Many things to be thankful for...

I have many, many people to be thankful for that fill my heart with love and tenderness. I have this wonderful husband who is so good to me and works sooo hard to take care of us all. I have two of the most delightful and wonderful children that ever lived. I have wonderful friends and family that continue to give me love and strength. I love you all and give great thanks for you.

Tonight however, one dear friend brings me closer to heaven with her strength, her wisdom and her love. My sweet friend April and her beautiful family are an incredible example of faith, hope, and charity. Every time I read her blog or her sweet son's blog (wink from heaven) I cry and I pray that I will be more like her today, tomorrow and everyday.

So, while I am always so thankful for everyone that truly blesses my life, tonight, April, I'm thankful for you.

My Favorite Christmas Tradition

Every year I look forward with great anticipation to our caroling night with my family. We've been caroling for as long as I can remember and I've always loved it (that shouldn't surprise anyone!).

Oddly enough I think I have only two pictures to document this event from all of those years. But luckily, I have this fantastic sister-in-law who is really good at documenting life with videos. She recorded us this year and just posted it to her blog. If you want to listen in, go ahead and just pretend we're standing on your porch on a very cold night!

This picture is from 2001 and I had to scan it in, so it's a horrid copy, again, thank goodness for Kristen!

Last night I drove our new babysitter home and laughed as she reported this conversation she had with Isabelle:
Izzy: Here's our phone number (writing it down), put it right by your bed so you remember to call my mom first thing in the morning to tell her you want to babysit us every day.

Okay, so it was a one-sided conversation, but we both had a good chuckle about it!

9 to 5 clogging!

Last night was my clogging studio's big performance. My group did our new "9 to 5" dance. For the first time ever I'm going to post a video of my group dancing - enjoy!
(I'm wearing a black dress with a colored scarf - I start in the back.)

Izzy's first clogging show

Last Monday night Izzy's team "The Mini's" performed (along with other teams) at the Seville Retirement Center. It was crowded and difficult to get a good view, but she was beautiful and I was so proud of her! I was also pleased that she was excited about her costume - although that didn't stop her from wanting it off the second she was done.

If the Savior stood beside me...

I don't know why, but my little Isabelle has been carrying around the baby Jesus from our nativity today. She also snuck it to her bed and I saw her tuck it under her pillow before she went to sleep. She is too cute.

This picture was taken shortly after Halloween when she was playing kitty and then added her own whiskers to my the ones I had drawn. Oddly enough, tonight she has whiskers too. It's all about letting my children show their individuality, right? (Ryan has lightning bolts drawn on his cheeks and forehead)

New Cleaning Strategy

Apparently the best way to get me to clean my house is to give me another more important job that needs to be done soon that I would rather not do.

My bathrooms are clean, my leather couches are clean and "protected" my dishes are done (after fixing and cleaning up after two meals), my kitchen floor is clean, two batches of laundry are on their way, cancelled the Disneyland trip that we aren't going on next week (sigh), I'm dressed, clean, with makeup on, (I'm looking around to see if I've done more than this), I cleaned my room, helped both children clean their rooms (twice)....

but my rolls for tomorrows dinner haven't been started yet! :)

The really sad thing about this is that I could still clean off my counters, vacuum, take care of a myriad of piles and I have about a thousand things to put away and organize in my "preschool" room.

Another plus: I'm nearly done with my Christmas shopping!

(Can you tell that I'm really trying to convince myself that I'm capable of taking care of what has yet to be done?)

Last note: I just checked Ryan's room - looks like we'll, no wait, he'll be cleaning it for the third time today (sigh again).

A few funnies

Izzy: I can cha-cha like the Chinese. (I'm not sure where she learned about the "Chinese" people, but she has referenced them several times.

Ryan: (after tooting) Wow, that felt good.
Me: (smiling) I bet.
Ryan: Do you know what it feels like? It's like getting a massage down there.
Me: (giggle giggle)

Izzy sat in the back of the van with Ryan's friend Te (previously referenced regarding Izzy's little crush) as we drove him home. There were several left turns to get to his house which served to her advantage as she played her first game of Corners. She thought the ride was way too short.

Princess Party

When our boys went hunting Isabelle had a Princess Party (I just uploaded the pictures). They decorated crowns, played Cranium Hulabaloo (one of Izzy's favorite games), painted fingernails, and ate treats. It certainly helped cheer her up after having to cancel the day before because of strep throat! Thanks girls for coming!

