The Vacation...

So, we came back from our vacation, amazingly! We had the most perfect trip EVER, exactly what we needed. We headed to Monterey, California, a beautiful beachfront city somewhere southwest of here. Since we only had one night, Dave spoiled me by getting reservations for a really nice hotel right on Cannery Row (a famous tourist spot there). Here's a picture from the front:

And here's the back:

Yes, that's the Pacific Ocean you see literally 30 feet from the hotel. It was amazing! We stayed in a gorgeous room that overlooked the ocean. Here are some pictures of the room:

Fresh rose on the desk

Amazing view from the double windowseat


In-room wood-burning fireplace (which we used Thursday night)


King size canopy bed


Comfy bathrobes provided for us


Personalized continental breakfast delivered
to our room (including seasonal fruit and 3 types of bread)

So we were very spoiled, and we loved every minute of it! We're not trying to brag or anything, 'cause honestly, we probably won't have another "just us" vacation for a couple of years, and nothing this nice for a couple of decades. ;)

After we checked out of our room on Friday, we headed to Fisherman's Wharf (another tourist attraction) to buy souvenirs and get some lunch. We ate at Crabby Jim's, where Dave had coconut shrimp

(sorry, couldn't get the picture to turn)

and I had clam chowder in a bread bowl (a must for me in Monterey--it's tradition!)

while we enjoyed some spectacular scenery

Afterwards we finished souvenir shopping and then headed home very relaxed and happy. Gracie did great while we were away and had the time of her life at Nana & Papi's house (thanks again!), and we were so grateful for the alone time we got. Thanks for spoiling me, Honey! I love you!

P.S. There's one more picture I have to share. This is Dave being surprised by the freezing water that washed up over his feet as I was taking his picture. Isn't that an awesome expression on his face?!

Happy 4th Anniversary!!!

In case you couldn't tell, today is our 4th anniversary! In some ways the time has passed quickly, but it's also seems like we've been together forever! I love this man of mine, and I'm so glad we will get to be together forever. Here are some pictures of us on our wedding day and our previous anniversaries. Note: these quality of these pictures gets less and less as you go on; I promise we haven't gone downhill that badly! But hopefully we'll come back from our vacation with some better pictures...

June 26, 2004, Mesa, AZ Temple

June 26, 2005, Provo, Utah

June 26, 2006 (9 days before Gracie's birth)

June 26, 2007

June 2008 (we really need to have someone take a picture of us!)

Okay, so I don't know that it's a true vacation, but Dave and I are going away for our anniversary, and we are SOOOO excited! This is the first time since our honeymoon that we're going on a trip where it's just the two of us and we're not traveling to see one of our families! (No offense, family--we've loved all the trips to see you.) We'll just be gone overnight (2 days, 1 night), but we're excited for the time alone to celebrate US. We haven't told anyone where we're going, but I'll post pictures when we get back. Until then....good-bye!

Camping!!!

A couple weeks ago, Dave's family invited us to go camping with them at Yosemite Lakes Campground, about 5 miles from the entrance to Yosemite National Park. We accepted, of course, and were so glad we did. It was such a relaxing vacation, and there were so many beautiful things to see! Gracie absolutely LOVED being outside all day and getting very dirty doing it. :)

The first day we just set up camp, relaxed, and played games. The campground was really big and fun, and a river ran through the middle of it. Here's one view of the river:

There weren't tons of activities put on by the campground, but that was fine with us, 'cause we got time to just enjoy the beauty of nature. Oh, and the yumminess of camp food!

Dave's family spoiled us with all the good food they served. We had hamburgers, shish kabobs, fresh fruit, pancakes, sausage, Dutch oven peach cobbler, S'mores, and much, much more.

We took advantage of some fun picture spots at the campground, as you can see...

Gracie even got into the camping spirit, wearing hiking boots one day we were there:

One of the days we went to Yosemite to see the sights. It was beautiful, but I accidentally left the stroller at the campsite (an hour away by the time we got to the "good stuff" in Yosemite), so we were absolutely exhausted by the end of the day from carrying/chasing Gracie. Plus, we did a hike up to Vernal Falls (I think that's the name), and I was fairly certain my heart was going to explode by the end. The hike really wasn't very long or difficult, but one of us had to carry Gracie at all times (against her will, I might add) so she didn't go running off a cliff. It was all worth it once we got to the waterfalls, though. See?

The return hike wasn't too bad since it was downhill, and Gracie even fell asleep on my shoulder:

After that we had a picnic overlooking this:

And by the end of the day, we looked and felt like this:

But it was all worth it for scenery like this:

I am so grateful for God's creations, and that we live close enough to visit beautiful places like Yosemite from time to time. Thank you Nana, Papi, and James, for inviting us on a fun and relaxing vacation!

Announcing....

If you haven't noticed, the people whose names appear in this blog's web address (i.e. Dave & Alicia King) are rarely mentioned here. It seems that Gracie and all her happenings have taken over. Now don't get me wrong--she is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to us. However, we feel a need to do more reporting on us and give her her own space for "Grace Watch"es and other updates. Thus, we have created a blog just for her:

http://hellolittlelady.blogspot.com/

We haven't posted anything just yet, so don't get too excited, but I think I might transfer over all the Grace Watch posts and other stuff about her, and all the new "Grace Watch" entries will go there. So basically, if you wanna read something cute or funny, go to her site. If you're curious how her parents are doing, come on back here. Kapeesh? Kapeesh. We love you all!

Happy Father's Day!!!!!!!!!!!

