CATCHING UP....CALIFORNIA IN MAY

In May I had a work conference in Anaheim. It only made sense to have Val and the kids come towards the end of my conference so we could do some playing in the California sun. Nick was working in Alaska at the time so we felt very lucky to have Lexie join us. She always adds fun to whatever we do:) They arrived on Friday early evening. That night we went to the most amazing bowling alley. At the end of each lane was a huge screen TV. We ordered dinner and they delivered it right to our lane. It was so much fun!!

Saturday morning I had classes until 12:00. As soon as I was done we jumped in the car and headed for Newport Beach. Unfortunately it was cold and windy! Val, Landon and Brylee got in the water....Lexie and I watched:)

We decided it would be a lot warmer in the pool at our hotel so after a few hours of freezing we left and found the comfort of our heated pool.

That evening we headed to ESPN Zone for dinner in Downtown Disney. I love all the shops, smells of food, people and entertainers. Landon was irritated I made him be in the pictures of the Lego Woody and Lego giraffe:)

DISNEYLAND!!! ....it just never gets old. We had so much fun. 2 days of Park Hopping between Disneyland and Disney California.

Most of the lines were short. We had very little wait time. Splash Mountain was closed which was sad for Brylee. The last time we went she was too short. And Disney World in Florida does not have Splash Mountain:( Someday Bry!

The girls made Landon and Val do all the annoying things girls like to do. Like try on the goofy hats...we all LOVE Val's choice! He wasn't thrilled.....

We love Bug's Life:) It is so cute and the 3D glasses add to the cuteness!!

Landon and his "tree". He is reenacting what happened. He was talking to Lexie and Brylee while he was walking....looking at them instead of where he was going....that's when he met his "tree". We laughed so hard!

Me, Landon and Lexie got our picture taken with our Letter....Brylee felt sad that she didn't have a letter so she chose "O"

Dreaded Tower of Terror....what the heck!!! We(Val and I) went twice. Kids went 5+ Crazy, crazy kids.

We had time for one last ride before the park closed and of course we all chose Indiana Jones....our favorite. The line was for some unknown reason pretty long but we decided to stick it out and hopefully we would make it on. The ride broke down several times while we waited. It was so frustrating but we didn't give up! Finally we were on!! Needless to say halfway through the ride it stopped. We waited, and waited, and waited. An announcer said the ride would start momentarily....but it never did. We were all tightly belted in for about 30 minutes. After awhile it got a little claustrophobic not being able to move. I started taking some random pictures to try and help keep Brylee's mind off being trapped, in the dark, on a ride, strapped in, at Disneyland!

Random pictures:) We ate popcorn while we were waiting in line. If you look closely at Bry's braces you can see the traces....yuck!

And finally a lady came with a step ladder, unlocked our seat belts and guided us through the rest of the ride on foot! That was the best part of our whole trip!!! They turned the lights on and we could see everything. I could tell the lady was annoyed that I was taking pictures...but hey...she couldn't say much because you know...it is the happiest place on earth!! If you look closely at the picture of Val on the bottom left you can see Indiana Jones hanging from the ceiling!

And this is what we came home to....a dead battery at the Salt Lake airport!! That was after missing our flight from LA home because Val hit a curb and blew out a front tire....couldn't get it changed because of the cheap jack, had to catch standby flights from LA to Denver then Denver to Salt Lake...so much for the direct flight.....then getting into Salt Lake but only to find that all of our luggage hadn't made it. So the dead battery was only to be expected:) Other than this last part it was a great time!! It has been 6 months since this trip and I think I just might be able to laugh at this part. But at the time.........

A NEW HOBBY

This summer we have been trying to do some hiking as a family. Some like it...some hate it...but we do it anyway:) This hike we went on was to Aldous and Hancock lakes. I map quested it and for some reason it calculated the drive as 45 minutes from Idaho Falls. WRONG! It took 2 hours to get there. We felt like we were in the middle of no where...as you can see. We saw very few other cars on this road. Saw more cattle than human life. Brylee made me take a picture of the navigation map because it showed absolutely nothing. It felt like quite the adventure! It was a five mile hike and even through the complaining it was amazing and beautiful. And no bears!! Lexie and Brylee didn't want to do the hike once we saw how remote it was. They were afraid we would run into bears...We had a little geography lesson about the continental divide which was good for all of us!! I swear I never learned about it in school:) Or maybe I wasn't listening...who knows.

The first lake we got to was Aldous Lake. It was beautiful. We brought lunch in backpacks and ate even though Lex and Bry were worried it would attract bears!

Before we got to the second lake we ran into a snow patch. A few snowballs were thrown:)

Hancock Lake was small and very remote. It was so pretty! It looked like it would be dried up by the end of the summer. We were glad we got to see it with water.




























Brylee is soooo strong. It was good to see her smile once on the hike:)

My poor car!! Why we took it I will never know:( The dumb thing is I took it to the car wash that morning before we left!! What a waste of $10. It was a GREAT day!!

BIRTHDAY UPDATES

Landon's 16th Birthday. December 30th

Highlights:

BRACES, chinese food, Avatar, Cold Stone Cake, New Boarding Boots(Molded to his feet)

My Birthday. January 9th

Highlights:

Dinner with good friends Lori and John, German Chocolate Cake made by kids:) Games(Telestrations all time fav!) Spoiled by family!!

Val and Brylee's Birthday. April 6th.

Highlights: Another shared birthday! Brylee is a teenager 13!!(Oh no) Cold Stone Cake=Brylee...Banana Cream Pie=Val Went to Alice In Wonderland 3D ... Brylee got lots and lots of clothes and her ipod which she had been wanting (and has lost it)!!! Very good day:)

Lexie's Birthday...April 19th.