Reflections

Last night Ryan received an award for his Reflections entry.

He took this picture in Maryland at a park. It looks like it was done in black and white, but it's actually in color.

He did a great job and I was very proud of him!

Vision of the Future

When I was a teenager I always lamented that my older brother was too much older and my younger brother was too much younger for me to date any of their friends.

I had a vision tonight of Ryan and Izzy's future that makes me think she is going to have many crushes on his friends.

Ryan's school friend Te came to play today. At first Izzy was with one of her friends so it didn't matter, but as soon as it was getting dark I called her home and the three of them played together while I finished getting dinner ready. I laughed as I listened to the conversation upstairs, it was "Te, look at this!" and "Te, come sit by me!" etc.

They came down to watch a Phineas and Ferb (a kids show I watch with my kids - I think it's quite clever!) and squished together on the love seat with Te in between. The same thing happened at dinner and I realized Izzy was doing everything she could to keep his attention on her. She was chattering at him, eating the same things as him, and touching his arm and hand. It was hilarious. Te was a really good sport, I thought at some point he would tell the kids to back off, but he just pleasantly enjoyed their attention (I guess).

Anyway, the kids never actually fought over him, it was just really comical to watch. (I think they both hope he'll come again soon!)

Daylight Savings

Three days this week Ryan has awakened ready for the day between 5 and 5:45.
At least this morning I was pleasant to him when he came in and snuck into my bed. Oh wait, I was pleasant until he started sniffing loudly (he hates to blow his nose). Early mornings are not my forte.
I hate Daylight Savings!

If only I were 16 again...

I would totally try out for the "spring musicale".
We took the girls day out trip to High School Musical 3 and I'll be honest, I loved it! (disclaimer: the skirts were all short and the necklines too low, disappointing but expected after HSM2)
If you liked the 1st two, you'd enjoy this one - the songs were fun and catchy, the actors were very cute (it was very comical to hear teenagers around us gasp when Zac Efron took off his shirt. sidenote: I wonder if he's going to become like Matthew McConaughey with the token shirt off scene in every movie.)
I'm not so arrogant that I believe everyone loves what I love, I know there are many who roll their eyes (my husband included) at my thorough enjoyment of a cheesy musical, but if you are like me, go see the movie (preferably with girlfriends or daughters, not your hubby - unless he enjoys a cheesy musical - see above) and enjoy!!!
Thanks Deanne, Beth and Kari for going with me!!

HSM3 time

Saturday, Provo Towne Center 4:20 show. I will pick up tickets early if I know who is in. So far it's me, Deanne, Kari and ...

Karate Tournament

Yesterday was Ryan's first Karate Tournament. This is his report about it:



It was great. I had lots of fun. I worked really hard and I did really well and earned two medals. Before it was my turn there were lots of awesome teams working out there. They did backflips and stuff like swordfighting. They did awesome tricks with numchucks and sticks and cool little sharps things that were pretty awesome.

I want to train real hard so I can be on one of those teams.


(I'm having trouble with my pictures but will try to post them later. I was so proud of him. He did such a good job and was so excited. Izzy was bugged that she didn't get a medal - her time will come.)

HSM3

Okay, all of you who commented and expressed interest in joining me for a youthful movie, let's talk...
I can't go this weekend...birthday and halloween parties, karate tournament and something else I'm forgetting.
So, I'm available Nov. 1st !?! I realize that is a full week after opening night, but unless I do a late show sometime (and I'm guessing that doesn't appeal to any of you either) then that's the soonest I can do it.
If you are interested in Nov. 1st (probably a matinee) or sometime later on a Thurs. or Sat. let me know, we can party.

Archaic

It's been 25 years since the first commercial wireless phone call (according the Deseret News). Since that time cell phones themselves have evolved as well as the expense and use. Apparently text messaging has overtaken actually talking and only "users 45 and older, still use their phone primarily for the archaic purpose of talking to other people".

I just aged considerably.
(FYI - I do know how to send a text it just takes me a while.)

I'm no Tween, but...

the truth is I'm so excited about HSM3 (High School Musical 3). I just watched the trailer and I think I need someone to go see it with me (Scott is very supportive generally speaking, but I don't think this fits within his upcoming plans). I hadn't planned on taking my kids yet (we rarely pay full price for tickets, so I just can't quite justify paying for the three of us to see it at $8 a pop - or whatever). So, if anyone wants to pretend to be a little bit "tween" with me, let me know.

