California Fun

Jay and I headed out to California for more adventures about a week ago. Our time in Utah was so nice and we both loved hanging out with family. Jay was definitely a star in the Connelly home. Turns out he's a star at the Johnson home too :) It was wonderful going home again. My parents live in the most beautiful place on earth.
I love Nevada City. It's so nice to look up into the sky at night and actually see the stars. It is an incredible site! My parents house looks so different. They are doing a ton of remodeling and my old room is completely gone. It looks great though and I'm so excited for them. My old bathroom has been transformed from ordinary to luxery. Another huge change is all the trees that have been cleared off the property. Not to worry, there are still many many wonderful trees left. It looks great now - so clean and obviously safer.
One night all the NC family came up to the house for a big dinner. My grandma made her famous homemade raviolis with sauce for us. It was SOOOOO good! We also had tri-tip from Raleys (the best around), squash from grandmas garden, a fresh salad, sourdough bread and homemade peach pie. I love family dinners. I really enjoyed seeing my family. I am always amazed by my grandma. She does so much for her age. It was also great to see my Aunt Carol, Uncle Jeff and Cousin Lizzie. It's obvious that they love Jay very much. There's nothing like family.
I've also had the opportunity to see a lot of friends while I've been home. It's always fun going back to my home ward and seeing all the people there. Breanne and Blake's little Kennidi is such a cute little girl. Everyone I talked to told me how perfectly sweet she is. It was nice to finally meet her! I also saw Tisha and Darren. They're expecting their first baby in February. I'm so excited for them! They came over to my house one night along with Alan DeMartini, another good friend, and we stayed up way too late reminicing. It's amaing how much fun old yearbooks can be.
Jay is growing so much every day. He learns new words all the time. Some of my new favorites of his are flower, whale, and O-kee-do-kee. He is such a joy. He loves the house in Nevada City. My dad refinished our old swingset for him and he's had a good time sliding down the slide. He also loves walking around the property and exploring the forrest. But handsdown his favorite thing of all are the two kitties, Lana and Clark, and the doggy, Spanky. I think Lana is his favorite. He loves to walk around and call out, "Nana! Nana! Here kitty, kitty, kitty." The cats quickly learned to run away when Jay is around. He's actually really good about being soft with the cats but he tends to overwhelm them with his love. He loves feeding treats to Spanky and of course Spanky loves it too. We have to hide the treat box so that Spanky doesn't get sick from it all! Jay is such an animal lover. I guess most kids are. Another new fun thing that Jay does is his "surprise" face. Whenever he sees something exciting like a bird fly by or a big ball he sucks in his breath, raises his eyebrows and makes a big O with his mouth. It's so cute! Balls are definitely still his favorite thing although small cars are making a big splash too. Last night we were in Walmart and the only way to get Jay to follow us down the isle was to roll a huge ball ahead of him and make him chase it. He laughed so hard chasing that ball. He's such a fast little guy. You really have to watch him now because he's quick. I actually have to run to keep up with him. He is such a joy and I enjoy every day with him. I cannot imagine a better job than mine. The only downside to life right now is that Mike isn't with us. We sure miss him. He is the best husband and best daddy in the world. We wish he could be with us right now and we are so grateful for his hard work. We miss you daddy, love you!