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Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-07T01:10:00.000-05:00

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Merry Christmas from us.

2010-12-08T16:00:00.002-05:00

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No promises

2010-05-30T21:20:00.008-04:00

This picture may actually bring me back to blogging. Something has to- I can't believe half a year has gone by undocumented. What a tragedy. Why can't I seem to find the time and/or energy to blog this year?
I don't know.

Last week though I took this picture. The big kids wanted me to go on a bike ride with them around the neighborhood, so we asked Greg if he could just sit outside with Jackson while we were gone. Greg is not a big fan of being outside, especially this time of year when it's "buggy". So I came outside to leave for the ride and found Greg watching Jackson play from the comfort of his car. Serious? He couldn't just grab a chair to sit on in the driveway? The scene was so ridiculous I had to laugh- and take a picture of it of course- because it is so Greg. :)

There. I did it. I wrote a small post. Baby steps. Maybe I can get back in the habit.
Heaven knows I have lots to write about.
No promises, but maybe.

Sorry this baby step was made at your expense Greg. Love you. :)

PS I even did a quick post on The Garrick Gallery tonight!
I've got a lot to catch up on there too!

NYE in the OP

2010-01-01T22:53:00.000-05:00

We got a very happy surprise after Christmas. The Avery's snuck into New York to play with us for a few days. Their kids didn't know where they were headed until they were on the road that morning. Our kids had no idea what fun was coming their way. Since they would get to town around dinner time we hatched a plan to meet at Wegmans (the local grocery store). They have a nice food court area and Holly has a passion for their sandwiches. So I told the kids I needed to get a few things there, so we might as well grab dinner there too. They were quite shocked when the Avery's showed up behind us in line. Reagan couldn't speak, she just stood there tapping my shoulder as if to ask me if what she was seeing was real.
We ate dinner there...
and settled in for a few days of fun.
Sledding and snow play were the number one priority.

Off to sled Chestnut Ridge.
My little "pretzel boy"
Hiking up the hill.
Jillie, Saroya, Reagan
Kobe and Saroya
Kobe
Just the girls.
The toboggan runs are open this year, but you need a wooden toboggan to use them
Jillie, 13 years old. :)
Holly and I
Everyone wanted to ride with Uncle Nathan!
We couldn't have had a better day for sledding!
Kobe and Saroya spent a lot of time together on Club Penguin when we were at home. They play this together almost every Sunday now too- by phone.
New Years Eve- Party Time!
Jillie, Ethan, and Reagan
Played some games.
and ate a lot of goodies.
(Sure wish I could figure out how to make that chocolate fountain work right again. It only ever worked nicely the first time.)

I got no complaints though. Chocolate is chocolate.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Ethan thought he should ring in the new decade by playing in the snow at midnight...
barefoot!
The other big kids followed his lead.
The Littles enjoying(???) some sparkling grape juice.

LOVE Jaleigh's reaction!
Holly and I had a little nostalgia fest.
We made cheese ball, just like mom's. Sadly, the Blue Roka that her recipe calls for is no longer made by Kraft, but we found one precious last jar of it in my food storage.
We had the kids make the same type of ornaments that we made for a family home evening when we were little... and we still have those ancient ones hanging on our Christmas trees each year. Now there is a new generation.
The most exciting nostalgic moment was making hard candy together-
again, just like mom used to do.
We even used our Grandma Nellie's pot and our Grandma Streeter's candy thermometer while making Mom's candy. How's that for carrying on family traditions?!
Pouring out the boiling hot candy into the trails made in powdered sugar. We figured out that it really doesn't have to be done that way, but that's how Mom did it so we will too.
We did bend the rules a little and made a Hidden Mickey in honor of our new family tradition of going to Disney Parks together. ;)

We had a GREAT time and are glad they made the trek through the snowy weather to be with us.

Credits:
A special thanks to Holly for taking all of these pictures (at least the ones that are really good are hers.) And thanks to Holly for putting together this post on her blog that I pretty much just copied here.

Christmas 2009

2009-12-27T17:42:00.000-05:00

The kids dragged us out of bed at 8am. I would've slept past noon, but that was not to be. They were so excited. :)

This year should be dubbed the clothing and electronics year.. with a few toys thrown in for Jackson.

Santa brought a popcorn popper machine for the whole family to share so of course we had to try it out later that day.
Greg got the Perfect Brownie pan so we had to try that too you know. :)
I was quite surprised by the gift Greg got me... He bought us dance lessons! (Look out. We should be dancing like the stars before you know it.) He also wants the two of us to take a trip to NYC for dinner and dancing after we have mastered the dancing part. :)

Christmas day was spent opening packaging, picking up packaging, (taking out loads of trash), putting gifts together, playing with gifts, Skype-ing and calling family members, watching the traditional Lakers game, eating, and resting.
Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve 2009

2009-12-25T01:05:00.000-05:00

Christmas Eve was a happy evening. Since traveling to see family at Christmas time is pretty difficult, we make our own family for the holiday. The Lewis family and the Chambers family joined us for dinner and festivities. Because of our Disney World trip on Thanksgiving Day, it seemed like a good idea to make sure we still had that Thanksgiving food before the year was out. Turkey, potatoes, veggies, rolls...

... and plenty of desserts. The Chambers had received many goody plates from the neighbors and they brought them all to share with us. In fact, I don't know that they left with any of it, leaving the left overs to us and the Lewis'.
I had to get a Witman's Sampler this year, because it reminds me of Christmas at home. I felt a little guilty getting to eat the little messenger boy chocolate, since my Uncle Randy always snuck that one out before anyone else could get it.This evening was mostly about the kids as Christmas is.
There was some playing together
and there were planned activities run by my girls. They made reindeer food,
played holiday bingo,
and pin the nose on the snowman. We also turned a baseball pinata into an ornament pinata,
and a few other games and activities while the parents visited.Of course all the fun was building up to the grand finale...
Presents!
All of the kids in their new Christmas Eve jammies
Kirk is a Buffalo Bills football player, and since the season is almost over, they are headed to their (real) home in Utah soon. They will be very missed and we sure hope they are back again next season!!
After the party wrapped up, our own Christmas Eve preparations got going. Kobe and Reagan left notes and treats for Santa.
(His pen grip drives me nuts! How does he write with his hand like that?)

Jackson is in love with this rug that the Lewis' got him. I joked with Angie that he would probably end up sleeping with it. He did pull it into bed with him tonight!
Once everyone was tucked in bed, my present wrapping procrastination problem surfaced... again. I wrapped all night in the basement and finally got to bed at 6am.
in about 2 hours the festivities started up again...

December fun

2009-12-20T13:38:00.000-05:00

December is always a busy, but fun filled month. This year, because of our Disney trip, we missed out on the church activities. I heard great things about the ward Christmas breakfast that Wendy planned and the Relief Society Christmas activity that Marilyn organized. There were plenty of other festivities to enjoy thanks to the kids' schools though.

I went caroling with Jackson and his preschool class. We walked to local businesses and caroled for the employees and the customers. He was so proud of himself and had so much fun!

The 3rd graders at Kobe's school sang a few international Christmas songs at the holiday concert. The kids were asked to dress in some sort of attire from a foreign land. Kobe chose Hawaii. He LOVES a chance to wear his surfing themed shirt under his Hawaiian shirt. He knows he looks good! They sounded really good too and he looked like he was having a great time.

The girls had multiple concerts... all excellent. Here's a sampling.

Reagan: (white shirt bottom row)

Jillie: (black shirt, pony tail)

The Sunday before Christmas means the first gifts of Christmas. New outfits for church. :)

This year we got Kobe his first suit. I think he likes it. He doesn't love it, but I think he likes it. Had to get a father son picture! (Kobe was actually not feeling well so I stayed home from church with him. I made him put the suit on for pictures when everyone got home though!)

Everyone in their new holiday attire

Reagan all in gold from the headband to the shoes.
Jillie in a cute Banana Republic outfit that I wished fit me. (She's kind of swimming in this size 2. Guess she's still a zero! What's up with that? I was never a size zero, or a 2 for that matter!)
Jackson is calling this corduroy sports coat his "Michael Jackson jacket". What ever gets him to wear it!Jackson wanted a "Boys are Back" pose for his brothers picture. He likes it when he and Kobe recreate the pose from the High School Musical 3 movie.

I think they are quite cute. :)

Another Christmas FHE

2009-12-15T22:47:00.000-05:00

In the 5 days after returning from Disney World we scrambled to get kids caught up in school, decorate 2 Christmas trees,

get the rest of the Christmas decorations up, and prepare for our annual Garrick Family Christmas FHE*/Party. (*Family Home Evening). This year we had the Lewis', the Christensen's, the Manzanares', the Chambers', and the Burnard's. This was a grand total of 12 adults and 21 kids!! As usual I was so much in running the show mode, I didn't take a lot of pictures, and the ones I took weren't great. I had a nice time though- and hope our friends did too despite my extreme lack of hostessing skills.

Dinner consisted of soups and chilis. (Molly's white chili was the biggest hit, but it was all so good!) We also had rolls, salad, veggie tray, and desserts. Everyone was SO nice to bring food to share.

Because of our numbers we had the kids eat at the big table in the basement. Reagan, Sydney and Mya opted for the teeny table in the basement.

After dinner we had Family Home Evening. Jackson (and Jillie) led our opening song.

I taught a lesson reviewing the Christmas story, the importance of Christ's birth, and watched the 5 minute church film, The Nativity.
Following the spiritual portion of our FHE, the white elephant gift exchange.

The anticipation of what surprise lies under the wrapping...

the bargaining and persuading and stealing and begging...

and the wonderful gift that Greg thought would be so funny.... that Kobe ended up "winning"... that I got to look at sitting on my counter for days until they started dying...

Lovely crickets. :(

The gift exchange went on for an hour, due to the number of people. I hope the grown ups didn't mind that it was a late night. The kids didn't seem to care... and I sure didn't. I love having so many wonderful friends here!

FYI: Jillie did a post this weekend on her blog- feel free to take a look.

Getting in the mood

2009-12-08T11:08:00.000-05:00

The main reason we chose to go to Disney World in November/December was to be there during the Christmas time festivities. We have been to Disneyland during in the month prior to Christmas and it was a really nice to get us in the mood for Christmas. Everything was all decorated to the nines, Christmas music playing every where, and Christmas themed rides and attractions. That was Disneyland. Disney World was a little disappointing in comparison. Maybe it is because it is so much bigger than Disneyland that they couldn't possibly decorate it all. Maybe it isn't politically correct to go all Christmas-y anymore. Maybe it's the economy. (That's the excuse for everything these days isn't it.)

We couldn't get in the mood for Christmas at the pool... absolutely no decorations! ;) OK, we didn't expect it there...

The parks were nice though, just not as much Christmas as we expected. Main Street at Magic Kingdom was decorated beautifully for Christmas.

Animal Kingdom had this very tall animal themed tree.
At Epcot we were greeted by Mickey and friends topiary.
We also attended the Candlelight Processional at Epcot featuring Isabella Rossellini as the narrator. We had to use an extra table service at our dinner to get the priority seating. Not really worth it. I think we could have still gotten a fine seat without it. It was a nice Christmas concert... the Christmas story read from the Bible with songs interspersed between the verses. A little long for the kids and they liked the end better than the beginning. They also didn't like Isabella Rossellini pronounced words with her strong accent. I'm sure they would've enjoyed Whoppi Goldberg better who was doing it later in December. (They have a different actor reading each week.)

Hollywood Studios had a movie themed tree out front and an amazing light show in the Streets of America.

We spent some extra cash to attend Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. They closed Magic Kingdom early and then have this party with Christmas themed shows, a parade, fireworks, and snacks. Snack stations dotted the park with complimentary hot chocolate and sugar cookies. They also had apples and juice for mean parents who don't let their kids have sugar... and for Holly and other lactose intolerant guests. :)

These cast members posed while I was taking pictures of the sign above them, so of course I had to take their picture too... especially because of those crazy uber-Christmasy uniforms!

Mickey's Once Upon a Christmastime Parade was special. All the characters were there decked out in holiday attire. Some of the floats smelled so good. They gave off the scent of candy and cookies and other yummy Christmas cooking smells.

We really enjoyed this show in Tomorrowland featuring Mike Wazowski, Buzz Lightyear, and Stitch. Cute story, fun songs to dance to and sing along with, and snow falling of course.

It was a wonderful trip and it did get us in the mood. We needed it too because as soon as we got home we had to hit the Christmas train running! Party at our house 5 days after our return home!

Feeding Time @Epcot

2009-12-07T12:50:00.000-05:00

We were lucky enough to be at the Epcot aquarium at feeding time. So interesting. Some quick facts about the aquarium:

The pavilion's signature 5.7 million gallon salt-water tank, named Caribbean Coral Reef, is home to 6,000 inhabitants representing over 60 species—including sea turtles, angelfish, dolphins, rays, sharks and a very special manatee rehabilitation area.

It is huge. But all of the fish are hand fed, and we learned how. First of all the sharks. They are fed very early in the morning before anyone is in the building and the water is dark. They swim to the surface of the water and are fed with six foot long tongs. They never see a person and therefore they never associate humans with an opportunity for food. This makes it safe for scuba divers to enter the water.

The rest of the fish are actually fed by hand. A diver comes into the tank at the same time, twice a day. She holds a PVC pipe and the sting ray have been trained to touch their nose to it to get a handful of live clams. The littler fish gather under the sting ray to catch any crumbs. After the ray have been fed, the diver returns to feed the smaller schooling fish. You just have to watch the video to see this. (and the very end you can hear Greg's opinion of it all)

I appreciate that Disney offers so many fun family activities that are educational too- especially at Epcot. Lessens the guilt of taking the kids out of school for an entire week!