We didn't get to do anything spectacular for Daddy this year, but we had a lot of fun doing what we did. (Didja follow that all right?!) We took him breakfast in bed, although it was just cereal, yogurt, and juice. (In my defense, he approved of that because we had waffles, hashbrowns, and bacon with his family just a little while later.) Then Gracie and I each gave him a book (Gracie--Me Gusta Cuando.../I Like It When We... [a Spanish/English children's book], me--Classic Cars) and some little treats (Jelly Bellies, dried fruit mix, dark chocolate cookies). We also had dinner that night with his extended family. Nothing too elaborate, but he said he had a good day and felt special, so our main goal was achieved! :)

And now, as another "gift" to Daddy, Gracie and I would like to take a moment to honor Dave and thank him for being such a wonderful man and great example to us. We've done this in the form of pictures of Daddy and Gracie over the last couple of years. Enjoy!

6 months along

Day 1 - love at first sight

They're so good at putting each other down for a nap. ;)

Smokin' bubble gum "cigars" with all the grandpas

"High-5, Dad!"





Recovering from her angioplasty, Halloween '06



Gracie has always been Daddy's #1 video game cheerleader! :)

This is a video of their first dance, when Gracie was
4 months old.

(This dance is especially meaningful because about a week later she entered
the hospital for her 2nd open-heart surgery, and we were a little nervous about how that would go.)

Here she is recovering from surgery. Dave was such a trooper and would drive 2 hours to work,
then drive 2 hours to see us in San Francisco, stay overnight, and then drive 2 hours to work the next day.

First "solids"











Oakland Temple

Daddy's her best "watchin' TV" buddy!

Merry Christmas, future soccer star!





Daddy-daughter date

Reading Me Gusta Cuando, Father's Day 2008

She loves to do Pat-a-Cake with Dave, 'cause he always jazzes it up somehow,
so he was pretty excited yesterday when she had her doll do the actions while he sang. Here's a video:

We love you, Dave/Daddy! Thanks for all you do!

Maybe that's why I love to sleep...?

You Are Aurora! (A.K.A. Sleeping Beauty.)

Thoughtful and loving. Authority figures probably have been sheltering you all of your life. Thankfully you're a very tranquil person who is content with what life has given you, but secretly you want to know how the outside world works.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Grace Watch #13 (May 20-June 1, 2008)

New Words/Phrases: There are quite a few, so I'm just gonna make a list of the word/phrase, and then how she pronounces it.
Ouch, Charlie - owuh, dahr-lee (this refers to the YouTube video "Charlie Bit My Finger," which she loves to watch; look it up--it's very cute)

(watching "dahr-lee")

clouds - towds
Spaghettio's - sgettatoes
color - calar
*she's learning her colors; so far she can identify crayons in the colors pink (mink), red (reh), green (nee), blue (boo), purple (purple), yellow (lellow), orange (unch), and brown (nown) :)
awesome - ah-num
I did it - did it!
I gotcha - I dotutcha
I love you more! - I muh moo moh!

Foods: She tried her first popsicle (see below) and gave it a thumbs-up.

New Injuries: Her first injury this time happened at Grammy/Gramps's house. She tripped in their backyard and bonked her head on the cement as she fell. She only cried for a few minutes and was a very brave girl. She got quite a bruise from that one!

Then, last night at Dave's parents' house, she was walking around in the bed of Papi's new truck (a favorite activity of late) and fell, hitting her mouth on the wheel well. Her teeth cut through her upper lip and it was bleeding, so of course I freaked out! We ran inside and realized it wasn't as bad as it could've been, and after we wiped away the blood, Nana asked if she would like a popsicle. Thank goodness for Nana! I don't think I would've thought of that, but it did the trick. She calmed right down and ate the whole thing, and it really helped soothe her cut lip. So far, her lip hasn't seemed to bother her much either. She's such a tough cookie!

fat lip!

"Oops" Moments: (As in, "Oops, we shoulda seen that one coming!")

Oops, left her alone to eat yogurt!
(If you enlarge it and look at her hair, you'll
notice that she discovered the joy of clapping
with yogurt on her hands!)

Oops, she shook her sippy cup so hard that the valve
fell out, and now she's painting the floor with milk!

Other: On Memorial Day, we went with Dave's family to see the new Indiana Jones movie, and we really enjoyed it! I was very worried about taking Gracie because we had tickets to the 1:30 showing (which is in the middle of her naptime), plus she's gotten so active that I was afraid she'd be running through the theater with me chasing her and everyone in the theater being annoyed. Amazingly, though, she sat through the whole thing! She just sat in Dave's or my lap and ate her snacks or watched the movie, occasionally saying "Whoa!" and/or laughing. She didn't even ask to get down and walk or anything! Afterward, some people leaving the theater said, "We didn't even know that baby was here--she must've been such a good girl!" If only she would be so calm during Sacrament Meeting!

Speaking of church, she is doing much better in Nursery than she did at first, but you wouldn't know it from the dramatics she displays when we drop her off! Yesterday, she started crying as soon as the closing prayer was over in Sacrament Meeting (in anticipation of being dropped off). As soon as we leave, though, she calms down and plays beautifully! I suppose she gives it her all just in case we'll cave in and save her from the torture of toys, songs, and snacks. No such luck, kid! :)

Fun Pictures:

Trying to take a family picture--Gracie wasn't pleased.

Playing with the hose in the backyard

New Skill: Graham cracker balanced on nose (with
peanut butter helping just a bit)

We've been having some fun with Dave's voice recorder, so here's a clip of Gracie talking.




Last, but not least, here is a video of Gracie and me playing with her stacking cups. Isn't it great what will entertain a child?!