My best present EVER!

These are the favorites from our Christmas card photo shoot.  Thanks again Millie!








All I wanted for Christmas this year was one really great family photo. I think we got a few of them! I'm super happy. It was our 4th try!

Merry Christmas 2009!

My Fourth Decade

And so begins my fourth decade as a member of the human race!  And there is no better way to begin it than with a chocolate cake with butter cream frosting!  YUM!!

It was one of the most amazing birthdays ever.  I just want to thank everyone who took time out of their day on Monday to call, mail, post, text or telepathically send me birthday well wishes!  I felt so special!  Thanks Mom for spending a couple of days celebrating with us and for crying those happy momma tears. :) Thanks James for going the extra mile to make everything special- I love you!! Thanks to my friends for coming over to sing happy birthday and share cake (even if you were forced out of the house despite having the flu!) ;0)

One of the best birthday gifts EVER was the news that we are not going to be in some crazy far away place for our next duty station!  Now, at this point, we're not exactly 100% sure where we ARE going to be, but we do know that it will be stateside and most likely West Coast.  We feel so extremely grateful that we will be able to remain within a day's drive of home and family and James will get the experience of serving this great nation on a Navy ship.  This is what he has wanted from the beginning.  The news has made my worrying mother a very happy person! ;0)

On another familiar note, 'tis the season for the taking of the family photo.  My kids really really hate doing this, and quite frankly, I think James hates it more than anyone!  We actually managed to get some pretty decent pictures!  Millie did an amazing job.  I am going to post a slideshow of them soon, but here are a few we took Sunday after church.  Annabelle managed to force a cute pose through her tired tears....

Wanna hear my kids RAP??

Just click on the links and play the songs!  My brother, David created these using his iphone.  Pretty cool.  I think the kids have real talent, what do you think?  ;0)

DILLON Raps to TPAIN's "Bartender"

Charlie Rap's TPAIN's "Kiss Kiss"

The scariest thing about Halloween..

Here's our Halloween possey- Butterfly, X-Wing pilot, and Luke Skywalker.

Can you tell she's about to sneeze? ;)

To me, the scariest thing about Halloween is that it may not always be this FUN!  In the future I just know I'll look back and miss these days so much.  

I can't imagine a Halloween without hours and hours of careful consideration and preparation of costumes...

Pumpkin carving get-togethers

Spooky decorations

Lots and lots of laughs

The SECOND scariest thing about Halloween, is this --------->

GIANT basket of leftover candy!  Ahh!

At this year's "Trunk or Treat"  Charlie actually won an award for "Best Costume!"  He was so excited, and frankly had been predicting a win all along.  ;0)


 Thanks to Debbie Stone for her awesome costume-making and sewing-instruction skills!  

**Warning: Off-topic Sub-post!***

One day last week, Annabelle grabbed me by the hand and said in her cute 2 year old voice, "C'mere Mommy! I show you!" She took me to the foyer where I saw her dolls and Charlie's friend "Skelly" situated against the wall like so --->



She says to me, "Dey's naughty. I put time-out."



(GIGGLE and SIGH)

Annie was a princess for a day!

My baby is 2! I can't believe it. She had such a great time on her special birthday and is still, two weeks later, singing "happy busday to you, happy busday to you" everywhere she goes! The day started off with a special lunch with Grandma and then a trip to "Build-a-Bear!" Now, because our previous visits to this store had ended in screaming tantrums (we hadn't ever let her get anything there), she was a little leary, and at first, would not let go of ANYTHING we let her touch!





She was terrified of the bear stuffing machine and we could all tell she was 100% focused on one thing: Making OUT of the store with her Bear and all it's accessories- no matter the cost! When she finally DID make it out to the car- and the coast was clear of anyone who might attempt to rob her of her princess bear- she was exhausted and only managed a quiet "Tank you Gwamma." Before she and Bear fell asleep!



Soon after we got home, we met friends at the park for a little party time! We had food and the kids played and Annie had this constant look on her face like, "Is this really ALL FOR ME???" "Would somebody pinch me please?" It was adorable.









Here she is proudly exclaiming- "I'm TWO!!"



By the way, this TinkerBell balloon is still hanging in there- its still floating after 2 + weeks now!
Now, If only time would slow down a little! :(

Its Raining Friends!

We have been SO BLESSED the last couple of weeks to have several friends and family come to visit us. Our good friends the Romers came and we went to the Wild Animal Park. The kids got along great! They were paired up pretty cute- almost like we planned it or something! :) :) Getting a chance to spend some time with these guys is SO RARE. It was really really fun.





