Crack open a cold one...

Volleyball all day, every day....

2009-10-20T20:50:00.000-07:00

Here is the Frosh Girls Volleyball Team. Brittani is # 20 and is position is Opposite.
Their team is undefeated so far this season!!

Pocket Edward adventures cont...

2009-05-06T09:27:00.000-07:00

So, Pocket Edward loves to cruise the neighborhood with me and Julie. . . Here he is just doing a little sight-seeing in our town. Although, he prefers Forks, you know cause its under a constant cover of clouds and all, he really did love checking out So Cal. I mean, who wouldn't when you've got me and Julie to be your tour guides...it's a non-stop laugh fest! We took him to all our fav spots like the 7-11 to get a giant Dr Pepper big gulp and the trees in my back yard, so he could just hang out...have fun. He couldn't believe these things existed, but I told him, "It does in my world."

If Dwight had a garage sale...

2009-04-18T19:38:00.000-07:00

This pic is for all my fellow "Office" fans...if you've seen the episode where Dwight and Jim throw Kelly a birthday party then you will know exactly what I mean... remember the sign, "It is your birthday" ??? Well, I was at Jill's house recently and this chair was sitting by the road...I was cracking up soooo bad that I had to take a picture. Definitely blog worthy to me, but if you don't get it...then you probably just don't get me either...ha ha

Zach attack!

2009-02-27T19:43:00.000-08:00

Well, I haven't posted on my blog in a while... most of you know it is because of my recent addiction to Facebook!! But, I thought I should try and maintain a balance and keep up with my blog. Since my last post was about Hayli I thought this one should be about Zach.Here is Zach and his friend dressed up for "Jersey Day" at school. Zach is officially obsessed with the Chargers so of course he wore his jersey. Not sure what is up with his hair in these pics. I guess It was a rough couple of days at school...
Here is Zachary's pumpkin as "Geronimo Stilton." Zach had to do a book report and then decorate it to look like the main character. He got 100% on the oral and written parts of the book report. That's my boy...
Zachary was "Pluto" the former planet in his school play, "Mission to Mars." He had a funny part in the play and had to wear a "Pluto the dog" shirt. He did a great job!

Dancing in December...

2009-01-17T16:01:00.000-08:00

Hayli had a very eventful month in December. She tried out for a part in her dance studio's annual production of "The Nutcracker" ballet and was happy to get the part of a sheep in the Reeds. Between the many hours of practice- she was also in 2 other dance numbers, 3 sets of pictures, and 2 all day back-to-back dress rehersals from 8am to 8pm, she was kept very busy to say the least. On top of ballet, she also auditioned and made her dance studio's Dance Company this year. So, in addition to Nutcracker she was also performing a holiday "Polar Express" number at other community events like the Newhall Parade.

Hayli is lucky to have family come to see her perform. The activity day girls at our church also went to see her as an activity!
Here is Hayli as a sheep with her friend. They both were in 3 numbers and had 2 that were back-to-back with no break inbetween. Talk about a quick change! It was very stressfull- but probably more so for me than Hayli.
Here is Hayli at the parade- getting into character!

No, not another "twilight" post...well, maybe.

2009-01-17T00:34:00.000-08:00

Yes, there are other things going on in my life besides "twilight" and here are some pics of events that have happened in November. Over Thanksgiving, the Hawkins clan got together and we took lots of various family photos. This one is of Tony and Nina and ALL the grandkids. Can you believe it, we were all together. It was great. Bryan and Heidi were even out from Maine!
Okay, so I lied. Twilight was still going on in my life. The day after Thanksgiving, "Black Friday" all the ladies get together and we go shopping at 5 am. It is fun. First stop is always to 7/11 for the Dr Pepper Big Gulp. Oh yeah! But, after a long morning of shopping til we dropped, we had to head on over for another viewing of the movie "twilight." I know, I know...it's a little excessive, I've heard it all before...

Zachary made a Chargers sailboat for his Scout's Raingutter Regatta. Yes, I did help him paint the lightning bolt. Doesn't it look awesome?
Brittani's 14th birthday was in November. She made her own cupcakes for her birthday party (her choice), which was a trip to see "twilight" (her choice), and dinner at Souplantation, (again, her choice). Do you see any pattern with teenagers?

Oohh yeah, it's twilight baby!!

2008-11-26T22:57:00.000-08:00

Well, the time had finally arrived for the midnight showing of twilight, and boy, was it ever crazy. We got to the theatre 3 1/2 hours before the show began and there was still a line of people (mostly young girls, of course) wrapped all the way around the theatre and out along the main road.

