CRUCIFIXION SCENE

I had to jot down some thoughts about this scene. I want to always remember this experience. But, first, let me back up...

Erik & I were originally cast as the Blue Wise Man & the Blue Wise Man follower in the Easter Pageant. A couple of months or so later Erik received a call from Jenee Prince (the Director) asking if we wouldn't mind switching parts. She asked if we would be willing to play Mary & Joseph this year in the pageant. Of course! We always talk about how we're willing to do whatever part is asked of us. We also like mixing things up & trying new parts. We've been the parents of the Dead Girl for 5 years & needed something new. After doing the same thing for so long you tend to get complacent & it becomes routine. It's hard to give it your all & give the same kind of spirit to a part when you've done it for so long.

So, we are now Mary & Joseph in the Boy Jesus & the Temple scene. There's a different Mary & Joseph for the Mary's Lullaby scene. She dances & there's no way to get from one scene to the opening of the next scene in time. With that casting comes the casting of myself as Mary in the Crucifixion scene. I've been in this scene before - years ago. I didn't think much of it when I heard I would be in that scene because I've done it before & thought I knew what to expect. Little did I know that this would change me. This would impact me forever.

When I showed up for my first rehearsal of this scene I was expecting to have an easy night. Don't get me wrong - I knew being in this scene would be hard just for the sheer nature of what it represents. However, I figured I would just be on stage "mourning" so to speak. When rehearsal started they started giving us direction.

Jeff (one of the Assistant Directors) started asking if any of us have been in the room as someone passed. To which I thought - yes. {sigh} That brings tears everytime at the very thought, so thinking of that will make tears flow easily.

Then, they started giving me a lot of direction. How many years have I been in the pageant? And, how did I not remember that Mary was an intricate part of this scene? I've heard the soundtrack a million times, but had forgotten.

Let's do a little refresher course from the scriptures that's basically the wording for the scene shall we? Here's an excerpt from John chapter 19:

25 ¶Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his ^amother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of ^bCleophas, and Mary Magdalene.

26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the ^adisciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, ^bWoman, behold thy son!

27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy ^amother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

Did you catch that?

Did you read it the same way I did?

To me - reading that with this scene in mind I think - YIKES! How did I not remember? This scene is testing my acting abilities tremendously. (Or should I say lack of acting abilities?) Not only that, but how do you appropriately portray this part? Not only are you standing there watching as the Savior passes away....

...but, you're watching on as his Mother!!!

As a mother myself, I just can't begin to fathom this at all!! Thinking about this horrific act effects all of us in some way as it is, but this is different for me now. I think of Mary in a totally different way now - she had to watch these horrible acts happen to her son. Not her Savior - HER SON!

I think of that often while on stage & how my dad must have felt being in the room as Michael passed. Words just can't describe that event - for me - as a sister. I can't imagine how it was for him as a dad. And on Father's Day no less. I think this experience gives me a little bit of perspective. Let me say that again - A LITTLE BIT - because I, again, can't begin to fathom!

With that aside, I also feel a little bit of pressure. How do you give spirit to that scene? It's obviously a very important scene & I don't want to mess it up. I want to do it justice as well as give it the complete reverence & respect it deserves. Yet, it's hard to portray this beautiful woman & how she must have felt. This is an experience that I will never forget. One that will effect how I feel about this event forever. It has given me a new perspective & I am grateful for this opportunity.

Click on the "easter pageant" label for more stories through the years. ;)

WISDOM TEETH

I am no longer wise! I can't tell you how many times I've heard that one the past few weeks. Anyhow, I did get my stinkin' wisdom teeth removed. It did nothing for my saying of "I hate teeth"! I always tell people how I hate teeth. My girls both started teething at 4 months. Jadyn didn't get her first tooth until she was 9 months old - Kylie didn't get hers until she was 13 months old. Basically, teething for that long is a joke! Hence, why I hate teeth.

Well, this experience didn't disappoint. I had so many people tell me how they were sore for a couple of days & then up & going again after that. Erik made his mom take him to the mall right after he got his out & then he was eating Taco Bell that night! Therefore, I thought this would be a piece of cake. I mean - come on!! I had an emergency c-section & didn't take one pain pill afterwards! I'm tough!

Not so, not so. This kicked my tail & was extremely hard! I went in on Friday Sept. 16th to have all 4 removed. The top 2 were out & the bottom 2 were impacted. I remember sitting in the chair getting an IV & then being in a car & then being at home. My awesome sister Robin was my babysitter for the day. She waited while I was in surgery, drove me home, got me Jamba Juice & stayed with me all day. We had a lovely Twilight marathon day!

