Girls' Day

Today was our 6th annual girls' day. It was a small group this time but still fun. This morning I got up around 5:30 (because yet again, I knew my alarm would be going off soon), so I went in the front room and turned on the Christmas tree lights and read some of the new Friend we got in the mail. Before long, it was time to meet at Rachel's to go running. I think we went about 3.3 miles--most in a little bit of drizzling rain.

I got home and got Libby ready for school. She decided to go to school instead of the girls' day. She was really excited for her "feast" at school and she had also arranged with her friend to match clothes--down to the shoes and one ponytail in her hair. I thought it was so cute that she would arrange that.


My parents came over around 9:15. My dad had taken the day off and he generously watched Ellie and Hattie for me. They had a great time. They went to Petsmart and checked out all the animals. Then Ellie mentioned she wanted to go to Home Depot to ride in their fun carts and to look at bathtubs. ??!!?? Exactly. Very random, but they went and did that, then went to McDonalds for lunch and some play time. Then it was back home for Hattie's nap and picking up Libby from school. I am so grateful for my dad who is so great with my kids and loves (or acts like he loves) to watch them.

After they got there, my mom, Eliza and I left for our usual spot: Kierland Commons. We met up with my aunt Deb, my cousin Emali and her 6 month old darling daugther, Kami. We went to Crate & Barrel first, then decided to eat. We went to the Cheesecake Factory and enjoyed a nice lunch and great conversation. Eliza and I split the mini sliders and fries. We all split two pieces of cheesecake: fresh strawberry and their 30th anniversary chocolate one. YUM! It was great. From there we hit some of our favorite stores including--Restoration Hardware (drooled over their beautiful bedding) and Anthropologie (that store is full of instpriation for me--they had a ton of cute owl stuff, clothes I can only dream about and I found a perfume I really like). We looked at some other stores and just had a fun time catching up. Here are some pictures from our day...

We decided that poinsettias remind us of my grandma Doris--she always had them planted at holiday time.

Sisters, sisters!

The mom/daughter duo.

My wonderful cousin, Emali. I even love her with pink hair. Did you get it fixed, M?



Tonight we went to Brooke's house and she lovingly put up with the circus that came through so she could give my girls and Brian haircuts. I think they ate too much of her candy, made too many messes and used too much lotion. Sorry, Brooke. They all look great though!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

New Chef in Town

So much can happen in a morning:
2:30 woke up with Ellie
2:45 gave her some Motrin for her ear...warmed up a corn bag a tad to put on her ear
was up and down with her till 3:30.
5:20--went in to see what time Brian needed up for biking. Ellie had fussed some more, so he went in with her earlier.
6:45--Ellie got up followed by Libby and Hattie
6:50 got breakfast for everyone
7--emptied dishwasher and filled it
7:20 Eliza woke up
7:30 washed the big pans and crockpot
7:45-8:10 got everyone ready for school and got myself ready
8:20 ate breakfast
8:30 got Hattie and Ellie dressed
8:50 did their hair
8:53 broke my fav. bottle of perfume

Sheesh! After that, I dropped Ellie and Hattie at my friend Jenny's while I went to one visiting teaching appointment. Then it was time to make bread. Ellie did a couple errands with my dad, so Hattie was our new helper.

She is usually sleeping while we make bread...I think she realized she was missing out! Her favorite thing was sampling the dough...and as I was forming my loaves and putting them in pans, she would grab/steal pieces to eat. She loved it! My dad brought back lunch--Paradise Bakery. Yumm! I was so grateful as I hadn't had it in a while. In the afternoon, I ended up taking Ellie into the doctor for bathroom issues. Poor girl. Doctor's suggestion is to up her dose of Miralax. I did it this afternoon and we had success, so hopefully that will help. Today was activity days. Only three girls showed up! We made cornucopias from paper and filled them with cut outs of things they were grateful for. We also made some from ice cream cones and filled them with various snack items (M&Ms, goldfish, nuts, raisins, etc.).

After I got home, basically it was dinner, baths and bed. I did run to Wal-Mart to get a couple more things for Thursday.

I am excited for tomorrow--it's our annual girls' day with my mom, aunt and cousins.

Go, Go, Go

That's how today was! I've found that when I have my alarm set, I wake up several times in the night--either making sure I didn't sleep through it or just anticipating it going off. It's really quite annoying! So this morning, I remember looking at the clock at 2:30, 3 something, 4:20 and 5:15. At that point, I just decided to get up. I had set it for 5:30 because I had to wash, peel and cut up potatoes for a crockpot soup I was making and I needed to get it in before I went hiking so it could be ready by lunch time. After I got the soup in the crockpot, I left for hiking. It was dark for a while--I'll have to remember a flashlight for next time.