Here is a shot I took of the line, which doesn't even do justice to just how many of us insane fans were there.Brittani was lucky enough to get to bring along one of her best friends, Delaney. Considering it was a school night for both of them, and we didn't get home until 2:30 am, I think we just might be the coolest moms ever- if I do say so myself!

Once we got inside, there was still more waiting. Here we are fast asleep dreaming of Edward. Ha, Ha. Oh, and by the way, even though we were sooooo early, we still ended up in the 2nd row if you can believe it!!
Like I said, we had A LOT of time on ours hands, or should I say feet? Don't we have the cutest shoes ever? Anyway, the movie was definitely worth the wait. Although, I do have to say I wanted to LOVE it, and the first time I saw it, I just really LIKED it. But...do not despair, because the second time I saw it, which was later that same day, I LOVED it. I don't know why that is. The first time seemed kind of choppy, but the second seemed to flow much better for me. I did miss out on some of my most favorite lines like, "Do I dazzle you? Frequently," "If I could dream at all, it would be about you," and "Stupid, shiny Volvo owner." Otherwise, I loved the music, baseball scene, and of course...Edward. Aaaahhhh.

Bella's been re-cast!!

2008-11-22T23:24:00.000-08:00

Check out the new Bella Swan!!

Steve did this picture of Brittani with the twilight cast for her birthday- she turns 14 today. Can you believe it? I can't, and I had her!
Happy Birthday Brittani!!

Midnight showing. . . here we come!!

2008-11-11T14:43:00.000-08:00

Brittani, Julie, Dawn, Brandi, and I have a girls night out planned for Thursday, November 21, 2008 at 12:01 am, along with about a thousand other crazy girls. Of course, this is the first official showing of Twilight and you better believe that we will be there with our Dr. Pepper IV's!! And...not to mention, our really sparkley, homemade "I Love Edward" t-shirts. And yes, we our in love with a 90 year old fictional vampire! That's just how we roll, you got a problem with that?!?!

Remember when...

2008-10-22T16:58:00.000-07:00

In honor of Zachary's 1st Halloween, I had to post this picture. My last two posts have been about him, so I decided to keep it going and continue "the love."

By the way, this was back in the day when I sewed all the kids costumes. I didn't actually sew Zach's, but I put it all together myself. I did sew both Brittani's Jessie costume and Hayli's Minnie costume though.

Another "Zach-ism"

2008-10-21T16:49:00.000-07:00

We were at the Fall Festival at the kid's school on Friday and Zach hands me a carnival ticket and says, "Here you go mom... get yourself something nice."

Now when you read this, you have to read it with "an accent" like you're REALLY doing someone a BIG favor. Something like from the 1920's or 30's will do.

That's my boy!

2008-10-16T20:00:00.000-07:00

Not to boast or anything, but I just had to share this compliment that Zach gave me today. He was in the shower and asked me to get him a towel for the ground so he wouldn't get it wet. I went and got one and put it on the ground. He said, "Thanks mom, you're the best mom anyone could ever dream of. Who wouldn't want a mom like you." Wow, just for putting down a towel for him to step out of the shower onto! I should do that more often... I didn't even get that kind of praise for staying up with him two nights ago and cleaning up the mess when he was puking!! Man, I just needed to lay down a towel. Who would of thought...

It's the GREAT pumpkin, Charlie Brown...

2008-10-07T19:36:00.001-07:00

It was the perfect fall day in usually sunny LA, that we went to the local pumpkin patch/ranch to get our pumpkins for Halloween this year. It was rainy and cloudy and actually the first day in over 6 months that Zach wore pants! (except to church, of course) Now, if you know him at all, you would know that is a grand feat in itself.

We continued our "3rd" annual tradition of going to Lombardi's Ranch with Christopher and Chloe. It was a lot of fun, but dirty, muddy fun too! Chloe looked like Pigpen from the Peanuts when she was done!

Here are the kids being "Headless" in Scarecrow Alley next to their least favorite scarecrow- Hannah Montana! Apparently, it was soooo bad, they didn't dare look!

The happiest place on earth???

2008-09-27T22:49:00.000-07:00

Yes, we were at the "happiest place on earth" but you couldn't tell by looking at our faces!!! Wow, I promise we were having fun, I guess Zach and I are just very serious about getting our laser beams onto the targets. We had a bet going about who could get the highest score. I said if I got the highest score he had to be my slave for a day. Zach said that if he got the highest score he got to pick all of the rides we went on after Buzz Lightyear. I guess I would make a terrible slave so he picked something better... Oh, by the way, I won! So, get ready to start cleaning dude!!

Man, I'm old...

2008-09-23T14:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I was looking at some old pictures today, so old that they had to be scanned into the computer. Yeah, this was way before digital, people. Anyway, I came across this one and then I felt REALLY old. Here is my now 13 year old with her grandma, (who, by the way, looks exactly the same) and her uncle who was about 13 years old at the time. Wow! That's about all I can say!

