It's been awhile

It's been awhile, but it's been a fun while. Nat and I went to a tea party. It was so fun and yeah we dressed up and looked awesome! We were the only ones dressed up, but really, when else can you wear a floppy straw hat? And we match too and that was unplanned. What fun we had!!

What a pretty princess! She got to decorate her own pumpkin. And it looks fabulous! It was a great afternoon spent with a great daughter!

And then there's us. 10 years ago yesterday (19th) Tyler called and asked me out on our first date. It was a blind date but we both knew the sources fairly well. My sister Emily and her Eric. He showed up with flowers, sparkling cider, and an afro head of hair!! hahaha Love! We made Hawaiian haystacks, drank our cider, went bowling and then out for ice cream. Then watched a movie. It was a fun night. So yesterday after piano lessons, the doorbell rings and there stands Tyler with daisies (my favorite), sparkling cider, and he tried to make his hair look afro again. He said, " Hi, would you like to go out on a date with me?" I laughed and kissed him right there on the spot! (Note to everyone- I didn't do that on our first date :0 ) He made arrangements for the kids to go to a friends. He made the same dinner we had 10 years ago. We had sparkling cider. We went bowling and had ice cream. It was perfect! What a serious lucky duck I am! Thanks for asking me out Love! I liked you back then but I LOVE you now!!

I'm not one of THOSE moms....

With the most wonderful time of the year happening ( school starting) I realize more and more every year that I am NOT one of those moms. You know, the ones that cry and cry when their kids walk through the doors of the elementary school. They linger around the parking lot and wish that summer would last forever. That is not me. I lovingly take our annual pictures, walk them to there classrooms, give a big hug and kiss, and then skip happily home. Yes, that's the kind of mom I am. And I mean no hurt feelings if you are the parking lot mom. It's hard, it is, to send your kids out into the world of school. But I am loving the sweet rewards that it has to offer. The kids love school, I love school, and Dallin is really loving mom to himself all day.

Nat started 1st grade. It's sort of weird thinking that she goes all day. But she is handling it well and she has an excellent teacher.

Mason is in 3rd grade. Wow. How did that happen so quickly? He is ready to do well because, "I need to be smart so I can go to college so then I can get drafted to the NBA." Good plan Mace, good plan.

And our usual first day of school treat. Chocolate chip cookies on the red plate. All in all, I'd say that we are starting out successful.

Summertime, is here

Summertime is here! I think. The heater comes on still some mornings, so I can never be too sure. But we have done some fun things since school got out. We took a trip up to Canada to see family. We went on the paddle boats. It was hot, and Dallin was afraid of falling in. Aahh, good old family fun. It was really great to see Canadian family.

We , umm how come I'm typing in blue and everything is underlined? Seriously, I need some help. We went down to Utah after Canada and saw my family. We stopped at Temple Square and it was awesome! I wish we could have stayed longer. What a beautiful place.
And then home again to stay. Mason played his first year of basketball at the YMCA. Tyler was his coach. It was so fun to watch these boys play. Mason has really grasped on to the idea of hoops. His biggest problem? And I quote," Mom, I have a problem. Which team should I play for when I get to the NBA? I like the Jazz, but what if I'm drafted someplace else?" We'll cross that stream when we get there buddy. It's fun to watch him in the driveway, or when he and Tyler sit on the couch and watch the Slam Dunk contest. And Tyler, of course, is as proud as puddin.

Blake Griffin jersey for his birthday.

We, went to a Sounders soccer game. We don't really do soccer. I do know that you can't use your hands! We cheered when everyone else did. And booed when they booed. It was lots of fun though. Go soccer!


And then the big day came. Mason turned 8 on August 5th and was baptized the next day. What a special day it was. He and another girl from our ward were the only ones for that day. I was so proud of him and the tears just kept coming. He was a bit emotional as well and it was so special for us. What a great day.