Everyone was up when I got home, so from there it was making breakfasts, making lunches, cleaning up, getting E&L ready for school, etc. After they were off, I got after Ellie and Hattie about 100 times to not take ornaments off the tree. It's a favorite past time right now and it's driving me crazy. It's tempting me to put ornaments on the top half only. But one day, I'll miss having little hands around taking them off, right? I have to keep reminding myself. So instead, I did a quick scan and made sure that no breakables were on the bottom half.

Today around lunch time, we had a little surprise party for Terri's birthday. I had invited her over for lunch, but what she didn't know (or hopefully didn't know!) was that about 10 of her friends were coming over, too! It was a fun time. I had made a soup and Susan brought a soup, Leslie made rolls and dessert. We had macaroni for the kids and Monique brought capri-sun for them to drink. Other than about 10 pounds of macaroni on the ground (outside, at least!) and brownies crumbs smooched flat into my tile, it was a great time! LOL. It was fun to do something special for Terri. She is such a great friend and will do anything for anyone.

After the party goers left, Ellie took a nap and we waited for Eliza and Libby to get home. Carson came over to play with Libby and Katie came to play with Eliza. I had a photo shoot this afternoon--it went well. It was a family shoot and they had three kids--the youngest was 4, so it was a breeze.

Tonight was a little bit crazy family home evening. It seemed that everyone had a meltdown. It was one thing after another...something I don't want to repeat!

Joy in the Journey

This morning we got up and ready for church. I really enjoy our 11 AM time slot. Of course, we'll go to 8:30 at the beginning of the year, but I really do like the 11. It gives us time to get ready, Hattie gets a nap and we have a chance to tidy up the house a bit. It's great.

Church was really good today. In sacrament it was a farewell for a missionary and a homecoming for a missionary. We've had a lot of missionaries coming and going in our ward lately. In Sunday school we had a great lesson from 3rd Nephi. One thing that was mentioned was the importance of keeping a journal. I am so passionate about journaling, so I enjoyed that part. In relief society, Vicky gave a great lesson from President Monson's talk from conference, Finding Joy in the Journey. The focus was how we need to be happy with our circumstances now and to enjoy the now. Some of my favorite quotes from the talk are the following:
"If you have children who are grown and gone, in all likelihood you have occasionally felt pangs of loss and the recognition that you didn’t appreciate that time of life as much as you should have. Of course, there is no going back, but only forward. Rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of today, of the here and now, doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for the future.

If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly."
As hard as it is to remember, I am going to try to do better about enjoying my moments even if they are hard.

"Stresses in our lives come regardless of our circumstances. We must deal with them the best we can. But we should not let them get in the way of what is most important—and what is most important almost always involves the people around us. Often we assume that they must know how much we love them. But we should never assume; we should let them know. Wrote William Shakespeare, “They do not love that do not show their love.”3 We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us.

Send that note to the friend you’ve been neglecting; give your child a hug; give your parents a hug; say “I love you” more; always express your thanks. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved. Friends move away, children grow up, loved ones pass on. It’s so easy to take others for granted, until that day when they’re gone from our lives and we are left with feelings of “what if” and “if only.” Said author Harriet Beecher Stowe, “The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone.”"

"Said one well-known author: “Both abundance and lack [of abundance] exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend . . . when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present—love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature, and personal pursuits that bring us [happiness]—the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth.”"
The other night I was listening to Delilah on the radio and she had Glenn Beck on. He said something that was so simple but so eye opening. He said that we all seem to have expectations in life...we expect things to go a certain way or to have certain things, etc. So when our life doesn't turn out like that, we are sad and disappointed. And I am not remembering it as well as he said it, but instead of having those expectations, we just need to realize that whatever we have and whatever is thrown at us, that is our life...we should just accept that and be happy with what we are given instead of being disappointed with what we don't have or that things didn't turn out like we hoped. Anyway...it made an impression when I heard it although I am not retelling it well.

After church we came home, had lunch and finished decorating the Christmas tree. We started some before church and finished up after. My girls loved doing that, seeing all the ornaments and putting them up.


Ellie did well going to bed again. I think she loves her new bed.

Ellie's Three!