J & J

2008-09-03T22:22:00.000-07:00

Over Labor Day weekend we were able to go and visit Che and Krista and their two beautiful little girls, (my nieces), Jacey and Jayden. Jacey just turned 2 this past month, and Jayden is about 7 months old. Che, correct me if I am wrong. Jacey showed us her room and we colored some pictures and read a book together. We also tried to play the farm animal matching game we gave her for her birthday. Jacey LOVES Finding Nemo, and wants to watch it everyday. I am sure next week she will have a new favorite. Jayden is getting SO big. She is very active and such a happy baby, although she did have a little cold, she was still happy! We were so glad we were able to see them, and of course, Che and Krista too!

Yosemite 2008

2008-09-03T20:37:00.000-07:00

All the girls, adults and kids, bought "Let's Have S'more Fun" t-shirts this year and we wore them all on the same day. I thought we looked adorable. Be on the look out for next year's tee.

Here is just a small sample of some of my favorite pictures from Yosemite this year. We had a big crowd this year which was ALOT of fun! Even Grandma and Grandpa, and Steve and Laura came. Can't wait until next year for another annual excursion to one of our favorite places on earth!! We hope even more family will join us next time! What do ya say?

We always go hang out at "the beach" well, that's what we like to call it; it's actually Lake Merced. We take the inner tubes and float around in the beautiful surroundings! Except when Steve's around, then you "plunge" right into the ice cold water instead!

Christopher decided to take a little break and meditate in the middle of a hike we were on. I thought it was soooo hilarious. Although, he could be on the right track, how many times I would like to just stop everything I am doing and just "veg".

Yeah, Brittani is all "growed" up now and just one of the adults. She's lucky she has such cool adults to hang around!!:)

FINALLY!!

2008-08-18T08:01:00.000-07:00

Well, August 2, 2008 finally arrived, and us girls couldn't have been happier. As you can see, that was the day Breaking Dawn was released. Yeah Baby! Although, the date was a bit of an inconvience because we were tent camping in Yosemite at the time. But, that wasn't going to keep us from our book, and our Edward. I called a local book store in Oakhurst, a little town outside of Yosemite, and reserved 5 copies for us. We just had to drive 3 hours round trip down the windiest road in California in the middle of the night, to go and pick them up. No problem. By the way, it was worth every minute!!
Don't you love our "I love Edward" t-shirts?! We made them ourselves in Yosemite. Nothing like doing arts and crafts in the great outdoors. It was fun, and Brittani and I are able to have a nice mother-daughter bonding experience. She finished the book before me because I had a test in one of my classes I am taking during the summer, and studying for that slowed down my reading, but I finished within 4 days, and it was AWESOME!! I loved the ending, but that's all I'm gonna say!!

Yay for Cub Scouts!!

2008-08-08T23:02:00.000-07:00

Zachary is now in Cub Scouts because he turned eight. I thought he looked so handsome in his uniform that I had to post a pic. He loves going to the activities every week, and lucky for me Brittani has Young Women at the same time...so only one trip to the church. Well, except for when Hayli has Activity Days. But, I'll take two trips over three any day!!

Zach is baptized, hooray!

2008-08-08T22:41:00.000-07:00

Well, on July 12, 2008 my little Zachary David was baptized at the age of 8, into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Yeah, for you Zach! Congratulations, we are all sooooo very proud of you.
Lots of family came up for the big day. Here we are with Zachary's Grandma and Grandpa Hawkins! Zach was baptized by his Grandpa, don't they look handsome in their white jumpsuits?!
Of course, we had to get a group shot of all the cousins. Aren't they the cutest cousins you've ever seen?!
Yo, yo, yo. Calling all the ladies...
Even Zachary's Great-Grandma Myrosh and Great-Auntie Mary traveled 6 hours round trip for Zachary's baptism. Thanks so much to everyone that was able to make it. It was a special day for Zachary and our family, and it was nice to share it with family and friends.

Macy's baby blessing

2008-07-21T07:27:00.000-07:00

Of course, the most important reason that we went to San Diego for the 4th of July, was for Macy's baby blessing. Let me just say that we weren't the only ones who came. Wow, there were ALOT of people there. Macy, you are one loved baby!
Here are Macy with her loving parents, Chris and Kristen, with their loving parents, Tony and Nina.

Here are the rowdy cousins. Hey, where's Macy? She needs to get in there next time!

Chris gave Macy a very sweet and special blessing and the Fast and Testimony meeting was very spiritual too. Many family members bore their testimonies and we could all feel the spirit and the love we have for each other in the family!

