These are the Days of My Life!

School Valentine Parties

2012-02-10T18:30:00.001-08:00

Today the girls had their Valentine parties at school. For some reason, the school likes to hold the parties on Fridays rather than the actual holiday. I went around most of the day taking pictures for the yearbook. Here are a few snapshots of the girls when I saw them. Kirsten's class did the tea party from Alice in Wonderland. They made paper hats that morning.
Shannon's kindergarten class each got to decorate a paper bag to put their Valentines in.
This was cute of Shannon. She looked at the card and realized it didn't have a chocolate candy on it. Oops!

Brian's Birthday

2012-02-10T17:33:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Brian's 41st birthday. That evening, we all went out to eat at Texas Road House. We met up with Brian's sister, Katrina, and Antonio. Their food is great! I ordered the chicken fried chicken. About half way through my dinner, I mentioned to Brian, "this doesn't taste like chicken". I guess the waitress heard me and realized she got my order wrong and brought out the chicken. I got the country fried steak ordered instead which was good too. I got an extra meal delivered for free, that's nice! Of course I couldn't eat most of it! After dinner, we all went home for cake. We got one of those triple chocolate cakes from Costco...so, so rich!
Katrina and Antonio gave him "The King's Speech" on DVD, which was exactly was he wanted. I was about to buy him the same thing.
Later that night, the girls put together the Valentines that they brought for their school parties today.

Skating!

2012-02-06T22:37:00.000-08:00

Tonight, the kids all got to go out for a free night of skating with their school. Kirsten found her friend Emily there, so they both hung out together along with Rachael. They had a good time, although they couldn't skate too fast, but they did alright. We rented skates for Carter and Shannon as well. Carter gave it about a minute out on the skating rink, and then decided it wasn't for him. He would much rather take the scooter. Shannon tried as well but just gave up. She couldn't even stand up in skates. We eventually got the scooter instead.

Shannon's First Lost Tooth!

2012-02-05T22:37:00.000-08:00

Last night, the girls and I drove over to a scrapbook store to pick up some paper. As I was parking, Shannon yelled out that her wiggly tooth just came out! This was her very first lost tooth. Instead of being excited, she was a little worried about the blood that started appearing, so Kirsten handed her a napkin to hold it on while we all went inside the store.
Later that night, we all sort of forgot about the tooth and she fell asleep. I knew I had to put her tooth under her pillow and I wanted her to know that it was there. She was just in bed with me so I woke her up to let her know than we all went to sleep. By morning, she remembered! She lifted her pillow to find $2.00. Wow! She was pretty excited!

Groundhog Day!

2012-02-03T21:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday for Groundhog Day, Shannon's kindergarten class all glued little paper groundhogs to Popsicle sticks and stuck them in cups. I remember the other kids doing this same exact thing... now that it's my youngest one doing this, I wanted to remember it. It looks like we have another six weeks of winter because they announced that the groundhog did indeed see his shadow.

100th Day of School

2012-01-31T22:29:00.001-08:00

Today, Shannon's class celebrated their hundredth day of school. They each made a hat. Each of the flaps on top was counted in 10's. Anyway, she looked pretty cute today when she walked through the door wearing it.
Last week, my visiting teaching companion and I cut the letters, for my business name , out to put on my door. I used my "Cricut" machine, which I haven't used in a long time. I'm glad I was able to find a way to use it again. While we were cutting, my machine wouldn't cut out the "g".I couldn't figure out why. In the mean time, she left for little bit while I read through the instructions. I came across the troubleshooting section and finally figured out what I had to do. When I got it to print, I left and waited for her to return. It turns out that I didn't hear her knock so she found the letters and stuck them on for me. I absolutely LOVE the way it turned out!

Photos of the Week!

2012-01-22T21:29:00.001-08:00

Last week after a pretty busy day, I found all four kids sound asleep on my bed. They had obviously fallen asleep watching television since it was left on. I just wanted to remember this moment. They are so cute!
The girls are always wanting to hold and carry Pounce around! Well, a couple days ago, I walked past the living room to find Kirsten holding him like this while watching television. So cute!
Then last night, I took the girls to Walmart to get a few things. We decided we wanted to have a movie and puzzle night. We bought the puzzle that Kirsten picked out and put it together when we got home. It took us about 3 hours since Rachael and Shannon didn't help too much. It was mainly Kirsten and I. Although, we had a good time.

Our Weekend...

2012-01-15T21:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterday after work, my parents came over to get haircuts. They got to see my salon for their first time. After doing their hair, we all went to Cafe Rio for dinner, (everyone but Brian). My dad happens to love that place as much as I do. He always goes for the fish tacos. Afterwards, we all came back. The girls showed them their new cameras and took these pictures.
Here are their dogs Tico and Nicholas. They put glasses on Nicholas to make him look a little smarter, I guess.
Sunday: Church, (David came to join us for sacrament meeting), Kirsten's talk... Dinner with Shawn and my parents which consisted of barbecued chicken, funeral potatoes, and corn. Then it was time to leave and say our goodbyes.
It was so nice to see my parents and spend some time with them.

It's so FUN to SHOP!

2012-01-15T20:41:00.000-08:00

A week ago, the girls and I went shopping at our local D.I. and happened to find this brand new looking denim jacket! We loved it so much that I had to get it. Rachael wore it to church last Sunday. Isn't she beautiful in it? Around that same time, I bought this new plant for my shampoo/towel shelf. It's beautiful. It's exactly what I was looking for! Then last Thursday, Cristy came down with her kids to spend the day with me and to see my new finished salon. We went shopping for material to make ourselves cooking aprons and decided to look at the artificial plants. We ran into this vase. I glanced at it and and thought hmmm..., then Cristy noticed it too! She picked it up and showed me and I decided it was perfect. We saw some colorful floral arrangements next to them that were $3.00 and chose this particular one to put in the vase. It's so fun to shop with Cristy. Thank you sis! I love it!

New Years Day 2012

2012-01-01T19:40:00.000-08:00

Just today as we were finishing our Sunday dinner, Shannon was trying to get back to her seat on the bench, slipped and fell backwards, hitting the back of her head on the bottom of the chair, and breaking the wheel. Ouch! When she stood up, she started crying and I noticed her shirt had blood all over it. Brian and I raced her to the bathroom and I applied tissue to it, which ended up soaking through with blood. Brian went to the first aid kit and grabbed some gauze. I held that on then applied more. After a few minutes, he wrapped her head up. I called my mom and told her what happened. She told me to take her to the hospital. I took her to the new Insta Care just a few minutes away. The wait wasn't too bad. She was taken back right away to get looked at. I guess we ended up waiting a total of an hour. The nurse washed it, numbed it, and then the doctor stapled it shut with just one staple. He said to apply anti biotic ointment to it daily, and it should be healed in a week, so next Saturday or Sunday we can go back and get the staple removed. My poor baby! She kept asking me what was going to happen to her. She said she didn't want to die. I kept reassuring her that she was going to be just fine.
She was so brave! The nurse let her pick out a sucker. She picked PINK!
As we got home, the girls were dancing to their "Just Dance 3" game on the wii. Shannon began participating and forgot all about her little boo boo. She's doing well!

