Naughty or Nice??

Santa knows if Lauyrn has been naughty or nice!  Click here to see.

He also knows about Brinn!!

I Know Her!

Tell 'em how it is Jamie!! (I love that you got a roaring round of applause :D) The camera loves you, baby! Lookin' good!!!
(This is my sister for those of you who don't know) I love it when people you know make the news (in a good way of course!). It definately makes the blog!

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Christmas Tour of Homes

Welcome! 

First, let me say that I am only doing this because I love to see how other people decorate (and hoping to get some inspiration), not because I have any wonderful Christmas decorating ideas to share and this is a great way to satisfy my curiosity. Actually, I am slightly embarrassed to share my Christmas decorating with anyone - but welcome anyway, and I hope you enjoy your visit.

 

Enter at the front door - yes I know the ribbon needs to be adjusted.  To be honest, when I took this picture I didn't even notice.  I was too worried about being seen in my most obnoxious pair of pajamas standing on the front porch in 20 degree weather at noon.  I really wish I could reach in that picture and straighten it up for you!  Sorry!  Come to think of it, it probably still looks like that on the front door...

Entry way.  Nothing spectacular here.  But I do think that is spectacular that my kids (my 3 year old specifically) will try to lure you under the mistletoe numerous times a day for kisses.  They are getting quite creative with their tactics and I love it!  I know it is only a few years before they will have a hard time claiming me as their mother, let alone kiss me.  I am thinking of leaving it up year round.  :D

Family Room.  This is the hodgepodge tree, and I love it.  I love decorating this tree every year because of the memories it evokes.  We have ornaments from our honeymoon and our first Christmas together.  We have some from many vacations and some that were given as gifts from dear friends and family.  Every year, each member of the family goes and picks out a new ornament for this tree.  I love remembering how when my oldest was 2, she picked out a jingle bell ornament and would not stop jingle-ing it all through Target and all the way home.  (I was ready to smash that dang thing...).  I love remembering when Brinn picked out a ornament that looked like a giant sucker and would constantly ask me to open it.  And this year,  I loved getting a good laugh out of the ornament my husband picked out - a really ugly hippo in a bikini.  (He is so lucky he never said "It reminds me of you, honey"!)  Almost every ornament has a memory and I am really looking forward to adding more memories to this tree.

There are other rooms, but I will spare you the boredom and me the embarrassment...

Thanks for visiting and have a very Merry Christmas Season! 

Dance Recital

It's that time of year again -  Christmas dance recitals!  

This was a first for Brinn and she did great.  She was so excited to perform and even more excited to get to wear some "real" make-up.

Lauryn is the more experienced performer, and told Brinn everything to do, or not to do the whole car ride there.  

Brinn's costume was a little big and the tutu ended up sitting on her knees.  Of course, she didn't care, as long as the tiara stayed in place!

One of the things I love to watch when Lauryn dances is her face.  She really is not afraid to express herself while she dances.  This time she had a smile the whole time.  So Cute!

They both did great and we had a blast watching them!  Good job squirrels!

Tagged again!

 Boy, am I feeling popular lately....

My friend Mamarazzi tagged me on this one a while ago - sorry it has taken me so long to get on the ball.  Anyway, the idea of this tag is to empty out the contents of your purse and snap a picture. Cameron always says his mother told him to never search through a womans purse - great advice! (You can sure tell a lot about a lady by what is in her purse!)

I normally don't carry a purse this big - I call my big purses "the black hole".  Whatever goes in may never come out, and I can never find anything in them.  

Enter the black hole: (actually this isn't too bad right now - I just cleaned it out.  Lucky for me, otherwise you would all have a much different opinion of me right now!)

There it is, spilled mints and all.  Now, I get to tag a few people.... Elise, Julie, Stephanie, and Rylee!

If You Need a Smile...

Mamarazzi at Dandelion Wishes had this on her blog and it totally made me smile.  So, I nabbed it hoping that it will make you smile too!  And, like her, I am hoping that someone else takes it and spreads the love. Enjoy!