4th of July

2008-07-21T07:06:00.000-07:00

Like I said in my last post, for the Fourth of July we went down to San Diego to visit family. We had a blast going to the beach in La Jolla. The kids had fun boogie boarding and playing in the sand. The adults had fun eating yummy fajitas that Kristen's family made. Deeeelicious!
Chris is always the fun uncle, (and now dad), that likes to play in the sand with the kids. They are always finding interesting creatures to bring back to us. Crabs, starfish, jellyfish...you name it, they find it. And yes Alissa, this is the one who wears brown, as you can see by the picture!
Grandpa always takes good care of his grandkids. Here he is with Chloe. I thought this picture was adorable. Just taking a stroll down the beach...
Wow, Steve has been working out. Love the six pack! The kids and adults, had fun bulking Steve up. It was even more fun to see him try to get out of this!
In keeping with our usual tradition, we stayed at the beach ALL day and into the night so that we could watch the fireworks. Steve took some cool pictures of the fireworks, so I thought I would share one.

Book club...

2008-07-14T12:42:00.000-07:00

Well, for the fourth of July we went to San Diego to visit family. Of course, I had just purchased Twilight and got it in the mail the day before, so I had to bring it. Brittani was way ahead of me, already on book 3, Eclipse. And Julie, was on book 2, New Moon. We were all so into our books that weekend that we couldn't stop reading, and Steve took this picture. It wasn't planned at all, but here we are...Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse...all in a row. How funny! Well, I have to say I ended up finishing all three books in less than a week, so now I am done and waiting for book 4, Breaking Dawn, to come out on August 2nd. Can't wait! By the way, I am officially obsessed with Edward! And I can't wait til the movie in December!!

Beach blanket bingo baby...

2008-07-14T12:17:00.000-07:00

So, the week after we got back from Bass Lake, Julie and Cyrus were lucky enough to go to Hawaii and we watched the kids for them for the week. We had fun going to the beach.
I just love this picture of Brittani and Chloe. What cute cousins!!
Hayli kept trying to get Chloe to stand up in the sand, but Chloe wasn't havin' it. She did NOT want to get down. We were cracking up at the "death grip" Chloe had on Hayli.
Here is the gang at Ventura beach. I love the beach, it's one of my most favorite places to be.

The need for speed...

2008-07-14T11:49:00.000-07:00

The first week of summer break we took our family vacation. We went to Bass Lake, which is about an hour south of Yosemite. We rented a speed boat for 5 hours one of the days and had fun tubing, relaxing, and of course...fishing. (unfortunately we didn't catch anything, though)
Here are Zach and I on the tube. Dave went pretty fast, but we only fell off a couple times. The water was surprisingly nice. Not really warm, but it wasn't cold either.
Dave was brave enough to let me drive the speed boat so that he could have a turn on the tube. Well, let's just say, he's not the only one who likes to drive fast. I think it was my mission to knock him off that tube, and well, mission accomplished!
Here is the Chalet that we stayed in. It was actually quite nice. Older, but nice. It had a bedroom and bathroom downstairs, and a living room with a kitchen and a loft, upstairs. The kids LOVED the loft. They would go up there and play games, it was nice.
The day we arrived was Father's day, so we celebrated at Bass Lake. Which if you know Dave at all, is very appropriate. We gave him this cool Bass magnet. We like to collect magnets. This was our first time at Bass Lake and we definately plan to return again!!

It's GREAT to be eight!!

2008-07-14T11:28:00.000-07:00

On June 13th it was the last day of school, and what better way to celebrate than to have a party! Zach had his eighth birthday party at Scooter's Jungle! It has private party rooms that are just for your own group that have giant inflatable slides, jumpies, and swings etc.
Here I am going down the slide. The fun is not just for the kids, ya know.
Here is Zach on his "royal thrown" opening his birthday gifts. This one is from Julie, Cy, Chris, and Chloe.
Yes, I told you, we LOVE Costco cake. Here is Zach with his. Yum, Yum. By the way, our Costco does the best designs.
As you can see from this pic, Zach definately had A LOT of fun. Man, is he sweaty. Well, that's my boy! Happy birthday buddy!

Let's start from the beginning...

2008-07-14T11:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I defininately have been slacking off when it comes to blogging. But, I figure I would do my best to catch up by starting from the beginning of summer, basically. On May 31st, Christopher had his 6th birthday party. The "reptile guy" came and the kids had a blast with snakes, an oppossum, a wallaby, scorpions, lizards, and much, much more.
Here is Zach with a python. He's wearing his Indiana Jones shirt so this pic is quite appropriate, I think.
Here is christopher with his Costco cake. Yes, our family is obsessed with Costco cake, yum yum.
That night, it was Hayli's spring dance recital. She was in two performances, a jazz number and a tap number. Congrats Hayli, you did a GREAT job. Keep dancing!
It was nice that a lot of family was able to attend. Thanks everyone for coming!