Later that same day James' brother and his wife came. We went to the MCAS Miramar Air Show. Numerous people had told us how cool it was, and that before we left here we absolutely HAD to check it out.... AND since Shawn had once been in the Air Force, we thought it would be fun. FUN was a total UNDERSTATEMENT!! It was amazing! We spent nearly the entire day there- even though it was HOT and kind of a miserable day. We barely noticed. Our camera is not working, so I grabbed this photo from Kathy's blog.



They stayed for the Conference weekend. We always love it when they come!!



That very same evening our friends, the Brizzees, came to spend a few days with us, and a few days at Disneyland. Our kids became best buddies again- like it had only been a few weeks and not THREE WHOLE YEARS since the last time they'd been together. It was a great great week. We even got to join them at Disney one of the days!



Like I mentioned before, our camera is on the fritz... so my choice of photos is limited to what I could scrounge... AND to what our super old digital camera would produce. NOT so great images, but they'll do. I feel so handicapped without my camera!

I think its always a good idea to end my posts with a few cute pictures of Annabelle!!  :)

Oh Sweet Routine

As hard as it was to let go of the freedom of those lazy Summer days, I have finally embraced the beauty of our new routine.

First day of school:



First day of Cub Scouts:

Example of a typical week:

Monday

Breakfast/ scripture study, take boys to school, work out, get ready, run errands, pick up Charlie, eat lunch, put Annabelle down for nap, do housework, catch up on emails/ orders, pick Dillon up at bus stop, fix snack, help him with homework, boys do jobs then play video games while I fix dinner, eat dinner, clean up, have FHE, bedtime/ bathtime, watch TV for a bit, then hit the sack.

Tuesday

Breakfast/ scripture study, take Dillon to school, work out, get ready, housework/ errands, eat lunch, put Annabelle down for nap, do housework, catch up on emails/ orders, pick Dillon up at bus stop, fix snack, piano lessons, homework, boys do jobs then play video games while I fix dinner, eat dinner, clean up, bedtime/ bathtime, watch TV for a bit, then hit the sack.

Wednesday crazy Wednesday

Breakfast/ scripture study, take boys to school, work out, get ready, make picnic lunches and pack up car for playgroup/ skatepark day, pick up Charlie, eat lunch, pick Dillon up at bus stop on our way to the park, playgroup/ skate time, do primary work/ catch up on emails, homework, jobs, video games, fix dinner, eat dinner, clean up, take Dillon to scouts, pick Dillon up from scouts, bedtime/ bathtime, watch TV for a bit, then hit the sack.

Thursday

Breakfast/ scripture study, take Dillon to school, work out, get ready, housework/ errands, eat lunch, (soon take Charlie to Karate), put Annabelle down for nap, do housework, catch up on emails/ orders, pick Dillon up at bus stop, fix snack, homework, boys do jobs then play video games while I fix dinner, eat dinner, clean up, bedtime/ bathtime, watch TV for a bit, then hit the sack.

Friday

Breakfast/ scripture study, take boys to school, work out, get ready, run errands, pick up Charlie, eat lunch, put Annabelle down for nap, do housework, catch up on emails/ orders, pick Dillon up at bus stop, fix snack, help him with homework, boys do jobs then play video games while I fix dinner, eat dinner, clean up, Friday night fun???

Saturday

Pancakes or waffles and eggs breakfast, errands or whatever, get things ready for church the next day and whatever else, maybe something fun??

Sunday

Breakfast, get everyone ready for church, go to church, get home, fix lunch/dinner, meetings/ naps for the lucky ones, family together time, evening walk, get things ready for it to start aallllll over again.....

Notice I didn't include the slightest hint of what James' part is in all this.  That is because I never know for sure... poor guy.

FALL TRIP TO JACKSON HOLE:  I thought it would be fun to use Dillon's journal as this post. (click on the pictures to see them full-size)

Here are some more photos of our trip:

Hiking above Teton Village with the boys and their cousins.


Looking up to the Teton Village Tram (and the moon)!

Jenny Lake hike/ waterfall
Elk arches in downtown Jackson

After a yummy lunch at Bubba's with Grandma and Grandpa

"Moo Moo" at Haagen Daz.  MMMmmmm
10,000 feet up!
Can you see the rainbow in this photo?? ---->
There is a lovely scenic drive just off I-15 south of Cedar City that gives you a breathtaking glimpse into Zion's National Park and Bryce Canyon.  


I zoomed in on this photo so you could see just above Dillon's left eyebrow he has 7 stitches. THAT was a major highlight of the trip- for sure! We spent Saturday night in the Jackson Hole emergency room after Dillon slipped on the wet floor near the hot tub and split his poor little head wide open!




As luck would have it, my (sort of adopted) older Tongan brother Siale was visiting SLC that week! It had been 8 years since we last saw him. He has since been blessed with his beautiful wife, Lisa and their 2.5 beautiful children! Seeing him again and meeting his family was a HUGE bonus to our trip.