New Years Eve

2012-01-01T18:27:00.001-08:00

First of all, last Tuesday, I made some new flower pens for my new salon. I gave all the extra flowers to the girls to do whatever they wanted with. Kirsten had the idea to put them in her pigtails. She looked so cute! That's why she's my flower girl! Rachael and Shannon wanted to do the same thing. Anyway, right before going to the movies that night, I snapped this picture of them all in their pigtails. We all went to see "Dolphin Tale".
On New Years Eve, we decided to go to Brick Oven for dinner. We got there a little after 4pm and got a table immediately. I didn't bring my nice camera so I had to settle with my cell phone pictures, but here's a few of what I got. The cheese bread was very CHEESY!
This one is not the best one of me, but oh well.
Carter went to a Stake dance just after 8pm. He came and went a few times until about 10 and then decided to just stay home. At about 11:40pm, we headed over to Nu Skin. Brian got special permission to take us up on the roof to see the fireworks. Even though it was cold, we had a pretty good time. We didn't have an actual countdown but we could sort of hear one from a near by club. Then we saw fireworks from about 3 different spots, all starting at different times. The mall started last. They had the most fascinating ones.
My camera didn't do too bad in pure darkness. I put on my prime lens so I couldn't really adjust the zoom.
With absolutely no lighting, and for the fact that I had to stand further away to get them all in the frame, it didn't do too bad, a little blurry, but this is their first group shot of the year!
Now standing a little closer I took another, Carter was already headed inside.
As soon as everything ended, the kids and I left. Brian had to stay and work his graveyard shift. Happy New Years everyone! Yeah, for 2012! This has been the driest winter weather that we have ever experienced. NO SNOW! The only hint of snow that we've had was snow dust. Last New Years, we went sledding, hopefully we'll get to do that again soon.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T19:33:00.001-08:00

On Christmas Eve, we traditionally open 1 present which is always a set a pajamas. This year, we got them as a gift from Brian's mom and dad. They look so cute!
Christmas landed on a Sunday, which meant we had church first thing. As soon as Santa came and left, I got up and put wrapping paper over the whole entrance way to the living room so that the kids couldn't peek in to see anything. Too eager to sleep, Carter and Kirsten woke up and helped me put the paper up. It worked great! I was so tired. The kids were up so early and I could have easily slept another hour or 2. We didn't want the kids seeing anything because then I know they wouldn't want to go to church. The kids got up, had their bath and were ready when Brian got home. I wish it was that way every Sunday. With 9:00 church, we were NEVER on time. Brian worked a 12 hour shift! (8pm Christmas Eve to 8am Christmas morning.) Today, we were actually on time. We told the kids that whomever was the best behaved in church got to rip through the paper blocking the entrance way. They were all pretty much good except for they kept asking every 10 minutes when the meeting would be over. Sacrament meeting was nice. We sang and listened to the choir sing. I thought Kirsten was the best and Brian thought Rachael was the best. As soon as church was over. The kids busted through the paper, (caught on video), and ran to their stockings. Shannon immediately started crying because she didn't get the chance to bust through the paper. She felt left out. But by the time she saw what was in her stocking, it got better. Carter was telling us that these were just the cars he wanted. He got them from his stocking.
Shannon's tears are still there but her sadness turned into excitement when she saw this. These pets are exactly what she wanted. She called them the stuffed animals with the big eyes.
Santa also got Carter "Need for Speed The Run". He had been asking for this game for months. We kept in touch with Santa a lot about his attitude. Some days were better than others. When ever he was bad, we would immediately report to Santa. Afterwards, we would make him do chores to get back on the "Nice list".
Rachael and Kirsten both got "Twilight" jewelry in their stocking.
Rachael and Kirsten's major gifts from Santa this year were digital cameras. Kirsten's is red, and Rachael's is black. They each have 14 mega pixel resolution and also does video in high definition. They LOVE it! Also, they got cute "Hello Kitty" cases in the stockings.
Shannon got some "Littlest Pet Shop" toys that walk. She loves them.
Rachael wrapped up a friendship necklace for her and Kirsten. That's so sweet to see them as best friends.
Brian got two Liam Neeson movies. "Taken" and "Unknown". Great movies.
The kids also got "U-Draw" for the Wii.
We got Carter a couple of hoodies since all of his others are getting too small on him. He's been growing very fast!
My mom and dad got Rachael nail polish and Kirsten body spray. They love it! Thanks!
They also got Carter a box of "Raisin Bran". YUM! Just kidding but he does have a smile on his face even though he never eats that kind. They actually put a BYU hoodie and candy bar inside.
Shannon got a "Polaroid" camcorder from Santa. We haven't played around with it too much yet. I hope it's a good one.
We got a lot more movies! "Mr. Poppers Penguins", "Cars 2", "Pirates of the Caribbean 4", and the "Smurfs". All fun movies that we will all definitely enjoy.
I found this M&M's shirt at Walmart and knew he would like it. He loves M&M's! I also bought an M&M mug for each of the kids. Carter's is blue, Rachael's is orange, Kirsten's is red and Shannon's is yellow. A couple days later we went Christmas shopping again. This time the kids shopped for us. They got me a $50, Walmart gift card with the green M&M mug. I got to pick the mug out since I knew exactly what color we didn't have.
We got Rachael and Kirsten "Twilight fleece throws" Rachael got Jacob and Kirsten got Edward.
They happened to see similar blankets at FYE and wanted them. I told them no. Kirsten came up to me today and said "Now I know why you told us no!" with a big smile on her face. They LOVE Twilight! Santa helped them expand their collection of Twilight dolls by giving them Jacob. Rachael really wanted Jasper and has now since her birthday, but I guess Santa couldn't find him. (Jasper dolls cost around $200.00 on ebay). They are very rare.
Here are more walking LPS toys for Shannon.
Brian's parents gave Rachael and Kirsten each matching jewelry boxes that came with alphabet stickers so that they could put their names on the top. They love them. Kirsten is storing her camera in one of the drawers and now they have more storage for their new jewelry.
All the kids got a mechanical butterfly in a jar. It's really neat! You just tap on the lid and it flutters around inside.
Kirsten made this calendar for me at school. She knew it would be the most perfect gift for me. She also included a card on top of the present. She is so sweet. I love it Kirsten. Thanks!
Shannon made this cute little gingerbread man made of paper and laminated with her picture on the head. It's cute. I will always treasure it. Homemade presents are the best!
Kirsten had been bugging us for this "Just Dance 3" game for the Wii. She LOVES it! They've been playing it tonight and they certainly get their exercise from it.
As soon as all the presents were opened, we noticed something else under the tree. This is one a Pounce's favorite spots to hide. He knows the kids can't get him very easily from there. I took these and the girls took more of him with their cameras.
Random pictures from the day!Here are pictures taken with Rachael and Kirsten's camera's. Rachael filled up her 4GB memory card in just a few hours by shooting video. We also played with the black and white setting for a minute.
My mom and dad gave Brian and I some really nice pillows, along with this sign. I love it! Thanks!
Brian and I also each recieved a $25.oo gift card to Amazon from Katrina and Antonio, (his sister). We had a very nice Christmas. The important thing is to always remember the reason for this occasion, our wonderful Savior, Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas to all!

Shannon's Birthday - Finished Salon

2011-12-22T22:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Shannon's 6th birthday! First of all, I took her to dance that morning, as it falls every Wednesday. We brought a couple small snack pack of Oreo's to share with the other kids. There were only 2 others that day because of Christmas. Then I had a couple of appointments, at my new salon! Yep, you read it right, I am now officially in my new salon.
Now back to Shannon! She wanted an "Angry Birds" cake really bad this year. When we went to the store ten days or so ago, they only had a "Rio" cake. She loved it and we immediately ordered it. After I finished all my appointments, I took all the kids out to Carl's Jr. Shannon loves going there! Then we all went to Macy's to pick up her cake, along with mint chocolate chip ice cream and peppermint fudge ice cream.
The first present she opened was a laptop from her Aunt Julie. She loves it! Thanks Julie!
The second thing she opened was a new Build a Bear bunny. This girl can't get enough Build-a-Bears! Let me tell you! Stuffed animals were the only thing she asked for on her letter to Santa.
As soon as the presents were opened, Shawn came over just in time for cake and ice cream.
We lit the number 6 candle and sang Happy Birthday to her!
Make a wish Shannon!
Then she finally got to pick up Blue and Jewel. They are cute little maracas...
...and they can kiss.
Happy Birthday my little Shan Shan. I love you TONS! I just can't believe how fast those 6 years have gone by. It seems like just the other day that I brought you home from the hospital.
Now for my Salon....I started yesterday, on Shannon's Birthday. The stations were all moved in on Tuesday. That same night I cleaned out my old station from the Salon and brought it home.
Today was extra busy! I had a bunch of people! All of them loved it! I am so excited to have this as my very own. I LOVE it! Today, before my first client came, James and his helper hung my new towel rake up on the wall. He spent all of Tuesday building it and painting it for today. I love it. I am so impressed by how it looks!
I was at Home Depot yesterday as well and walked past this coat hanger with a mirror. I saw it and loved it. I absolutely had to have it. LOVE IT!
Tuesday James installed my new color cabinet. He built it in his shop and then bolted it in, then he put on the doors. Again, I LOVE IT!
Here's what we planned for my color. He built individual slots for all my colors in a box. The ones in bottles got to be in the doors, kind of like a spice rake. I just love it.
Then tonight after my clients all left, he installed my towel ring to hang the towel on and then he put the blinds on my bathroom window. All that I have left to do now is put a mirror above the bathroom sink, get a toilet paper holder and move my computer stand in. We just need James to drill a hole in the side so the cords can come out. I also got my business license in the mail finally. I am so official! Yeah!
Here's another look at the towel rake he built.