Robin said when I came out of the room she started to laugh seeing me draped over the nurses trying to walk - until the nurses gave her a dirty look. Once in the car I guess I started crying & moaning & kind of freaked Robin out. She didn't know what to do. I, however, don't remember any of it. Then, she asked me what I wanted to eat. I replied, "Jamba Juice". She couldn't understand my request for which smoothie I wanted so she asked me to write it down. I did so in surprisingly pretty stellar fashion. She saved the tag to show how neatly I wrote because it was pretty shocking in my condition. Next, I decided to text her my order as well. In case she didn't get it the first time? Or in case she lost me being a foot away from her? Not sure - pretty silly!

Once home it was nice to just sit & relax. As days went by I didn't exactly get better. It hurt! I had to take pain pills to subside the throbbing pain which disgusted me! I was so upset & miserable. I couldn't eat, it hurt to talk, I looked like a chipmunk, bruised, & my chin, bottom lip & teeth were still numb a week later. I talked like I had a fat lip. I finally called the Dr. & went in. He did a poke test on my chin where he basically stabbed a needle all over & asked me when I could feel it. Since I could feel it at a point that was a good sign. That meant he doesn't think I have nerve damage.

Apparently, because I waited so long to get them out one of my teeth had attached itself to my jawbone. Not fused, just attached. That meant that he had to dig out part of my jawbone to get the tooth out. YIKES! That explains why my teeth don't hurt but my entire jaw KILLS! The area was also close to a nerve, so the nerve got jarred enough to make the healing of the nerve take longer than normal.

It's now been over 2 weeks. I no longer live off of pain medicine & my cheeks have pretty much gone back to normal. I'm still numb, but the doctor said that could take months to heal. That's right - months! I still have a hard time eating. Part of that is the numbness because I can't feel what my teeth are doing. It's strange & annoying. Yet, my teeth are now out & it can only get better from here! I go back in a few weeks to see how the numbness is doing. Hopefully, all is well by then! Fun times, fun times!!

AUGUST 2011

Is it really October already?! WOW!

August brought us the beginning of school, but before school started Kylie got her cast off!! She was a little sad that she was getting it off right before school started because she now wasn't going to have proof that she spent most of the summer in a cast. Yet, she was ready to have it off - as was I! We were pretty lucky that she had to keep going back for different things so that she got a new cast on every couple of weeks. I can't imagine how people go all 6-8 weeks with one cast. They get so nasty! Now it's off - HALLELUJAH!

As for school - I can't believe we now have a 6th grader & that my baby is in 3rd grade. Time flies! Kylie was asked to be one of the flag kids this year & she was jumping up & down for awhile when the call came to ask her. At her school they pick a few kids to be over the raising & taking down of the flag everyday. She felt so privileged that they asked her. I love it because she's learning how to respect & handle the flag.

I need to get better at taking pictures & getting on the ball. (I know, I say that every time.) Only now I don't have a camera, so that's awesome! Mine decided to bust on me & I haven't gotten a new one yet. Hopefully before Halloween! ;)

SAN DIEGO

This summer we ended up treating our vacation a little differently. We had a trip planned to go to Utah as usual. I had a week off from work. However, the more we thought about it & the 3 days we would end up driving out of 7 & all the running around we had to do to visit everyone I started to get a little overwhelmed. We did some searching & found a great deal on a hotel in San Diego & just did it! It was only a couple of days, but well worth it!! Not to mention I had a couple of days to get things done & was able to save a couple of vacation days as well. Win, win all around. Except for all of the family we didn't get to visit. That was a bummer. I always love to go visit my Grandpa Carroll & I missed out on that this year. Hopefully, we can plan another trip in the fall.

Our hotel was the Hilton & we were on the 19th floor over looking the bay. Pretty sweet! The girls were out pretty quick both nights. Erik brought the cot & they took turns on the cot & bed. (Kylie digs her feet under people in her sleep, so she's not very fun to sleep with.) Part of our stay was a free breakfast. We just assumed it was the normal continental. Yet, we had to have vouchers & the value to each voucher was almost $25!! For breakfast! That's insane! We had a waiter serving us & our bill was $96 the first morning. We just had to pay the tip. It was a big breakfast buffet & Jay loved being served apple juice in a "champagne" glass as she called it. She thought she was fancy. Obviously, we don't get out much!

The first day we woke up & took Kylie to a follow up appt. on her wrist. As soon as that was done we were off! We were able to check in as soon as we got their & then decided to catch a ferry over to Coronado Island. We had a little bit of a jaunt to the ferry & then walked across the island to Coronado Beach. A lady at the hotel said it wasn't bad, but with kids & a short time span since it was already 5pm made it a little rough. We made it though & were able to spend about 30 min. at the beach. (We walked for about 40 min.) The girls loved playing in the waves with Erik & I was happy just being on the beach relaxing. At one pint they had dolphins swimming around them. Kylie was dying to swim with dolphins somewhere & she was able to for free. ;) They were playful that day jumping out of the water. It was awesome! Then, it was off to hurry back to catch our ferry.

