california cousins + arizona cousins in the snow = lots of cold kids

In January we headed out with our Arizona cousins for a day of fun in snow.  Not sure how well we handled the cold but we still had a great time together.

Our outfits were hodge podge vogue - thrown together with bits and pieces of borrowed snow gear. Vans and converse were worn by many instead of snow boots with very fashionable plastic sacks used to keep out the wet, cold snow. Still not sure they were a success - we had lots of wet, cold feet.

We were grateful that Derek's boss offered up her cabin for the day.  It allowed us a warm place to hang out and place to make (& eat) warm food to ward off the chill.

Big thanks to our Arizona cousins for suggesting such a great outing.

we just finished roadshows

Don't pass out...yes, I am posting to our blog.  


I have lots to share and not a bit of desire to do it but now I'm just starting to feel guilty that our life is passing us by with no record.


All I can muster tonight are these few pictures of roadshow with a very short commentary.


Megan and Emily did great in their numbers.


I was surprised by the number of youth we have in our ward.  When you see them all up there on stage you realize how many youth we have.


I'm grateful for not only a big group of youth but a big group of GREAT youth for my kids to associate with.


And finally, right blue and gold eyeshadow only works when you are on stage.

gratitude

I've been keeping up on Talitha's progress thru her blog when I came across this post by Tali's dad, William.  They are words we should all try to live by made especially more powerful spoken by a man that is struggling with a young daughter battling cancer.

I loved what he wrote and wanted to share...

Where do people come up with all the weird names for the different chemotherapy drugs? My brother Evan is a Neurologist and he says they actually do market testing to determine what people will respond to best. I can't imagine anybody "marketing" chemo. If they do, they probably didn't do much market testing with Cytoxan. I mean, what does that word sound like to you? We know that chemo can be toxic to the system but they didn't even try to hide that fact with Cy"toxin".


Oh well. Too many medical terms, processes, and lists of possible side effects running through my head.


(I asked the nurse if we could get college credit towards a nursing degree for all this time spent in the hospital helping. She said that quite a few parents actually do get nurse certified because they do get so involved with the long term care in situations like this. Wow.)


Received a forwarded email from a friend of mine who is serving a two year mission for the LDS Church in the Dominican Republic. From time to time they have conferences with visiting leaders of the Church who help inspire them to do their best to bring people to Christ. During one of these conferences the visiting leader, David Bednar, opened up the meeting for any of the missionaries to ask questions. My friend raised his hand and asked the question, "How have you personally been able to put more trust in the Lord?" [This is something I'm trying to learn how to do so I read on with heightened interest.]


The answer my friend reported was very interesting to me: (1) serving His children, and (2) seeing the Lord 'touching' you or others in your life.


But the part that hit me the strongest was what this leader said directly to my friend while looking him in the eyes: "remember everytime the Lord has touched you and that will give you the patience and diligence you need in your life." [Isn't that amazing advice?!]


There's such an enabling power in Gratitude, isn't there? When we remember all that God has done for us, we have a grateful heart and have power to see the best in ourselves and others. And we want to be better and do better and help others along the way. But when we forget God's hand in our life--everything from the oxygen we breathe to the times He has helped us through the scrapes big and small--that's when we become blind to everything good. In our state of forgetful blindness we panic, fear, blame, and are miserable.


I've kept a journal for over 22 years now. There's a lot of travel-log type stuff I've written along the way that can bore you to tears but fortunately, there's also been a lot of writing about very special experiences with my family and children and life's endeavors that clearly demonstrate and help me remember the countless times God has been there for me and for those I care deeply about. The evidence I've accumulated over the years just from my life about the Lord's hand all around where I can see it and witness it personally literally fills handwritten books on my shelf at home.


Our lives on this earth don't begin with mortal birth and don't end with what we call physical death. It's not always easy keeping this perspective when you feel pain in the moment. But when I do remember, that's when I feel peace, hope, love, gratitude and so many other virtuous emotions that help to keep me sain through the deep trials that can come to each of us in life.


Let's all keep going with as much gratitude and remembering as we can muster. There's so much good we can all do in this world if we will.


Thank you all for your prayers and faith on our behalf. You have lifted our burdens and made them light.

all thoughts and prayers welcomed

This is my cousin's youngest daughter Talitha (Tali). Please visit here to read her story or here to read updates on her condition.