Salt Lake Temple Square Lights!

2011-12-18T19:23:00.000-08:00

Last night, we all went to Salt Lake City to see the lights at Temple Square. They were so beautiful! It was really cold and since Shannon forgot her mittens, she wore mine and then traded with Rachael half way through. It's hard to operate a camera with mittens anyway. We went indoors quit a bit to warm up and everything was great!
Brian and I were married in this temple, so it's always been special to us. One of the things we always see is the nativity setup with the story of our saviors birth.
After that, it was time to warm up again and see the statue of Christ.
In that same building was a short film about families. You go from room to room as the story is being told and the rooms are all decorated like that particular part of the film. The setting started off in Southern Utah in one of the canyons. The kids wanted to sit on the rocks while they watched.
Then we all headed out to see more lights and to admire the temple.
After getting home, we just relaxed and watched some TV. I took this picture of Pounce after I let him in the house. I thought he was so cute just sitting on a dresser. Luckily he stayed long enough for me to grab my camera and take a picture.
Kirsten was right there when I had my camera out so I snapped one of her too. CUTE!

My Salon nearly finished!

2011-12-18T18:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Brian and I decided to get some furniture moved into the salon. It would have been done by now if it weren't for the sink issue. I saved a sink 10 years ago from when I worked at a salon in the mall. They moved locations and were just busting out the old sinks. Brian saved one of them. When we showed the sink to the plumber, he told us we needed special mounting brackets for it. Well, we didn't think about getting the mounting brackets when we took the sink. I thought all this time that we could just walk into a home improvement store and buy one but they have to be custom fit for the sink bowl. Oooops! So last Monday night, I ordered a brand new one. I'm hoping to get it delivered tomorrow. Crossing my fingers, because I would like to open Wednesday. So everything is done except for the sink, and toilet (saved for the plumber), the attic doors you see near the couch, hooking up the speakers, my custom made cabinet for the bathroom, and my towel rake. I bought it at IKEA for $39.00. My contractor is going to put crown molding on the top and shape the bottom.
I absolutely LOVE the love seat! We purchased it at a furniture store that is going out of business. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was going to be perfect. As you can see, the girls LOVE it. The picture below shows the attic space I have for all kinds of storage. The doors need to be hung up. I LOVE it!
I chose this door! It has the blinds built in with a lever that you pull that lowers and raises them and another to open and close them with.
This is the bathroom! I chose a light tan color for the walls in there. The rest of the salon walls are a light purple color. I think it's a very calming color.
At church today, all the women got a gingerbread cookie. Rachael and Kirsten took turns taking my picture with it. Afterwards, it was gone in less than 10 seconds. I only got a leg!

Tow Mater

2011-12-14T21:26:00.000-08:00

Today, my dear sister, Cristy, came down to go Christmas shopping with me. First of all, we all went out for lunch, (this was while my kids were in school). Then we did some shopping in the mall, got a few things, and then went home to pick up my kids only to leave again. We all went to see Tow Mater. He was sitting near a tree lot. I noticed him there a few days ago, so I told Cristy about him. He was very cool! "Cars" happens to be one of my favorite Disney movies!

Family Christmas Party

2011-12-04T18:23:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, we had a big family Christmas party on my mom's side of the family. It turned out really nice. We had cold cut sandwiches, potato salad, chips and cookies with a chocolate fountain for desert. David brought his flying helicopter which was really fun. I even got to operate it at one time.
Cristy's family...
After dinner, the kids all got to hit a pinata blindfolded. We started with the youngest and went up to the older kids. Rachael actually knocked it down when it got to her turn.
After going through one round and still not cracking it open, we decided to start a 2nd round without blindfolds. Little Kaymbria got to start it off.
...then Zack and Riley......and then Shannon, Kirsten, and Rachael. It got all the way to Tia's kids before it was destroyed. The kids all ran for the candy.
We played some fun games. First, the kids all got to exchange their $1.00 gifts. Then, we all played Bongo. We all sat at different tables with 4 at a table. The winners got to rotate to the next table. I ended up staying the whole time at the same table. Kirsten moved on a couple times and did well. After that game, we all put our $10.00 gifts in the middle of the floor and gathered our chairs around in a circle. The person who scored the lowest got to pick the first gift. Since Brian sat out, the girls took his place. I unwrapped a picture frame. By the time the girls got to pick, they unwrapped a bird cage, actually it was a decorative plant hanger in the shape of a bird cage. I loved it a lot, but Kaci took it at the end. We all had a wonderful time visiting with our families. To top it off, my cousin Chad proposed to his girlfriend Gina. It caught us all by surprise. We are very happy for them.

Our Ward Christmas Party!

2011-12-02T20:01:00.000-08:00

Tonight, we all went to our ward Christmas party! It was very well done. First of all, the kids all got to line up to see Santa as soon as we arrived. Shannon brought her Christmas list, that Carter wrote for her, and gave it to Santa. The other kids just told him what they wanted.
Afterwards, the girls got to make gingerbread houses. Rachael and Kirsten made one together and Shannon made her own.
They turned out very cute!
They had a hay ride for the kids, which Shannon missed, and then a ham dinner, which was excellent!

My New Salon (Part 3)

2011-11-27T14:05:00.000-08:00

My salon is coming along. Last Monday, November 21st, they started with the shingles. It took 2 full days to complete that part before installing the windows. That happened Wednesday, all but the restroom window, which was delayed another day.
Wednesday, they started with the siding!
They also started the framing of the restroom so that the electrician could work on the electrical. He put up a breaker panel against the wall connecting to the house. We made some serious decisions this week. I wasn't sure exactly which wall to put my computer against so we had the electrician put cable and phone cords in 2 different places so I can change my mind later. My station outlets were spread out every 4 feet so that I could change the stations around if I wanted.
The girls were just loving the new look already. It's so much easier to envision now that the restroom wall was formed.
I finally bought my computer early Friday morning at Best Buy. We got there at 10:15 Thursday night. The line went clear down past many other stores and wrapped around to the other side. We actually got there just before it reached the end of the buildings. We were feeling a bit worried that we wouldn't get what we came for but as the employees came down the line passing out the voucher folders, they still had some for the computers. Yeah! We didn't leave Best Buy 'till 1:30 a.m. The siding was completed late Friday night!
They took all of Saturday to put the trim around the roof (the soffit and fascia). It looks fantastic! The outside is all done except for the paint. We want to put a green trim around the windows to match the garage and the siding to be more white. We have some good workers for whom I am very pleased with.
I am very thankful today for everything happening right now. If it wasn't for my many, wonderful, and loyal clients, this wouldn't be happening. I feel very blessed to have them! Heavenly Father had definitely blessed me! This will be the 3rd place that they'll have followed me to and I am very lucky to now be able to have a place of my own, a place that's permanent!
I am also thankful for my 4 wonderful kids that keep me busy and smiling all the time, and for my wonderful husband who has also helped make this possible. Thank you!