Welcome Macy!

2008-05-15T17:11:00.000-07:00

Here is Chris and Kristen's new baby girl Macy. She is 10 days old here. Isn't she cute?

That's how we roll...

2008-05-06T16:19:00.001-07:00

So, we went to visit Julie, Cy, Chris, and Chloe the other weekend because we wanted to see one of Christopher's baseball games. It was a lot of fun, and quite hot too. Chris did really well at his game. What a little slugger.

After the game, the kids wanted to play in the water in the backyard. Yeah, we had a hard time tracking down some water toys etc. We finally managed to find this Octopus water sprinkler and that broke in about 2 seconds, literally. So, we decided to make our own slip-n-slide out of an old tarp that had black paint splattered on it. We were laughing because it was sooooo white trash. Check out the pic:

My son...the comedian.

2008-04-16T14:24:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday the kids and I were cracking each other up saying one liners from Naploean Dynamite. Yes...I know that is so totally "last year" but we like that movie and just watched it again as a family the other night. So anyway, yesterday we were saying these one liners, and Zach says, "Is there some sort of vest I could wear" and we were laughing, and then I told him I would give him $5 if he told that to the lady when he got his spring pictures taken today at school. Well, he just came home from school and he told me he said it to her. Of course, she said, "What" and he said, "never mind-just kidding". But I was laughing hysterically because I could just picture him doing it in that "Kip" voice, tugging at his shirt. And yes...I do believe he really did it, if you really knew Zach, you would know he doesn't ever lie because that would be breaking the rules, and he doesn't break the rules. Just thought I'd share that with you.

This ol' blog...she ain't what she used to be...ain't what she used to be...

2008-04-12T22:04:00.000-07:00

Well, hello there strangers! It has been a long time. This last week has been spring break for my kids and I. Luckily, the Elementary schools, Junior High, and College ALL have the same break. What are the odds? Well, not usually in my favor, but I did get quite lucky this time. Last month was my birthday and this month was our "15th" anniversary, so Dave and I took off last minute to where else, but... Vegas Baby! I told you I was lucky. Yeah, you know it! We stayed for 3 days and 2 nights, and it was wonderful!!! Notice the triple exclamation points. Here are a few pics:
We ate at the "Tao" restaurant in the Venetian. It was deeeelicious! I highly recommend the lobster wontons and Kung Pao Chicken. Yum!

We splurged, which is unlike us, and went and saw two shows. We saw Monty Python's Spamalot the first night, and Mystere, by Cirque de Soilel, the second night. Who can say, "thanks Federal Government for giving me back my money!" Yes, I mean "tax refund" for you laymen and laywomen.Here I am at dinner again... yes, we LOVE to eat, posing in front of the oldest statue known to man. Seriously, this dude was old. When he walked by I could see his wrinkles in the white paint.

Well, I had fun, but I did miss the children...so when I got back I planned a little get-a-way for us. Of course, it was to the "happiest places on earth" so here are a few pics of the kids and I at Disneyland and California Adventure. Julie, Cyrus, Christopher, and Chloe met us the first day at Disneyland. We stayed overnight at the Paradise Pier hotel next to the theme parks. It was quite exciting for the kids because they really never get to stay in hotels.

I think we ALL felt like Chloe at the end of the day, but it was worth it!

Same thing, different day.

2008-03-18T23:19:00.001-07:00

There you go. Ha ha! :)

LUCKY!

2008-03-12T23:22:00.000-07:00

In my last post, I wrote about all the things that were keeping me busy from blogging. Well, although Dave is busy running a brand new Souplantation, he still finds time for golf. So, Steve I hope this answers your question!

Blog Withdrawls!!

2008-02-12T09:41:00.000-08:00

Here's me and Zach at "Muffins for Mom's" at his school.

Well, I'm having "blog withdrawls" because I am so busy, I don't have time to post. I sneek a few minutes in a week to "peek" at other's blogs, but not much time to "blog" myself. So, anyways here's what I've been up to that is keeping me from blogging: I just started a part-time job at a school in my kid's school district. In my short 3.5 hours a day, I wear about 4 different hats. First, I am a "greeter" in the morning. Then I go to the office and help out the office ladies. Later, I come back and work during recess with kids with special needs. Finally, at lunch I am a campus supervisor, more commonly known as a yard duty. In the evenings, besides running the kids to soccer, dance, YW, activity days, girl scouts etc. I am taking a night class: Math for Elementary School teachers and an online Political Science class. I know you are all as busy as I am, so you will forgive me for not having anything interesting on my blog for the last month. Sorry to all of those that have been here and seen the same "Heart Attack" post. Well, at least it's close to Valentine's day now!