Maryland part 2

Here is the second half of our Maryland adventure!

We had a great time at this fun park that Anthony fondly calls the motion sickness park. There were lots of fun spinning things to do. Needless to say, I enjoyed my time behind the camera.

We enjoyed our first experience staying at a beach house in Ocean City, MD. It was literally right on the beach and it was so much fun. It was off season, so we nearly had the beach to ourselves and there were big sales at all the little shops. The weather was perfect. We spent the morning playing at the beach:

Then we went for a surrey bike ride (Angie took the picture of us, but I assure you, we were just as cute and a little bit faster - ok, honestly we had more pedalers). Scott's decided he wants one of these for use around town. :)

Most of my pictures of the water play were blurry because of either a water spot or a fingerprint on my lense.

The dolphins also spent their morning at the beach. It was fun to watch them play and I was amazed at how close they came in to shore.

Gaining Weight?

I didn't think I was gaining weight, but apparently Izzy has a different perspective. Here is the conversation that just took place here:
Izzy: We don't have any baby vitamins because we don't have a baby (her cousin Grace was wanting one of my vitamins).
Lu (cousin): Are you gonna have a baby?
Me: I hope sometime.
Izzy (answering Lu): Yeah, we are, my mom's already getting kinda fat.

We had friends over to visit tonight and the kids had such a ball running and playing. Ryan came up to me as I was fixing caramel apples and whispered, "I think June loves me." Then he ran off to play again. (There was a lot of chasing and escaping going on.)
After they left we were all sitting and reading books in the living room and Scott said, "There was some kissing going on outside and it wasn't me." Ryan grinned and I laughed and said that Maleen (June's mom) had said June has a kissing complex right now and not to worry about it and that she probably didn't have a crush on him. Then he said, "She said she wants to marry me." I laughed and said that there are probably several girls who would say that. When he wanted to know who else I listed a few of his friends and he said, "Well...I think June's the one...." (long pause) me, "What one?" "She's the one who likes me the most." Phew, that one!

Maleen posted June's view of this stuff here. It's quite entertaining!

Maryland

We had so much fun this past week in Maryland visiting my sister and her family. Here are the first half of highlights (the other half of pictures are still on my camera).

The kids discovered that Paper, Rock, Scissors is a good way to pass the time in the car.






Izzy LOVED the jewelry display in the Natural History Museum. She took about 100 pictures, here are a couple that turned out the best.




Ryan, Rebekah and Emily loved plotting and planning to trap Scott in the backyard (they set traps in the trees and attacked him when he came out to "check on them"). Unfortunately, the aforementioned traps facilitated Ryan falling from the tree twice. After he calmed his tears the second time he said very calmly too Rebekah, "Good thing I fell in a soft spot again."



Izzy and Claire played for hours together (mostly happily)

Danny (their baby) was so happy and delightful and fun to play with. I'm hoping he remembers us when he comes to visit in Dec. (last time they were here it took him a long time to warm up to me - and as you may know, I'm kind of determined when it comes to getting kids to like me).

We saw a beautiful rainbow over the Capital Building (picture isn't fantastic, but the moment was great).






We rode up the elevator on the Washington Monument which was really cool but also odd. I was surprised to find that I was dizzy at the top. This picture is of everyone looking up at the point of the monument with the clouds passing by. It created an optical illusion that the monument was moving.





We walked around the beautiful WWII memorial and talked a bit about Scott's Dad who served in the Phillipines and Guam.


We had so much fun. Thanks Angie and crew!!!!

Learning to be complimentary

Things I love to hear when Izzy is playing with friends (especially right after I've reminded her not to be bossy): "Warren! You're a genius!!" Then a few minutes later, "Izzy, you're a genius too!!" They were working on a puzzle together and being very cooperative. It was delightful.

New Prayers and Mixed up words

We had an FHE lesson on Monday about prayers because we needed a refresher on how prayers should be said. I used the Primary song "I pray in Faith" - great song - and talked about each part of a prayer then we practiced and ended.

Since then my children have really tried to do better on their prayers.

On Thursday at bedtime Ryan blessed the people who are sick and afflicted - which he had to pronounce a few times before he was satisfied with how it sounded - I thought this was interesting considering the fact that neither Scott nor I really use this phrase. So after that Izzy prayed and asked for blessings upon the afflicted people. Then tonight she added "and bless that I'll do what Mom asks me to--sometimes."

