the pribyl family

Christmas Fun!

2011-12-23T11:11:00.000-08:00

The Holiday celebrations began at the Ward's Primary Christmas Party. The RS was having an Adult only Christmas Party, so the Bishop put on a party for the

kids. They had craft times, and he read them the book, "He Took My Lickin" for Me". Then they got to visit with Santa. While Sophia was waiting in line, she couldn't resist dancing to the Christmas Songs played on the piano by the Primary President. She had a great time. Boston was able to come for the last half hour, as he had a soccer game that morning.

This Holiday brought us a "white" celebration for the first time, as it began for the kids with "snow"! In the middle of the ward adult party people started going outside. When we went to see what all the excitement about, we saw that it had hailed and the whole parking lot was covered in white, including our cars. When I called Aubrie to tell her about it, they hadn't gotten any of it. That was CRAZY since the way the bird flys we are only about 2 miles from the church. Later, they got a bit in the front yard, but it didn't stick. The next morning at chruch, the kids were a few minutes late to sacrament meeting because they had to enjoy the snow in the front of the building for a few minutes!

Boston's field trip was the next holiday thing on the list. His classmates spent the month earning money, and then they took a fieldtrip to the Arrowhead Mall to pick a Christmas Angel. I went on the field trip, and was over Bostons group. They chose a boy. We ended up getting him three board games, a basketball, football, and soccer ball. The kids were excited to get all these things for him, and were running around trying to find the best deal, so they could get him as much as possible. What a great opportunity for these kids to get a glimpse at how blessed they are and how they can help someone else.

I also had fun torturing Boston on the bus, as I sang to the Christmas music the bus driver was playing. It was a little payback for treating his sister poorly that morning. He promised to be nice to her, if I would stop embarrassing him. His friends thought it was funny, especially since he sings all the time in class.

The next thing on the Holiday list was their Christmas piano recital. It was a little stressful this year, since Aubrie didn't have enough time to practice. She ended up having time for only one song. She did "Let It Snow". One of my favorites.

Ethan played three songs. "Rockin Around the Christmas Tree", Jingle Bells (which he added a bottom hand to) and "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas" duet with his Teacher. He did really well, and seemed to like it. When I told him to just quit piano today, he said , "NO! I like the recitals and cookies!" LOL

This is an awful picture of Boston, but I couldn't leave him out. He had the hardest songs. He played "Joy to the World" out of the Hymn book!! I tried playing it and I couldn't. He also played a harder version of "Santa Clause is Coming to Town". He made a few mistakes and went outside afterward and started crying. That was the first time he messed up at a recital. Aubrie cried the first time she messed up, too. Now she is over it and doesn't care. Boston is such a perfectionist, I'm not sure he will ever get over messing up. I was proud of his hard work and determination to play the harder songs!

Here are some pictures from Ethan's school Christmas party. I couldn't go because I had Sophia. My friend took these pictures for me. Guess this is a reindeer relay race! They ended the party with some "snow"!

For his party, Boston made gingerbread houses, stockings, glass ornaments, worked on recipes, and made reindeer food. That was after a big breakfast that only their grade had, in the Cafeteria, which included donuts, muffins, fruit, bagels, and hash browns.

Aubrie didn't have parties, but a few of her teachers let them watch movies the last couple of days, and Aubrie passed out gifts to her good friends (which she bought herself), and baked treats to all her teachers, and student advisor.

It's funny how when you have multiple kids, you repeat the same events. For us its an every two year cycle since they are all two years apart in school. This was our second Gingerbread Musical. Ethan was HILARIOUS! Wish I could put the video on here. He started off doing nothing but making frowning faces. Then he really started hamming it up. He is such a character! When it was over, we socialized a bit, and Aubrie and Boston played wall ball with their friends. Aubrie had fun seeing all her old friends ago, and spending time with Olivia.

This year the kids are really getting into the giving spirit. Aubrie and Boston spent A LOT of money on each other, and their other siblings. Ethan spent all of his money at the Jingle Bell Shop at school getting random gifts for everyone, including Rango and the Cats. Sophia even used her Christmas money from my Mom to go to the dollar store and get everyone a gift. I can't wait for Christmas just to see them open one another's gifts.

With this post, I'm officially caught up with everything on my "Christmas to do list"! All the treats are baked, presents wrapped, and food purchased for Christmas Day. Now I just need to get over this awful cough I have been carrying around for 3 weeks now. That would be a great Christmas gift...no coughing! Hope to be back soon after Christmas, but not counting on being that on top of things. We are headed for lots of fun and vacationing! Merry Christmas! I feel so blessed with so many TRUE friends, Family, and a Heavenly Father who care about me. Who can ask for more?

2011 Soccer

2011-12-11T15:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a full day, that started at 7:30. There was no time to think about how sick I was. It was one soccer game after another, and I LOVED it! I love watching my kids play soccer.

Ethan had a game early in the morning, about a half an hour from here. I never get to take him to his games, so I offered while Ben stayed here to wait for the carpet cleaners and Sears guy who services our appliances every six months!

Ethan lost his game, but it was hard to be upset about it since the team he played were a bunch of refugee kids from Afghanistan. After the game, I cheered him up with Dunkin Donuts. That took his mind off of it. I then came home only to shortly turn around to Boston's game. His first game was against the hardest team in the league. If they beat them they could have taken first. They were up 1-0 for the first 15 minutes. Then the other team got an awesome/well deserved corner kick. Boston's coach put in a different goalie and the game turned quickly. They lost 4-2. Boston was disappointed, (as were some parents) but the last time they played them the lost byALOT! So I tried to help him realize the progress his team made, and that second place in the tournament is AWESOME! Ben spoke with some parents who are trying to put a winning team together, and they want Boston to be a part of it. We will see how that works out in the spring. In my eyes, his team is a winning team. I especially like the spiritual focus the coach brings into every game and practice. That is more important to me than anything. Boston won his other two games. His first game was actually Friday night. Joe took the kids, while we had our party. Boston's win that night solidified second place for his team. It was great win, since the team slaughtered them last time!

Aubrie had a great tournament! They won their first two games. Their second game was amazing. 9-1! Their team also got the record for fastest goal scored, and most goals scored in such a short time. Those wins put them in the Championship. The Championship game was against an amazing team who was undefeated! The blew out every team they played, except us. It was time for a rematch. This game was especially hard for Aubrie because her best friend Olivia is on that team. Aubrie is not as aggressive when Olivia is close to her. The game was one of the best soccer games we have watched. Our team scored first. We held them for a long time, and finally they got a goal. Second half was nail biting! There were so many close goals on both sides. With 30 seconds left Olivia made the game winning goal. Aubrie was so sad. She wanted a tie so bad. As soon as the game was over, Olivia rushed to find Aubrie to make sure she wasalright, and then they embraced each other. It was such a tearful moment. Two great teams and freinds...so close! So Aubrie's team also placed second. We celebrated later that evening with the Pribble's (Olivia's family. Funny, huh?) at Yogurtology. Aubrie was her happy self again, and left me a sweet note by my beside after I finally crashed, saying she hopes I feel better soon. I hope I do, too!

Here are some pics from the season!

Aubrie's Championship game.

Boston's Championship Game

Aubrie's first game against Olivia (She also had Strep and we didn't know it)

Jump Start

2011-12-11T15:01:00.000-08:00

This year I felt like I needed to get a jump start on the Holidays. I think with Aubrie at Basis, the soccer season running into December, and our Christmas Party being pushed back a week l, made me feel like I needed to get some things done early. Before Thanksgiving I ordered my Christmas Cards and stuffed, and addressed them. I also purchased all my "friend gifts" and wrapped them. I thought that would relieve some stress and free up some time. Then I was asked to decorate a table for our Ward Christmas party. It wasn't hard, but just took time to get stuff, etc. It turned out nice, but now I still have the buckets of decorations in my Mom's room. My new dumping ground. This past week I busied myself with finishing up Christmas shopping, helping out a sick friend, preparing for our Christmas Party, fighting a cold, helping with school projects, and playing the roles of both parents while Ben was out of town. I'm hoping that this week I'll be able to get in a workout!

Our Christmas Party was a lot of fun. Since our Ward did the same exact type of party, we thought we might skip it this year. Then we realized how many people we typically invite from other wards, which is more than half. We decided to invite only a few families from our Ward who have been coming since the beginning, or had strong relationships with a majority of the other couples, along with some several friends of ours who don't go to our church. It was a good mix! Everyone was very friendly to the new people, and things were seamless. The only bad thing was that I lost my voice Friday morning, so that was VERY hard not being able to talk much. In reality, I spend most of my time playing hostess, which leaves little time for talking anyway. There were some fun gifts. But no animals this year!:) Shocking that Ben spaced taking pictures this year. That's his job at the party!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-11T14:42:00.001-08:00

This year we had Thanksgiving dinner with the Hawkins. I was in charge of the Turkey, and also made the Shoepeg casserole & stuffing. I had to make the stuffing for the first time this year, with my Mom being gone. That was weird. I decorated the table with place "cards" that were leaves with names written on them, and hot glued to a walnut, grouped with a few other nuts.Tirza brought the sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, rolls, salad, and pickles and olives. Dinner was very yummy. The turkey didn't cook all the way, and I was disappointed with my meat thermometer:( I had to put it back in, and once you cut into it and put it back in its not the same. Oh, well. That just meant no good left overs which I'm not a fan of anyway.

The kids had a fun time playing, and the adults talking. It was very nice and relaxing. After dinner, the Hawkins went home and we headed to the movies. Ben and I wanted to see the Muppet Movie, but the kids were dying to see Jack and Jill. The ratings were bad, and Ben and I were skeptical. Being it was PG were figured at least it would be harmless. It was funny. The kids laughed a lot, especially Ethan.

The next day we spent putting up all the Christmas decor. When we put up and plugged in our tree, I noticed a huge portion of lights were out. Ben ran and got new nine foot tree, that happened to be on sale since it was black Friday. It looks really nice. I went to Micheal's later, and got some new decorations, with Aubrie's help, to add to it. Now our tree downstairs has some blue in it. It looks nice. We put the old tree upstairs in the loft. It's the kids tree. It's very cute, also. The kids like it best! It was nice to get up all the decorations, and be done with it, especially with company coming.

Saturday the Hendrickson's came for a night. The kids stayed here and had pizza and watched movies, while the adults went out for dinner. We had a nice dinner at Cheesecake Factory. Things are always so comfortable with the Hendricksons. When we got back we went in the hot tub, and when the kids went down, we watched some Modern Family and talked.

Sunday the Nelson's came for the night. They got her much later, so Ben and Pat stayed up and talked, while everyone else was in bed. The next day Ben and Pat had some meetings, so Mindy and I spent time with the kids and got to know one another better. Pat married her after college, so I have only hung out with her once. She is very nice, and it was a nice morning getting to know her.

Whew! We sure know how to pack in the Holiday's, huh? I'm not sure if its possible for us to do "nothing" during any holiday. So much to do, so many people to see. It's hard for this family to sit still!

November Disney 2011

2011-12-11T14:09:00.000-08:00

Since Aubrie had a full week of of school for Thanksgiving, we planned another trip to Disney. Since the Christmas decorations were up, I figured it would be busy. However, we still were able to ride everything and also did some things we never did before.

The first day we got there (Sunday) it was raining. Well, when we got to the hotel it was overcast, and by the time we got in line for Star Taurs it was sprinkling. When we got out of Star Taurs it was POURING. We bought the overly priced Disney Pancho's and some gloves for the boys, and then ducked and covered to the closest inside ride, which was Captain EO.

We thought the rain would lighten up, but it didn't. The closest place for cover was the Innovations building that we always say we should check out, but never do. Guess it takes something like rain for you to stumble on something great! We all had a blast in there. They had 360 Kinect games set up in there, along with other cool games, and inventions to look at. Boston spent most of his time playing a Kinect football game, Ethan played Kinect Fruit Ninja, and Aubrie, Sophia and I became addicted to the Kinect Micheal Jackson dancing game. Sophia was the first one to try it, and by the end she had a crowd of people surrounding her. Still meaning to send that video to AFV!

After spending about two hours in there, we finally checked outside. The rain had stopped and lines were short, but we didn't want to risk rain again, so we headed back to the hotel and then went out to dinner. We found an Olive Garden (per Aubrie's request). It was a great dinner, except for the shocking caloric count that is now required on California menus. I tried not to think about it as we devoured a great meal, and enjoyed one of the best servers we have ever had! We went on an on to him to the manager (who happened to be the General Manager) and she comped our desserts b/c it made her night! SCORE!!!! After dinner we headed back to the hotel to settle in and watch fireworks from our balcony.

Monday was busy, busy. We rode the firetruck that goes from main street to the castle for the first time, and we spent a few hours checking out Santa's reindeer, doing Christmas crafts, meeting Mrs. Claus and waiting for a chance to sit on Santa's lap. We had some fun people in line, which made the hour wait bearable. The kids had fun in line checking out some funny things on youtube. Here are some pics of that! Can't think of a better place in the world to see Santa and his reindeer!

Sophia was a little timid to ride anything that seemed to go fast. Our first ride of the day was Matterhorn, and she didn't want anything to do with it. I sat on a bench with her while everyone else waited in line. By the time they got to the front I convinced her to try it.

I couldn't believe that Ben convinced her to ride Space Mountain, later that day! Guess bribing her with a Mickey stuffed animal as the trick. As the ride was about to take off she said, "Mom, see now the whole family can be together." We were offered another free ride, when they couldn't print our picture's due to some kids doing some bad things in the background, but when we got there, Sophia wouldn't do it again. I was afraid that was it for her, but she did it again the next day, and said she liked it, so I'm hoping we have crossed a bridge with her.

Sophia's favorite ride was It's a Small World. It was decorated for Christmas. She rode that a few times. She also got to visit with the princesses. We waited in line for that, while the boys went off by themselves to Toon Town. They thought they were so big being able to do that on their own. We were all daring enough to do Splash Mountain, despite the freezing weather. We were lucky to avoid being drenched. While in the neighborhood, we enjoyed lunch at our favorite spot. Mmmmm, love that turkey sandwich and sweet potato fries!