My New Salon (Part 2)

2011-11-18T21:03:00.000-08:00

The Framing started Wednesday, Nov. 15th. It took only 3 days to get the whole outside framed. WOW! I'm really impressed! The kids didn't want to go to school that morning! They just wanted to watch the construction. I told them I'd be taking pictures throughout the day to show the progress! First of all, they had the siding cut out and all the wood delivered Tuesday in preparation for the actual building Wednesday. The builders came about 8am every morning and stayed until dark.
First of all, they made the wall and bolted it in.
By the time the kids got out of school, they had the opposite side about finished.
Thursday morning! It's all coming up!
Shannon was loving it! She got all silly and wanted to take fun pictures. Silly faces and all!
Then, our builder, James, told her it was like a jail. She thought that was cool!
When the kids got out of school, they were this far along. By that evening, they had the rest of the ply wood put up and all the windows cut out (except for the restroom window). I happened to be at work during the rest of that night.
Friday morning was the roof! This is the West side where the door will be.
By the time the kids were out of school Friday, it looked like this.
Here it is! The framing is all done. It all looks fantastic! I get more excited every day that I see more progress! It's coming fast!
Also, my dryer and chair just got delivered tonight. Yeah!

My New Salon (Part 1)

2011-11-12T15:12:00.000-08:00

It's becoming real now! My salon is finally getting built. We'd been thinking of doing this for nearly 10 years and now we get to actually do it. We had drawn up different plans of how we would like to have it but ended up just attaching it directly in back of the house giving it it's own entrance, walkway, and restroom. It will be completely separated from the house. Last June, after we came back from Disneyland, our big rose had it's very last bloom. Knowing this, I took some of it's last pictures in it's most beautiful time of year. I will definitely miss it even though it bloomed only once a year and then lost it's beauty after 3 weeks.
Here is the "before" picture.
The morning of Nov 2nd, the excavator came to rip out our beautiful rose and dig the foundation. Because of the rain the day before, the excavator left deep trenches in our grass. Our rose gets hauled away!
The next day, the plumber connected the drain pipes, which left mountains of dirt next to our side door.
Then they prepped it with insulation and re bar. We waited till Tuesday for the inspector to sign off on it before they could poor the cement.
Early Friday morning, which was 11-11-11, the concrete pumper arrived. The kids were all out of school since it was Veterans day. The boom was big enough to go over the house to poor the cement. It was very impressive!
The whole pumper truck was controlled by this remote. Rachael got to hold it!
Half way through the pour, they ran out of cement and had to wait for more. Rachael watched from the window.
Then for the final touch..., the kids hand prints. Kirsten had gone to a friends house, so Rachael filled in her hand for Kirsten's. When Kirsten heard about that, she became very angry!
Next week: The framing!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T12:35:00.001-07:00

Halloween time again! Finally! Last week we had a cold spell that reached the low-mid 40's. Then for Halloween, it warmed right up, low 60's! I was very happy about that. Anyway, after school yesterday, the kids were so excited that they immediately changed into their costumes. We did a little homework and then took some outdoor pictures. Shannon got to change from a butterfly to a witch. I told her that witches got more candy. I so much loved the costume when Kirsten wore it years ago that I wanted to see it again on Shannon.
I bought this skeleton, around the end of September, that makes ghostly sounds with light up eyes. Anyway, Shannon HATES it! I've been keeping it in the storage room all this time because she won't let me hang it outside. We have an electronic lock on the storage room door, so every time I go in there, so always runs up to me and asks me what I want in there. I even use the skeleton to get her to do things. It's so funny! One day when she didn't feel like doing her homework, I told her "OK, I'll go get Skelly! That's what I've been calling it! She immediately shouts out "NO! I'll do my homework". I love it! When Halloween finally arrived, Rachael wanted to hang it up, there was no persuading her. She chased Rachael all around the yard to get it back. There was no way she was going to let anyone hang it up!
It was finally time to trick or treat! I was originally supposed to go to my sister, Cristy's, except she wasn't feeling very well, so we just stayed here and went around our neighborhood. I left Carter home to pass out the candy which probably wasn't the best idea since he ate almost half of it, but it was our only option. They got so much candy!
We went to both of Kirsten's primary teacher's houses.
Then we drove to see Brian's sister, Katrina, and mom. We took pictures, and when Antonio arrived, he showed them his R2D2 robot. He moves and does things when you speak to it. They thought that was neat!
After we left, we had one last stop to make. Kirsten's other primary teacher always invites everyone over for donuts and apple cider. We were one of the last to get there. After everyone else left, she gave the kids the rest of the candy and donuts she had.
I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

School Parties

2011-10-31T21:45:00.000-07:00

The kids had their school Halloween parties last Friday. As usual, I went around the school to take photos for this year's yearbook. I started about 10:00, before Shannon had class, so that I could include some of the morning activities. The kids had to follow a certain theme for each grade. Rachael could be any character from a book, so she was "Little Red Riding Hood". Kirsten could be any animal, so we chose a leopard. Shannon had to follow a harvest them, like a scarecrow or anything on a farm. I went to a neighbors house and found some butterfly wings. She is so picky with costumes and that just happened to make her happy. All I had to do was buy her antennas. Hey, there's butterflies on farms! The first class I went to was Kirsten's.
About an hour later, I went home and took some photos of Shannon with the pumpkins. So adorable!
Later, I went to Shannon's class, and then to Rachael's.
Rachael made a mask with feathers and glitter and also some delicious cupcakes. YUM!
Kirsten's class made spiders made of cookies with licorice as legs and m&m's for eyes.
Later that day, we all drove up to where Brian had been working all week with his company. They even arranged a hotel for him to stay in. We drove up to stay with him that night and to let Rachael and Kirsten participate in a his company's convention. They had many kids walk out on stage to honor the presidents of the company.

Also, Brian's sister, Katrina lost her new twin girls last Wednesday. So Saturday, we all went to the funeral held at his grandma's church. It was such a sad thing to see those babies leave us all like that. Someday though, we will all be able to meet them and Katrina and Antonio will be able to raise them.

Sunday, the kids and I drove back up to his grandma's house to have dinner with his family. It was the last day Brian had to work up there. Since Brian's brother Eric and his family flew from back East for the funeral, we all got together again to have a Thanksgiving type dinner, except with Swiss steak. It was delicious. Eric and Alicia dressed Christian as a little bear for Halloween. He was so cute! It was so nice to see them again! He's been smiling more since the last time they came, which was when they blessed him in August.

Suckers and Pumpkins

2011-10-27T22:05:00.000-07:00

Today, Brian's mom came over to make chocolate ghost suckers with the kids. They had a really nice time and they were really easy to make. First, we drew pictures of ghosts and mummies on a sheet of white paper.
Second, we put our drawings on the cookie sheet, laid wax paper over top, then scooped the chocolate on the wax paper following the shape of the drawing. Then the girls put chocolate chips on for eyes and placed a stick. They were REALLY cute!
Before we started, she gave each of us Halloween cards with money inside to go see the movie "Puss in Boots". The girls also got some Halloween beads to make necklaces. Here they are with them on. Shannon made hers for her new puppy she got in the mail a couple weeks ago.
After they were all completed and hardened, we put them on this white Styrofoam block to display them. Aren't they CUTE!
Then the kids all got to enjoy them. Just as they were finishing the last batch, I had to run to work for a couple haircuts. One of them was Shawn. After I finished, I invited him to come over and carve pumpkins with us.
The card I got from Brian's mom had 2 pumpkins on the front. I decided, or we all decided to use those faces for our pumpkins. I did the frowning one and Shawn did the happy faced one.
I was the first one to finish.
Kirsten carved the small one.... and here's Shawn in the progress.
We listened to music and had a great time. All done! They turned out FANTASTIC!
Then we lit up some candles and turned off the lights. I love this effect!!!
Just before Shawn left, I used my camera's self timer to get all of us with the pumpkins. It took 3 tries before we got a good one thanks to Shawn.

Picture Perfect!

2011-10-22T17:36:00.000-07:00

Last night, the girls and I went to a wedding of one of the girls I work with at the salon. It was a beautiful night. While we were there, the girls saw that there was a photographer taking pictures to print. There were lots of different props to use and the girls loved every minute of it. Here are some of the ones we printed. It was fun!

A Big Day!

2011-10-16T18:42:00.000-07:00

Today was a big day! First of all, Brian's sister, Katrina, just went into labor last night and was checked in to the hospital this morning. She was only 22 weeks and 6 days along with her 2 twin girls. She ended up giving birth to both of them at about 2:30pm today. It was such a surprise to all of us, since they weren't due for another 3 months. They weighed 1 lb 2 oz, and since an hour ago, the doctors have said that they have a 70% chance. We will definitely keep them in our prayers.
Second of all, Brian and I took the kids up to a local canyon to take some more family pictures. I wanted some nice ones to use for my upcoming Christmas cards this year. My camera has a 10 second timer, so after I set it, I ran to my position .I think we did alright. The first one is my favorite. What do you think?