She makes me laugh.



In the car tonight the kids were playing with each other and pretending some sort of spy game which rotated around secretly getting to their "lavatory" and making sure that the bad guy didn't get to their "lavatory" because his "lavatory" was burning up. I was quietly giggling in the front seat as I continually pictured them sneaking into their bathroom through the window and the bad guy's bathroom in flames. I love it when my kids get words mixed up. Is it bad that I didn't correct them?

The Latest Izzy-ism

On Wednesday Izzy asked me if I knew what she wanted to be when she grows up. I quickly responded, "A wife and mother?" She started to cry and said, "I don't want to be a wife and mother when I grow up!" me: "What do you want to be?" Izzy (very sorrowfully): "A dog."

Wow. Pretty sure that wasn't worked into the creation plan. I tried to explain to her that she just will never be a dog and I reminded her of all the things that she couldn't do as a dog, like going to preschool, painting, coloring, and of course, yummy desserts. She replied, "Their food IS their dessert." (Of course.) Needless to say, she isn't yet convinced.

Boys II Men pics

We had great seats for the concert. The picture isn't grand but it gives and indication of where we were.

What a great date night!!

A New Adventure

This Sunday our bishop was released and Scott was called to replace him. I've had lots of people congratulate us and wonder how I'm feeling about things. For the most part I have been able to say that I feel very calm about things. I'm sure it will be challenging for us all but I feel confident that we will be very blessed. Scott will do a fantastic job.
When I told the kids Sunday morning and we talked about how much he'd be gone and the blessings that we will receive as a family Izzy piped up, "Maybe we'll be blessed with a baby!!" It's so good that she and Ryan continue to be so faithful about a little sibling.
Ryan was thrilled with the news because he thought Scott would get to choose where the next fathers and sons would be. Since then he has discovered that it isn't necessarily the Bishop who decides this and he is not pleased.
This week Scott has put in A LOT of time already and I've discovered how the amount of patience I have with my children is directly related to how much time we've all spent together. Luckily, tonight my sweetheart and I were able to go to the Boys II Men concert at the Scera Shell (it was fab-u-lous btw!!). We held hands and snuggled and sang and danced and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Thanks Jenn for arranging the tickets, thanks Ann and Mark for saving seats, thanks Jay for making me laugh with your dancing and thanks Bishop Johnson for being my sweetheart.

Ryan's B-day

To celebrate Ryan's birthday last month we gathered a bunch of his friends and had a big water party. Everyone had lots of fun and Ryan was thrilled with the gifts his friends brought (thank you everyone!)!

Some Ryan favorites:

Toy: Legos and Bionicles

Music: Inside Out (Once There Was a Snowman), Lord of the Dance (to dance to of course), Liken the Scriptures (Here Waiting)

Food: Meat (meatloaf, hamburgers, nuggets)

Sports: Karate, Soccer

Treats: Ice Cream (often melted in the micro!?!)

People: His family of course!

Things to do with Scott: Play ball games outside (or inside I guess)

Things to do with Me: Read and cook (he loves helping me with Danish hotcakes

Things to do with Isabelle: Pretend

We are so incredibly fortunate to have Ryan in our family!

Canyon FHE

Tonight we went to the canyon to roast hotdogs and make s'mores. We had such a great time. Afterward we planned to ride our bikes to Bridal Veils before heading home. Just as we put on helmets and started on our way we ran into my cousin's husband and daughter and stopped to visit for a few minutes. Unfortunately, we visited too long. Ryan and Izzy rode their bikes around us in a circle until Izzy hit a patch of loose gravel, slid and gashed her chin. So, the festivities were cut short as we drove to the after hours clinic to get her stitched up. (Scott said children's bike helmets need chin guards - he is going to buy motorcycle helmets).
She was so brave even though she was really quite spooked. It didn't help that as the doctor worked on Izzy Ryan kept saying disturbing things like: "When I got stitches did I get a shot too?" (As the doctor shoots her chin full of Novocaine), and "Eww! Izzy, that looks gross!! - So helpful.

When we finally got her home tonight she was quite tender hearted and she said to me through her tears, "I'm not sad about Ryan (he had just hurt her feelings), I'm sad about someone in heaven." Then as we were reading books in the living room she saw the picture of Scott's parents and she said (as tears filled her eyes), "That's who I'm sad about. I just miss them. I love them so much."

