Sunday, December 23, 2012

My Day With Madi

I love being an aunt. It is one of my favorite roles. I love my siblings more than anything, but their kids are just something special. It is sad for me to not get to spend as much time with my nephews and nieces as I would like. It seems that every time I see them they are so much older!! I was so glad that when Madi stayed after the sisterfest I got to spend a day with her while Gram was at the temple and Papa was working. We had a blast!

These two pictures were actually taken the night before. Madi had watched "Horton Hears a Who" earlier in the day. Then she found these little "clovers". She had to keep them safe so that the little worlds that lived on them wouldn't be disturbed. We tried talking to them while we sat in the car. 

We decided that we wanted to go swimming today in a big pool. Madi is a great swimmer! Plus I told her if we went to the Evans house we could talk to a special bird. We swam for awhile, enjoying the last time before the Evans would be taking the pool out. Madi loved the bodyboard!  

 After we got out of the pool, Dad Evans offered Madi a granola bar. She excepted and he handed her a chocolate chip chewy bar. Now in the Jenkins house the only kind of granola bars they have are Nature Valley bars. So as Madi started eating, her eyes widened and with chocolate on her face she said, " This is the best granola bar I've ever had!" I loved being apart of opening her eyes to world of sugar!

Then Madi discovered Pete. The Evans have had Pete for   years. I'm not a fan of birds and I think Pete knows that because he seems to have it out for me. I didn't let Madi know this though because I didn't want to scare her. That girl was fearless! Right off the bat she wanted to hold him, and pet him, and feed him. I was so impressed. He even said some things to her which Madi thought was pretty cool. Pete was really a hit and I'm just glad no blood was drawn! 
Feeding Pete 

Rudd Sisterfest

The long awaited Rudd sister's reunion has finally come. The weekend of August 3rd to 6th all us girls (minus Jen who unfortunately couldn't make it) plus Cal headed up to Windsor, California for a stay at one of Mom and Dad's timeshares. It was a blast! I love my sisters and sister-in-laws so much and to have a long weekend with them and of course Mom and Roxy was long over due. We spent the weekend watching the entire first season of Downton Abbey, eating way too much candy, enjoying the pool, hitting the town, and of course enjoying the bonds of sisterhood! :)

Leave it to Roxy to feed our addictions...she always brings the best supply!

Had to put both pictures of Tish and I...who knew mom had two pairs of the same sun glasses! 

Some of the girls at the pool...it wasn't as warm as we hoped but still fun to relax together. 

One of the highlights of the weekend was celebrating JoSue's birthday. Mom took the Justin Beiber theme to the next level and we love her for her enthusiasm! Again, it was so fun to get to celebrate a member of the family that I never get to be around. Jo is a wonderful addition to the Rudd family and I love having her as another sister. 

We also designated this night our game night. I love to play games so I was all for it. Even the few of us who aren't as stoked about games put on a happy face for one round of Imaginiff. I had to post these four pictures because I died laughing as I scrolled through them. 

First snapped...after Jo asks "oh are you taking pictures?"

Karlee: "Just keep playing!"
Anie: "What? Pictures?"
Tisha: "Stop taking pictures Karlee!"
Mom sneaks in a smile while Rox, Jo, and Amy try to play it cool.

Karlee: "Just ignore me...it's an action shot."
Everyone bursts into laughter as they try to give an "action shot".

Everyone finally gives their best effort except Jo who gives up and decides to just be sly instead.

I love these girls! What a fun weekend with tons of fun memories!
(Thanks Anie for the stolen picture!)

Trip to Camarillo

With the Rudd Sisterfest coming up, Anie and I planned a four day weekend right before for me to come down for a visit and then drive back up to Brentwood with her. We had a blast! I fell in love with Camarillo when I first visited for Spencer and Anie's wedding reception. I remember sitting in the Jenkins' backyard and just falling in love with everything about it. It was so fun to go back and visit. The weekend was filled with campfires in the backyard, trips to the beach and park, swimming at the pool, good food, discovering my new favorite restaurant in Carpenteria, a date with Anie to dinner atop a surprisingly difficult to climb sand dune, and of course lots of playing and laughing. 

I couldn't get enough of these three cute faces!!!

I couldn't leave out this picture of our castle complete with detached garage perfect for the girls dolls...I was very proud!

