Girls Trip 2010!

For the first time EVER the sisters and momma got to do a girls trip!!! For multiple days! NO KIDS! Were we a little slap happy? YES! This was so much fun and created so many awesome memories. This entry might be a little wordy, but I've got a lot to document! And blogger is acting up with the pictures. I can't get them to do anything I want and it's driving me crazy, so if they look all messed up, it's all blogger's fault.

We went to California and stayed at Ann-Marie's house. She was expecting us at around midnight, but we surprised her by arriving at 2pm. It was so hilarious. We were meeting up with Julianne (who had flown in that morning) in a walmart parking lot so we could all head to the house together. Well, we pull up and Julianne is in the walmart, and Ann-Marie is too!! Her car was right there! We were texting Julianne to get out of there fast! She ran out, and we went to the house and waited for Ann-Marie to get back. When she walked in we yelled out Surprise! and sang Happy Birthday (day before). It was so awesome.

And what was even MORE awesome??? The dining room table of everything our wonderful hostess had done to prepare for our trip. There was a place setting for each of us, with trinkets and presents and flower arrangements, and all sorts of gifts having to do with all the stuff on our itinerary. It was GIRLY and PINK and GORGEOUS! First gift of the day was a cute jujube wallet/purse. We hung out and talked, then went shopping. We shopped a lot :)

 On Friday we headed up to LA. Accessories for the day that Ann-Marie got for us: star shaped sunglasses, bubbles, and fake jewelry and yummy snacks for "Hollywood". We started at the Getty museum-what an amazing place! We kept getting in trouble because we were pointing too close to all the artwork. And Julianne got asked to lunch by one of the employees after she danced with him in one of the "French" replicated ballrooms. After walking the grounds we left and went to a shopping center called The Grove in Hollywood. Even though there was a ton of traffic, it was fun to see Hollywood. We grew up so close, but never went up to LA. After the temple was built in San Diego there was never a reason to go up there. The traffic wasn't worth it :) I had gone up to Hollywood once in high school to help record some songs, but I don't remember much. The Grove was huge and we explored for a couple hours before eating dinner and heading to...Harry Connick Jr at the Hollywood Bowl! We were a little late (traffic anyone?), but made it in time to hear a few of his more popular songs. The first half of the concert was songs that most of our generation were familiar with, then there was an intermission and he came back and did songs from his roots in New Orleans. It was incredible! He played piano and trumpet and there was another player who joined him and they had a great rapport. We were laughing so hard! The music was so much fun to listen to and we loved it! We were stuck in the parking lot for a while afterwards so we just opened the windows and sang along to the Glee soundtrack at the top of our lungs. I can't remember the last time I was able to do that :)

gotta show off our sunglasses and bling!

this is on the ceiling!

those who know me know that this is my scary face :)

we must have made a million wishes and donated ten dollars in coins to that pond!

 On Saturday we headed to Dana Point. Gift for that day was a beach bag, towel, flip flops, and water bottle-all pink! Ann-Marie and I went rollerblading while the other girls went paddleboarding in the harbor with Collins. When we got back we switched it up and I tried paddle boarding. It was actually super windy that day, so it was a little hard to control it. At one point I thought I was going to head straight out to sea and be lost forever! You can do it standing up or kneeling, and even sitting cross-legged. I didn't last long on it, but I'm happy to try it again when it's a little less windy! We stayed at the beach a little longer, then showered and went to Laguna Beach for the evening. There's this place called the Sawdust Festival. It's an outdoor arts and crafts venue. There were a ton of booths with so many different types of crafts. I'm so used to Utah and the similarities between anything that people produce, but there was so much variety there, and not a single thing was like Utah. Across the street from us was Parade of the Masters. It happens once a year and it's a festival in which different featured artists recreate their artwork using real people on a stage. So there are a bunch of different layers and people and props. The people have to hold super still! It's expensive to go to, but one day I think we'll do it. After the festival we went to downtown Laguna and window shopped. All of us girls are pretty creative and love to find inspiration in the things around us, and this was no different. There were so many different things to see and we loved talking about how we could make something or copy an idea that we saw.