She is such a sweet and tender hearted little girl. I just feel thankful every day that she is mine. (Shanda - xoxox)

A Touch of Class

This weekend we showed everyone that we are the WT neighbors!

We had our carpet replaced this past Thursday. Saturday they came back to finish up (theoretically) and to replace the flooring in the bathrooms. For that adventure we had to have the toilets out. Because all of our furniture was stuffed into random places the easiest place for them to be put was the front yard. You have no idea how much I was giggling as I imagined our photo shoot!















Thanks for your help Brent!

Fear or Faith

I was reminded tonight of a lesson that I learned from Abish - the decisions between having fear and having faith.
I feel like I have multiple heavy decisions upon me right now and I keep getting bogged down by anxiety.
As I drove to Sandy today (sans children) I listened to music from the "Liken the Scriptures" DVD's. There is a beautiful song that Abish sings that brought my thoughts back to the words of challenge that I spoke to the youth of the stake during our Youth Conference a couple of years ago.
I told them that we have to choose (just as Abish did) between living a life of fear or a life of faith.
And so while my anxiety did not completely depart, I felt comforted and I decided that I will meet life with faith and a smile.

Privacy Please?

Tonight I was having a few minutes of quiet in the only place that I'm allowed to lock the door when Izzy came to the other side of the door and started asking lots of questions and trying to get in. Eventually when she realized I wasn't going to open the door she stuck her fingers under it, tried to peek in and asked, "Are you peeing right now?" I answered yes although truthfully I was reading a book. Then she said, "Then why can't I hear you?" I'm laughing even now. Needless to say, I finished my "quiet" moment and went back to real life.

Memory Tag

A friend of mine started this game of memory tag...

1. As a comment on my blog, leave a memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember, good or bad but be nice please!:)2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.We can make it a competition if anyone wants. Let's see who can come up with the funniest memory and who has the most memories. Please keep it going. ENJOY :)

Karate

My kids finished their community ed karate class on Friday and were able to test for their white belt and break a board. They were so thrilled. It's been a fun class for them to do together. We are now going to jump in to the world of karate full time. It should be an adventure.

Check out my Slide Show!

Happy Anniversary!

Thanks for 13 fantastic years, Scott!!!

I am so richly blessed.

August Rush

I'll put on the movie reviewer hat again and tell you about a movie you've probably already seen.
Scott and I watched August Rush this weekend and really enjoyed it. The music is incredible and the story is moving and poignant.
I turned on parts of it for my children today (the guitar playing is quite entertaining) so they could hear the music, but I wouldn't let them watch the whole thing. There are scary and sad parts and of course the premise of the whole movie is quite sad. I really didn't feel like the movie glorified premarital sex, if anything it showed how painful and tragic the consequences could be. I just thought it was very well done and for what it's worth, I recommend it.

Indulge Me

Sometimes I figure it's okay to be proud of myself for something I've accomplished...
Tonight my brother Jon patiently helped me figure out how to add two songs to my playlist from my own computer.
These songs are two of ten that I recorded about four years ago with my brother-in-law Mark (track 10) and my other brother Justin (track 9 - I know, creative titles, but now that it's on I'm not about to try to figure out how to actually name them.)
When Izzy was a baby I decided that I wanted to try to make my own CD so I chose some favorite songs, worked with a voice teacher, borrowed a talented friend (thanks, Carla) for the piano, talked the boys into it, spent hours in a studio and viola, about six months later I had my own CD (for posterity sake of course). It was such fun and quite an educational experience as well.
As time has gone by I have kind of forgot how pleased I was with the final result. I listened to it again recently and I remembered how good it feels to check something happily off your list of "Things I want to do before I die".
These two songs were my favorites from the recording, they are at the top of my playlist, if you want to have a listen.

Clogging video

One of my clogging girls loaded her video of our dances on youtube. It's not a fabulous recording but you can get the idea. Check it out!

Martian Child

I'm going to put on Jay's hat and review a movie. Scott and I watched Martian Child last night and I thought it was sweet, tender and funny. I would totally recommend it. Disclaimer: It has no explosions, very little romance no car chases, etc. So Kristen, I don't know if you'll be able to convince Jon to watch with you. However, it isn't a cheesy romance. It really was a sweet movie about a father and son. There you go. By the way, Scott enjoyed it as well. (We might be a titch biased because of our own adoption experiences, but still...)