The second day we headed to Sea World. Again, we totally lucked out finding a sweet deal on tickets! We walked by the Shamu show & they were filming a new video for the gift shops of the new show & wanted people to sign releases & sit in the splash zone. We did so, got our wrist bands & ended up being seated right in the front row. Needless to say, we walked away COMPLETELY SOAKED! I wish I would have worn board shorts & not denim shorts. Denim is very heavy to walk around in when they're wet. Lesson learned. At least it wasn't a cold day & we weren't freezing. We were able to hold some starfish. Erik's had only 4 "legs". I found one with 7. Pretty crazy! Jadyn wouldn't even touch them. Sea World is fun, but definitely not like Disneyland. Heehee

Our 3rd & last day :( we woke up, packed, checked out & drove over the bridge back to Coronado Island. The girls & Erik had a ball playing in the waves. At one point Erik had a seal swim right past him. He swam parallel with the beach for awhile slowly & a lifeguard truck was announcing to stay away from him because he could be sick & may get aggressive. Jadyn wanted to build a sand castle so badly & we were not well equipped for that. She made do with her hands & some sea shells. Next time, we'll know. As for Kylie - that bright blue cast cover was the best thing we ever could have bought. It was unsightly, but did it's job wonderfully! Nothing got in. My favorite part of the day was watching my girls walk back into the water hand in hand & then still holding hands as waves came & they would turn to face each other to jump them. So cute! I wish they were like that all of the time to each other.

All in all, it was a lot of fun. Going somewhere different, relaxing a little more, being at the beach & just being together as a family!

KYLIE HAS SURGERY

**WARNING** If you have a weak stomach I would not advise looking at the photos!!**

Kylie was playing at a friends house (along with Jadyn) on Tuesday June 14th. I text her to tell her to come home. I heard back nothing. So, I called her & got her voicemail. Waited a few minutes & still...nothing. A few minutes later her friend & Jadyn come busting through the door screaming that Kylie had been hurt. Jadyn was beside herself with crying. I took off running down the street. They had moved Kylie back into her friends house & she was really upset.

Apparently, she saw my missed text & call & took off out the door. Got on her scooter only to hit a crack in the sidewalk just right that sent her flying & landing on her wrist & arm. It got pretty swollen in the days to follow, but she wasn't overly in pain. No fever, no heat to the touch, nothing. Well, being the good parents we are we took her in finally on Friday, since the swelling hadn't gone down, night to my brother's office (who's a chiropractor) to get an x-ray before we took her in to the Dr. Saturday we heard back from my brother that she had a distal radius fracture. Nice! Did some research & called around on Monday & got her in to an orthopedic surgeon (apparently family dr's don't do casts anymore) on Tuesday morning June 21st. In fact, Erik took her (along with Jadyn) since I had to work & we just figured they would cast it.

Well, the Dr. informed Erik that she really needed to have surgery right away. Because of the way it was fractured it needed a pin in order to continue to have full mobility of her wrist & so that bone fragments didn't accidentally sever nerve endings or veins. Sounds lovely, eh?! So, surgery was scheduled for the next day - Wednesday June 22nd.

Taking your child in for surgery is nerve wracking!! I was a little bit of a mess! Especially when nurses are calling you for pre-admission info & asking your religion preference. They only ask that if there's something scary to think about. I know it's normal protocol, but when your kid's involved it's a whole different ball game! I don't know how mom's do it that have to go through major surgeries with their kids. I guess you just have to do what you have to do. YUCK!

We took her in & the ortho hospital she went to was wonderful! The nurses were all really nice & helpful. Her Dr. was great as well. We were truly blessed to be led to people who were so good. The scariest part was probably getting the i.v. in, but she was a trooper! She handled it way better than expected! When they put the meds in to start to put her out she got kind of silly pretty quick! It didn't take much for her. She kept asking us to come with her to the OR (which we couldn't obviously) while they were wheeling her away. She started asking again & then just started laughing mid-sentence.

Erik & I were then escorted to the waiting room. Erik went to go get some food really fast since we hadn't eaten. He brought me back a salad from Jack in The Box & I found a live ladybug in my salad!! Took a pic for proof! According to my mom that means good luck - I'll take it!! I couldn't get grossed out because I was about to pass out from starvation. Ew - yuck - I know!

