Aarons 1st Parade!!!

These pictures were from November 11th, Annual Veterans Day Parade 2009. The parade always honors Native American Veteran's, and we are always so lucky to be a part of it. Aaron had so much fun getting all dressed up and riding on the float, and hanging out with Grandpa Aaron. He never got tired of smiling and screaming at all of the people. Aaron was definitely the star of the show that day - people just couldn't get enough pictures of him - neither could I. I made him his ribbon shirt and baby moccasins just days before - he looked so cute.

Me and Aaron getting ready on the float:


Aaron and Grandpa hanging out before the start of the parade:


Aaron, and his funny face, and me on the float again,:



After the parade, went to a pow wow at the park and Aaron got to watch the Aztec Dancers. It was a fun day.

At the Pow wow:

And above is a short clip from the powwow

Halloween Pictures are Here!

Well, Aaron's first Halloween is over, but we have some awesome pictures of it. For those that do not know, Aaron was a monkey for Halloween - complete with a banana and all.

Here's Aaron and Daddy ready to go to the party

The ward Halloween party was really fun. My mom came too to see her grandson all dressed up. Aaron was the cutest monkey there.

The funniest thing was that midway through the party, TWO BIG BANANAS walked in!!! You just know I had to get a picture.



Then we did trunk-or-treat. It was actually my first time experiencing one. For anyone that doesn't know, a trunk-or-treat is the same as trick-or-treating only instead of going house to house, you go through a parking lot from car to car, well, trunk to trunk. Thus - trunk-or-treat. Usually people go all out decorating their trunks. Thanks to Matt, we had a pretty cool trunk. His decorating saved us!! I had all this cool stuff to put up, but no time! They announced for everyone to start going out and trunk or treat and I had NOTHING ready. Luckily, by the time I got out there, Matt was was already out there and ready to go. Decorating problems aside, I really wish someone (::cough cough::...Matt....) would have told me that the trunk-or-treaters go around more than once! I ran out of candy within the first 5 minutes! Luckily my friend Sarah came to my rescue and gave me a whole big bag of candy to continue handing out. I was RELIEVED! PHEW! (thanks Sarah!). Yep - exciting night.

On Halloween Day we went to Matt's parent's house and spent the evening up there. I finally got to take some good pictures of Aaron in his monkey costume.




Here's is Aaron's very first trick-or-treating. (He obviously had no clue what was going on...but it was still cute)



And winding down after a long day....

The many sides of Aaron:

Focused

Bewildered

Frightened....

Ferocious!!

"DOH!"

HOLY FLYING GOLF BALLS, BATMAN!

So for those that do not know...a few months ago our brand new car was hit with a golf ball as we were coming home on Freeway 41. Some genius decided it would be smart to build a Golf Driving Range next to a freeway...which, in the end, caused us to fork out about $230 for a new windshield. What really gets me is that after we confronted them, they kept saying it was impossible that it was one of their golf balls, and insisted it was a rock...yep, a perfectly spherical rock, that happened to be the exact same size as a golf ball. (For the record, we saw the actual golf ball hurling its way towards our windshield as it happened.)

So anyway...to let off a little steam, I created this...(all in good fun though. We're already over it. I just happened to come across some pictures I took of our broken windshield after it happened and thought this would be funny):

(This is to be read in the tone of the Budweiser Real Men of Genius commercials)

Matt and Brandy Davis presents:

Mr. Golf Driving Range Next to a Freeway Builder

Today we salute you Mr. Golf Driving Range Next to a Freeway Builder
(Mr. Golf Driving Range Next to a Freeway Builder)

When conventional wisdom said it would be smarter to build a golf ball slinging madhouse away from heavy traffic, you did the unthinkable.
(My body is here, but my mind has already teed off!)

Even after the first 300 golf balls were ferociously fired over the barrier net, and even after the first 50 furious passing drivers came to you with golf ball-sized dents in their cars, you, Oh Marvelous Merger of Fairways and Highways, continue to stand your ground.
(Maybe it was a rock!)

No one’s going to push you around and tell you where to build, Oh Defier of Common Sense. You have the most awesome driving range, and you want everyone to know it – even if it means a golf ball through the windshield and to the face – they’ll remember you!
(Free advertisement! It’s a hole in one!)

So here’s to you, Mr. Golf Driving Range Next to a Freeway Builder, because you really do put the PRO in PROJECTILES.
(Mr. Golf Driving Range Next to a Freeway Builder)

Annnnnndddddd - WE'RE BACK!

Hey everyone. It has been a while, but we're back and ready to keep on bloggin' again. We have done a lot since our last post and it's time to share it all with you.

Well, first things first - at the beginning of October, we all got the SWINE FLU, and survived. =) Yeah, that was miserable....Matt got sick on a Sunday, then Brandy got sick on the following Wednesday, then Aaron got sick on Friday. Oddly enough, Aaron got over it before Matt and me. Within a couple of weeks, we were all 100% and ready to go the Big Fresno Fair.