Today Ellie turned three!!! Finally. It seems like she has been two forever. She has been better the past couple of days, so that has been nice. Maybe it was just her illness working its way out. This morning I snuck out for an early hike with Terri and Leslie. When I got home, everyone was up. Eliza and Libby had given Ellie "breakfast in bed" (Trix in a baggie). They had also wrapped up a couple things and given it to her--some skittles, nerds and Libby's sucker that she had gotten at a party. Ellie has had her eye on it ever since Libby came home with it. So she was thrilled. She was eating it when I came home. After I got home, we hurried and got somewhat ready and went to Libby's 8 AM soccer game. We were all (Libby included) spectators again. We did have the treat assignment and she has been really looking forward to handing those out. So at the end, she handed out gogurts to her teammates. After the game we came home and it was a busy day from there on out. ...like one project turned into another project and it just kept snowballing. First we gave Ellie her gift. We went in with Brian's parents and got her a little doll and it came with a stroller, swing, play pin, etc. She was thrilled! That took a while to get it all assembled, but she loves it. After that, we decided it was (FINALLY) time to get Ellie out of her crib. I know, I know. A bit overdue. But serioulsy, she has not hardly climbed out, so it has not been tempting to get her in a big girl bed. She climbed out once a long time ago--probably over a year, but she fell out doing it, so I think it scared her. Then the only other time she did was this week. She wasn't taking her nap, so I shut her door and I think she got mad. Next thing I knew, she was out of her bed. So today we set up her bed. When we bought Eliza and Libby's bed about a year and a half ago, we bought one for Ellie in case we decided to put them in the same room. Brian just set it up in her room though and it looks so darling! During this, I took Libby, Ellie and Hattie to Libby's second soccer game of the day. Once again we were spectators. I can't tell you how frustrating that is! When we got home, we spent quite a bit of time out front. The girls played and rode bikes and the neighbors were out, so we caught up with them. One also got a new puppy, so Eliza made sure we went down to see him. After time outside, we came in and decided to change out the dresser in Ellie's room. We put the cream one from our room in her room since it matches so well and moved the brown one into our room. That's what I mean by projects turning into more projects! It was an all day matilda! It gave me an excuse to go through everyone's sock drawer, match up socks and toss ones without a mate. It really needed to be done, so I'm glad it is! I made spaghetti for dinner, then it was baths before we did Ellie's cake and ice cream. She was so excited. She had picked out a rainbow chip cake, so I made that this morning and we put on chocolate frosting. It was actually really good! We sang to her and she joined in and sang, too.

Soon after I left with Eliza to a wedding reception. It was outside, but the weather was so nice. It was fun to see some old friends from my ward growing...mostly my former leaders, so it was fun to catch up with them. Brian said that Ellie went to bed great and was so excited to go in her new bed. I hope it lasts. I was worried that she would try to get out, but the first night was a success.

Going backwards...on Friday Rachel wasn't feeling well to hike and Kari had to be back early, so I went out there and Kari and I ran. We actually went 3 miles. I came home and everyone woke up! I was hoping to catch a few more zzzz's since I was back so early. I watched my friend's little boy while she went to her son's Thanksgiving feast at school. Ellie and Hattie had fun playing with him. In the afternoon, I picked up my girls because I needed to pick up my nephew, Luke, too. So he came over after school and played for a while. We ended up going to the park which turned out to be fun. I pulled Ellie and Hattie in the wagon, Eliza rode her bike and Luke and Libby rode scooters.

That night Brian and I went on a date. It has actually been a while since we've gone. We've really been sticking to our budget, but we felt like we really need to go out. Luckily, I've had a few photography jobs so we decided we'll use that money for dates among a few other things. So we grabbed dinner at El Pollo Loco. We had some coupons and it was less than $7 to eat! Then I had a couple of returns to do. Then we got Cold Stone (another coupon) and finished up at Wal-Mart for grocery shopping. It was fun and nice to be with just Brian.

And since it's Ellie's birthday, I need to record some stuff about her. I remember coming home with her from the hospital. We came home ON Thanksgiving Day. When we got home, my parents had the meal all ready with the table set all cute (with Eliza's help). Ellie has honestly been our easiest baby, toddler, etc. Even after being difficult the past few days, she is such a doll. She is always happy-go-lucky and so sweet and kind. She loves to be with her sisters and loves to be around people. She has a sweet disposition. Right now she loves playing with dolls and taking care of them. She goes in phases with movies she loves, but right now it's Polar Express--at least up until when Santa comes on, then she asks me to turn it off. Recently, before the Polar love, she loved Enchanted and High School Musical 1 & 2. She loves candy, loves talking on the phone (real and pretend), and loves to help me bake--especially bread. She loves to talk, too. She is a great daughter, sister, friend. We love having her in our family.

