Golden Spoon!

Tonight was like a ward party at the Golden Spoon! After Charles baseball game we rushed home and ate a quick dinner (leftover ham on hawaiian rolls and potato salad). Then we were off to the Golden Spoon for dessert and family night! A friend in the ward had lots of coupons for free frozen yogurts and was handing them out at church yesterday. Well, we were getting there kind of late because of the game and all so I thought maybe everyone would be gone. Oh, how wrong I was! We got there right when the Ravstens arrived. Then the Millers came when we were in line. Then the Monnettes and Fitzpatricks were there when we were paying. Finally the Hugues' were arriving when we were leaving! It was so fun and crazy! I was so glad that I had ignored the kids' bedtime so that we could have a Family Night. It was so fun seeing all of our friends from church!!

Sea World!!

Oh my gosh! Today was so much fun! Glenn's mission buddy Kent called us a couple of days ago and told us he was bringing his family to San Diego on vacation. They're from Arizona. Anyway, Glenn told him that we could meet him today when they went to Sea World!! We were so excited! Glenn said he wanted to do something fun together as a family because he won't be able to go on any vacations this summer. So we bought the Fun passes- you buy a day and get the rest of 2008 free.

It was so good to see Kent and his family again. It has been a few years now. They are pregnant with their fifth! They are so much fun! Kent and Glenn are in the same profession now so they have so much to talk about.

The two things that happened today that put a downer on everything were: Maryn getting sick on the way there and throwing up tator tots all over herself and the car seat, and the fact that I've been to Sea World 3 times in the past few years and I've been dying to go on the "Journey to Atlantis" ride and I never get to!!!! The first time I was with my cousin and her boy chickened out as soon as we got on the ride so I offered to get off with him because she was so excited to go. The second time I was with my sister and her family and everyone just got too tired to go and went home early. Today we were waiting for the line to get shorter and the ride broke down for the rest of the day! Why?!! Or should I say, why me?!!

But back to poor little Maryn. I thought that maybe she just got car-sick like I always did growing up, but she's just coming down with my cold and was probably gagging when she was coughing. You can see that she's not 100% in some of the pictures. I tried to put good ones of her up though.

We let the kids pick out little things to bring home. They had a $10 limit each. Charles chose a shark-tooth necklace with his name on it and Maryn chose a penguin ring and a mermaid doll. We also ate lunch there and had ice cream! It was a much needed family day!

Happy Easter!!

Well, this week-end was a whirlwind to put it mildly! We had all sorts of family here because of a funeral. Although it was a sad occasion, everyone was glad to be together. We got the chance to spend time with some of my cousins that we haven't seen in a long time. It's amazing how wonderful it is to see the children play together and get to know each other.

On Friday, I decided that I was going to have to do the Easter dinner by myself. So, I went to Costco and bought a ham, potato salad, green salad, rolls, and coconut cream pie. I then went home and boiled the eggs so we could dye them on Saturday night. That's when I got a call from my cousin. It was their grandmother that had passed away and they were still trying to get babysitters for their younger kids. I jumped at the chance to babysit for them! I was so glad to be able to do something for my family. It seems so rare that I really get a chance to feel like I'm contributing to the family. So, the next day, I watched four 6 and 7 year old boys and three 3 and 4 year old girls. It was a great day. The kids were so much fun and they were really well behaved. That brings up another story.

I started getting sick late Thursday night with a cough. By Friday it was a full blown cold. I was so worried about being able to watch all of the kids while I felt so horribly. I went to bed earnestly praying for the strength I needed to get through the day. By morning I decided that I really couldn't watch the baby that I had said would be ok. And thankfully my cousin had no problem taking him with her! The day turned out to be from 7am to 5:30 pm and it turned out beautifully. As sick as I was, the kids were awesome! I had the energy I needed to do everything to the best of my ability. I was so thankful that my prayer was answered and the day worked out for everyone! The family was grateful too and invited us to come over for Easter!

Easter morning was so fun! Glenn was off of work and the kids were bubbling over w/ excitement! After going to bed at 10:30pm, Charles was up at 6am! I was not happy about this but I kept a smile on my face as I made him wait for Maryn to wake up. Our little princess woke up at 7:45am and was in her usual grumpy state. The Easter Bunny had made them a little egg hunt. We let Maryn go first because she likes to take her sweet time at everything she does and Charles already had a gameplan in mind to collect them all! So, as Charles is hopping and bouncing in the doorway, I proceeded to take Maryn's hand and guide her towards the eggs. She picked up a few and then I let Charles loose! He was so quick! He found a lot! Maryn quit the game after Charles found a huge lavender egg with a bunny on it. That was just too much for her. Even though he gave it to her, she still had to cry because SHE had wanted to find it! So, life keeps going on as normal!

We went to church and enjoyed the Easter program. The primary kids were asked to sing 4 songs. The kids were so cute! Charles loves to sing so he really tries his hardest to remember all of the words. If he doesn't know all the words he just moves his jaw up and down. It's so fun to watch him!! I loved seeing Maryn and her friend "A" sing in their first program! During the second set of songs, Maryn had to take a break from the singing to pick her nose for a really long time. It was half embarassing and half hilarious, to see this lovely pretty girl with her finger in her nose! It's a good thing she was standing in the front row! That's my Maryn!

We left church early to head out to my aunt's house for dinner. Because of the chaos of the week-end, it wasn't the traditional Easter dinner, but lasagna which we all love anyway. So it will be a fun memory of the time we had lasagna for Easter. It kind of fits though, because the grandmother that passed was Italian.

That night my cousin Heather and her family came over to visit. The kids played and we cooked, and the men watched a movie and talked about jobs. I can't express the joy we had spending time with them! They live in New York and so time with them is so precious to us. It's wonderful to be with my cousin because she's one of the few people in my life that it doesn't matter how much time has elapsed between visits, we just pick up where we left off.

