Fall time and soon to be Christmas!

I spent a while today changing my blog to amazing Christmas-ness so I figured I should also take the time to write something. (Not that I only have this blog to decorate it...) We went to Spokane about 2 weeks ago to see my mother-in-law who was visiting Bowen and Ashley. The leaves were gorgeous and we got some great pictures. The weekend was fun too, I think Luke was a little upset that he had to share Grandma with another child. Elise would sit on her lap to read a book and he would come up and basically sit on top of her! Then this weekend on Veterans day we all went up to Leavenworth which is a Bavarian town up the pass. It was so fun and already snowy! (that was not the fun part) We went through some fun Christmas shops and all got in the mood to decorate next week after Thanksgiving. Its true, at my house Thanksgiving is sort of a filler holiday that takes up space between my two favorite holidays--Halloween and Christmas. Its like oreo cookies except I find Thanksgiving slightly more boring than cream filling. Some people really love it and I get the whole "thankful" thing but Christmas is all about the Savior and loving everyone etc. Doesn't that kind of top gratitude just a bit? Anyway, the best part is being together as a family and eating yummy food. Having an "attitude of gratitude" should be all year!

Disneyland 2012: Days 4-5!

Day four was Sunday which put us back in Disneyland. Mom, Dad, Braden, and I had a family devotional to begin the Sabbath about the healing of Jarius' daughter. We were in the park by mid morning and rode some Fantasyland rides. When we met up with Dayton and Annie we went on the Haunted Mansion, which frightened Elise--she spent the whole ride with her head buried between Braden and my shoulder. Then we spent the day in Adventureland, eating lunch at the Blue Bayou. After lunch we headed to Pirate Island and spent some time over there and around the Rivers of America. At the end of the day we headed back to Fantasyland to wait for the fireworks and I rode the Carousel twice in a row! The fireworks were great and afterwards we all stayed in the park until it closed at midnight.

Day five everyone got to pick what they wanted to ride for their last day and we ended up spending the whole time in Disneyland again. I think its my favorite because of the magic feeling and the nostalgia that I don't get in California Adventure. So this day was a conglomeration of everyone's favorite until we had to leave to catch our flights. Dayton and Annie left around 2 and the rest of us left at 5. We flew back home without a hitch and all remember it as a wonderful family vacation!

Disneyland 2012:Days 1-3!

We went on our "as annual as possible" Disneyland trip this year, our first trip with the whole family present! Annie and Dayton flew to LA from Utah and the rest of us met them in the airport from Seattle. We arrived late Wednesday night and stayed at a hotel about half a mile from the park.
Day 1 we woke up early and hit the magic morning in Fantasyland, which gets you an hour early into the park ahead of the normal crowds. Elise's very first ride was Peter Pan, which she seemed to enjoy but also was unsure about. We did all the Fantasyland rides and then when the park opened to the rest of the public headed over to California Adventure to check out the new Carsland before it got too busy. Since my last visit they had totally redone most of the park and modeled it to look like LA in the 1920s when Walt arrived.   Carsland looked just like the movie, although it was full of people! We didn't spend much time there because it was almost not worth hanging around where all the people were when the rest of the park was empty. So we headed to the pier and did our other favorite rides! We also went on the new Little Mermaid ride which was really fun! The day was quite hot so by the afternoon we ended up inside at the Aladdin show which was ok--I have always loved it but I don't think the cast has ever changed and I think it showed that they were tired of it. They really need to replace everyone and give it some new life. I was disappointed that the Muppets and the animation studio were closed, but we managed to have fun in the heat the rest of the day. We ended up back in Carsland in the evening when the heat and the crowds had died down and ended the day with the fantastic World of Color show!

Day 2 was another magic morning only this time it was early into Toon Town! On our way in Annie spotted Belle in a photo location that was totally empty so we ran over and I got a picture with my favorite princess! Then we headed on into Toon Town and got some pictures with the characters and watched the Town Meeting which is a fun show of dancing and music--Elise loved it and kept laughing so loud that Donald Duck who was dancing by us heard her and later told us he had seen her. We headed back into Disneyland and I got my face painted, as usual, and we spent the morning in Adventureland and New Orleans Square. The weather started to get hot so everyone (except Elise, Mom, and I) got on splash mountain to cool off. Poor Braden, he was so hot and he got the least wet out of everyone! For lunch we went out into Downtown Disney and ate at the Rainforest Cafe. The only time we have ever gone is in Disneyland, even though there is one here in Seattle. Then we walked through the shops and had fun looking at all the cool stuff. In the evening we caught the Soundsational Parade which Elise loved. It was one of my favorite parades I have seen there. We ended the day in Tommorowland and then watched Fantasmic on the Rivers of America, which is probably my favorite show!