In California Adventure, we enjoyed the comedy of the Genie in the Alladin show. The kids are finally old enough to get a lot of his satire, and so it made it more fun. We did the boardwalk games for the first time, and Sophia won a big stuffed Mickey on her first try. That took care of Ben's bribery from earlier. The boys were disappointed with two small toys, and Aubrie scored a big Dumbo stuffed animals. It was fun to do that for once. We also saw the evening water show (can't think of it right now). It was hard to see, I had Sophia on my shoulders most of the time ( That was the longest 22 minutes ever) and we were freezing. The nights were frigid! We broke down and bought hats for the kids on the Disney Walk. We enjoyed dinner on the "Walk" both nights. First at the pizza place, and next at the ESPN restaurant. Boston was disappointed there wasn't a good game on! LOL Overall, it was a great time to spend as a family for the Holiday. Wednesday we headed home so we could be home on Thanksgiving. That meant Ben had to drive home on his birthday. I arranged for the Waishnora's to come and put up streamers. Couldn't break the family tradition!:)

On our way into the fabulously decorated It's a Small World (busted biting my nails!)

Ethan's name is on the nice list!

Tea Cups!

Lunch Time at Critter Country

Brotherly Love

Smiling Eyes!

Longest Sweet Potato Fry!

Mmmm...Good to the last bite!

Boston DONE with pictures!

Crafts with Mrs. Claus

Santa's Reindeer

He LOVE's this!

Getting Heavy?

Fun with Youtube!

His new gloves!

Long anticipated visit with Santa after an hour wait! Boston isn't thrilled about it!

Arial Ride! Boston is just along for the ride.

In line waiting for the Princess's

Our official hat holder!

Long awaited Princess visit.

Bugs Land bumper cars!

Lunch time by Soarin! Ribs, Mac& Cheese and Chicken Sandwiches

On the Carousel while the "BIGS" are on Screamin'

Fun times with the Soldiers

Dinner Time at ESPN

Sophia's Art! She said it was a dead person?

Alice and Wonderland (Dad's only picture! Thanks for being the family photographer Sweetheart!)

Autotopia!

Crowd Control!

Till next time...

Boston's Double Digits!

2011-12-11T13:11:00.000-08:00

Ten years ago our lives changed once again, with the birth of our amazing boy, Boston. Ten years have gone by in a flash. When I think of Boston many things come to mind. He is such a well rounded boy.

He is very smart, and sometimes too much for his own good. Because he knows when something is right or wrong, he wants to argue his point, no matter the consequences. Sound familiar? I hate to admit it, but he gets that attibute from Mommy dearest. Fortunatly he has shown me how irritating that can be, so I only do that with Ben now! I've never had to worry about Boston in school. Boston hasn't either, so because of that he has had a few humbling "B's". He is realizing that he does actually have to work at some things. Putting in extra effort is a new talent he is having to develop. Going to Basis next year should take care of that for him quickly.

Boston is a born athelete. He easily picks up skills needed in all the sports he plays. Again, he limits how good he can really become, because of all the accalades he gets from his coaches and parents. His soccer skill are amazing, and I LOVE watching him on the field. He is a great quarter back, and running back in football, and he can speed around the bases in baseball. He was a very percise gymnast, and diver. He wants to try basketball now. I'm always wondering what sport he will ultimately end up doing.

Boston has a love for music and theatre. While he won't admit it, he loves playing the piano. His favorite song for stress release, is Clocks, by Cold Play. He miraculously knows the lyrics to almost all the songs on the radio, and LOVES to sing to all of them. He is quite the actor, too. The other day he produced tears, trying to fake me out that he failed a science test. He loves watching reality shows like America's Got Talent and American Idol. If you ask him what he wants to be when he is older he says he wants to be a NFL football player/ singer "like Bruno Mars". Of course, I'm not sure how he will fit that in around his video game obsession. While he is only limited to whatever time is left in the morning before school, and an hour after, he relishes his time playing his sports video games. I'm sure if we bought him a singing one, he would have a hard time choosing.

Boston has a sweet sensative side. He has always had it. It comes out when he forgets to act tough. I love that he loves reading to his sister at night. That he still wants his nightly back scratch/song, and some nights he pulls me close and says, "can I tell you about my day." I love when he grabs my hand at Disneyland, and he doesn't even notice, and even though it breaks my heart, he cries when he gets his feeling hurt. It shows me that that sweet sensative Boston is still in there. I love how he looks forward to being a husband and a Dad. And how he talks about it and thinks about his future, including his mission. I love that he started reading the Book of Mormon all on his own, when he wasn't sure he had a testimony, and that after getting half way through, he told us he can see picture himself there as he reads. I love that all his drawers are ALWAYS organized, and his bed is always perfectly made (unless Ethan messes it up). I love that he takes interest in how he dresses, and recently LOVES BYU apparrel. I love that he took his BYU sweatshirt for school show and tell and told them that it's special because that's where he wants to go to school. He is a passionate person. Because of that, whatever emotion he is feeling is INTENSE. He is learning to bridel some of those. I love how he recognizes it and tries. I love that he comes home from school and rushes to tell me when he got a 100 on a test, clipped up on a teachers shirt, or got the record for some school race, etc. His need for my approval is endearing. I wonder what alll these wonderful traits will develop into, 10 more years from now.

Now on to his party. I have decided that Ben will organize and throw the boy's parties and I will do the girls. It only makes sense. Of course, Ben should be able to throw better boys parties because he is one. Boston wanted ANOTHER sports party. We always get nervous about turn our, because now that he is older sports are always a factor. His birthday is right in the middle of football/fall baseball/ & soccer season. Boston had a great turn out and a great time.

First they started by eating pizza on the front patio and playing out front.

Then they headed to the park for some football.

Then it was back home to play his new NBA game.

Then they hit the pool! Again, it became a dare who could stay in the pool the longest!

Then they didn't even act like they were cold as they sat outside for presents and cake still in their wet suits. Aubrie was a sweetheart, and spent a lot of money on Tilly's stuff for him. Ethan pitched in a bit, too!

Then they all played basketball (still in their suits) until parents came.

Goodie bags were baseball cards and beef jerkey, which I couldn't resist wrapping up in a bag, b/c otherwise they would just be handed out! Boston had a great party! His family party was the following Monday, which included his favorite cake-Cheesecake!

Singing along with the rest of us!

Notice he has double the serving!

He wanted me to take this pic of him pretending he was asleep!?

Sports, Godowns, and More

2011-10-18T14:27:00.000-07:00

This weekend was busy!! It really started Thursday for us. We watched Matt and Nicole's

kids while they were out of town. They got here Thursday around Noon, and were here till Friday at 3:30. The kids had fun playing with them. We went swimming, and watched Zookeeper Thursday night. Friday I took them swimming before lunch. They spent the rest of the time outside, playing their DS's, watching TV, coloring, eating, and playing upstairs. Here is a pic of the girls by the pool.

Friday night Boston had another disastrous football game, that brought him to tears. I feel so bad for him. He works so hard, and does so well, and its frustrating to see him have a bad experience with each team he is placed on. He just wants a team that have kids that know the game, and can catch and throw. He keeps getting on teams where most of the kids never played, and probably never threw a ball. I guess it will teach him some perseverance.

After the game, we rushed home and dropped the kids off, and headed to Fresh Wasabi, to meet up with the Godowns. There were a few other couples there, including his brother and his wife. It was a lot of fun catching up. Such a laid back, fun night!

Saturday started early with an 8:00 game. All the kids ate some humble pie on Saturday. Boston scored a goal, but it wasn't enough. Boston's team lost 4 to 2. Aubrie's game was tied 2 to 2. Aubrie had an awesome assist. Ethan had a tournament, and he lost both of his games. His team only has one sub, and the kids get run into the ground. It was the first time Ethan has every cried over losing. Ben said he was very tired, and worked hard and was super frustrated.

Ethan's games were in the late afternoon and evening, so I stayed here with the kids. Boston had scout camp from Noon to 5:30, so it was a bit weird with just the two girls for most of the day. VERY Quiet!!! When Sophia woke up she wasn't feeling well. Ben didn't get home till late, because he went to an Elders quorum social after the games. He brought Ethan with him. Aubrie spent her evening doing homework, and watching Zookeeper again. It was so funny, and Sophia has been quoting it since.

Yesterday I took my friend Erin McMillon out to lunch for her birthday. It was a great visit, and Sophia was so behaved. She usually is, but it was like she wasn't even there. Afterward, I took her on my errands, to Costoc and JoAnn's. Her high that night was all the things she got to do with me. I loved that! I'll miss her when she is in school:( Last night the Godowns came over for a visit, before they headed out of town. They had a good time swimming with the kids. It was great to get one last visit. It was hard to let them go.

Here are some pics I pulled off my phone.

LOVE making these. My good friend Megan showed me how to make them this summer. Aubrie wears them EVERY day, and all her friends want her to make them some. Its so easy, and inexpensive, and it gets my smallest craftiness desires fulfilled! ha

Boys dressed up for Crazy Day. Wish it wasn't blurry, but better than nothing. They spent the spent the night before figuring it out. They love dressing up for anything the student counsel sponsors.

Ethan LOVES his Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. He even takes them on vacation. He can't wait till the next one comes out!

Aubrie got this corn kernel stuck on her tooth. It looks so real. It freaked Sophia out! She thought her tooth turned yellow!

This one is of Sophia joining my workout. Not only did she join me, but her cat, Buddy, and her Minnie! Don't think Minnie cared, but don't think Buddy was to fond of it!

Cold Turkey

2011-10-18T14:18:00.000-07:00

So about a week ago Ben said to me, "Have you noticed that Sophia hasn't been sucking her thumb?" After he mentioned it, I did realize I hadn't seen her sucking her thumb. An orthodontist in our ward was looking at her teeth a few weeks ago, and he was telling us that we needed to bring her in for this "sucking thumb" program. I guess she wasn't for that, and so a few days later she said to Ben, "Look Dad, I'm just biting on my thumb now." Since then, we haven't seen her thumb in her mouth. I'm amazed that she was able to do it. At one point, not so long ago, her thumbs were cracking and she was crying that she couldn't stop sucking them. I thought we were going to have to get the bridge in her mouth for sure. To make sure she stuck with it, I didn't mention it to her, until this weekend. This past Friday I said, " Sophia, have you noticed that you have stopped doing something?" She couldn't figure it out and I finally told her. I told her what a big girl she was and how she earned a prize for stopping. On our way to Party City, soon after, she said, "MOM, I want a big Spider for my prize." She had just seen one in some one's backyard and thought it was so cool. I asked if she was sure, and she said YES!!! She asked me where we should put it and I told her in one of our trees. She said, "OH, Yeah! That will be so rude!!!" (That is how she describes doing something to scare people! ha!) Here is her prize

Aubries FIRST gym meet

2011-10-12T08:20:00.001-07:00

Aubrie had her first gymnastics meet this past Tuesday. It was an inter squad meet, to get the girls prepared for their meets coming up soon. Aubrie was so nervous, and I kept telling her she was just amongst her peers she works out with every day. She said, "Yeah, I know, but I REALLY want a medal!" Aubrie did very well. She got lots of oohs, and ahhhs, from the audience. She placed 2nd on the vault, bars and first on the floor. She was really disappointed with her beam. She placed 5th, and she was one out of the only two girls who never fell! Because of that score she got 2nd overall. She was really wanting first overall, but I told her it would help her work harder for the real meet. She did get two medals, so she was happy with that. We took her to Baskin Robins to celebrate, and we ran into some other gymnasts there who had the same idea. When Aubrie got home she labeled her medals and ribbons, and put them in her special box. I'm so impressed with all her hard work at the gym, and very happy that she LOVES it. I was worried about how happy she would be with the switch from dance to gymnastics. It has been a great transition and a wonderful opportunity for her. I'm also very impressed how well she juggles all her activities with such a demanding school curriculum. She is a hard worker, and its paying off!

When she first stepped on the floor for their march in!

Floor Routine! She did Awesome! Thank you 7 years of dance!

Her backhand spring!

Bar! (Scariest event for yours truly!)

Columbus Day at Rocky Point

2011-10-11T17:35:00.000-07:00

Well, we were originally going to go to Disneyland over the holiday, because Aubrie's original calendar said she had off this Monday and Tuesday. Then we got an email saying that was a mistake, so we decided to go to Rocky Point instead. It was a nice alternative! The weather was fabulous, and it was a great relaxing trip. Trips are getting less stressful now that the kids pack for themselves, and I just have my normal "trip" lists that I have memorized! I didn't even start packing until Friday night.

I was determined to get to the beach early on Saturday, so I woke up extra early to get out of the door by 8:00. Well my efforts were thwarted by a freeway closure, that put us 30 minutes behind. Then we realized we wanted inter tubes, so we made a 15 minute stop for that. We ended up pulling up to the resort around 1:00. To our surprise our room was ready, so we unloaded the car and headed to the beach. We spent time throwing the football around with the kids, and playing with the Velcro paddle ball. Then I enjoyed some time in the sun, while Aubrie had some bracelets made for her friends. Aubrie is so thoughtful when it comes to her friends. While the vendor was making bracelets, Ethan and Sophia were going through his merchandise. Ethan came up to me and asked me for his wallet so he could buy Sophia a necklace. I couldn't see what she was trying on because I had my head down, as I was laying out on my stomach. Ben told Ethan not to get her the necklace because it was too big for her. I started to get after Ben for discouraging Ethan from buying something for his sister, until he told me to look and when I did I couldn't stop laughing. It was a huge flower shell necklace the size of her fist. It took up half her chest. We told Ethan that there would be a lot of vendors coming by, and to have her look at everything. Luckily he went for that.