After about an hour the surgery was all done & we were able to take her home! All in all, we were at the hospital for a total of about 3 hours. Not too bad!! We went home & she fell asleep for another couple of hours. Then, the fun began of having a cast, etc.

We sent her away still to Time To Blossom (more to come on that) in hopes that taking care of her cast would be ok. Not to mention someone helping her with her hair since that was a lost cause with your right arm out of commission.

The morning of July 1st we had scheduled a trip to San Diego. Kylie had a follow-up appt that morning before we left where they took her cast off & stitches out. The Dr told us he would remove the pin & we had no idea that it was sticking out of her arm. Kylie took one look & said, "Mom, I gotta lay down." I felt the same way! She got a new cast & picked red for this one & we were off on our trip!

This coming Tuesday she gets her pin removed & then her last cast that she will have to wear for a couple of weeks. She'll probably get it off the day before school starts. She's hoping for after so that she has proof that she really had a cast during the summer. ;) I'm glad it happened during summer, however, since writing & drums would have been extremely difficult!

MOTHERS/FATHERS

This year for Mother's Day we had a party at our new home. It was a lot of fun & a little bitters sweet since it was our first one without Esther. We were missing quite of few others as well because they were too far away. :( Still fun though! We love our mothers!!

We had another party for Father's Day at our house as well. We actually had to speak in church that day, plus I taught in Relief Society. Busy, busy day!

What else can I say? We have the best Mom's & Dad's in our families! We love them all!!

MOVING

Here's the dreaded moving post. Dreaded because it's such a long story, but one that I need to jot down for our own personal history. When we moved back to Arizona in Dec. of 2005 it was right in the peak of ridiculous housing prices. We didn't think we would be able to buy anything. However, we kind of lucked out. My brother Michael needed to get out of his town home & was willing to give us a smoking deal. (Well, smoking deal for that time.) So, we took it. I wasn't overly thrilled because it wasn't a house, but it was what we could afford. It was also not in an area that we really wanted to be in & not the best area of town. However, we were lucky enough to buy something & even luckier that it worked out that we could redo a lot in the house. We worked for weeks before moving in on ripping out the carpet & placing laminate flooring throughout, repainting everything, getting all new appliances, etc. A lot of work, but totally worth it & actually pretty necessary with the condition it was in.

We were excited & loved how it turned out. We only planned to be in this home for a year & then hoped to move to an area where we really wanted to be. Then real estate took the big plunge & we were stuck! We quickly started to feel a little claustrophobic in this place, but made it work. Then, 5 years later, a plan raised that we felt we could get out. We did a lot of searching on what to do & had issues with the whole moral thing on what would be right for us without feeling like we were taking advantage of the system. We were starting to panic because we didn't want Kylie going to junior high where we were & she's getting close to that age.

Then, right before Thanksgiving, we had a slab leak. I didn't even know what that was until it happened. We thought our hot water heater broke & was leaking. We called in the professionals & quickly learned that we had a slab leak. In Jadyn's closet her wood flooring was mush! It was sloshy to walk on & warping fast. It was that point where we finally felt at peace with being completely done with our house! We had had it! We were sick of fixing toilets, garbage disposals, sinks, leaky roofs every time it rained, etc., etc., etc. It was just getting to be too much. It was bound to happen with an older home & we were tired of it.

We have a friend in our ward who is a realtor who was so kind & helped us a ton! We decided it was time for us to put our home on the market as a short sale. Within a few weeks we had an offer to the bank. At the advice of our realtor we hired a negotiator to work with the bank & that was the best decision we could have made! For us, it was completely worth it! A couple of months later (& a lot of back & forth) we had approval to move forward. YAHOO!! After a nerve wracking month of inspections & appraisals it was set to go & we were house hunting for a home to rent.

We found one & put in an application. A couple of days later we were told that they had chose another tenant. Darnet! We were looking again. The first home I wasn't thrilled about anyway, so I wasn't too sad. I told Erik I wanted a home that when I walked in I would automatically feel like - this is it! We found another home that when I saw the pictures online - I knew it was the home for us. We looked at it & again, I knew! We signed the lease on a Monday & were all prepared to move in that weekend. We turned in our deposit money, etc. Our home was scheduled to close on Friday & then we would be moving on Saturday. We scheduled it all!

Then, of course, the inevitable happens. Thursday night we get a call from our realtor that a fluke thing had happened. One he's never heard of before. Again, of course this would happen to us! The buyers on our home had gotten denied for their loan at the last minute on a weird technicality. Bizarre!! Yet, we didn't completely panic. Erik said he felt totally at peace that things would still work out. Either way, we were still moving since it was all scheduled already.

