Halloween 2011

This Halloween we were able to take the kids to multiple places for treats and showing off their costumes! Kirsten and Alexa were Kitty Cats and Drake was the Incredible Hulk. The first stop was a party at our church, where Kirsten picked out a pumpkin and shared treats with Daddy. Next, we took the family to "Night Eyes" which is a trick or treating festival held at the Zoo. Then we had a pre-Beggars Night get together with ours neighbors, topped off with trick or treating around the neighborhood. This was Kirsten's first "official" year to go around in her costume collecting candy... she LOVED it! She was very polite, always thanking everyone for each piece of candy and SO appreciative if they gave her extras!

Danielle's Wedding 9/10/11

We celebrated my best friend Danielle's wedding on 9/10/11. Danielle has been engaged for more than a year and I was nervous that my pregnancy may interfere with my ability to stand up in her wedding. However, Alexa arrived 2 weeks early and I had 5 weeks to get my body back into shape for the wedding!!

Gordon and I packed up the family and took 2 lap children across the country to Los Angeles, CA for the festivities. My Mom flew into town just to watch the kids while we were at the wedding. The trip went by so fast, but everything went smoothly!

Danielle was a beautiful bride and it was great to see all my best friends (Danielle, Tiffany and Alexis).

Congratulations Danielle and Robert!!!

My Mom bought Kirsten these glasses since she was going to be in LA! I had to take a picture of Kirsten and her Godmother Tiffany; pictured to the right are the adorable Ugg boots Tiff got for Kirsten that light up when she walks!! Don't mind Kirsten's funny face... this is her "cheese" smile!

Drake's First Day of School

Drake's first day of school was a success! He let me take multiple photos and only started to get bothered with me constantly saying "smile" when he saw some of his friends from Pre-K. Kirsten loved the whole thing... you would have thought it was her first day of school!!

More photos of Alexa!

I turned our living room into a studio so I could take some newborn shots of Alexa. Here are 4 of my favorites!

Alexa Lynn Guthrie

Alexa Lynn Guthrie

8/5/2011

6 lbs 8 oz

19.5 inches long

Kirsten was so excited to see her little sister. She ran into the hostpital room saying "baby, baby" and squealed with delight when she saw Alexa for the first time.

Danielle's Bachlorette Party in NYC

From left: Me, Danielle (the bride), Alexis and Tiffany

I am very fortunate to have great friends in my life; I especially feel blessed to have 3 best friends that through thick and thin, we have been together through it all. The foundation of this Fabulous Foursome started 15 years ago with Danielle Mercier and I. We both worked at bebe and formed a bond that has lasted over a decade. After working at bebe for a few months, we met Tiffany Sparks and Alexis Bodkin, shoppers at bebe and our soon to be best friends!

Even though we all live in various places across the country (San Diego, LA, NYC and Iowa), distance doesn't break our tight bond. Two weeks ago, the four of us got together in New York City to celebrate Danielle's upcoming wedding. She's getting married to the man of her dreams and we couldn't be more excited!

The trip was amazing!! We went shopping, had amazing dinners and lunches, relaxed at the Spa, went to see the movie Bridesmaids (of course!) and went to a Broadway play. One of the best parts was reminiscing over old photos and chit-chatting for hours about everything and nothing--I loved it!!

I have numerous photos to post, but I will try and limit it to only 4!!

Kirsten's Baby Dedication

Over Mother's Day weekend the family got together to attend our commitment to God to raise Kirsten in the Christian faith. Our church celebrates this special time with a slide show of pictures that is shown during church while playing a voice over that Gordon and I recorded previously.

It was a memorable time and we are happy that so many family members were able to come into town for the event.



Cut and paste this link into your browser if you would like to see the slide show and hear what we said (Kirsten is the 3rd baby to be shown): http://vimeo.com/23588137

Kirsten's Godparents are Tiffany Sparks and Chad Solberg

Hawaii Trip 2011

We just got back from visiting Gordon's grandparents at their fabulous home in Maui. It was such a relaxing and fun time for everyone. Kirsten was an angel on all of the segments of the plane flight and really enjoyed her first experience in the ocean! Kirsten wasn't too sure about the sand, but LOVED the water! After a long day at the beach, we would head over to Gordon's Aunt Karen's house. She has a beautiful place near the ocean that was the perfect retreat after spending time on the sandy beach. We enjoyed her home and got some video footage of Kirsten swimming in her pool!

Below is some footage of Kirsten getting ready ready to go out to the pool. The weight of her life jacket is almost tipping her over! It is too cute!

Gordon took me on a romantic dinner while we were on vacation. It was nice to get dressed up and have some Mommy and Daddy time!

Here are a few photos taken from the lanai (front deck) of Grammy and Papa's house. I was able to get a shot of the morning view and of the sunset, plus a zoomed in picture of the ocean:

Group shots! Smile everyone :)

To the Science Musuem we go!

Sorry for the delay in posting, but it has been hard to find time to sit down and upload photos. Below is a cute picture I got of Drake and Kirsten before we went to visit Daddy at work:

Last month the whole family went to the Science Museum. Drake and Daddy have been there before, but Kirsten and I went this time and everyone had fun. We all built a "stone" arch and took pictures underneath it-- I even got in on the action for a photo! Drake's favorite exhibit was making a paper rocket ship and launching it from the designated station. With Daddy's help, Drake's rocket went the farthest of anyone around him! He loved it and wanted to re-launch his rocket several times before we left.

The next day, we stopped by the mall to run errands. Drake and Kirsten played in the kiddy area together very nicely. Drake was careful to watch his sister the whole time so no one ran her over or accidentally pushed her down. I got a cute picture of them on the elephant--big smiles!

The kids have also been enjoying the piano lately. Drake has stopped by to "play" in the past, but the two of them were entertained for hours one day so I decided to get out the video camera. I was able to get them playing a "duet".