After the bracelets were made, we headed out to the water with our inter tube. We love floating out in the water. It's natures Wave Pool. Eventually the tide started to go in, so we got out of the tubes and walked the beach. The kids love looking for sea life, especially Sophia and Aubrie. Ethan loves digging in the wet sand. The weather was so amazing, we spent until sunset on the beach. We then went upstairs and cleaned up for dinner.

For dinner we headed into town. We ate at a restaurant we ate the very first time we every went to Rocky Point. The service was VERY slow, but we thought we would try it again, because it was recommended. The service was VERY slow, again! Aubrie got a steak that tasted like leather. Luckily Ben and I got the fajitas, which were very good, and there was plenty to share with her. The rest of the kids got quesadillas. Sophia liked looking at the boat cruises shoot off their fireworks. After dinner, we headed to Thrifty. As we were walking there, we ran into Ethans soccer coach. Small world! After we all got our scoops of ice cream at Thrifty and sat down to eat, Boston's teacher (Ms. Bills) and her family walked in the door. Boston said she was going to Rocky Point, and mentioned on the way how weird it would be if we ran into her. What are the chances? They both thought it was so cool, and she took a picture with him in front of Thrifty. We had a first at Thrifty this time. Only 2 out of the six of us didn't finish our ice cream. The girl scooped the biggest scoops on the planet, and we all got doubles. Ben and Boston were the only ones who finished theirs. It didn't feel right to throw it all away! When we got home we were all so tired. Aubrie and Sophia crashed on the way home. We watched a little TV and then the rest of us went to bed.

Sunday was our full day at Rocky Point. We woke up late (8:30) and missed the lowest part of the tide, but it felt GREAT to sleep in! The kids got as much time on the rocks, before the tide came completely in. We bought some nets, so they could catch fish. Sophia and Aubrie spent forever doing that.

Ethan spent time digging a big hole out on the sand, and Boston and I played catch with the velcro paddles. After soaking in some rays, the rest of the kids came in, when the tide started to come in. We played some football with the kids for a while, and then we took the tubes in the water and floated the waves.

Ben took the boys and Sophia up to the pool, while Aubrie and I laid on the beach and soaked in some sun. Then we heard the Mango man come by, and being it was close to lunch, we both enjoyed the best Mango's on a stick we have ever had there. Just as we were finishing, the rest of the gang showed up and and got some for themselves. Then it was time for fun on the banana boat and on the jet skis.

I joined them on the Banana Boat, and we had a great time. The guy driving the boat had fun going really fast and then slowing down. We had a fun bumpy ride. The kids were laughing the whole time. After the banana boat, Ben took the kids out on the jet ski. Last time they did the jet ski, the boys didn't like it. They loved it this time, and Aubrie got to drive...steer?? When they got back, Ben watched the kiddos while I got a massage. I love getting the massages on the beach! It's so nice with the breeze and the sound of the ocean! Aubrie didn't want to leave with the others, and so she parked her towel by me. After my massage, I decided I was going to pay for her to have one. She works her body out a lot with gymnastics, and I thought it would be a nice surprise, and a good reward for her good grades. Aubrie was excited and a bit nervous to get one. She made me promise I would stay close and watch. She LOVED it! Thinking she will be wanting one from now on, when we go!

After our massages we all stuck around for about another hour and then headed up to the pool for another 30 minutes, before we headed back to our condo. We ended up staying outside for 9 hours. When I told Ethan we needed to leave the pool so we could eat dinner he said, "WHAT? I haven't even had luch yet!". It was true. We had a variety of snacks, mangos, etc., but we were having so much fun we played right through lunch till dinner. We have NEVER done that before. We decided since it was Sunday, we would make dinner and skip Thrifty. Ben made spaghetti and meatballs I packed, and we had it with french bread and fruit. I was surprised that we didn't hear complaining over skipping out on Thrifty. After dinner, they spent some time on their DS's while I cleaned up. Then, we ate some candy and popcorn, and played our new "You Have to be Kidding Me" game. Its a kid version of "Would You Rather."

We played that twice and then the boys watched sports in the family room while Aubrie and I watched some movies in one of the bedrooms, while Sophia slept. Eventually the boys joined us, because the TV version of Bourne Ultimatum was on. The kids LOVED that movie and I had fun watching it with them, even though I should be embarrassed to say they watched it! Ha! After the movie, Aubrie and I went to bed, Ethan put himself to bed after reading a book, and Boston and Ben stayed up a bit more to watch some sports. I was exhausted after a long day on the beach.

Monday we woke up at 7:30 and packed up and headed to the beach. The kids enjoyed the low tide, while I soaked in some sun. The kids played football with Ben one last time, and then I took the girls out to float in the tubes. We left the resort around 1:00 to head back home. I so DID NOT want leave this time. This trip was way to short, and pulling up to our house was torturous, because it meant unpacking, homework for Aubrie, and back to the school/extra curricular grind. Thankful for a few days of bliss, though!

"Goodbye Grandma"

2011-10-07T12:00:00.001-07:00

Last month was a sad one for me. After 6 years of living with us, my Mom moved. Her brother offered her to live with him, and when we caught wind of it, we knew this was a good thing for her to do. The kids are older and busy now, and besides spending her time with Sophia, she didn't have much else going on for her here. We were worried about her and her social life, and realizing Sophia would be going to Kindergarten next year, she would be even more lonely. We knew she would be moving since the beginning of July, but it just didn't seem real until the movers came to put her stuff on the truck. Then it hit me! It's so weird to come home to an empty house during the day, and her room being just a guest room now. I was really worried that Sophia would have a really hard time. She was crying and sad the night before she left, but she seems to be ok now. Of course, she has only been gone a few weeks, so Sophia may still think she is just on vacation. I think the holidays will be hard.

It is a good thing though. She is doing great out there, and has a busy social life. She lives in a community with people her age, and is doing activities all the time. Sometimes you have to put your own selfish needs aside, and do the hard thing. That is what I had to do. I'm happy she is doing well. She needs to live her golden years with people her age, having fun. I'm glad she was here for the early years of my children. She was a good example of love and kindness. She also spent a lot of time with them doing puzzles, swimming, coloring, doing playdoh, reading, and taking them to the parks, trips to get ice cream etc. That is when my kids needed her most. It was a blessing in their and our lives. She will be missed.

LIfe is Busy! Life is Good!

2011-10-07T11:39:00.000-07:00

Life is at a pace I can't seem to keep up with these days. There is always a laundry list of "to do's" that sit there not getting touched. I think its the first time Ben has asked me to spend money, and I'm not doing it. He wants me to find new family room furniture, a new bed for our new heavenly Marriot mattress, and tile for our laundry room. I'm lucky to get the bed made, do the laundry, and have the family room picked up. It's not like I'm sitting around doing nothing. I'm always busy. A day seems like its over before it begins. There is always something. I feel accomplished if I get out of my work out clothes and in the shower before noon.

That is one thing that is taking up my time, but I need it! I have been hitting the gym hard. I think I'm repenting from a slothful summer. My friend called me a few weeks ago to join her for a boot camp. It is HARD, but I am loving the results. I always feel better when I work out. I usually work out after the kids go to school. I would love to do mornings and get it over with, but we have 6:30 scripture study. Yesterday I realized this is our 3rd school year doing it. I'm so happy that we have stuck with it. I know they don't get something out of it every morning, but it sets a good tone, and gets them in a good habit.

Aubrie has to leave her at 7:45, the boys leave at 8:25, and unless Sophia has school, I am out the door. There is always some errand to be run, and before I know it, its noon. Sophia still naps around 1:00, so that gives us about an hour for lunch. I usually try to do a reading lesson with her at that time. I am using this great book my friend told me about. I wish I knew about it when I had Aubrie. It's an amazing program and Sophia is already learning to read. She is so excited, because she LOVES books. Ethan and Sophia are my lovers of books. Ethan reads every night, without being asked. He LOVES to learn!

The kids all get home around 3:45 and then its crazy busy! Aubrie has gymnastics three times a week. Two nights she goes three hours and the other, she goes two. Sophia does gymnastics, also. Boston is doing football (which has been a disaster of a team, but has been a good lesson). They are all doing Soccer. Ethan is doing Excel and has only had one game. Aubrie and Boston are on amazing teams. Boston's team has great teamwork , and passing skills. They all hustle. Aubrie is back with the Cheetah-Bears . She is so happy to be back on that team, and Boston is loving the feeling of success again. They are all doing piano. Sophia is doing Lets Play Music, and LOVES it! I bought her a Hello Kitty CD player and she plays the CD in the morning and plays EFY CD's at night when she goes to bed!

So with all that, mixed with scouts, and activity days (for Aubrie, and for me as a leader) and all of Aubrie's homework, things are busy. I don't have much time for playing, but am happy at the pace. It keeps things moving, and keeps the kids from being idle. I still get to sit and watch my nightly shows with Ben, and all the other projects really don't matter in the long run. There is a time and season for EVERYTHING. This is my time to give to my kids. Soon they will stop needing me as much...and then I'll have tile, furniture, etc....and I'll wish I had young kids instead! Life is good! I'm enjoying every minute!

Father and Son at The "Nelly" 2011

2011-10-06T18:20:00.001-07:00

Ben will be posting text soon

Chicago

2011-10-06T18:07:00.001-07:00

Chicago trip.....ben will be posting text soon!

All In "The Program"

2011-10-06T17:34:00.000-07:00

This year was Sophia's first year in the Primary Program, and Aubrie's last year. So it was a bit bitter-sweet for me. I was so grateful, however, that I was lucky enough to have all my kids in the program at least for one year. All the kids, but Boston, were sitting on the same side, and luckily we could see Boston up on the top row, so I spent the whole time trying to give them all equal "looking" time! That was a lot of work! LOL

Aubrie had to give a talk. Her talk was on "How choosing the right has blessed her life". She spoke about certain standards she has kept that will help her keep the Strength of Youth standards when she is a Young Women. She told about her decision not dance at a Sunday recital when she was four, and her decision to call and ask if she could watch a particular PG 13 movie, when she was at birthday party a few years back. She did a GREAT job! We had several people tell us that.

Boston and Ethan did very well with their parts. Boston memorized his, and Ethan read his. They both looked really sharp in their suits! They both sang all the songs and knew all the words. Ethan's class had a special singing part, and Ethan got a bit shy then, but I could still hear him. During the program all the boys sang "Praise to the Man." Ethan and Boston sang their loudest then. The Spirit was strong when all the young boys sang that song!

Sophia was a hit! She stood in the front the and she sang louder than anyone. She knew a lot of the words, and just faked the ones she didn't know. Not only did she sing, but she rocked back and forth to the music as she sang. She also memorized her part, and said it loud and clear. Everyone was talking about her, and I could even overhear people that didn't know she was my daughter talking about that "cute girl in the pink polka dot dress that sang louder than everyone." My Mom was loving it, as it reminded her of me at that age! I could see her tear up in the back. Sophia really enjoyed being up there, and you could see it. I hope she doesn't lose that zeal for life, and not caring about what others think. Even though they all just adore her!

By the end of the Program I was exhausted from laughter.

Oh, one of the funniest things about the program was when one of the Deacons picked up a piece of bread that fell on the ground and put it back in the tray. We were glad he wasn't passing to us!

Paino Recital 2011

2011-10-06T14:58:00.000-07:00

The weekend before school started up, Aubrie and Boston had a piano recital. They are now back with Heather. She missed teaching them, and fit it in her busy school schedule. She combined with another teacher, since my kid are her only students. Boston played a song by Mozart, and a Star Wars Medly by John Williams. He probably would have played Clocks by Coldplay, if she would have let him. He plays that song every morning. In fact, a few weeks ago, Boston said there was a guy in the lunch room at school with a piano, advertising for his piano lessons. His friend got on and played a song out of his piano song book. Then Boston asked if he could get on and he played Clocks, of course. All his friends came over to watch and listen. Since then, he has been tagged as the musical kid! He said he is trying to get together a band! Ha! Ok, so back to the recital. He did a great job! The Stars War Medly was the hit! Lots of clapping!

Aubrie worked really hard on her piece. She played Morning Mood by Evard Grieg. It is a very pretty song, and it was difficult to play. I'm impressed that she stuck with it! She also had a great response from the audience. The kids also had to write up reports on their composers. I liked that they had to do that! It makes them really appreciate music more. I'm thankful for Heather, and her love for my kids and her patience when they go through there "musical slumps!" They are becoming great pianists. I can't wait till they are playing hymns from the song book for family home evenings! That what matters to me.

August 2011 Beach/Disney Trip

2011-10-06T14:14:00.000-07:00

So here we go, round two with the Beach/Disney except this time we were at the Hendrickson's. They were so great to accommodate us. We loved staying there. Aubrie had the girls to pal around with, and their boys are also our boys age. We got to their house Thursday night. Their girls were at girls camp till the following morning. So we woke up and went to Disney first thing, and then LouAnn met us with the boy later in the day. We were able to get on Star Taurs twice in a row, and were happy to FINALLY get all the segments. Not only did we get all the segments, but I was the spy on one of the rides. It was the first ride we rode when we got to the park. Sophia started freaking out, saying she didn't want to ride the scary ride. She was getting it confused with the Tower of Terror since you can't see the ride till your on it. We finally got her on it, and she liked it. Our next ride was Space Mountain, and she fought us the whole time. She was screaming as we were sitting down with her, and so Ben just had to walk off, she was so hysterical. We realized we scarred her by blindsiding her with Tower of Terror the last time we went to Disney. She still will not ride Space Mountain, and even if I mention it to her she gets upset. Disney wasn't very busy, and the weather was great in the morning. We spent the other half of our day over at California Adventures. We didn't ride the roller coaster last time we were there, and so we HAD to get that in! Also, we rode the new Arial ride for Sophia. Our last ride of the night was Soarin over California. We waited in line, right before you get on the ride for 30 minutes. They wouldn't tell us what was going on, but we knew someone had to be hurt. When we got off the ride, we saw a family crying and then saw a person on a stretcher gettting worked on. We still don't know what happened to them, but since they started the ride again, we assumed it had nothing to do with the ride.

Super exited waiting in line face!