Highlights:

Celebrated April 18th(sad day...Nick left for Alaska on the 19th)

Cold Stone Cake (I know I'm lazy but the fam loves them)

Nick gave Lexie a laptop so they could keep in touch by webcaming. He is still in Alaska. Hopefully comes home the end of this month. Lexie is an amazing girl and very strong to be holding it together like she does!

Brianne's Birthday. May 11th.

Highlights:

Celebrated on the 9th since she was home that weekend. She moved to Orem the first part of May to start Dental Hygiene school. I made her a rainbow cake. Didn't have time to make all the layers so made up my own version. I loved the way it turned out. Especially before it was baked. Loved having Brianne home that weekend and miss her so much!!

Happy late birthday to Nick whose birthday is also in December. Didn't have any pictures and Lexie procrastinated getting them to me. And Happy Birthday to Teegan, April 19th(shares his day with Lexie), Camdyn April 1st, Josh July 3, Brittany July 6th(check out Britt's blog for her bday post)

I LOVE MY FAMILY SO MUCH!!

FINALLY....MY NEW BABY...♥

This new baby of mine was not near as painful as my previous "5"...and maybe a different type of love after delivery...but oh how I love this new baby of mine! It took 6 months of research, hunting on line and interacting with car dealers before the actual transaction took place. Very painful ordeal and think I would rather have all my teeth pulled with no lidocaine before going through this experience again! And if anyone needs to know anything about "crossovers", I am the one to ask...I know more about them all than the car dealers do. Just ask Val. I think he was a little embarassed and know he was very relieved when I drove off the lot with this red beauty! I was very specific about what I wanted and didn't want;

1. Had to be a crossover

2. Could not be; black(my current car non-color), blue(Val's car), white(My good friend

Lori recently got a white crossover and didn't want to copy), red(yes I said it red. I think

people who drive red cars are attention seekers. Sorry if I offend anyone but I now belong to that group)

3. Could not be a Lexus(once again the, "Copy Lori factor")

4. Could not be from a car company that accepted bailout money

5. Had to have Navigation feature

6. Had to have a sun roof

7. Had to play my Ipod

So the cadillac SRX that I wanted so badly was out...now what? I searched online and car lots, test drove, searched some more....then....stumbled across this beautiful "RED" Ford Edge. I found it in Utah...had to buy it before I could even see it or drive it so they could get it across state lines...was scared because of the color...saw it...instantly bonded.

This car is amazing! It is so smart. I talk to it...it talks to me...even tells me when I am leaving the house and have forgotten my phone. I love the hands free feature of the phone....that my contacts are downloaded into the car phone....that I can tell it who to call and it does....that it can read texts and text by voice command without ever picking up my phone. That it can tell me how healthy it is. That it takes commands from me:) has a USB port and downloads my ipod music...that I can tell it what songs, artists, playlist to play or just shuffle...that it can direct me to the nearest mall from any city I might be in...to a hospital...to a gas station...to a hotel. Like I said...it is so smart and I am in love...red was the only color I could find over a 6 month search that had every feature I was looking for so I gave in to the color and...who knows...maybe I am an attention seeker(but actually try to have as little attention drawn to me as possible...usually:"> )

...and just to clarify...this purchase had NOTHING to do with American Idol! but way to go Lee DeWyze! You had my vote from the beginning....

♥Girl's Choice Hillcrest High School Valentines Dance♥

Landon's first date was to Hillcrest's Girls Choice Valentines dance. He didn't know the girl that asked him and had only seen her from a distance several times. He knew she was tall but didn't think she was taller than him. That was all he knew. We were all anxious for her to come to the house to pick him up. Poor Landon being the only boy. This is the first time we have experienced High School dances from the boy side. "The Sisters", were so excited, and he, even though he won't admit it, was very nervous. Myself and the girls minus Brittany (Dang you Britt for living so far away) were planning to see the movie "Dear John" that day and had to do it between the day date and night date. (And first time I can say I liked the movie more than the book. Book was way to depressing). Landon's date was very cute and we all approved:) It was a good day for everyone!

-Landon and Maddy leaving for their rock climbing day date-
♥CUTE

Dear John Date with the girls!

{ B*R*A*C*E*S }

landon and brylee both got braces! landon got his on his 16th birthday, december 30th. happy birthday landon! he was soooo mad at me to say the least. i even paid extra for clear braces on his top teeth thinking that might ease his anger but no! when we left the orthodontist office i turned towards town instead of home. he forgot that we were going to get his new boarding boots molded to his feet. he told me he thought for sure i was going to make his birthday even more memorable by taking him to the eye doctor for glasses, then taking him to get neutered....what a brat!! he wouldn't smile or show them to any of us for hours after. i kept trying to sneak a shot but he kept his lips tightly sealed....then he had a weak moment and forgot:) he later informed me that i have ruined his dating life.....
it is hard to tell he even has braces....the orthodontist did a great job!!

brylee on the other hand was a different story. she counted down the days until she got hers on. the end of january. not soon enough for her. she even planned the trip to jamba juice after....i must say i love girls:)

before

and
after

A birthday wish for you...

Happy Birthday Mom!! With the help of dad & Brianne, I secretly sneaked onto your blog. Surprise!:) We just wanted to with you the best birthday ever! I wish we could be there to celebrate with you.

This ones for my mom...
who growing up made us feel so special on our birthdays! She is beautiful, fun, talented, hard working, & a great cook.
She is one great mom!

{Just pretend this video has music...my stupid computer! grr.}
Sorry we didn't send you a birthday card. We LOVE you dearly mom!!