And this will make you laugh. My mom sent this to me. I was totally laughing watching it.

Mascara

I guess Hattie really can open the mascara tube!

Today was a trying day. Ellie turns 3 on Saturday, but if you would have asked me last week, I would have told you she has been THE easiest child, 2 year old, whatever around. She had seemed to bypass the terrible twos, was always so sweet and just a pleasure. This week has been something totally different. Maybe it's the antibiotic she is on (I really hope so), but this week she has been very difficult. I am like--what in the world?!?! Backtalking, sassiness, whining, crying, etc. You name it. Today she got a little dose of apple cider vinegar for backtalking. She did NOT like that, so I am hoping that will curb it quickly. I hope my sweet little Ellie isn't turning into a terrible three year old.



Tonight Eliza's singing group sang at a retirement home. They all had white t-shirts, jeans, tennis shoes and her teacher had given them a glittery blue belt/sash and a necklace. The show was darling. Eliza looked like she was having so much fun up there singing the songs and doing the actions. The old folks loved the performance and all left saying how cute and lovely they all were. I'm sure it made their day to see the girls perform.

Why Bother?

Seriously. I am venting, but today I spent a lot of the morning (after running and after the girls got to school) cleaning my floors. I swept, mopped and vacuumed the whole house. And how long did it stay clean? About 4 hours. Seemed like more of Ellie and Hattie's dinner (corn and sloppy joes) ended up on the floor. I guess dinner just lived up to its name--sloppy! Ugh! At least for 4 hours I knew it was clean.

Today we went to park day. Only 4 moms showed up, but Ellie had fun playing with Kylie and Hattie had fun on the swings. Other than that, it was a pretty usual day.

Bye.

Stitching

I have a couple of wedding receptions coming up, so I was trying to think of something nice but not terribly expensive. So I wracked my brain and decided to put my love of stitcheries to work. Here is what I came up with.

I am pretty pleased with how it turned out. I hope the couple does, too.

Book Fair

Today was back to the usual hiking trio.... When I got home everyone was still sleeping. Why don't they sleep in like that when Brian bikes?! When Ellie woke up, she had a fever. She didn't really have any other symptoms. She's had a runny nose but nothing really else. So I wasn't too concerned. After Eliza and Libby went to school, Hattie was eating breakfast and she pulled at her ear and cried when she did. Red flag to me that she probably had an ear infection. So I got on the phone and made an appointment for Hattie. It was about 8:40 and the lady said, "Can you be here at 9:50?" Sure. I hadn't showered after hiking nor were Ellie or Hattie dressed. And the doctor is about 20 minutes away. So we put it into turbo and got ready.

While I was there, I figured I would have them look at Ellie, too. Hattie's ears were clear and she looked fine, but Ellie's throat was so red. He wanted to do a culture on her but also said we'd better check Hattie, too. Hattie's came back as strep but Ellie's was negative! So weird. He figured Ellie was probably starting into it though, so we got antibiotics for both. When we got home, I put Hattie down for a nap, then Ellie came to me and said she wanted to take a nap. I let her lay down in my bed and before I knew it, she was sleeping! Poor girl. They have been troopers though.

I had told Eliza and Libby that I would pick them up from school and we could go to the book fair to pick out one book. So I put Ellie and Hattie in a stroller to keep them confined and we got books. They really enjoyed it and said that it was the best part of their day.

Tonight we played outside for a while, then had dinner and Brian gave the FHE lesson. It was about using good/kind words and what we can do if hear inappropriate or unkind things or think them ourselves. For treats, I tried a little variation on rice krispie treats. But when melting the butter, you add a cup of brown sugar. Then you do the marshmallows and rice krispies. They were a HIT! I can't really explain the taste--kind of like a rich caramel taste. Yum!

Here is one of my favorite things...clean little girls after a bath--playing in Hattie's room before bed.

Last night, I told Hattie she could play a minute before I put her down. I went into a different room and she had gone out of her room into the family room. When she saw me, she turned right back around, ran into her room, saying, "I pay (play), I pay..." She didn't want me to put her down. It was funny.