Saturday we all met up at the Beach again. It was another relaxing day on the beach. We had to cut it a bit short, so we could get to the Angles game that night. Jon and Lou had 4 tickets, and they invited us to go. It was so great being there. I remember my Dad taking me to the games when I was a kid. I LOVE watching baseball at the baseball stadiums. The crowd is different than any other sports crowd. So great to be there! The Angles stadium is so nice now.

Sunday we went to church with the Hendrickson's. The kids thought it was cool to go to church with their friends. Sophia had no problem going to primary by herself, and Aubrie was elated that she got to go to Young Women with Jamie. I went to Relief Society by myself. It was a great ward. The building was really cool. It's a two story building and has two chapels. The kids thought it was the coolest thing. While there, we ran into the Cooks (Andy and Carrie). It was nice to see her. Later that evening we had a BBQ at the Hendricksons with the Hellewells, and Nelsons. It was so nice to be surrounded with old friends. This trip made me really think about moving there. I realized how much I loved being with our friends, how much I miss the weather, and the people there. It's so laid back, and low drama. I love it there! It actually got Ben wanting to move there, too. Its now in the back of our minds, if there ever is a possibility. It's in the Lords hands, now that he knows we would consider it. So many things I would miss here, and so many things I wouldn't. Ok, can't think about it now. So many attachments here! Anyway, it was a GREAT trip! Also on this trip we were introduced to "Kids History" on youtube. Check it out sometime! You have to watch them a few times to appreciate them!

Madrid Soccer/ Music Graduation

2011-10-06T13:52:00.000-07:00

In between our two trips to California, Ben slipped in another trip of his own, as he met up with Chad Snow for the Real Madrid/ Chivas Mexico Soccer game. Both of them served their missions in Spain, and he invited Ben to the game. I was excited that he could go! He had a great time, especially since Madrid won 4-0!!

As the summer was winding down, so was Ethan's music class. He has been in the Let's Play Music program. It is a three year program, but fortunately he was able to do the two year accelerated program, and he graduated the end of July! At the end of the program they compose/write their own song. I'm so proud of his originality, and love for music. He doesn't love to sing, but he really likes to play the piano, and make up his own stuff. I'm glad he stuck with it. He was the only boy in his class! He is now in piano and doing great. I hope he sticks with that! At the graduation all the kids had to play the song they wrote. When he played his, he was standing and moving his legs. He was FEELING it! The parents got a good kick out of it. What a funny boy! LOVE HIM!

On a side note, here is the "eco friendly" robot Ethan made at Robot camp. He also made a real robot. He had a great time. Notice him in his gymnastics jersey. He loved taking gymnastics. He is strong and fearless. He made the team over the summer. Once soccer started it was way too much. Then mad science conflicted and he chose mad science instead of gymnastics. He was sad when they cancelled mad science!

July 2011 California Beach/Surprise Disney Trip!!!

2011-09-29T13:23:00.000-07:00

Well since plans to Canada and China didn't pan out this summer, we decided to take the money we were going to use for that and buy Disneyland passes. That decision was made when I realized that Sophia was tall enough to ride most of the fun rides. We didn't tell the kids about Disneyland, and just told them we were spending time with the Hellewells and at the beach. They were complaining a bit about that, because they were having some feuds with their kids over the holiday, but when we arrived, you would have never known! The kids were like best friends, as they disappeared all having fun playing their various activities. The boys bunked with their boys and had fun doing boy things, and Sophia had fun playing with the younger two. Aubrie was the odd girl out, and just did her own thing. We had a nice surprise when we arrived, as we both saw Kristen's stomach was a little bigger than normal. She is having another girl, and we are super excited for them! I immediately had her gift made for her for the next trip we took out there a few weeks later.

Sophia making herself at home!

Kristen and I went to Costco to get food for the next day, and while there I found Aubrie's bedroom set, that we got her when we got back. So going to California served us many purposes! When we got back from shopping we met up with the Hendricksons at our Yummy Mexican food place for dinner, and then came back to play cards !

It was GREAT going out like old times. They are amazing friends who we can easily pick up where we left off, no matter how much time its been. It was like the college days all over again. We finally cut the night off around midnight, because we had a big day ahead of us which started off with a crepe breakfast with everyone. Mark and I had some chatter on facebook about the crepes he taught me to make, and how the Hendrickson's have never had them. It was a joke of course, but we decided a crepe breakfast was in order. It was super yummy, and the kids had a great time eating and playing. As soon as breakfast was over, we cleaned up and packed up for the beach.

I LOVE the beach we go to there. It's Mark's parents private access beach. So it's not overly crowded and I feel really safe there. The kids run around and explore and I don't feel overly stressed, especially since there are a few lifeguards in such a small space. At first the kids complained about the sand, but by the end of the day they were covered and didn't care. The adults just sat around and talked. It was so much fun, and so RELAXING!!! After the beach, we hurried home to get cleaned up and go out to dinner. We went to some cool place down by the beach. The music was really loud, and it was hard to hear, but the environment was fun and the food was good. After dinner, we went home and went to bed, to prepare for our day at Disneyland!!

The kids thought we were going to Danny's. On the way, one of the kids complained they had to go to the bathroom, right around the Disney exit. It was perfect! Ben got off, pretending to find a bathroom, and the kids were like, "There is Disneyland!" We were like, "Yeah, how cool is that! Can't wait till Sophia is tall enough so we can go!" Ben pulled up the Marriot we usually stay at and said, "I know the bathrooms here are clean." The glitch was that during the day they now have a parking attendant you have to check in with before you pull in the lot. We knew the secret would be revealed right then. She asked if we were guests and when Ben said, "Yes, we are checking in today!" the kids were screaming and jumping in their seats with excitement. I wish I was ready with my phone to record it. It was the best surprise, next to the time we went with the Lorenzana's and they showed up at our door on a school day and we said, "Hey! Lets go to Disneyland!" I think this one was even better because we haven't been in so long!

We parked the car, and quickly went to the park. We got fast passes for the new Star Taurs and then got in line for it. When we got to the front it broke down, so they gave us a fast pass for later. So our first ride we did was Space Mountain. I can't even explain the amazing rush I had as we took off, knowing that my whole family was on the ride with me. It was a feeling of excitement, and completeness. All these years of parent passes and trading off kids to ride rides, and here I was with all my kids on my favorite Disney ride. I almost had a tear in my eye, and I'm sure it was part happiness and part sadness knowing my babies are all grown up!

Sophia wasn't too fond of the ride, but surprisingly rode it again later in the day. That shocked me because she cried the first time. You can see here that she wasn't too thrilled!

Our next stop was the Jedi training. We were hoping they would pick Sophia and Ethan, and they ended up picking Aubrie. She was a good sport and went along with it, after trying to get Ethan to switch spots with her.

He was afraid he would get in trouble! LOL

After the Jedi training we rode the new Star Taurs twice in row. There are over 50 different ride experiences, and our goal was to experience each segment before our trip was over. It was SO much fun! The kids LOVED it, and it fun to see if they will pick one of us to be the spies and put our picture on the screen, and also to see what combination you will get. By the end of our trip we hadn't seen all the segments, so it definitely made coming back a few weeks later that more exciting. I swore I would never do Disney in the summer again, but this particular weekend wasn't too bad because of some massive freeway construction that shut roads down for that weekend. It was less busy then when I took Aubrie in February. We got all the rides in at Disney, and then some on the first day. Sophia got to see the princesses, and we were able to get her on the Nemo ride in 15 minutes! We even had time to see the Firework show, front in center. Something we haven't done in a long time. We had to wait for about 30 minutes, and this is what the kids did to bide their time!

The fire work show was amazing, and we were so tired! We pushed till closing that night. We were in line at Midnight for ice cream, and by the time we got it all the kids were all asleep at the table they were saving for us. We definitely feel we got our money's worth that day! The following day we went to the Magic Kingdom for a few hours to get in Star Taurs and Splash Mountain a few more times. It was so empty when we first go there, we were able to ride Splash twice in a row.

We all love that ride, especially Sophia. Ben then took Sophia to see the princesses, while we did something else, that I can't remember now! Ha!

Then we met up with Lou Ann and her kids at California Adventure. It started to get crowded and hot, and so we hit the Grizzly Rapids. Ben hung back with Sophia.

(Aubrie in pink and Jamie and Kori to the left)

Our last stop of the day, before we headed home, was Tower of Terror. Sophia was clueless what the ride entailed because you can't see what it does until you are actually on it. Everyone just kept saying the ride was fun. When it was over Sophia said in a very displeased voice, "THAT RIDE WAS NOT FUN!" Can you tell? I'm not sure making that her last ride was the best choice. You'll find out why soon! After the ride, we said our goodbye's and headed home! What a GREAT vacation! It wasn't China, and it wasn't Canada, but it was a great time with good friends, and the family at Disney!

Meet Rango

2011-07-09T18:19:00.000-07:00

Well we lost another lizard, and so Ben came home with this guy! Actually, we don't know if its really a guy but I call "it" one anyway. Ben bought this Bearded Dragon on a whim while he was at Petsmart getting crickets for our last living lizard. (Which recently died after Sophia picked him up by his tail TWICE!) When Ben handed me the brochure he picked up when he got Rango, it said he would grow up to two feet long! We threw him in the aquarium with the other lizard and just fed him crickets and mealworms. When I was getting my nails done today, my friend (who does my nails) was telling me about their Bearded Dragon and all that is required to take care of him . Aubrie was with me, and so after getting our nails done, we ran to Petsmart for our lacking supplies. Now he lives in a cage with carpet instead of rocks and his food dish is full of fruits and vegtables. We also gave him his requried bath and held him for a bit. So much for getting a low maintence pet! Now we will have to get a "pet sitter" when we go out of town. I have to admit, he is pretty cute, and fun to play with! But I suggest reading a pamphlet about pet care before you actually buy one!

Done with Dive

2011-07-09T17:59:00.000-07:00

This Dive season has been a fun one. I actually have enjoyed having practice every day, instead of twice a week. It was great for getting us up and going for the day, and the boys could work on their skills daily and socialize with their friends there. I also had Sophia do swim lessons while they practiced. She was doing so well, they had to change her age in the system so they could bump her up to level 2! Thanks to an amazing swim teacher years prior! The boys had seven meets and were able to attend five of them. The last three Boston received second. He kept closing the gap more and more each time between him and his friend from gymnastics. Ethan was getting first every time. He was way above the kids in his division, but not competitive enough to compete in Bostons. He was mad that he was with the "little kids", and wanted to move up. I was proud that he would rather be challenged then get an easy first place. However, the coach wanted him where he was, so thats where he stayed.

Last night was the Dive Championship. Talk about a LONG night. It started at 5:45 with warm ups and ended about 9:15. Luckily it was a NICE night. It was 100 with a nice breeze and we were in the shade the whole time! MUCH better than last years championship.

This year they did all the age groups together, so it was fun watching the older advanced kids dive. Aubrie was dying to get on the board, and told me she wanted to dive next year. That would mean and hour and a half of practice (combined) Monday through Thursday, and 3 hours worth of dive meets! Hmmmm.

Ethan ended up getting second. He botched his back flip, and some kid we haven't seen before showed up and beat him. Boston got second, also. There was only a tenth of a point between him and his friend. He knew that, and was excited but also a little bummed that he didn't do a harder dive to take first. He was almost hitting his head on the board at his practice the day before, and so his coach had him do a reverse instead of an inward. Regardless, his dives were AWESOME! So was Ethan's front flip. Hearing the "Wows" in the audience was enough for them!:) And seeing them improve was awesome. It was a great dive season for me, because there were NO accidents! Every year I ask myself, "Why do I let them do this sport, again?" Oh, because they love it!

Boston's 1& 1/2

Ethan's back tuck

Ethan's 3 step to a front tuck

Boston's straight back flip

3rd Annual Fourth in Utah

2011-07-09T10:48:00.000-07:00

Ethan's robot class got out at 3:30 on Friday. I hadn't realized that was butting up to Fourth of July weekend. We planned on taking our annual trip with Matt and Nicole this year, and when I realized we couldn't leave till Saturday morning, we weren't sure if it was worth the trip. At the last minute we decided to go up right after his class, and stay the night in Beaver. Aubrie's best friend ended up having her birthday party that Friday, also, so as soon as the party was over, we grabbed her and Ethan and headed out of town. The ride up was a little congested, and then we realized we would be losing an hour. That put us in Beaver at midnight. We all crashed when we got to the hotel, and were up at 8:00 to get ready and eat before we headed to Provo.

Day 1

We got to Provo around 11:30. We went to the Provo temple grounds and laid on the grass for a bit, before we met Matt and Nicole at the BYU bookstore. The boys bought Jimmer Jersey's and we spent a large portion of the time in the toy section. We got Subway in the Cougareat, and then we walked down to Heleman Halls. We checked out the new Cannon center, and walked around the Cafeteria. Wow!! That place has had a complete makeover, and the food looked a lot better. One thing I didn't like about it, was that they didn't have the long cafeteria style tables. Those were the the best. You could get your whole Ward at one of those. Those were some of my best memories. Our Ward kind of had our own table, and we would spend a huge portion of time eating and talking, and having a good time! Ethan and Boston were in heaven though, thinking of how they could eat whatever they wanted when they came there.

After we toured the Cannon center, we walked over to our dorms. Mine were locked up, and so we just peeked in the window. The common area now has a pool table and Foosball tables. That would have been nice to have when we were there. Of course, there wouldn't had been room for all our many rounds of Ultimate Spoons! On our way out of Heleman Halls, we walked by two girls entering Hinkley Hall (the hall that housed the guys in my Freshman Ward). Ben asked if Aubrie could go with them to check out the dorms. Aubrie wanted me to go with her. Luck would have it, they were on the same floor as the guys from my Freshman ward, and luck would have it further that their room was the room of my Freshman boyfriend! LOL I couldn't believe it. What were the chances? The rooms had been redone, and now have sinks and a vanity in them. Aubrie thought the dorm was so cool. She said it wasn't what she expected dorms would be like. She thought it would be like one big open room with bunk beds. She got super excited and I think is now a little pumped about going to BYU! After our tour, we walked back up to campus and went through the library, before we left. I always love walking the campus!