Booby Traps

Sitting at the table yesterday morning Ryan asked me to tell him about the movie traps in National Treasure 2 (which Scott and I finally watched the night before and enjoyed very much). I asked if he meant booby traps but he was quite confident that it was really movie traps. Izzy piped up, "No, Ry. It's gooby traps!" I'll admit, that would by an effective trap.

Disney Adventures

This is Scott's blog for me! Sorry it is sooo long, but really, we had a big adventure! My additions will be in italics.

We had an absolutely fabulous time in California this past week with our little family. We got to see & visit several old Johnson family (Scott’s parents) friends, as well as see some of Scott’s old friends in Oxnard.

We attended 2 Sacrament meetings on Sunday just to see more of his old friends.

Monday Sunny clogged at Disneyland & Tuesday at California Adventure. It was so much fun she'd love to do it again. Scott was so good to take Ryan & Izzy while I had to prep/perform, etc (each day about 3 hours).

In no particular order, I list the highlights of our trip.

1. The beach was fun, but the water was chilly. We loved the diving pelicans snaring fish near the pier in Oxnard. The pelicans had to compete with half of Asia fishing from the pier. Our family was the only white meat on the pier for most of our jaunt.



2. We enjoyed our stay at the Disneyland Hotel (thanks to our economic stimulus check & Scott’s part time ACN business). We really did stimulate Walt’s wallet that is for sure. Monday morning we received a little perk when a "castmember" in the lobby of the hotel gave us four free pins (cool ones) because Sunny admitted she didn't know what she was doing with pin trading. (Sometimes it pays off to admit ignorance.)



3. Sunday night, we enjoyed the fireworks from the comfort of our 7th floor hotel room overlooking the park.

4. Scott & the kids enjoyed the pool & the slide at the pool. Izzy was allowed to go down once without her life jacket, & she struggled to swim to the side to Scott since the water coming down the slide was pushing her away. Scott jumped in before the life guard & rescued her.



5. A high for Isabelle was when she talked Sunny into going on the teacups with her. Sunny let Izzy take a picture for proof that she survived such a spinny ride.(Isn't Isabelle adorable as well as a great photographer?)



6. On day one of our four day pass, we lost all four passes on a ride (the bar on the car ripped off the metal ring holding the plastic sleeve to the lanyard. Someone right behind us in the ride found them & we quickly realized they were missing so we were reunited with our passes to fun rather quickly.



7. On day one, we were given the Dream Fast passes (a fast pass to all rides having fast passes to both parks-they are handed out randomly in the mornings in various spots.) It made life so much more fun.



8. On day two, the kids and I got them again while Sunny was clogging, but we were told that City Hall might have another one for her so all of us in the party could stay together. They did.

9. While using our Dream Passes on day 2, we were given another bonus gift that allowed us to stay in Cal. Adventure an hour after the park closed. It was like having a hyper fast pass to any ride we wanted. Much to the kids delight, we got to ride Mulholland Madness (similar to Mouse ride at lagoon) 4 times without even getting out of our car.



10. Izzy loved the characters (Ryan did too although he was more subtle about it). She thought it was funny that Pluto tried to get her to give him a snack. The rest of the day she was on the look out for Mickey so she could tell him to feed Pluto.

(Ryan denied that he wanted to meet the Princess, but he sure hopped up when Izzy wouldn't because she had her mouth full of cotton candy.)

11. Day 3 was more mellow. No Dream Pass for us but we did do a character breakfast that was a lot of fun. The buffet at Storytellers’ Café was really good.


12. When we heard someone talking about how Disneyland is the happiest place on earth, Ryan said “the happiest place on earth is our home!” It was later expanded to say anywhere our family was together. Maybe we are doing something right after all.


13. Early entry into the park for Disney Resort guests was pretty cool the 2 days we got in early.
14. After walking at least 15-20 miles days 1 & 2 (the kids were troopers), day 3 meant a stroller for Izzy & more shoulder rides for Ryan.


15. Day 3 also meant a lost camera. You know, the new one Sunny recently bought after Izzy broke the other one. (I was sick about it. My cute boys bought me a caramel apple to help me feel better). Luckily someone found it and turned it in the next day. (If not for this, I wouldn't have my favorite picture - see previous post)


16. Day 4 meant a stroller for both children, yes, our nearly 7 year old & our 4 plus year old. I tell you what, strollers were easier on the kids & easier on our shoulders (no shoulder rides needed). We would do it again early on. Thanks Disney Visa card for making stroller rental free at Disneyland (2 even).