So, we packed up as scheduled on Saturday April 30th & moved to our new rental home. Our girls were not terribly happy about leaving what they were comfortable with. Especially Kylie, she doesn't handle change all that well. Yet, we were excited to see where this new adventure would take us.

It just so happened that a couple that was in the Easter Pageant with us lives just down the street. And the family that lived in the home we rented only moved a few houses down & have a daughter Kylie's age & a son Jadyn's age. They now have friends close by & love playing in the neighborhood! It's been a terrific blessing. They can go outside & play now, ride bikes, scooters, etc.! All the things we never let them do at our old place. Needless to say we love it!

As for our old place. Our realtor was amazing! He wasn't about to let the deal just die. He rushed our buyers into a lender that he knew & worked his magic. After a very nerve-wracking few weeks the new lenders approved the loan & we finally closed! We are so happy it's done & over with! I couldn't walk away without taking a few details pictures of the old place. (We all know I love the details!)

Since it was Michael's home there were still a lot of reminders of him around. In a way, it was hard for me to leave because it was his. At times I felt horrible that I was letting this go since we have so few things left of him. I just kept thinking, at least we have the best left behind - Elliot! Some of the things are not good reminders, but reminders none the less. We have:

**He loved the dog prints in the saltillo tile in the back bathroom. Why a tiler would thing it was ok to lay that tile & leave it is beyond me. ut, it ws pretty crazy!

**REDRUM scratched in the back of Kylie's door. Lucky for Kylie she was completely clueless! (Again, I said not all things were good.)

**The "stain glass" light on the staircase. Michael's wife at the time, Jill, (love you Jill) did a stain glass kit on this light. They left the light on for too long & it melted. Haha! Jill still gets a good laugh from it.

**The fan in the master bedroom was painted when we moved in. Michael thought it had a cool ambiance with it being painted a deep red. Luckily, it was just watercolors & it came off. Well, off the glass anyway. The blades still had a tint to them that we couldn't get completely off.

**I don't have a picture of the living room fan in this, but it was special to him. Apparently, he & Jill went to San Francisco. (CAn't remember if it was their honeymoon or just a trip.) They found the ceiling fan their & brought it home. Michael loved that fan!

**My favorite thing is the view outside of the master window. It's not spectacular, but it had a lamp near a tree in the back grass area. Michael told me that would be my favorite part about the house because it looks neat when you look outside & you see it lit. He said it's like looking at the lamp from Narnia.

Needless to say, leaving was a little hard. We loved our ward & especially our friends out that way. Yet, we needed to move for our families sake. I can't even begin to explain how much happier we are in our new home. For so many reasons! It's already made a world of difference for our girls. Plus, the Young Women in our ward got up to sing in sacrament & I counted 24 of them! 24!! I started crying. That's a lot better than 1 like our old ward. That's exactly what we wanted for our girls.

APRIL / MAY

In April Kylie had the opportunity to go on a special field trip with all the Student Council Officers since she was the secretary in the fall. They went to the Capital building & were able to meet a couple of house representatives. Pretty cool if you ask me! I've lived here my whole life (except for 6 years in Vegas) & have never been to the capital building. Apparently, they have a museum there that she said was really neat. They even got some special treatment & were able to sit at house members desks & take photos. Lucky kid! The picture on the top right is with Eddie Farnsworth on the left (He's actually over her school) & I don't know who on the right. ;) I tried to look it up & there's just too many of them to look through, so I gave up. Sorry, whoever you are!

May brought beautiful weather & the kids dying to have a "lemonade stand"! We love the neighborhood we're in & the girls have been lucky enough to make some good friends! This whole lemonade stand idea spun a little out of control. It turned into a sweet stand & they sold all kinds of treats & stuff. It was a lot of work for the parents, but the kids had fun. They even made about $46 the first time. Who knew?! Maybe I should quit my job & put my kids to work. ;) Now it's just too hot to do it. I'm sure when it starts cooling down they'll want to do it again. They even had a few copy cat stands pop up after the word spread on how much $$ they were making. Haha!

The last day in May brought a very special birthday to Jay! She turned 8. She wanted breakfast in bed, it's turned into a tradition with the girls, with just a good 'ol Slim-Fast shake to eat. Then, she opened up her gifts. My kids give the best reactions to gifts. We're not dramatic in anyway at our house! ;) She got to go to lunch that day at her favorite place - Barro's pizza. Mimi & Papa came along with John & Aunt Jewelry (Julie). For dinner we went to Cafe Rio - another on of her favorites. Dave & Wendy Paez came to town & stayed the night with us. It ws so fun to have them here for all the festivities! Jack, Alli & Eli also came to Cafe Rio. I, of course, didn't take any pictures. UGH! We love our Jay!