After BYU, we went to the hotel and checked in. We stayed in the newer one right by the Courtyard. The rooms are nicer and there is free breakfast, however, the pool is awful. Ben called the front desk and asked if we could go to the Courtyard to swim. They said it wouldn't be a problem. They all know us, since we are there so often. So now we have the best of both worlds; Nicer room and the nicer pool! A few minutes after checking in, we got a call from Matt that their car was having problems. Ben found Matt a rental car, and he took him to get it. Their transmission had gone out, and so they would have to wait through the weekend before they could have it worked on. So I stayed in the room and chilled with the kids while Ben helped out. They played video games and watched TV while I dove into my book, I had been reading on the car ride up!

After chilling in the room for a bit, we grabbed dinner at Wingers. The Stadium of Fire was that night, so it was a perfect night to go, since it's away from the Stadium! After dinner, Matt and Nicole met us at the hotel and then we went out on the lawn and grabbed a spot for the Fireworks. The kids had fun playing their DS's and Ipods, and throwing a ball around. Then a family showed up with glow sticks and gave some to our kids. The kids had fun combining their sticks to make hula hoops, jump ropes, etc. The firework show was great as always, but just as the finale started the sprinklers came on. It was quite the site watching several families frantically collecting their blankets, etc . After the fireworks, it was close to 10:30. We went back to the hotel, and everyone went to bed, while I tried to finish my book.

Day 2

The next morning we slept in and then packed up and headed up to Matt and Nicole's hotel, and then we carpooled up to Lagoon. The kids have never been and we thought it would be fun for them to do with their cousins. The ride part of the park wasn't too packed. The kids had a blast riding the roller coasters together. They even got to ride Wicked a few times. One thing I like about Lagoon is that a lot of the roller coasters have a lower height limit. You only have to be 46 inches to ride Wicked. We took turns watching Sophia and Lacey, so we could all ride the rides. Around 1:00, it was getting really hot so we went to the water park. It was PACKED!!!! It was nice to cool off, but it was so annoyingly busy! We were done after about an hour and a half! The kids had done all they could without rented tubes, and I was ready to get back in the shade that the main park provided. As we were walking out of the park, they announced that the water park was at full capacity. No wonder we were annoyed with it! We spent a couple more hours in the main park, and the kids got one more Wicked ride in. We left around 5:30.

It was such a great time for the cousins!

Day 3

Monday was the Fourth. We planned on meeting up with the family for the parade, but we slept in. We still got up and ready, and raced over there for the last hour of it. The kids had fun seeing the family, and I had fun catching up with Julie. I'm not the biggest fan of the Provo parade, only because it's always HOT, and it just isn't that exciting to me. So it was nice to sit by Julie and get to talk and catch up.

The kids had fun hanging with their cousins. Boston loved when anything BYU related came by, and Ethan was entranced with anything Military.

After the Parade we headed back to our car, and since we were late to the parade our parking spot was by Pioneer park. When we passed the park, we stopped and let the kids play while we waited for traffic to lighten up. I mentioned to Ben how funny it was that we lived one block from that park when we were first married, but had never been there. Now, 15 years later we finally went and 4 kids later. The kids had fun playing. The older ones loved climbing on top of the slide and Sophia loved the fireman pole!

Around 12;30 we headed over to Dave and Marilyn's for the family BBQ. The kids had fun swimming with their cousins. We then headed back to the hotel to rest up a bit before fireworks. We met Matt and Nicole at Cafe Rio for some dinner, and then we headed up to Pleasant Grove to Jim and Eliece's for our own fireworks. Ben picked up two huge boxes before we went up there. All the cousins had a blast lighting off fireworks. (no pun intended) It even was raining at one point, but that didn't stop them one bit. As I sat there on the lawn talking and watching the kids have fun lighting fireworks, I saw my life come full circle, as I flashed back to me and my cousins lighting off fireworks, as the adults sat in their chairs on the lawn and talked. I remembered how much those memories meant to me, and realizing how much they will mean to my kids, brought me so much joy at that moment. The cousins were laughing and joking around, and Ethan was so excited to be able to light off fireworks on his own, he didn't even stop to watch them go off before he raced off to get another one. At the very end, Boston lit a firework that had a short fuse, and burnt his finger a bit. Once I got him fixed up and we were walking to the fireworks, he said, "This is the worst day!" I asked him if he didn't have fun lighting fireworks and playing with his cousins. He said, "No this has been awesome"! We watched the Pleasant Grove fireworks from a grassy field nearby. It was another great show, and once again we got the nice surprise of sprinklers! After fireworks, we headed back to our hotel. We didn't get in until 11:30.

Day 4

The next morning we were all ready to head back to Arizona, when Ben surprised us with an extra day. Everyone was excited. We started our morning with Bridal Veil Falls. The hike is always fun. There are a few "scary" parts that the kids always get excited about. After the hike, they played at the bottom pool for about a half an hour, while Ben and I put our feet in . There was a log that the kids walked to get from the bridge to some rocks at the bottom of the falls, and Sophia had fun going over that. She did it over and over. It was natures balance beam for her!

After Bridal Veil we met Matt and Nicole at the BYU bowling alley. While we were waiting for our lanes, we spent our time playing air hockey and other games in their arcade. The kids all pulled their tickets together and got a cheap plastic tipped dart board! We all had fun bowling. Sophia got excited every time she knocked down pins. It was nice and relaxing as the kids all helped Sophia and were competent enough to bowl for themselves. Aubrie beat me (no big surprise, since I'm the WORST bowler). She was happy to come in second. After bowling we got some Jamba Juices and sat on the lawn. EFY was in session so their were high schoolers everywhere. As we were sitting on the grass, I noticed I still had a few boxes of Pop-Its in my purse. I pulled a few out and threw them at a group of EFY kids as they walked by. It scared them, and the kids thought that was hilarious. So they spent a good half hour doing that. A student nearby was watching the whole thing, and was laughing his head off. After our Pop-Its adventure, we strolled over to the new FSLC. The building and grounds were beautiful. They have a nice water feature in the middle of the courtyard. The kids were walking along the wall and the next thing we know Ethan and Sophia are playing in it!!!! Ethan said he fell in, and Sophia had nothing to say. I think if I was a kid a nice cool water feature would sound like a nice solution to a hot, sweaty day!

After BYU, we headed up to our friends, the Godowns. He was our pool builder, and we have all been friends ever since. It was nice to visit them and see their house and kids. Their house had all these raspberry bushes, and Aubrie was in heaven. She asked if we could grow them and I just laughed. I kept thinking how nice it would be to live in Utah, until WINTER!!! Every summer we want to move up, and then we visit in December and change our minds! I'm thinking a summer house would be a nice compromise:)

After our visit, we headed back to Provo. Once in Provo we did a progressive dinner of sorts. Not where you go to a different place for each course, but took each person to where they wanted to eat. Boston got a burrito and cinnamon twists from Taco Bell. Then we took Aubrie to Panda for Orange Chicken. Then Ethan got a hamburger Happy Meal at McDonald's. Then we drove Sophia to In & Out for a burger and a strawberry shake. The kids felt extra special when we do that! Ben and I got Cafe Rio take out! We took all our food into the hotel lobby and ate and watched TV!

Wednesday we left Provo around 9:30, after a short stop at BYU to return a football. The drive back was nice an uneventful! I'm grateful for no car troubles, and for another great Fourth of July with my family! One day they will all be grown with their families, and I am grateful for all the wonderful memories I can make with them now. Hopefully they will be happy memorable traditions they will want to incorporate into their own families someday!

A "Rockin" Father's Day

2011-07-08T14:15:00.000-07:00

This Father's Day we spent at Rocky Point. I thought it would be nice to get away to celebrate. We left Saturday morning, and came home Monday. We arrived at Rocky Point around 2:0o. Our room wasn't ready yet, so we sat on the beach for a bit and put our feet in the water. The water temperature was the best it has ever been. The weather was also cooler than Phoenix. After sitting on the beach for about a half an hour, we went to the game room and played air hockey till the room was done.

This trip our normal room was not available, so we decided to go with a different tower. This tower was facing the Point, and had a really nice view.

The condo was nice, but there were a few things we missed. Our regular condo had beach chairs, toys, boogie boards, etc. Besides that, we liked the set up. This one had a table that seated 6, so we could all sit together, rather than splitting up between the island and the table. That made for nice meal times.

After we got set up in our condo, we headed to the beach. The tide had gone down a bit, and it was perfect for swimming and jumping waves. We all had a great time in the water. No complaining of salt water and sand! We then headed to the pool, where we hung out till the sun went down. The kids had fun on the water slide, and I enjoyed soaking in a few of the last rays of the day. We then headed back to the condo for dinner. We had tacos & burritos. After clean up, we headed to town for Thrifty ice cream. We all got double scoops (except for Sophia) and one of Ethan's scoops ended up falling down his lap and onto the floor. It wouldn't had mattered as much if it weren't bright pink/blue/purple Cotton Candy. Luckily it all came out, and they gave him another scoop for free. When we got home we watched a little bit of TV and we headed to bed. The drive and sun wiped us out. Once Ben was asleep, Aubrie pulled out balloons and streamers that she had packed herself. We hung them in his doorway. She picked out red and blue for the Red Sox.

Sunday I woke up early and started a Fathers Day breakfast and also got a start on some lemon cupcakes. Usually I make him a lemon cake, with orange frosting. When Ben woke up, breakfast was almost ready. He relaxed a bit, while I finished up. We had pancakes, with whipped cream and strawberries, scrambled eggs, and sausage.

After our yummy breakfast, Ben opened his gifts. He had a bag from each kid. Sophia got him a bag of stuff for his car!

Boston gave him a bag of candy and gave him four dollars. He always gives people his money.

Ethan gave him a bag of snacks and drinks, and he also made Ben a lanyard that said Best Dad. Of course, he made that all on his own, and had it wrapped way a head of time. Aubrie made Ben a tied fleece blanket. She spotted the Red Sox fleece earlier that week, and tied most of it on her own. Ben loved it ! She is so thoughtful.

I got Ben a Red Sox case for his iphone. Aubrie eyed that in the store a few months ago. I think she might be a Red Sox fan herself!

After the gift opening, we headed out to the beach.

The tide was low and it was time to go sea creature hunting! The kids had fun looking for fish, etc.

Sophia loved the little shell crabs. Those entertained her for hours.

We also had fun laying at the shore line on our stomachs and letting the waves slowly crash over us. The water temperature couldn't have been more perfect, nor the weather. Later in the morning, the kids started buying things from the beach vendors. Of course, there was a new round of bracelets, and the girls got sundresses. Boston got a cool pair of sunglasses, and Ethan bought a shark tooth necklace. The kids were ready for the pool, but I was loving the beach, and stayed and slept for a bit, while Ben went up to the pool with the kids. I joined them after about an hour. We all had fun in the pool, and on the slide. This time I brought an inter tube to go down the slide. We went so much faster! Before we knew it, it was lunch time. I went up to finish the cupcakes, before Ben joined me with the kids. We had lunch, and then Ben went down for a massage on the beach, while me and kids chilled in the condo for a bit and frosted cupcakes. We then went back to the beach, and he played with them in the water while I got a massage. It was so HEAVENLY!!! I will definitely have to do that again.

After the massage we spent a bit more time in the water. We had the inter tube and took turns in it, letting the waves take us in to shore. That was a lot of fun. It was hard to pull ourselves away. Next time I'm bringing more tubes! After tubing we went back to the pool for the day. Sophia couldn't get enough of the slide. I had fun in the water, and laying out on the shelf in the pool. Finally, I pulled myself away to go make dinner. Dinner was baked chicken, angle hair pasta, green beans, pears, and french bread. Dessert was lemon cupcakes with orange cream cheese frosting. Ben was suprised when I pulled them out, having no clue I had made them. It was a yummy dinner. Too bad Sophia fell asleep before it was ready!

After the dinner we and played Would You Rather. We had fun playing that game. There are times where you draw a card and have to do something crazy. I had to get on my hands and knees and shake my booty to the beat of a song. Ben pretended his phone wasn't working, and just b-bopped, in reality he was recording me, and that was why he couldn't play music. That reminds me that I still need to erase it! The kids were laughing their heads off. We had fun watching the other people do crazy stuff. After the game, we headed to the beach for a night stroll. The kids had fun writing in the sand and putting their feet in the water. Aubrie and Boston also had fun racing each other. After the beach, we headed back to our rooms and to bed. We skipped Thrifty this time, after loading up on cupcakes and snacks! Everyone was WIPED out and recovering from so much sun!

Monday we woke up and packed up. We loaded the car with everything but the food and the stuff we took to the beach. We spent a few hours at the beach, and then headed to the pool for about an hour before we headed home. On the way out, we got Thrifty! It was a great trip, and a wondeful Father's Day! Ben and I are sold on going away for Mothers's/ Father's day. It's a nice way to get away from it all and thouroughly enjoy being a Mom/Dad!

Goodbye Dance

2011-06-15T14:40:00.000-07:00

Aubrie just wrapped up her 8th year of dance. I can't believe she has been dancing that long! She is such an amazing dancer. She really feels the music and has great stage presence. However, the time has come that she had to make a choice between competitive dance and competitive gymnastics. Since she is starting a new school, that will be more demanding, we decided together that gymnastics would be the better choice. While the studio was a second home for her, if she needed to drop out to focus on school, that would be a hardship on her fellow dancers and instructors. Choreography would have to be redone, etc. Gymnastics on the other hand is more of an individual sport, and dropping out would not significantly affect the team. Also, Gymnastics only requires 4 hours of practice on school nights, while Dance was six. Though she is a hard worker, maintaining honor roll and principals list with 12 hours of extracurricular last year, we know that will not be possible with the new school.