Busy Days

Thursday was a busy day! It seemed from sun up to sun down, I didn't sit down save for using the restroom! During Hattie's nap in the morning, Ellie helped me make some pumpkin cookies. I love pumpkin stuff, and these were good, too. I also worked on a stitchery I am making for a wedding gift we have coming up. Then I did a bunch of laundry and cleaning. Thursday is our busy day where everyone's activities are at the same time. Chrystalyn took Libby to soccer and my parents met them there and they brought her home after. Eliza was able to carpool to and from singing, which helped out a ton. I vacuumed out the van and got it nice and clean inside. When everyone got home, we had dinner and I got Ellie and Hattie down for bed. Eliza and Libby wanted to play a game, so we played the HSM game (Eliza won), then it was bed for them. Brian was gone all day at a fall regional meeting for work, then went straight to the temple to be with Bryson King as he went through for the first time. It was a long day for all of us!

Friday was just as busy if not more! In the morning, Rachel and I went hiking. I am glad I had to meet her otherwise I would have turned over and gone back to bed! I came home and got ready. Kari brought her girls over while she went on a field trip with Tanner. It was nice to have playmates for my girls. They had fun playing. I took them back to Kari's, then dropped of Ellie and Hattie while I went to a visiting teaching appointment, then we came back and did our visiting teaching to Kari! From there, we went to grab an ingredient from the store, then it was off to Terri's. She needed me to stay with some of her day care kids while she did the pick up. Libby got to stay and play with Carson, which was so great. Brian went biking at the end of his day instead of in the morning, so after he got home, Eliza and I took off to do some errands, then to go to a going away get together for a lady that I visit teach who is moving. Blah blah blah...we finally made it home and went to bed.

Today was a weird day in that it didn't go as Brian or I had planned, but it worked out. Libby had an 8 AM game with pictures before. So we got up and got everyone up and ready. Brian took soccer duty today and took everyone with him. Side note: Libby wouldn't get in the picture or play in her game. What am I am going to do with her!? I stayed home and did some tidying up and vacuumed a little, then Terri and I met at 8 for some hiking. We did the extra loop today, so she said it was like 4.5 miles we went. Crazy. It was fun though. I came home and hurried and got ready. Brian's dad had "family day" at the office. My girls needed cleanings (teeth), so they went and Jared's family went for cleanings. The dads assisted Dennis while he did his work. Brian's mom had kept Hattie, so I had to go relieve her. Anyway...it was a hectic day. They ran out of time and my girls were getting stir crazy being confined to the office for so long. Long story short, we met back up in the afternoon for my niece Amy's first birthday party. They had some appetizers out, so we enjoyed those, then the kids played some games, followed by cake and presents. I left a little before it was over. I met up with four other ladies and we had dinner at Paradise, then we went to a high school play. One of the young women I had before the ward split was in her school's play--Up the Down Staircase, so we all went to support her and watch. It was really well done. I was most impressed with their set. It was cute and the students did a really great job in the play. It was a fun night out to do that.

Embarrassing

This morning came too early! Once I was up it was fine, but when I heard my alarm I was not wanting to get up. We met at Rachel's today and Susan had convinced us to run. We agreed to doing it one day a week. I am not sure how far we went--probably 2 or 2.5 miles. It was a fun change to hiking though.

Today was bread day. My mom and I have been trying some different things to make sure it's done but so the tops aren't as dark. So today we put foil over the tops sooner than we have before. It seemed to do the trick. We also figured out that my top oven cooks hotter than the bottom, so I think we'll try turning it down about 10 degrees next time. We also added a secret ingredient to the mix...lemon juice. My mom read on-line that it helps make softer bread. You can't taste it in the bread and we liked the texture. I am not sure what it does, but it was good.

As the bread was cooling, we hopped in the car to go to Bath and Body Works. I parked and looked down and realized I was still wearing my slippers!!!! Talk about embarrassing!!!

They just feel like regular shoes, so I didn't think twice about it. At least I had taken my apron off! And luck would have it, I saw Melissa Stocking there. Murphy's Law.

Ellie and Hattie took early naps because I had the school pick up today. It was nice--I was able to edit some pictures from a recent session. Near time to leave, I had about 10 minutes left, I really wanted to just sit and watch Rachael Ray, but I decided to get up and I got the stuff under my bathroom sink cleaned and organized. Glad it's done though! After school we went over to Becky's. She had invited a bunch of people over to hang out and let the kids play. Only about 5 moms came, but it was still fun to sit and chat and my kids had a blast running around.

It was French Toast for dinner, then Brian was off to mutual (I liked it when I went better!). Eliza watched Kit Kittredge and Libby watched Polar Express. It was a busy night, but now all are sleeping...soon followed by me.

Yesterday I bailed on hiking. Rachel decided not to go since they just got home and Kari couldn't go. I didn't want to go alone, so I stayed asleep. I am getting out of the habit--it going to get harder and harder to get up!