The next morning I realized I didn't take any photos & made the Paez's pose for a couple pictures before they took off. Wendy was not too happy about that since it was bright & early, but she was a good sport!

JAY SOM

Jay was chosen as the Student of the Month back in April! I, for the life of me, cannot find her paper that talks about why she received it. Makes me sick! But, with the move - it's probably in a box somewhere. Here she is with her teacher Mrs. Fonseth...

Her teacher actually forgot to tell us about the award. She told us the month before that Jay would probably be getting it & then forget to tell us when the time came about the ceremony. We got a call the morning of & rushed down. However, the ceremony started @ 7:30am & we live 20 minutes away. They pushed Jay to the end, but we still didn't make it on time. Everyone involved felt horrible! Jay handled it well though.

We're so proud of this kid! Every teacher she's had so far has talked about how easy she is to teach. School is definitely not hard for Jay. In fact, she ended up getting 101% in math. How does that happen in grade school? Only to Jay!

JADYN'S BAPTISM

I'm going to go out of order again. I just don't want to forget the details of this special day. Our baby turned 8 & chose to be baptized. My, how time flies!! It all started with some photo shoots. Erik did one, but her hair was not curled & she did not like that. Our friend Shelley was AWESOME enough to do some pictures of Jay for us. It's always more fun to go with someone as cute as her rather than your own parents! She did an amazing job & even made her announcement for us. THANK YOU again Shelley!!


Then came that special day! She was so ready for this day. She was beaming & beyond excited. She was a little upset that she didn't get to have a baptism all to herself like Kylie did, but she got over it quick. (We just moved into a new ward that does stake baptisms.) After she was baptized I went into the girls room to help her change & get ready. She was standing their saying over & over,

"I'm freezing (with teeth chattering), but I'm happy!
I'm freezing, but I'm happy!"

It was so dang cute! I was able to steal a quick photo of her in the dressing room before we went out. I was able to steal a hug as well & give her the first congrats & squeeze! When we walked out we found Erik in the hallway & took another quick picture.

When we returned into the Relief Society room everyone was gathered waiting for us. The Primary Presidency had passed out paper to everyone & asked people to write down their testimonies for Jay & they put it into a book to give to her on Sunday. What a great idea!! It is definitely something that will be cherished forever!

After Jadyn was confirmed she sat down & they announced the closing song & prayer. Towards the end of the song Jay just curled up next to me & started bawling. My first reaction was, "You've got to be kidding me! Really?!" But, I remained calm ;) & rubbed her cheek. After the closing prayer I asked her why she was crying & her reply was, "I'm just so happy!" How can you get mad at that? Darling little girl just didn't know how to handle all of those emotions.

We had so many loved ones come support her that it's almost overwhelming to think about. We are so blessed with so many wonderful family & friends. We were missing a ton of people, too. After the baptism we went back to our house for dessert. My friend EmmaLee even made a beautiful cake for the occasion. Thanks again Em! We also scheduled Jadyn's piano recital on the same day so that no one would miss it. She did awesome. She's really learning fast!

Thank you to everyone that was able to share this special day with us!!

We love you to Infinity & Beyond Jay!!

ACTIONS

My new favorite picture of Kylie Erik happened to snap last week. Only, now I can't figure out which action I like the most on it. I secretly love the vintage, but then you lose out on the awesome colors. Ahhhh, decisions! Any opinions out there?

MARCH

March brought Spring Break & what better activity to do during Spring Break than go camping?! Well, at least for Erik & the girls. I had to work, so I enjoyed an evening alone. They had quite the eventful night. Apparently, Jay got sick multiple times in the afternoon upon arriving where she ended up going through all of her extra clothes & had to go "commando" the rest of the trip. Then, Kylie woke up in the night throwing up all over everything. I'm so glad I wasn't their & wasn't aware of it until well after it happened. They still had a lot of fun though.

BIEBER FEVER

So, February brought this little gem...

We took the girls to go see this movie & Erik & I were hooked. Sad to say, but totally true. We have Bieber Fever now. Cute kid, cute story & made me cry. Although, so did THIS. I loved the shots of his parents & grandparents crying - those get me every time. Dang movie! Now I like Justin Bieber! UGH!!!

LINDA

The lovely lady in the blue is Linda Shelley. The other is Amy Paun - one of my amazing counselors.

Linda was diagnosed with colon cancer in November. She went from walking 6 miles a day & working full time one day to finding out this news the next & never being able to return to work. She went downhill fast & I still can't believe how quickly it all happened. She passed away on January 16th. (The day after Lane's funeral) And this was a funeral neither I, or my counselors, wanted to handle. Yet, how could we not for someone we loved so dearly.