Day three we were in California Adventure once again and lost no time riding Toy Story Midway Mania. We spent some time riding things down by the boardwalk and then it started to get warm so Braden wanted to ride Grizzly River Run. Once again, he got the least wet out of all of us! We caught Soarin' over California on our way to the Animation Studios where we watched Turtle Talk with Crush. Elise actually seemed a little frightened at first but then she grew accustomed. Then we walked through the Wizards Workshop and had fun finding out which characters we all were. Everything in this area of the park was dedicated to Frankenweenie which is coming out soon, so I was kind of disappointed because usually I love going to the animation studios and to the Muppets, which were also closed for the film. After we left and had lunch, we all rode our favorite rides again and ended up in Carsland at the end of the day. After California closed we headed over to Disneyland again which stays open later and rode a few things. Everyone ended up going back and Braden and I stayed out and went on the Haunted Mansion together (which was my choice) and Dumbo (which was Braden's choice) before heading back.

And now, like my wise friend who inspired me to record my own vacation, I am going to put the last two days on the next post so this is not too long!

4th of July 2012!

The 4th of July is one of my favorite hoildays--I love the fireworks, parades, BBQs, and the feeling of pride in our not always harmonious country. This year was probably the best 4th I have had in several years. I did not have to work on the holiday and I was with my husband and adorable daughter all day, as well as with my parents. We began the celebration several days before by watching a History Channel video on the founding fathers. It is always remarkable to me that so many different men with different interests who all basically hated each other were able to get together in a non-air conditioned room in the middle of summer wearing coats, cravats and wigs and actually accomplish anything, let alone anything that would endure for 240 years. I would be perpetually useless in those circumstances. :) My dad has always been interested in the beginning of America so growing up I always heard stories of the people who gave their lives for the cause that seemed doomed to fail.
The actual 4th began at the parade, around 11:30. It was the perfect day for it, for once in my life I sat through a parade not dying from sun stroke or something.  Elise actually liked it until she fell asleep. The best part was by far the bagpipe band and watching the veterans parade past. I don't know why but bagpipes always feel patriotic to me, like a mixture of my heritage and my present country. I always feel proud of our military as well, mostly because of my grandpa, who served in WWII. He has been my hero my whole life, even though he died when I was five. My dad has all of his medals and has always told me stories about the courageous things he did behind enemy lines.

The next part of the day was spent at the pool. We swam and laid in the sun and had a BBQ. It was wonderful. We ended the day by walking to the waterfront of Lake Washington for the Kirkland firework show. We got there early so we played games and read books until it got dark and the show started. It turned out to be the perfect location to sit, as we could see not only our show but about 4 other shows going on for different towns on the huge lake. Elise seemed to like the fireworks as well, she would not take her eyes off them!

Overall the best 4th of July in a long time.

Anniversary Fun

  Although our anniversary is on Monday the 21st, we decided to leave town Friday night instead so we could leave the baby with mom and dad. We made a reservation at a bed and breakfast in Granite Falls (about an hour away near the mountains) and around 2:00pm on Friday we departed for our first solo adventure in the forest primeval of Washington state. The drive was beautiful after we left the freeway, turning through forests and over rivers. We arrived at a beautiful home nestled near the mountain and met our caretakers, Rose and Reza. We were the only ones staying in Mountain Loop Bed and Breakfast that night and we had the best room. King size bed, sitting area, fireplace, double vanity bathroom with walk-in closet leading to a bigger bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub for two and a separate glass shower. The length of the room from the bed to the shower was windows that looked on the mountain and forest.

We watched movies and looked at the beautiful scenery and in the evening received cookies and strawberries outside our room. In the morning we woke up to warm pastries filled with chocolate from the oven and juice. When we got ready we went down to the dining room for our actual breakfast, a salad of fruit and strawberry crepes. The house was beautiful as well as the surrounding area and we had a wonderful stay. After we checked out we drove the Mountain Loop which was beautiful! It followed the river through the mountains and we drove for about an hour round trip (we had to turn around because the road was still closed from the winter). Then we decided we wanted more adventure so we went on a drive south down the freeway and ended up eating lunch at Macaroni Grill at the Northgate Mall. Returning home to see our baby who we both missed, we spent the rest of the evening relaxing at home. Happy 3 year anniversary to us!

Life in the Emerald City

So now we are in the Emerald City, better known as Seattle. Although we are not actually in the city, we are just in the "area." We actually reside in Kirkland and so far I love it here. It may have something to do with the weather (which is beautiful), or the green trees and fun walking trails, but so far I am enjoying it immensely. Life looks a little brighter now that we are both out of school. Braden's graduation went well--a trifle dry--but that is to be expected. I don't know what it is about Humanities majors but our school of thought is a bit pretentious.