We had Tyler's parents there as well as well as his sister Kerbi and her 2 girls. My parents came and we had a house full. But I said," I'd rather have a messy house full of guests, than a clean house with no one here." And that's the truth. It was a really awesome weekend. Then off to cub scout camp 4 days later. He loved that. And we just got back from camping today. Yes that's right, camping tent style. We went to Deception Pass with Tyler's cousins from Vancouver. We had fun and ate lots of hot dogs over the fire. Somehow, they just taste so good out in the woods.

Well now I 'm up to date. We've done alot and had some fun. Hard to believe that school is right around the corner.

Just so you know..

Just so you know the heater clicked on today and yesterday. THE HEATER PEOPLE!!!! THE HEATER!! And for some funny reason I thought it was July.

I have....

I have the CUTEST new piano student. Oh, my goodness, she is so cute and such a doll. She has practiced everyday, and really shown quite an interest in piano lessons. She is always found tinkering at the piano after her practicing is done. Her favorite song is Beethoven's Ode to Joy. She taught herself a few notes from sound. So she has already shown me that she has an ear for piano. Oh, and I happen to have a picture of this cute little doll. And the plus side to me teaching her is that when we're finished with a lesson, I get a hug and kiss from this student.

Why I like May...

2 big reasons why I like May.

Dallin and Natalie. Yes, 2 of my wonderful kids have birthdays in May. Dallin turned 3 on the 15th and Nat turned 6 on the 18th. It was a week full of cake and balloons. First my sweet Dal Pal.

He got a Buzz and Woody toy. We're really into Toy Story 3 over here lately so he was pretty excited. Also a Toy Story race car track, and a Buzz paintng picture. You'd think with all the Toy Story going on over here that he'd want a Toy Story cake. Nope... furthest thing from it.

He wanted a snake cake. This is sort of funny because his mother is DEATHLY afraid of them. And I mean deathly. No coming across pictures for me without throwing the book across the room. So when the Dal informed me that, "Nakes are nice", a snake cake it was. The things we do for our kids. The tongue sort of freaked me out a little though. Fruit roll ups are going to be ackward now. I love that Moopty Moo!

And then Natalie's is 3 days after Dal's on the 18th. She turned 6 and honestly I wished that it weren't so. I love that girl and want to keep her my little squish forever. I'd have her stay 4 or 5 forever, but no she keeps growing up. But I love her more and more each day and look forward to more things we can do together as she does (huge sigh) gets older.

She made her own birthday cake this year. O.k., well I baked the cake, but she did the decorating and the frosting.

And she was as proud as puddin that girl. I loved how at the last minute she threw this plastic doll on it. I was told,"She's running through the flowers and the grass." I'm proud of her.

We got her a doll house for her birthday. I had looked around for one for awhile. Our problem with a doll house was where to put it. It fits perfect in her closet. And she is in doll house heaven! Can you see the pink handle at the side? That's the elevator. And she cranks her dolls up and down to each level. I have just sat and watched her play in her own world. She is so much fun to watch! One of the first things I hear in the morning is the squeak of the elevator going up and down. What an awesome find! Yeah for my sweet girl.

And that was that for birthdays. We are caked out,( or maybe that's just me) but we have 3 tubes of frosting in the fridge that I hate to throw away. If I combined them all, we'd have another cake on our hands. hhhmmm waste not, right?

Tyler got some baseball tickets to a Rainiers game, and the whole family went.

It's maybe not the greatsest picture of us, but we had fun and took our mitts. You just never know when you 'll catch a ball. The kids did great, all of them. It didn't hurt that they had a hot dog, chips, and a drink. We love baseball and hope that, especially the boys, will like it as much as Tyler and I.

So that was our May. Good fun times and yeah, still looking for that sun.

Bball, Visits, and one....

We started baseball this season. This is Mason's first time and we wanted it to be fun for him. Tyler and I both enjoy playing and we want him to have fun also. To bad the coach is really bad. To bad he hasn't taught the kids what a grounder or pop fly is. To bad that he hasn't taught them how to stand in the batters box. To bad that he hasn't taught them how to catch or throw a ball. To bad that he hasn't learned any of the boys names and Mason is referred to as "kid in the red sweatshirt." And to bad I called the YMCA on him and got him replaced. O.k. it's not to bad, it's awesome!!! I'm not paying for Mason to have a crummy experience. Anyway, hopefully now he can learn something and have a good time.