She was a true example of faith. She felt it was her time & she came to terms with it to the point that she was ok with everything. It was amazing! Linda was from England & was extremely organized! She started slowly stockpiling toiletries about a year before her diagnosis & had them overly organized in a closet. Just preparing for whatever may come. Once she knew what was happening she wanted to donate everything. She worked with Amy to gather everything & invited all the sisters to donate items at our Relief Society Christmas party . The response was overwhelming. Everything was donated to a local women's shelter.
During one of my lessons in RS I noticed Linda was wearing a beautiful giant pearl necklace. I stopped my lesson & commented on how much I loved her necklace. She came to church a couple of weeks before her passing. Barely able to move & needing a lot of help to get around with that necklace in her hands to give to me. I was very touched. Having that experience during my presidency is one I'll never forget.

RUBY

My little sister's getting married - WHAT?!?! That's right - only now that this is so late - she is married! As of February 2nd! And we couldn't be more excited. Well, I could be more excited if I would have been able to go. She was married in Sydney & that was way to far for my wallet, unfortunately. Sad, sad for me! ;)

However, Since she was able to come home for Lane's funeral we decided to throw her an impromptu bridal shower. Worked out lovely since she had a lot of family in town that were able to come celebrate! Now we just need to get Ruby & Tane home! Love you Ruby & Congrats!!!

LANE

LANE DALE HALLOWS
February 18, 1949 - January 5, 2011

OK - this post is WAY overdue. Yet, I'm still at a loss for words. It's still completely surreal that this even happened. When my brother passed - that was hard, but we always expected it. (Not that that fact made it ANY easier!) This was completely out of the blue!

I'll try to explain it easy as possible. Lane was my step-siblings father & an amazing man! Because my family is completely AWESOME he was like an extended dad to me. My girls even called him grandpa. He & his new bride of almost a year were always at our family gatherings & that's just the way we work. One big, happy family - just the way it should be! (I only say that because some find it extremely odd that we all get along the way we do. I think it's perfect.)

Anyhow, he always went out of his way to make my little family feel like we were a part of his - even if we technically weren't & that was huge to me for so many reasons. There's just no one like Lane. He was always smiling, happy & could tell you a story at the drop of a hat! You can see HERE what happened. I can't bear to even write it. My brothers were awesome remembering their dad.

I have to give a huge thank you to my SIL Rennie - I stole half of these photos directly from her blog without asking. Thanks Ren! ;) At our Christmas family party we had a special visit from "Santa" (aka Lane). It was hilarious & he was dying to be done & get out of his costume! It will now be one of our favorite memories!


The funeral was beautiful! We were so grateful that Robin was able to get a flight from Sydney to be their! All 5 of his kids stood & said a few words. It was perfect. They are all so amazing! I feel so blessed to have them in my family - they're wonderful examples to me of strength!

I was talking to Lane's brother at one point (whom we lovingly call Uncle) & he was saying how this has been hard on his kids. Most of them grown with families of their own. yet, they've never had anyone close to them pass before. I couldn't help but think of my own kids & how this has almost become a way of life for us lately. My girls have known death all to well & that breaks my heart. They've really struggled this past year with it. Thank heavens for the Plan of Salvation! We'd never make it through without that knowledge & I'm so grateful to have it!!

PAGEANT 2011

As much as it pains me to do so, I'm going to go out of order for this one. I really wanted to be all caught up to focus on some pageant posts like I do every year. However, things don't go the way I plan. Things have been a little crazy, but that is a whole other post.

Pageant this year, of course, has been wonderful! We have a great family group. Although, we're still pretty partial to our family group we had a few years ago. Apparently, we all are, as everyone that was in that group keeps saying that was the best group ever & we want to boycott to be together again next year. It's definitely an amazing thing to be able to be on the temple grounds every night, portraying the most important story in history, and being with your family & friends! It just wouldn't be Easter without it.

This year I was actually quoted in an article seen HERE. It's quite hilarious actually since some of the info. was wrong. This cute girl is in my ward & was very excited to get this job. I recently spoke in church & told a pageant story about my dad & she remembered that & asked me a few more questions & if I would mind if she used me in her article. She got some of the numbers mixed up, but I don't have the heart to tell her. My dad played the Savior for 11 years, not 30. What's even funnier is that my mom said almost the exact same Easter quote as me in an article when I was about 7. I guess I'm like my mother.

This year one of the Roman Soldiers gave us copies of a bunch of his photos from the years. This year he took a lot of behind the scenes shots that I love from the angel stage. Such as: the tents set up for Super Saturday rehearsal, the 3 Wise Men staffs, baskets of flowers & fruit props, etc. I love the details of things.

