Adding One More to the MSU Alumni… Go Cats!

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Today my “little sister” Jillian graduated from Montana State University. It started as a cool and gloomy day with a bit of rain, but turned out to be a gorgeous day. I dont know how much I can say because I truly don’t have words to describe just how happy and proud I am of Jillian. She has worked hard, sacrificed a lot of time to her studies and now all of that will pay off. Hopefully she will soon have a job teaching and molding young minds. My heart soars with pride and I see a very bright future for my little sister. She looked beautiful, happy and excited. After a two hour wait, Jillian was finally a part of the MSU Alumni and no longer a student.






After she was officially graduated, we headed back home for some lunch, cake, ice cream, cards and gifts. This gave us the time to enjoy each others company and celebrate the wonderful day. That night we headed out to Three Forks, Montana to the Sacajawea Inn for a celebration dinner. For those who did not know, my great grandparents were the first proprietors of this Inn so it will always hold a special meaning to us.




The dinner I had was amazing, some of the best ribs I have ever had. The girls enjoyed it too! Abby had a great time coloring and Ellie, well, she loved the bread! It was a wonderfully perfect day!

Montana or Bust…. Traveling North!

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Well its Montana or Bust! Abby, Ellie and myself set out for Montana to see my parents and most importantly to see my sister Jillian graduate from Montana State University. Unfortunately we all started getting a cold with a cough during the move and I thought it would affect our trip, but so far so good!

The first day the girls and I traveled from Porter Ranch to St. George, Utah. The trip was pretty easy with only one stop in Baker, California to change diapers, eat and unfortunately get gas. Yeah, gas is a necessary thing but at $4.85 a gallon it hurt the pocket book just a tad. I will just have to remember to gas up enough to skip over Baker on our return! Once we arrived in St. George we had the chance to relax and visit with my grandma Taylor, Aunt Caroline, Uncle Kevin and Uncle David. After a yummy dinner and some great conversation it was off to bed for us! We had a big travel day ahead of us.

The next day we got up early and hit the road. On this leg of the trip we would be traveling from St. George, Utah to Pocatello, Idaho. It was a longer day filled with some traffic and the typical construction through Provo and Salt Lake City but we survived.

We made a stop in Beaver, Utah to gas up and take a break. Abby had the chance to have a picnic lunch in the back of the car, which she was tickled pink about. Who wouldn’t love a picnic in the back of the car! Because Ellie is so wiggly she didn’t get to sit in the back with Abby, but she did enjoy a nice sippy cup of formula and a few teething cookies!




After some usual traffic and mommy taking the wrong belt route, yeah I cant believe I did that, we made it to Pocatello, Idaho. After a quick Subway dinner we all hopped into bed and got ready for our final day on the road before arriving in Bozeman.

The next morning we woke up refreshed and ready for the final drive into Bozeman. We took my favorite route as the weather was beautiful and the roads were clear. We cut off at Idaho Falls and took the road through Island Park and the Gallatin River Canyon. Just outside of Mack’s Inn, we saw a big Bull Moose eating in a small creek. It was a first animal sighting of the trip! Then as we crossed into Yellowstone Park Boundary Abby spotted a coyote all by herself! She didn’t know it was a coyote but as we were driving she all of a sudden said, “Mommy look at that dog in the snow!”. That’s my smart one!

Ellie is 10 Months!

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Ellie turned 10 months today. 10 Months. That means only 2 months until she is a year old! So much changes so fast. I swear the time with Ellie has gone a lot faster then it did with Abby. How is that? I guess its because I have my hands full with both girls. While I am sad to see her grow up so fast, I look forward to the next 14 months. With Abby, I completely enjoyed the time between 10 months and 2 years old. Ellie is almost a toddler and I really love the toddler years. So much changes and our little ones start doing things for themselves. Its amazing!

Ellie is talking a lot, well with baby babble, although I swear every now and then I hear something that sounds like a word. She is also starting to sing, which is really some very sweet to see. Always makes me smile, especially when I need it the most. Ellie is also standing for long periods of time and she is so close to taking steps. You can see she wants to do it but hasnt quite figured out how to do it. I have a feeling she will soon though.

It seems as though Ellie has settled in well after the move, although we dont have much time to adjust. In just a few days we take off for Montana! This will be Ellie’s first roadtrip with just mommy and Abby. I know, people think I am nuts but I am completely comfortable with it. I have a feeling Ellie will be taking her first steps on this trip. I guess we will have to wait and see.

Wedding Countdown for Kenzi… Shower #1

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Today was the first of several wonderful celebrations for my dear friend Kenzi. She and her fiance’ Jeff are getting married on July 17th and as the day approaches, the fun celebrations begin!

Ashley Welch (the Co Maid of Honor) and myself hosted the shower for Kenzi. When the planning began Ashley discovered that she would be unable to attend due to a planned vacation and an issue with scheduling. But, as we continued to plan Ashley discovered that she could change a flight and surprise Kenzi the morning of her shower and yes, Kenzi was very surprised! It was so nice to have everything work out the way we had hoped.

