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CHRISTMAS

For Christmas this year my Dad & Mignon rented a large cabin in Flagstaff for all of us to be together at. It was so much fun! Look at this good looking crew sporting their Balance Landscaping shirts on Christmas. (Luke owns a landscaping business & the whole family loves to wear their shirts whenever we can.) It was fun to be in the snow - even though it was cold & we're not the best prepared for that. My girls showed up in their vans & we quickly learned that the wetness of snow soaks right through them. Silly Arizona kids! We owe a HUGE thank you to Mimi & Papa for a fun trip!! They pulled off another fun-filled cabin adventure for everyone.

After the cabin we headed up to the St, George area to visit my Mom & Alan. It was so cold up their as well. They live in the mountains about 20 minutes outside of St. George. It was fun to relax in their home. Erik & Kylie played hours & hours of Guitar Hero 3 (which Kylie got from Santa Claus - yes, that's all she asked for) on my mom's big screen. Which wasn't the greatest now that were home because now they hate playing it on our small TV.

Overall it was a fun vacation & we're dreading the beginning of our normal life routine next week. The stress begins in full force on Sunday! But, it was a nice break. We truly are blessed for all that we have & for all of our family. Some may find our family strange, but I love everyone! There's definitely never a dull moment & you most definitely won't leave a gathering without your stomache hurting from laughter. (Especially if Luke's around!) I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

BAPTISM

What a BEAUTIFUL day this was! I still can't believe Kylie is this old. But, the baptism was wonderful. We had a large turn out which was nice for Kylie to see how many people care about her. We owe so many people that helped with this day! Allison made her dress - Rennie, Mignon & Esther brought food - Nikki & Jackson gave talks - and the list could go on & on. A HUGE thank you to everyone! It would not have happened without all of you. Heaven knows I'm not on the ball enough to pull something like that off by myself.

Now for the funny part (in case you weren't their)...

A few days before the baptism Erik's mom was telling us about how she had to be baptized 3 times because her feet kept coming up. After the second time her mom yelled out, "stand on her feet!" So, what happens to Kylie? Yep! Her feet came up - even though we prepped her to bend her knees. So, what do I do? Yell out, "stand on her feet!" In the end - it only took 2 times to get her baptized. Silly kid!

Anyway, all in all it turned out lovely & hopefully I'll be better prepared for the next one!

KYLIE

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KYLIE!!!

























I can't believe she's 8. Time certainly flies by so fast. I am so proud of her - especially today for the choice she's made to be baptized. She's such a blessing to our family & we love her smile. Not to mention her crazy personality. There's definitely never a dull moment in our home! We LOVE you Kylie!!

SWEET NIBBLETS!!

UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!

How cool is this?! I didn't even half to sit in line all day. I found out yesterday that you could get tickets early at Fashion Square Mall, so I was totally their to get my tickets! Then, I show up at 3:00pm & it wasn't even packed! (I'm so glad I didn't wait in line all day like I originally planned.) I'm not sure they even gave away all of the tickets. We were probably only 20 feet away from the stage at the most. So AWESOME!!!! I especially love that you're able to take cameras to concerts now.


But, the coolest part was the fact that I won a Meet 'n' Greet pass from their fan website!! (You all laughed that I was a member, but membership has it's priviledges.) So, I got to go backstage before the show along with another 14 GGD fanatics & stand in line to get a picture with them. It all happened so fast that it was almost silly, but hey! It was still cool. We stood in line & when it came to our turn we were allowed to enter the tent they were standing in. Then, you stand there like an idiot not knowing what to say as you shake their hands & say "nice to meet you, I'm Melanie". (Hey! At least I didn't cry like a teeanage girl!) Then, you hear - "OK, let's take a picture". Then, I stood in between Robby & John with my arms around their backs & their arms around mine & smile! (Mike was standing next to John. In case anyone knows or cares.) They are suppose to have the picture online for me to buy soon, but it's not up yet. But, you know I'll be checking on that every 5 seconds at least!


Anyway, to the great Goo Goo Dolls - it was a great show!! I still can't believe that all happened to me who never wins anything!!! And in ending always remember......

"You have become....BEAUTIFUL!"

RUBY!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RUBY!!!

OK - so, I'm a day late. But, I didn't have time to look at my blog yesterday. So, here it is a day late!! My little sis RUBY (aka Robin) turned 24 yesterday!! CRAZY!!! She'll probably kill me for putting this picture up of her, but I LOVE it! Here's the story behind it...

When Erik & I went to visit here in August (WOW! Has it been 3 months already? NUTS!) we had so much fun. Luke & Rennie came, too & we had a blast. Well, upon waking up the first morning we were their E & I decided to go for a walk before anyone woke up. When we came back from our walk we heard someone playing a Ukelelie. (I don't know how to spell it right - sorry.) We both stopped & looked at each other & thought how cool that was, but yet crazy. People in Hawaii really just sit around & play the ukelelei? Why yes they do! Then, we turned the corner & saw our very own Ruby was the one playing! I was so impressed - I had no idea she knew how to play that thing. It was so cool.

We love you so much Robin & can't wait to see you for Christmas!! Also, thanks again for the fun trip - much MAHALO!!!!!!! It will be hard to top that one.