The rest of the day was spent at home. I did some vacuuming and general cleaning of the house. I can't think of what else we did. At night we had family home evening, then played a few games of Apples to Apples. That seems to be popular at our house lately. My girls (Libby especially) want to play it all the time.

Today my girls didn't have school. It feels weird to have a holiday in the middle of the week. We were planning to go to aerobics, but it was cancelled, so we stayed home. My girls did some coloring and we did more playing of Apples to Apples. Eliza wanted to draw a scarecrow to put outside for Thanksgiving. It turned out cute--I'll have to get a picture. After lunch we went to the park by Terri's house. She met us there, then Susan Allen randomly showed up. It was fun for the kids to all play together and for us to chat. We came home and I gave Ellie and Hattie baths to get all the sand off of them, then they went down for naps after a little visit from my parents. It was good to see them since they'd been out of town for a few days. During the naps Eliza and Libby played outside a bit while I prepared for activity day. Today I did an activity on gratitude. First I talked to the girls a bit about gratitude. I had them put a rock in their shoe while eating a Skittle and had them walk around the room. I asked what they focused on (the rock) and we related that to gratitude. Then we made gratitude journals. I had cut all the paper in advance, but they folded and stitched in the signature. They seemed to have fun doing that. Then I had put each letter of the alphabet in a bag and each person took one and said something they were grateful for that started with that letter. I was happy with how the activity went.

After the girls left we had dinner. I finally found something Libby would eat! I made chicken coated with some "oven bake" stuff (like shake and bake), then cut it up into pieces before she ate it. I told her they were like little chicken nuggets. Everyone loved it. And we had my fav side--scalloped potatoes!

Happy Veteran's Day. I was thinking about it today--how I am at home enjoying living in the USA and being free to do whatever I want ,but that it's because someone (and someone's husband, dad, brother, son) is serving and fighting for those rights. Thank you.

3 things

1. Politics
Lots happened this past week while we were gone. Don't read further if you don't want to read about political views. On Tuesday I didn't think too much about the election while we were gallivanting around Disneyland. That night we turned on the news in our hotel room and the first thing we saw was the headline "McCain Concedes". My mouth dropped open and my heart sank. I seriously couldn't believe it. I just thought for sure that he would win. I went to bed that night and just had this horrible feeling and didn't sleep that great. I just kept thinking about the future of our country and of my children. I just pray that Obama can make good decisions and lead our country well. I was given a little more hope since Prop 102 and 8 passed. At least there was some good news that day.

2. Christmas
We turned the radio on on Friday and it was on 99.9. Christmas music!! Brian just rolled his eyes. I figured I better start listening to get into the Christmas spirit. I just can't think about decorating for Christmas right now! That is so bizarre for me.

3. Saturday and Sunday

Yesterday I went hiking early with Terri, Kari and Leslie. It was a good way to start my Saturday. Then Brian went and helped unload a trailer for DI, then he went right into work for a while since he'd missed the last week. So I hung out at home and got ready to go to Libby's game. It was a little hassle getting her in her uniform again, but she did it. We went to her game and she just watched from the sidelines! No amount of convincing from me, her teammates or her coach will get her in there! Ugh. It's hard having a child like that when neither Brian and I were like that--especially when it came to sports. After the game, we stopped by his granddad's house. His mom and dad had been at Libby's game (her cousin Luke plays, too) and she reminded me about a mattress they were going to get rid of over there. So I went and took a look at it. It is a king, so it fits the bed we bought over a year ago. It was nice and clean and would work great for us. So--Dennis and a couple of Brian's uncles strapped it to the top of my van. I was so embarrassed driving home with it on top. I don't know why, but it was just funny to me. We made it home with out anything flying off, so that was good. We spent much of yesterday afternoon dismantling our old bed and getting the new one up. We really like how the new bed looks. We just used our same comforter and pillows--luckily they fit okay and will work until we get what we want. There is so much more room on the king than what we are used to with our queen. Eliza made her way into our bed in the night and we had lots of room. Not that I want her to keep coming in, but it was more bearable than normal!

Today we got up and ready for church. It was my day to teach relief society. I was a little nervous, but at least it's over. It went so-so to me. I need to work on my closure. I felt during the lesson that it went pretty well, but at the end I kind of just ended it. I need to work at summing things up better and expressing my thoughts. I'll just chalk it up to nerves!

Tonight we had Kari and her kids over for dinner. Jason had gone out-of-town for work, so they came over. It was fun to chat and to have the kids play. I made baked potato soup, rolls and dessert. It was a perfect day for soup--so chilly! My parents are in Pinetop and they got snow! Brrrr!