17. Day 4 meant Dream Passes again (3 out of 4 days). When I remarked to the gentleman that we had received them on Tuesday as well, he said “you should go to Vegas, that is very rare” I mentioned that we don’t gamble but failed to mention we had also received them on Monday.


18. Ryan’s favorite ride is now the Screamer (Mine as well although I wouldn’t have gone close to a ride like that when I was 6 years old. Izzy cried when she found out she was too short to go on the Screamer. She is our speed demon & Daredevil in the family (ask Scott about the 4-wheeler rides or the scooter we owned for 3 days). The kids thought it was fun to wave at Sunny before she shot off.


19. Ryan & Izzy were both chosen to be in the Jedi Training at the Star Wars show. (I was one of those obnoxious mom's in the crowd waving and yelling to get him to choose them. Scott claims I was winking at him, but really I was wearing my sunglasses, however, it still could have been because I'm so charming). This was during the lost camera time, so we don't have pictures, although there was a family from the stake in the audience so I asked the father to take pictures, so we should have some later.


20. The Billy Hill & the Hillbillies show was a classic once again. My kids still laugh at the "pros-teeth-is" joke.


21. Izzy's comment after Tower of Terror – “that was awesome.”


22. We chased down Captain Jack on pirate island to get his picture (I'm told it's rare to catch him - we really should have hit Vegas!) Ryan wasn't sure that he was the real thing, but he was willing to go out on a limb 24. The kids insisted on hands up on Big Thunder (my favorite) and on riding together - it was cute.

We all had so much fun on the trip but after 4 days at Disneyland, we were ready to return home to Kit (our cat) & our home.

Favorite Disney Picture

I need to take a few more minutes tonight to detail the highlights of our fabulous trip but I wanted to post my favorite picture so far.

We had a very fun breakfast with Chip and Dale in the Storytellers Cafe. It was more lighthearted than the Princess lunch last year, and we got in a few giggles with the characters.

My favorite was Brer Bear who kept teasing the kids while I was trying to take their picture.

He was hilarious!

This is what Ryan calls the "real" picture. (I confess, I'm still partial to the picture of my kids looking like wookies)
My second favorite moment I missed the picture on but it was when Chip used Scott's lanyard to floss his teeth. He made us all laugh. It was a great start to our day!

Friends in Faraway Places

This blog is being written from our hotel room in Anaheim. We've had a great three days here but I'll tell highlights later. This post is merely a call to friends. Isabelle is sitting near me on the floor playing with the new Tinkerbell souvenir she bought and she just asked if friends could come play with her here. I reminded her that we don't have any friends here to play with (Ryan and Scott are out waiting in line for California Screamin' (?). She replied, "They can just drive over, then come up to number 7 and here they are!"

Any takers?

The Fairbanks Creativity

Izzy has never enjoyed sports so much!

Beautiful Slideshow and Izzy commentary

I was forwarded an email with a link to this beautiful slideshow about Christ. It takes about 5 minutes to watch. My kids and I watched it together last night. Izzy sat very quietly on my lap as I told her what was going on in each picture. She wanted to watch it a second time and as the picture came up with Christ and the little boy I told her that Jesus loves little children. She said, "but he doesn't love you." I responded, "Yes, he love me too." She was prepared to argue the point and after I again assured her that Jesus loves me too she said, "Only a little."

Top of my Senior Class? Gratuated BYU Cum Laude? Who Me?

I was just reminded (thanks Mel) of a funny story.

When I get uncomfortable or intimidated I usually respond in one of two ways. I either talk nonstop (loudly) or I can't think of anything intelligent to say so I say something truly not intelligent (sigh).

So, if you think I'm a little clown-like (which you might if you serve in the primary with me or the stake dance festival for that matter) or not very intelligent, I'm here to tell you it's just a quirk of my nature.

I often leave parties thinking either "did I really just say that?" or "did I close my mouth once?"

For example, I sure did broadcast to the Stake Presidency and their wives at a dinner that when we move we'll have to move our food storage under cover of darkness. I wasn't sure about the funny looks I was getting until someone said jokingly (ish) "You don't want to share?"

I think I laughed and then sat quietly for the rest of the dinner thinking to myself that somehow they'd got it all wrong - I just didn't want anyone to know how much food we have because I'm embarrassed that I still can't figure out what to cook for dinner!