Please remember little Tali and her family in your prayers. If you feel so inclined leave a message of support on Tali's blog - I am sure the well wishes will be appreciated by the family.

A fund has been set up to help with the escalating medical costs. You can read more about it here. William and Audrey would never ask for the help but any little bit of help from those able to give would be appreciated by their family (and the rest of us - their extended family)

5 am - really?

I'm angry at Santa - is that a bad thing?

Our kids had saved money to buy Disneyland passes and Santa decided to make up the difference for Christmas. It all seemed good until this morning when the alarm went off at 5 am. 5 am ?!?!?! Where is the humanity?

We are now eating breakfast and heading out the door to be at the park early for a "magic morning". Magic morning my foot! We get in the park before the gates open for an hour of Disney magic before the crowds convene on the happiest place on earth. Although it all sounded good yesterday during daylight hours it is now seeming like an evil plan formulated by the fat guy in the red suit and a well known mouse - I think they are trying to make me spend more money by letting me into the park earlier. I wonder what Santa's cut is in this whole deal.

In a nutshell...

I miss my warm comfy bed

My stomach is feeling yucky from a serious lack of sleep last night

I hate Disneyland (for the moment at least)

Santa's on my naughty list

and...my kids better appreciate this or else!

i'm back - year in review

We have finally gotten over most of our illness and general yuckiness. Emily has a pretty nasty cold but she manages to muddle through the day with the help of cough medicine. My test results all came back negative which should be a good thing but I still feel horribly tired and worn down so I'm headed back to meet with my doctor to discuss my ailments.

I'm not feeling much like blogging these days but then I feel a bit sad when I think about all the things I am not writing about and what will be missing from my blog books when they are printed. To jump start my desire to blog I found this year in review idea over at Jill's blog - Creativity, Musings and Such which she found from someone that found the idea here. I'm going to give it a try. Anyone want to join in?

December 1 Trip. What was your best trip in 2009?

December 2 Restaurant moment. Share the best restaurant experience you had this year. Who was there? What made it amazing? What taste stands out in your mind?

December 3 Article. What's an article that you read that blew you away? That you shared with all your friends. That you Delicious'd and reference throughout the year.

December 4 Book. What book - fiction or non - touched you? Where were you when you read it? Have you bought and given away multiple copies?

December 5 Night out. Did you have a night out with friends or a loved one that rocked your world? Who was there? What was the highlight of the night?

December 6 Workshop or conference. Was there a conference or workshop you attended that was especially beneficial? Where was it? What did you learn?

December 7 Blog find of the year. That gem of a blog you can't believe you didn't know about until this year.

December 8 Moment of peace. An hour or a day or a week of solitude. What was the quality of your breath? The state of your mind? How did you get there?

December 9 Challenge. Something that really made you grow this year. That made you go to your edge and then some. What made it the best challenge of the year for you?

December 10 Album of the year. What's rocking your world?

December 11 The best place. A coffee shop? A pub? A retreat center? A cubicle? A nook?

December 12 New food. You're now in love with Lebanese food and you didn't even know what it was in January of this year.

December 13 What's the best change you made to the place you live?

December 14 Rush. When did you get your best rush of the year?

December 15 Best packaging. Did your headphones come in a sweet case? See a bottle of tea in another country that stood off the shelves?

December 16 Tea of the year. I can taste my favorite tea right now. What's yours?

December 17 Word or phrase. A word that encapsulates your year. "2009 was _____."

December 18 Shop. Online or offline, where did you spend most of your mad money this year?

December 19 Car ride. What did you see? How did it smell? Did you eat anything as you drove there? Who were you with?

December 20 New person. She came into your life and turned it upside down. He went out of his way to provide incredible customer service. Who is your unsung hero of 2009?

December 21 Project. What did you start this year that you're proud of?

December 22 Startup. What's a business that you found this year that you love? Who thought it up? What makes it special?

December 23 Web tool. It came into your work flow this year and now you couldn't live without it. It has simplified or improved your online experience.

December 24 Learning experience. What was a lesson you learned this year that changed you?

December 25 Gift. What's a gift you gave yourself this year that has kept on giving?

December 26 Insight or aha! moment. What was your epiphany of the year?

