Chuck and Debbie (Aaron's dad and mom).

All around it was a great night and we had fun celebrating it together.

Twinners!

So today, at the end of the day, Aaron and I realized that we'd been walking around all day wearing almost exactly the same thing. How embarrassing! :)

But since the day was already over and there was nothing we could do, we decided to compare stomachs to see whose was bigger. This is the view from the back. Pretty normal looking.


Then we go to the front view...you can see my belly but...

The side view is much better. And yes, mine is bigger than Aaron's.

Arctic Blast

When you think about spending Christmas in the North West you usually forget all about dreaming of a white Christmas because it just doesn't happen. And even if it does snow the rain usually melts it off pretty quickly. However, that was not the case this year. We got stuck right in the middle of (theme music: da, da, da) The Arctic Blast!!!!

It wasn't actually that much more snow that you'd get in Utah on a decent year, but you have to understand two things #1 It just doesn't snow that much here very often so people and drivers aren't used to it, and #2 The weather people are VERY dramatic. They took every opportunity to say the words "Arctic Blast" and to have their news anchors ramble on about how much it was snowing. But it was all good. :)

The Arctic Blast hit on Saturday afternoonish, the day Aaron and Kelly and Ryan were driving in. Weather conditions for them were pretty good until they hit the Columbia River Gorge, then it was a pure blizzard. If we ever get the picture of the road conditions from Ryan, I'll post them. Anyways, the boys were pretty lucky, 10 minutes after they passed a place called Hood River, officials decided to close the road and not let any more people through. It was closed for about three days. The boys would have been stuck for those three days at a truck stop. Blah! We were all very grateful they made it through safely in the nick of time.

Freezing rain usually accompanies the snow storms here, and this year was no exception. When Aaron and Lincoln went out to play this morning the ice on top of the snow was a half inch thick. It was crazy! Lincoln wasn't even heavy enough to break through unless he fell on his bum. He enjoyed walking around on top of the snow/ice. And hey...who needs a sled when you can just lay down on your back and accomplish the same thing?

Linc and Zac Together Again

Well, we all made it safe and sound to Washington. We've been having a lot of fun here hanging out with Aaron's family. Lincoln has enjoyed getting to know his cousins better and having other kids around to play with. Today his cousin and best buddy Zac came over to Aaron's parents house to play. Here are the boys (actually holding still) in front of the Christmas tree.

Lincoln wasn't too happy about Zac wanting to share his little tennis ball, but then someone handed Zac the Koosh ball, and the two were instantly friends again. :) It's so fun to watch Lincoln interact with Zac and the other cousins, all this sharing is good practice for when Shark Bait gets here.

The weather has been crazy here and we've been snowed in for a couple of days. Today they even canceled church because the weather was so bad. I didn't even know they could do that. Good thing Grandma Swan has her house well stocked with toys for the grandkids and food for all the men. Being snowed in has given us the opportunity to just sit back and relax and enjoy everyone's company.

Oh Christmas Tree

Here is this year's Christmas tree. It's fake. We usually get a real one, but this year since we are going to spend half the month of December in Washington with Aaron's family, we decided it wouldn't be a good idea to have a real tree sitting around in our apartment turning into a fire hazard with no one here. I found this little tree at Target for $30 it's pre-lit. Can't get much better than that. It's only four feet tall, so we had to bring the night stand out of the bedroom to stand it up on so that it wasn't hidden behind the couch. We also had to stack the banana chairs in front of it to keep Lincoln from getting it. The star on top is new. This is the first year since we've been married that I was able to find a star that I liked, so this is the first year we've had a star on the top of our tree. All the gifts are under the tree just waiting to be packed and hauled to Washington on Saturday when Aaron drives up with his brothers, Kelly and Ryan.

Here's the tree all lit up. Sorry it's kind of a blurry picture, but the camera has a hard time focusing in the dark.

First Provo Snow

It snowed in Provo today! Ok, so there wasn't that much snow...this is about the extent of it. But it was cold and I was excited to try out Lincoln's snow gear, so I bundled him up and we went out to play in the snow.

I wasn't sure how well he'd be able to walk, but other than waddling like a penguin, he did great!

We had fun being outside, even if there wasn't that much snow. Lincoln didn't really like the snow anyway and preferred to play on the blacktop.

I'm so Glad When Grandpa Comes Home

Sunday night when Papa Kerry got home from his bishopric stuff he was playing with Lincoln and it was pretty entertaining.

Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert

This morning Aaron and I had tickets to go and see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Bell on Temple Square and the Orchestra on Temple Square Christmas concert with special guest, Brian Stokes Mitchell. It was a great concert. The music was beautiful and I felt like it was a good opportunity to slow down and feel the spirit of the Christmas season and remember the true meaning of Christmas. The roads on the way to the concert were awful, but temple square was beautiful in the snow. Thanks mom and Kerry and Tanner for watching Lincoln so that we could go to the concert.

Santa's Workshop

We spent a wonderful weekend in Hooper with my family this weekend. This year for Christmas Aaron and I were having a little bit of a difficult time deciding what to get for Lincoln. We really didn't want to get him any more plastic toys. So we came up with the brilliant idea to visit Santa's Workshop (aka my mom's garage) and make Linc some wooden blocks.

Aaron measured out the pieces on 2x2s and a round dowel, then used the saw to cut them up. You can see all the sawdust flying around in the air.

After Aaron cut the wood, my job was to sand it down so that it was nice and smooth. It was a little trickier than you might think trying to sand the wood and keep it square.
Here's me again sanding the wood on the belt sander.
When Aaron was done sawing, he came and helped. He sanded off the corners so that they wouldn't be sharp.

And here are the blocks! We did square ones and rectangle ones some small circular ones and some long circular ones. Aaron is planning on etching in the alphabet into the blocks, and then we'll paint them. But this is the finished project for now.
This picture is just funny, we took the blocks upstairs and Aaron wanted me to stand up and "present" them in the picture, but I was too hungry and too busy looking for food to be bothered with standing up. :)