10 Days of Disney continues

2009-12-06T15:21:00.000-05:00

(*Warning: This will be picture heavy post*) :)

Taking a vacation with my sisters and our families was really great, even if we didn't spend every minute together. Disney World requires a lot of pre-planning. You have have to decide which of the 4+ parks you want to go to on which days, considering when the extra magic hours and special attractions are scheduled. Then you have to try to make reservations for the restaurants that you want to eat in those parks. If you want to get exactly what you want you have to be like Holly and call in your meal reservations exactly 90 days before you arrive at Disney World. Holly and Sunny planned just about everything together, but Greg and I were not on top of our reservations to get meals together with them. It worked out OK though. Each family had their own things they wanted to do, but high on the list was being together for a lot of it. We saw each other as much as we could. In the end it was probably better to have some time to just our family, making sure to have some good cousin time too.

So our first ride all together was in Animal Kingdom... Kilimanjaro Safari.

(I'll label everyone in these first pictures for any long

lost cousins/friends who might like to know.)

Jackson and "Uncle Nathan" (Holly's husband)

Holly, Derek (Sunny's husband), Hyrum (Sunny's), and Sunny (who is 7 months pregnant here). I love the face Hyrum always makes when he's smiling for a picture! :)

Ethan (Holly's), Jillie, Greg

Jaleigh (Holly's), Reagan, Jackson

Saroya (Holly's) and Kobe being 8 year olds!

Waiting in lines is more fun for everyone when we spend that time researching the hidden Mickeys for that attraction.

...and finding them.

It's also just fun to hang out together

in a sharks mouth,

or on a train ride,

(Dad, are you on your phone again?!)

or laughing at the gorillas,

and visiting with characters,

or playing in the sand and zooming down slides,

or dancing with Mickey and his friends at a late night dance party complete with balloon artists,

(even if Jackson screamed and cried and tried to escape the building in fear that some Little Einstein may try to give him five or dance within 100 feet of him. Good Grief!)

or introducing the Tangrens to the excellent Three Caballeros ride in Mexico.

We even found ways to have fun on Saroya's rainy 9th birthday,

and riding buses from hotel to park to park to hotel.

We were happy to wait for Fantasmic to start so we could visit

and have glow stick light saber fights,

take sister pictures even if it is the end of a warm muggy day,

(someone's baby is going to be well fed- I'm just sayin', Sun) :)

(I guess I missed the memo that we were doing skinny faces this time...)

compare shoe sizes,

and wear matching shirts that talk! and say "Waaallleeee".

The best part is that we got to spend time together and make some wonderful memories.

Who says we do it again some day??

Thanks family for a great time!

Celebrity Sightings @Disney

2009-12-05T14:18:00.000-05:00

On TV each Christmas morning, there is a Disney Parks Christmas Parade. While we were at Disney World the first week of December they were preparing for the show taping. Special

stages were set up near the castle.

One stage even covered the Walt Disney and Mickey statue that is in the center of the circle in front of the castle. (They covered the statue with presents and turned the base into a red glittery stage.) We knew that they would be taping on the days we were there, but had to show up each day to find out what singer would be performing each day. The first day we learned that American Idol Kris Allen would be performing. The kids opted out of that one since they knew they'd get to meet him the day after we got home.

{There was a Christmas concert in Buffalo the day after we got home and Greg took the kids. He got tickets through work which included back stage passes and a meet and greet with Kris Allen.}

Reagan and Kris Allen

Jillie and Kobe with Kris Allen

Anyway, back to Florida... The kids also opted out of Yanni, because they have no idea who Yanni is anyway!

The Jonas Brothers were slated for the next day though. Unfortunately that was the day it rained and rained and rained. They postponed the rest of the taping until after our trip was over. Kelly Ripa and Nick Cannon would have been there too to host the parade. They were a little disappointed.

But guess who we saw getting off the Jungle Cruise with her family?

Kelly Ripa! Man she is WAY. TOO. SKINNY. But they seem like a lovely family. :)

On the very rainy day we spent some time with Holly's family in the Animation Academy. Holly happened to notice a family and a film crew and then found out they were an Extreme Makeover: Home Edition family. We pulled the kids close and watched and took pictures while the family was interviewed.

Then they told them they had a surprise for them and out walked some guys. I assumed it was some of the Home Edition cast, maybe Ty Pennington was there. But then came the squeals from my girls and others near us.

"THE JONAS BROTHERS!!"

They hugged the family and talked to them for a little while

and took pictures while I took pictures.

Then they left, but not before turning to the small crowd that had formed and waved. Jillie says Nick waved right at her. Reagan says that too. I laughed as Saroya just kind of made fun of how star struck my girls were. :)

After they left, a lesser celebrity came out- Mickey Mouse. The kids took a picture with him, but at least they got to stand right where the Jonas Brothers had just been.

Ethan, Jillie, Reagan, Mickey, Kobe, Saroya.

By the way, this all happened on Saroya's 9th birthday.

You can't see it well in this picture. Holly ordered her this cute Disney Birthday shirt that has a little girl in Mickey ears holding a balloon with a 9 on it.

They did not leave Disney World disappointed.

on TV

2009-12-04T11:15:00.000-05:00

This is a video clip from probably Jackson's favorite part of the trip to Disney World during Thanksgiving break. We were at Disney's Hollywood Studios and the attraction is the American Idol Experience. We all love this one!!

Thanks to Jackson's pass we were seated in the front row. During the pre-show this guy comes out to get the audience pumped up and teach us how the voting process works. This is broadcast on the TV monitors in the studio too. Lucky Reagan and Jackson (with Jillie's help) were his helpers during this pre-show...

(I'm filming the TV monitor)

A daunting task

2009-12-02T00:38:00.000-05:00

How do I do a post covering 9 days at Disney World with our family of 6, Holly's family of 5, and Sunny's family of 3.5? I do not know. I didn't keep track of each day's events like they did.

Where to start? Maybe here...

Hee hee :)

Actually I should start here- our very own family Fast Pass compliments of Jackson.

It's part of Disney's Guest Assistance Pass. Holly suggested that we look into this for Jackson because of his low muscle tone. They gave us a pass and this sticker for his stroller. We were able to go in the FastPass lines or wheelchair entrance on all the rides and attractions. This meant we could take the stroller through the lines, we got in fast, and even got front row seats in many shows. We had a much better experience overall with Jackson on this trip than on

others. Part of that better experience had to do with the fact that we avoided characters. He only managed a few pictures with them.

When he was frustrated with us for getting in lines for rides he didn't think he'd like, he was able to communicate better about his feelings than just screaming and throwing himself on the ground like the last trip. This time he'd sit in his stroller and tell us that he was mad at us and say, "I want to make you little!! I want to be a big giant!!" We figured out he was just trying to get across how powerless he felt and that he wanted to be in control of us for a change.

OK, so now on to the next most important part of our trip...

The FOOD! :)

We ate some seriously delicious food. A big perk from this trip was the Disney Dining Plan deal we got. Free food- every day. 1 table service, 1 quick service and a snack every day for each of us. We ate well.

Our first and probably favorite dining experience was at Epcot.

Our family enjoys hibachi restaurants, but Jackson was nervous when we were seated and he wanted to get out. It only took until our super sweet chef arrived that he was comfortable and so happy to be there. Thank Heavens for Disney cast members!

She was so cute, entertained us while she cooked, and made us delicious meals!

Another favorite was Hollywood Brown Derby at Hollywood Studios. Greg and Kobe both had the Grilled Atlantic Salmon - with baby spinach, Cannellini beans, Ugli tomato, warm bacon vinaigrette, and lemon aioli.

Jillie and I enjoyed the Char-grilled Rib-Eye Steak - with herb-roasted fingerling potatoes, Cremini mushrooms, Cippolini onions and Cabernet syrup.

Reagan and Kobe ate off the children's menu- hot dog and grilled cheese. Good food and a nice quiet break from the hustle and noise outside in Hollywood Studios.

I do have to record a note about dessert there. We always seem to pick the wrong thing, like "Grapefruit Cake - A Brown Derby Original! Light Layers of Yellow Cake with fresh Grapefruit Cream Cheese Icing." I do not like grapefruit that much.

Jillie got it right though and I have to record it so we all remember to get this next time.

"Banana White Chocolate Toffee Tower on cocoa almond cookie and bananas 'foster'"

**This post is really getting me hungry!**

Other winners were Le Cellier in "Canada" at Epcot. Yummy bread sticks (the kids seemed to like the pretzel bread sticks the most), good steaks, delicious Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup, and cute desserts like apple tarts

and chocolate "moose".

We ate breakfast one morning at The Wave at the Contemporary Resort. Nice place, but I guess I only took a picture of the fun salt and pepper shakers.

The meals were excellent- all of them so healthy. We need to remember to do this one more often!

Can't go wrong at Pizza Planet, straight out of Toy Story. Something quick and easy for the whole family. Pizzas and delicious salads while surrounded by video games and LGMs hanging from the ceiling.

Tusker House in "Africa" at Animal Kingdom has a huge buffet that Greg loves almost as much as Brown Derby. Lots of ethnic foods along with more familiar ones, plus lots of miniature desserts so you can try them all!

Can't forget the snacks either- especially Dole Whips (only found near the Tiki Room at WDW & Disneyland, and Oahu, Hawaii). They are pineapple but you can see on Jillie's that they turned them green to be festive for the holidays.

And of course churros and popcorn that you can never seem to find when you are craving it late at night!

Enough about food though that doesn't really scratch the surface. Obviously it's good that we were walking all day long because of the way we ate!

More Disney World coming soon including Disney's Christmas festivities, celebrity sightings and super fun extended family togetherness.

Thanksgiving 2009-Disney Style

2009-12-01T22:56:00.004-05:00

On Thanksgiving morning we got up, watched some of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, felt a little glad to not be busy making a variety of foods and cleaning house for a big Thanksgiving get together. Instead we packed our bags into the car. We were on our way to Disney World... for 10 days! My sisters Holly and Sunny and their families would meet us there.

The flight went well thanks to ipods and laptops. The only complication we had was having to pay an extra $100 because 2 of our bags were a few pounds over the 50 pound limit. Seriously?! There are six of us and we only checked 3 bags and they still feel the need to charge us. I think they need a better system. Anyhow...

We finally arrived at our hotel, Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort, in the late afternoon. We headed off to the dining area to enjoy what turned out to be a very good tasting Thanksgiving meal with all the fixings. Well, some of us had the traditional food- Kobe had a meatball sub, Reagan- a hamburger, and Jackson- pizza.

Then we hopped over to the Magic Kingdom to ride some rides and finally meet up with Holly's family in time for the fireworks show- Wishes.

During the fireworks, Holly noticed a guy near us down on his knee. He was proposing to his girlfriend. Greg thought it was way too Uncle-Jessie-proposes-to-Rebecca-in-a-very-special-Full-House-Disney-World-episode. **EDIT: I have been corrected , it was actually Danny Tanner that proposed to Vicki at Disney World while Uncle Jessie was singing!** You know I had to sneak a shot anyway...

Jaleigh and Jackson... together again. :)

The rest of the evening was spent with the Avery's on rides and attractions. They left the park before us- we ended up getting to bed around 2am.

We are very thankful to be with family this Thanksgiving weekend on the whole next week!!

SNOOPY!!

2009-11-23T14:36:00.007-05:00

We had a very fun, exciting and exhausting weekend.

Family and friends all came out to support Jillie and Reagan in their musical production.

Grammie G flew in from Colorado.

Grandma & Papa drove in from Michigan.

Cousins from Colorado Danny, Jake, and Kyle flew in with Grammie G too.

Many good friends from around here came to the show too...

the Lewis'...

the Christensens...

as well as the Manzanares', Marielle Melling, the Warren's, Corinne and Amanda. The England's and Baroldy's were there of course since their kids were in the show too.

The girls did a great job. It was a real success and real learning experience for both of them. We are so proud of their hard work and confidence.

So far I can only post some footage from the first night. Jillie's mic wasn't working well and I wasn't always sure where to find Reagan in the chorus, so the video could be better. It may take a while for me to figure out how to edit segments out of the second show though so I'll just post some from Friday night.

Presenting Snoopy!!

Starring Jillie as Peppermint Patty and Reagan as a chorus member.

In this clip Jillie is in green (don't ask me why they decided Patty should be in a dress?!) Reagan can be seen occasionally behind Jillie's right shoulder.

In this scene I went back and forth to see each girl sing...

(Reagan's in the front row, 2nd from the end.)

And finally the song Poor Sweet Baby that Jillie sings all by herself to "Chuck". She is the only girl who had a solo song! She got even better laughs and applause on Saturday when her mic was working!

Can you tell we are so proud of and impressed by our girls?

We are!

And our winners are...

2009-11-23T06:07:00.000-05:00

Well, I didn't really catch any blurkers with my giveaway- except Autumn. :) Some of those mystery visitors were not enticed by blogger tshirts and magazines I suppose. It's nice to have so many comments from my good friends though.

I've decided it's hard to do a giveaway when you don't have enough for everyone. :( I left the choosing up to the random number generator at random.org.

And our winners are...

**drum roll please**

Real Simple Magazine subscription...

#10 Shannon!!

(I've got your address so I can get that on it's way soon)

Blogger Tshirt....

#9 Caity!!

(Caity email me with your address and if you want medium or large)

Thanks for playing along gals!

Girls Weekend

2009-11-19T23:33:00.007-05:00

**Don't miss out on my GIVEAWAY, the winner will be announced Monday**

Last Friday I got in my car, by myself, all alone, drove for about 5 hours, listening to whatever I wanted, singing as LOUD as I wanted (and it was LOUD and not real pretty), and no one was there to complain. Singing (and snacking) keeps me wide awake while I drive. I did wish my aunt Tami was with me though since I was singing along with Barry Manilow and that has been our thing since we were very small.

I was making good time across Canada- until I got to the US border into Michigan. Lucky me, I was "randomly selected" to have my car searched. Seriously? At 10pm I was told to pull my car over to the border office, bring in only my purse, but NOT my cell phone, and wait in the office for an undetermined amount of time. Thank goodness I didn't have the kids with me. I saw families with small sleeping children who had been on the road for who knows how long already made to come wait in this office. A few young women who were traveling together had already been there over an hour while their car was searched and they were interrogated about why they were traveling with sheets, a pillow and massage therapy brochures. Another woman had to explain all of the details of her complicated marital status. I guess I was lucky to get out of there sans interrogation in a half hour.