Heart Attack!

2008-01-12T16:10:00.000-08:00

Brittani and her friends were asked to "heart attack" this boy's room while he was having surgery on his shoulder from a football injury. Guess who asked them...his mom. Isn't that sweet?
I had a fun time bonding with the girls as we cut out hearts so that they could decorate his room. It turned out great. The girls also baked him cookies and put together little candy bags that they attached to balloons.

Here is a picture of the fun entry way they made for his room. Jordan's mom said that he really liked the room, and I know that the girls really liked "heart attacking" it!
P.S. I can't believe I am a mom of a teenager. This is only the beginning!

Do you have a best friend? Does he have a big coat too?

2008-01-11T21:12:00.000-08:00

Today we went to up to Mount Pinos, out past Frazier Park, and went to the snow! The kids have fun sledding and throwing snowballs with their cousins! Yes, you can find a little snow in California!
It was cold, but really not that bad compared to other places we have lived...namely Utah and Colorado. (As you can see from Ashlyns short sleeves!)
Chris and Zach, are kings of the mountain!!

We had a BALL...yes the pun was intended!

2008-01-10T22:41:00.000-08:00

Last night we went to the Los Angeles Clippers basketball game. They played the Orlando Magic. It was a blast. We went with some friends from church, The Knudsens, The Moffitts, and The Nilson's! The best part of all was that we had box seats in a suite!! We had our own private room with cushy leather chairs, a couch, a table, a fridge, and plenty of room for the kids to run around in.
Here are the girls with their own homemade "Go Clippers" signs. They were the best cheerleaders there. They really were trying to make it onto the big screen, but to no avail. Maybe next time!
Here are some of the crazy boys. In total we had 11 kids in the suite.
Thanks to the Knudsen's for hooking us all up with those sweet seats!!

Dance your heart out!

2007-12-17T18:13:00.000-08:00

Hayli was in the Nutcracker Ballet for her dance Studio. She was one of the girls in The Land of the Sweets!
Grandma and Grandpa came to see her dance her heart out!
So did Julie and Christopher!
And Dawn and Ashlyn!

March your heart out!

2007-12-17T18:07:00.000-08:00

Here is Hayli with her Girl Scout troop marching in our town's Holiday Parade. They dressed up as Christmas presents and sang songs as they marched along.
At the end of the parade, we all met at the park where there was snow, cookies, and Santa. Now that's a parade!
Hayli makes quite a little Christmas gift.

Paint your heart out!

2007-12-17T17:59:00.000-08:00

Zachary had his end of the season soccer party at Paint-A-Dream! He made a snake for his dad, that he is going to give him for his birthday on Wednesday. Shhhh, don't tell!
Here he is with some of the boys from his soccer team, The Red Raptors.
Congratulations on a great season, can't wait til spring when you play again!

Way to go Britt!

2007-11-30T21:11:00.000-08:00

Britt's soccer team, The Shooting Stars, won the team sportsmanship award for her division. The refs vote for the team with the players, coaches, and yes...parents, who display the most sportsmanship throughout the entire season. It actually is quite an achievement! Great job my little soccer star!
My parents were in town, so they came to the award ceremony. Thanks mom and dad, you're the best. Dawn and Ashlyn came also. Of course, I just expect them to come... but thanks too! :)

Make a wish!

2007-11-29T17:00:00.000-08:00

Britt turned 13 years old on Thanksgiving this year. And yes, we are very thankful for her. We were in San Diego at Dave's parents house so it was nice that she could be surrounded by family on her special day. Here she is blowing out her candles. Make a wish! But, it better not be about any boys!

What the Heck!

2007-11-29T16:49:00.000-08:00

Dave had a little "mishap" with his hair clippers. He had the dial turned to the setting he wanted to "trim" his hair, but at some point when he was cleaning the blade and then returned to triming his hair, it moved. And... this is the result! Since there was nothing he could do, we had fun and made a mohawk. A slightly askew mohawk. No, it did not stay. However, he did have to shave his entire head to match up with the mistake. Yes, basically he is bald. Lucky for him, his hair grows really fast. I know...this is why girls go to a salon!

Our Sunday Best!

2007-11-19T15:18:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, the kids had their Primary Sacrament Meeting Presentation. They did a great job! Here they are all dressed up in their Sunday best. Julie came to visit with Christopher and Chloe. It was fun, but getting pictures of the kids together after church was like pulling teeth! But in spite of all of the chaos, they look cute! However, Zach was having a low blood sugar episode... and it shows on his face! (Quarter!) Inside joke.

The kids, well mostly Hayli, got Zach in a better mood by tickling him and making him laugh. Boy, was he laughing!! He couldn't stop.