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Quirky Me (tagged)

1.  I am always cold.  Almost always.  The indoor temperature needs to be at least 78 degrees to wear short sleeves.  Anything below that I have to wear a jacket or wrap up in a blanket.  I have to massage my ice cold feet every night (even in the summer) to get to sleep.  And I have a really annoying saying that I say every time I get in a cold car ....  Cameron loves it!  ;P

2. Parades make me cry.  Not the kind of parades at Disneyland. The hometown holiday parades. The smaller the parade, the more emotional I get.  I have tried to figure out why, but I can't pin it down.  When I really think about it, parades are quite corny and lame - but there is something there that makes me tear up.  I have no idea what ...

3. I hate to cook, but I love dishes, serving pieces, and table-scapes.  I own four sets of everyday dishes that I switch out with the seasons, and I am always coveting more.  I am constantly thinking of how I can make the table look fabulous... unfortunately, I don't have the funds to support my dreams because you can never do the same table twice. And I am not just talking dishes and centerpieces here, they are much more involved than that. I have the Thanksgiving table all planned (if I were hosting Thanksgiving at my house this year and if I had a couple thousand dollars to spend on it- which I have neither).  All my dreams usually stay in my head.  And I guess it might be better that way since I never think about the food!  Even with a gorgeous table, it is one lame party without food.

4. I cannot handle fake plants and flowers in my house.  I do have a few out of necessity, but they drive me nuts after about 2 weeks.  They just look so.... FAKE!  They always end up in a box in the basement.  Give me the real stuff.  I don't care if they die, they were REAL!

5.  I usually remember my dreams every night - and they totally affect my mood the next day.  If I wake up mad, Cameron will say, "What did I do in your dream last night?  Whatever I did I am sorry!"  He much prefers the good dreams - and so do I, of course.

6. I cannot go to bed in an unmade bed. If the bed didn't get made earlier in the day, I have to make it before I can climb in.  All the sheets and blankets must be tight and crisp.

7. I hate repeating myself more than once.  If you don't hear me the first time - OK - but if you don't hear me the second time - forget it.  I guess you don't get to know what I said.  (Cameron also loves this one).

8. I take a nap almost every day.  I am so lucky, I know.  Granted they are not long naps, usually 10 minutes is all I get, but I love it.  My kids are so good to leave me alone during "Moms quick snoozer".  And without fail, Cameron will call right in the middle of it.  He has great timing!

9.  I have to have something sweet after every meal.  I am sure this is a learned quirk, but it is an intense one.  A little piece of chocolate is best, but I am not that picky.  Anything sweet will do.  Therefore, there is always candy in my house, and every night my kids think they are getting "dessert'.  I consider dessert to be cake, pie, ice cream, etc, but they consider the "necessary after meal sweet" to be dessert.  We all win.

If you are still reading this, I am impressed and I sincerely hope I didn't freak you out too much with my quirks. If you never come back to visit, I understand.  ;P  And, I TAG YOU! Have fun!

Fairies Make Everything OK!

  Lauryn has had a loose tooth for about a month now.  It was her first one and at first she was so excited until a friend at school told her it hurts and bleeds when you pull it.  We have spent a month talking to people about their experiences, reading books, saying prayers, etc. and I thought she was prepared. She said she was ready. Brinn promised to hold her hand during the whole affair. So after brushing her teeth last night, the loose tooth was sitting almost perpendicular to the rest of her teeth, Brinn grabbed her hand and I pulled it!  I was gentle, I promise.  There was no tugging, it really just fell out.  Minimal blood.  And for a split second, when I told her it was out, she had a very excited look on her face.  But instead of excitement and joy, I got screaming, crying, and drama.  I could not figure out what was wrong.  "Does it hurt?"  "No."  "Are you scared?"  "No."  "Are you sad?"  "No."  "What is wrong?"  More crying.  And this was not just from Lauryn - Brinn was just as hysterical!  (I have some great video, but it wouldn't load ).  I decided they were overly tired, put the tooth in the special tooth fairy pillow and tucked them into bed.

