Quick Visit

Last Saturday we met Maren and Cam in Santa Monica for the day. Cam's sister Megan and her husband Jason also live there so it was great to see them too! We met for lunch at The Counter for some yummy hamburgers then hit the boardwalk. Poor Parker wasn't too happy about his view!

Crew really loved being pushed on rollerblades though!

Santa Monica was actually a pretty happening spot last weekend with Oscars the next day. We saw a few random celebs going to/from an event on the boardwalk like Mickey Rourke, Claire Danes, and Sir Ben Kingsley (wheelchair professor from X-men?). However the best star sighting of the day was Julia Lois-Dreyfus, Elaine from Seinfeld. She was walking right next to us on the Santa Monica Pier and we were all to busy staring to notice Crew had wiped out on the boardwalk. She heard him cry and started to go over to help him but then saw Cam start for him too so she turned back. Pretty funny! Crew completely enjoyed the company of his cousins. He was up at 5 that morning waiting for Carson!

Maren and Cam fought traffic with us to go back to Pasadena. Of course we took them to the Pharmacy!

They spent the night and then took off the next morning. It was a quick trip but we loved seeing them. Crew wanted to go home with them but luckily we get to see Maren and the boys for a couple days next week in Mesa!

Our Little Celebration

Monday night we did a little family party for Matt. Crew really likes birthdays and although it wasn't much, I think Matt really enjoyed it too. This will get him through the week and we can really party later. Birthdays are best when they are drug out as long as possible anyway right?

Twenty Seven

Today is Matt's birthday but instead of celebrating he is taking tests and studying hard for all his midterms this week! It really stinks that as grown ups our birthdays can't be just what we want to do. So, in my effort to make today as much about Matt as I can, here are some of my favorite, non-mushy things about Matt .

One of my most favorite things about Matt is his laugh and it says a lot about him. Matt laughs at everything and his laugh is very contagious! Because he laughs at everything, he really is laughing all the time which may be why he is such a happy person. In the almost 6 years that I have known him, I have never seen Matt stressed. I don't really understand how that is possible but it is true none the less and that may be one reason why I was suppose to marry him! Matt also keeps us from getting too boring because he isn't really a favorites kind of guy. He likes too many things and is usually willing to try new things, unlike his more predictable wife. For example, I have made him a different kind of cake every year for his birthday, this year is carrot cake. This quality also results in Matt taking forever to order when we go out to eat. Just when I think he has decided it will be his turn to order and he will suddenly change his mind again. Always keeping me on my toes that Matt :)

I really am so lucky to be married to Matt. He is my perfect match and Crew and I can't get enough of him! So happy birthday Matt, we love you!

Suns vs, Clippers

For an early birthday present, I got Matt tickets to a Suns/ Clippers game. We went last night with a bunch of other Arizonians and had a blast! It was our first time really being downtown and it was exciting. Crew loved all the big buildings and lights. I think he inherited my squinting eyes because this is the face he makes every time we tell him to say cheese.
The Staples center is right by the Nokia Theater (American Idol fans) and ESPN Zone. The whole area is really fun. I think Crew is so funny in this picture saying cheese to Matt and Brad.
The Suns were awesome! Crew and all of the kids were really good. The Clippers on the other hand, not so much, as you can see from the stands.

Matt and Crew looked good in their Suns gear. All in all it was a really fun night! Happy early bday Matt!

I took this picture this morning. Crew is a very talented architect and even incorporates unusual materials into his masterpieces. (Mentholatum and nail polish on top)

Fondue

Matt and I have a Valentine's Day tradition of fondue dessert. Since we got to celebrate with breakfast on our own, we decided to let Crew in on our deliciously chocolate tradition. It was a mess but a total hit! First we melted the chocolate...

We showed him once how to dip, and he took off from there!

The rest was messy, delicious history!

Happy Valentine's Day!

On the Farm

It is hard to give you the full feel of it, but Crew's room is pretty much finished! Crew really does love his room. One reason why is Carson's Choo choo table that we have been able to borrow, but Crew does loves to show off his new room to visitors and I think it really feels like home to him. I will give you the tour like Crew does. When you first walk in "barn, right there!"

