Update--We Are Still Alive!

Well, I obviously took a break from blogging for a while, we just had too many fun and exciting things going on! 

Lots of Holiday get-togethers and celebrations with family and friends.

We got hot chocolate with the Whitings and drove around and saw Christmas lights.  We saw several decked-out houses, and even saw a house that coordinates the lights to Christmas music on the radio--it's crazy!

Here it is without the flash,
so you have a better idea of how "decked" these halls were!

We attended the annual Brown Family caroling party on the 23rd.  Complete with a delicious Mexican dinner and all piling onto the flat-bed truck to carol.   It was a blast!

Me & the adorable Breckyn on the trailer caroling

I had a lot of baby cuddling time...

Meet baby James (offspring of Jacob and Xanga) born December 9th

Meet baby Case (offspring of brother and sister-in-law Michael and Kami) born December 15th

Love those newborns! 

(And I'll have a couple more here to cuddle with soon, two more cousins both due in January!)

We got to play "Santa's Elves" on Christmas Eve in Willcox.

Putting together a trike and a train set

And the long-anticipated Disneyland trip with the whole Allred crew! 

We are talking all 45 of us (including 12 day-old Case!).

We are already missing Calvin & Susan, who are on their way to Chile as we speak.

We were the lucky ones that got to take them to the airport...

2 years feels like it will be forever, but we are grateful we get endless phone calls and skyping!

Labor Day Weekend

We had a fabulous Labor Day weekend.  We made a quick get-away to Southern California.  We found a smoking deal on Travelzoo for the Crowne Plaza Resort, so a while back we booked a room and planned our vacaion. 

I picked Brett up from work on Friday evening and we headed straight there, making great time--5 hours!  

Saturday morning we woke up, enjoyed breakfast at the hotel restaurant (it was free because it came with the room deal--normally $13 a person!).  Things we indulged in included custom order omelets, red velvet pancakes, french toast, and an assortment of juices, cereals, and pastries.

Following breakfast we headed over to Disneyland and spent the whole day there.  We are talking 12 solid hours.  We had a blast!  We thought it would be packed due to the holiday, however our average wait was around 20 minutes a ride, and when the shows were getting ready to start we literally walked on Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain, and Space Mountain!  We were in heaven! 

One of the traditional Disneyland pictures

Gotta love my face on Space Mountain. 
The rides were scarier than I remember! 

Waiting in line for the Matterhorn

Big Thunder Mountain

The delicious corn dogs (recommended by McKenzie and Cory!)

Waiting in line for Splash mountain. 
This trip I embraced the natural curl--too humid

And the other traditional Disneyland picture
We probably picked the worst time of day, but it was necessary

Sunday morning we slept in, attended nearby church services, and then hung out the rest of the afternoon and evening. 

Monday we slept in again, packed up our things, enjoyed our last breakfast at the hotel, and then headed to Newport Beach!  It was slightly overcast (of course!), so it was a bit chilly at first, but it warmed up.  We had a great time there.  Brett even went exploring a bit and saw some dolphins!  He enjoyed getting some great shots of the beach while we were there.  I enjoyed indulging in my book "Jane Eyre".

Oh man he is handsome!

Brett building a sand castle...I am indulging in Dr. Pepper

A great shot of the water Brett took

A crab he found while out exploring

Reading "Jane Eyre"

My mom told me before the trip to make sure I took a lot of pictures.
She said, "like don't forget to write in the sand at the beach!"
So this one's for her :)

Labor Day

And we're still newlyweds...so we can still take these kinds of pictures!

After the beach, we stopped by Chipotle and grabbed lunch and started making our way home.  But not without stopping by the Outlets on our way back to AZ!  Brett is such a good sport to let me stop to shop for a bit.  However, they were kind of a disappointment to be honest. 

We had such a fabulous time!  We are so grateful we had the chance to get away for the long weekend and relax from school and work.