Disneyland--Long Post!

We just got back last night from our trip to Disneyland.

On Sunday we left after stake conference and headed out to Disneyland. Any road trip with kids is long if you ask me. We were finally there in the evening and got settled in our hotel. We stayed in our timeshare in Newport. It was a great place and such a beautiful city. We got everyone to sleep and overall everyone slept well during our trip (especially me), so that was good. On Monday we woke up and got ready for our first day in Disneyland. Since our whole budget thing we debated whether to even go on our trip, but since we had already set aside the money, we decided to go for it. But we were careful not to go over. We ate breakfast in the room--we had cereal and oatmeal, then we made peanut butter and honey everyday and brought some chips and cookies for lunch. It actually worked out great and we almost liked it better than buying lunch because we didn't have to decide where to eat. We just found a table, sat down and ate. Some other things we did were bring our own water bottles in and we just refilled them each day. For souvenirs, we told our girls (minus Hattie) that they had $10 in quarters. If we had to get after them on the trip, they would lose quarters and what they had left, they got to buy something. That worked pretty well. We did give them an extra $5 each so they could get a stuffed animal at the end with their leftover money. We figured it was worth the good behavior all week. They all did so well in Disneyland which made it so nice. Ellie bought some cotton candy and a Piglet, Eliza got cotton candy and a little Pooh bear and Libby got a really long pencil and a Remi stuffed animal.




She was so funny about her money. She didn't want to spend all $10 at once. She would ask how much something was and if it was over like $5 she didn't want it because she didn't want all her money gone. We ate one meal (dinner) in the park and limited ourselves to just a couple treats. It worked out perfectly and we still had a great time.

This seemed like a perfect time of year to go. We hardly waited in lines at all and the weather was beautiful. Monday was the longest we waited in any line and I can only remember like two rides that were around 20 minutes. The rest were less than that if any wait at all. We walked right on Splash Mountain, Space Mtn., etc. It was great! I am trying to remember the highlights so I don't forget...

On Monday we got all ready and in the car and we realized it was an hour earlier than we thought. The time changed and we knew that, but the clocks in the room were an hour off! We had a good laugh over that!

The first ride we went on was Alice in Wonderland. Then it was off to the teacups and then the Matterhorn. Libby wouldn't ride, but Eliza rode with Brian, then Ellie wanted to go with me. She was excited before we got on, but as we were getting in, she just screamed and cried! I felt terrible for making her go, but it was really too late to get out once it was moving! Once we started she turned her head and I put my hands over her eyes and she was fine! She didn't make a peep the whole rest of the ride. It was funny.

As we were on it though, I couldn't believe I was taking her on that ride! It is fast and pretty rough--especially for a two year old! Libby was a bit gun shy on a lot of the rides and wouldn't go on them--especially if they were dark. We kind of had to fib to get her on some like Peter Pan and Mr. Toad, etc., telling her they weren't dark because once she was on, she liked them pretty well. Other highlights...Eliza got to ride up with the "driver" on the Storybook Land ride. She enjoyed that. We also LOVED Haunted Mansion. I hadn't been on it since they changed it, but it's really cute. Libby wouldn't go on it, so we had to take turns, but Hattie and Ellie did. We ate at the Village Haus for dinner, then we watched the parade. Libby was so excited to watch all the parades and she loved them. They are always so wonderful and this time was no exception. My girls really enjoyed waving at the characters and having them wave back at them. We left after the parade and headed to the hotel. Oh yeah, we also got to ride the new Nemo ride. It was really well done. We enjoyed it. Libby didn't like it because it was dark and loud. We figured maybe she is claustrophobic or something. I just figure everyone has certain likes and dislikes and we can't force her on anything! We also saw lots of people while were there...we saw our neighbors--didn't know they were going. We saw the Lorenzanas from WW Ward, the Gosses from our ward and of course the Pribyls who we know would be there. We didn't see the Headricks at all, surprisingly, even though they were there the same three days we were! I think Jason was trying to avoid us. LOL!

On Tuesday, we went to California Adventure all day. Our first stop was Soarin'. Brian took the oldest three and I waited with Hattie. We took advantage of the Ride Switch on lots of the rides and it was great not having to re-wait in line. So I rode that when they were done. Libby and Ellie didn't love it, but Eliza did. From there we did a lot of other rides. Brian and I took turns on California Screamin'(again--just walking on!).