I met my mom and sister, Holly at a hotel for the night. So missed having Tami there this year though- she was home with the flu. We were up before the crack of dawn so that we wouldn't be late for the 8am store openings at Birch Run's Deer Widows Weekend.

We arrived in time to get our Win Big Bucks scratch cards. This year I won $10 to Banana Republic! WooHoo! :) We didn't bother to get our pictures taken with the "Bucks" who were there to get the ladies excited I suppose.

The crowds were crazy as usual. It's a big deal. The local media are out in full force to cover the craziness.

half way through the check out line at Gap

We had to implement the one person holds a pace in line while the others shop procedure in most stores. Happily Angie and little Miss Ellika joined us for a good chunk of the day.

Extra bonus, Angie brought a coupon to Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic for an extra 30% off that could be reused as often as we needed. That was excellent since most things were already marked down about 20-30%. Score. It was a great day with great deals, even better company, and some progress made on the Christmas list. It was exhausting too. Little tip: those chairs at Justice are really comfortable when you've been on your feet for 12 hours!

We wound up our shopping in time to beat the crowds to Applebee's for dinner. There we pulled out receipts and figured out who owed who what. Actually it was just me who owed them. This process was going on at many of the tables. After making sure the right purchases were in the right cars, I said goodbye to Mom and Holly. They headed 2-3 hours home and I drove down to Angie's. She graciously put me up for the night at her house. It was nice to get in a little extra time with her Sunday morning. Then I headed home, this time through Ohio, to a clean house and an awesome family!

My Birthday Giveaway!

2009-11-18T09:25:00.012-05:00

With my birthday falling on a Sunday this year, the entire weekend was all about my birthday. That's a good thing. :) Actually it started earlier when Greg got me the present I'd been asking for- a desperately needed new vacuum. Yea!

Saturday was a full day.... Making Christmas crafts with some friends at church,

then Kobe's basketball game, then lunch at a new to us restaurant called Root Five.

It is actually on Route 5 and it's right on Lake Erie.

We liked it a lot. After lunch we dropped the kids at home and went out to start Christmas shopping. Getting things checked off the to do list is a GREAT gift to me! Next stop was to the movies to see

AWESOME!!!!! LOVED IT!!!

We returned home after being gone for many hours. Can I just say again how nice it is to have a babysitter in the house. :) Jillie even helped Kobe make some brownies.

On Sunday I awoke to breakfast in bed, went to church, and was served lunch in bed before I gave in to a little Sunday afternoon nap. Doesn't get much better than that. I have a sweet husband and sweet kids.

Greg remembered that earlier in the week I mentioned that apple pie sounded good, so he bought us a half apple pie for my birthday dessert. YUM!

Got some goodness in the mail around my birthday too... An old friend, Heidi, sent a birthday card. Can you tell how rural a place she lives in when you see her return address?

Jill, the Good Mail Queen herself, sent me some of her famous quote cards! Lucky me! I had to laugh that she had to hand write "Good Mail from Jill" when she is the inventor and creator of the Good Mail Label. Guess someone needs to order her some labels from the Good Mail Queen's Etsy shop!

I also recently received some honest to goodness Good Mail- a note from someone I do not know in person, though I've read her blog from time to time. Her name is Claudia. She saw some of my comments on Jill's blog and decided to sent me a note.

She included this little bookmark and wrote on the back, "just a cute door". Love that she just added this little 'just because.'

So sweet. I love Claudia's Good Mail. Each piece is like a little work of art. :)

OK- Now I am cracking myself up with this. Because it is fun to receive, but even more fun to give, I am having a GIVEAWAY! Anyone who leaves a comment is in the running. There will be 2 winners! And since there aren't a lot of people who read this blog, you have great odds! :)

I have noticed lately that I've had some traffic from people and places I don't know, or who at least don't comment. I am inviting those people to come on out of hiding and say hi... then you can go back to hiding if you want.

So, here it is... you can win either a year subscription to Real Simple Magazine,

or your very own Blogger shirt (Women's size M or L).

I will pick the winners Monday, Nov 23rd. Good Luck!

Happy Birthday to Me! :)

Birthdays

2009-11-17T10:53:00.002-05:00

My 38th Birthday was a couple Sundays ago. I couldn't possibly do a birthday post about myself like last year's 100 List. For one, I didn't take Jill's advice about keep a running about me list so I'd have another 100 things to list. Most importantly though, how could I blog about MY birthday when my girls feel really gypped that I never blogged about their birthday's last June.

So, better late than never. Let me take you back to June 2009...

HAPPY 11TH BIRTHDAY

TO REAGAN!!

Reagan wanted a pool party for her birthday. It's always risky the first weekend of June in Buffalo, NY. You never know if it's going to be hot enough yet. As it turned out it was a nice warm day, though the pool was pretty icy. They managed to get in for a little while anyway.

First item on the party plan was- making rag tied flip flops. Cute. Fun. Simple.Reagan wanted a flip flop cake- my first time carving a cake out. Not my best experience with a cake. Ok, it was my WORST experience with a cake!! It ended up ok, but I think I'd rather just stick to drawing on the cake with frosting. The kids also had a water balloon toss,spent some time in the pool, lots of time warming up on the patio, pinata, presents, etc... I won't post more pictures though. I always feel weird taking pictures at these parties because of the girls who come in little bikinis. What's so wrong with a one piece anyway? :)
I should also mention that on her actual birthday she got to pick where we ate dinner and she picked her favorite place that she rarely gets to go because it's not very near us...

Reagan....

1. Reagan graduated from 5th grade and elementary school and was confident going into the middle school.

2. Reagan is not a drama queen. Even tempered, down to earth. If she does get overly emotional ever, we know some thing's not right.

3. Reagan chooses friends who are nice, good girls who are not drama queens.

4. Reagan continues to LOVE music- singing and playing her cello more often.

5. Reagan doesn't get nervous when it comes to performing. She doesn't appear the least bit nervous when she is singing a solo or duet or playing her cello to a crowded room.

6. Reagan's favorite sports are gymnastics and basketball.

7. Reagan's favorite shows are Wizards of Waverly Place, Phineas and Ferb, True Jackson VP, and Hannah Montana.

8. Reagan really loves being with her church friends and going to Activity Days with them every other week.

9. Reagan is very excited to turn 12 next summer which means going into Young Womens, going to Girls Camp with Jillie and I, and getting her own cell phone!

10. Reagan LOVES clothes and shoes. She LOVES to go clothes shopping, try on everything, and hope that someone will buy her everything!

11. Reagan is helpful and loving and an important part of our family! We love her SO much!

*************

HAPPY 13TH BIRTHDAY

TO JILLIE!!

It's hard to believe we have officially entered the teenage years! Jillie's birthday celebration weighed heavily on her mind and heart for months leading up to the big day. Oh the drama of middle school! She wanted to have a party, but some close friends refused to get along with other close friends, so who does she invite? And then there's the church friends too... Greg decided to offer her a birthday trip with him instead of the party to make the situation easier. She was happy about that, although when it got closer, she did invite a few school friends to come over to swim and have a mini party on her actual birthday.

Again, I won't be posting lots of pictures, because of the whole scantily clad/bikini situation.

Another day she had a couple of church friends over too. At least these weren't big planning parties, just some friends hanging out. In the end she had 2 unofficial parties AND a trip with her Dad to Disneyland in California. Um, how did that happen?! :)

Jillie...

1. Is more responsible everyday. It's so nice to be able to leave the kids home and know that all will be well because she's in charge. Anyone need a good babysitter? She's for hire! :)

2. Jillie's confidence is growing and it shows. She is so impressive and comfortable when she sings or speaks in public.

3. Jillie's singing voice is so nice. She loves to sing whether it's popular music, show tunes, or hymns.

4. Jillie has taught herself to play the piano a little and enjoys trying to learn to play the hymns. I noticed this year that that is what she often turns to when she's in a bad mood. I'm glad.

5. Jillie prefers to be called Jillie over Jillienne or Jill. I always wondered what she would choose for herself and I wonder if that will ever change.

6. Jillie loves to play basketball.

7. Jillie's favorite class in school is Spanish. She excels in it. She was chosen at the end of last year to take 9th grade Latin at the high school this year. She ended up turning it down because it conflicted with her anchor position on MSTV.

8. Jillie always looked like a mini me- BUT all of a sudden her body is not like mine ever was. She is so tall and skinny now and wears the same size shoe as me. I wonder when the growing will stop. Size 1/2 skinny jeans are loose on her!

9. Jillie loves clothes and shoes and shoes and shoes and clothes and accessories and bags and accessories and clothes and bags....

10. Jillie enjoys filming and editing her own movies.

11. Jillie is a facebook fanatic.

12. Jillie is in tune with the spirit and really loves being with people and in places where she feels it the most.

13. Jillie is funny and mature, helpful and loving. We LOVE that she is ours!!

********************

Oh, I'd better not forget the one other child I didn't do a birthday post for this year! Now we will go back to July...

Happy 5th Birthday

to Jackson!!

I hardly remember what we did for Jackson's birthday. That's probably because I hardly planned a thing. At the last minute we asked his best friend Cole to join Jackson and Kobe at Rolly Pollies for an hour of running and jumping and climbing and just having fun.

(In this picture you see Cole running down the trampoline, but in the mirror you can see Jackson running behind him and Kobe climbing in the corner.)

Jillie and Reagan got the house decorated including turning these red paper plates and a black plastic table cloth into Mickey Mouse plates.

The kids played outside and the rest of Cole's family came over for dinner and cake.

The cake. I asked Jackson what he wanted on his cake and he said, "J-A-C-K-S-O-N." He also said he wanted a 5 on it. It didn't hit me until it was done that it says "Jackson 5". It is fitting though because he is a BIG Michael Jackson/Jackson 5 fan. :)

On his actual birthday we asked him what he wanted to do most and he chose playing at the elementary school playground.

Done. We also ate dinner at one of his favorite places- Taffy's.

Jackson...

1. Jackson makes us all laugh every day. We don't know what we would do without him around here to entertain us!

2. Jackson is working hard on building his muscles now. He has had a really good attitude with his therapists (Speech, PT, and OT) and enjoys playing with them. He had to say goodbye to his long time therapists this summer and now is starting with the school's therapists.

3. Jackson is a whiz on the computer. He LOVES playing on preschool sites especially Webkinz Jr and pbskids.

4. Jackson's favorite toys are cars from the Cars movie, "G" and "JJ" his Webkinz Jr puppies, basketballs, and Wii games.

5. Jackson loves his family and tells us often. We just love him like crazy too!

************

Well, there we go! Birthday posts complete for 2009. Except for mine. Stay tuned. I'm cracking myself up over my next post already!

I'm a Wreckporter!

2009-11-11T11:07:00.003-05:00

If you have never looked at Cake Wrecks, you must. They document "when professional cakes go horribly, hilariously wrong." (Although on Sunday they post "Sunday Sweets" which are beautiful and amazing professional themed cakes.) Last summer I found a cake wreck at the grocery store and I sent in a picture of it. They used it today on their site and now I can officially be called a wreckporter. (Mine is the Owl Troops.)

Coming Soon!

2009-11-09T10:57:00.000-05:00

Fall Field Trips

2009-11-01T15:28:00.016-05:00

October was chock full of field trips.

Kobe was the first with a trip to the zoo- I didn't get to go. Somehow he had fun without me ;)

(picture from mrmuffoletto.com)

Jackson had many outings as a part of his unit on "Community Helpers." Since his preschool is located right in the center of the village these were mostly walking trips.

Our first community helper was a chef at a local Mexican restaurant.

The kids were fascinated with the ice maker and the walk in fridge. Brrrr...

They ended their tour with chips and quesadillas. YUM! Jackson loved those!

Another day was the tour of the village and our community helpers with walk- by's to places like the post office, fire station, doctor office, dentist office, gas station, barber shop, courthouse and the pharmacy.Finally we made it the police stationfor a chance to sit in a jail cell,
learn about all the things a police officer does, how to be safe, and take a picture with him and his police car.

That trip left me with a real sense of community as we walked around looking at all the community helpers that make our town run smoothly.

One community helper, a veterinarian came to Jackson's class. I was sure to be there too since Jackson is very afraid of animals and the vet brought her dog.

The vet asked the kids who else had a dog at their house. Jackson looked at me and said, "We don't have a dog, we have a TV." Great.

Jackson got more comfortable as he saw how obedient and well behaved the dog was. He said to me, "That's a good dog!! He's like a boy- a good boy like me!"

He still didn't want to be anywhere near the dog, but at least he didn't run out of the room screaming- which was a real possibility!

Next it was off to Zittels to learn about what farmers do for us

and have some fun too.

Finally the last Community Helper outing was to the Fire Station. Jackson was initially very nervous about this one. I think he thought there would be actual fire at the fire station. Once we were there he was very happy though.

(Gotta love the OP Quaker man logo on the side of our fire trucks)

I was very surprised that Jackson volunteered to try "Stop, Drop, and Roll" with the fire fighter

He even got in the fire truck by himself and put on the fire fighters mask too.

Good times. :)

Last but not least this month the whole family got to go on a field trip of sorts with Kobe. Kobe's teacher nominated himself for a local news channel contest called "Make Your Teacher a Celebrity Clown." The class created a video with their teacher who transformed himself into "Mr Funny Bones."

(picture from mrmuffoletto.com)

They won! We won! Every kid in the class won tickets for their whole family to the circus and their teacher won the opportunity to perform at the circus pre-show.

Kobe (in the glasses and nose Mr. Muffoletto gave each of the students), Reagan, and Jillie with "Mr. Funny Bones."

Jackson enjoyed the entire circus the most. I caught the rest of the family looking pretty bored and tired after a while. We had a nice time together though. Big thanks to the most fun teacher anywhere!