This morning, they both come running into my room so excited because the Tooth Fairy came!  We sat on my bed for 20 minutes and had a discussion about the Tooth Fairy.  "Did the fairy sparkles come from her wand or her wings?"  "Do you think she came in through the window?"  "How did she know that I lost a tooth and where I live?"  "I know she has dark blonde hair, my color of skin, blue eyes, and pink glitter wings."  "I saw her shadow flying above me!" " This is so cool!" "It was kind of fun!"

She went skipping off to school today in the best mood (she had to make sure she still had fairy dust on her face so she could show her friends) and is now looking forward to next tooth falling out.  And Brinn is having me constantly check her for any loose teeth.  She really wants to be next.

Oh, the magic power of fairies!  (Or a good nights sleep)  :D

Tagged By Rylee

8 TV shows I watch:

Samantha Who?

Divine Design

Chuck

Scrubs

Survivor

Amazing Race

Americas Funniest Home Videos

Worst Week

8 Favorite Restaurants:

Zupas

Cafe Rio

The French Poodle

Blimpie

California Pizza Kitchen

Tepanyaki

Tree Room 

Bahama Billy's

8 Things That Happened Yesterday:

scrubbed carpets

picked up carpool

played Memory Game with the kids

worked on YW stuff

paid bills

pulled Lauryn's first tooth

ate way too much Halloween candy

shopped for some Christmas gifts

8 Things to Look Forward to:

Christmas

Summer

Cameron coming home

YW in Excellence being over

Lunch with my old roomie

Homemade Toffee at Christmas

Christmas Vacation

Gardening

8 Things I Love About Fall:

the colors changing

warm days

soups

 kids playing in the leaves

Christmas catalogs

the water bill goes down

wearing jeans

caramel apples

8 Things on my Wish List:

everyone being kind

perfect children

a personal chef

a clean house every morning

new carpet

never having to go to the dentist again

sideboard from Pottery Barn

living a full, happy life

8 People I tag:

anyone who wants to do it!

The Nice Witch and the Candy Corn

Halloween is not one of my favorite holidays.  Good thing I have kids to make me celebrate it.  And despite having a party pooper for a mom, they managed to have a great time. Of course, being kids, they wore their costumes the entire week before (I only had to wash them twice), and I must admit seeing them get so excited and worked up about Halloween made it fun for me.

We had our traditional pumpkin soup dinner and doughnuts and then the countdown for trick-or-treating began.... the kids thought it would never come! We were so excited about the forecast for trick or treating - mid 50's!!  This is California trick or treating weather!  You would actually be able to see their costumes instead of being hidden behind a coat (or tired to put on over the coats) - this is a first for Utah and I was thrilled.  But, literally, just as they walked out the door to go - it starting raining!!  So on went the raincoats and up went the umbrellas.  I was totally bummed, but they didn't seem to mind and they were still so excited and happy the entire time.  Their trick-or-treating was cut a little short, which I was fine with because it means less candy for them (and less candy for me to sneak out of their pumpkins! What!? I would never do that!) :D

Grandma and Grandpa came over to see the kids and stayed after they were in bed for a game night (and more doughnuts, of course).  We learned that my mom has been the secret expert on the card game "Spades" all this time - who knew she has a fail proof strategy!!  Funny!  (I guess you had to be there)...

So, when all was said and done it was a great Halloween night.  Still, I am glad it is over!

Cancun

OK, I am finally ready to talk about it.  

Cameron and I took a trip to Mexico a little over a month ago, and I am just now ready to revisit some of those memories.  Don't get me wrong, we had a great time during the first part of the week, but the last part was a different story.  This is a family blog, so lets just say we picked up an authentic, free, Mexican souvenir - and we are not talking about a giant sombrero.  After 5 days of misery, I couldn't bare to even look at the pictures and the thought of returning to Mexico was like torture!

