{Denver}

Ok. So Denver is not really accurate. My aunt and uncle live in Parker, just outside of Denver. But 

whatever the case, Crew and I went for a visit and had a wonderful time!

I was pretty nervous for the flight. I REALLY didn't want to be "that mom" with

a screaming baby the whole way. Crew is pretty laid back, but you never know.

He did great, though! Giggled during the take off and the landing...

Our long weekend was full of fun, fun, fun! 

We went shopping, made yummy treats, watched movies.

We also took some senior pics of Hannah baby.

LOVE this girl to pieces 

Here are a couple more pictures from the visit

Aunt Tammie, Uncle Don, Hannah

Crew bathed in the laundry room sink. He loves his rubber ducky and bath time!

Sleepy little monkey.

Crew figured out how to clap while we were there. Probably the cutest

thing I've ever seen. He is also super close to crawling! He gets on all fours and then just sits there.  

We had a great trip. Thanks for such a fun time!

{Christmas}

Since this was our Walker year for Christmas, we spent most of our time in Sandy where Kirstin, Bruce,

 Savannah and Marcus had come for the holiday! I'm sad to say I didn't take very many pictures but here

 are a few I did.

Lance's cousin Tori had her little guy a few weeks before Marcus. It was fun to see them all together at 

the extended family party. I wish I would have taken a picture! Crew is the youngest by 3 weeks and still

 the biggest...

Some of the week's activities included swimming, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, and lots

 of yummy meals :)

These cute little boys got matching pj's from grandpa.

Opening presents!

Silly.

Probably the gift we are most excited about! Now we can go hiking with Crew. Thanks grandma 

and grandpa Walker!

We finished the evening perfectly by coming to open gifts and have dinner with my family. 

It was such a pleasant Christmas. We are thankful to have wonderful family whom we love dearly.

Happy New Year!

{Vegas, Baby!}

Lance's parents had a Swimmer's Convention in Vegas. Since Kirstin lives in Arizona with her cute little

family, we decided it was the perfect opportunity to meet for a week of vacation.

Unfortunately, Lance had to stay behind to work but Crew and I headed down with everyone else

and we had a fabulous time!

The M&M factory

I cannot believe how grown up these two have gotten! 

Trisha is turning 16 in December and is going to be a real heart-breaker. 

We were SO excited Kirstin could come! We miss her so much.

Savannah and Keaton are attached at the hip.

Chubbiness. 

Cute cousins!! I loved seeing these two together. They are both growing up so big!

Crew is a really smiley baby but Marcus has definitely got him beat. He will pretty much

smile at anyone the instant they look at him :) What a cutie!

Savannah is such a cute big sister. She was so good with Crew too.

On the strip for some shopping, dessert and site-seeing. 

I LOVE this girl!

He looks kind of scared in this picture but really he loved it!

Practicing his kicks :)

Grandma Pat is so wonderful! My own grandma died several years ago so Grandma Pat

feels just like my own grandma.

I love her blue eyes

We spent a lot of time at the pool swimming with grandma (Crew love it!), eating, relaxing, reading 

and watching movies. What a fun week! 

{California}

At the beginning of September, the Merrells loaded up in my parent's new RV and headed out to

Oceanside, California to spend an entire week on the beach, at Disneyland, California Adventure and Seaworld.

Disneyland

 Seaworld

Stylin little baby in his sunglasses :)

We had an absolute blast!! 

Crew pretty much slept soundly in his stroller the entire time. What more could you ask for?

Poor little Avie ended up in the hospital with a severe asthma attack.

Poor thing! As sad as it was, doesn't she look adorable in these pictures?!

Little Monkey

The weather was perfect. 

Kenna loved playing on the beach. She was lost in her own little world.

This was our attempt at a self-shot of the two of us. Ha! :)

I can almost feel the sunshine. 

Surfin.

Starting on her sand castle. Oh how I wish I was doing this right now!

Cuddling with mommy.

On Thursday night, we headed to the farmers market. What a fun evening! There were hundreds of vendors, 

a live band, tons of great food and such a fun atmosphere.

There weren't that many babies so Crew got a lot of attention from everyone.

Award winning chocolate cake. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

On our last free day, we headed to San Francisco to walk along the bay and do a little shopping.

Lance decided sailing would be really fun so he found someone who was renting their sailboat 

and asked their prices. When questioned on whether or not he was proficient in sailing, he asked, 

"Does a sailing merit badge work?" Ha! We all got a kick out of that. Lance is pretty much the best

at whatever he tries (and I mean everything!) so he was not worried in the least that it had been at least

10 years since he had operated a sailboat. Needless to say, the guy didn't let us take his sailboat :)

Gorgeous.

All in all, we had a wonderful week in California enjoying the sunshine and good company

of our loving family! Until next time, sweet sunshine and warmth.