We took Aaron on his first trip to the Big Fresno Fair on October 17th, the last Saturday it was open. Brandy's dad came too and had a great time with his grandson. Aaron's favorite part was seeing all of the reptiles at the Wild America exhibit. Matt got a "Monster Dog" which was about the size of THREE corndogs put together. It was so big that Matt couldn't finish it, and ended up having to be split between Matt and Brandy's dad. Speaking of the Big Fresno Fair, Brandy won 2nd place and $140 for her new feather painting in the Fine Arts - Mixed Media category. Not bad at all!

Sorry to backtrack, but we forgot to mention that in July we went to the Paso Robles Mid State Fair with Matt's family. Also, we while we were there, we went to visit Matt's grandparents in San Luis Obispo and Atascadero. Don and Lorrain hadn't had a chance to see Aaron in person yet, so we figured it would be the perfect time. They had such a good time getting to know him. The rest of the time we all had a great time hanging out at the Parsons' Ranch. It was a big change for Aaron to go from the noisy city life of where we live, to the nice and peaceful hillsides of San Luis Obispo. During that trip, Aaron also had his first visit to the ocean. During our trip home, we took a small detour through Morro Bay and stopped for fish and chips. We also let Aaron get his first feel of beach sand. He also got to get up close and personal with a few seals while watching daddy feed a few of them at the aquarium.

Grandma Davis and Aaron

Here he is with Matt's Uncle Craig

Also, Matt was recently Captain Moroni at a Book of Mormon Cruise that was put on for primary kids in his sister Melissa's ward. He had to tell the story of Captain Moroni, as if he was Captain Moroni - The kids really enjoyed his segment. As you can see, he really got into character:

Now, I would say his was the best, but really, it was a tie between Matt's and Matt's parents. Their Tree of Life was nothing less than awesome. Great acting skills too. =) Here's everyone in the cast:



Ok....enough of this post....onto another... =)

New Car....Used Car...."Our Car"

OK, as promised, here are pictures of our 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe:

(The color of the exterior is "platinum sage" which is just Hyundai's sugar-coated way of saying "charcoal gray with a hint of green." Naturally, you can't see the true color in the picture, but the back half of the car shows the color closest to "platinum sage.")

Happy Father's Day! (and a new car....)

Yep...Matt's very first Father's Day has come and gone. I think he enjoyed it...

Since we knew that we would be spending a large amount of time at Matt's parent's house on Sunday, we decided to spend Saturday evening at my dad's house to celebrate Father's day with him. We cooked him a nice dinner in the evening and for the rest of the evening my dad enjoyed his first Father's Day being a grandpa.

On Sunday, we started out with a day at church, only to find out that the two wards in our building got combined into one HUGE ward. Over 250+ people now (I forgot the exact number). Sadly, no talks were given on the joy of Father's Day, but we did get to hear from our old bishopric, as well as our new bishopric. But, no worries - the fathers were definitely not forgotten. The young women had prepared a special gift of nicely wrapped chocolate chip cookies for all of the fathers in the room. At the end of sacrament meeting, they kindly asked all of the fathers in the room to stand so that they may receive their gifts. Matt stood up with a quiet pride (and a smile) as he held Aaron in his arms and received his Father's Day cookies. It was nice to look around the room and see all of the father's and take a moment to appreciate them.

After sacrament meeting we had no second or third hour. Instead there were refreshments prepared and ready for us in the culture hall. We got to mingle with our new ward members and introduce Aaron to everyone.

After church, Matt, Aaron, me, and Jeff all headed up to Matt and Jeff's parent's house where they had a little barbecue. We had some excellent tri-tip and took lots of cute pictures of Aaron.



Also, I forgot to mention, before we went to my dad's house on Saturday....we got a new car!!! (well, it's a used car, but it doesn't sound as good when you shout "We got a used car!") Anyway, it's a 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe. No pictures yet, but as soon as we get some, we'll be sure to post em'. Hey - I'm just happy there is room for all the baby stuff, with room to spare for groceries! No more crummy Galant! Ugh! (that thing was falling apart - literally!)

Anyway - Father's Day weekend was a success.

You know, on the subject of Father's Day, I once heard a wonderful talk given by someone in our ward whose topic was on the Plan of Happiness. He spoke of recalling the memory of seeing his son and daughter-in-law being sealed together in the temple, and what happiness that brought him, because he knew it would bring them true happiness. Then he spoke of his same son and daughter-in-law as he looked at them in the audience, as they held their newborn son in their arms. And he retold a short story of how, a few days prior, he and his wife were visiting their son and his family at their home for a few days. Sometime in the evening he and his wife walked in the living room and saw his son, daughter-in-law, and newborn son sleeping peacefully together on the couch. He said that he and his wife stood in the doorway and stared at them while tears filled their eyes. As he was speaking to our congregation, again tears filled his eyes, and he said that it was that moment that reminded him that family is the true Plan of Happiness...that Heavenly Father has made it possible that we can all be together forever.