Christopher wanted to join in on the fun, so he decided to tickle himself and make himself laugh! It was pretty funny!

Had to add a picture of the three cutest girls around!! I hope they don't forget...boys have cooties!

The Happiest Place on Earth!

2007-11-13T20:24:00.000-08:00

Well, for Veterns Day the kids, Dave, and I actually all had the day off, so of course, off we went to the happiest place on earth, Disneyland! We had a blast. Here are the kids on the Tea Cups-an all time classic! Dave and I shared our own Tea Cup for the first time. Ahhh, how sweet. :)

Here is Hayli in front of "It's a Small World". It was all lit up for the Holidays already! It was really pretty. I'm a sucker for Christmas lights and I made everyone pose for lots of pictures-which of course they all hated, except for Hayli who loves the camera. Thank goodness someone does!

The first and last ride of the day had to be Space Mountain! Here is part of the gang about to blast off! And yes, Julie, we did get a churro! Yum, Yum!

Wanna see something really SCARY?

2007-11-04T20:34:00.001-08:00

Here is the picture they took of me about to cross the finish line! To get the full effect, look below in my picture gallery to check out my "marathon face" up close. No words needed...

I did it!!

2007-11-03T18:19:00.000-07:00

I can finally check "half-marathon" off the list! Today, Saturday November 3, 2007, I ran the Santa Barbara half-marathon which is 13 miles LONG! I finished in 2 hours, 10 minutes, and 24 seconds. Not bad for a first-time racer, if I do say so myself-and I do! That put me at a 9:57 minute mile, so basically a 10 minute mile...for 13 miles.Whew!

Dawn ran the half with me, and did really great. She finished in 2 hours, 42 minutes, and 38 seconds. She ran a 12:25 minute mile.

Here are some pictures of us BEFORE the race. Look how happy we are!

And Below are the pictures of us AFTER the race. I know, we still look good. Look-we got medals! I haven't got a medal for anything since High School, it was quite exciting!

Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire!

2007-10-23T09:50:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that even though we were basically "circled" about by fire, we are all safe. We have 3 fires directly to the west of us that are about 5-10 minutes away... Castaic, Magic Mountain, and Stevenson's Ranch. To the North about 10 minutes away, there are fires burning down San Francisito Road and Seco Canyon. Then to the East of us, the huge Canyon Country fire (about 20 minutes) is still going strong. It's pretty crazy, but we are o.k. Wish we could say the same for San Diego, it is REALLY bad down there. We have a lot of family there, but luckily they are all safe. (As far as we know). Dave's cousin did have to evacuate their home, we hope they are doing well, and their home is safe too.

Whoa...momma!

2007-10-20T21:22:00.000-07:00

I just ran about 8 miles! I actually was suppose to run 9, but Brittani had a babysitting gig and I ran out of time because Dave was working and I had to get home. Aaaahh, too bad. Well, I better not slack off because Julie and I have decided to run the LA Marathon in March. (Dawn, are you in?) Can you believe it? And I thought I was crazy for trying to run 13.5 miles in November, and now I've decided to run another 26 miles in March. What am I thinking, I'm not the bionic women...or am I?

I had to post the picture of the most comfortable running shoes on earth!

Happy B-day Miss Hayli

2007-10-15T21:04:00.000-07:00

For Hayli's birthday we took her to see the musical "Wicked" at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles! It was amazing. She loved it, and so did all of the kids... and adults too!

For dinner we went to the famous "Pink's" hotdog stand in L.A. It's very famous for its long lines and celebrity sightings! It's inexpensive and a good "dog" at that.

It's official!

2007-10-10T13:04:00.000-07:00

Baby #1 is on the way for Chris and Kristen!
The due date is April 23, 2008.
Congratulations!

It's a Girl!

2007-10-08T18:06:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to Bryan

and Heidi on the birth of their

new baby girl today-

Julia Kathryn!

Isn't she just the cutest thing?

She was 8 lbs 3 oz. Wow, what a baby!

October Birthday Shout outs!

2007-10-06T19:07:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to:

Hayli 10/12

Steven 10/16

Michael 10/28

Can you Can Can?

2007-10-05T16:51:00.001-07:00

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!We Can.

Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting!

2007-10-05T08:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, so they don't sing that song, but my kids and I did get to see the Foo Fighters making a music video at our mall last week. It was fun to see, even though they were filming a part where they didn't sing at all. Oh well, not like I am THAT hip anyway, to be able to sing along! During the summer, we got to see the filming of the Visa commercial where they are in a food court and a lady holds up the line with cash. Hey, are we at the mall a lot? Nah, they just must film at our mall a lot, right?

From Zach for real

2007-10-01T18:25:00.000-07:00

My mom is the greatest mom in the world!!!!!!