Cute little guy in his uni.

We have had one day of sun!! The sun came out the same day as Mason's baseball game. It was so awesome, and boy did it feel good. We were outside all day! And it's been cold and rainy ever since. When summer comes, someone tell me because I'm pretty sure I won't know it.

Nice shades Dal Pal!! Nice shades!

Sometimes things are funny....

Sometimes kids are funny. Like when they get into stuff and for a minute, you start to feel angry inside, and then you decide "Chill out and take a picture." And by the time you get your camera and take the picture all the anger melts away. And you think to yourself while laughing at your child, "Oh you silly little rascal you!" Like the time I made orange Jello for the kids and I had left the kitchen for just a minute, just a minute mind you, and when I came back Dallin had it all over his face, clothes, counter, floor, everywhere. Hahaha grab the camera, take a picture. Or the time my neice went bowling with a carton of eggs. And they all smashed against the back door and smeared all over the kitchen floor. Hahahaha, grab the camera, take a picture. Or when Dallin somehow got ahold of the PERMANENT purple Sharpie and made a purple line on all my white piano keys. Yeah, ......there's no picture of that one. Also, it wasn't funny. Also, I was yelling. Heaven bless Mr. Clean magic eraser. I scrubbed him down to the nub!

What a great day...

What a great day today is. It didn't rain, the sun came out, we played outside, and of course the best reason for today...our anniversary. 9 years baby!!!! 9 awesome years!!

I have to say that we've had a good time. We have 3 kids who are awesome, even the one with attitude. And Tyler is the best around. Anyway, I am a lucky gal and I feel very blessed to have such a great husband. He who has toliet trained 2 of our kids, he who does projects around the house to make it look nice, he who plays "catch" with me, he who does the dishes 95% of the time, he who takes the kids to play EVERYDAY after he gets home from work so I can teach piano, he who rides It's a Small World more than once because his 2 year old loves it, he who works hard to make sure we have food on the table and clothes on our back, he who fulfills his Priesthood callings and does so with no complaining, he who shoots hoops with our Mason, and he who I love more than anything on this whole planet. I love you Love..... you are the best!!! Break out the Martinelli's!!!

Disney part dos

As promised...part dos of our trip. Like I had mentioned before, my parents showed up Monday morning and hit the park hard with us thru Wednesday. Mason, Tyler, and my dad went on some fast rides while Nat, Dal, me, and my mom hit It's a Small World a few times. And can I just add that for as much fun as people make of that ride, there's always a line. Granted, not always a long line, but a line none the less. And it's the Dals favorite. When we got off, he said," again please."

And Dumbo. I was glad that Mason didn't think that it was a "baby ride". 7 was the perfect age to take him. Just right for fast rides, just right for Dumbo and Peter Pan.

We did some rides that I had never done before. The boat ride thru Moby Dicks mouth and Casey Jr. train. Both hits from the younger two.

And now Tuesday morning. The long awaited Princess breakfast. I had made reservations a few weeks before to take Nat to a breakfast where the princesses are. (Thanks Ali!!!) She put on her Cinderella dress that morning and we met my mom. Just us girls! I had gotten Nat a princess autograph book the day before and handed it to her as we got ready to go in.

We walked down the winding staircase and at the bottom we saw....

Ariel!!!! And my sweet girl went over to her and gave her a hug. She signed her book and we got a picture. And they kept calling Nat "princess" She was in heaven!!! So was her mother.

We got seated and the place filled up quickly with little girls all in there different princess dresses. A man came out dressed as the guy that reads scrolls (who knows what they're called??) and read something to all the girls. Sadly, no one was really paying attention to him. After a few minutes, we heard a trumpet sound and Princess Aurora was introduced. All the girls turned to see Sleeping Beauty gracefully come out and then I had a small situation. To see the excitement in these girls eyes, and then to see the excitement in my own daughters eye was more than MY eyes could handle. And here come the tears. Now, I'm not sobbing, out of control. But I silently wiped away the tears that came as each princess came out. I was so grateful to be there. I thought,"Here I am with my mom, who I love more than words can say, and I am here with my only daughter, whom I love more than life itself." I was overwhelmed by gratefulness.