It was a very hard decision for Aubrie. Her emotions about quiting vacillated. Part of her wanted out because of particular girl who had been unkind to her all year, but she was going to miss the dancing and friends tremendously. While the year was wrapping up I was torn, too. I loved the experience it was for her, but was ready to be done after too many competitions, a whole Saturday of pictures, and knowing I had another Friday of Rehearsal and a whole other Saturday for Recital. The Thursday before recital, Devney (the owner of the studio) called a special meeting for performing girls and their parents. We all thought it had to do with the recital. We were wrong. Devney announced that she had sold her studio. That news was good and bad. It was hard to know the studio was going to change, but it made it easier to leave.

Friday Rehearsal was LONG! Aubrie also had problems with the girl who has been awful to her all year. I could hear her talking bad about her in the changing room, and I told the girl that she needed to stop and be respectful. It was so sad to see Aubrie so rattled. After I spoke with the girl, Aubrie said, under her tears, "thanks Mom!" That girl wouldn't look at me the rest of the weekend. I felt bad, but there seemed to be some thankful and surprised Moms. I don't speak up much about things, unless they are REALLY important to me. I've learned that unless its important its not worth the battle. So I think that someone must have told her Mom, because she was on top of her the rest of the recital. So with that drama, I was ready to be done with dance.

That all changed Saturday. I loved watching her up on stage and having a good time. I enjoyed helping her backstage during the second show. At one point, I was watching her side stage and started reminiscing over all her years of dance. I started to tear up a little. After the last Recital show, everyone was VERY emotional. There were a lot of tears shed. Teachers, students, parents, (even I) was crying. It was definitely a bitter/sweet experience. I'm grateful for a dance studio that respected modesty, and values, and still gave them a great time with dance. Sophia was hilarious in her dance, by the way. She was super cute and she had the audience in stitches. The funniest thing was after each somersault she laid spread eagle on the mat for several seconds. I had people commenting on her performance all night. Always the ham. Everyone loves her there! The girls all fight over her. Sophia will be going back next year.

CANDY

Sadly, the only dance I got photos. This was a fun hip hop dance they took to 3 different competitions. They had candy necklaces, rings, and each girl had their own silk screen candy jacket. Aubrie was Sour Patch!

Recital Picture Day

A long day (9 to 7)

Aubrie, Kaelyn & Kennedy (Kaelyn's sister)

We drove to all the competitions together, and to their Disneyland Exhibition. They are practically family!

Funny Girls

(There are a lot more pictures like this floating around)

Tearful Goodbyes

Tearful faces as they say goodbye to dance and Deveny's, where they have gone since they were three!

Aubrie and Devney

Flowers for the performers!

Sophia was so excited for her rose. She kept her rose in a vase by her bed till it died!

Summer Beginnings 2011

2011-06-15T07:09:00.000-07:00

Well summer feels like its flying right out the window. We are now half way through week 3. Dive has been keeping us busy in the mornings. Sophia started swim last week and that has been nice having the 3 at the pool at the same time. Sophia LOVES going. Her teacher ended up being Justin Peugnet, from our old ward. He is so good with her. The boys are enjoying dive. They have had two meets so far. The first meet the coach had them competing against each other. We weren't happy with that, but the boys didn't seem to mind it. The second one, Ethan was put in a lower division. He easily got first place, and on the way to the car Ethan said he would rather be up with Boston because the other division was too easy. I was impressed that he would willingly give up first place for a challenge. Boston thought he was going to be doing very well this year after gymnastics. He was surprised when a friend from the gym, who is at a higher competing level, was on the dive team. There are actually more than that, but they are older. I guess Boston talked about it a lot to his gymnastic friends! Anyway, when his gymnast buddy was at the meet, he soon realized his hopes dominating were gone. The kid smoked him first meet. The last meet, they weren't that far apart. Boston is alright with it. I think the fact that he gets to see his friend from the gym and goof off with him at every meet makes it all fine with him. Personally, both the boys are doing really well. Much improved from last year (Ethan especially). Aubrie went to one of their practices the other day, because we were going to Wet and Wild right after. She convinced Coach Josh to let her dive. She finally got her back dive and back flip a few days before, and she wanted to show him. After, I asked her if she wish she would have done dive this year, and she said yes. I knew she would miss it. Especially being a gymnast!

Our summer days seemed to be so full. I thought once dance was over it would get better. It doesn't seem like it. I seem to remember feeling this way last year. I think that once dive/swim is done things seem more relaxed. It is nice to stay busy, though. I think boredom makes a summer too long! The kids like the busy pace. Probably because they are used to it!

They are doing really well with their daily lists. They put their checklists in sheet protectors and check their lists off each morning with a dry erase marker. They just get up and do it. Of course, Ethan gets off track sometimes, but he, too, has done surprisingly well. I have been doing my own morning checklist. I have been getting up a few hours before swim, which gives me about an hour on my own before I have to wake the kids. I try to get a work out in every morning while they are sleeping. So far I'm good for about 3 days out of 5. It's been great to keep me on task! I actually get the important stuff in that I always forget about. Having scripture reading and prayer on there really helps!

So last Sunday we missed church because I was having ongoing episodes of bad chest pains. While everyone was sleeping, Aubrie woke up on her own and went downs stairs and made breakfast for the family. She made pancakes and fried eggs. What a sweet thing. After breakfast, I looked out my kitchen window as I was doing dishes, to see Boston cleaning up the backyard. He came in and said, "Mom, I cleaned up the backyard!" I started to think, "what is going on here?" We then watched family videos as a family and about 30 minutes into it Ethan asked when we were going to church. We told him we weren't going because I wasn't feeling well. He than scurried off. We could see him going back and forth from the kitchen to the living room. The next thing we know he comes downstairs in his suit (minus the white dress shirt, he had a white t-shirt instead) and with Sophia all dressed up. He asks us to join him in the living room. When we got there, he had a bowl with torn up bread and cups of water for all of us out on the coffee table. He also had the big Family scripture book out. What a sweet kid. Ben gently explained to him why we couldn't take that as the sacrament. That was a good lesson. Then we asked him what the scriptures were out for, and he said he wanted us to read about the Last Supper and the passing of the sacrament. We then sang a song and closed with a prayer. When it was over, Boston said, "I think this has been the best morning ever!" Not the best seller on the fact we didn't go to church, but he was right. It was awesome! It's moments like those that make you think, maybe we are doing something right as parents!

Summer is here!

2011-06-01T23:23:00.000-07:00

Summer is here, but it never quite feels like it until Aubrie's dance recital. We have all the new activities added to the old ones. At least there is not school and homework, just more creative activity planning! We started our summer with a trip to my brothers. We left Friday, after school let out. The kids enjoyed the beautiful weather and time with their cousins. They spent a lot of their time playing soccer in my brothers back yard. I guess there is something to playing soccer in a nice climate! We also had a BBQ with the cousins, went to the beach and saw the 4th Pirates movie. We had a good time.

The week we got back started up dive team for the boys. Aubrie didn't want to do it again, which actually worked for me because she would now be in a different age group, which would mean a different time. The boys are enjoying dive. Boston has really been looking forward to it. He may not like doing gymnastics at the gym, but he still has it in his blood. I think that's why he likes dive so much. Sophia will start swim the following week, at the same pool. She is looking forward to that. Ethan also started gymnastics and is LOVING it! It's perfect for all that extra energy he has. His coach said he is fearless. That sounds about right. Sophia and Aubrie have also moved up at the gym. Sophia is on the "big girl bars" now and learning more things. Aubrie is now on the intro competive team.

This week has been pretty unorganized, and basically trying to re coop from everything. Next week will start the organized summer. This year, instead of earning video game/ tv tickets, I am going to have a list of things they need to do. They will include their chores, reading their scriptures, piano practice, doing their summer bridge workbooks, doing a math fact sheet, reading for 30 minutes and typing (once I buy the program). Once they get all that done, they are free to do something fun. One fun thing will be Wet and Wild trips. Also, when they complete their reading and workbook every day for a week, they get to turn in a certificate for a coupon. We will see how it goes!

So something cute happened this week. Boston and Ethan wanted me to take them to Walmart to get some airsoft guns. After leaving the sporting good department, we walked by the toy department. Boston said, "I want to buy Sophia a toy". He and Ethan found a doll, and when when they got home they wrapped it up. They couldn't wait for her to wake up from her nap so she could open it. They both have been doting on her lately; wanting to read and play with her, and helping her with her chores, etc. Its really cute! I hope this is a sign of a good summer ahead of us!:)

Missed in the shuffle!

2011-06-01T23:22:00.001-07:00

Every time I back track in blogging, things get left out. Here are those things!

Its official, I HATE my new camera. Well it's almost a year old, but it takes the worst pictures. The weird thing is my old camera is the same camera just the older model. Go figure. Anyway, here is a blurry picture of Ethan getting his Character Counts award! He is such a hard worker at school, always going beyond the given assignment. Ms. Nebel was especially impressed when they had to draw a desert picture, and he found a book to label everything he drew. He also did about 50 percent of the class Science Project, "because no one else wanted to do it."

This makes Suns game #3 for Aubrie. Each year the boys get a little more excited. Aubrie also likes watching the game! They were bummed we had to leave early, but after a long day of baseball and this, and AIMS testing the next morning, we had to get home!

Just some fun soccer shots that a Mom gave us. Can you tell its a picture of a picture? ha

Spring Photos. I love how Ethan put on the same clothes he wore for Fall pictures. Like those were his "official" picture clothes or something!

And though I should have had my camera ready for action, Aubrie finally got a phone. She opened it the morning of her birthday, before school. I wrapped up a Coach purse I got for 20 bucks at the outlet store a few years ago, and put the phone in the purse. I told Aubrie not to count on a phone until school started. When she opened her purse she had a considerate smile on her face. I told her to check for the cool pockets inside. There was the phone. She just said, "NO WAY! YOU DIDN'T!" Then she pulled it out, and Boston screamed and tackled and hugged her. They were yelling and screaming. Never seen Boston that excited over something his sister got. I must admit I think I like her having one more than she likes having one. It's so convenient for me! She forgets she has it most of the time, and I have to remind her to take it with her. My worries of her being on it all day long were for nothing. I won't let on how much I like her having one though!:)

Kids Activities through May

2011-06-01T19:19:00.000-07:00

So what has kept me so busy in the last month? (Besides the normal activities)

11 baseball games (Boston's team got 3rd place)

5 baseball practices

4 Football games

5 Football practices

1 Belt Testing (Ethan got his purple belt! Yeah)

2 Dance Competitions (Recital next week)

2 Activity Days

2 Birthdays

1 Anniversary

4 dentist appts

1 music recital

1 Easter Dinner and Egg Hunt with the neighbors

1 Wedding

2 Well Child Check Dr. Appts (Shots included)

1 Poetry Reading

1 Mothers Day Tea (that I made a DVD for)

1 preschool Graduation

1 Pack Meeting

1 Science Fair

2 Testings for Aubrie's new school (many tears involved for one of them)

1 Mothers Day trip to Montezuma well

2 end of the Year parties

1 CLASS DVD put together, and copied for class

1 trip organized to visit bother

and a partridge in a pear tree! Whew! That's just the stuff on my calendar. Who knows what didn't make it! So here are some pictures....the fun part!

Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt

Held at the Park by our house, and sponsored by a local church. Was on a Saturday, and Aubrie had a dance competition, so it was just Ben and the other 3.

Turning in the Golden Egg

Cha Ching!

Easter Morning

Can I get one good picture without silly faces?

I guess a far shot is my only shot!

Man, I look tired! Sunday mornings are exhausting!

Easter Dinner with the Hawkins!

Uncle "Kag"

Silly Girl!

Coming out the shoot for the Egg Hunt! A tad bit windy, but it made for nice cool weather. No melting chocolates this time!

Ethan's Purple Belt Testing

Ethan's picture, out of the portraits I took of his classmates. Just love his smile here! ....................... and His First Grade Crush- Hannah!

Ethan's Poetry Reading

Boston's Wolf Badge

Well we weren't sure if it was ever going to happen, but he finally got his Wolf badge. He earned it, along with about 12 arrows last November, but there was a new pack leader called who didn't know how to go about getting new badges. Month after month we received apologies when we left pack meeting empty handed. His leaders started to joke that he would be getting his Bear and Wolf on the same day! Boston worked hard and we are proud of him!

Ethans Music Recital

Mothers Tea!

The Spread!

(I chose the lemon cakes and strawberries!)

Can you guess what one is me?

Sophia's Preschool Graduation!
Sophia LOVED school! She did well, and made lots of friends. She now knows her letter sounds, can write her name, and learned a lot of nursery rymes!

Mothers Day at Montezuma's Well!

It was another nice relaxing Mother's Day. This time all the kids were well, so we made it to Sacrament before we left for "the Well"! It was fun watching Sophia sing to me for the first time:) Tree Climbing! Lunch Time Relaxing Crochet Double tasking! Football, Baseball, etc.

No pictures for stream exploring!:)

Aubrie beat Ben at this game every time. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of them playing!

The "Branch Hat" the kids found for me!

The Science Fair

All the kids participated in the Science Fair. Boston and Ethan's did a "class" project. Both Ethan and Boston did most of the work. Boston said his teacher wasn't going to do one, so himn and a few buddies did it the day it was due. Boston typed it up and his buddies fed him the info.

Ethan's did about 50 percent of his. I asked his teacher about it and she said he was one of the only ones who wanted anything to do with it.