A Pre-Halloween cookie party!

2011-10-15T21:00:00.000-07:00

Today, my sister Cristy and her family came over to have lunch and make Halloween cookies with the kids. It was fun to just create some fun memories for them.
Little Kaymbria can now walk. She's enjoying the fact that she can now open cabinet doors.

Family Pictures

2011-10-15T20:39:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, our family and my sister's family all got together to take some family pictures Sunday night. I'm hoping to do them again, except more dressy with more of the fall colors.

The Hogle Zoo

2011-10-06T22:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Kirsten had a field trip with the 3rd grade. Since they didn't have buses, parents drove kids in their own cars. I had 4 of them, including Kirsten. We left around 9am and stayed until lunch was over, about 12:45. It was a really cold day. The first real cold day since summer ended. We had to bring jackets and umbrella's in case it rained. It turned out nice. We were very lucky because as soon as we started heading out, it started to rain. Here's some of what I got from the day. I love the elephants! This was the baby. He was playing just like a little kid. He had a ball that he loved pushing around.
The adult elephants just ate. They had hay up above for them to get to with their trunks.
Here are all four girls that I had with me. They all stayed together quite well.
This orangutan just sat on this log. It took a long time for him to finally look over at me to get a nice picture. We wistled, made monkey sounds and everything else we could think of. Nothing worked.
Then we saw the giraffe's. They are probably my favorite animals next to the elephants. I took a lot of pictures of them.
What a nice portrait!!!
Also Kirsten has a book report due in a couple weeks. One of the things she has to do is decorate a pumpkin to look like her book character. The book she decided to read was about a cat's bath. Today after school, we decorated her pumpkin. She couldn't wait to start on it. I love how she is so prompt about getting her work done.

School Pictures 2011

2011-10-03T23:39:00.001-07:00

The kids all brought their school pictures home yesterday. I was very happy with Shannon's. Kirsten's was ok, her hair seems a little funny on one side, and Rachael and Carter's both have the reflector reflection on the glasses which I don't like... otherwise they are turned out great. I think I'm going to get theirs redone. If I'm going to pay $90.00, I want to be 100% satisfied. (Updated! - Jan 2012) Here are there new ones!

Carter's 14th Birthday

2011-09-15T13:38:00.000-07:00

Carter just turned 14 a couple days ago. First of all, I need to mention how much he LOVES his cd's. They are the world to him. Music is everything to him, so much that he drives teachers, scout leaders, church leaders, and family members crazy by bringing them with him and trying to find ways to play them. Well, while he was at school that day, we confiscated every one of his favorite discs. As soon as he got home, he started asking us if we had seen them. After a few moments we told them that we had a surprise for him. I brought out a box for him to open. When he saw that it was an MP3 player, he yelled and had a fit because he figured out our plan. He actually threw it on the ground and stormed off. He told us that this was his worst birthday! I picked it up and told him I wanted a nice picture of him with it and that he HAD to smile for it! Much better! During the day, I also made him one of his favorite desserts, brownies. He's not a cake person at all. Weird!!! Anyway, Brian helped me and crunched up some Oreo's to sprinkle on top. He LOVED it. We served it with his favorite "Cookies and Cream" icecream. Finally, his birthday was getting better. But still not the same without those cd's. He ended up calling his Aunt Cristy and my parents about the cd's. We knew this little transition would be hard on him.
That night I spent at least 3 hrs converting his songs to MP3 to load on. I told him that I didn't want to hear him say the "c" word for a while. Yesterday, he did awesome! He never mentioned the cd's at all. In fact when we took him to his dental appointment yesterday, he made sure he had his MP3 with him. It's all working out great! YEAH!
A few day ago, Shannon got a new coloring book. That night she colored in it while Pounce was laying on the floor. He kept watching her color. It was so cute! I just had to throw this in.

Fun at Lagoon!

2011-09-10T20:51:00.001-07:00

Last night, Brian's company had their summer party at Lagoon again. We were also able to round up enough tickets to invite Cristy and her family to come as well. We had a great time! The only disappointment was that Pioneer Village was closed for the night. I wanted so bad to take a old west photo to carry on the tradition of Lagoon. Hopefully next year! We also had a great dinner. They served hamburgers and hot dogs with potato salad, chips and beans. The first ride we went on was "Wicked". The kids really love that one, except Shannon wasn't quite tall enough to ride. One more year and she'll be able to ride everything.
After riding Colossus, we made it over to the cars...
...and then the swings...
The new ride this year was the "Bambora". It was a simple roller coaster that Shannon was able to ride. In fact, she rode it twice, and loved it!
I love how fast my camera is! This one turned out fantastic!
We did the child swap with Kaymbria, so I took this one while waiting. She's starting to warm up to me now. I love it! She's such a cutie!!!
During their ride, Brian got stung by a bee! Weird! He's checking it out in this picture.
Then it was my turn, and Carter got to ride with me in the front seat. (He loves the front!)
I'm not to fond of this picture but had to put it in anyway! One of my old time favorites is the Carousel. I took plenty on it, and even shot some video.
The bumper cars! I never did ride this one. Shannon again was not quite tall enough.
There were a bunch more that we rode. The lines were very short and the weather was perfect! We had a nice time and made some great memories together.

Fair time!

2011-09-05T22:30:00.001-07:00

Late last Friday, the kids and I got to go up and visit my parents for a few days. We all went to the state fair Saturday. The kids had lots of fun playing with their cousins. While we were at the fair, we stopped at lots of commercial booths, ate great food, and went to the petting zoo.
This was the only ostrich around and Cristy finally got a picture of it with me. It was hard to get the ostrich to even hold still long enough.
They even had some cute puppies for sale!
After going to the petting zoo, we saw this big bird hanging around. I tried to get all the kids together for a group shot with it, which didn't quite happen.
...then we all walked over to get some ice cream and found my other sister Denise. Her two girls, Katie and Chelsey were with her. Even though Carter and Katie are only 1 day apart, they really get along quite nice. They were so excited to see each other.
We sort of got lunch and desert out of order. We then decided to go get some fish. In the meantime, Katie got this cute bear hat. After seeing it, I decided to buy one just like it for all the kids to share.
Now they both have one. How cute is that!
This was taken the next day. My nephew, Randy, just got a new pet duck. The kids loved holding him.
Emma They also LOVED the trampoline!!! We used to have one but haven't put it up in a few years. I think they miss having it.
A couple weeks ago, Tico broke his leg by falling out of, (my nephew), Randy's arms. He has to keep a cast on for 6 weeks. Rachael and I signed his cast. He still gets around very well and runs very fast! It's so funny to watch him.
Sunday night, just before bedtime, we let all the kids watch a movie together.

We had a SMURF'IN great time!

2011-08-20T21:08:00.000-07:00

Since about the first part of July, my girls have been wanting to see the new "Smurf" movie in theaters. Then recently the kids saw that they were selling the little Smurf toys at McDonald's and started collecting them. For about 2 weeks, we hit almost every McDonald's in our area until we had them all. There were so many of them, they barely fit across their whole dresser.
One day, while I was shopping at a nearby store with the girls, Rachael and Kirsten happened to see the first seasons of the Smurfs on DVD. I thought it would be a good idea for them to familiarize themselves with the Smurfs before taking them to see the actual movie, so I bought it. While I was checking out, the lady at the register handing me 6 free movie passes to see the Smurf movie in theaters. That right there payed for the DVD that I just bought. We were so excited! How lucky we were!
So tonight was our lucky night to see it. The girls just laughed through out the whole movie. It was Smurftacular! Hahaha!

Caught 3 times!

