CATCH UP

I have so many posts running through my head & just no time to keep up. So, here's a catch up post of what happened during one weekend...

The 11th of December my Kylie turned 10!! My how we love that girl. Even when she's crazy - which is pretty much all of the time! How did I get so old to have a 10 year old? She told me a few times throughout the day, "I'm 10 now mom. Double digits. Do you feel old now?" Why yes, yes I do. Here she is with her Phineas & Ferb pin she got... (She loves that show.)

We love that she's not shy. Sometimes it can be much, but for the most part it's wonderful! We have no idea where it comes from as Erik & I are not very outgoing. She loves life & loves to be in charge. If you've been around her at all you know she can keep you busy all day long with activities made up on the fly. We're so happy she's part of our family!!

The next day the girls participated in a movie. A couple in our ward has a daughter in film school. She was making a short film for her class & needed girls for one of the scenes. They had to be crazed girls at a birthday party. (Not very hard for my girls.) They had a blast!! They actually filmed stuff a couple of weeks ago, but the camera broke towards the end. They had to come back to refilm & my girls were quite happy with that idea.
They loved being "on set" for a day. I came for a little bit to take some pictures & I'm so glad I did! Check out what they did to my girls....

I was laughing so hard! I loved it! (Do you love Kylie's dress EmmaLee?) They had some dresses for the girls to wear, but asked them to bring some more just in case. Kylie was the oldest & they didn't have anything that fit her. All we have is old dance costumes & she chose the lovely pink & white number to wear.

I asked a guy at one point what was going on in the story & he mentioned something about zombies. But, they did not tell the girls that. They just told them to act crazy. At one point they had to dig in & destroy a birthday cake making grumbling noises. Again, I was just laughing! Then, a guy stole a bike from the party & the girls had to chase him. I can't wait to see the finished product. We'll be getting a copy of the film once it's all edited. And I'll probably need to watch it before I let my girls see it just to be sure! ;)

DISNEYLAND

We went to Disneyland Dec 3rd - 6th & had a BLAST! How could you not? It's Disneyland! It's no secret that I absolutely love this place. I could live their & be just fine. We met some friends their which made it all the more fun. The Paez family & the Wallis family. It was great to see them again. The girls love Tinkerbell & all of her friends. One of the highlights for them was getting to meet Rosetta....

The classic castle shot...

I love this castle. I could stare at it all day. Did you know it was patterned after the Noschweinstein castle in Germany? That castle is also one of my favorites. Erik & I on the Peter Pan ride....

All the times I've been to Disneyland I have to say that this was the first time I remember going on this ride & it was cool. Even Erik loved it.

I have to tell about my Grizzly Rapids adventure. Have you been on this ride? Well, I have not, until now. It's the Wallis kids favorite ride, so we went. I got drenched! When we got off I rubbed my hands down my jeans & water flowed like I was wringing them out. But, I just touched them. That's how drenched I was. Not to mention that it's FREEZING outside. A nice worker told me that the first aid stations have dryers. So, I went & spent 30 min or so trying to dry off. I never completely dried off, but it was better than the alternative. And I was not about to walk back to the hotel to change & miss out. It was an adventure.

Our girls were awesome! We had prepped them for months that they needed to be tough & try all the rides. They did have a couple of nervous times, but all in all they did pretty good. They even rode Space Mountain a few times. Jadyn rode the Tower of Terror with Erik & loved it. She's crazy - I hate that one. I was happy to sit out with Kylie for that one. I hate that pit in your stomache feeling.

This picture just makes me happy - I LOVE IT!!!!

Thanks to my job (Disney Store) we were able to go. Free tickets is not too shabby!! Not to mention I got our group into a special store for employees called "Company D" which has park merchandise at good discounted prices. Then, I discovered that they were running a special that week that even store employees got 50% off all park merchandise!! How lucky is that? It was pretty sweet! Especially considering I only work once every couple of months or so!

200

This is my 200th post. Why not make it a big one?! :) Actually, just thought I'd share that I saw this movie...

I saw the midnight showing with a friend. We actually did the double feature where we saw Twilight first & then New Moon. As we all know, I'm a fan. I've kept myself pretty well contained lately. Here's Bonnie & I before it starts.... (I'm not good with the one arm pictures, so it is what it is.)

Well, I loved it! It was way better than Twilight & I'm not usually a huge sequel person. You could definitely tell the budget was "beefed" up. I'm a little bit closer to being a Jacob fan, but not quite! It was a blast & I'm glad I got to go. I told myself I wasn't going to do a midnight showing, but I'm glad I went. Bonnie cracks me up & it was fun seeing it with her! Thanks again Bonnie!!

RJ's FAREWELL

Today was our nephew RJ's farewell. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that one. Especially since he was only 5 when Erik & I started dating!! I can't believe he's that old & going on a mission. He's been called to serve in the Guixaquil, Ecuador Mission. He's been ready to go for a LONG time now. He was hoping to have his call before he graduated in May, but due some circumstances (Hmm, hmm... his papers being lost in the Stake President's office for a bit) it's been a little longer. I can't remember the last time I've seen a young man so ready & worthy for this calling. He's an amazing kid! An awesome example of how everyone should be! Here's Erik with RJ. RJ calls Erik Uncle Rico.