October's been a busy month... but November and December promise to even busier!!

Here we go.....

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

2009-10-31T18:08:00.006-04:00

Apparently Greg has been hijacking my blog with links from his site SkunkPost .

Guess I'd better get something on here from me finally!

Happy Halloween to all!

pumpkin carving late into the night

Trunk or Treat at our ward- and we brought our friends Superman (Cole), a football player (Blake), a skeleton (Connor) and cute little monkey (Braden- not pictured)

And tonight... for the real deal...

Jillie (mustard- to go with her friend Corinne who is ketchup)

Reagan (Hippie)

Kobe (Michael Jackson)

Jackson (Woody)

Strange tonight- the girls are off trick or treating with their own friends. Our friends (pictured in the trunk or treat) agreed to come over and go out with Kobe and Jackson.

So we're off to load up on the sweets out in the cold, windy, rainy night....

TRICK OR TREAT!

Ribs and...ghosts?

2009-10-30T08:27:00.001-04:00

Check out the haunted rib joint in East Aurora -- Tony Rome's

The Haunting of the Eagle house

2009-10-19T21:21:00.002-04:00

SkunkPost - News

The Eagle House isn't just popular among the living. SkunkPoster Christie Weber goes on a haunted journey with supernatural historian and author Mason Winfield, to find out what's lurking behind the doors.

Shared via AddThis

Those 3 precious hours

2009-10-14T14:34:00.008-04:00

I LOVE my kids.

I LOVE being a mom.

I LOVE and appreciate that Greg works so hard

so that I am able to be an at-home-mom.

It is a busy job. It has been 13 years since the first child became attached to my hip, and then the next one came, and the next, and the next. Thirteen years around the clock, day and night. Hardly a moment alone, unless they are asleep, but then so am I (if I'm smart).

Now that Jackson is in preschool every day of the week, I have 3 precious hours on my own each morning. They fly by, but I have been able to squeeze in some enjoyable activities lately.

Most mornings I have been walking with some good friends from church.

Marilyn, Jody, Wendy and I get to enjoy some great conversation for about an hour

AND get a little exercise. We've been loving the nice fall weather with walks around Marilyn's neighborhood. Now the weather is turning cold and wet, but thankfully everyone is committed to keeping this up. We're moving it to the mall as the cold weather hits.

Exercise and I have not been good friends, but the chance to visit with these gals makes it something I look forward to everyday.

Marilyn still has 2 not in school so they get to join us on our walks and are too cute not to picture here...

I have also been spending some of those precious 3 hours in my kids' schools. PTO Meetings, volunteering in classrooms, shelving books in the libraries, going on little field trips... all things I haven't been free to do for a few years, but make me feel helpful and happy.

Of course some days it's walking and then chores. Not the fun parts of life, but necessary, and easier to do without kids in tow. I recently was introduced by Beth to this:

Spring Clean Year Round

It is a very cute and organized cleaning program that helps you organize your cleaning chores so that it's all do-able. It's been helpful for me to feel like I'm getting some cleaning done during those child free moments, even if it's not all done at the same time.

(***And before anyone thinks I have tons of energy or am disciplined at all- I have a confession. There are days where I come home from my walk and just eat breakfast, read blogs, and watch The View until it's time to get Jackson!)

Just think, next year I'll have the youngest in all day kindergarten and the oldest in high school. AHHH!!

But that will leave me with 5 whole precious hours a day! I might even fit in consistent-possibly daily- blogging by then! {Maybe even consistent- possibly daily- showers! } ;)

Crop Circles?

2009-10-11T17:32:00.005-04:00

This is what happens when you finally get a nice fall day without rain, and you try to find some way to pry your preschooler away from the Wii and get some fresh air.

You tell him he gets to drive... like Lightning McQueen.

I hopped on the lawn mower with my Jack Jack, turned it on, hit the gas, and held on while I was driven around the yard... only taking the wheel when we were headed for the road or flower beds.

He took his job pretty seriously, but really enjoyed going in circles- hence the holding on.His technique is reminiscent of how Greg used to mow the lawn. ;)

Took at little longer to get the front yard mowed this way,

since I had to even things out when he finally tired of driving.

Good times though!

Screams in the halls of the school

2009-09-26T23:54:00.002-04:00

It's musical audition time at the middle school again.

This year's production is

Jillie tried out again this year having enjoyed being in the chorus of the 2 previous musicals. Her goal this year was to get a speaking part.

She practiced her singing.

She practiced using courage so they could see what she is capable of doing on stage.

She got a call back. We were cautiously hopeful.

Reagan tried out too even though the odds were against her.

Apparently there were 200 kids trying out for the musical.

There are about 10 parts and 60 chorus spots.

There was a better chance a 7th or 8th grader would get in the cast over a 6th grader.

She practiced her singing.

We hoped.

Friday the cast list was posted.

There were screams in the halls of the school.

REAGAN made it into the CHORUS!

WOO HOO!!!!

JILLIE will now be referred to as

PEPPERMINT PATTY!

She even has a solo!

AHHHHHH!!!

These are the happy faces that got off the bus Friday after school.

They called their dad, grandparents, aunts & uncles

and of course posted the news on Facebook.

Daddy sent them a chocolate covered strawberry bouquet

within an hour of getting the news.

Looks like the calendar is gonna get filled up pretty quick

between now and the weekend before Thanksgiving!

Congratulations girls! We are so proud of you.

Remembering September 17, 1991

2009-09-17T01:07:00.009-04:00

A long time ago in a college town far far away, Greg and I celebrated our 8 month dating anniversary. We had just returned to BYU a couple of weeks prior and decided to go out to dinner at The Tree Room at Sundance up in the Provo Canyon to celebrate. It had been a long summer apart.

{leaving on our date 9/17/91}

Greg came to pick me up that night and he was SO nervous. We sat at the Tree Room having a delicious (and expensive) meal and Greg could hardly eat. I knew he had a gift for me and that was the source of his uneasiness . (I didn't dare think it was an engagement ring!) I kept saying, "just give me what ever you got for me so you can at least enjoy this meal!" It was so strange because even on our first date we were not the least bit nervous.

After dinner we walked around the grounds for a short time, but it was chilly and we headed back down to Provo. On the way I noticed that Greg seemed to have a cold. I said we should go to my apartment so I could get him some Sudafed. But he said no and kept driving around Provo like he was looking for some place to go. Eventually I realized he was looking for the way up the mountain to a look out point. I showed him the way while thinking, this is what he planned?! To go make out (I mean look at the lights of Provo)?!

So we get up there, car parked at the mountain's edge, and he asked me to get out and go in front of the car. Luckily I trusted him enough I figured he wasn't try to push me off a cliff. I heard him fidgeting around in the car and then our song, Unforgettable by Natalie Cole. He came to me and asked me to dance. So there we danced overlooking the Provo lights with no one else around. During the song he stopped to kiss me. I could tell he was reaching into his pocket. I thought, "Finally. Whatever it is, he's going to give it to me and then we can go back to being comfortable."

He told me he loved me and asked me to marry him. I had to look at the ring in the box to be sure he was serious. He'd joked that he'd fake propose to keep me guessing. But it was the real deal. I started to cry. I thought, how silly to cry, but there I was with tears of joy. Soon Unforgettable ended, but since it was on a mix tape, all of a sudden the mood was broken by "dun-dun-dun, da-da- dun-dun, ice ice baby." :) We got in the car to turn off Vanilla Ice and take a good look at the ring. Then Greg said we should go because my parents were waiting for me to call. He called them earlier in the day to ask their permission to marry me. We first went to Shannon's (his sister) apartment. She knew already and was very happy for us. Mom and Dad were happy for us too. Yes, I was still only 19 years old (about 2 months from my 20th birthday)! But Mom said she figured I'd marry young since I was an "old soul."

He took me home to my waiting roommates, who were camera in hand ready since they too knew.

{after our date 9/17/91}

Needless to say it was a great night- spontaneous on Greg's part too. Apparently he decided on his way home from class that day that he wanted to propose that night. He said a little prayer to let Heavenly Father know is plan and ask for a confirmation that this was right. In true Greg style off to the jewelry store he went with Shannon I think. Bought the ring, called the parents, and by the night's end we were engaged to be married! YEA!

I think I got pretty lucky. No one could love me more than Greg does and I couldn't be happier that we found each other.

Happy Engagement Anniversary!
I love you!

previous Greg and Nikki posts:

Our first date

One week after our first date

Michigan '09: Part Two

2009-09-13T23:09:00.000-04:00

The story of our July trip continues... (Part one here)

On Monday Holly and family came down to Grand Rapids to see an old friend who was in town. Ann used to lived in the same townhouses we did about 8 years ago, but has since moved to Utah. It was so nice to see her. Her daughter was born around the at the same time as Kobe (along with about 6 other kids at church) and she brought her daughter with her. Fun to see her again too.

Back at Holly's house we dropped off the kids with Nathan and headed out to dinner with the girls. Sadly Beth and Caity couldn't make it, but we had fun with Leanne and Leslie.

It became an interesting evening when the waitress told us that the original chef had quit and if we would tell her what we wanted from the menu, she would let us know if the current chef made it very well or not. We felt like we were taking big risks when ordering, but it turned out OK- not great, but OK. By the way I did get to visit with Beth (and her kids) for a little while the next morning which was very nice.

We returned home to find the kids having a ball under Nathan's watch.

As is the tradition when the moms have a GNO, Uncle Nathan creates a delicious dessert with the kids help. Oh my goodness, the frosting he created was AWESOME!! I couldn't stop eating the leftovers the rest of the week. Chocolate, fudgey, peanutty, kind of a no bake cookie taste. Right up my can-not-resist alley.

We turned it into an impromptu birthday cake. Jaleigh and Jackson almost always celebrate their birthdays together. (Jaleigh is 3 days older than Jackson.)

Jaleigh was excited about her present!

Jackson loves his new Curious George DVD from the Averys.

The next days were spent either at the beach or on the 'set' of Wipe Out. The older kids spent all of their time at the house filming and editing their own version of Wipe Out. Reagan and Jillie have become pros with iMovie ( I still have no idea how to use it) They've been making all sorts of movies. Holly is so grateful that this film is too long to post here or on YouTube because of some of the costumes Ethan chose to wear. :) She'd much rather the world did not see that. It was great though to see them all working together and being creative. The best part is that they were so busy creating this film there wasn't any time left for bickering and competition. They just got along.

The beach was fun as usual though it wasn't extremely hot weather. Dad joined us for the day, Mom came up after work to join us for dinner and a beach sunset.

And I can not forget to mention blueberry picking.

I don't think I could ever have enough blueberries!!

LOVE THEM!

The strangest part of the trip was that I didn't get to clean or organize any of Holly's house. (I did try to do some reorganization in Mom and Dad's newly remodeled kitchen.) I kind of missed organizing with Holly though. Hol, plan something for me to do next time.

Overall a great visit with the family. It always feels a little too short,

and too long til we get to do it again.

One more off to school

2009-09-08T11:08:00.004-04:00

Someone was pretty excited to go to school today.

Preschool every morning, every week.

He's getting so grown up. (He's missing 2 teeth now!)

The nerves showed up at when we got to school, but didn't last long.

He spotted some books that he was excited about,

but wanted me to stay and look at them with him.

Happily, his friend from last year, James, showed up . I was free to go.

Not too much time for Mom tears today.

I went off to get some exercise with some church friends.

It was a good morning for both of us.

Here we go again...

2009-09-03T09:55:00.005-04:00

Back to school.

Two in the middle school this year.

Jillie is in 8th grade.

Reagan is in 6th grade.

Jillie is wearing wedges, so she looks a lot taller than Reagan, but she really has grown tall this summer. Almost as tall as me now and we wear the same size shoe.

Jillie had to go in early to anchor MSTV this morning and Reagan was too nervous to ride the bus without her today. Daddy was their 'bus driver' today. I hope Reagan is doing well. It's a big school and a lot of classes to attend.

Kobe's the only one in elementary school this year (3rd grade).

He is fine with that, especially since he has Mr Muffaletto this year who is not only one of the most creative teachers ever, but also a magician! (We went to see him earlier this week.)

So Kobe headed out on his own this morning, equipped with his new Lakers backpack.

He hopped on the bus as the world's best bus driver called out,

"Hey Kobe!"

And off they went...

Let the tears flow.

For just a little bit.

Hold back a few for Tuesday

when Jackson heads back to preschool.

Michigan '09: Part One

2009-09-01T23:35:00.001-04:00

I took the kids on our annual pilgrimage home to Michigan in July. Always a good time though we miss Greg. (and I'm sure he misses us a little while he basks in the beauty of a quiet house all to himself!)

We were sure to stop in to see Angie, Brian and Owen when we got to Detroit. Owen was happy to see us- yea! My kids just love him and enjoyed having some time to play with him. Angie and Brian were nice enough to serve us dinner and let us hang out with them. Even though we'd be at my parents in 2 hours we really didn't want to leave. They are such a great family. Angie was super cute at 8 months pregnant, though now she has a sweet baby girl, Ellika in place of her baby bump.

We sadly dragged ourselves away, but were happy to be at "Grandma and Papa's" that night too!

Saturday we spent in Downtown Grand Rapids at the Public Museum with my parents. I really like the look of downtown GR and the museum had so many interesting displays. I can NOT believe I forgot to bring my camera. Only had my phone for photographic evidence of our visit.

Right when we got there Kobe and my Dad went to the planetarium show. Jackson wanted NOTHING to do with that room, so I rushed out with him as the lights went down. Kobe came out with lots of facts about astronomy in his head. (Yea! I love an educational vacation!)