December 27 Social web moment. Did you meet someone you used to only know from her blog? Did you discover Twitter?

December 28 Stationery. When you touch the paper, your heart melts. The ink flows from the pen. What was your stationery find of the year?

December 29 Laugh. What was your biggest belly laugh of the year?

December 30 Ad. What advertisement made you think this year?

December 31 Resolution you wish you'd stuck with. (You know, there's always next year...)

a not so wicked witch

I have been trying to download this picture forever - blogger has issues (but then again, don't we all?)

Emily was off to our churches youth Halloween party last night as a witch. SHe had a great time and looked good too.
Excuse the mantle decor that is falling off and one of my boys dirty socks. Hopefully Emily's smile is enough to distract you from all of that.

not done but close

Megan and Em are off to another Halloween party/dance tonight at church so I had to get Meg's Jane (of Volturi fame ) costume done. Unfortunately I didn't get it finished but it was ok for the evening.

I never hemmed the sleeves so they are just rolled up (hence the uneven sleeves in the picture - that will be fixed) I also need to make a few adjustments and clean up the edges around her neck but other than that It's mostly done and I'm pleased with how it came out.
The contacts are sweet and way creepy. Megan's eyes make this costume.
I need to get some pictures with the hood on because I like how it looks. When Meg gets all made up for Halloween we'll get more pictures.

curse you halloween costumes!

Yes, I love Halloween - we are all very aware of that but the costumes, the dreaded costumes...

After some stressful days wondering how I would get 4 costumes done along with a bunch of other stuff I have going on the kids all decided to use costumes out of the costume box or in Nate's case a simple diy costume - bless you sweet children! Unfortunately there wasn't much for Megan in the box except her Ravenclaw Hogwarts uniform which she was happy to wear. I on the other hand let the "your not a very good mom" guilt trip enter my head and decided she needed to have a costume she hadn't worn before. I don't mind costumes being worn more than once I just prefer that a new kid get to wear it.

I tell myself that I only have to make one costume and I'll pick something easy. Here are the pictures we used for inspiration...

Jane Volturi, of New Moon fame. How hard can it be, I ask myself. Simple black cloak, tights. mary janes and some great black make-up. I can handle this - yeah, right!

It is now 2:23 in the am on Wednesday as I type this. Megan needs the costume tonight (she actually could have used it last night/Tuesday -(she and Emily went to a Halloween party/dance at the neighboring LDS Stake Building) but lucky for me she was willing to go as a nerd so I could work on the Jane costume. Well, remember what time it is? Yes, I'm still not finished with the costume. It is mostly done but I still need to add trim, hem it and accessorize - will it ever end?!?!? Not tonight it won't - I have to get to bed.

So look for pictures tomorrow of the dreaded Jane costume. This costume thing is making me so crazy I'm wishing a vampire would head my way, bite me and get me out of this mess. Why, why must I love Halloween so much?

happy mole day! ya, I hadn't heard of it either

So apparently today is Mole Day.  Read more here.  

Since Mole Day is chemistry related it makes perfect sense to have high schoolers across this great nation sew stuffed moles - we all know that proficient sewers make better chemists. Besides, it  not like moms (that will obviously need to help their high schoolers) are busy with Halloween costumes or anything.  

On to the stuffed mole project...

The idea is to sew a mole (horribly written instructions provided) designing it to be something or someone familiar with mole in the name - that explanation was horrid, wasn't it? Examples...

eskimo/eskimole, Edward Cullen/Edward Molen, The Holy Grail/The Moley Grail, Millionaire/Molinaire.  You get the idea.

Here is Megan's contribution to the moley madness...

Any ideas? High fives for correct guesses.  Let's take a closer look at the photo and find some clues.  Mole is holding a wand that appears to be an exact replica of a 10' Hawthorne wood wand with perhaps a unicorn hair core - that's obvious though, I know you could all see that.

He (assuming he is really a he) is sporting a black robe or cloak of some kind underneath which seems to be a striped tie, quite similar to ties worn by British children attending boarding schools.  I wonder if the colors of the tie, green and silver, hold any significance.  Probably not.