Maybe someday I'll learn to close my mouth when I'm uncomfortable.

Anyway, to the story:

A few years ago Scott and I attended his nephew's wedding reception with his mother. We were waiting in the long line when who should breeze past us but Pres. Monson and his wife. He actually stopped to talk to a few people and saw my mother-in-law who he knew from playing the organ at the MTC for years. I can't remember exactly how the next part happened, all I know is that when the moment came for me to introduce myself or say something intelligent all I could say was, "I'm the wife." as I pointed at Scott. (Oh brother!)

If you have a story that can top this (please) feel free to share! It would make me feel so much less...well, you know.

Mom! Bad news! Follow me!

These are the words I heard from Ryan as he walked in the door from school today. Thoughts flew through my head, varying from trouble at school to a dead bird in the yard.

I grabbed my shoes and an umbrella (still raining) and followed him into the yard. He stopped first by the flower bed to dramatically tell me that the tulips are dying.
Next he lead me to the Irises which I have been so proud to show my children (I told Ryan I think they looked like girls in pretty dresses, he was less imaginative) to show me that the tallest flower had fallen over because it was top-heavy.

I'm thinking, "We haven't gotten to the bad news part yet, what could it be?"

Then we followed the trail of the water flowing down the gutter toward the drain. This is the gist of the conversation: Doesn't it look like a flood? This is going to be so dangerous...(pause)so dangerous for the bugs. (What?)

We did manage to save one worm from a certain death, but I'm not sure about the rest of the unlucky bugs.

We truly have differing ideas of bad news.

Indy Fever

Even though my children will not be seeing the movie, apparently they have the Indiana Jones bug. Izzy just said to me as she was clearing her dishes, "Does Indiana Jones really clear his dishes?" (Did I use him as an example of hard work, I don't remember!) Then after I assured her that he does in fact clear his own dishes she said (clearly impressed), "He really eats!?!" Then, "Does he like tea parties?"

I continually laugh as I try to follow my children's thought patterns.

A couple of weeks ago as we were reading morning scriptures Ryan pipes up, "If Davy Jones claw got cut off would it grow back?" Huh? I redirected attention back to the scriptures after assuring him that I would find out the answer to the question. If you're wondering - considering that he is immortal, I guess he would either be able to reattach it or it would in fact grow back.

Needless to say, we're still working on paying attention during family scriptures.

Late Night Thoughts

You'd think I'd learn. I can't watch something intense on tv before bed or my mind won't shut down. What did I watch?

Scott and I finally found a show that we both enjoy watching enough that we find the time to sit down together. It's NCIS! If any of you out there are fans, you'll know what I'm talking about! Wow! That was some season finale! (We watched it on Comcast On Demand - love it!) Needless to say, I can't wait for the new season! By the way, Annie if you read this, I really think this could replace the hole that Jag left when it ended. (Surely you still need an ironing show!?!)

Anyway, I finally wound down (after composing numerous blog posts in my head - don't ask me why, apparently now I talk to myself via the blog) and fell asleep just as Isabelle woke to use the potty.

The second set of blog posts in my head were interrupted by Ryan needing to go potty. So, I may just as well jot down a few thoughts and then try again.

Thought one:

I've been thinking about ways that I know Scott loves me and I think randomly I should share a few.
I know Scott loves me because he's willing to drop me off in St. George on the way home from Disneyland so I can spend a day with my sisters and my mom.

Another way I know he loves me, he watches cheesy movies with me on occasion. We watched a good chunk of HSM 2 last week and I think he even laughed a little as I giggled through Zac Efron's solo "Bet On It". I told him that I hadn't watched it with anyone but the kids and they were very bothered by the fact that I would want to laugh during such a serious song. I had to control myself, because I really don't want my kids to think that I think it's silly for a boy to dance. I don't, I just think this particular dance is a bit fruity and I think it's hilarious!

I think I'm starting to ramble which might mean I'm ready to fall asleep, so, good night!

Izzy's pictures

Here is a little sample of the beautiful pictures that my friend Jeneen (Shail Photography) took of Isabelle. Jeneen caught a lot of what she calls, "the many faces of Izzy".
I may be biased, but I think my daughter is beautiful!!!

ps - Congrats to my sister Jenn who survived the incredibly fast (and therefore a bit scary) delivery of her little son Anchor James (family names) early yesterday morning. Love you Jenn, he is adorable!!