I guess I shouldn’t say everything worked out exactly as planned. Of all days, the one day we need the weather to behave as we are hosting most of the shower outside, the wind decides to kick up. When I say kick up I am really understating myself. In reality, the wind blew like crazy making it impossible to put up a lot of our decorations and all of the beautiful flowers that Kenzi’s mom found at the Farmer’s Market had to stay inside. Thank you weather! Its April in California it should be calm, sunny and a perfect 70 degrees out!

Despite the wind, the shower was a success and I think everyone had a wonderful time! I know Kenzi did and that is all that matters! The food was delicious and the cupcakes, which were a choice of vanilla and red velvet, came out just the way I had hoped! Yup, I made them from scratch, including the fondant flowers on top!







The shower was a success and Kenzi received a lot of wonderful things! I was very jealous, why didnt some of these cute things exist when Shaun and I were married? Oh well, it is what it is! I have to say though, Kenzi has great taste.

When the shower came to an end, Shaun brought the girls him to pick me up. Abby was excited to see her Auntie Kenzi so we stuck around for a bit just to hang out and talk. Abby had a blast playing out in the backyard with Kenzi and Jeff, which was a great way to burn off all the frosting she licked off of one of the cupcakes! What a great day. I cannot wait for the next shower and all of the upcoming wedding events!

We Have Moved…. Again!

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So… does this really shock anyone?! Ok, maybe it does but yes we have moved again! This time it was only 10 minutes away from our house to Porter Ranch, but it was a good move to a great location. Our house in Winnetka will soon be on the market and our hope is that we can get it sold as quick as possible. Don’t worry, everything is going great we just wanted to makes some changes and put us in a place that is best for us. The other issue is that our neighborhood was quickly becoming a place we didn’t want to be. It was no longer the place we wanted to raise our girls and plant our roots. We will again find that soon, but for now we are happy with our choice to move forward! For now, thanks to Zoe’s generosity, we will be living in Porter Ranch until the right opportunity comes our way.

Once we made the decision to move, things moved quickly. Packing began and before we knew it, it was time to go. Moving day, which was today, went as well as could be expected. We are fortunate to have found movers that are amazing and so helpful. We used them when we moved back from Seattle to Simi and then again when we moved from Simi to Winnetka. They do an amazing job of trying to ease the stress of moving and take all of the work out of your hands. I certainly cant complain about that. I know I was under a lot of stress and some of the things I wanted to accomplish didn’t get finished like I had hoped.

Luckily we didn’t move far so we had the opportunity to go back and get any small items that might have been left behind. Now comes the task of unpacking and getting ready for the next few months that I know are going to be busy. What is life without chaos? Im not sure we know that answer to that.

Here are a few pictures of our new digs!

Dining Room and Entry Way

Looking into the kitchen from the Dining Room

Living Room from the Entry Way

Our Office

Abby and Ellie’s Room

The Master Bedroom

I will post more pictures once the house is moved into, unpacked and cleaned up. That might take months or years, but I will get it done!

Some of April… Where Did it Go?

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April… we are a little more then half way through… where has it gone! Boy has that month flown by and its mainly because we have been so busy. What have the Wharton’s been up to? Well lets see…

On the first of April Ellie turned 9 months old. My how she is growing. She crawls like a pro and is standing up whenever she gets the chance. I personally think that by mid-May she will be taking her first steps and then I will never hear the end of it. Ellie chatters like crazy and thanks to her big sister, she has learned how to scream like a banshee! And that scream could shatter glass too!

Ellie also saw Dr. Calig for her 9 Month check up and she is doing very well. Healthy as can be! Her scream is so ear piercing you would have never known she was down with Whooping Cough at 6 weeks old. She has grown a lot in weight and length since her last appointment. Can’t she just stay a tiny little peanut forever!?

Ellie’s 9 Month Stats
Weight: 21 Pounds 9 Ounces
Height: 28 1/2 Inches





All of April has pretty crazy for us. Between prepping and making some major changes in our lives (more to come on that later), we did find the time to sneak a few moments of fun into the month. On the 19th, Shaun surprised me with tickets to my very first Stanley Cup playoffs game. We had the chance to go to the first home game (Game 3, Round 1) and support our Kings. The game didnt end the way we had hoped for, but it was still fun nonetheless. Maybe next year we will be watching the Kings in the finals?





Despite the loss, Shaun and I had a great time. We even had the chance to see Marty McSorley during the rally before the game began. The energy during a playoff game is so intense but everyone was in a great mood and ready for a fun night. I can only hope to go again next year! Now that the fun is over, its back to reality and to lots of work ahead of us.

