Could We Live Here?

So I spent all of this time last night finishing the blog and when I went to post it, I lost all of the writing. Grrr...so annoying. Anyway, Scott had an interview in the very remote, small town of Bishop. Since we might live there, we decided to make a family trip of it to check things out. It is over 5 hours away from Sacramento and you have to drive through two mountain passes to get there. Lucky for us, no chains were required on the way up and the girls were awesome. I can't say enough how much I love portable DVD players! What did our parents do without them??!! The above picture is in our hotel, getting ready for bed.

Ada got her very own bed. She realized that it wasn't a crib and that she COULD get out without our help. That new discovery made bed time next to impossible that first night. With the power going out, Ada falling out of the bed, and my imagination getting the best of me, it made for a really long night that first night.

Watching morning cartoons.

There are a lot of mules in Bishop. In fact, they have Mule Days once a year. I am not sure exactly what happens during Mule Days, but I am sure that it involves a lot of Mules!

After Scotts interview, we promised Ada an outing at the park. There are two things I do not like very much. The Cold and the wind. Bishop has both. Scott taught Ada how to put her hands in her pockets. It's really cute to watch her trying to walk fast with her hands stuffed in her pockets. When we decided to finally coax Ada to leave the park she told us that her hands were freezing!

At the park

Ivy wasn't quite sure what she thought of Bishop

Our little climber

As small a Bishop is, it really is a pretty little town. It definitely has a family feel to it. When we finally convinced Ada that we should go get some dinner we headed to a local restaurant known for their breakfast. We got dinner. It was okay. Luckily, there is a family owned movie theater in town. We had "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," or "Chipmunks" to choose from. We chose Chipmunks. We had a fun time and after the movie was over Ada told us that she needed to go and dance. So Scott took her up to the front of the theater and she danced her little heart out during the credits.

Our little Ragamuffins.
We wanted to check the ward out while we were there and Scott told me to call them to make sure it wasn't Stake Conference. When we walked into a dark chapel with a big screen hanging down, we knew something was up. We were told it was stake conference and since the stake center is over 2 hours away they do a remote broadcast. We were going to stay for a bit but they were experiencing technical difficulties and since we had a long drive ahead of us and the weather was uncertain, we snuck out.

Lucky we left when we did. The drive was really pretty on the way back, but chains were required once we hit Tahoe. Those suckers are expensive to put on and take off. We were $50 poorer once we took them off.

Ada was really mad at us! After about 2 hrs of Yo Gabba Gabba, I told her we needed to take a break and for her to take a rest. That didn't fly over well. After about 20 minutes of her screaming, "I WANT DVD'S, STOP SINGING!" I put a movie back on. I usually don't give in so easily, but did this time for sanity reasons.                                                                     

Did I mention there are a lot of Mules in Bishop? We needed to get some footage of these interesting creatures.

So, could we live here? If I knew it would only be for a couple of years, I think I could do it. There are a lot of fun outdoorsy things to do and we could really be outdoorsy people. The few drawbacks are 1. It is far away from EVERYTHING. Bishop is pretty much the main town for about 2 hrs, 2. Cold, cold, cold. and 3. It is super expensive. I need to add a 4. After living so close to family for these past months, it would hard to move so far away again. The drive isn't that far, just not that easy to get to, especially during the winter.

Anyway, we had a fun weekend. I guess we will find out in about a month where Scott's stands with the position.

Ivy's Blessing Day

So, I need to figure out how to work the new Blogger site. Not tonight, though, not tonight. I have been

meaning to post about Ivy's baby blessing for a few days now, but things have been busy.

We were so grateful for our family members that came out to Sacramento to support Ivy on her big day. Scott did a great job and there was very little crying from Ivy. I guess my father-in-law was the "Keep the Binky in the mouth person" during the blessing. I was able to listen to most of the blessing. Ada was climbing all over the bench, trying to get her cousins attention, etc. It wasn't until my SIL Jenny, grabbed Ada and pulled her over the bench to sit with her that I was able to pay attention. Thanks Jenny.

 Baby Ryan is seriously awesome. Love that kid. Doesn't he have the best rosy cheeks? This baby is all smiles...unless of course you make him cry (one time it happened)

 My sis and Brian lovin Baby Ivy

 Some of the gang. Ada and Maggie are close cousins...in age and friendship. These girls are a little sneaky too. At one point during the day, Ada's older cousin came up to us (Me, Scott and Doug) asking if it was okay to play out in the front. I told them that only if adults were there. Scott asked if there were any kids out there and she said that Maggie and Ada are across the street. Doug and Scott jump up and sure enough, there were the little girls, talking to the neighbors looking at their new baby. Awhile after that incident, Ada told me she was going outside. Before I could grab her, she was sprinting down the driveway, barefoot, and was soon into the street, running full speed. I was yelling  her to stop while chasing after her in my high heeled boots. I have to admit, I laughed while running after her because I was picturing how funny I probably looked yelling at my 2 year old daughter to come back while trying to catch her.

 Ivy and Daddy

 Spending time in the kitchen

 I had to post this picture because it is so classic. Chad is famous at making Congo Bars (pure deliciousness) and my mom is famous for spooning out some dough before he puts it in the oven. I didn't mean to get her in the picture, but after I saw this, I couldn't resist. Love you Mom!!

 Grandpa Foley, Aunt Jenny, Cousins Ryan and Patrick.

 Cousin Andrew loves babies. I have a picture of Andrew holding Ada at about the same age.

 Shortly after the blessing. I had to get Ivy out of the dress before she slipped out of my arms.

 Ivy just before taking off to the church. She really is the sweetest baby. She smiles and coos all of the time and is just an all around good baby. The only real complaint I have about her is she throws up a lot. Projectile vomit. I would be concerned if she wasn't gaining weight, but as you can see, she has some good chubs on her.

My sister was kind enough to take some notes during the blessing because she probably knew I was going to be distracted a little with Ada.

Here are some of the notes she took:

That Ivy was blessed to be born in this time with the Gospel on the earth

Her blessed her to stay close to the Savior and blessed her to be close to the spirit while facing all of her challenges

He blessed her to be a good example to her family and friends and to do what's right in the face of temptation

When the time is right, Scott blessed Ivy to choose a worthy man to take to the temple and marry for time and all eternity.

It was a really special day for our family. Thanks again for those that came out to support us! We love you

Christmas 2011

So the pictures are totally out of order but I have already spent so much time uploading that I am not going to even attempt to change things. Christmas was great! We had so much fun with family and Santa was extra kind to us.

My parents got us some Kings vs Bulls tickets and we got to go see Jimmer represent...but I guess he didn't really represent because he didn't do all that well. We brought little Ivy Girl with us because we thought she might enjoy all of the screaming fans (or maybe we did not have a sitter). Overall she did great with only a few minor meltdowns.

Ada's Christmas present from Uncle John and Aunt Amy. The play food has had some good use already.

\Mom and baby Ivy

Awkward family picture

Ada reading her new friends a book

Grandpa Foley and Ivy

She had to bring her friends to church

Opening presents

 Grandma Foley and Ivy

Scott and his shnazzy (is that a word...I should use it in Words with Friends) new shirt.

Sitting up...kind of

Grandpa helping Ada open presents

We visited Dovewood Court last year and Ada loved it. It did not dissapoint  this go around.

Making Christmas cookies

I don't know what happened to the layout of this post.

Anyway, the holidays were great for us. We loved spending time with the family members we were able to see. By New Years Eve, we were back home and all the visitors had headed to their next destinations. Scott, Chad and I decided to keep things low key so we played games and ate a lot of snacks to bring in the New Year. And what a good year it has been so far!