The museum has a nice collection of displays about Grand Rapids history and world history.
The real mummy freaked them out a little. :)

Saturday evening Mom took us over to the Rockford Cemetery where many relatives from her side are buried. I took lots of pictures of their gravestones. (I was amazed at some of the things they do with gravestones these days.) The main one she wanted us to see was her father's who passed away August 2008. Grandma wanted 2 temples on it. One of the Mesa Temple where they were sealed and one of the Chicago Temple where they served as temple workers. My Dad drew the designs that were used. I think that's very cool. :)

Back at home we had a bonfire at the fire pit Dad made for Mom's birthday. Dad attempted to surprise us by sending a flame down a string from the deck all the way down the hill to the fire wood in the pit. It would've been spectacular, if it had worked. Oh well! :) The s'mores were yummy anyway!
Sunday after church we went to visit my Grandma Pauline. Her memory is not very good anymore. She swore she hadn't seen my kids since they were babies. Of course we just saw her in December. I took pictures so I could send them to her- to help her remember that we were there.

Here is our 4 generation picture, First daughter(Jillie) of a first daughter (me) of a first daughter (my mom), of a first daughter (Grandma). See any resemblance?

Finally that night we got to spend some time with Tami and her kids. Mitch didn't come along though. :( A miracle happened that night. My cousin, Michael, actually posed for a picture!

Yea! We had a nice visit. LOVE that family! LOVE Tami especially! (We grew up more as sisters or cousins than as aunt and niece.) The kids got along great and once again it took forever to say goodbye because we know it'll be a while til we see each other again.

Next up- Part Two: Making movies and beaching it with the Averys.

Pick A Stick

2009-08-31T23:14:00.001-04:00

This summer I did my own variation on Jill's popsicle stick jobs. (sorry, for some reason I can't link directly to that particular post. It's her June 25, 2009 post if you're interested.) I need to post about it to help me to remember what worked and what didn't, so I can adjust for next summer. I'm also thinking about how to incorporate it during the school year too.

This is the morning routine I set for each day. They did really pretty well with it, though in the past 2 weeks they have "forgotten" about it. Doesn't help that I've been sleeping in a little longer than them this week so I'm not there to reinforce the schedule. Oops!
I decided to have them read right after waking then they can just stay cozy in bed and get it done. My kids do not love reading I am very sad to say. They enjoy it once they are doing it, but getting them to stop some other activity to go read is like pulling teeth. Sometimes I'd find them still reading in bed an hour after they woke up this way. :) Yea!

Then there are the sticks. Green end up means you can pick it, green end down means it's been done. Each kid had their own cup of jobs. The girls and Kobe had similar items to choose from.
Make dinner

Clean something-toilet, dust, vacuum, load dishwasher, load of laundry

Do a blog post

Read a book to Jackson

Play basketball for 30 min.

Play Wii with Jackson for 20 min.

Write a letter

Do school review work

Go get ice cream

Go for a walk

Work on a Church goal

Clean out room of either small clothes, toys, or old school supplies

Make a dessert to give away

Make a dessert for the family

I thought that this would be a good balance of enjoyable and less enjoyable activities. Today I asked the kids to evaluate how this worked. They said there wasn't enough fun stuff in there. As I review the list now, I don't think it's too bad. I do think I might move one or two to their daily routine, like school review work. I also think I'd put less sticks in the cup, maybe just 5 and repeat those for a couple of weeks, then start a new batch of 5- being sure to include at least one fun thing a week. The only one they thought was fun was getting ice cream. I was also pretty good about having an outing of some kind each week like trips to Niagara Falls, Palmyra pageant, Michigan, over to the elementary school to play on the playground, to a play at ArtPark, and to Cleveland to meet David Archuleta!! THAT was fun wasn't it?! :)

It was also difficult for me if more than one kid had a stick that I needed to help them with. I only have so many hands and so much time in a day. I need to think about how to handle that situation. Maybe mark the mommy-needs-to-help-me jobs in a different way so I have only 1 picked a day.

Jackson's were all someone-needs-to-help-me jobs.

Make your bed

Practice writing a letter

Read a book

Do a puzzle

Play a game

Practice Speech

Practice PT

Practice OT

I think I should continue doing this daily with him since he will only be at preschool in the mornings. We could pick a stick after lunch... and then I'd know I had time to work with him one on one!

I think it's reasonable to continue this at least on Saturdays for the older kids. Give them a little routine since we are so bad at having any kind of Saturday routines around here.

Overall I think this program worked for us and I will tweak it a little and use it full force next summer too- even though I will have a daughter about to enter HIGH SCHOOL at that point!! AHH!!

Thanks for the inspiration Jill!

SPOTS

2009-08-30T23:04:00.000-04:00

This summer has whizzed by with hardly a record kept of any of it. So sad. I intend to throw in some random posts here and there as I look back over the summer pictures. For heavens sake 3/4 of my kids celebrated birthdays and they keep reminding me that I still haven't done a birthday post for them!! I swear I'm gonna get to it.

For today, I found these pictures from a Sunday early in the summer. Couldn't resist taking a picture of Jackson saying a prayer. He LOVES family prayer these days. He's always so excited when the family kneels together in the family room before dinner.

Earlier that day at church we found our kids covered in spots as they left Primary. I believe every time they were caught smiling, singing, participating, etc. a leader would put a spot on them. Every child in Primary was proudly displaying their spots after church. They loved this idea!

Young Women Camp 2009

2009-08-28T01:24:00.001-04:00

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of spending the week at Girls Camp.

( I suppose I should say Young Women Camp. Old habits die hard.)

Last spring I was called to be the Assistant Stake Camp Director. Our Stake Camp Director, our Stake Young Women Presidency, and our YCLs (Youth Camp Leaders) had already been hard at work planning. I jumped in and fulfilled some assignments and tried to get caught up on the plans. A few days before camp I got a call from the Stake Camp Director. Sadly her nephew had passed away. She felt strongly that she needed to be with her family in Utah instead of coming to camp. It was time to really step up. Our Stake YW Presidency members were right there by my side, whispering in my ear, guiding me , and giving me confidence to do what I needed to do.

They were awesome. The girls and leaders were great. The weather was beautiful. It was an AMAZING week!

Day One consisted of driving the 2 hours to camp at 6am to get it all set up and welcome the girls and get them settled. After orientation (note to self- need to make orientation shorter or at least more interesting), swim tests, get to know you activities, etc. our YCLs did a presentation about our camp theme- "More Precious Than Rubies". They did a fabulous job. The theme is based on the scripture found in Proverbs 31:10 "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies." This was such a nice message and tie in with the new Young Women's Value, virtue. I learned from the YCLs that rubies are often considered more valuable than diamonds because they are so rare. How rare is a virtuous woman these days? Sad. So glad we can encourage virtue in our girls.

After our message of our value being more precious than rubies, it was time for camp songs. So. Much. Fun.

Jillie and her friend Madison. We were so glad to have Madison come to camp with us- and that she had a good time. (She's not a member of our church and only knew a couple of the girls there... but made lots of new friends.)

It was a nice way to end the first day of camp.

Tuesday - Thursday were similar with certification time and free time activities each day, but there were some highlights. Tuesday we had a service project for everyone to be involved in. We decorated inspiring journals and quilted some blankets for a woman's shelter. The girls did such a nice job, and were very thoughtful in their messages they wrote in the journals.

(By the way, Good Mail at Girls Camp is still a hit!)

Tuesday night was also Ward/Branch night. Since we camp by certification level, this allows the girls to spend some time with the girls and leaders from their own congregations. I got to spend some time with our stellar OP young women and their fabulous leaders.

Wednesday night was skit night.. WooHoo! These girls put together some F.U.N.N.Y. skits! They had a time limit and some strange words to include in their skits and that was it. We had some pretty interesting characters show up that night. I laughed so hard. Good, good times!

Wednesday Night was also our YCL sleepover. The YCLs usually sleep in the cabins with the younger girls that they are working with at camp. They miss being together though so we planned one night to be a sleepover for them.

More laughter, more good times. These girls are all so amazing, mature, responsible, and fun. True leaders. I couldn't have been more proud. We had a fun game of "Kowasaki" going that night- though I chose to just watch and take pictures so I didn't have to do some crazy dare. :) (note to self- get out of your comfort zone more often!)

The funniest moment of the night was when the girls went around telling what they most like in a guy- personality trait and physical trait. We were rolling on the floor laughing when Sister Newman scoops her hands like this and talks about her husband cute behind. Ahhh!! Too much!

Thursday was a busy one with hikes, Trauma Day, and a Field Day activity that the 4th years organized for us all. We had our Golden Feast for dinner which included some special guests from the stake and wards. The best moments of camp happened that evening. All of the adults in the camp went to prepare for the evening while some visiting priesthood leaders and I supervised some campfire time.

At dark we brought the girls down to the big fire pit. They were met by "Sariah", Lehi's wife from The Book of Mormon. She told us about a special time in their family when her husband received a vision of the tree of life. (found here and here.) Then she walked away saying, come, walk with me. The girls traded in their flash lights for a glow stick and in small groups quietly made their way through the darkness following their guide.

My group was led by Emily (my Bishop's wife, one of our camp nurses, and a good friend! :)) As we walked in the darkness we could hear voices. In the cabins were flashing lights, laughter, and voices calling for us to come join the party. In the darkness we could also hear people quietly calling to us, "Hey! Come here. Come over here for just a minute. You can go back. Just come here...." Then we came to a rope leading the way down the path (our iron rod from Lehi's vision). Emily turned around and said, "Please remember to always hold to the rod." The girls grabbed the rope and continued along the path.

Most did anyway. I hung back when I realized one of our girls was just standing there, not knowing what to do. She kept looking back over her shoulder at the "party" going on. Then she said, "I think I should go over there." I was shocked, but this experience mirrored her personal life. She is often tempted by the parties and "fun" of the world. I said, "What did Sister Christopherson tell you to do?" She thought for a minute and replied, "to hold to the rod". I waited some more, she kept turning to the cabins. Eventually I walked to the "rod" and said, "Come with me." Finally she came along. The whispering from the darkness got worse. They started insulting us and calling us names. We reached the end of the rope and found on of the Stake YW Presidency members dressed in white leading us around the corner.

There in front of us stood our Stake President all in white in front of this tree...

(picture taken after our evening events)

The hymns played quietly. Once everyone had arrived, our Stake President spoke to the girls about virtue, and then we began our testimony meeting. The Spirit was so strong at camp all week, but on Thursday night there was no denying it.

Often times girls camp testimony meetings can have some fluffy 'testimonies' about how much they love their friends, etc. That did not happen tonight. Every girl that spoke was solid. They made some excellent points about what they had just experienced- about the importance of families working toward the same goal, the reality that it is often voices we know, our friends, who are trying to pull us off the path, that no goal is more important than returning to our Heavenly Father. One girl who we'd had a few problems with swearing spoke about how she understands better now that if God is King and we are His daughters, then we are princesses. It hit her that princesses don't swear, they don't judge others, they are modest, they set a good example for others, and that she needed to change. Jillie bore her testimony of getting an answer to a prayer during that week of camp (warms her Mommy's heart!). The entire meeting was excellent.

I was the one who had to decide when to end the meeting. That was a tough call. You know there are young girls out there working up the courage to speak what is in their heart. You want them to have that opportunity if at all possible. Finally at about 11:15pm-11:30pm we ended. It was so cold, most of the girls had born their testimony, many were yawning. Still, I found out after of a few girls who were almost ready and were disappointed that they didn't get up. :( The overall feeling there was so nice. Everyone lingered there in the light of the tree for a while. Girls were hugging each other. "I love you" was spoken all around. Jillie's friend Madison, and another non member girl both told me that they felt so inspired and almost got up too. Wow. What a night. I pray what they all felt that night will stay with them and uplift them now that they are back out in the world.

Friday was the day to break down camp, hand out cabin pictures to all the girls, and finally watch the slide show of the week before heading home. Oh that slide show! One of the leaders put it together for us, but as I returned to my room Thursday night I found her in trouble. She made it in iMovie, transferred it to iDVD, but then realized that her drive doesn't burn DVDs. Mine does, but it took us HOURS to figure out how to move her iMovie to my iMovie program. Eventually I accidentally hit the wrong button, but it was the right button. (a little divine assistance around 3am I think) Thankfully it worked and it was the perfect way to end Girls Camp.

I am so excited about next year. Excited to have Jillie AND Reagan with me next year as we grow and learn and are filled.

Guess who...

2009-08-27T17:35:00.002-04:00

Lost his first tooth!!

He's planning to go to the store tomorrow because he knows money is for buying cars!

How to spend 3 hours alone

2009-08-12T10:53:00.002-04:00

While running errands, talk on the phone to your sister.

Upon arriving home, pull the car into the garage, keep talking to your sister.

When your 4 year old climbs into the front seat to pretend to drive the car, figure there's no harm in letting him play while you unload items into the house and get stuff done.

Prop open door from the garage to the house. Keep talking to your sister.

Forget that there is a Sharpie in the car.

After talking to your sister and taking care of stuff in the house for a while, realize that the 4 year old is still busy in the car.

Go check on 4 year old.

Repeat in your sister's ear, "Oh no! Oh no, oh no, oh no! " because you see this...

Send 4 year old in the house with a stern reminder that we ONLY DRAW ON PAPER!

Your sister immediately Googles and starts calling out names of products and techniques to get permanent marker out of fabric.

Assemble supplies.

Thank your sister.

Hang up.

Get to work.

After about 3 hours alone, you've done all you can do.

Decide that ALL writing utensils go in the little hidden compartment on the dashboard and Sharpies live in the house!

Thankfully, all of the marks dry lighter than they appear wet and you can't even notice them now.

BONUS!!

When you get out to the car in the morning to drive kids to school, you discover that working in the car with the doors open for 3 hours totally kills your car battery!

Be grateful for early rising neighbors who eventually give your car a jump start.

Get the kids to school- late.

THE END.

Spontaneous

2009-07-30T00:27:00.006-04:00

Apparently I've learned how to be spontaneous- from the master, Greg.

Sunday after church I was about to settle in for a little nap when I realized I had a message on my phone. It was my sister Holly saying that she'd been on my facebook (she goes on as me so no one can find her) and that Erica's status said that she was going to meet David Archuleta at a fireside that night. (Erica is a teenage girl who lives in the Cleveland area, who used to be in the same ward with us when we lived in Michigan years ago.) I haven't talked to her in person since she was about 9 years old, but I was so glad she put her cell phone number on her facebook so we could get the details.