As I sat waiting for the ride to start, I was thinking to myself, "What am I doing?!?!" I can't believe I went--it's been forever since I've been on an upside down coaster. Brian and the girls watched me "blast off" and I did just what the ride says--screamed!! I felt kind of silly on some of the rides by myself with no one else to scream with. I found myself laughing out loud thinking about that! It was fun though. We tried the new Toy Story ride--that was fun getting to "shoot" at targets. Libby's favorite ride was the Jumpin' Jellyfish.

I went on it once and that was enough with my fear of heights! Ellie really liked that one, too. We went on Molholland Madness several times, but every time I went around the corners at the top, I imagined falling to my death as those turns are so fast and tight. One loose screw on the car and I'd be a goner. We also did the raging rapids while we were there. I hesitated, not wanting my girls to be wet and cold the rest of the day, but we figured what the heck...They didn't end up getting that wet when they went with Brian.


I went next with Eliza and totally covered up in Brian's jacket and hat, so I was safe! We grabbed some pizza and ate while we waited for the parade to come. It was a Pixar parade, so we saw all the characters from those movies. It was another great parade and my girls loved it. We left after the parade and headed back to the room. After that day, my back was hurting! Brian and I took turns pushing two kids in the stroller or holding Hattie or Ellie. We got our workouts for sure!

We spent our last day in Disneyland. We went straight to Peter Pan so we could be sure to ride it. We love that one for some reason. We also had to take turns on Autopia. None of the kids could do it themselves, so we had to take one and switch until the oldest three got to ride. Brian and I got to ride Space Mountain. I forgot what a great ride that is! Again--I was laughing that I was in the front screaming by myself. All the pictures that are taken on the rides are of me screaming! The girls got a kick out of that. We met up with the Pribyls and Lorenzanas for dinner at the Mexican food place by Big Thunder. It was fun to visit for a minute. From there I took Ellie and Libby to watch the parade again and Brian took Eliza and Hattie on the steamboat. Hattie fell asleep so he brought her to me, then he took Eliza to Splash Mtn. again (for about the 10th time) and then they rode Big Thunder a few times before closing time.

We didn't really see a ton of characters. Eliza got her picture with Alice, the Mad Hatter and Minnie.



Libby got one with Minnie when Minnie snuck up behind her. Ellie and Hattie didn't want anything to do with them except the princesses. On Wednesday we watched a cute princess show over by Small World. It is in this big amphitheater and before it started they got to decorate little paper crowns. Ellie sat next to this boy--probably an older teenager--dressed up for the show and she totally let him help her decorate and he put some of the stickers on her ears to look like earrings. Then when they were done (we were watching from a few rows up in the seats), she gave him a hug. It totally made us laugh that that didn't scare her!




Brian wants to have a membership here one day.


On Thursday morning, we went to Crystal Cove beach. The girls played in the sand a little bit and we let the waves crash over our feet, but it was way to cold to play in it! We brought our lunch and ate there, then headed back to the hotel to pack up. We stopped at the Shake Shack and shared a couple of shakes.

It might be the best shake I've had. It was a double chocolate chip shake. It has tiny chocolate chips in it. Yum! We packed up and headed out. We drove by the Newport Temple first.

It seemed to take us a while to get home and with the loss of an hour, that made it about 9:30 before we got home! Ugh.


What happens when you turn your back and the waves come up higher than you expect!


This about summed up Ellie's opinion of the ocean.


Think I ought to sinch up Ellie's pants some more?!


This morning no one wanted to get up. But we did. Brian had a vendor fair he needed to be at (one reason we came home early) and Libby had a field trip. Unfortunately, Libby decided this morning that she didn't want to go on the field trip unless I went. Talk about major guilt!! It was kind of last minute that we decided we would even be back to go, so there wasn't time for me to figure out babysitting and such to go. I felt bad. I tried to talk her into going anyway, but she wasn't going for it. She was nervous about having to go around with someone else's mom or dad. Understandable, but hopefully she'll get over her shyness someday! So I dropped Eliza off at school and we came home and I did laundry and unpacked, etc. It always feels weird to me to be home after a trip. It's like the world kept going but I stopped and now I am back on board and have to get all caught up again. Brian thinks I am weird for feeling that way, but I do!

Tonight we went to the Derrick's house for an Edward Jones new FA (financial advisor) social. It was mostly for new FAs, but they invited everyone else (I think). Lori made a great spread of food--soups, rolls, desserts, etc. It was all delicious and it was fun to meet new people and the kids had a blast playing/running around with some of the other kids.

Here are some random pictures from our trip.