The PTSD is slowly passing, and although I am not ready to return, I can at least talk about it and post some pictures.  Baby steps, right?

When we arrived, we were thrilled to find that we had been upgraded to an ocean front suite.  It was sweet!  We had a  huge gorgeous balcony that overlooked the pool and beach and we could hear the waves and watch the sun rise over the Caribbean every morning (well, I would watch it, Cameron slept right through it every morning - how, I don't know - the sun was SO bright). 

The ocean was beautiful and warm - and basically ours.  We unknowingly went during the off season, and we felt like we had the place to ourselves.  So nice!

One day we took a day trip out to a little island called Isla Mujeres to do some snorkeling and shopping.  Cameron got to play Steve Irwin or Jacques Cousteau (or whoever) and swim with the sharks.  This is where we also learned that if you would like to use a public bathroom, hand over the pesos, and if you would like toilet paper  - more pesos.  Soap to wash up after?  That's right, more pesos.  Interested in drying your hands?  Well, you get the idea.  And the bus drivers don't speak English, or even understand Spanish spoken with an English accent.  Just so you know.

We loved the view from our room, this picture doesn't do it justice (and the picture was so dark I had to adjust it so you see that it really was us).  We were enjoying ourselves and then.....

(don't worry, I don't have any pictures of the rest of the week to share - I am still trying really hard to forget those memories)!

Mexico.

Mission Accomplished!!

A lot of you have been asking, and I am so sorry I am so slow at posting, but HE DID IT! And in record time, no less! Ryan rode into Huntington Beach last Friday after going nearly 800 miles in 11 days!! WOW! We are so proud of him and hope he gets the much needed (and deserved) rest and relaxation!
Cameron was able to ride next to him for a few days when he was in Utah, and despite the wind and cold, he had a great time. And he managed to get a few pictures too! I am proud of you sweetie! :D




At one point during the ride, they were going through some tiny town and passed an elementary school. All the kids came running out to the fence and were clapping,screaming and shouting encouragement. They both said it was so cool and uplifting to see the support of strangers. Now where is the picture of that?? ;P

Congratulations Ryan! We love you and are so proud of you!!

Ryan's Invictus Tour

After 2 years of training, Cameron's brother Ryan started pushing his hand cycle on Tuesday morning from Salt Lake City to Huntington Beach, California. Why, you ask? Well, because he is an amazing dude. And it has been a goal of his for years, he is honoring a late friend, and he is hoping to raise money for charities along the way (not to mention breaking a world record). He is planning on riding 70 miles a day for 13 days straight! We are all quite amazed at this feat and his determination. We wish him the best! If you are interested in finding out more, catch updates on the ride, or to donate to one of his charities, visit his website: invictustour.com
We love you Ryan! Be safe and best of luck!
(Sorry about the commercial you must watch to get to the video. :-( There is no way around it)

Lake Powell

My favorite family vacations growing up were our week long trips to Lake Powell and I have always wanted to take Cameron and the girls there.  Only one problem: we don't have a boat and without one, Powell would totally stink.  Well, thankfully, my sister and her family (who have a boat) invited us to spend the weekend with them there.  

We had so much fun wake boarding, skiing, tubing, soaking up the sun, and being with family. Both girls learned to water ski, Lauryn loved it and was able to stay up for quite a few seconds.  Brinn was up for just a few seconds, fell, and refused to try again, but I was quite surprised that she tried at all. (The video of them skiing is great!)  I was so proud of them both for trying something new (and kind of scary!) 

 The days went by way too fast - I could have used a couple of more days there - but when all was said and done, Lake Powell was just as great as I remembered it as a teenager.  Thanks for the invite Jamie and Joel!  We all loved it!  Cameron is saying next year is his year for a boat... shall we plan for 2009??