Finally- a chance to give Jillie her hearts desire, and off my back begging for us to find a way for her to meet David. I asked Greg to help me figure out how we could make this happen. We would have to leave in 30 minutes if we were to travel the 3 hours to Kirtland, Ohio and make it in time for the fireside.

I was already planning to go to Cleveland on Monday afternoon to take the girls to the Demi Lovato/David Archuleta concert Monday night and return home early Tuesday morning before Greg left for work. I planned to leave the boys with a babysitter.

Now plans had to change, Greg walked me through different possibilities. Hiring a babysitter to stay with the boys all day Monday was no good because the house was a wreck- coming off a week long trip to Michigan for the kids. Bringing the boys and a babysitter along didn't seem fair to the babysitter. Keeping Jackson happy and quiet in a hotel room all evening wouldn't be fun for anyone. I also knew that the boys would really like a chance to see David too. We decided to call Amanda- a 16 year old girl in the ward who we know is responsible enough to take the girls to the concert safely and who is a big Archuleta fan too.

We called her and she was in (and very excited), packed the kids and myself for the next 2 days and were on the road within that 30 minute window. We arrived just before the meeting began.

Both of my girls have blogged about it already... Jillie here and Reagan here

Kirtland, Ohio Stake Center and the car HE arrived in... (no pictures allowed when we got to meet him, so this is our only photographic evidence)

I suppose their faces are evidence as well... Everyone got to shake his hand and talk to him a bit. I even had a chance to thank him for setting such a good example for our kids. Jackson opted to hug him instead. :)

We spent the next afternoon at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.

Dropped the girls off at the concert...

Jillie, Reagan, and Amanda after the concert...

It was quite the adventure for us all!

Hawaii: Final Hours

2009-07-15T23:48:00.006-04:00

Our last day in Hawaii- so sad. Actually I was excited to get home and see the kids too though! We enjoyed a delicious breakfast under this shady tree at one of the hotel restaurants.

Then off to soak up whatever sun we had time for. First stop the beach with the fish in the water and the crabs on the rocks. Greg went in to shower before check out time, I went to the pool. I wanted to spend every available minute relaxing in the sun. It was hot out there, but that's good. We don't get much hot in Buffalo!
When it was time to leave I went in to change in the restroom and found Greg "resting his eyes" in the lobby. The 6 hour time difference really did a number on us. We never really knew what time zone our bodies were in.
So off to the airport we went on a Saturday afternoon. We got one last smile at Hawaiian happiness at the airport...

Cute, huh? :)

We left Honolulu late Saturday afternoon and arrived home at 10am Sunday morning. I really struggled to sleep on that flight- like I said my clock was all mixed up. It was great to finally get home and be with the kids again. Huge thanks go out to my mom and dad for staying with the kids through a very busy week! The kids of course had a GREAT time with Grandma and Papa, but I think they were pretty glad to have us back- or at least to get their souvenirs we brought them!

Hawaii: Day 5

2009-07-14T17:17:00.000-04:00

May 15, 2009

Happy 17th Anniversary to us!

This morning we headed out for Pearl Harbor and decided to stop for a quick breakfast at McDonald's. Check out the Hawaiian specialty breakfasts. Eggs with rice and Spam or Portuguese sausage. Apparently Spam is a big deal over there. Also, along side the traditional apple pie they also have taro pie. Interesting.

What I liked the most was that although we were not in a touristy area, after we got our order the lady said, Mahalo. (Thank you in Hawaiian.) It struck me that it wasn't just something cute they just do for the tourists, it is actually their culture to continue to use some native words. Even the sign at the end of the drive thru said Mahalo instead of Thank You like everywhere else in the U.S.Then off to Pearl Harbor to go to the USS Arizona Memorial. Since it is a National Monument, it has the same restrictions as all national monuments have had since 9/11.
When we entered the building we were given a ticket (free) telling us what time our group would begin. We were lucky enough to get in the next group. First we were brought to a theater where we watched a documentary film about the Pearl Harbor attacks. Pretty much made you really mad at the Japanese back then. How insane do you have to be to pull this? Ultimately they ended up getting the raw end of the deal though. Anyhow, after the film we got on a boat which took us out to the Arizona. Very somber there.
1177 men died that day, many are still entombed in the ship below. The Japanese bomb that hit the USSArizona ignited the forward magazine causing an explosion that sunk the battleship in nine minutes. They couldn't get out. 60 years later there is still oil leaking form the ship. Apparently these are nicknamed the "tears of the Arizona".

The USS Missouri was docked nearby which is the same size as the Arizona. We didn't tour it, but it is available for tours. The white ball in the distance marks the front end of the Arizona.
This drawing gives you better perspective of the size of the ship under the memorial building- the white narrow rectangle perpendicular to the ship below.
At one end of the memorial is a wall of names listing those killed in action. Many had the same last names since many sets of brothers or father& son perished together that day. I am so glad we went here and were able to pay our respects to those brave men.

After our thought provoking visit to the Arizona, we headed back to Laie. The other side of the island is so beautifully lush and green. This is not a great picture of the scenery from the car, but it reminded me of footage from the show Lost.

Our first stop in Laie was to the Temple. It is closed for renovations, but we enjoyed walking the grounds, going to Visitor's Center and even Church distribution.
Loved how all the little touch screens in the visitors center were in little huts!!

Even the film viewing room had Hawaiian touches.
This sculpture was unusual to me, but it was created by the same artist who did the carved friezes atop the temple

We stopped next at the campus again. Thought we'd have lunch at their version of the Cougareat.
Let's just say the Seasider is no Cougareat...
so we went next door to the Polynesian Cultural Center for lunch (our tickets were good for a repeat visit.) We spent some more time browsing around the different island areas. Of course we had to stop in New Zealand so I could get a tattoo. ;)
Then to Tahiti to learn some hip shaking hula
and even to Easter Island to pose with the big heads.
We returned to our hotel in time to sit out on the beach and enjoy our last Hawaiian sunset together.

Then off to dinner at the fancy restaurant at the hotel. What a great day- great week- to spend with my best friend. How glad I am we chose each other all those years ago.

Bonus Blessing: The Power of Music

2009-07-12T13:57:00.005-04:00

We interrupt this Hawaiian vacation report for a few Sunday thoughts.

This past week I sat and watched the Michael Jackson memorial on TV. I thought it was excellent by the way. Many times, especially during the Heal the World/We are the World medley I found myself in tears and contemplating the power of music. At that moment I got a call from a Bishopric member asking if I would give a short concluding talk at the end of a sacrament meeting of musical numbers. He asked me to speak on the power of music in our lives. Um, yes. I will do that.

While preparing my talk I thought I'd check my 52 Blessings Project posts from last year to see what I'd written about music. I was SHOCKED to see that I hadn't included one of the most important blessings in my life- music.

I decided to post my thoughts from my talk here today because so much of what I said is about my personal experiences with Church music shaping my testimony of Jesus Christ.

The Power of Music

I believe music is THE most powerful tool that the Spirit has to speak to our spirits. I also believe that it is a vital part of our spiritual growth in the gospel.

Only 3 months after the Church was organized the Lord, through the prophet Joseph Smith called Emma Smith to compile a selection of hymns for the Church. Why? Because as He said in Doctrine and Covenants 25:12, “For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart, yea the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads.”

When we sing the hymns, it is the same as saying a prayer- and it should be treated as such. We will be blessed for singing those hymns from our hearts.

Some of the finest music in the Church is taught in Primary. Children all over the world have learned the basics of the gospel through those songs… and when they learn those songs, they will never forget the principles taught because of the music.

Every child in the Church knows that they are each a Child of God.

If you ask them which Church they belong to and what they believe, they know thanks to the song “The Church of Jesus Christ.”

They know where they come from as they sing “I Lived in Heaven”

They know about temples when they sing “I Love to See the Temple” and “Families Can Be Together Forever.”

They know about modern day prophets and the ancient prophets they sing about in “Follow the Prophet”

They recognize the Holy Ghost because of the song, “A Still Small Voice”

They know that kindness begins with them, that reverence is more than just quietly sitting, how to choose the right way to be happy and they feel their Savior’s love in all the world around them.

I could go on and on about how many gospel topics our children have learned through their Primary Songs.

It is exciting to me that they learn a hymn each year too. Last year my 4 year olds favorite song was “Called to Serve”. This year they are learning “How Firm a Foundation” This music will uplift and strengthen them throughout their lives. If any of you didn’t get to be in Primary as a child or don’t know some of the newer songs, I am sure the children would love you to come down and learn with them from time to time.

I know that is where my own testimony began to grow. Singing in Primary always felt good and I knew what they taught was true. In fact as I thought about this talk this week I was overwhelmed with what an important role music has played in my own life.

When I was Primary age I remember learning that to get a bad word or thought out of my head or even the feelings after a scary dream all I needed to do was to sing a church song in my head and soon I would feel good again.

When I was a teenager I gained my testimony of Jesus Christ through music. My mom had just finished teaching an Easter Family Home Evening lesson about the Savior. When everyone went up for their treat, I sat on the couch with a hymn book opened to “I Know That My Redeemer Lives”. As I quietly sang to myself the Spirit came so strongly and at that moment I knew. I knew it and can never deny that Jesus Christ lives and He is my Savior. It is often very hard for me to get through that hymn anymore with dry eyes as those feelings return.

In college there was an incident where the spontaneous singing of “We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet” by a student filled Marriott Center calmed us in a time of fear and even helped in securing the safety of President Hunter from a disturbed intruder.

More recently I had another experience with music when my grandma passed away rather suddenly. She was seriously an angel on earth and she loved music with all her heart. A week or so after she passed I was in the basement doing laundry, not thinking of anything in particular. In my head I began to hear her voice singing her favorite hymn “I Need Thee Every Hour”. I’m not saying that she was actually there, but I’m not saying she wasn’t either. What was important was that I felt that she was bearing her testimony to me one more time. The hymn brought me comfort while strengthening my testimony of Jesus Christ and eternal families.

I’m sure we all have had experiences where gospel music has spoken to our hearts and taught us important truths. There truly is power in the hymns.

There is a lot of good music out in the world. Classical music is powerful and moving.
Even good modern music uplifts us and helps us to feel happy and positive.

But nothing is as powerful as a hymn and nothing invites the spirit but a hymn (because it is a prayer.) In the moment a hymn begins to play, the feeling in the room changes, the Spirit is present. I want to encourage all of us to know the hymns and learn from them. I challenge you to use the hymns to learn and understand gospel principles better. Use the hymns to strengthen your testimony. If there’s a topic you want to study, go to the topical guide in the back of the hymn book. Choose a hymn related to your topic. Sing the hymn and learn from it’s words. Then continue to the scripture references at the bottom of the page which take you into the scriptures for study. The Spirit will be with you. Have this music in your homes, in your cars, on your iPod- wherever you are so that you can invite the Spirit to be with you when you need Him most.

Hawaii: Day 4

2009-07-09T06:48:00.001-04:00

Today we rented a car and drove over to Honolulu. We headed to the Hilton on Waikiki Beach to take a submarine tour. I am so glad we didn't stay down there in Waikiki. Everywhere you looked there were high rise hotels surrounded by souvenir shops. and crowded beaches and pools- people everywhere. It was still nice, just crowded and overloaded with tourist traps. I guess I liked the relative seclusion of our Marriott in Ko'Olina. I had to take a picture of this funny statue outside one of the stores though...
The Hilton had a bit of a mini zoo included in the landscape. Turtles, penguins, exotic birds, and coy ponds at every turn.

And of course the wedding chapel. I think most of the hotel properties have a wedding chapel. There was one at our Marriott too and we saw at least 2 wedding parties a day.
Wedding pictures on this beach would be tricky. Trying to get a shot without bikini clad women in the background would be difficult, not to mention all of the people out in the water. This Japanese couple had to walk past a homeless man asleep on the beach to get their "romantic" beach photos taken.
So, we got to the dock early for our submarine tour. We let the stragglers from a school field trip go ahead of us in line... only to find out that their group had under counted how many kids they had which left 4 of us without a seat on our scheduled ride. (Our tickets had been purchased in advance and our seats reserved.) They asked us to come back in a couple of hours! for another submarine. We were not too happy. We were offered a DVD of the ride for our trouble. Um, no. I don't think so. Eventually they agreed to give us back half of our payment for our trouble. Um, yes. Since each ticket cost about $100 it was nice to get some back! We needed to figure out something to do to pass the time. We ended up at the Ala Moana Center. It was an interesting mall... all open air and every store imaginable from little t- shirt souvenir shops, Old Navy, and Claire's to Prada, Gucci, and Betsy Johnson.

Finally it was time for our delayed underwater adventure. We took a boat out to open water, then looked for a big bubble on the surface. That's where the submarine surfaced. Very cool.Inside the sub...

We traveled underwater and saw marine life in their natural habitat. There were many man made reefs down there including a sunken ship and sunken airplane. It was kind of hard to make out some things and even harder to get a good picture of what we were seeing. If you look really carefully you might see the turtle laying on the deck of a sunken ship.Luckily another turtle came up close for his photo shoot.

And this big guy too.

Most of the time we saw little fish like these in large groups. Spme were yellow, but with many it was hard to make out what color they were, or even if they had a color. It was a fun experience to have had. My 40 year old little boy really enjoyed it! :) We had to rush back to our hotel after the ride because the Lakers were playing again (NBA Playoffs). I spent some time taking pictures off the balcony. I really enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere at our beach. Quiet is nice when you don't get that often.

Hawaii: Day 3

2009-07-05T23:15:00.008-04:00

Wouldn't it be nice if I've been in Hawaii as long as my blog has?!