Cool Day at the Field

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We had another great afternoon at the Pierce College baseball field watching Uncle James play baseball. Today it was cool, with clouds rolling in bringing what is supposed to be one heck of a storm. Despite the clouds and the threat of rain, the girls had a great time playing with Grandpa and Nana. Abby climbed trees with Grandpas help and showed us all of her lovely faces, including one with a smile. Ellie stayed pretty quiet and snuggled with Nana; watching James play. Fun, fun, fun!





Sisterly Love…

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On the day Ellie was born, Abby came with Shaun to the hospital to meet her new sister. We didn’t know how Abby would react to this new baby taking up mommy and daddy’s time, but it seems as though they have a bond that no one but the two of them can understand.

Just a few days ago, Ellie and I had the chance to spend the day together. Just the two of us. After dropping Abby off we headed out to run some errands and during that car ride, Ellie fell asleep. She continued to sleep through most of our first stop, waking up just I was about to pay for the items I needed. When we got into the car, Ellie kept looking around the handle of her car seat as though she was trying to find something. She looked and looked and then finally turned to me, her bottom lip turned out, on the verge of tears. It was then I realized that she was looking for Abby, her sister and best buddy. She was upset that Abby was not there to ride in the car with her; to make her laugh and keep her company.

It was at this moment that I realized just how close they are, despite the fact that there are two years that separate them and Ellie isn’t even a year old. It is obvious that their relationship as sisters and best friends is limitless. All that time I spent worrying about how they would handle each other now seems so silly. Yes, as time goes on they will have their fights, someone will hit the other, and someone else will complain that the other is bugging her but from what I can see those are small fleeting moments that will not break the bond they have. It makes my heart soar and even puts tears in my eyes each time they make each other laugh, giggle or just chatter back and forth with one another in a language none of us can understand. What a blessing I have been given. What a blessing they have been given.

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

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I dont know what to say other then my thoughts and prayers are with the people of Japan. Living in California we always talk about earthquakes and “the big one”, but none of us can even comprehend what the people of Japan felt and are dealing with now.

Tonight I sat in complete awe and horror as I watched a wave, that looked more like a poorly done CG animation then real life, rush through a town and destroy everything in its path. A wave that from television didn’t look threatening at all until you realized that it was over 23 feet high and moving at 500 mph. Then the realization and gravity of it all starts to hit… I am watching as lives are being taken from this earth and a town is being completely removed from the map.

I cannot even begin to try and understand what many of these people have gone through and I pray I never will. I pray for those who have survived and now have to find the strength to rebuild and move forward. I pray for those who have been separated from and are searching for their family and friends, may they be brought back to you safe and sound. Miracles are often found even in what seems like the darkest of days. I pray for those who have lost it all but more importantly have lost friends, family and those closest to their hearts. They will not be forgotten. And I pray for those who were lost. May you find peace and comfort in the arms of your Creator.

Baseball Saturday

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Today was the perfect day for a baseball game. The sun was shining bright, it was a nice warm day and a great ocean breeze was blowing. So, with all things looking great The Wharton’s headed on over to the Pierce College baseball field to watch “Uncle James” play in one of the first games of the season.

Abby, while excited to see Uncles James, had a better time running around and enjoying all that the baseball field had to offer. She met a new friend, Emma the Dog, and did her best song and dance for all to see. With the help of Grandpa, Abby climbed some trees, chased down stray baseballs, and played in the dirt looking for bugs with a few new friends. Shaun even tried to show her some tennis moves on the empty courts nearby. She loved it so much that when it came time to vacate the court for a few serious tennis players, Abby let most of the people within a mile or two know that she was not happy to leave.

Ellie, on the other hand, was happy to sit with Nana Fiona and Sammy and enjoy the sun. After a bottle and some attention from some of the ladies sitting nearby, Ellie finally passed out and caught a few “ZZZZ’s”. Can you blame her? Cuddled up in a thin blanket, the warmth of the sun and a cool breeze blowing… its perfect napping weather!

After an hour or so or running around and a few extra innings, the game was over and we took off for what ended up to be a nice drive on a Saturday afternoon. Abby and Ellie both passed out in the car, so Shaun and I drove as they slept. A simple but perfect Saturday afternoon!




8 Months and Growing!

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Has it really been another month already? Can Ellie really be 8 months old already? Only four more months and she will be a year old! Ellie is changing by leaps and bounds and she is really starting to show her personality. Always loving, snuggling with mommy and daddy when she gets the chance and enjoying the play time she has with her sister.

Ellie smiles and giggles a lot, but Abby is generally the one who can get the most laughs out of her. She moves like crazy and is pretty much into everything that she can get to. Ellie is pulling herself up and standing, often times onto things mommy wishes she wouldn’t climb on to. I have a feeling that I will have to pull out the play yard, AKA “the Prison”, very soon in order to keep my sanity. Ellie is a strong little girl with an even stronger will, just like her sister. I know our girls will keep us on our toes as time marches on, but I look forward to every moment of it!