Next, above his crib is "Cow" I usually ask him to tell you what it says and he will say "name, Crew, cow."

Above his dresser are the "tractors!" I love these signs! We found these tin signs on the internet and they just really add to the whole scene. I love that we have a green tractor just like the sign on the dresser that we got from my grandpa.

Over the other bed is Matt's work of art. I know it looks simple but I love it! Matt used oil pastel paints and painted our "windmill, and fields" We are still trying to find some way to frame it but we had to hang it up so Crew would stop trying to always touch it. It is bright and cheery and just what I would imagine seeing if I could look out a barn window! Great job Matt!

We also painted a bulletin board black and have some favorite pictures up on it so Crew has a constant reminder of their smiling faces.

So that is it! Simple but great for us. I kind of like to think of it as a little tribute to my grandpa Richter. Other than his family, his farm was his pride and joy and he would really love all that we did in Crew's room. He and Crew talked a lot about tractors the week before he died and I know he is smiling down on us with his approval! So welcome to Crew's life on the farm!

Sending out January

I haven't really posted anything about what we have been doing the past couple weeks so I thought I would do a quick catch up of how we spent the later half of January. We tell each other every day how much we love and appreciate warm winter weather! There are a lot of things we miss about Provo but winter is not one of them! We have definitely been taking advantage of the sunny California weather. For MLK Day we went to Zuma beach in Malibu with a bunch of friends. I love this beach and it was a such a beautiful day. Here's a cute pic of my little man strutting his stuff along the beach.

While we are catching beach beauties, here is miss Talli stopping to smile at the camera.

We all decided to hike over to some tide pools and this is the view from the top. When this scene came into view I said "oh how gorgeous!" Crew of course immediately said "Gorgeous! Gorgeous mom!" Gorgeous is now a frequent word in his vocabulary.

View from the tide pools. Ahh!

Whenever we are at the beach this is one very happy boy!

Another highlight the end of January was meeting my mom in Anaheim. She was down there for a convention with my aunt so we hit up Disneyland and met up with her for dinner. Unfortunately it was a rainy day so mom and I opted out of pictures (thanks to our frizzy hair) but it really was so fun to see her as well as some of my family. Crew didn't mind the rain especially when he got to see his favorite Disney Characters. I swear, Disneyland is so much more magical when you get to be there with a child. Here is Crew and Mini Mouse (sp?)

I know Crew's face doesn't look very excited in these pics but this is by far the highlight of Disneyland. Well, this and the parade. He loves to dance to the parade.

Finally, we have been fixing Crew's room all up so last weekend we spent all day Saturday painting. It was a total mess but it turned out really good. Here is Crew helping me with the paint.

Matt doing some touch up work. We still have a few more little things to do and then I will post pics of the final project! Hopefully that will be soon!

Crew was pretty bored all day with us taking over his room but he snuggled up with his "football player" to pass some of the time. He was a good boy.

Other Crew news, he has totally got his new bike down! We have video of him riding his bike and I am trying to figure out how to post it but he is pretty close to a pro. Luckily he wears a helmet because it has already come in handy a few times. But after every fall he says "wipe out" then gets right back on his bike. The kid loves his bike and it is so fun to see him take off!

Crew also loves to help me hunt for parking spots when we got to the store or wherever else we go. The other morning he woke up and call for me to come in. When I walked into his room the first thing he told me was, "mom, good parking spot!" I am glad I have taught him early how to appreciate good parking spots. It may be a little sad that he actually dreams about it!

Last story, Crew had a well child visit at the Dr. today. Crew hates the Dr.'s office so it is always a relief to have over with. Well, today the Dr. came in and was trying to warm him up to her. She asked him questions like who was on his sticker ("Mickey Mouse" came out enthusiastically), his favorite color ("blue, red") and then asked him his favorite food and he said "chocolate." I was kind of embarrassed but I probably would have said the same thing! This boy is like his mommy! Luckily he is still only in the 25th percentile for weight so she said he can kept eating more chocolate. We had some M&M's to celebrate!