Of course we had to do a beauty parlor night...which isn't as fun with short hair but they still made me look fantastic!

And a couple pictures from the beach... 


A couple pictures from our date. It's pathetic that my sister with three kids is in far better shape than me. I was dying to get up that sand dune but it was so worth it when we made it to the top.
Thanks for the fun date Anie! 
On Tuesday we packed up for our drive back to Brentwood. It has been a long time since I have made this drive but it wasn't bad. The kids were troopers and it wasn't until the end that Calvin started to loose his patience. Anie is a wonder woman to handle three kids! But she was blessed with some gems!
Thanks to the Jenkins for such a great time!

 *Thanks Anie for a few of these stolen pictures!!!*

Summer Birthdays

We had a couple birthdays to celebrate before heading off to the Sisterfest. So Thursday the 2nd, Tyler's Birthday, we headed to the restaurant of Tyler's choice, Texas Roadhouse, for a birthday dinner.
Me and the Birthday boy
Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Linda 
Ty and Mom 
Tyler on the saddle with his birthday treat...I think he was a little embarrassed. :)

Tyler is our only little brother so he is especially special to us. He is a character and always keeps us laughing. I couldn't help but post one of my favorite pictures of these two. 

After completely stuffing our faces we headed to the Rudd's for some birthday dessert to celebrate Bob's birthday. Leave it to Bobby to be jealous of his niece's butterfly cake and settle for nothing but that for his birthday.  
The classic Dad sleeping picture...one day we need to get a picture of Dad and Grandpa Rudd in this same position right next to each other.
(Thanks Anie for the stolen picture.)

I loved having Bobby here to celebrate his birthday with him. The hard part about growing up is everyone moving away. But I guess absence makes the heart grow fonder...then you are left with just memories like this. 
Love you big brother!

I did it!

For a while I have talked about chopping my hair. I used to do it all the time when I was a kid. I have never really been attached to my hair and thought it was a fun change. 
This was taken after one particular time of chopping over ten inches off. My mom said that she was going to donate it for me to Locks of Love. It wasn't until sometime late in high school when I was cleaning out some of my mom's cupboards that I found the ponytail still in the envelope. I think that was when I knew I needed to do it again so I could donate it. It took me a while but I decided there was no better time to do it. So I headed over to my favorite stylist's house, my sweet cousin Emma Hansen, to have her do the honors. 

BEFORE
(It helps add to the "before effect" that I was having a bad hair day and was badly burned this day.)

14 1/2 inches later and a whole heap of extra hair on the ground...


AFTER 


I love it!!! And though I am having a little bit of a hard time adjusting, I think the cut is so cute and something different than my long, blah hair which usually finds itself in one of my signature messy buns. Thanks Emma for the drastic new look!

Dad's Birthday Surprise!

My dad was so sad that we would be missing his birthday just by a couple days. I promised him that we would have a birthday party on Sunday (the day after we were to get home). But of course in true Rudd fashion a surprise was definitely in order. We worked it out that we would be able to leave on Friday, get in to the Evans that night and head over on Saturday for a surprise. I let my mom in on it so that we could make sure to have dad at home. 


 I had seen these super cute Despicable Me cupcakes on Pinterest and an idea for a themed party came to mind. My dad loves this movie (maybe not as much as Quigley Down Under, but I couldn't plan something cute around that movie) So I made the cupcakes, added some balloons and entertainment and called it a party. The surprise went well and it was so fun to celebrate this guy that I love so much!
 Of course with my "Rudd Luck" (which I thought would go away when I changed my last name...no luck) there were a couple small mishaps. First one of my sweet minion balloons popped on the way over. Luckily we were able to save the other two. But the biggest tragedy was my minion cupcakes. I forgot how hot Brentwood is in the summer! My lack of planning for weather caused these babies to literally have their faces melted off. They looked really sad but it's the thought that counts right?! Too bad I didn't get any pictures before the car ride.  

 
After treats and some chatting, Tyler, Jeremy, and I performed our version of "Barbara Ann" minion style. The real minion version can be viewed on Youtube. We practiced our performance on our way home and it turned out pretty close to the origninal. Dad Evans was a walk on kazoo player and did a great job! We do whatever it takes to get a laugh! 
 
Thanks Dad for letting us celebrate with you on your special day! We love you!!!