On Sunday we went to Coronado Island and explored. We even stopped at an open house! Oh cape cod, wood shingle, craftsman style house-how I wish you were mine! We walked around the Hotel del Coronado and stared at the ocean and all wished we lived right there. Then we walked around Old Town and the new Mormon Batallion center. It's a great visitors center! I'm glad we went!



sitting in front of the beach and dreaming about living there



eating saltwater taffy from the candy store-mmm...

Monday was spent in Newport Beach. We did some more shopping (heehee) and then we rented a little party boat and drove through the harbor. The gifts for that day were cute "martini" glasses with umbrellas and some sparkling juice, and cute bags of wrapped up gumballs. We loved looking at all the homes along the harbor-they were all so different and had really cool features. It was interesting to see how much we all like the same style. After the boat we went to the beach and rented beachcruisers!! That was such a blast!!! It was so much fun to ride right along the beach. When the trail ended we went down some residential streets and looked at more awesome houses.

amazing house



amazing house



amazing house





crazy amazing house. are we seeing a trend here?



more amazing house





amazing boat to go with amazing house



Tuesday was the day we drove back to Utah, but we first went down to good old Carlsbad and had lunch with Aunt Linda and another cousin, walked around some more shops (I said we did a lot of shopping, right??), and got on the road at about 2pm.



We spent so much of the trip talking about different things. We were all inspired to be healthier and more physically active (umm...which led to me breaking my arm!! lol). We have a TON of inside jokes from the things that were said. Some nights we laughed so hard I was sure someone would pee her pants :)

I'm so blessed to have family to spend these types of moments with. My  sisters and mom are my best friends. We uplift and inspire, encourage and comfort. We love each other deeply and have an understanding of our eternal nature, which only strengthens us more. What a great experience this trip was!!



at the end of the trip, we were pooped.



Funny things kids say

Last night we were talking to a friend and the funny things our kids have said was brought up. I was cleaning out the office and found a piece of paper on which I had jotted down some funny things Emma had said. It got me thinking about why there are so many things Emma had said but not very many for Bree. Poor second child. But I think I figured out why-at least, it's my excuse for not having very many things written down for Bree so I don't feel so guilty. Emma started talking when she was really young and was able to articulate everything she needed to say. She didn't usually mix up things, like saying "them are coming here" which is what Bree does. But what was funny was that she would make up words to say what she was thinking. She didn't have the luxury of an older sibling to tell her what was correct, and she played by herself a lot, so if I wasn't sitting with her and correcting her, then she just called things by what she thought they were. Bree, on the other hand, didn't really start talking clearly until recently, she mixes things up, and she has Emma to talk to all the time. So anything that Bree wants to know is told to her right away by Emma. So, Emma was funny because of the things she would make up. But Bree is funny because she just does funny things, and most of all I love to hear her talk with her lisp. She was also having trouble with her L's and R's, but it's kind of clearing up now, which makes me sad. I LOVE listening to her talk.

But, just for journaling sake, here are the few things I had written down that Emma said when she was about 2 or 3:

When pretending to play a trumpet (I'm guessing that was Little Einsteins era): "Mom, I'm horning!"

Calling the sacrament "soccer mints"

Closing her prayer one time with "In the name of Christmas jammies, amen."

Copter dapter=helicopter

Telling me to be happy and smile, and when I gave her a fake smile she said, "no mommy, smile with your eyes!"

Story that won me a jujube diaper bag:
Winters in Cleveland were really long, with lots of snow. Emma had a window in her room that overlooked the back part of our driveway and backyard, but to be able to look out the window she had to climb on the ledges of her bed and peer out. Every morning she would climb up, peek out, then wake us up by yelling, "Mom, did you make the snow??!" I would answer, "No, Heavenly Father made the snow." It went on for quite a while-that's how she would wake us up every morning. One morning she yells from her room, "MOM!! Heavenly Father cleaned up!!!" The snow had melted. :)

And just recently I had these:

"Mom, do little girls really make the world sweeter?" that one was based on a vinyl quote that was up in Bree's room.