I notice he is also holding a broom - maybe this mole is a house cleaner?  chimney sweep?  The broom doesn't help us much does it?  It looks as if there aren't enough clues to help anyone figure out who this mystery mole is.
Megan did a great job and I was impressed with her sewing/chemistry abilities.  I helped some with the project and a good friend, quilting guru, Teri came over when the before mentioned horribly  written instructions made no sense to me or Megan.  In addition to sewing, Megan learned how to attach the cool, beady eyes and had fun styling the slick yarn hair.  

Her mole turned out to be a cute little guy.

the swine flu can't get us

because Mr. Mononucleosis has taken up residence instead.  3 of the 4 kids have been hit with mono and I refuse to name names as their social lives may be jeopardized. 

Actually, they all have the ok to be at school and to interact with other humans their only no no is sharing cups, water bottles and things of that nature as well as eating utensils - this will put a damper on their day to day life as they share eating utensils all day with their friends, it's the thing kids do nowadays.

He-that-shall-not-be-named to spare social repercussions does have a swollen spleen because of this mono jive and has been benched from sports for a month.  It's always warms a mothers heart to hear the doctor say something about an enlarged spleen followed by you don't want to get hit by a ball or player because it will cause internal bleeding.  Does the doctor realize I have TWO boys that do more damage to each other than any soccer player or ball.

So that's our story.  Please don't shun us when you see us out in public - come talk to us, shake our constantly wash hands, hug us - just back away from our eating utensils.  As much as you may want to share our fork we have to follow doctors orders.

say cheese!

You have to get in on this great promotion...

Ashlee is a photographer my family met during a photo shoot.  She took some great shots of our kiddos and we loved her fun personality.  Well, Ashlee is heading to Southern California (LA, San Diego, OC) this month and is offering a great deal on a photo session...no travel fees (she is coming from Utah), 30% off her regular session price and you get the images on a disc. 

If you are interested in seeing Ashlee's work head on over to her site and see how talented she is.  If you book a photo session with her please let her know Denise sent you.

Can't wait to see you Ashlee for my own families photo shoot!

kickin' it

Y'all ready for this?  Said in my best announcer voice with loud music blaring in the background.  

Friday was the big game...Megan's kickball party (that had been planned as an end of Summer party but had to be rescheduled at the very last minute)

The two teams, The Neville Kickbottoms 

and The Spongebob Kickpants played a good game but in the end only one team could be the victor 

Congratulations Team Kickpants!

I love the signs that one of the cute moms made for both teams - thanks Shauna!  Shauna is the one that drew who knows how many dark marks on the arms of the teenagers when we were in line for Harry Potter. 

There was some fine athleticism displayed ...

amazing form - Megan has never looked so athletic

speed

a sense of fashion even in the heat of competition

a fierce competitive attitude

the thrill of victory

the agony of defeat - "What?  I'm totally safe."

It turned out to be a great evening and we're glad so many kids could join in on the fun.  But the night didn't end with the game - there were celebrations to be had.

Any good game ends with a parent tunnel

Before leaving the field The Spongebob Kickpants picked up their winners trophy...

You weren't aware that there was a Kickball Championship Trophy were you?  Amazing what a $4 lamp from Goodwill, styrofoam and paint will make, huh?  Since no one person could take the trophy home because I'm holding on to that baby for next years rematch, I put together individual awards for each person on the winning team that they picked up once back at our house where the festivities continued.

They each received a mini trophy with a giant gumball kickball on top as well as a medal.  The "kickballs" were a hit and it was hilarious watching the kids try to chew them.

After all the competition on the field the kids were hungry.  There were lots of tacos and burritos consumed

and lots of this...

I'm not sure what it is but the teenagers have a love affair with this slightly thick, processed, yellow goodness.

Whenever we serve it (which is nearly every time we have teenagers over)  They surround the stuff, each trying to get their fair share and you can bet they will be back for seconds, thirds and fourths.

Here's to making this a yearly event - cheese and all!

you've had a birthday, shout hurray!

It's the big one (or one of them anyway).  Emily turns 13 today - she had arrived to teenagerdom.  Happy, Happy Birthday Em!

photos from jay reilly

with 70's tinting by me - cause I'm cool like that

Emily is beautiful inside and out and is a huge part of the make-up of our family.  I love that she is my daughter. 

Let me share some little known (and well known) facts about Emily to honor her today...