His talk was wonderful. All the kids, cousins sang "I Believe in Christ". Kylie & Jadyn didn't hesitate. They were ecstatic to do so. It was beautiful to watch all of the kids sing. My brother-in-law Ron spoke as well & did a good job. But, what took the cake was something I've never seen before. The closing song was "Called to Serve". A real tear-jerker in itself at a farewell right? Well, all (& I mean ALL) the priesthood holders were asked to come up to the front to sing. What an AWESOME sight to see all of the men, young & old, in the audience stand up at the front & sing that amazing song!! Then, I saw my friend Sarah's dad standing behind RJ (he was RJ's Young Men's President in his previous ward) singing & lost it. I miss that man so much & his daughter even more! There really are no words to describe how beautiful that was. What a tremendous idea for a farewell. Supposably it has become a tradition in that ward.

At the "Open House" Edwin (my friend Sarah's dad) serenaded RJ. It was great! Again - I miss this man! He had served his mission in Ecuador & came to tell some stories. No one tells stories like Edwin. Here's a picture of me with Edwin & Sarah's youngest sister Ashley. Ashley was born at the end of our Junior year in High School. She was only 3 when Sarah was killed. Ashley was also the flower girl at our wedding when she was 4 since Sarah couldn't be a bridesmaid.

In watching all that this family has done in preparation for RJ I have found myself a little sad. I'm quite jealous that I don't have a boy to send out & have that experience with. I've told Ron & Nikki numerous times that I will have to live vicariously through their boys. Lucky for me, I also have many boys to live vicariously through on my side of the family. So, I'll be covered. As sad as it makes me - I can't help but be extremely excited as well. I can't wait to hear his stories & all about his adventures! I can't think of a young man that was more prepared than RJ. He will be an amazing missionary! We're so proud of him & the choices he's made.

RACE

Today I did something I NEVER thought I would do. I ran in a race! I'm not sure I can legitimately say that since I did a Family Fun Run at a race, but for me, it counts! As I've said a million times before - I DON'T RUN! I despise running & always have. Even when I was in the best shape of my life & dancing for hours everyday - I still could not run. It takes a completely different endurance to run. Well, I'm changing my ways & am now slowly becoming obsessed.

Today didn't help. I found out from a friend in my ward about this race & quickly signed up. It was great for me to kind of understand how things worked. Even though it was a family thing (& there was a lot of kids) it was an adrenalin rush for me. It was suppose to be a 1.5 mile, but I"m not sure it was that far. It went by so fast! I just kept thinking - that's it? I didn't get overwhelmed. Maybe it was the running outside and seeing different things, as opposed to running laps around a track. Or maybe just the sheer excitement of doing it. But, I loved it & can't wait for the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving! (I'm doing the 2 mile run their.) Then, I'm going to train for a 5k in Sedona - I hope!

Getting ready to go.....

At the end I got an AWESOME medal!! My cute sister Allison came running up & put it around my neck. She & my other sister Stephanie brought it for me. They were my cheering section with my girls! I loved it! They made me feel so special to take the time to come see this silly women racing with kids.

This is the main reason for doing this.....

I want to be healthier & be a good example for my girls. I hear Kylie say all the time that she hates running & hates when she has to do it in PE. I don't want her going down the same road as me. I want her to be active, healthy & happy. What better way to achieve that than by teaching by example. We had a talk today when we got home about how I said I hated running for 30 years & now after some hard work I actually enjoy it. Hopefully, it will help in the long run. (No pun intended!)

MEXICAN

Kylie's full of them lately! Here's her latest silly quote...

Erik & the girls were watching "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader" the other night while I was making dinner. In the catagory 1st Grade Language the question was: What language is the word Fiesta (meaning party or celebration) that is spoken by 1/3rd of the world.

KYLIE: "Oh! That's so easy!!! I know that one!"

(**I have so many exclamation marks on purpose. She's yelling as she says these things because she's so excited.**)

ERIK: "Oh yeah, what is it?"

KYLIE: "It's MEXICAN!!"

I about fell over I was laughing so hard. Silly girl! She quickly realized the error of her ways once Erik & I couldn't talk from laughing so hard.

FALL FESTIVAL

Last weekend was the girls Fall Festival. This is the school's one fund raiser they do each year. They don't sell cookies, wrapping paper, etc. They have this carnival. Since I'm on FPAC this year I had a committee to help with. I, luckily, had a partner with me - Kris. She's the best ever!! We were over the games. It was A LOT of stress & a lot more involved than I thought, but it actually went pretty smooth. I'm glad it's over! Here's a few pics from the day....

Kylie didn't feel very well at the end. She ended up spending most of the time helping with the Prize Booth & hanging out with me.

Kylie with her teacher, Mrs. Kunda, and her boys...