For a long time Emma has wanted to grow up to be a fairy princess, and Dave is doing nothing to stop that dream. He loves to tell her all sorts of things about when she'll be a fairy princess. On multiple occasions we have found her getting frustrated that flapping her arms isn't making her fly. And there have been quite a few mornings that she has woken up wondering why her fairy wings haven't grown yet and asking when she is going to get them! We told her she'll get them when she turns 16.
Story that has to do with that:
Last year, in kindergarten in California, we carpooled with a little boy who had three little sisters, but he was ALL boy. He loved to talk about helping his dad and grandpa with the yard work and fixing cars. Well, one day he tells Emma that when he turns 16 he's going to be able to drive a car. Emma responds with, "well, when I turn 16 I'm going to become a fairy and get my wings."

And the latest Emma funny: The girls were with us when I fell and broke my arm. I was yelling a bit while holding my arm and people were rushing to help me, so it was a bit traumatizing for them to watch and they were crying. After Dave dropped the girls off at Summer's house so he could come to the ER, Summer was consoling the girls. She told Emma that I would be all right, things were okay. Emma responds, wailing, "But I LOVE that arm! She tickles me and gives me hugs with that arm!" Poor girl thought I was going to lose my arm.

Now, Bree. I can't pinpoint anything lately that she has said that makes me laugh, it's more of her mannerisms that crack us up. She is a performer, and I'm a little sad that she's getting older and her "performances" are evolving into something different. For the longest time, whenever we would be with family all we had to do was sit down with plenty of space  around us and say, "Bree, sing us the pink pirate song." And she would bust out dancing some type of modern/ballet/rock mixture and singing about pink pirates. But it wasn't just pink pirates-she would make the songs up as she went along and anything that caught her eye in the room was sung about. She has songs about ponies, dolphins, sharks, seahorses, pirates, her heart. You name it, she sings about it. And she does little shoulder shimmies and bum shakes. What is so great about Bree is that she has all these expressions and they are all caught on camera-she doesn't cooperate and do pleasant smiles for the camera-it's her faces that get captured. And so when I look at the pictures I always know what she's been doing because of the expression I see :)

And here's a recent picture of the two munchkins. And I know Bree isn't looking at the camera-when it comes to cameras that girl just looks away because she knows it drives me crazy :)

Beautiful Message to Mothers

I've always felt like everyone else is a better mother than I am (and no, this isn't a search for a "whatever, you're a GREAT mom!" comment!). I'm in awe of the women out there who don't want to send their kids to kindergarten or preschool b/c they will miss spending time with them or just want to keep them home. And I'm in awe of the women who do daily crafts and who are on top of the chore charts, and whose 4 year olds are already reading and computer savvy. I'm impressed with the women who are able to get up at 6:30am with their kids and get their exercise and shower done with a hot breakfast on the table (you know who you are!!), and with the women who want to stay home but have to work to make ends meet. I know that no two mothers have the same circumstances or personalities, but I do spend a good portion of my time feeling guilty that I'm not as successful as I can be as a mother.


However, I watched this today and cried. Hard. It didn't make me feel more guilty; on the other hand, it uplifted me and inspired me to be greater. I read an article in a magazine the other day about how women all over the world aren't satisfied with their careers because they aren't fulfilling them emotionally. The article said that the majority of women want to make a difference in the world and want to find careers that didn't necessarily make them more money but brought them more emotional fulfillment. And all I could think was, "HELLO??!!! That's why we are meant to be MOTHERS!" And I know that not all women get an opportunity to be mothers, but we all have opportunities to be nurturers. Motherhood is hard work and full of guilt sometimes, but the rewards are immeasurable. If you disagree with me, so be it. But I have had my testimony of motherhood strengthened and reaffirmed so many times in the last few months.

(I removed the video b/c the code changed it to another video which makes no sense with my blog post!!)

Our Ballerina

I live vicariously through my girls. I am fully willing to admit it. At least it's things they already want to do. I'm just happy to oblige them.