One of our rehearsal nights was rainy & freezing!!! It was pretty miserable. Luckily, we had awesome people in our family that brought a pop-up canopy & portable heaters. We also love being around some of our favorite people - the Crosland's! The girls just adore them & especially they're little girl Castle. We've had a wonderful pageant year indeed!!

If you want to read more pageant stories you can always click on the Easter Pageant label link. Lots of stories I know you're all dying to read! ;)

Christmas 2010

We had a fun Christmas this year! We even got to decorate gingerbread houses. (I opted for the small village of houses this year instead of the giant ones.) Kylie's making a silly face, but it's the only pic I got of her. (Sorry for the underlining - can't figure it out!)

We went to the temple lights, but I apparently didn't take any photos. We like to go early when it's still fairly light outside before the crowds hit. We don't do crowds.

Christmas morning is always fun around here. The girls are excellent at acting overly excited! We got some good happy face pictures this year. We love Christmas time!

KYLIE'S 11

WHAT THE?!?! How did we get here? How did we end up with an 11 year old? My goodness! That means we have 1 year left until Young Women's. Actually, since it's already April - we only have 8 months left now! My, oh my, oh my!

Kylie had a party this year & in true fashion for me - it was totally thrown together at the last minute! She invited some friends & wanted to do cake decorating. I made small round cakes for each girl, had lots to decorate them with, & let them go nuts. Since our table is smaller - we did it in groups. While one group was decorating - the other group made ornaments. Then, we played pin the cotton ball in Buddy the Elf's mouth.

Kylie has a cute group of friends & we had a lot of fun!

DISNEYLAND 2011

Disneyland is my favorite place on the planet. People think I'm joking when I say I could live their & be completely happy, but I'm not! I could!! One of these days I'll be rich enough that I'll be able to stay in Sleeping Beauty's castle for a week! Hey - a girl can dream right?! In fact, I tell Erik all the time that if I ever get to the point to do a Make a Wish event - I want to be Belle for a day. How awesome would that be?! There would be nothing cooler than watching little girls faces as they see Belle walk up first hand!

Anyway, enough of my crazy ramblings. We were lucky enough to go to Disneyland again in December. It's turned into a little tradition to go with our friends the Paez's from Vegas. This year the Linford's came, too! We left early on Wednesday morning the 1st, checked in & went straight over to Disneyland. No messing around for us!!

It was nice this year. Since our girls are older now - we didn't spend all of our time looking for characters. We even did rides we've never done before! Such as, the Storybook ride with miniature models of characters homes. That was a fun one to us! Slow paced, but crazy how they build those. Mr. Toad's home is in the collage below.

Day 3 - Friday - was the day the Paez's were able to meet us. Thanks to them we had quite the memorable experience most people don't have. Wendy, the mom, is obsessed with Mary Poppins. She has passed that love down to her daughter Jenny & now her 2 girls Lorelie & Payton. So much so that they had dresses to look just like Mary. They are bigger Disney fanatics than us, by far! And every time they go they look for Mary & take pictures with her. This time they made a book for Mary with all the pictures that was way cute! They knew when she would come out & we waited for her to come out. When She & Bert appeared they were floored to see two little girls dressed just like Mary. Then, Wendy presented her with the book & she started to tear up.

She was so touched that she took us on a little journey. She took us to meet a few princesses - cutting us to the front of the lines every time. In fact, there was a 60 min. wait to meet Rapunzel & she took us in the back way of the cottage & got us right in. It was crazy!! She had to leave for awhile & we were on our way with a plan to meet her again later. From their everywhere we went characters knew who those little girls were. Apparently, Mary had talked about them backstage to everyone. Mary said that she sees girls dressed up all the time, but never like her. These little girls made her day!

Mary does a show in front of the castle where they sing "Supercalafragalisteexpeallidocious" (something like that) & she told us where to go & pulled the girls into the show. Jay got to participate & was quite the ham. What amazed me was the time they spent with us. Especially just the walking around & talking with the girls. I love the photo on the bottom left of her & Jay talking & the one on the right with Lorelie in the air & everyone skipping. It was just too fun!!

Besides this - the Paez's are always a joy to be with! They are so good to our girls & our girls just adore all of them! We miss the a ton!

Unfortunately, this could be our last time for awhile. Since I went back to work I had to quit my Disney job. Therefore, no more free tickets every 6 months. SAD, SAD, DAY!! Because of this I took a million pictures of little details. I love, love, love the Haunted Mansion ride! Especially during Christmas time when it's The Nightmare Before Christmas. If I could, I would decorate like that ride. I would kill to have that carriage in my yard! (Minus the pumpkins.)