2011-08-18T21:50:00.000-07:00

Last night at about 12:30, I woke up to the noise of the cat chasing something. I got out of bed, turned on the lights and found this poor, little, helpless bird, scared out of his wits. Poor thing! I picked it up and without the cat watching me, I put him outside by our big tree in the front yard where some tall grass and weeds (I hate to say) were. Then about 6:30 a.m., I woke up to the same noise! I got up, picked up the poor bird again (I'm assuming it's the same one), and used the bird to get the kids out of bed. They all wanted to hold him! I had to get the pictures!
Finally, it was time to get ready for their 2nd day of school. We couldn't be late, so I let the bird fly into the tree this time. After getting the kids off to school, I went back to bed for about an hour. Again, at about 9:30, I heard some chirping and the cat running around. I couldn't believe it! He did it again! I again got up to rescue to poor bird and this time, NOT THE TREE! I let him fly over the fence in our neighbor's back yard. It's looking good this time!

First Day of School...

2011-08-18T20:52:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was the 1st day of school for all my kids. They were pretty excited about starting another fun year. This will be the only year that all four of my kids will go to the same school. Lucky me... I'm feeling a bit spoiled here. Were hoping to make this a year to remember! Carter is starting 8th, Rachael - 5th, Kirsten - 3rd, and Shannon - Kindergarten. All of the kids meet outside every morning with their teachers, then they all walk in together.
Carter's home room teacher is the one on the left (in black).
Shannon has the afternoon kindergarten. For her first day, they made hand prints with a heart on the palm. It's called "The Kissing Hand". There's a poem that went along with it: "Here's a special trick I know, When I'm sad and scared to go. Take my hand and kiss it here, The kiss from you, I will hold dear. Down my hand and up my arm, Into my heart, the kiss goes on." I will definitely hold onto this, I love it!
It looks like the time I drop off Shannon is also Rachael's lunch time.
~After school~

Family Pictures

2011-08-12T21:30:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, we all had the opportunity to get family pictures taken on Brian's side of the family. His entire family was there to see his brother, Eric, bless his new son Christian on Sunday. Here are a few pictures taken from the two days.
Christian is their newest cousin.

Family Reunion Camping Trip

2011-07-31T19:02:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, on Thursday, our family all got together to go camping for a few days. The only thing I wished was to have all of us there together. Some of them couldn't make it. We had a lot of fun just being together. The weather was nice. It was hot in the day and cool at night. There were no trees to shade us, so we had to use easy-ups to provide the shade. There were also 6 dogs altogether, which made things more interesting. If one dog barked, the others had to bark, even if they didn't know what the other dog was barking about. This picture is Shannon walking my Aunt Kathy's little dog.
Here is my niece, Courtnee, and my mom... That night we had Sloppy Joe's for dinner, chips with 7 layer bean dip and vegetables with dip.
This was our first night out. It got a little chillier than I thought it would. This is my little nephew Riley with his dog Jezzie. Tico! I love this dog! She is only 6 pounds!
The first morning we woke up, it got really foggy out by the lake.
Here are my two nieces, who are cousins. Kaymbria really loves to pull hair. I actually caught her in the act!!!
Friday morning breakfast, we had scrambled eggs with sausage and pancakes.
Brian cooked the pancakes which were the BEST ever! They were very fluffy!
I picked a wild flower and put it in my dad's hair. I got the biggest kick out of it. He wore it like 4 or 5 hrs till I took it out. Also, for lunch we had hot dogs, and dinner we all had homemade beef stew cooked in 3 dutch ovens and served with rolls. It was delicious! We also all got together and had a talent show, which was put on by my Aunt Kathy. Oh, and we all won!
Saturday morning breakfast. Brian made breakfast pizza in his dutch oven. Since the kids weren't into it, they had scrambled eggs, bacon and hash browns.
Later in the day, Landon took his canoe out to the lake. Brian, Rachael and Landon started floating out in it until the dogs came swimming out and tipped the thing over. Talk about getting soaked in smelly fish water.
The dogs sure loved it, although it was my fault for letting them off their leashes.
Shadow Try number 2...
...then it was Kirsten's turn. My nephew Randy and her went together.
Then Rachael and my cousin's daughter, Kiera, went.
Then is was my turn. By the way, the life jacket makes me look bigger than I actually am.
Then Carter got to ride with the girls.
Later that day, my brother Shawn came for the last night! Then half of us left to go to this beach-like lake. Rachael and Shannon were the only 2 kids of mine that made it. I didn't bring any swimsuits so they got all wet in their clothes. It was a very nice lake. I wouldn't mind going their again someday.
The kids loved the sand! It really was like being on the beach. My nice camera's battery died, so I took the rest with my cell phone.
I told them to get under this rock and lift it up for this picture. They were so strong, I couldn't believe it! Ha, ha, ha!
After a couple hours, we all headed back to have chicken stew cooked in the dutch oven along with corn on the cob and rolls. After dinner, we played a candy bar game put on by my mom. We left as soon as the game was over. The rest stayed until Sunday. Thanks for all who showed up. We had such a great time!

Angry Birds

2011-07-19T14:59:00.000-07:00

Last week I was at a movie store and ran across some Angry Birds. My kids and I absolutely love Angry Birds! It's such an addicting game!!! Kirsten and I are the ones that play it the most and then Shannon. Carter is barely starting to get into it too. I bought myself a key chain of the red bird. When I brought it home and showed the girls, they got really jealous and wanted one too. I told them they'd have to do some work around the house to get one. Anyway, so last night, after the kids helped clean, we drove down to the store. After seeing the different sizes they had, they convinced me into getting them the bigger sizes. Well,.... they did go on sale since I was there and I also had a coupon, so I said "ok". They changed their minds like 10 times on which one they wanted. They absolutely LOVE their Angry Birds!

Independence Day

2011-07-06T15:30:00.000-07:00

For the 3rd year in a row, we continued our family tradition to have some of us camp out on the side of the road to hold a good spot for the parade. Since the last two years have been Brian and Carter, and then this year Brian had to work, it was up to me and the girls to keep our spot. Carter stayed home this time. I didn't think it sounded that fun at first, but set aside the port-a-potty's, the heat, people partying, we made some fun memories that I wouldn't trade for the world. First, that cute little ice-cream truck that drives around with that annoying music just drove past us and Rachael couldn't resist it. She ran over to it and bought this blue Popsicle. The good big sister that she is, she shared it with Shannon.
We were a little bored at times but my camera gave me something to do... along with my smart phone. Thank goodness for angry birds. I downloaded another version that had been out awhile. The girls and I, mainly Kirsten played it till my phone was nearly dead. I told Brian to grab my charger and charge it at work and then bring it back in the middle of the night. Here are the fun pictures I took in front of our tent!
This is Rachael acting like Shannon, who is always doing funny poses. She did this particular one at Disneyland!
Brian brought us over some Oreos before going to bed. Shannon discovered that Oreos could also make good succors. Very interesting!... Very Clever!
The girls couldn't wait till night fell so that they could light some sparklers. Since there wasn't alot of room to light them, I only limited them to one each.
Anyway, Brian came by around 5am to bring us donuts and my fully charged smart phone only to run it down again. Our 4th of July has always included donuts! Not always the healthiest choice though. Then at about 8:30, Brian and Carter showed up to join us.
Kirsten got a Chic-fil-A cow.
Then we found out that Shannon could hold a ball under her chin. How cute...and silly!
Scooby-Doo!
Then we saw some Star Wars characters marching with flags!
The kids even gave them high fives as they walked past.
Fred Flintstone. The kids didn't even know who he was. I guess we need to show them some of the cartoons.
After the parade, we all went home so I could get a shower and a nap. I didn't get very good sleep that night. Shannon ended up getting about 20 mosquito bites! Later we were invited by Carter's Scout Master, to attend the Colonial Festival. He made sour dough bread from scratch and backed it in a brick, wood-fired oven. It was very yummy.
In the meantime, the kids just played!
Finally, the girls and I went to all the festivities while Brian slept for work. They had a picture prop of some Star Wars characters! Wow, our luck with Star Wars!