The princesses each hugged Natalie and signed her book. It was a magical hour. I am so glad 10 times over that we did this. Oh, how I love this girl!!! By far, the best part of the trip for me.

And let's throw this one in for fun. It's the Tower of Terror. I truly am terrified, Tyler and Mason are awesome,...the guy next to me?? That's my dad. He's just along for a good time! And, yes, he IS the greatest ever!!!!

So our trip was spectacular. It was everything I hoped it would be. It really was. I was so happy to take my family there after 2 years of planning, and saving, and waiting for the kids to be just a smidge taller. I'd go back tomorrow if I could. It was the best. I was thankful for my parents going and helping out with the kids, and I am thankful for an awesome husband who rides It's a Small World with his kids!!!! It really is the place where dreams come true!!!

The Happiest Place on Earth...no really!!

We had a awesome trip down to CA! Warning: picture overload of the ZoBells. But I need to capture the fun of it all. We drove to San Francisco first and I can't think of a better way to kick off our trip than with a trip to the Ghiradelli chocolate factory. Yum!!! Tasty!! The weather was rainy and windy. I started to think that maybe the WA weather followed us down there.

We went down to the water to get a picture of Alcatraz. (It's to the left of the boat.) I love how Dallin is trying to cover his head from the rain.

Our wet little family. The Golden Gate Bridge was awesome! We were pretty wet but glad that we stopped to walk across some of it. What a neat bridge.

On to Disneyland!!! It was rainy in Disney our first day. But rain makes for less crowds. And since it's been raining in Olympia for 5 straight years, what's a little Disney drizzle? :) We went on some rides, Nemo, Autotopia, It's a Small World. And then wandered over to Toon Town.

The kids seemed to like it and we only had to wait 10 minutes to see Minnie Mouse.

On to more rides. And then we saw the line to see Rapunzel. 60 minutes??! Hmm maybe not. So we went on Pinocchio and Snow White's scary adventure next.

When those rides were done the wait line for Rapunzel 5 minutes. Yep I can do that. Her hair was all over the whole room!! This wig honestly was incredible. It looked so real and boy was it long!!

The rain started to pick up a bit so we headed for some indoor rides. We walked right into the Haunted Mansion. Now that's my kind of line! I went with Mason and Nat, Dal rode with Tyler. He didn't fuss or cry at all, but he pointed at some things and said," No, no." After that we walked into the Pirates of the Caribbean. I have always loved this ride. Tyler sat by himself in front of the rest of us for this reason...

Mason's face in this picture is PRICELESS!! It's the first fall on the ride. Hahaha I love it! Ahhhh good times. We decided to call it a day because we were wet to the bone and we had been there for quite awhile for 1 day. We went back to our hotel and after warm tubs and jams we all slept pretty hard. Ready to go again tomorrow.

My parents showed up for the rest of our time at Disneyland. It was so wonderful to have some help. There were a few rides that we were unable to do the day before, but we really hit it hard when they came. It was so much fun to have them there!! We did Big Thunder Train (not Nat's favorite) and we discovered that Mason is a thrill ride seeker. He loved Space Mountain and all the fast roller coaster, in the dark rides. Tower of Terror? He loved it. We did that 4 times. California Screamin? Couldn't get enough of that one. So that was fun for him and for Tyler. And either Space Mountain has gotten faster or I'm getting older, because it was fast and awesome! And that needs to be all for today. Tune in tomorrow for part 2. Yeah!!!

Where DOES the time go????

I mean really?? Where does it go? I'm not going to write about February. It's in the past. It snowed, the kids had no school, we actually went sledding. It was great. But now one to bigger things. Tomorrow we are all headed to CA and Disneyland!!!!!! We are excited and the kids keep counting down. I personally have been waiting 2 years and now, here it is. No doubt there will be lots pf pictures and stories to share. Let's hope the rain doesn't follow us down there.

99 ways...