Brinn's Big Day

Every day last year, Brinn would put on her backpack and walk with Lauryn to and from school. She desperately wanted to be in school too.  Well, her big day finally came last week - her first day of preschool! 

She has been practicing and practicing all summer to write her name.  She is quite proud of herself.  Every time she writes her name, she goes and gets a piece of tape and hangs the paper on the office door.  We have a lot of these papers on that door!  I love it!
Her report from her first day: She was pleased that her teacher was impressed she could write her name, but not pleased that some girl took the bus she was playing with.  And someone colored on her paper, excuse me, not colored, "scribbled!" on her paper! (she is still talking about that one a week later).  But she said she couldn't wait to go back, and now she knows exactly what to say to a bus thief!

Lauryn's First Day of First Grade

Last Tuesday, Lauryn finally got to start school.  She had been waiting all summer to start up again - and I, on the other hand, had been dreading that day for even longer .... My baby would be going off to the big, bad, worldly school ALL day, (and to a new school for the accelerated program so she doesn't know anyone at all).   What if she doesn't make friends?  What if she has no one to play with at recess?  Will she get her lunch OK?  What if someone is mean to her? (What if she is mean to someone?!)  What if someone teaches her bad words?  How am I supposed to entertain Brinn all day long? :P And the list went on....  Every time I would even think about it I would tear up and so I was sure that when the time came to say goodbye I would cry, but thanks to some traffic and a full parking lot, there was no time to think about the situation and we both hurried off without any tears.  

At the end of the day, of course, she had a great day, got her lunch just fine, made a few friends, and so far no bad words!   

Here's to a great first grade year!

California Dreamin'

We just returned from a last minute, last summer fling in sunny Southern California and we had a blast!  The weather was perfect (mid 80's and clear), Disneyland wasn't too crowded, and the beach was beautiful!  It was hard to come home!  We have SO many pictures (don't worry, I wont post them all) but I do feel the need to share... so here is a little taste of our wonderful week...

The iconic family picture at Disneyland.  No trip would be complete without it.

Here we are on the train.  I have never been a fan of this ride until this trip.  This was day 2 at Disney and I was pooped!  In fact, I made everyone stay on the train (so we went around the park twice) so I could take a little power nap.  Now I see that train ride in a whole new light! Oh, and thanks for your shoulder Cam :D

Papa gave each of the kids $2.oo to spend on whatever they wanted at the park, and they decided very early that they wanted cotton candy and popcorn to eat while they watched the parade and fireworks.  We had a hard time finding either of them, and they were SO excited when they saw a cart with cotton candy on it right before the parade started (I wish I would have had my camera ready for that) and once they had it... life was perfect!

After helping Nana get her classroom put together, we headed for the beach on Friday.  Aahhh, the beach... do I have to say anything else?

We all had a great time: the kids loved playing in the sand and water, finding sand crabs and seashells; I loved just chilling on the beach and playing with the kids, and Cameron spent most of his time in the water body surfing - a true California boy!  Cameron's mom was nice enough to come with us and even though she got wet, she claimed she had a nice time too!

It is weeks like that one that leave me asking the question "Why did we move again?" - Oh yes, I remember, but all 4 of us will be dreaming of California for at least a few more weeks.

Summer Fun

I just realized that summer is almost over!  So sad! 

Here are a few pictures of our favorite summer memories so far...

Brinn was loving collecting and holding these caterpillars while camping.  Shortly after this picture was taken, the caterpillar had had enough and bit her.  She then walked over to my sister and asked, "Would you like to hold him?  He's not worthy of me anymore"!

Lauryn has been taking piano lessons since about January and was so thrilled to be in her first recital.  She did great (no mistakes!) and received the award for the most "prefect songs" during the year!

In June, Lauryn had her dance recital.  She looks so cute in her ballerina costume!  She is a great performer and it was so much fun to watch her.

What would summer be without swimming? (and its even better when Dad is around so mom doesn't have to swim :D )  The girls loved their swimming lessons - Lauryn can pretty much swim across the pool, and Brinn wishes she could.  They both love the water, especially the diving board.  They both learned to do flips off the board, granted not gracefully, but they did it!