OK, so back to Hawaii. After talking with the concierge at our hotel we made some sight seeing plans. On our 3rd day we caught a tour bus to the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC). I don't know how typical the tour was, but we seemed to luck out. Our tour guide drove us the long way to the PCC and had lots of information to share along the way. We learned things about the Pearl Harbor attacks, Hawaiian traditions, how to grow a pineapple, where the cast of Lost films and where they eat out, where Elvis lived on the island, and why the turtles come on the beach at a specific time each day at Turtle Bay (because that's when the sharks come close to the shore).

He also made a surprise stop at the Dole Plantation. We were pleasantly surprised since we knew this was the only other place beside Disneyland and Disney World to get a Dole Whip. YUM! :)

On our way in we were persuaded by a jewelers kiosk offer to open an oyster. We cracked one open to find a nice pearl.

Before I knew it Greg bought me a setting for it and now I have a beautiful new pearl necklace.

She also gave us another oyster to open as a freebie. That one had 2 pearls in it, so we brought those home for the girls. Anyhow, as we left Dole, our driver gave us each a pineapple and took us to our next stop... this odd building... which houses the North Shore Soap Factory.

Our guide also let us stop at a couple of North Shore beaches along the way, particularly ones that are famous for surfing competitions.

Eventually we arrived at the PCC where our guide decided that he would be our guide at the PCC as well (even though the BYU-Hawaii students are supposed to do that.) He took us around, explained the Polynesian culture, gave us mini horticulture lessons telling us which plants the natives use for various health conditions and even bought us some yummy snacks.

This coconut roll was yummy. Really just a dinner roll with some sweet coconut glaze, but tasty. And then there was this refreshing, delicious dessert- watermelon and banana ice cream-sorbet-type-stuff (yes, that's what they called it) on top of sliced peaches and melons.

We saw a parade on rafts representing the different islands of Polynesia...

We traveled around to all the different islands represented, listened to their music, learned their dances and games, enjoyed their traditions and laughed so hard at the presentation about Samoa. Cracked. Us. Up.

By the way... lots of BYU-Hawaii students in native attire. I assume the dress code on campus is more strict! :)

We did take a little break and went next door to the BYU-Hawaii campus.

The Aloha Center is the Hawaiian version of the Wilkinson Center at Provo. You know we had to go to their (mini) bookstore for souvenirs. The big problem is that BYU Hawaii's color is RED, not unlike BYU Provo's biggest rival- the Utes. We managed to get shirts for everyone with as little red as possible. :)

Back at the PCC we enjoyed a nice meal at the Luau. We had great seats right next to the stage. We ate delicious food- check out the purple tarot rolls.

We watched a nice luau show complete with young children dancing, sang happy birthday to Greg when they asked everyone who was celebrating a birthday in May to stand, and we even got a chance to dance on stage. They asked everyone who was celebrating an anniversary to come dance on stage while we were serenaded. (The couple sitting next to us took the picture.)

We finished up our day there with the Evening Show which is an exhibition of dances from all over Polynesia including the Haka which originated in New Zealand (the BYU Football players do before each game) and some exciting fireknife dancing.

It was another great day!

Maybe in another month I write more about the trip... or sooner I hope!

Hawaii: Day 1-2

2009-06-08T10:20:00.014-04:00

Hawaii was wonderful! I highly recommend it. :)

It was a fabulous way to celebrate Greg's 40th birthday and our 17th Anniversary.

The flight from New York to Oahu was extremely long, but I didn't mind at all. (I would never take the kids- especially Jackson- on that long of a flight though!) I got to watch 3 movies and a couple of TV shows and get in a good sleep. I know, sleeping on a plane is not very comfortable, but when you were as tired as me, you can sleep anywhere! We left home before the kids even got up for school. By the time we got to Honolulu we had to hurry and call the kids and say goodnight. (10:00 pm New York time, 4:00 pm Hawaii time.)

We arrived at the JW Marriott Ihilani, checked out the room and the view,

took a walk around the grounds and down the beach. Sting rays, sharks, and other tropical sea life were in ponds around the property. Saw lots of these interesting trees too.

The beaches along the Marriott property are these little man made lagoons that have sandy beaches, but the actual shoreline is volcanic rock. It was all very beautiful.

And don't you love this?

So refreshing. Ice cold water with lemon, lime and orange slices. I stopped for a drink every time we went by one! These were in the lobby and at the pool. (Made me think of you Angie M.)

We ate a delicious sunset dinner at the hotel and headed back to the room. I think we passed out 7pm - which meant we were wide awake at 4am the next day! I am not a morning person at all. I've never been on a vacation where I'm waiting for the restaurant to open to go have breakfast! By the way, the breakfast buffet was awesome! Every breakfast food you could possibly want and tons of fruit and a juicer with recipes for juice combinations. We enjoyed pineapple juice every day YUM! After we ate we just sat by the empty pool waiting for the gift shop to open so we could buy some sunscreen.

So foreign to me to be wide awake and ready to go for the day so early with nothing to do. So I took more pictures...

This is a top secret sneak peek for Beth. It is the location of the new Disney Ko Olina Resort which is going in right next door to the Marriott Ihilani. Thought you might want to be on the cutting edge. Make your reservations now! ;~)

We ended up spending the entire day on the Ihilani's beach. Greg wisely sunscreened up. Me, not so much. That stuff really does work. I just barely finished peeling from my various burns. But how relaxing it was to lay in the sun, totally uninterrupted.

I found the sand to really different than I am used to. It didn't feel like the Lake Michigan sand I'm used to, it felt more like finely ground oatmeal. Strange.

(sorry about all the feet pictures!)

I did get out in the water for a little while, just floating on my back. After a while I started feeling nauseous. Are you kidding me? Seasick from just laying in the water? What's up with my body?!

We spent the late afternoon in the room since the Lakers were playing of course. Dinner and sound asleep again around 7 or 8 pm!! That time difference is brutal. :) More adventures to follow...

The BIG weekend- Mothers and 40

2009-05-28T22:55:00.001-04:00

"The second weekend in May was a BIG one for us. Everyone was coming to our home to celebrate Kobe's baptism,

Mother's Day,and Greg's 40th birthday!!"

Sunday- Mother's Day AND Greg's 40th Birthday!!!

Even with the Avery's headed home, we still had a lot of people to get ready for church. It took me the longest to get to church with Jackson in tow. He'd been coughing a bunch that morning due to a little cold. It's always worse when you just wake up though, so I brought him to church.

Toward the end of Sacrament Meeting Jackson started coughing really hard and started gagging on the phlegm. Instinct kicked in and I stuck my hand out under his mouth as he vomited into it. Lovely...Happy Mother's Day to me. Out of no where people were handing us tissues. Reagan grabbed a Pull Up out of the bag for me to try to wipe it all into. What a mess. Jackson was upset that his shirt was a little messy and my dress was too. Off to the restroom we went to

wash up a little and then home to change. I figured no one would want me to bring him back to his Primary class so we got in cozy clothes and stayed home.

{Pretty tulips Sheryl got me for Mother's Day}

Dad and Greg made a YUMMY dinner for everyone. (Yes, poor Greg had to cook for his mother, wife and mother in law even though it was his 40th Birthday today!!) Greg grilled steaks and chicken. Dad made a homemade salad dressing and low(-er) fat version of fettuccine alfredo. (Some recipes he learned to make in a cooking class we got him for his birthday.)

{This is not a great picture of Dad, I caught him mid sentence. I just wanted to include a picture of him creating in the kitchen.}

There was pasta salad, green salad, potato salad, asparagus, fruit, rolls...

It was all so good!

After dinner we had a little present time for Greg (and the mom's too.) Then it was time to get ready for the big birthday present- a trip to Hawaii!!! I still had laundry to do and put away. I had to finalize the week's schedule for my parents who were staying home with the kids. I had to pack. Busy, Busy.

Soon it was time for us to say our goodbyes to the Colorado family. The kids especially were bummed, not knowing when the next visit with their cousins might be. Even Kobe hugged Jake and Kyle goodbye. (Well, it was more of a hug turned into a painful tackle... poor Scorse boys!) Greg took Sheryl and the boys to the airport late that afternoon, only to get a call from them a little later because a flight had been cancelled. The kids cheered! More play time! :) This meant though that Sheryl and the boys would need to leave for the airport around 4am. So, while I finished up packing, etc most of the night, Greg slept a bit, took them to the airport and returned to get me to catch our flight... The excitement of the BIG weekend had passed and now we got to seriously relax!

The BIG weekend- Baptism Day

2009-05-24T22:20:00.005-04:00

"The second weekend in May was a BIG one for us. Everyone was coming to our home to celebrate Kobe's baptism,

Mother's Day,

and Greg's 40th birthday!!"

Saturday- After staying up until 5am due to a slow computer and too much left to do, I slept in letting the rest of the adults in the house deal with kids in the morning. Awesome hostess aren't I?! (We were up to 16 people under our roof now.) There was lots of playing, some practicing by Reagan and Jillie for the baptism,

and some swimming in frigid pool waters by "the middles" (Kobe, Saroya and Kyle) Jaleigh put her suit on too because she's just beautiful in it. :) I finally got Kobe's program printed up and slide show done about an hour before the baptism. That slide show... that was work.... or at least picking out the pictures was a HUGE chore! We got our first digital camera when Kobe was born. I take a lot of pictures- thousands since he's been born. Going through all of the pictures for each year of his life took so long and there were so many good pictures. I tried to narrow it down as best I could so the slide show wouldn't just go on and on. I'm happy with it though. (I'll post it after this post.)

I am so grateful for all the help I got from everyone that day. My Mom and Dad, Sheryl, Nathan, and Holly helped so much to get everyone and everything ready to go on time. It wouldn't have happened without them. Thank you! Thank you! A million times, thank you!

The Grandmas.

Holly & Nathan (had to post this one because it's so rare to catch Nathan in a real smile!)

So the baptism went on without a hitch. Kobe was a little nervous I think, but he was happy too. We are so proud of him making such a good choice.

(the inside of the program)

Ethan and My Dad spoke at the baptism. They both had Kobe come up in front for an object lesson as part of their talks. I loved this so much. I'm sure it really helped Kobe to understand better the concepts of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. (Dad even used Reagan, Jillie, Ethan, and Jacob to help with his object lesson.)

Jillie and Reagan did a duet that was awesome! I'm a proud Mommy. The both saw Kobe's baptism as an opportunity to share their musical talents. I'm glad Kobe was fine with that. They did the song "I Am A Child Of God". Reagan played it through first on her cello. Jillie sang the first verse as a solo (with our friend John Melling on piano). They sang a duet on the other 2 verses, with Jillie singing the descant on the last verse. It sounded great and the bishopric even asked if they would do that again in sacrament meeting sometime soon. :)

Greg of course baptized Kobe. He also confirmed Kobe with the assistance of my Dad, Nathan, Shawn Christensen, Nick Brandt, and Bishop Christopherson. The spirit was strong. In the confirmation blessing Greg said that he felt his own father's presence there as well. (Greg's dad passed away 14 years ago.) Kobe received a wonderful blessing from our Heavenly Father and now the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost.

We had so many great friends come out in the middle of a busy Saturday afternoon to support Kobe in his decision to be baptized. We are so thankful to all of them!

After the baptism we served a little snack of ice cream sundaes and fruit salad. My friend Marilyn Chambers was so sweet to bring some mint brownies to serve too! Oh my goodness I forgot to mention some more service I was the recipient of this weekend. On Thursday night, my friend Marielle Melling showed up at the door as we were having our pizza party dinner with a huge tray of WARM cinnamon rolls. Oh my goodness. What a sweetheart and what a surprise! I wish I was more thoughtful like those girls!

So, back to Saturday... We returned home to make dinner for the whole clan. Our friends Nick Brandt and Shawn Christensen joined us too for steak, chicken scampi, hamburgers, hot dogs, and more. Sheryl made 2 delicious cakes that I can't believe I didn't take pictures of. (I took so few pictures this weekend! Thank goodness Holly did. I do love having pictures!)) Sheryl made a lemon cake for Kobe's baptism and an amazing chocolate cake for Greg's 40th birthday.
We had a nice visit with everyone. Sadly Holly, Nathan and kids had to leave to drive through the night back to Michigan. (Nathan had to work at 6pm Sunday night.)

Before going to bed I saw Kobe looking through his new scriptures, so we took a little time together talking about them. (Dad grabbed my camera and took pictures.) It was a nice moment to end a great day on.

(Sorry these are such long posts, I just want to record all of the details I can remember.)

Still more to come...

Kobe. The First Eight Years.

2009-05-24T22:03:00.000-04:00

The BIG weekend continues...

2009-05-23T18:01:00.006-04:00

"The second weekend in May was a BIG one for us. Everyone was coming to our home to celebrate
Kobe's baptism,
Mother's Day,
and Greg's 40th birthday!!"

Friday-

We got a slow start... or at least I did. The kids were up bright and early as usual. So much to do, so little time! I had to go to the grocery store, to get food for the rest of the weekend, the baptism, and try to stock up on food for the next week when my folks are here with our kids. Holly and Sheryl decided to come with me to do a little shopping of their own, Greg was at work, and Nathan got the lovely job of caring for, entertaining, and feeding lunch to NINE kids ages 4-12. He does a great job with the kids- and not many kids can resist Uncle Nathan's Famous Mac 'n Cheese. (Kraft Mac 'n Cheese with tons of butter basically) :) Holly HAD to get a sandwich at Wegman's and because she is so persuasive, Sheryl and I each got one too. She cracked us up all the way home with her pure joy in eating that sandwich. She also delighted in seeing us eat ours. :)

After the big shopping trip, we loaded up the kids and drove the hour and 15 minutes to Palmyra, NY. Nathan opted to hang back for some quiet study time. I still needed to find a gift for Greg's birthday, so I left Holly and Sheryl with all the kids at the Smith Farm and took off for the local LDS bookstore.

They toured both homes...

and they took a nice hike through the Sacred Grove...Jackson was d-o-n-e by the time I joined them again. He'd taken a nasty fall and his elbow was really scrapped up. He'd recovered, but seeing me again, all the emotions came back up. We drove over to Hill Cumorah where I waited in the car with Jackson.

