Visit from Jonas' Mom!

I surprised Jonas with an early Christmas present this year:  a visit from his mom!

It was such a wonderful time, and she hadn't been here for over 3 years, so major catching up and sight seeing to do.  We went to the aquarium.

I love this picture!

Shay was so cute, he took a notebook and wrote down everything he saw.  It was his idea.

Grandma Dorothy loved touching the sting rays!  But she was also very skeptical.

Another night we took her to see the live nativity at Liberty Park, called Echoes of Christmas.  If you have never been to this, put it on your list for next year...amazing!!

That same night we took her to walk around Temple Square.  Don't let this picture fool you, the woman was freezing!! We didn't get to see too much because, well, she was freezing!

I love this picture of the kids kneeling by the water.

The kids had never spent so much time with their grandma.  They totally fell in love with her.  She spoiled them, but also taught them good life lessons.  She was perfect.

Another day we walked around the grounds of LaCaille.  I hadn't been there since Junior High!  It was beautiful and had lot's of fun picture taking places.

She was absolutely enamored of the mountains!  She wanted to take a zillion pictures of them, especially on the freeway when we were driving.  She kept asking me to pull over!  I would say "I can't pull over here!"

It was so funny.

Having her here, it was just what our family needed.  I really didn't know how much good it would do for us until she was here.  I was able to get to know my mother-in-law in a way that I had never before.  Besides, she cooked up a storm and did so much for us around the house, I got to eat so many amazing things!

For example, check out the menu for the one Sunday dinner that she made for the whole family:

Red Beans and Rice

Spicy Corn Bread

Pot Roast

Gumbo

Potato Salad

Sweet Potatoes

Crazy yummy huh?  She was really disappointed when she realized that our 12 people were not even going to eat it all in one sitting!

Oh, and she came to church with us too.  It was so funny, she almost started clapping after the musical number in Sacrament meeting.  She was so embarrased.

I am really looking forward to her next visit, which she assures me will be in the summer.  (When it is warm)

Trip to Long Beach

We wanted to take a trip to California for the day but it was supposed to be bad weather so we planned to go to the Aquarium of the Americas only.  But does this look like bad weather to you?

We took the bus to downtown Long Beach and had ourselves a beautiful walk to the Aquarium itself. 

It was a gorgeous day and it made us want to hang out by the pier all day,

but we had already purchased out tickets.

All of the kids were facinated but Taye was really in awe.

For sure the highlight of the Aquarium was petting sharks!

At the end we ate at Bubba Gump.  A place that is special to us, since our honeymoon.  An all around great day!

Quick trip to Boston

My parents were scheduled to go to Boston and help while my sister in law was at girls camp but at the last minute an emergency came up and they were not able to go.  So I jumped on a plane with the kiddos and stepped in.  Hooray for free flying!

The kids had a great time and my brother and I got a little bonding time in.

Trip to Disneyland

At the beginning of the year we participated as a family in Disney's "give a day, get a day" promotion so we each had a free pass to Disneyland.  Well, Jasmine didn't qualify because she wasn't six at the time.  We met our cousins there and got to spend one night with them in the condo that they rented.   They were there for a whole week and we just flew down for 2 days.  The total bummer was that Jonas was supposed to come and meet us but at the last minute, his flight was full and he didn't make it.  So he missed Disneyland!!! That was a major disapointment, and it wasn't the same without him.

I can't remember what, but something was wrong with my camara, so I didn't even get to take many pictures.  There were all taken with my phone.  They are all very random.  Jasmine got to see all of the princesses and we went down and danced with them and all that.

This is the funniest picture ever!!!  Hate and love those roller coaster camaras.  Okay now that you have laughed at mine and my nieces faces, take a closer look.  See the lady on the very back row, she looks like she is meditating right?  And then the lady behind my niece is singing a hymn.  And, even the kid behind me is acting as if nothing is wrong.  Total breeze.  I love this picture.

On the way out Shay wanted to stop by the Lego store.  This year he has gotten so into Legos!

Visit to Idaho July '10

We went on a trip to see Leah at the end of July and these are some of the pictures of the kids playing.  They had so much fun romping around in the wilderness by their house.  They love it there!! We also went swimming as you can see.

I love the contrast between Rivy (nickname) and Taye.  They are only a few days apart!  Love that.

And what did Leah and I do while all this playing was going on?  Talk and talk and visit and catch up with each other!  It was wonderful!

Face Painter in Training

This picture is shocking I know, but I wish I could paint this good! So I sped off for a weekend of training in North Carolina with the best painter I know, Jandy.
We did a great festival together and this time, I actually painted!! But only butterflies and a few princess faces. Can you believe we could charge that much?

Jandy is so amazing to share with me all of her tips and tricks of the trade...I couldn't be where I am with the business without her help. She has given me this wonderful opportunity that has opened up so many doors...I am so grateful to her!

We got a lot of practice in...as you can see...hahaha

Here is Beni, I was chasing him around and finally got one snapshot.

It was a fun trip and helped me gain tons of confidence so that I could gear up to get back and do some of my very own festivals! And I'm not gonna lie, I enjoyed a little "me"time watching New Moon, girl talkin' and eating lot's of treats!

February 2010

February was a time of change for me as I quit my job with Early Head Start after 4 1/2 years. It was bitter sweet to leave, especially all of the friendships that I had there, but I know it was the right time. There were several reasons, but especially that I wanted to spend more time pursuing my own business. This picture was taken at my goodbye lunch at my favorite place: Leatherbys!

In February we also went to visit Leah in Idaho. We love love love these guys and our kids play so well together (most of the time) :)

The other pictures is of the ever mischevious Tayevion climbing on the desk to have a little snack.

Trip to see the Real Santa/Boston

As has been our tradition for several years now, we went to see Santa in his homeland, the Macy's store in New York City.
The kids were super excited.

Tell me this guy is not the real deal? I mean, tug at those wiskers!

So sweet...

This time we took Grandma with us. Actually, what happened is that we met my brother there and he drove around looking for parking all day long. Literally. He would drop us off, and we would go do something, and he would drive around, and around, with no luck. We have had such amazing parking experiences in New York, but not on that day.

Next we went to see the tree, then did a tiny bit of shopping.

The most hilarious thing is that my mom, she has a problem taking pictures. She just can't seem to get the subject completely in the frame. She tries so hard, bless her little heart, but it has been a problem as long as I can remember. So I had like 6 pictures like this, each one with a little bit cut off. The kids were like, "are we done yet?" but I was cracking up so hard.

This is much better, centered, and you can almost see the whole tree:

Then we drove to Boston and went straight to see my nieces perform in their little dance/singing group. It was so cute.

Shay has such a good time with his cousin Bri and they came up with their own play this time, it was called "The Christmas Dream Gone Wrong: The Preview"