How comforting to know....

5 months and counting....

Yikes! - it has been quite a while since our last blog. As soon as I finished posting the last blog, I thought for sure I would be posting at least every other day or so...but yeah...reality struck...and we realized that we really aren't all that interesting! lol. Oh well. But we still have a wonderful son who will still take up a majority of our blogs.

So anyway....Aaron is a little over 5 months now and currently experimenting with his vocal range...well, maybe volume is a better choice of word. If someone is standing outside the house with all the doors and windows closed, you can still hear him cooing away inside.




Oh, and the best thing ever - he has started laughing!!! (Not to mention, he is starting to become quite ticklish). Matt can get him to laugh the easiest though. He found out that Aaron particularly likes it when you hold him right in front of your face while you sing the phrase "What would you doOOoo, for a Klondike Bar?" HaHa - go figure! But you have to sing it just like the commercial, or else no laugh...

And man oh man - the boy can JUMP. We got him a Giddy-Up Jumperoo off of Craigslist for $35 when he was about 4 months old. He loves it, as you can see:



And some funny little quirks about Aaron - He blushes and smiles when he recognizes his reflection in the mirror. He loves chewing on blankets, and also loves squishing them over his face (which I think is his first attempt to get them into his mouth). Oh, and now when he sees Bean, he'll either smile or attempt to talk to him every time. Just cute and fun little facts.

What to do, what to do?!?!

The following pictures we like to call "the classic Aaron face" (It cracks us up every time):




So....since this was a rare 3 day weekend for Matt, we definitely had no intentions of wasting it. In fact, we had too many ideas for what we should do with it: A yard sale, the beach, the lake, time at the grandparent's houses, the park, hiking, camping...the list probably went on...I don't really remember. But when it came down to it, we did none of those things...well..."postponed" would be the better choice of word to describe our decision. As much as Matt loves to be a "planner," I have come to the conclusion that it would be better for us to be "spontaneous-go-with-the-flow people." Every time we try to plan something far in advance, we ultimately give ourselves time to talk ourselves out of it, or something else comes up. So after all plans fell through, some opportunities fell in our laps, and a few things we ended up doing on a whim. All-in-all we ended up having an awesome weekend.

We had no other plans for Friday night except to get ready for a yard sale we were having on Saturday. Yep...that plan fell through (but for the better). Matt's parent's had originally stopped by earlier in the day to see Aaron. So while we waited for Matt to get off of work, Melissa, Trent, and Bailey stopped by. We all hung out at our place for a while and then decided to head off to Plaza Ventana for dinner. Aaron had a fun time there learning to play with straws.

So anyway, that left our Saturday open, which we then "planned" on using to go to the beach (or the lake...or hiking...you get the picture). Again, we talked ourselves out of that on account of holiday traffic. We stayed home and cleaned for most of the day, then relaxed a bit. Later that evening we took my dad out to eat at one of our favorite Chinese restaurants. Then for some strange reason, after dinner Matt and I were both determined to get a chocolate ice cream cake. We went to a few different stores but couldn't find what we wanted so we settled for Foster's Freeze ice cream. (Although, when Monday rolled around, we resumed looking for our ice cream cake and gave up when we came across some Ben and Jerry's that was on sale...enough said) All in all, Saturday was a productive day. I wouldn't have changed it at all (probably because I got to take a long, and much deserved, nap during the day while Matt watched the baby).

Late Sunday we ended up visiting my dad and decided, on a whim, to have a barbeque. Good thing we did....we made the BEST tri-tip ever! (If only we had more of it...) While we were cooking, Matt took advantage of the red and white striped shirt Aaron was wearing and meticulously placed him on my dad's couch and said to me "Hey Bran, where's Waldo?" I turned around and looked into the living room and I couldn't stop laughing. We just had to get my dad to take a picture! Here it is:

"Can you find Waldo in this picture?" =)

Here is "Waldo"on the recliner:


On Monday, Memorial Day, I woke up early with the baby. Although we originally had no plans, I refused to have a boring Monday, so I immediately decided we would take Aaron to the zoo. Matt woke up about an hour later and while he was still drowsy I announced to get ready because we were all going to the zoo. Amazingly, he thought that was a great idea. While we were getting ready, Melissa called and asked what we were going to do for Memorial day, and one thing led to another, and the group that ended up going to the zoo was: me, Matt, Aaron, Matt's mom and dad (Karen and Brian), Melissa, Trent, Bailey, Jeff, and Yolanda. That was lots of walking for one day, but lots of fun. Here are a few pictures from Aaron's first trip to the Chaffee Zoo:









If I had to sum up our weekend I would say:
Life is simple, good, and oh so sweet... =-)