Holly took some great pictures at the farm and at Cumorah.

Heading up to the hill.

Grammie G stops to smell the lilacs.

There is a path that criss-crosses up the hill, but the kids decided to head straight up...

... to the top...

...and down again. (Love this picture- love the green and love that perfect tree across the road. We call it the Tree of Life.)

We got home for a late dinner. Greg & Nathan were home. More fun was had by all. My parents arrived late that night after driving from Michigan. I was up VERY late that night ( 5am I think), still finishing Kobe's slide show for his baptism and creating the printed baptism program. It had to get done though, this was crunch time. The baptism was tomorrow!!

To be continued...

The BIG weekend begins!- edit

2009-05-22T11:14:00.003-04:00

The second weekend in May was a BIG one for us. Family started rolling in from Colorado and Michigan starting on Wednesday, May 6th. Everyone was coming to our home to celebrate

Kobe's baptism,

Mother's Day,

and Greg's 40th birthday!!

As usual I was going crazy trying to get the entire house clean & organized, grocery shopping for the masses as well as preparing for the baptism and making preparations for a trip to Hawaii Greg and I were taking the following week. I can't think of a time when I was so exhausted physically and mentally. Don't get me wrong, I was so excited to have everyone here, but I was stressing to have everything perfect before they all arrived. But then something unusual happened. I gave in. I didn't care. Our family was coming. Family. People who love me and they already know I'm not perfect. As each group arrived I felt relieved. Not only were we going to have fun with them all, but they came to help as well. I appreciate them all SO, SO much for making it a great weekend!! (I hope their visit wasn't too much of a working visit, since I really put everyone to work cooking, cleaning, shopping, watching the kids, ironing clothes, etc...)

It was such a great weekend and it flew by way too fast!

Wednesday night: Kobe had a Pack meeting for scouts. It was the... He earned his Bobcat (and some other things I can't remember) and had fun creating his own invention:Greg had to leave before the meeting was over because his mom, Sheryl, and 2 nephews, Jake and Kyle, were flying in from Colorado! House ready? No. Oh well. Let the fun begin anyway!

Thursday: I attended a "Mother's Day Tea" at Jackson's preschool. So fun to see him in that environment and see what he's been doing in class. This little song/dance (one of many) cracked me up. :)

After preschool we went home, picked up Sheryl and the boys, and headed for...

Niagara Falls!!

Jake and Kyle had to borrow their Uncle Greg's sweatshirts since it gets a little chilly at the falls.

Sheryl took the boys on the Maid of the Mist. Jackson was adamant about NOT getting on the boat so we stayed ashore.The ones who did brave the falls sure felt it. The were wind swept and soaked. So much for the blue ponchos they give you to keep you dry! We spent a little more time enjoying the signs of spring...

... then headed home since my kids were returning from school and they didn't like the thought of their cousins not being at the house when they were!

Not long after getting home, my sister and brother in law, Holly and Nathan, and their kids, Ethan, Saroya, and Jaleigh showed up at our door. They'd been driving all day from Michigan. We were up to 9 kids and 5 adults. Pizza for dinner seemed appropriate for the party atmosphere that was going on!

**Edit- I forgot to mention a little about the cousins. First of all, the cousins- although from different sides of the family and had never met before- all got along swimmingly. Literally in some cases. Once Holly's family arrived, the back yard instantly looked like a park. Kids running everywhere, playing on the playground, and splashing each other by standing next to our newly opened pool. While I was off getting the pizza somehow Kobe and Kyle ended up in the pool- fully clothed. (At least Kyle had his shoes off, Kobe didn't. :-$) I believe it was Saroya who ended up pushing the boys who were sitting on the pool edge soaking everyone around them. Those "middles" all think a like. The boys LOVED it. They all had such a good time together. :)**

After dinner we all headed off to the Middle School to hear Jillie's choir sing, as well as other school musical groups perform. We took up almost an entire row! Holly was kind enough to sit out in the hall with Jackson who for some reason refuses to go into any of the kids performances these days. (*frustrating!*)

Jillie did great. I forgot the battery to my camera though so I don't have any video footage to share this time- just a picture from Holly's camera. (Middle row, black jacket near the middle.)

Greg and Nathan left as soon as Jillie's group finished so they could get over to the church to play basketball. The rest of us took the kids home and eventually got them all to sleep in various rooms of the house.

More to come...

Fight Night

2009-05-20T17:18:00.007-04:00

Greg's company sponsored a kickboxing event last month- and he and his friend Dave needed to go to help represent the company. They decided too that it would be a fun father-son outing and brought the older boys. Greg, of course, took Kobe on a shopping trip to outfit him in the coolest clothes possible...

Now they were ready for the fights... (And I waited by the phone in case the event ended up being deemed inappropriate for children by the dads.)

(Greg & Kobe with Dave, Connor and Blake)

The boys enjoyed keeping score during each fight. They also all got to meet and congratulate the big winner of the night.
(And I appreciate the pictures taken by the company so I could see what fun they had together!)

Together Forever

2009-05-20T15:29:00.004-04:00

April 25, 2009 Palmyra New York LDS Temple

Nick and Angie were sealed for time and all eternity. We have been fortunate to know the Brandt's as they began learning about the gospel and were baptized in March 2008. On their sealing day we were blessed to be in the temple with them. They are such an impressive couple, good examples to us, and great friends. It was especially touching when their 4 year old daughter came into the Sealing Room to be sealed to her parents. I'm pretty sure there was not a dry eye in the room as they knelt across the altar holding hands. So sweet. So important.

It was also especially nice to be there with Greg, to remember our own wedding day nearly 17 years before. We are so happy to be an eternal family.

Aloha!

2009-05-18T11:42:00.004-04:00

Home again...

... but still in this state of mind.

(and my body's still in that time zone. Hopefully I'll find energy to blog about it all soon!)

17 years

2009-05-15T10:44:00.001-04:00

17 years of wedded bliss.

Love you so much Greg!

Thanks for a great week!

Spring Break '09 Recap

2009-04-24T22:20:00.006-04:00

Spring Break was winding up this time last week... finally getting around to posting about it!

(This has been a busy week finishing up one calling to start a new one. This week there was an Enrichment Meeting I was in charge of as a counselor in the Ward Relief Society Presidency- and now that it's done, I've been released. I have been called as Assistant Stake Camp Director and we had a big meeting this week for that as well- and I'm trying to play catch up there since meetings have been happening for a couple of months already. Anyhow- enough of that...)

So- Spring Break. We spent most of the time at home this year, relaxing & playing with friends. I relished in the lack of a schedule. The kids woke up in the mornings and snuck downstairs, trying to be as quiet as possible (except for Jackson) to allow me to sleep in. I think they knew if I got up I'd tell them to turn off the TV and computers, get ready for the day and clean a room or two. Smart kids tried to get me to sleep in as long as possible. It worked. Cleaning and organizing did not happen. We did throw in a few fun away-from-home activities so I didn't feel like a complete loser mom. ;)

Kobe's Cub Scout troop had a special tour of the local police station over break. They got to learn about how so many people get arrested for being too drunk at the Bills games, how the police practice sharp shooting in the Bills Stadium (not on game days of course), and how if someone wanted to fly a plane into the Bills Stadium, there's not much they can do to stop it. Nice. They got to look in the police car and learn that the back seats are hard plastic seats so if a criminal vomits or urinates back there, they can just hose it down. Nice. They got to stand in smelly jail cells and learn about how bad some of the people they bring in smell. Nice. The boys got to ask questions of the officer like, "Have you ever caught a terrorist?" and "How fast does your car go?" The most important thing I learned is that if a police car is traveling in front of me, he's still monitoring my speed. Gotta remember that. ;) Kobe had a good time!

On the warmest day of the week, which wasn't too warm anyway, we took a little trip to the Buffalo Zoo.
Kobe brought along his Webkinz Buffalo to visit the zoo buffaloes. There were lots of kids around when we got there, so he was a little shy to hold up his Webkinz. We snuck a quick picture though.

The zoo has a rainforest building, "Rainforest Falls", which the kids really enjoyed with waterfalls and exotic animals and birds.

Jackson fell in love with the Sea Lions for some reason. Every time they'd swim by he'd say, "Awww" , as if they were the cutest animal he's ever seen.End of the day with a snack and drink for the ride home...

We also took a couple of trips to the school playground. They got a new one this year and Kobe's been dying to try out the part that is reserved for the 3-5 grades. (He's in 2nd.) Everyone enjoyed our time there- especially Jackson who I had to carry to the car kicking and screaming when it was time to go.

The girls and I had a little adventure of our own, using a spa gift certificate Greg got me almost a year ago and was about to expire. We scheduled manicures! The girls were so excited for this and quite enjoyed the experience. After watching the pedicures nearby, Jillie is dying to try that some day. Reagan was pleased that she could get french tips.On the way home they insisted they needed haircuts, so we stopped in for those as well.

Jillie with bangs...and Reagan, short again...

It was a nice week and one that was difficult to come back from. No one wanted to go back to school. Everyone says they are ready for summer vacation. Counting down the days til June 24th. (Yes, we are in school THAT long!!)

You are invited...

2009-04-19T16:48:00.000-04:00

(Thanks Holly for making these for me!)

Sunny's Day

2009-04-17T23:34:00.009-04:00

Another one of my favorite people is celebrating her birthday today-

(1994)

My sister Sunny!

Too bad for her I'm a creature of habit. I checked the post I wrote for her birthday last year and here's something I wrote in it...

"Sunny- unfortunately I was a little late getting your gift in the mail... and I'm a little late posting this... but I hope your day has been fabulous!"

Well guess what?! Sadly it applies this year too. I guess our late night phone call really put me behind in getting this post done!

So let's get to it...

33 RANDOM FACTS ABOUT SUNNY...

1. Her middle name is Casandra.

2. She is skinny- and will always be the skinny sister.

3. Some of her skinniness is probably due to her frugality. She doesn't splurge on junk food.

4. She is so frugal, and a bit of a hoarder, but she's learning to toss things or at least give them away.

5. She is so frugal that she considered going out in public like this.

One pair had a lost shoe, one had a broken shoe. Luckily she found the lost shoe and I HOPE she got rid of the broken pair.

6. Her and Derek's frugality made buying their first house possible this year!

7. They have the cutest little blond hair, blue eyed little man named Hyrum.
8. At Christmas time she set out to recreate the molasses cookies our Great Great Grandma Pearl used to make. She found a recipe that seemed to be the right one and made them with the help of our Mom, Grandma and Great Great Aunt Byrdie.{Back: Grandma Pauline, Great Great Aunt Byrdie. Front: Mom, Sunny, Hyrum}

9. Sunny has a passion for family history.

10. Sunny is a gardening pro. Last summer she maintained 2 gardens. They were in an apartment then, so the gardens were in some friends yards!

11. Sunny is a sewing pro too. She once made the cutest little graduation cap and gown that an 11 month old Jillie wore to Greg's college graduation.

12. She has encouraged the artistic talents of our Dad and her husband by commissioning art work from them.

13. After harvesting raspberries last summer she made her own fruit leather.

14. She also canned a lot of her garden harvest.

15. She can eat a box of mac 'n cheese all by herself.

16. She also loves white rice with butter and soy sauce.

17. Her favorite restaurant is Olive Garden.

18. Her favorite snack is popcorn and she usually eats it like someone might come behind her at any moment and swipe the bowl from her if there's any left.

19. She is a happy girl- usually. :)

20. She used to be very flexible, and probably still is.
21. She could fit in the smallest spaces22. She has always felt at home in nature.23. She enjoys camping in the mountains.

24. She has been on a couple of handcart treks at Martin's Cove in full pioneer attire in the summer heat.

25. She isn't bothered too much by extreme temperatures. Or at least she cares more about saving money. Her heat is turned up to a whopping 50* even in the winter and the air conditioner only comes on if it it's over 100*.

26. She has put a lot of work in to her new house already since the walls and trim were all painted in peach, yellow, and purple- like this...

Dad flew out to help too and they've turned this......in to this...27. Her nieces and nephews think she's a wonderful aunt!28. She once lit off illegal fireworks in an Iowa field on New Year's Eve. 29. She has inherited Grandma Nellie's energy and enthusiasm. I didn't realize til recently looking at this picture how much they look alike.30. Sunny is giver of meaningful gifts.
31. Sunny has had Church callings in Primary, Relief Society, and most recently Young Women's. She dying to get a calling in their new ward since they have been there since March without callings.

32. Sunny has a strong and unwavering testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

33. She's as cute as ever!

Happy Birthday Sun!!!

NIKBOK

Merry Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas from us.

No promises

NYE in the OP

Christmas 2009

Christmas Eve 2009

December fun

Another Christmas FHE

Getting in the mood

Feeding Time @Epcot

10 Days of Disney continues

Celebrity Sightings @Disney

on TV

A daunting task

Thanksgiving 2009-Disney Style

SNOOPY!!

And our winners are...

Girls Weekend

My Birthday Giveaway!

Birthdays

I'm a Wreckporter!

Coming Soon!

Fall Field Trips

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Ribs and...ghosts?

The Haunting of the Eagle house

Those 3 precious hours

Crop Circles?

Screams in the halls of the school

Remembering September 17, 1991

Michigan '09: Part Two

One more off to school

Here we go again...

Michigan '09: Part One

Pick A Stick

SPOTS

Young Women Camp 2009

Guess who...

How to spend 3 hours alone

Spontaneous

Hawaii: Final Hours

Hawaii: Day 5

Bonus Blessing: The Power of Music

Hawaii: Day 4

Hawaii: Day 3

Hawaii: Day 1-2

The BIG weekend- Mothers and 40

The BIG weekend- Baptism Day

Kobe. The First Eight Years.

The BIG weekend continues...

The BIG weekend begins!- **edit**

Fight Night

Together Forever

Aloha!

17 years

Spring Break '09 Recap

You are invited...

Sunny's Day

The BIG weekend begins!- edit