And no summer is complete without Girls Camp.  Camping is not my most favorite thing, but with these girls it is a lot of fun.  And dirty. But mostly fun.  We have a great bunch of young women (there a quite a few missing in this picture) and wonderful leaders.  I love the opportunity that girls camp provides to get to the know the girls better.  They are amazing!

There are still 2 weeks left until school starts - we had better get busy!  California, here we come!

Happy Anniversary

August 11, 1998

Add the following:

Countless "I love you"s + thousands of kisses +hundreds of arguments + hundreds of "I'm sorry"s + thousands of laughs + a few dozen tears + numerous friends + 10 years + 8 cars + 7 jobs + 5 addresses + 2 kids + 1 dog = 0 regrets.  

After 10 years of being married to Cameron, I have decided it is not enough.  I want more!!  Thank you Cameron for 10 wonderful, amazing years.  I love you and  I LOVE being married to you!  Happy Anniversary!

August 11, 2008

Happy Birthday Lauryn!

After weeks of count downs and extensive planning on her part, it is official- Lauryn is finally 6! We had a great day helping her celebrate and hope that her day went as well as she had hoped!

She began the day with the traditional opening of the gifts.  Her favorite present ended up being something that wasn't on her list: a scrapbook kit.  Sometimes mom knows best....  ;-)

Instead of friend party, she invited her 'frousin' as they call each other (friend + cousin) Livvy to spend they day in Park City.  We had a great time eating pizza and then we hopped on the chair lift to take a ride down the alpine slide.
And we're off! ....... However, "these things don't go fast enough, Mom!"
Brinn really wanted to try out rock climbing for the first time.  She was so excited and sure talked a big game ..... but never made it to the top because she decided it was more fun coming down!  
Lauryn and Livvy wanted to try out the special trampolines ( I don't know the official names of these things - sorry).  After a 45 minute wait in line, we were worried that the experience wouldn't be worth the wait, but they both LOVED it and talked about it all the way home!
Back at the house we had the family over for her favorite dinner: tortellini, garlic bread, caesar salad, and orange banana salad, followed with a giant serving of carrot cake and cookie dough ice cream! And of course more presents.  

At the end of the day she said her 6th birthday was great and has already started planning the next (366 days and counting!)   Thanks everyone for the many birthday wishes and your love!

Happy Birthday Lauryn!  You are such a sweet, fun, and happy girl and it is truly a pleasure to be your mom!  I LOVE YOU!!

Christmas in July!?!

I know Christmas was a long time ago and you all know that I am a little slow at this blog thing...
The kids and I were going down "video memory lane" earlier today and I thought "Maybe I should post this on the blog..."(we made this for Nana and Papa who couldn't be with us on Christmas). So, even though I am slightly embarrassed knowing that you will see me in my obnoxious jammies and messy hair, the kids are so cute I couldn't resist! Merry Christmas!

Happy 4th of July!!

I have been sitting here trying to come up with something cute and creative to say about our trip to Boise over the 4th, and remembered why it has been 7 months since my last post - I don't like to write!!   The saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" is now the new motto for this blog.  So, instead of me trying to tell you what we did, let me show you...

We had a great time floating the Boise river - the water was SO cold, but lucky for me we were in the boat with the big water guns (and big guns on the man rowing :D) so we managed to stay pretty dry. 
All the cousins hanging out - where are all the boys???

The adults did manage to get a couple of badminton games in, and despite me being on their team (I discovered that I am a horrible badminton player - my 4 year old niece was giving me advice - ouch!) my team prevailed and was named the official badminton champs! 

Thanks Jody for all you did - we all had a great time!

Whoa!!

We aren't quite sure why we are doing this - probably because we see so many other's cute blogs and want to be part of the cool crowd!  We know we have some large shoes to fill, so please just keep your expectations low!