Saturday, July 2nd

2011-07-06T14:35:00.001-07:00

The beginning of last week, the kids kept bugging us to take them swimming. When we told them it was unlikely cause I had to work, they slept in their swimsuits in hopes that they could go the next day. If I remember right, the next day started to rain, so again, it was put off another day. Friday rolls along and I had to go into work and thought the pool closed at 8 or so. About 4:30, we all drove down to the pool to find out that it closed at 6pm. CRAZY! I'm not going to pay $24 to swim only an hour and a half, so we drove to another nearby pool to find out their time was the same. It's like a 100 degrees outside and the kids had been waiting to swim all week long. We told them that we'd have to wait another day so that we could swim longer. Saturday, we got to the pool about 2:00 and was able to swim a good 3 hours. We had a lot of fun!
We all had fun piling on top of each other. Later that night, we drove down to a famous spot of ours to watch the fireworks. They were SPECTACULAR!
I got some pretty good pictures of some of them!

Girls just want to have FUN! / A bird!

2011-07-01T11:41:00.000-07:00

Just last week, the girls wanted to go to the store to spend whatever vacation money they had left, to buy a toy. After a couple of hours deciding and 2 stores later, they finally made their decision. Kirsten got this princess kit that came with 4 tiaras, light up microphones, fashion sashes, princess wands, rings, earrings, bracelets and lip gloss wands... and Rachael wanted the Ken Barbie doll. They are very much girls...no tom boys here!
Shannon got these miniature dolls of Rapunzel and Flynn.
They played with them ALL DAY LONG!
Then about 4:00 this morning I woke up to a weird noise. I got up to discover our cat POUNCE chasing a quail! Lately I've been sleeping with my window open just slightly because of the heat and we have no screen since Pounce destroyed it! I don't know how he does it and there were feathers everywhere. Poor bird. I picked him up and put him in a box till the kids woke up. They would have liked to have seen it. Then I put in in the storage room. Little did I know that he would find his way out of the box. We couldn't catch him. He kept flying around in there and then hid in a small space under our bathtub. A couple hours later, I went and got Pounce and put him near the small space to scare the bird out of there! It worked! The bird went flying out, through the kitchen and I eventually caught him. Here are the pictures I took before Rachael let him go outside.

Father's Day!

2011-06-19T18:48:00.000-07:00

Today is Father's Day. At church, Shannon made this paper tie to give to her daddy. The girls made paper shirts as well as these wooden blocks with the temple on them. They made them last Thursday on "Achievement night".
I also want to recognize my own dad today on Father's Day. I just want to say that I love him very much and I'm glad he's my dad! I also want to recognize Brian's dad as well. Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful fathers!

The girls ballet costumes!

2011-06-19T17:40:00.000-07:00

The girls just had their ballet performance yesterday on "Sleeping Beauty". These first ones were taken on Tuesday, the day of their dress rehearsal. This was taken while Shannon was waiting to get her class picture taken. She was a "Blue Songbird"! Kirsten was a "Village Maid",....
and Rachael was a "Court Musician".
These were all taken with my smart phone.
These were taken yesterday just before the performance.
I had to take one of Rachael's hair. It tooked so good!
.... and then after the performance!
I couldn't get over on how beautiful my girls looked! I love them so much! Afterwards, we went out for blizzards!

Disneyland - Day 4

2011-06-17T19:12:00.000-07:00

The first thing Friday morning was "Big Thunder Mountain". This ride was closed and just reopened that morning. The line was huge! After riding it, Brian got a fast pass to ride again.
The ride operator snapped this picture for us! This was taken the first round!
Then we decided to go check and see if Jessie was around. We waited about 15 min before they both came out again. Jessie was cute, she danced around with the girls as soon as she greeted them.
This has got to be my favorite picture of all! I love "Toy Story"! We then got on the Mark Twain ship and rode around the island.
We thought the ship stopped at the island but it didn't. We had to take a big raft to get over to the island. We were told that Jack Sparrow sometimes goes there to greet people, so we checked it out. Then we learned that he used to go over there a lot 5 years ago, but rarely does now. They had lots of caves that the kids had fun exploring.
This is what we believe to be the spot were Jack Sparrow comes to greet people. It was a fun prop, so I decided to take my own pictures.
After getting off the island, we headed over to Splash Mountain to use our fast passes that we had but got distracted by... can you guess?..... Wrong! It was Winnie the Pooh, but as we got near the front of the line, Pooh had to go take a break, so Tigger and Eeyore took his place.
Then we went to Splash Mountain. The first time we went down, I had this terrified look on my face since I had my new expensive camera with me on it. It was in it's bag, but I was still a little weary about taking it. The 2ND time, Brian found a plastic bag for me to put it in and again I put it back in my camera bag, so I was a little more comfortable about taking it down with me. I tried hard to smile this time. This is what we got! I actually liked it and wanted to buy the picture. I thought I had to buy it up on Main Street because I didn't see any place around S.M. to buy it so this is all I got. I took a picture of the picture with my cell phone.
We got on the train and waited like 5 min for it to go, suddenly the girls looked out the window and noticed Snow White and Sleeping Beauty down near the front gate. Notice that the train still hadn't left!
Instead of getting back on the train, we decided to go back to California Adventure. We got to see the Aladdin show, a Tron preview in 3D, The Tower of Terror Hotel, and then the Monsters Inc. ride. Here's the picture we got from the Tower of Terror! The Monsters Inc. ride had Boo's door next to the entrance. So, so cute!
We found Br'er Fox as we returned back to Disneyland. Since this was our last night at Disneyland, I wanted to video tape the fireworks. Shannon was getting really tired and actually fell asleep during the whole thing. At least I recorded it so she could watch it later. I didn't get any snapshots of it since I took only video footage. Tinkerbell and Dumbo flew around the castle during the show.
Oh Cristy, I guess I did get a snapshot of the castle lit up. Sorry, I just forgot! It's beautiful!

Disneyland - Day 3

2011-06-16T17:50:00.000-07:00

Thursday we came back well rested and ready to go except that we did end up sleeping in a little later than the other days which meant we missed the hotel breakfast that morning. We hurried to the bus and ended up eating the chocolate donuts that were meant to be saved as part of our lunch. They opened an hour later and closed early because of grad night. As soon as we got to Disneyland, we noticed Dale. I didn't know this but Dale has the red nose & Chip has the black nose. They did this so that people could tell them apart. We have one with Chip later. We didn't stay in Disneyland for very long. We only went to drop our lunch bag off at our locker and went to California Adventure to catch "The Little Mermaid" ride. It wasn't as long of a line in the morning as Tuesday was in the middle of the day.
Brian went straight over to get fast passes for the "World of Color" and "California Screamin", so he never made it back in time to see "The Little Mermaid". A lady standing in back of us volunteered to take this picture for us.
Here's "California Screamin"! Shannon was so upset that she couldn't ride this one. Brian and the kids went first and then I went with Rachael.
After that...we saw Mickey again!!! Yes!...and in his captain suit this time.
Kirsten took this one, and yes I got brave to have her handle my nice camera.Then we headed down to see the Tower of Terror!
Then a bug's life ride...
...and Donald. I was told he only comes Tuesday's & Thursday's, so I was lucky to find him! ...and the White Rabbit and the Red Queen!Kirsten asked her if she liked her roses painted red and she nodded NO! She was MAD!
...then Minnie....finally! We had been looking for her EVERYWHERE!
Here's Chip. Notice that his nose is black!
Then we went to "Fairy Hollow" where we saw Tinkerbell and 2 of her fairy friends, Rosetta and Vidia.
This one is Rosetta...
...and these are Vidia and Tinkerbell.
While I was waiting in line to see Tinkerbell, Brian stood in the hour long line to see Rapunzel. By the time I was done with Tinkerbell, Brian was near the front with only 10 minutes more to go.
We then headed over to "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" & "Peter pan".
Everone's got to try lifting the "Sword out of the Stone"! No luck this time!
As we started heading out of Fantasyland, we spotted Cinderella and her Fairy Godmother walking down the street, so we followed her. When she got to where she was headed, everyone started forming a line. We only had a couple people ahead of us. Lucky us!
We then headed to Frontierland to see if we could spot Woody and Jessie.
Some workers told us that he was on a 30 min. break so we just hung out by the goats 'till he came.
...and here he is! Woody!
We then went on the Monorail. We asked if we could get the very back compartment whitch was a very nice view of everything with airconditioning.
It's track went over the Golden Gate Bridge.
We were walking past the "Finding Nemo" ride again and with my photography skills, I decided to take this picture of the seagulls. Every so often they would call out "mine, mine, mine". They were so cute!
We ended up riding "Pirates of the Caribbean" once more.
Rafiki, from the Lion King!
This was taken while waiting for the "World of Color". We had about an hour to sit so we found a good spot on the stairs by the lake.
I ended up holding Shannon the whole time so that she could see the show. By the time it was over, she was READY for bed!