Emma started ballet about a month after we moved here and LOVES it. The studio where she goes puts on an actual ballet instead of a recital. It was so awesome to be a part of the performing crowd again. It reminded me of high school and the anticipation of preparing for a performance. Of course, I thought she was the cutest one up there. The ballet they performed was "Copellia" and Emma's part was a wind-up baby doll. In order to include the entire studio there were a lot of very young performers, so with the exception of the pointe dancers and main parts, it wasn't totally "professional", but I still loved it.

Emma's sleep habits

Emma is weird when it comes to sleeping. I love checking on her at night because I never know what I'll find. These pictures are just from the last month. I have many more somewhere in my stash. Usually she has this odd desire to make sure everything else in her bed is more comfortable than she is. Notice the bears using her pillow.

Yep, completely out on this one too.

This one was awesome-I went to check on her and she had put all her blankets and pillow on the floor and put a laundry basket over her head, then draped it with her blanket so it was like a "tent" on her head. The next night she asked to sleep like that again because she loved it so much. We let her for a few more nights, then had to stop that nonsense.

A few updates

I did an impromtu birthday party for Emma with a "flower" theme-turned out okay. Nothing to rave about. I need to step it up with the party thing. :)

Emma had her end of the year "Kindergarten Sing" which was pretty cute. She loved the "Apples and Bananas" song that gets stuck in your head, and it was pretty cute to watch them sing the turtle song with hand actions. Then at the end they did a great song to the tune of "New York" about moving on to first grade. What a big girl.

And Bree had her little preschool graduation. I'd rather they refer to it as an end of the year program instead of a graduation, because she isn't graduating from anything. She's going back next year. Oh well. It was super cute. Each kid in the class had a solo song that they had been rehearsing for a while. One cute little boy was doing GREAT on his song-very enthusiastic and you could clearly understand what he was saying. And right at the end he finishes his last line while digging in his nose for a booger. Classic-we were all DYING. You could tell his parents were very proud :) Bree's song was called Haley Heart and sung to the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb. She's so tiny and had to reach her head up to the mic, but she did a great job and looked so adorable up there. Couldn't really understand much of what she said, but that's mostly because she didn't know much of what she was singing! She came into the class around March, so she didn't have the whole year to work on the songs like the rest of the class. But she still loved getting up there and singing in front of everyone. That child isn't afraid of public performances AT ALL :)

This girl has a hard time NOT talking or looking away while she knows someone is taking her picture...

This is what happens when Bree wants to put on her jammies "all by my-THELF!"

And Emma spent the good majority of her day wearing these and playing outside. When I went to check on her in the middle of the night she still had outlines around her eyes...

Spring Break

Yes, this is LOOOOOONG overdue. But we did have a Spring Break and Easter celebration that hasn't been documented. All of Dave's family came into town and it's the first time we've all been together in about 5 years! We had a ton of fun and cousins got to get reaquainted. The kids are all hilarious and have their own funny things that crack us up.

We celebrated Isaac's baptism and took family pictures and the guys had a movie night, of course. We spent a lot of time playing at the Latham playground (grandma & grandpa's backyard) and we went to a few movies and mini golfing. Emma definitely had a little crush on Isaac :) She kept asking if he was going to be there so she could chase him. And he was so great to play along with her.

We had a killer egg hunt for Easter. We had filled eggs, then little trinkets all hung around the yard. We had names on some of them and all the kids were so helpful with the little tiny ones.

After the hunt we headed to our house for Easter dinner. Grandma Kris did the lesson with the eggs filled with something to represent each part of the Easter story. Kade was so sweet at one part. There was something in one egg that represented Christ dying on the cross and Kade (the normally mischevious, into everything, crazy, funny Kade) cries out, "But no Grandma, He LIVES! Jesus LIVES!!" He was so fervent when he said it and it was a great reminder of how sensitive children are to the truths of the gospel.

Here are the girls in their Easter dresses. It wasn't until I saw these pictures that I realized how much more red Bree's hair is than Emma's...

It was a little chilly and rainy one day, so we ran to walmart and picked up a bunch of wrist rockets and nerf balls and had a war in the cultural hall of the church. So. much. fun. We were laughing so hard. It was a great workout! Emma didn't appreciate that I nailed her in the head. It was a complete accident! You never know what direction those nerf balls are going to go in! We also played some dodgeball with the younger kids, which they loved :)

MAN DOWN!!