IT'S A NEW RECORD!!

2007-09-26T19:43:00.000-07:00

This has never happened before...never in my 12 years of buying or making Halloween costumes have I ever had one costume, let alone three costumes, this early before! (Check the calendar, its over a month until Oct 31st). I took my kids Halloween costume shopping yesterday, and lo and behold, I walked out of Party America with three costumes complete with accessories. Wow, this is a record for me. Usually, I am panicked, stressed out, and running around to twenty stores the day before Halloween, or when I used to make the costumes...still sewing the morning of. So, here's the low down...Brittani is Dorothy, Hayli is a Sumo Wrestler (I'll explain in a bit), and Zach is a Scorpion Ninja. Since Brittani wants to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz (which I love as much as Wicked), it is only obvious that I have to be the Wicked Witch of the West. As far as the Sumo Wrestler goes, if your kids have seen Hannah Montana, I bet they can explain it to ya. Hayli and her cousin, Ashlyn are both being Sumo Wrestlers, just like Hannah Montana did in one of her episodes. Anyways, I just hope Christmas shopping goes as well...

Rain, rain go away...Come back another non-soccer day!

2007-09-22T14:14:00.000-07:00

It's raining soccer balls out there! So, my kids play AYSO soccer, and they refuse to cancel games on account of rain! It's pouring out there and Brittani's game gets cancelled only because they play at a public park, and the park says that no one is allowed to play there. (They don't want soccer cleats tearing up their fields). But, Zach's game is at a school, and on Saturdays there is no one at the schools, so it is up to AYSO officials to determine whether the games are played. Well, AYSO's rule is that they only cancel games if there is danger involved ie: lightning. They play in pouring rain, mostly because it's a pain for them to reschedule games. So, my kid is suppose to get sick because they don't want to reschedule. Well, we showed up in the pouring rain at game time and at the very last minute they called the game. I have to say I was a drowned rat by the end of just waiting the 15 minutes it took them to decide if we were playing or not (I sent my kids to the car). Apparently, someone saw lightning. Could you have seen that 15 minutes ago! C'mon, gimmie a break. Yes, I brought Zach to his game, but I wasn't going to let him play-it was pouring!! I mean we're talking about 6 & 7 year olds here. But... I was snack person, so I felt obligated to go, and I knew the other parents wouldn't let their kids play either anyway. So, my point to all this is- Why does AYSO make us show up? It's ridiculous!

My newest project...

2007-09-20T14:37:00.000-07:00

I've taken on another project. Maybe I should finish all of the other ones that I have started and haven't finished yet, nah, that would be too easy. Anyway, my girls really want to learn how to sew on the sewing machine, so I have decided to teach them how to make their own aprons. Now, when we have our annual Christmas bake-off we will be "covered". Ha ha-nice pun, huh! I will post pics of our finished products. So, I guess you can be looking for those in the year 2017, if we're lucky. I will be hiring out my little sweat-shop workers once they learn the ropes, if anyone needs an apron? Just kiddin'!

Birthday Shout-Outs!!

2007-09-17T15:05:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to say "Happy Birthday" to :

Heidi 8/20

Trevor 8/25

Tony 9/1

Hannah 9/15

Raegen 9/21

Hope you all had great birthdays! We wish

we could have been there to share them with you!

So many questions, so little time...

2007-09-14T21:41:00.000-07:00

Okay, today I went to my very first yoga class. Wow, it was pretty hard. Has anyone ever taken yoga before? Please tell me it gets easier. My favorite pose is the "warrior". So, I guess now I'm like a granola or something, do I need to go hug a tree? Just kidding. I totally love it! Anyways, enough about me, does anyone know how Chris and Bryan did on their tests? I hope it went well for them. Do Jill and Mike know if it is a girl or boy yet? Have Heidi and Bryan picked a name for their girl? (#4 by the way) Julie, are you running the half-marathon with me on Nov 3rd? Sandi, do you still "scrabble doze"? Dawn, I see you everyday, so I got nothing. So many questions, so little time.

A new day...

2007-09-13T12:54:00.000-07:00

So, today I ran 3.5 miles (up a hill, both ways), had my vitamin water, and ate my energy bar. Wow, do I sound like an athlete or what. Yeah right. Anyway, you have to watch the middle video with "The Hoff" in the car, it is so funny. I think he made the last video (the one with the bike), at the Del Mar Fair, what do ya think?

My Inspiration. . .

2007-09-12T21:23:00.000-07:00

Well, I was having so much fun on Sandi's blog that I thought I should create my own. Thanks for your inspiration! This is a fun way to stay in touch with friends and family while being creative in the process. I'm feeling a little verklempt, talk amongst yourselves...