A day at the Beach...

2011-06-15T18:33:00.000-07:00

Wednesday we went to Huntington Beach since it's pretty close to Disneyland. Going in the middle of the week was perfect because it wasn't crowed like last year when we were there on a Sunday. The weather was perfect, maybe a little wind, but it actually felt pretty good. The girls ran off before we could get sunscreen applied to them. We did manage to get it on Shannon though, so Rachael and Kirsten got sunburned! So anyway, I've got this blog and Rachael's birthday out of sequence. This happened before we celebrated.
I took this one myself so I could make it in the photos, since I take all the pictures!
Kirsten found a cute shell!
I love all these shots! I LOVE MY CAMERA!
After about 30 minutes or so, a bunch of seagulls discovered that we had Cheetos in our bag, unopened. I don't know how they knew they were even in there. The bag was sealed and in this insulated Velcro bag. They managed to rip the whole Cheetos bag open when I got up there. The girls scared them all away! Smart birds. We ended up just eating the Cheetos since they were now open.
When I sat down by our bag and towels, the birds just waited for us to leave again! Here are Rachael and Shannon scaring them off!
Carter, Rachael and Kirsten each wrote their names in the sand. They turned out cute!
...then the kids got crazy and started burying Rachael in the sand. She got so covered. Sand was all over her and and in her hair. Luckily they had an outdoor shower before she got back in the van.
Pretty sandy, I must say! Then Shannon wanted a turn! She didn't get it in her hair as much as Rachael.
I was admiring Brian's new hairdo! We had a great time at the beach!

Rachael's 10th Birthday

2011-06-14T19:31:00.000-07:00

After going to the beach that day, we picked up Grandma and went back to the hotel so that the kids could shower. Then we picked up some great chicken from El Pollo Loco and had a picnic on the front lawn of Grandma's house.
After dinner, we celebrated Rachael's birthday with cake and icecream.
The wind was so strong that it took 5 or 6 tries before the candles would stay lit. Rachael was so silly that day...but it was cute!
...but when Rachael gets going, so does Kirsten!
...and now for the presents!
We got her another Twilight doll. This time...Victoria! She absolutely loves her! ...and some more build-a-bear clothes and roller skates for her bear, Summer!
Grandma gave each of the kids a present for all their birthdays this year as well. Kirsten got a red bracelet, Shannon got a beaded necklace, Carter got a blue "Thor" t-shirt, and Rachael got a headband with diamonds on it! Thanks Grandma!
I love you, Grandma!

Disneyland - Day 2

2011-06-14T00:26:00.000-07:00

The first thing we did Tuesday morning was head over to Matterhorn. The line the day before was so long it wrapped around the whole mountain, so we thought that if we hit it first thing, we wouldn't have to wait as long.
Rachael's birthday was Wednesday, so I wanted to celebrate it on Tuesday as well. I went to the City Hall to get this birthday pin for her to wear all day. Workers from the park gave her lots of birthday wishes all day long. We found that the trick to seeing all the characters is to catch them at the front of the entrance. We saw Pluto, Cruella De Vil, Mary Poppins and Bert, and Goofy. This was our first time ever in California Adventure, so I was pretty excited. I love this replica of the Golden Gate Bridge. The first ride we went on was Soaring over California, which we LOVED. We got a fast pass and rode it again right after. That was another one of Shannon's favorites. She said "That was awesome!", again with the biggest smile on her face. The next thing we did was Toy Story Mania. It's a 3D ride that has you shoot at targets. It involves all of Toy Story. FUN!I finally found the Cars set! I really wanted pictures with these! We then left California Adventure and headed up to Fantasy Land. This stake is supposed to be marked the center of Disneyland. The girls went in and found these jewels in one of the gifts shops in Fantasy Land. Both Rachael & Kirsten each filled a bag up of them.The Snow White ride!
The Dumbo ride!
Waiting in line for the the Casey Jr. Train. The Tea Cups!
Every time I saw a character, I would run in line. This time it was Geppetto.
I didn't realize that Carter blinked until we left Geppetto.
Later in the day we went back to our hotel to rest our feet and let the kids cool off in the pool & then went back over at about 7:30 or so since we had fast passes to Star Tours 3D at 11:45 pm. While waiting, we rode Space Mountain again which was about a 45 min wait. The kids were exhausted by that time. Shannon was ready to drop. She kept sleeping in line on the ground. Poor kids. That was the only night we stayed that late though.

Disneyland - Day 1

2011-06-13T09:57:00.000-07:00

Here's our first day at Disneyland! I'm putting alot on here because my sister gave me the idea to print this blog into a hard bound book. The weather was perfect, and as always, I took hundreds of pictures to capture these memories!
Here we are headed down Main Street! I bought these pirate hats in Vegas!
First, Adventure land! The kids climbed up on the Tarzan tree. I got these pictures looking up at them We went on "Pirates of the Caribbean" first and practically walked onto that, then went on "Indiana Jones". We had fast passes for that one, and while Brian & the kids rode that, I took these cute pictures of Shannon. Splash Mountain! "Winnie the Pooh" was next! Waiting for the train! It's a Small World Brian & Carter split off to ride the Autopia cars while us girls saw the princesses. Here are the girls waiting patiently in line!
The girls got to see Ariel, Tiana, and Belle.Shannon was so excited to get her very first autograph! Then we got back on the train to meet up with Brian & Carter...
We girls wanted to ride the Autopia cars! We then headed to Tomorrow land where we saw Buzz Lightyear!
Then we rode on the Buzz Lightyear ride.
The girls waited in line for the rocket ride.
It's a little hard to see but all 4 kids are in both of these rockets.
We barely got this picture. As soon as I took it, a lady that worked in the park was clearing people out of the walk through zone to get ready for the parade.
Here's the Tiki Room! I took these before it started because they told us no flash photography during the show. On the way out we noticed Jasmine and Aladdin. We rushed in line to see them. Yay!
We then decided to go to the Jungle Cruise. The line was pretty small. Toon Town was next! Then we got to see Mickey....
...and the Roger Rabbit ride. That one was like a 45 minute wait. Ouch!
While we were waiting in line, I noticed these signs. The Dumbo one was my favorite!
Can the girls really lift these??? One of the last things we did that day was watch Caption EO. It was in 3D and I loved it! There were some songs on there that I want to download. It was nice just to take a rest off our feet. We also rode Space Mountain which Shannon absolutely LOVED! She said with the biggest smile on her face, "That was Awesome"!

Our 2011 Family Vacation

2011-06-12T19:56:00.000-07:00

For this year's family vacation, we decided it was time to go back to Disneyland. It's been nearly 5 years since we were there, & this would be Shannon's first time. We stayed our first night in Las Vegas. The kids decided they wanted to swim at the hotel before going to the Las Vegas strip.
Shannon spent most of her time in the hot pool while the other 3 just kept going back & forth to both pools.
After the swim, we all headed to the strip to see the pirate show at "Treasure Island". It was a great show and kids enjoyed watching the pirate ship sink...and best of all, it was FREE!
Afterwards, we all walked almost a mile to watch the Bellagio fountains.
Then we started heading back and the girls & I noticed this guy dressed like a statue. He really looked like a statue! He would hold still for a while and then move all of a sudden to grab attention. We thought he was so neat that I had to get a picture! In the meantime, we lost Carter. He kept walking while we stopped & eventually he realized he was alone and found us about 10 minutes later. He was smart & borrowed some one's cell phone to call us.
The next day, we drove to California. We checked into our hotel, and then again, the kids swam. That hotel was fun! It had a separate kids room with a bunk bed. Rachael and Kirsten slept on top most of the time while Carter took the bottom.
Later that day, we picked up my grandma & went out to Rubio's for dinner. Great food!