so long, farewell

Dearest Readers,

I'm done.

I've been blogging here for over 7 years now. DougandJackie.blogspot.com has been a long, strange trip. It shows the evolution of our family, and it captures the good, the bad, and the ugly. I love it.

But blogs like ours aren't en vogue anymore and I've been running out of steam for a while now. I never really know who's reading, and we also want to keep our girls and our identities safer. I've decided that I'm simply done.

In a week or so I'll go private (which kills off most blogs anyway, right?), and I'll keep posting pictures for our families to see. I welcome friendly stalkers too, so if you're interested in an invite let me know.

Thanks for reading!

Adios,

Jackie

san fernando 10 years later

A decade ago I served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in San Fernando, California.

San Fernando is the valley just north of LA, so we took a day after our Disney trip to visit ye ol' mission. I wanted to reminisce and show Doug and the girls what it was like.

The view of the valley from Mulholland Drive

A quick stop at the Los Angeles Temple (we went there 3 or 4 times on my mission)

I served mostly among the poor Spanish-speakers, so all of my favorite places are most decidedly ghetto and not what I'd consider safe for my small kids. So I had to get strategic with where we visited.
So we ate at places like Universal City Walk and In-n-Out (so authentic!), and drove around the questionable areas during the day. (Although we did do a drive by of one of my sleaziest apartments at night, and Doug still can't believe they let us live there. Me neither, pal.)

Dinner in Universal City Walk

I loved stopping by the neighborhoods I used to know so well. We hit up a Vallarta, saw La Estaca on Saticoy, and drove around and around the streets I used to tract on whilst wearing skirts and dorky shoes.

It was quite the emotional trip. Getting hit with so many memories--both good and bad--was something else. Missions are really challenging, but for me it was still one of the greatest experiences of my life. I'm grateful I could share it with my family. And I'm grateful I got some good pan dulce in the process.

california adventure: A+

I absolutely loved California Adventure. We had a hopper pass, which meant we could run amuck and visit both parks in one day. And we did.

My sister Jessica made these darling outfits. They were a  hit!

 

Christmas dinner in Flo's Cafe in Carsland. Call me excessively Disney, but that Carsland is pretty freaking impressive.

Addy still talks about the Little Mermaid ride 

My favorite "big kid" rides were here. One afternoon my parents watched our girls while we did the Tower of Terror (free fall) and California Screamin' (roller coaster). Preeeetty much my favorites.

The old Hollywood area was Spectacular (with a capital S)

The Pixar parade

Playing with some new princess toys (courtesy Grandma and Grandpa) on Christmas morning

Meeting Lightning McQueen

This tractor ride was awesome

Shaking her bon bon before the parade started

Radiator Springs all lit up

operation: happiest place on earth

When my parents suggested we meet them in Disneyland for Christmas, we simply could not say no. I was so nervous things would fall through or get hindered (for a million different reasons), but it turned out to be a simply wonderful week.

They aren't kidding when they call it the happiest place on earth!

My sister Cydney made these incredible Minnie hoodies

A highlight for me! We'd been waiting in line to meet Minnie, but suddenly she had to leave. They were escorting her away so I just planned to take a picture of Addy with Minnie in the background. Minnie was signing an autograph, noticed Addy standing 3 feet away, and seriously pulled Addy in. I thought Addy would burst!

My dad was the only adult among us that could handle the teacups. He did them twice! 

The Christmas decorations were incredible

The Christmas parade was delightful

 It was mega crowded, but the holiday decorations, amazing weather, and one-on-one time with Grandma and Grandpa made it all worth it!

december this and that

Meeting our friend Brant downtown

Sick day

Baking assistants

The ol' Cheerio-stuck-to-the-forehead routine

Pre-church and everyone's hair is done for once

Squinty-eyed presentation of a book she made (it was her idea to make it... so friggin' darling)

Mom's birthday ('twas a bit of a weird day and we all look a bit wiped out!)

cold snap

We had a cold stretch (for northwest standards, anyway), and it was actually pretty fun.

Addy suggested we eat dinner in beanies. Makes sense.
PS- Everybody puts their Christmas tree in the kitchen, right?

Home sick but coping with a movie, a lovey, and Mom's beanie

This snow was pretty epic for my girls. We still talk about the gigantic snowman we made!

tree time

Christmas tree shopping in Oregon is pretty dreamy. There are tree farms galore and you can walk away with an 8-foot-tree (oh yes we did!) for a steal. 

These outfits kill me

Admiring Dad's tree-cutting skills

Enjoying the hay ride back to the car