1. Her nickname is Pie and within our family is referred to as Pie much more then she is referred to as Emily.  It started as Sweetie Pie, Cutie Pie, etc and eventually landed at Pie because apparently we are all too lazy to add one more word.

2. She is a super star student.  She comes home from school and gets homework done immediately.  I rarely have to remind or check to see if it is done.  She has been on the Superintendent Honor Roll every semester in Middle School.

3. She is a kind, thoughtful person and a good friend.  She is the first to write notes of love and encouragement.  She senses when things aren't right and immediately tries to find a way to help.  When she was younger and I was pregnant with the boys she would hear me throwing up in the bathroom and would often come in and hold my hair back while rubbing my back.  She cares about others!

4. She needs things to be right.  If she thinks someone is doing something wrong or breaking a rule she want it taken care of.  If a situation isn't running smoothly or as planned she takes note and wants to fix it.  This trait is good in many ways but also can be a bit stressful for Em and the others who may be involved.  We all know life doesn't always go as planned and people make mistakes and this is a sometimes hard lesson for Emily but I have been proud of her as I have watched her mature and deal better with these situations

5. She LOVES children and is an amazing babysitter.  I would trust her to watch any kid, any age. She will be an amazing mom.  I often have parents comment on her as a babysitter.  She has a natural ability to care for kids and is calm under pressure when it comes to babysitting - a crying baby doesn't faze her a bit.  Which leads me to my new Emily fact...

6. She is an expert problem solver.  She amazes me with this since I tend to be a back away from a challenge kind a gal.  She continually finds ways to solve problems.  Where others would give up she'll continue to try and find a solution.  Except maybe with math homework  - it's much easier to ask dad for help there :)

7. When she was younger she was scared of many things but the older she gets the braver she becomes.  She will do things that surprise me - ride big roller coasters, cliff jump in Mexico, try-out to sing a solo a school, etc.  When she was young I never imagined she would do so many things.  I love that she is getting braver and experiencing so many things.

The list could go on and on but I should really get my day started.

We love you Em and wish you the best 13th birthday.  Thank you for being a part of our crazy family!

add another diy project to my list

I want to make this chair

is anyone else grossed out by this?

Family tradition dictates that the birthday boy or girl gets to choose what to have for dinner on their birthday.  After Luke's birthday I am seriously considering changing this tradition.

Luke's birthday menu...

mashed potatoes

Kraft macaroni and cheese

chicken noodle soup

I felt so sick after eating this meal.  The potatoes are to die for yummy (recipe here) but the combo of those three things was major starch overload.  Ick, I feel nauseous even typing this.

Here's to hoping his 9 year old palette will be more refined.

so long saturdays

Saturday marked our first soccer games of the season.  There go our Saturdays :)

Nate had an 8 am game which made for nice weather (at least for most of the game)  The kids played well but lost the game by one point.

My mom, little brother and sister from Utah were able to go to the game with my other brother, sister and law and nephew Carter that live in Vista and my dad joining us for Luke's game later in the day)

Between games Derek took everyone over to shop at Oakley while I stayed home with a very traumatized Luke and got him ready for his game.

About being traumatized...

After Nate's game Derek and Nate left in Derek's car, the girls and I drove home in my car and my mom had my brother, sister and Luke in her car (or so we thought)  Once everyone was home we realized no one had Luke so I go tearing out of the driveway and head back to the field to find a very scared Luke roaming the parking lot.  

The tears (both his and mine) started the moment we saw each other.  It took him a long while to calm down and I apologized 100 times.  We are glad it all turned out well.

Luke had a late morning game and by the time he played it was getting pretty warm.  I like soccer in cool weather (which California seems to be lacking at the moment)

The Dynamites won the game and Luke played really well with only a few moments of staring off in the distance or kicking around grass.

This is what you get when your kid gets tired of you pointing the camera in his direction.

As much as I dislike Saturdays being tied up with games I have to admit it is nice to be together as a family enjoying the games.  The kids are all supportive of each other although Megan has a funny way of showing her support. 

oh how my husband knows me

It's one of those days...some crying and feeling yucky but can't pin point why.  Depressed?  No, not that bad but a general feeling of blah - do you have those days?

Anyway, I called Derek had a good cry and hung up the phone.  A few minutes later an email with the subject line "smile" comes through with a link to this.  My good husband knows how to cheer me up.