Battle wound

And we ended the week at the park to say goodbye. I know this sounds sappy, but we love our family so much. Each person brings something unique to our family to make it complete. We miss them all so much and can't wait to see them again.

this was just funny-we were all standing around waiting to give each other hugs and we see these two off in the distance...

My teenager

When I picked up Emma from her last day of school she was really excited that she got a little phone book for all the kids in her class. Well, we were home for about 30 minutes and the phone rang. There was this little boy who was so timid on the phone, but he wanted to talk to Emma. I asked who it was, then he shyly said that his mom wanted to talk to me. So she gets on the phone apologizing, saying that she told him he couldn't call because they were heading out the door, but apparently he wanted to talk to Emma, so he didn't listen :) Then about 5 minutes later the phone rang again, another little boy asking for Emma. I gave the phone to Emma. She didn't quite know what to do :) She's not used to talking on the phone. This little guy wanted her to come over to his house...did the mom know? nope!

It's super cute to see that Emma has all these little people wanting to be her friend. But it doesn't surprise me. She's so gentle and kind with people (she DOES have her moments sometimes when she's not her normal happy self!) and for some reason kids are drawn to her. I love that she's so willing to be friends with everyone. I'm just wondering when the phone calls from boys will turn into a "liking" thing, instead of a "little buddy" thing. So cute.

I hate coming up with a title for the post

so there isn't one.

We've had a lot going on lately, and since I never use my desktop anymore I never want to blog b/c a blog post isn't any fun without pictures and I don't have any pics on the laptop. So unless I decide not to be lazy, there won't be any pictures.

We finished off April with helping Adrienne's fam move into another house, I had youth conference and Dave went to a dental conference, then he turned the big...let me think...32? I think he's 32. Haha-we celebrated and I can't recall how old he is. But he's old enough for THIS BABY:

It's an airsoft gun and he's like a kid in a candy shop with this thing. Very cute to watch his eyes light up when he talks about it and lets all the guys shoot it.

My sisters, mom and I got so go to Gardner Village to celebrate Mother's Day-holy cow I had heard good things about that place, but WOW! So much to look at. I got Dave's Father's Day present while there...you'll have to wait and see what it is. Pretty awesome. And there was a fabric store that I wanted to convert into my bedroom. I made a promise that I wouldn't buy any more fabric until I used up my stash, and let me tell you, that was STINKIN' HARD in that place. So now I've gotta get sewing so I can get all the new stuff out there. We saw some pretty funny quotes while in there that totally apply to us:
"Sisters are like ladybugs. They are little ladies that bug each other" and "Blessed are the children of the quilters, for they shall inherit the quilts" When Mom dies we might just fight a little bit about who gets which quilts :)

Emma turned SIX! And she's still just as sweet as ever. She loves to play with all the kids in our neighborhood and be outside all the time. Her little face and arms are already starting to tan from being outside-I've got to remember the sunblock. She loves Hannah Montana and got the soundtrack from the movie for her birthday and a "real microphone that works", so she spends a lot of time in her room now dancing and singing along. Reminds me of me and my Whitney Houston tape and radio when I was her age :) She was determined to go to Chuck E. Cheese for her birthday and pretty much invited the whole neighborhood. I had to reign her in a bit, and when I reminded her that the big mouse will be there, she decided that she'd rather have a pinata at home and go there when she turns 7. So, a party later this week that I've got to plan.

And Bree is potty-training!!! I know, she's how old??? But it's been an easy process, only a few accidents on Saturday and now she's good to go. Except for #2. We're working on that. She's fought me so much on it before so I didn't push the issue, and she came to us on Saturday with her underwear, so we jumped on that real fast. I'm glad we waited until she was ready. And about a month ago the binky fairy came and took her binkies and left the Barbie Mermaid Tale movie. It's a little hard to let go of my "baby."  But that's not why she had the binkies for so long, I promise. She is still so funny and making us laugh all the time with her made up songs and dances and the silly faces she makes.  

The end.