So all-in-all this week-end was a memory that we will treasure!

Please Solve This Mystery!!

I have been mystified by something really annoying! We've lived in this house for 7 years and no one I've talked to can give me an answer, so now I'm turning to all of you. Our house seems to be the place where all of the neighborhood cats love to party, sunbathe, have romantic encounters, territory wars, and such. So, can any of you tell me why they sit on my front walkway and make the most obnoxious crying sound? It sounds like a groaning human cry! I can't tell you how many times I've actually jumped out of bed thinking it was one of my kids. It's very loud and sometimes it's one or more cats just sitting there doing it. Why? Why do they do this? Before I figured out it was cats I actually thought some crazy person was outside and it terrified me! They will do this all night sometimes! Last night I had to go throw stuff to make them leave. So, can you help solve this mystery?

Tagged Again!!

What i was doing 20 years ago..... 20 years ago I was 12 years old. I was in 7th grade in Villa Park. I had a huge crush on a boy named Elliott. He was in my core class and I sat right behind him. I was the new girl in class and my teacher Ms. F really hated me. I'm not exaggerating. The whole class told me. Any time I had any interaction w/ Elliott she would flip out! She'd grab my desk (with me still in it) and shove me into the front wall while my books and papers flew everywhere. Once she made me mop the whole classroom floor by myself w/ paper towels while I was in a skirt. On the last day of school she apologized.

What i was doing 15 years ago.....15 years ago I was 17 years old and a senior at Viewmont HS in Utah. This was the best and the worst of times for me. I had some of the best friends ever but home was unbearable. I worked tons of hours to stay away, sometimes I had 3 jobs at a time! I finally started dating and almost had my first kiss. The guy leaned forward with his mouth open and his tongue out! I told him I don't kiss like that and went in the house!

What I was doing 10 years ago...See post below...

What i was doing 5 years ago.... Taking care of a 2 year old. We took our first trip to Kauai! We went w/ Glenn's old boss. We had the best time! We took Charles with us and he was so cute. I went snorkeling for the first time and Glenn went on a helicopter ride.

What i was doing 3 years ago....Taking care of a nursing baby and a preschooler!

What i was doing 1 year ago....Going crazy trying to do my calling (Enrichment Councelor) and take care of 2 kids while Glenn worked crazy hours and tons of overtime!! We were also planning our first cruise with the Chase's!

What i was doing yesterday..... I was driving kids back and forth to school and I helped Charles' teacher at the school science night.

What i did today....Same almost but I took a short nap instead of helping at school!

What I'm doing tomorrow....Exercise, pay the bills, Little League, I promised the kids McDonald's.

I've Been Tagged!

I've been "Tagged" by 2 of my nieces!!

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.

B. Each player answers the question about themselves.

C. At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. What was I doing ten years ago? I was living in a tiny 1 bedroom apartment in Garden Grove with a miniature oven that opened like a refrigerator and the cookie sheets only fit in long-ways. I was working as a dental assistant full-time and Glenn and I were thinking about starting a family.

2. Five things on my to-do list today: Dishes, cut Glenn's hair, preschool, exercise, and make dinner.

3. What snacks do I enjoy? Chips, oranges, and chocolate!

4. What would I do if I were suddenly a billionaire? Buy a home, travel, and save the rest for my kids.

5. Three bad habits: Biting my nails, interrupting people, and being bossy.

6. Five PLaces Where I lived: Santa Ana, Bountiful, Paso Robles, Cypress, and Orange.

7. Five jobs I have had: Sizzler, nanny, coffee and ice cream shop, Victoria's Secret, and farm worker.

8. Five things people don't know about me: I'd love to be able to sing Opera, I'd love to live in the mountains, I think that Elvis is still alive, seeing people's snot makes me gag, and I look hilarious trying to do aerobics- I'll never ever get it!!

Tagging: Mindy, Mom, Cory, Jaime, and Melanie

Hello Again!!

I'm soo sorry that I haven't posted in a while! It seems that things have been so busy! We had a great week-end! On Friday we got our taxes done and that was a nice surprise. After that, Glenn went to work and I got to take the kids to Disneyland!!

I have to thank my friend "R" and her husband for inviting us!! I had called her that morning because the kids had no school and I wanted to know if she was going to our ward park day so that I could drop off the kids while we got our taxes done. She had already made plans to go to D-Land with her sister-in-law, "E". That's when her husband offered us free tickets!! I was so surprised and excited!! Needless to say, the day was so fantastic! Charles ended up spending the whole day glued to "E's" daughter "Ve". The kids got to do everything they wanted to- even ice cream. I ended up staying with the kids until 11:15pm!

The next day the kids were up at 6:15am. Charles had baseball practice at 11:00 and I took Maryn to Superstar's birthday party. It was so fun! Because of scheduling conflicts, we missed the Easter Egg Hunt, but we were there for the important things like lunch, cake and presents! Superstar's cousin ended up sharing some of her Easter eggs with Maryn which was so nice, thank you "A"!

After that was a ward baptism that I was leading the music for. Glenn had to go to work so I had to get the kids dressed and over to the Stake center. Three of our Primary kids were baptized! We left there and went to our ward party. I changed the kids in the car. The party was fun and I ended up selling almost all of the candy bars for Charles' baseball team!! Yeah!

The next day we got to go to the Jenkin's for Sunday dinner. I have to say, this is something we really love to do! Not only is the food always great, the kids love it there! I even made a jello salad that turned out fine! Since most of our family has moved away, it's been so nice to spend time with people that we've grown to love and it means so much to us to be welcomed in their home.

So, that's just a little of what's been going on with us!!