 Anyway, it was a whirlwind weekend with graduation, a baby blessing, and then a move. The blessing went well also--everyone passed the girl around and got their fill of her before she left town permanently. She looked adorable in her first white dress, one mom made for me as a baby that I spruced up a little with some pink ribbon. Then we moved which was a little stressful but worth it because I had been counting down for months for that event. And now we are here!

Our adventures so far include several nature walks where we have seen wildlife such as toads and turtles and a trip to the tulips. The tulip festival was so fun and the fields were gorgeous! I have never seen tulips that bright before. Elise was not a big fan of the weather that day because it was windy but she was a trooper and even went on her first ferry ride without much complaint.

So far we enjoy everything about living here: the WIC office was amazingly better, the weather is fabulous, we have more fun things to do, we love our ward and the people we have met, and the list keeps going. I hope to continue writing about all our fun adventures!

Baby Blues (blue eyes that is)

So we have had a great couple of weeks. Elise is getting bigger and more alert. In the last few weeks she started smiling, which is adorable and always makes me laugh. Baby love is contagious. She is such a good baby, even though I spend a lot of my time packing and getting ready to leave she stays pretty well contented to sit in her swing and watch mommy get stuff done. Of course we squeeze in the daily bath and game time. She still does not like it when I put lotion on after her bath or when I dress her, but the actual bath she has really started to enjoy.

And then I cheer her up with some games that make her smile. Being a mom is so much more fun than I even thought it would be!

We flew up to Seattle last weekend because Braden presented a philosophy paper at a conference in Tacoma. He did SO well I was really impressed. And of course on a college campus full of more liberal minded peoples, a clean cut man in a tie and his young wife and baby stood out like a sore thumb. I even had some students blatantly stare at me like they had never seen a baby before! The funny thing was how the professors talked to us--more like on a peer level than a teacher to student level. I guess thats what happens when the maturity of family life settles on you.

But we had a fun conference weekend with mom and dad, who couldn't get enough of little blue eyes. We went around to everyone's work and showed her off and everyone ooed and awed etc. I always love watching my parents with her, they are so fun with babies and (being the youngest) I never saw that side of them before! It made me even more excited to move up there close to them in a few weeks. Summer will be exciting with picnics and outings as we all watch Elise live her first year.

While we were there she gave us a bit of a surprise. She has always been a good sleeper at night, from about 11:00 to 5:00 and then from 5:00 to 9 or 10:00. But from the first night she was there she slept from 11:00 to 7:00 and continued to do so the entire trip. I was happily shocked. My dad claimed it was because she liked the Pacific Northwest. Well, we shall see!

In the next few weeks we will finish packing up and have her baby blessing and move away! I am so excited for the new life we are beginning!

New Pics

Beautiful Baby Girl

On Thursday, February 2 at 10:34am Elise Rose Fraser was born in Mountain View Hospital in Payson, Utah. Since then I have spent my days holding her, feeding her, and loving her. So far I absolutely love being a mother and actually get much more sleep than I thought I would! Elise is such a good baby and spends most of her days content, alert, and adorable. One of my favorite times is bath time and it is so much fun to dress a little girl every day! She is already growing so fast, I feel like I need to hang on to every moment and enjoy every day to its fullest!

Its been awhile...

So obviously, I haven't written in a LONG time. There were many contributing factors to this, including computer troubles, end of semester anxieties, and pregnancy! To make up for lost time, I feel that a quick update is needed:

First off, I finished my schooling and graduated from BYU with a BA in English. Graduation was absolutely riveting (that's sarcasm) and I was excited to be done and move on with my life. I kept the job I had when I graduated--I was working at a health foods store--until December when I quit for pregnancy purposes and because of terrible management.

This brings me to the next change in my life, which is that I am pregnant. We found out the first week in June that we were expecting and since then have learned we are having a girl. Her planned name is Elise Rose--Elise because we both enjoy that name and its traditional and Rose for my grandmother Rosemary. Elise is due on the third of February but she has dropped so technically she could come anytime. We are waiting impatiently and excitedly for her arrival!

Braden is finishing school this semester and we are both very excited to move to the Seattle area in April for work and perhaps more schooling. As of now Braden is undecided on which Masters degree he wishes to pursue, but I am hoping some real work experience will help him decide. Right now he is just excited to be a father and bored with being a student. We are now living in Spanish Fork with my in-laws (interesting experience) and spend much of our time taking it easy and watching movies (its difficult to go out when you have a belly the size of a basketball). We spent Christmas this year with Mom and Dad in Seattle as well as Dayton and Annie (my awesome new sister-in-law). It was fun and relaxing and we are excited to return.

So that is the update. My next post will probably include a baby and more pictures and will hopefully be soon! See you all then!