February Snow & California Bound!

We spent half of the month in Utah with Mom and Dad and the other half in California. We loved spending time with family and playing in the snow while we were in Utah. Spanish Fork Canyon received so much snow it was crazy. I helped Dad to the best of my ability shoveling and doing all things snow removal. I'm pretty sure I should look more toned than what I do after all of that shoveling, haha. The kids loved it!

 

Dad and the boys on Spung mountain.

Pop helped me out with the kids. We would sled, climb, dig, and just have a ball outside. Pops and I even took a spin on the old sled. It was absolutely hilarious and extremely enjoyable to watch others sled.

The boys found a fort that the older cousins and Uncle Corey and Uncle Craig made. They thought it was the coolest thing.

Everybody loved playing games with Pop on his iPad :) Jack and Dad played "Where's My Water" together and Jack would just get a kick out of handed Dad the harder ones to figure out. Jack loves that game! It's all about problem solving. 

Jack and Quinn climbed up on the snowy trailer one day and asked to get a picture taken.

The turkeys were out...so much fun watching them run up the road.

Watching the turkeys.

Pop and Quinn at the bottom of the mountain, waiting for us sledders to come down.

Jack made it down :)

 

Burying Jack in the snow. 

He thought this was so funny! He loved pushing the snow up and us piling it on top.

 

Quinn loved reading with Great Grandma and Great Grandma LOVED reading with Quinn. It was so nice having my Gram at my parents place while we were there. We hadn't seen her in a long time and the kids didn't remember her apart from seeing pictures. I loved watching them together. It just warmed my heart that my kids got to know and see their great-grandma.

Winter Wonderland!

The snow fell like a Christmas story right out of a Hallmark movie. It was peaceful and absolutely beautiful.

Watching Curious George with Great Grandma.

Preston made the paper! 

So incredibly proud of this man of mine. He had his own section in the paper welcoming him to his new position. We are so happy for Pres!

Cuddles with Great Gram

Movie Night! We watched Moana and had some tasty treats. 

Together Again!

I flew out in February to Manteca to finally see where we'd be living. I was so excited to see Preston again and to see where our new home would be. I was really looking forward to house hunting and exploring the area around us. 

Almond orchards are everywhere in Ripon, CA. It is the almond capital of the world! I loved seeing all of the orchards and vineyards in the area. 

Our temporary apartment until we figure out something more permanent. 

A view from Berkeley looking out at San Fransisco Bay. 

A view of the bay looking out from the Oakland Temple :) 

A park right next to the apartment complex. Gorgeous sunset too :)

One more California sunset...heart eyes!

I came home to a lot of cuddles :)

Loved seeing these three again. 

I was only gone a few days but these faces are just to cute. I missed them! Poor Beckham boy ended up having croup and then it was passed to Quinn. We had a few rough days but once the meds kicked in we were doing really good again. 

We went up to Angie's for a couple days to spend some more quality time with the Calderwood crew. Ang and Cor took the kids to a pet store while I got my hair done :) They saw all kinds of reptiles, fish and animals. The kids also colored with HayKay and KamJam, played with Cody man and just ate up all of the attention they were receiving ;) 

Valentine's Buddies

Haley asked Jack and Beckham to be her Valentines and of course they said "Yes" faster than she could even finish asking. Haley made them the cutest little cards and the boys made her a card and bought her a special cinnamon roll treat. They loved having a Valentine!

 

We got back to Grandma and Pops house and Jack was determined to make a maze in the snow. He realized how much snow they had gotten but wanted to give it a shot anyway. You can tell from the snowman in the first picture that there was A LOT of snow. Mr. Snowman was almost completely covered. The second picture shows a defeated Jack, haha. He got so tired from trying to trudge around in the snow. He drew a picture that he held on tight to and did his best to recreate what he had drawn. It was so cute to watch him try so hard and work with all his might until he just couldn't move anymore. It started to snow, so he just laid back and tried catching snowflakes in his mouth instead :) I love this kid!! You can see his little trail he made in the second picture :)

Dad and I on the other hand had a lot going on in the snow removal area. We were clearing snow from the roof, the deck and the driveways almost everyday. So much snow! However, I will admit that I loved spending time with my Pops even if it meant snow removal. We enjoyed tackling each snow fall together. Our bodies felt like we'd run a marathon everyday but we did it anyway. I'm pretty sure I should be looking more tone than what I do but, whatever...haha ;) I am also really grateful for Super Grandma! Mom looked after the kids while I could help Pops out. They loved their time with Grandma!

With a shovel, we can do anything... haha ;)

The deck is all clear! Woohoo!

California here we come!

All of the almond orchards were blossoming by the time we got there. It was so pretty!

Hanging out on the balcony wishing we had a yard, haha. Very different from the snow filled mountains we just came from :)

We came into CA at the perfect time! It was the annual Almond Festival in Ripon the weekend we got in. They had a carnival, food galore, and tons of booths to shop at. We had so much fun spending a Friday evening at the festival. Preston's hospital had a blow up heart that you could walk through. It was so cool to walk inside a heart and see the different parts. They had screens with questions along the way that you could try and answer. I learned quite a bit in that heart :) The staff gave the boys cute little doctor hats that they wore the rest of the night. 

We first rode a roller coaster together as a family. I road with Quinn, Pres with Beckham, and Jack made a new friend he rode with. Everyone loved it except for Beckham boy. After a few times around he was ready to be done. No tears, he just asked to stop. Quinn didn't show a whole lot of emotion during the ride. I think it was a mix between fear, questioning what we were doing and a little excitement. After the ride though she said it was fun.

Look out for car number 8! 

Pres, Jack and Quinn riding the ferris wheel at the Almond Festival. 

 

Beckham was not thrilled about being put in a bucket and then hoisted up super high in the air, so I stayed down with him and we watched. He loved seeing the rest of the crew go round and round but, he was happy to be on the ground.

The three Ferris Wheelers :)

 

Jack absolutely LOVED the carnival. He wanted to ride everything he could and even watch the rides he couldn't do. He thought the carnival was an absolute blast. The slide was a favorite. I don't think Beckham cared for the carnival and Quinn couldn't ride many things...she was vertically challenged :)

Go Jack Go!

We are so happy to be in California as a family! We are really looking forward to finding our new house and getting everyone set up for school next year. Even more excited to start venturing out and exploring the cool cities and areas around us. Hopefully we will be heading to the bay area soon! We are pretty stoked to go and see the sea lions!