I am in LOVE

With many things right now.

Like getting to know my camera better.

And watching a baby be so thoughtful and mesmorized by the little things.

The slightly cooler weather & sweaters for morning walks to the park.

And I know I say Autumn doesn't exist here.

But somehow Jacob found some golden leaves

and wanted to appreciate them to the fullest.

I LOVE this face.

And this one, of course...

My 10 month old sweetheart.

Mourning Elmo

I never really understood it. The whole fascination with Elmo. I thought it was all a bunch of hype and I wasn't planning on giving into all the "Tickle Me Elmo" mumbo jumbo..... that was until my own baby became enamored with him, too. Elmo is the first "favorite" that we have seen making his eyes light up everytime! I am talking HUGE grins and giggles. What's funny, is he doesn't watch TV. He's seen a few clips of sesame street here and there, but he really just recognizes Elmo from his very FAVORITE book:

And FAVORITE dishes to eat out of:

And of course the sweet stuffed animal version that his dad couldn't resist while at Sea World- of all places. (Shown above.)

So, this book. We read it all the time. The best part is the last page with the great "so big" Elmo Pop-up. Sometimes I see Jacob trying to flip through the board pages on his own trying to find it. While I was reading it to him the other day he tore off the head. No surprise there. I knew it was bound to happen. And I was planning on fixing it. I promise. It was nothing a little scotch tape couldn't handle. Unfortunately, I waited too long and as he was playing with his toys and books today..... well..... Elmo is no more.

(Warning: Graphic picture ahead....)

And the only reason I am posting this is because it was so sad and so cute at the same time to see him so upset about Elmo being gone out of that last page. He totally knew something wasn't right and as hard as he tried to fix it, he just couldn't. Totally broke my heart.

I feel like I need to explain this last picture or something. Cause what kind of a mom takes a picture of her crying child? But then I realized both Stephen and I have baby pictures of us crying and it is one of those expressions that show true life, right? Anyway, all is well now. I distracted him with something else (the camera in fact!) and he was back to normal within a few minutes.

I am currently looking on Amazon to order a new "So Big." (Sigh.) What would we do without Elmo?

So I Think I Can Dance

Well, I used to. In fact I took several years of classes starting when I was 8 and then continued up through college. Nothing serious. But I seriously enjoyed it.

I don't dance anymore but I still apreciate the art of it.... all kinds really. Thats why I LOVE LOVE the show So You Think You Can Dance. Truly a highlight of my week. (Especially in the summer when there is NOTHING else on TV for me.) So, guess what? The show has become such a hit they are bringing back a season starting next week. And in honor of that, I am posting my pictures from one of my favorite LA experiences thus far:

The

Finale!

At the Kodak Theater

How did we score these tickets? The secret: Go to OnCameraAudiences.com and put your name in their email system. The show tapings are great free entertainment if you are in the area. My sister put her name into the email raffle and scored tix for the biggest show of the season... Unfortunately she and my mom couldn't come. But my cousins Lani, Mitzi, and Tiffany (who are some other great fans of the show) made a trip of it.

It was so neat to see all the behind the scenes stuff.

Make Up Crews, Camera Guys, Audience Directors, Cat joking witht he audience, etc.

Such fun. We missed you Mom, Rachel, and Becca.

Show Starts this week again if anyones interested.

I highly reccomend it.

So Cal Summer

Living in California definitely has its perks. I sometimes wonder if I lived anywhere else if my family would ever really come visit. At least as much as they do now. Last month they came back for another tour of the Southern CA favorites...

Girls night out and boys night in.... The ladies went to see Legally Blonde in Downtown Hollywood. It was funny to go on opening night seeing all the die-hards wearing some serious pink. Including an old man at least 75 years of age, whose wife (wearing a pink feather boa and sequins) must have talked him into the pink striped shirt and coral tie. Poor guy.

Then off to SeaWorld. First time for my brothers, Jacob, and Becca. Jacob seemed to enjoy everything except the Shamu show which made him cry. Whoops. Who knew?

This pic is cute cause it shows Jacob's two best friends: Aunt Rachel and Elmo.

Back to the beach. So my aunt and uncle built this AMAZING beach house right on the boardwalk. And they were nice enough to let us enjoy if for a couple days before it sells. Thanks Kris and Ed! It's incredible.

We felt pretty cool.

The rooftop is fully equipped with barbque and hot tub. The life of luxury for an afternoon. And yes, my mom is shown here making rotisserie toasted mallows for smores. Somehow it worked and they were Delish.

Sidenote: Every time I let Jake play in the sand I have to put in the plug. Otherwise we'd have some serious sand mouth.

Last but not least, another trip to Disneyland. Seriously, our So Cal Resident Passes are one of the best investments I've made in my lifetime. And the place just keeps getting better and better. If you haven't been in a few years, the Toy Story Mania would make the whole trip worth it. Its pretty much the greatest! Even when getting whacked in the face with 3-d glasses.

See my obviously "way too excited, calm down, it's just a ride" face?

Jacob is quite a fan of the newly remodeled Small World.

The brothers waiting for the "best corn dog ever made".

The family castle shot. This was the best we could do, I guess.

Amazing how this kid never sleeps when something fun is going on. I saw all sorts of babies asleep in their strollers by the time the electrical parade rolled around, but not this kid. He was too busy chewing on the new bath toys Grandma got him.

And even the next morning he seemed to be the only one awake when going to Ruby's for breakfast. .......mmmmmmm cinnamon roll french toast....... Don't even get me started.

For some reason everytime we left a place we kept saying, "Oh, why didn't we take a picture of all of us?" So thats why there are so many pics of a few of us at a time. I know, way too many anyway. We missed Aaron and my dad who were back at school.... but did you notice Stephen in the pictures! Because of his two week summer break he got to hang out with us the whole time! World record perhaps?

Well, my friends, I have approximately 9 more months of residency here, so if any of you want to come visit me before Steve's graduation I will gladly take you on a similar tour of my "hometown!"