homemade raspberry jam

doesn't this give me two giant steps toward full blown motherhood? 

padres

Germ is in HEAVEN.

Padres baseball, 

just a few minutes from our house.

a little fella, on his bike, pulled us from our parking spot, to the game in this little buggy. 

London.. aka

gim, gimlet, D, sweets, best friend, girl, girlfriend, l.e. (her initials), tiniest one.. just to name a few..

but at the moment her most common nickname is 

"D"

we have no idea why. 

have i mentioned i'm so in love with this tiniest of great ones? well i am. completely. obsessed. 

in fact, i am having to do a slight intervention on myself because every time i see, hold, or talk to her, i GRIT my teeth so hard that it makes them ache. 

not kidding.

and its not something i have control over, its so involuntary.

the more i try to control it, the more i do it. she's just to ridiculously delicious. 

this parenthood thing is the greatest ever. and i'm not just saying to make my blog or life sounds perfect. but life doesn't get better than this. 

go ahead, look at this face and TRY not to grit.. i dare you. see.. now YOU need an intervention. 

she has been pulling this silly, goober face on a regular basis. and will just sit there and pose, she kills me.

(EVERYONE, including my family, says she looks EXACTLY like jeremy. my mom questions if she is even mine :)    i see him in her a little, but can't see either of us a ton. where did you come from gim?)

she is smiling like a mad woman these days, reaches for anything and everything like a pro, and is sleeping 7-8 hours at a time at night.

sounds perfect right?? 

WELL... 

i didn't get that lucky! 

she is the biggest toad in the car!!!!

she HATES... her car seat. like i have mentioned before she is a maniac MOVER, kicks and flings herself nonstop, so when she is in her car seat you would think she is in a straight jacket. 

screams bloody murder.

 looses her complete mind. 

therefore, we stick to home more often than we otherwise would.

she also needs an intervention..

and whats this i hear about "just take them on a ride in the car, they will go right to sleep, even if they are fussy" ?????.... 

biggest wives' tale i've EVER heard! :)

enjoy what is left of the summer.. and then come see us in sunny california :)  

finally updated petalonover.blogspot.com

the beach

quite possibly the best place on earth.

mom

oh how i love my sweet sweet mom

she has always been my best friend, and will always be (next to germ of course :) )

she flew out to CA with me and london while jeremy drove, and she helped us get settled in our new place.

there is just something unexplainable about a mother/daughter connection, and i recognize and cherish that even more now that i am a daughter AND a mother. 

she has always known how to make things exciting and put me at ease about anything i'm worked up or stressed about.

i want to be just like her, and like i've said a million times... i can only HOPE and PRAY that london will feel about me how i feel about my mom, because she is the greatest thing ever.

we had so much fun while she was here.. i've spent SO much time with her the last year..actually i've always spend tons of time with her...

and i'm going to miss her TERRIBLY, my whole family for that matter. 

we did WAY WAY WAY too much eating, a lot of unpacking and organizing.. shopping.. eating eating eating.. and going to the beach and the pool. 

i love you mom. i miss you. *tears*  lots o tears

but i'm excited to be here, i really am. so much to look forward to and what a perfect place to start a new adventure.

while we were on coronado island there we a huge group of teenagers from FRANCE that ran up to us and took their picture with us.. so i snagged one of all of us too. hilarious.

la jolla cove

isn't she beautiful?! and i love how much she loves my daughter, there is nothing like it.

oh.. and we ate with a couple of jeremy's mission buddies today, one which actually went to the same law school that jeremy is attending, so it was fun to talk to him about his experience and for jeremy to get some advice and tips on what to expect for the next couple of years! 

jeremy, brad, mike

never too old..

to have your picture taken on your first day of school

i dare say he is the cutest law student i've ever seen. 

ready or not.. here we go! 

last few days in idaho

 a few pictures of our last few days in idaho before heading out

i got to spend some time with my sweet, amazing grandma while she was here from st.george

we took her shopping and she was quite the trooper keeping up with all us maniacs. 

i swear london already hates the camera... she RARELY cooperates.  

but crying or not.. pictures like this, i will always cherish. 

4 generation picture

some new flowers i'm working on :)  

london LOVES my dads voice.. no matter where he is in the room.. if he is talking she tries to find him and always smiles. and he's so sweet with her. we'll miss seeing him everyday. okay, now i'll cry even thinking about it

we spent some time with cousin macy.. 

these two couldn't be more different. its hilarious

london is SOO busy and out of control.. loves to be on her feet and being kicking her legs and swinging her arms NON STOP....

 macy is as chill as they come.. content just sitting and cuddling. i can't wait to see these two grow up together. i have a feeling london will be showing macy all the naughty tricks.

 (like mothers.. like daughters. seriously)

dinner at jakers to say goodbye to the calls

blue angels 

unreal. incredible. 

we are pretty much settled here in california. and i actually LOVE LOVE our apartment! 

thank heavens for my mom for flying out with me and helping us get our feet under us. she's a saint, and my best friend. oh how i'll miss my sweet family... but look forward to this fabulous adventure. 

LOTS of pictures of the fun we are having with my mom, and of our new place... and GERM's first day of law school :)  

san diego

we went to california, had 2 days to find our new home, and it was a success. 

well i don't know if you can call the amount we are going to be paying for rent as a success..

but you get my drift.

we are excited. nervous. anxious. 

but can't wait to start this new little journey.

germ and i actually got engaged in newport, which is only about an hour from where we will be living... so it was fun to stop by the exact place he popped the big Q while we were house hunting.  oh how i love that man, and am so glad wherever he goes, i go. and that our tiniest gimlet gets to follow :) 

you'll be happy to know london is doing really well with solids as of late, such as... 

twizzlers, almonds, carrots, pork, etc.

people say she looks JUST like jeremy. i don't see it quite yet. not quite sure where she came from actually.. don't think she looks like either of us too much YET. 

 but either way.. i can't get enough of her. she is just delicious in every way.  being a mom is the greatest, most fantastic thing i have ever imagined. this is what life is about! 

.... speaking of deliciously divine!!!   "velvet yogurt" in san celmente. words cannot express.

our new home.

our new car.

ok.. thats not our new car.. but oh how i wish it was.  look closely.. this ride rolls on... count em... 3 tires! we laughed so hard. gotta get my mits on one of these doosies. 

on coronado island with san diego behind us

londons first trip to the ocean.. many many many more to follow 

we will be living about 4 miles from the beach  :)  

that thought SLIGHTLY helps when i get deathly sad about moving.

prolly my fav pic of the trip

this is the last week we will call Idaho our home.  ok, lets be honest, 

Idaho will ALWAYS be our home. 

california be kind to us... we are SO Idahoans.