When Nat was born, one of my friends here in the ward brought over a little outfit and a book called "99 ways to raise your childs self esteem." I found it the other day and thumbed thru it. I was happy to see that I have actually done some of the things in the book. So, go me!!! Super mom!!! But I also got a lot of great ideas of things that I can start doing.

Sometimes kids need something to look forward to. And really, don't we all enjoy looking forward to something? So the school district has what's called a late start every first Wednesday of the month. I'm not sure what they're doing, but school doesn't start until 10. So, every late start I take the kids to IHOP for some flap jacks. And that, is something that they look forward to. And this last Wednesday, some old ladies sat down across from us as our food was just being brought out. After syrup was poured and eggs were cut in Dal Pal size pieces, the kids dug in. And it's a pretty quiet breakfast. :) As we were getting ready to go, one of the ladies leaned over and said,"You have such well behaved children. How special they all are, and goodness so well behaved." Thank you nice lady. Yes they are special, AWESOME, children. Well behaved at times too. Kind of makes you feel good.

And the Dal is so great at waking up dry. Wakes up dry every morning. He had on his Cars undies today, and as we were walking down the driveway to get Nat off the Kindy bus he pointed to the cars on the road. "Cars, Cars" he kept saying. I walked a couple steps in front of him, turned around and saw that he had pulled his pants down to his ankles and was pointing to the cars on his undies. "Cars, me. Cars, me. No pee." I laughed and then realized the bus was rounding the corner. It was a substitute bus driver who probably took one look at Dallin and thought,"Now what kind of a situation have we got going on over here?" hardy har har.

And I have to remember this always. Last night I was getting Nat ready for bed. Out of the blue she says ," Mom, what will happen when I'm a mom and I go up to the hospital to have a baby?" I said," You'll have the sweetest, cutest, little baby in the whole world. And you'll love it to pieces. And then I'll come up to the hospital and hold it and kiss it's head." Nat smiles and says," You'll still be alive?" :) :) I say "Yep, I'll still be alive." She throws her arms around me and says, "Oh that's good." Yes my dear ...it is good. And you're good, and life....is good.

HELLO SUNSHINE!!!!

Nat and I just got back from sunny, and I mean SUNNY, CA!!!! We went down to San Diego to stay with our friends for the long weekend (MLK). I loved it!! Nat loved it!!! And it just reiterates that I am a sun girl. Meaning that I love summer and I love the sun!!!.

Oh, how we miss these girls! We are getting ready to go to the beach in this picture. Got our flip flops on, swimsuits, 78 degrees and sunny. I had to remind myself that it was January!!

Running away from the waves.

My little squish dancing in the waves.....in the ocean......in January.

Lisa and I were like kids again, braving the cold water and jumping over the waves as they came closer to us. One caught us off guard and under we went! It was so much fun!

I love this picture of me and Nat. We are getting ready to leave the beach.:( But check out the sun on my face!! Love the burn. Burned my face, legs, arms, shoulders. Hurray!!! Except I felt it later that night. I have lots of beach pictures, but I think you get the idea that we had a FABULOUS time.

YUM!! Enough said. REAL mexican food. REAL. Super, super good. Enough said.

We went to the Mormon Battalion site in Old San Diego. Then we walked around the old part of town and soaked in some history. I really like history and seeing all the old buildings and stuff. We went somewhere, I don't know where exactly, and saw a bunch of sea lions laying around on a bunch of rocks. Nat liked that.

We had a great time just being outside, and Nat played Barbies to her hearts content. It was fun to sit and chat with Lisa and laugh until our sides hurt. Good times.

We had a fabulous time, but we had to come home.

And as usual, when I leave for a weekend, Tyler does a "project". So I kept wondering what his project would be this time. Are you ready for this........

my sweet little Dilly Dal Pal is potty trained!!!! Let me repeat......potty trained. He has gotten up dry every morning 4 times now. He lets me know when he has to go, sits up there on the throne, and does his business. Flushes, waves goodbye, pulls up his Mickey Mouse under-roos, and washed his hands. I still can't believe it! This is the best project ever!!!

Seriously Love, you are simply amazing. It was a weekend winner for everyone!!!