Aubrie coupled up with her best friend, Olivia. They did it on how soda has an effect on tooth erosion. They started way in advance, and put some good effort into it. They got 100 on their science project. Only two projects in her class recieved that grade. Aubrie and Olivia were a little upset, because a friend of theirs changed their project to the same idea, once they caught wind of theirs. Their Mom helped them with the poster board, and used all these special lights and crafty type things. It placed in the science fair. I tried to remind them that they did their own work and came up with their own idea and that was something to be proud of. And also, that it was their idea that placed!:)

The McGee Visit

2011-06-01T18:00:00.000-07:00

Whew, two months gone in a flash! That's what happens when you have two sports (baseball included), all the other normal activities that consume our lives; dance, karate, music, gymnastics, church stuff, end of the year parties, DVD's to make, redecorating, company, etc, etc! Can I just hire someone to blog for me? I'm beginning to realize that my most productive time of day is when I now am currently running kids everywhere, getting them fed, bathed, down to bed, etc. and not necessarily all in that order! Back in the day, when the kids all went to bed at 7:00, I was much more productive. A comedian once said, "I'm sick of following my dreams. I just want to ask them where they are going and meet up with them later!" I feel like that these days, as my dreams of a perfectly clean and orderly house, kids all taking music lessons, all doing activities and up on their Faith in God books, scouts, journals, along with me being on top of blogging, journaling for each kid, exercising at least 3 times a week, keeping up on all my friends and having a social life, reading my scriptures, and staying up on my calling is to hard to follow! As long as the wrong things don't suffer, I guess! But journaling has always been top priority for me. I hate back tracking. It's never as good. So sorry kiddos when you read this when I find the time to make a cute blog book for each of you, when all the details aren't included. This is why I tell you to have a lot of detail when you write in your own journals every Sunday!:) Because Mom doesn't have time for it all anymore!

So, where did I leave off? Ok, right after the girls parties! Next was the visit from the McGee's. It's always nice when we get together. It's so relaxed. They are family to us. We all have our idiosyncrasies, but we know what we got and we love each other regardless. It's always so relaxed. We miss having them my us, and one day hope to all be close again. In the mean time we are left to yearly ( sometimes every other) visits! Since the kids were in school, we only took them out when we were going somewhere. The boys actually were only checked out for one day, when we went to the Body Worlds exhibit.

The first day we were here I took Aubrie out for some shopping with Abbie and Sydney. The girls had fun picking out clothes together. They always like to match or coordinate clothing, even though they don't live by one another. The second day we went to the Easter Pageant at the temple. In the 8 years we have lived here, we never made it over to Mesa for the Pageant. It was always too late for our kids. It worked out perfect for us this year, and we were glad to go with the McGees! It was a nice production. It wasn't the same caliber as the Hill Cumorah Pageant, but the Spirit was strong and the message was wonderful. It was kind of hard for the kids to see, but they still enjoyed it.

Temple at Twilight

Temple at Night

Some preshow entertainment!

Wednesday we took the girls (including Sophia) up to Sedona. Ethan had try outs after school for the talent show, and Boston had a field trip, so we didn't take them. We had a great time up there. We ate at the Cowyboy Club, that I have heard so much about. It was really good. We then did some shopping in town, and then did some hiking. On one of the hikes we found a snake. Its scared Aubrie pretty good. It looked like a Coral snake. We didn't get close enough to find out for sure. We just avoided it.

Checking out downtown.

Our favorite stops were candy store where we stopped for ice cream, and the toy store, where I found an awesome search and find book!!! My kids LOVE those books!

The Cowboy Club

Hiking

Our first hike was down the road from Slide Rock. Ben fell asleep on a picnic table, so he didn't do this one with us. Aubrie loved this hike. These rocks were no problem for her to navigate. Her main goal was getting to the other side of the river, which she eventually did!

Our hike by the bridge!

The trail by the bridge took us to here! We had fun throwing huge rocks into the stream, trying to get each other wet!

Our handsome chauffeur for the day!:)

Our last day we took everyone to the Body Worlds exhibit. I don't have any pictures, because you are not allowed to take any. You can look it up online, though. I loved it, of course. I could have stayed in there for hours. But the boys were over it in about 30 minutes, and the girls were spent after an hour. After we did the exhibit we went through the rest of the science museum. The kids had fun exploring and doing the Bed of Nails. The rest of our time was spent playing games, going out to eat, and hanging out in the hot tub, or just talking. It was a sad day when they had to leave.

The Girls Birthdays!

2011-04-15T23:09:00.001-07:00

This month is flying by so FAST! It's been a whirlwind of sports, dance events, redecorating, and keeping up with everything in between. It's also the quadruple whammy month...3 birthdays and our anniversary (not counting my Dad's birthday & April Fools Day!) Yes, April Fools day is one of my favorite holidays, and I only had time to play one prank this year:(

This week I have been finishing up some decorating, mainly in my living room. Pictures are for another post. This post is all about the girls! A part of me thinks its crazy busy and another part of me likes that I had both their party's back to back. I had Sophia's on Thursday morning, and Aubrie's tonight. I like having preschoolers on weekdays, while the older ones are in school, and Aubrie wanted her party to be when the movie Rio came out. They fell on the same week.

Sophia had been asking about her birthday before Christmas. For several months now she has been saying she is no longer "this many", (as she hold up her three consecutive finger starting from her pinkie), but is now "this many"( as she hold up her three fingers in the middle). It makes us laugh because it does show that she is older now that she can progress from one "3" to the next! However, she thinks one is more than the other. The past two weeks she has been telling everyone that her birthday is "April 16th, and she is going to be "this many" (holding up 4 fingers)! She has been so anxious for her party. Last week we went to the store and bought her Strawberry Shortcake Invitations and she helped me by putting some names on the front. She was so excited to drop them in the mailbox!

Her birthday party was this Thursday. She invited 8 friends. We had it from 11 to 12:30, so she could still get her nap in:) Thursday morning she was up and dressed early. She made her bed and cleaned her room before the kids were off to school. For the next 2 and a half hours she sat around asking when her friends were going to come.

All dressed and ready!

The Party Favors, that included homemade Strawberry Jam!

The Birthday Cake she had been eyeing at Walmart for almost a year.

The party plates she had been asking me for every time we go to Party City!

Her first friend to show was Hattie. She was so excited, and she started to open her gift as soon as she handed it to her. I quickly confiscated it and told her she had to wait until everyone was there.

As the kids funneled in, they all played in the backyard. It was hard roping them in to eat. Lunch was simple: PB&J's (chicken salad on croissants for the Mom's), grapes, cheese and crackers, carrots, strawberries and Capri Suns (waters for the Mom's) all on Strawberry Shortcake plates! This year my Mom was able to be there and help. It was nice! After lunch we played a few games. The first game was "stick the jewel on Strawberry Shortcakes crown". It wasn't hard to rope them in for that game. They all patiently waited for their turns.

After that , we had a simple bean bag toss and then went swimming. It wasn't very hot, so most of them had fun swimming in the hot tub. Two of the girls tried out the slide and diving board. After swimming, we opened gifts, sang "Happy Birthday" and had cake. Sophia LOVED opening her gifts. She got some fun things, and couldn't wait to open them.

After cake, all her friends went home and I set up her new princess tent, where she took a 3 hour nap. Guess the party wore her out.

Tomorrow is her birthday. Ben already came home with one of her presents Tuesday night, a new black kitten. She named him Buddy, and treats him like a baby. She puts him in her baby portacrib, and covers it up with blankets. All the kids LOVE the new kitten, especially Aubrie, who was the first to spot him at Pestmart. She offered to buy him with her own money, but we refused. Ben couldn't stop thinking about him, because he is a sucker for kittens, and had to find some excuse to buy him. Aubrie already has a phone coming to her for her birthday, so Sophia was the next option. Aubrie is a little sad that it's not her cat, but I think she also realizes the benefit of saving a hundred dollars and still getting to hold/sleep/play with it!

Tonight was Aubrie's party. She already had the whole thing planned out before the cruise. Originally I told her she wouldn't be having a party for her 11th birthday, but since we are moving her to a new school next year, I decided to let her have one. She got to invite her 3 closest friends for a fun night! We started at the nail salon. The girls had fun picking out florescent colors for their toes, and enjoyed a full pedicure. They kept ranting about how nice the massage and hot towels felt, and how ticklish it was when they scrubbed their heals. I just sat there looking at Aubrie with her friends, wondering where the time went. She is getting so old.

After the pedicures, we rushed to make it to the movie theatre, where they watched Rio! It was a cute show, with some funny characters. After stuffing themselves with popcorn and soda, they were too full for dinner, so we diverted back to the house for some Wii and swimming. The girls started in the hot tub, and slowly made it to the pool. Once Boston got home from his football game, they all started playing tag in the pool. All her friends get along with Boston. They worked up an appetite and ate pizza around the fire pit. They then hit the trampoline while Ben and I cleaned up. Then she opened gifts and we sang Happy Birthday.

We realized we didn't have any birthday candles, so we grabbed a regular candle and put it on her cake. They thought that was funny!

Now the girls are watching bits and pieces of different movies downstairs (the benefits of Apple TV). I'm sitting her wondering how long until they fall asleep. We have a lot going on tomorrow and I need to get some sleep. Of course, I'm happy that she is having a great time. Aubrie is a good girl and surrounds herself with good friends, and is good at staying away from drama. She is so innocent compared to a lot of girls her age. Thank Heavens! I don't want her growing up any faster than she has to. I still can't believe that she will be 11!

Well, tomorrow we will be having the family celebration for Sophia's birthday. We just hung streamers in her doorway and tomorrow starts another round of cake and presents. I think I need to work out extra hard next week, but it's not going to happen with the McGee's coming into town! This month is hopeless for diet and exercise!

Ok, I'm adding to this a day later. Aubrie had a fun party/sleepover. They didn't stay up terribly late. (About Midnight). They woke up to waffles:)

Sophia woke up to this!

I can't believe she is 4!!! Boo hoo! She had a blast at her family party and opening her presents. Lots of "Strawberry" clothes she had her eyes on at Gymboree.

Ethan modeling her new strawberry skirt!

Boston gave Sophia all his silly bands!

And gave Aubrie one of his Tilly gift Cards! He is so sweet and generous!

Back to the here and now!

2011-03-27T15:32:00.000-07:00

This week was INSANE! Monday was the worst. I had a list a mile long, that included a list of emails, computer work, trips to the store, laundry, etc. Trying to get my land legs back made it even harder. I was foggy headed all of Monday, and it was intermittent the rest of the week. I grabbed lunch with a friend on Wednesday, and in the middle of speaking with her, I started to feel light headed and dizzy, again. I felt like that a few times on the boat, and I was wondering if it was my equilibrium or if I had contracted something! LOL I think sleep deprivation might have been a part of it! Ha!

This week the kids activities did not let up! Boston had a baseball game on Tuesday and his Pinewood Derby right after. In fact, half of his baseball team is in cub scouts with him, so they all came trailing in late with their baseball uniforms in. They had a good game, and ended up winning. Boston had a hit, and a great defensive catch! The Pinewood Derby didn't turn out so great. Well actually it was great, but coming back to defend the title comes with pressure. He placed 3rd, which I kept telling him was GREAT! But when you win first your first year, 3rd doesn't seem so great. The top three were within a matter of seconds. It was so close.

The rest of the week was pretty much a blur till the weekend. Probably because Thursday and Friday were half days. Thursday Aubrie and I made freeze jam.

Friday we were getting ready for family pictures. I decided it's a lot less stressful and HOT to do them in March! I'm so happy I don't have to worry about getting them done around the holidays! Pictures went well, except for Sophia. She wouldn't take a nap (which never happens except on picture day of course) and she was feisty the whole time. She did not want to smile or be serious. I'm hoping they turned out as well as last time. All the kids were PERFECT last time. After pictures we rushed home to change for Boston's first football game of the season. We started to chuckle on the sidelines as the coach kept using the same passing play, over and over. I could tell Boston was trying to contain his frustration. Despite the receptiveness of the same exact play the whole game, it was amazing that they only lost by 4. We are hoping for some new creative plays next week. If not, the team will definitely get that play down by the end of the season! After the game, we got dinner at Paradise Bakery, per Aubrie's request. We sat in the lounge chairs and ate our dinner. We had fun relaxing and singing songs. I 'm sure the people in the restaurant were getting a good laugh out of us!

Saturday was CRAZY! Aubrie had a dance competition in Queen Creek. We rode with the Cliffords. We got lost, and barely got her youngest there in time for her dance. Then I realized Aubrie forgot shoes for one of her dances. We scrambled to gather enough black converse for everyone in that dance, to replace the bright pink ones they were supposed to wear. The girls did great on their dances, but the competition was stiff. The dance studios on the east side are INSANE. You just can't compete on a team level to girls who practice 20 hours a week. Our senior girls did good, and our solo's did awesome. Out of four spots for the "all american" type of award, 2 girls from our studio were chosen. So while there were some disappointments, there were some great achievements. While I was in Queen Creek with Aubrie, Ben had a baseball game for Boston and a school Carnival. Boston's team pulled out another win, and Boston was happy to have another hit. The kids had a fun time at the carnival. They had a dunk tank, that the principal was in, a ice skating rink, tonz of jumpers, rock wall, etc!

Ben was a sweetheart and got my car washed, while I was making my way back from Queen Creek. Aubrie and I got back around 5:30, and Ben and I headed out for our date night at 6:30. Honestly, I was so tired, I think I could have gone to sleep for my date night, but I was glad I sucked it up and went out. We had dinner and caught a movie. There were 5 other couples from the ward in that show. LOL The movie was alright. I was a little distracted because right before, Kim texted asking me if I had her computer. She had left her computer bag at the competition and all I could think about was how she could get it. I just couldn't believe how crazy our morning had been, and then it was topped off with this! I prayed she would get it, and our prayers were answered. This morning she said someone from the Police Department went over there for her and found it, and she picked it up. What a miracle that it was still there. Whew what a crazy weekend! Another vacation please?!

Disney Cruise Day 8

2011-03-27T15:28:00.000-07:00

Day 8 ( Sunday, March 20th)

Sunday we had to wake up early. We had the first breakfast seating at 8:30. OUCH!! It was good though, because we got off the boat first. We had to have everything packed and had to take it with us. Breakfast was our last time to say goodbye to our servers. After breakfast, we had to wait in a lounge nearby for the boat to dock. We were an hour late getting in, so to pass the time I played 7’s with the kids, and Sophia watched Ben play games on his phone. Lucky for us, our luggage tag was the second to be called to disembark. It was cold and raining when we got off. As I was waiting for Ben to pull the car around, I was feeling bad for all the people arriving for their cruise, because of the weatherr. Then, on the other hand, I was wishing I was them! This was the best cruise we have ever been on. The food was excellent, the service was friendly, the amenities and activites were awesome, and the shows were AMAZING! I had the chance to speak to several cruisers, who have been on all the cruise lines, and every one said that Disney far exceeds the others. I agree. While it is more money, it definitely is worth it! I'm glad we gave it a chance. It was hard to drive away from the "Disney Magic!" :) We drove straight home, except for a stop for food and potty breaks. We got in around 5. Enough time to unpack and get situated for school and work the next day. What an amazing family trip. I definitely was not ready for a week or “normal”, and I was still waiting to get my land legs back! I think I’ve convinced Ben to do another one though, so that made it easier to come home. It was time to be back though! We were all welcoming cereal for dinner that first night back, because we were sick of food! The food is good, but after a week, you need a break! Now its time to hit the gym! Good thing I lost 5 lbs before I left, because that gave me 5 lbs to gain!:) I can never resist the endless desserts on those cruise ships!:)

Disney Cruise Day 7

2011-03-27T15:27:00.002-07:00

Day 7 (Saturday, March 19th)

Saturday was hard for me, because I knew it was the last day! I didn’t want it to end! The day was very windy and cold, so we didn’t spend much time up on deck. We slept in again! It felt good! Ben took the kids up to the top deck for the breakfast buffet, and I went to a “ask the captain” seminar. Yes, I am nerdy like that! I had to laugh though, when I walked in the room, all the people there looked like transplants from Sun City. Yes, I was the youngest there by MANY years. Most of them asked questions about the mechanics of the boat. I wanted to know if any (the captain, cruise director, hotel director) of them were married and if so, could their families live in board. Only one of them was married, and he didn’t have any kids. One was divorced. He said that life was hard on their marriage, and the other is still single. Guess I can't sign Ben up for a job on the boat! LOL I also asked how many people were on board, and how many people fit in each life boat. Hee hee! I liked the class though, and found it very informative. After the class, I headed up to get some breakfast on my own. Then I met up with Ben and just relaxed on board a bit before lunch. The kids went to the clubs!

After lunch, Ben took Sophia back to the room for a nap, while I went to the spa for a massage. Ben surprised me with a facial/massage. Doing it the last day was PERFECT! My face needed the extra TLC after all the sun damage, and I could relax, knowing I wasn’t missing out on too many things, since we were at Sea, and the weather wasn’t the best!

The Spa facilities on board were amazing. If I would have seen them earlier, I might have gone to work out, just so I could sit in the nice sauna and enjoy the plush towels and robes, and the nice ambiance in the womans locker room! My massage was so nice and much appreciated!

After my massage I joined Aubrie in the lounge for Bingo. Aubrie was so anxious to play . She had so much fun. Funny how excited she got every time they called a number we had. We didn’t win anything, but she called Ben and told him we won the jack pot! He didn’t think that was funny. We then joined Ben and Sophia in the hot tub. I left early with Aubrie to shower and get ready for our dinner.

The last night was spent in Parrot Cay. It was the "good bye dinner" with a international theme. They put on a show that included cooks coming out with flaming Baked Alaska, and the servers marching around with different flags!

The kids all wrote a good-bye note to our server and assistant server. It was cute.

SURPRISE!!

After dinner, we went to the final show. It was a montage of miniature musical numbers, and showing video of the cruise. They also had one of their variety acts, that we missed, perform. They were a balancing act. From the start I was a little surprised they were performing, since the seas were soooo rocky that night. They were trying to balance 6 pool chairs on one of their chins. When he got the 6th chair on, I leaned to Aubrie and said, “I’m glad we aren’t in the front row this time!” About a minute after saying that, the guy lost control of the chairs and they went tumbling down towards the front row. There were screams and then crying. One of the little boys in the front row was crying that his leg hurt. The mood in the room suddenly changed, and once they carried him off, the rest of the show wasn’t the same. Boston said, after the show, “those guys had a dream and then they lost it!” I felt so bad for them.

After the show, we rushed to our rooms to pack our luggage to put out in the halls. Whatever you don’t put out by 10:30 you have to take out yourself the next day. When we got back to our room there was a certificate for Boston from the kids club, for being the Wii overall champion! He was so excited! I've never been so proud! ha ha! It was crazy trying to get everything packed up, but we got it done and out in time. Then we headed to the atrium for a good bye gathering. There were a few characters out, and it wasn’t terribly exciting. We ditched that, and did some more shopping. Then the kids did the kids club while we went to the last adult cabaret. It didn’t last very long. Afterward we grabbed the kids from the club, and went to bed. The seas were so rocky! I LOVED it! I know that's weird, but it never made me sick and it made it more exciting!

Disney Cruise Day 6

2011-03-27T15:27:00.001-07:00

Day 6 (Friday, March 18th Cabo San Lucas & Captains Gala)

(Written March 18th) Today we slept in and good thing! Ethan got sick in the middle of the night, and then it took me a few hours to fall back asleep. We finally pulled ourselves out of bed around 10:00 and got a quick breakfast, before we caught a tender over to Cabo. Our first stop was to hold the baby tiger. To our surprise, there was a baby lion there, too. Aubrie was most excited to hold them, I think I was a close second. The tiger was a little feisty, so they put it in the crib for a minute. When it was my turn to hold it, she calmed down and then Aubrie and the others had a chance to pet her more. I think that was one of Aubrie's most favorite things.

After that, we went shopping for souvenirs. I got myself a beautiful plate for the kitchen. It has that Spanish look, and has just the right amount of blues and oranges to go with my new color scheme! Aubrie got herself a pair of sunglasses, Ethan got a bow and arrow that broke that night, and Boston got a Soccer jersey. Real authentic Cabo stuff. HA! Sophia got a sliver bracelet that I had already got her in Rocky Point last year. That’s what happens when I run to the restroom really quick and Ben is doing the buying! We were all happy with our purchases, so that's all that matters! (Well Ethan originally wanted a lighter, and then a sling shot, but we compromised on a wooden bow and arrow!)

When we got back on the boat, the girls went to the Oceaneers Club and Ben took the boys to watch some basketball. I sat on the deck and took in the Cabo scenery as we sailed away! It was so relaxing. It really is beautiful there. When I went back to get the girls, they decided they wanted to go to the lab. As I was checking them in, Ben showed up with the boys. Once they were checked in, Ben and I sat on deck and relaxed until it was time to grab the kids for the show. Today they had a matinee for their special show. I like when they have Matinee’s because you can do them before dinner, and then have your night free to do other activities. The show tonight was Dreams. It has been rated the #1 cruise line show for the past 7 years. After the show, I could see why. It was amazing!! From the music, to the props and special effects, it definitely comes out on top out of all the cruise shows I have ever seen. Ben and I wanted to catch the show again, but the kids weren’t up for watching it twice in the same day. After the show, the boys went up to the sports court to play, while Aubrie and I did some shopping:) Ben took Sophia to watch some games. Then it was time to get ready for the semi-formal, the Caption's Gala. Aubrie and Ben got the Lobster tail, and I opted for the Herb Parmesan Crusted Chicken and Pasta. It was delish. It was a nice dinner, and everyone was happy with their dinner choice (the other kids got Alfredo mickey noodles)!

Ethan is asleep once again!! Not till after he ate this time! They got smart and brought his out right away!

Dinner entertainment!

Showing off at the Ball!

Showing off the glass slippers!

Don't leave one behind!

Her Prince caught up to her!

After dinner, the kids hit the clubs while I’m sitting here catching up on today. I ca’t believe we only have one day left! This trip has been so amazing. I see another cruise in our near future! :)

Disney Cruise Day 5

2011-03-27T15:26:00.000-07:00

Day 5 (Thursday, March 17th St. Patricks Day and Pirates in the Caribbean Night)

(Written March 17th)Today started bright and early with our character breakfast. It was great! No waiting in line to see characters. They just came to us while we sat eating our delicious breakfast! I know they have that at Disneyland, but we never want to waste our time in the park eating. We would rather be on rides.

I love this one. Ethan was shy around Minnie and wouldn't look at her because she is a girl! ha!

During the breakfast our server made these awesome hats, out of napkins!

After one on one time with our Disney friends, we headed to the theatre to see Tangled. After Tangled, we headed up on deck for some fun in the sun. Sophia spent most her time in the pool and going down the slide. The boys spent most of their time playing ping pong and Foosball. Aubrie floated around to various activities. After a few hours, we took Sophia down for a nap, and Ethan came with. Aubrie and Boston had their phones, and we let them cruise around the ship as they wanted. They had fun doing their own thing. Eventually they all migrated back to the room, except for Boston. Around 3:00, Aubrie and I took Sophia to see Gnomeo and Juliet. (Did I mention all the new movies they are showing in 3-D!)

After the movie we got ready for dinner. It was a Pirate themed night. Dinner was at Tritons! They had these awesome bandanna's waiting for us!

In the middle of dinner they had a huge limbo dance. The kids had fun doing that!

Dinner was good. I had Macadamia Nut crusted Mahi Mahi. Ben and Aubrie had steak and shrimp. (Big Surprise). Before the evening show, we waited in line to see Jack Sparrow!

The show for the evening was the newly released, Mars Needs Moms. (Our third movie of the day, if you don’t include the ones we watched in our room!) After the movie we headed up on deck for the Pirate Party. It included a lot of dancing, and characters appearances, including a zip lining Mickey Mouse across the boat, as he announced the firework show. I have to admit that watching fireworks off a cruise ship is pretty dang cool! Since Disney is the only cruise line allowed to do it, you are sitting there thinking we are the only ones in the World doing this right now! (Unless one of their other boats did it that day, but why ruin it?!) Disney definitely knows how to do things!

After the party, we headed to the dessert buffet they had on deck, and laid down and watched Pirates of the Caribbean on the Big Screen over the pool, until the kids fell asleep! Now it’s time for me to go to bed!

Disney Cruise Day 4

2011-03-27T15:25:00.000-07:00

Day 4 (Wednesday, March 16th Puerto Valarta)

(Written March 16th) Today started early for me. I was stressed about missing our port adventure. As soon as I saw the sun was up, I looked for land. Land was right out our window, so I called customer service to see when we would be arriving. They couldn't give me a time, so I decided it would be best to just get up and get ready. As we were headed to breakfast we could see the port from our bedroom window! At breakfast the boat pulled up to the dock, but there were no announcements made of us being there or being able to get off. Ben left to talk to customer service again, and ran into the cruise director, on his way. He said they gangway was open and we could leave. We quickly finished up our breakfast and ran to get off the boat. By then it was 8:45 and we were to be to the stop by 9:00. We made it there in plenty of time, and of course, they were a half hour late in picking us up! By the time they showed up I had to use the restroom. I figured I could hold it, and was a little nervous when they said the ride was an hour and 15 minutes, and then realized the ride was VERY bumpy! The ride up to the zip lines was so pretty. Lots of green mixed with beautiful flowers. A lot of bougainvillea! We were in a canopy bus, so we got to enjoy the nice weather. I spent most my time talking to the lady next me, which made the time go by fast. Also, Sophia passed out in lap and Ethan’s in Ben’s, so it was a nice peaceful ride up.

Once we got there, the workers wasted NO time in getting us geared and and ready to go. Everyone got a kick out of Sophia from the start. When they got her geared up they did this to her!

The staff was hilarious with their introduction, and Boston said they were as funny as the comedians we had on the boat. Boston then said, “I know why Dad is laughing all the time. It’s because he speaks Spanish, and these Spanish people are hilarious!” Once they went through their into, they had up on the lines in no time. The kids took to it like a duck to water. The oldest three went first and then I followed. We thought Sophia would be riding tandem. I didn’t get to see her and Ben go because we got ahead of them. I decided to wait for them to catch up, and when I was expecting to see Ben coming down the line with Sophia, all I saw was Sophia zipping down by herself! She was smiling and laughing and ready to walk to the next one. When Ben came after her, he said she had gone herself the whole time. It was so funny seeing her little body zip lining and hearing her squeal in delight. Again, she stole the show with her bravery and cuteness.

We all had a great time! The boys were so far ahead I didn’t see them till the end. Aubrie had fun sticking with us and watching Sophia. I had a GREAT time myself. It was amazing how fast you went towards the end. A few times I was afraid I would crash. There was one lady who didn’t listen and didn’t break when she was asked too, and she hurt her arm. Boston saw it happen, and it didn’t even scare hiim. He said she was old and wasn’t following directions. LOL

When our zip lining was over, we had about and hour to eat at a restaurant there, and do any of the other activities. They had a monkey house where you could go in the cage and pet them and let them lick yogurt off your hand. They were so cute. You could also hold a tarantula or a snake, but the kids didn’t want to do that! After doing all that, we swam a bit in the river. (We were zip lining over the canyon in the jungle.)

We then enjoyed a nice relaxing ride home. All the kids fell asleep and this time I got to take in more of the scenery. I could have taken a nap myself, it was so nice! Overall, the kids voted this the best activity they have done so far. I agree, it was amazing!

When we got back to the boat, we went on deck to swim a bit, and then hung in the cabin a bit till dinner. Tonight dinner was at Parrot Cay. The food was good and the atmosphere was festive! Our assistant server did some fun magic tricks that the kids were trying to figure out all night. After dinner, we got in line for Toy Story the Musical. While waiting for the musical to start, we got talking to the people in front of us, and found out that the husband is from Newbury Park, and knows my cousins and my friends. His name is Bob Tanner. The only reason I’m writing his name down, is so that I’ll remember when I talk to my friends. Talking to them helped pass the 30 minutes before the show started! The show was excellent! Poor Sophia got her cough on the way back from zip lining and it was acting up really bad during the show. I felt so bad for her. After the show we came back to our rooms to chill. We have our Character Breakfast at 8:00 am tomorrow morning!

One of our