Our Knott's Date!!

Today Glenn took me to Knott's Berry Farm for a date! Every year at this time, Glenn's work gets in free! So, thankfully, the Winston's babysat for us so that we could go out alone.

We got there and I was a little disappointed that it closed at 6pm tonight. But when we got in, it was empty! The rides didn't even have lines! Glenn dragged me on the log ride and I dragged him on all of the roller coasters! Our favorite was the Silver Bullet and we both hated Boomerang because it totally messes with your neck and back. I really wanted to take Glenn on the Xcelerator, but it was closed. Lucky for him! He was feeling sick to his stomach after the first ride.

I am thankful that I have a husband who is willing to indulge me in my craving for fast rides. It really has to be one of the things that I enjoy most in this world. If I was a guy, I'd totally be a Nascar driver. I'm really serious! One of my ultimate fantasies would be to rent- okay, if it's really a fantasy, I'd buy- a Corvette and take it out to a deserted, flat highway and just drive it as fast as it could go!

After Knott's we were driving home and passed this diner, Portillo's. We decided to stop and give it a try. It was so awesome! I think that we've found a new favorite. It was so nice inside and decorated like an old-school diner. You order your food at the counter and seat yourself, but the best part is the menu! They have all of our favorites! You can order burgers, hot dogs, sausages, sandwiches, onion rings, malts, made-to-order chopped salads, tamales, and so much more! We both ate for $12. We had an Italian sausage sandwich, onion rings, a large malt, and a tamale with chili and cheese. We will be going back because all the food was so good!

Today was a fantastic day!

Thanksgiving 2008!

This year we were lucky to have Glenn off for 3 days! We decided to go to my mom's house for Thanksgiving. We left on Wednesday after school. The normal 3 hour drive, took us 6 1/2 hours! I wanted to die!

(Jesse, Chad, and Chris)

When we got there, we were glad to be able to spend time with my step-brothers that I hardly knew and their families. One of the twins wasn't there, but I got to see Chris and Jesse. Charles got to know his cousins, Wesley and Alex. They played video games for hours and hours!
(Charles and Alex)

(Grandpa Smith and Grandma Nelda)

Of course we also got to spend a lot of time with my mom and Chad's dog, Emmy. She's gigantic! She's 80 lbs. and still a puppy! My mom made her a special holiday dress to wear on Thanksgiving. They think she's a human.


Dinner was so great and the visit was relaxed and pleasant. My mom did a great job with the cooking. The turkey was beautiful. She even made homemade apple pies! They were huge! She put 8 apples in each pie. She also made aprons for all of the women and Maryn.

(My SIL Amiee, Slade, and Me)

My mom convinced me to go to Black Friday. I have been against this idea from the start because I HATE getting up early and I really don't care for shopping. But the time with my mom was worth it. I had so much fun with the "girls"! Brenda (Chris' girlfriend), and Jeannie (Jesse's wife) went and so it ended up being a great opportunity to get to know them. They were both so much fun to be around! I am so glad that I got to know them! We went to 4 stores and I was so good. I didn't even buy a lot!

(Brenda and Chris)

(Jesse and Jeannie)

When we got home from the stores, we immediately packed up the car and made our way home. We had promised the kids we'd take them to Santa Claus Lane in Carpenteria, but when we got there, it was gone!! No candy shop, no bakery, no toy store, no ornament shop, nothing!! They have made it a surf town. We were so disappointed to say the least. I've been going there since I was a child.


Since we missed all of that, Glenn and I madly tried to make other plans. We ended up taking the kids to a beach in Ventura. It was so beautiful! The best part was playing Freeze Tag as a family. I enjoyed this so much and will remember it always! Running on the beach in my UGG's was so tiring! We were in this hilly area with little dunes and so it was fun trying to run around and catch each other. What a wonderful trip we had!

(Maryn Enjoying the Appetizers!)

Twilight!!

Last night I had the opportunity to go to Twilight with 14 women! We had a blast! I showed up and there were already people there saving our spot. We hung out in line and just talked and some women ate dinner. The theater was packed full of crazy girls and women! It made me laugh to hear all of them going nuts when the movie started. I thought that Edward was so beautiful, although I've heard so many people say that they didn't care for him. I really liked the movie. I can't say loved yet because of certain things that I wish that they had put in- like more character development with the Cullen's family. I though that Emmett was the best and Jasper and Rosalie were over-acting big time! Anyway, the much-needed "girl time" was my favorite! We were all so happy and excited and that made it so much fun to be together!

I stole a picture from Vivian's blog to post since I didn't bring a camera!

Our Family Day at Disneyland!

Yesterday Glenn and I took the kids to Disneyland! Yes, we were naughty keeping Charles out of school, but it's a rare day that we get to spend together, so we did it! My sister was taking her family that day, and our awesome friend signed Glenn and Charles in. My brother Slade came with his family and my cousin, Tiffany came with her girls, too. We ended up meeting up with my Aunt Bobbie, Uncle Dick, cousin Linda, and Kenzie. So, it was a huge family day! We enjoyed the time together so much!

Kaydence, Maryn and Kenzie!

Notice that my brother Slade has his head in his hands laughing? That's because he was flipping off the camera in the previous picture I took! I didn't find out until I downloaded the pictures because I was trying to take the pictures backwards and just holding the camera up behind me. He thinks that he's sooo funny!

This is us after Splash Mountain. I was in the front. It was getting cold outside and I had already gotten completely- yes, completely drenched on the raft ride earlier that day and had finally dried. Then came this! The guys thought it was so funny! My hair was seriously soaking wet like I had taken a shower and my make-up was running down my face! Charles said that I looked scary.

This is Kenny, Maryn, Maeli, and little Kaydence is in the front!

Charles being a typical big brother!

A Marriage in the Family!

Yesterday we had an exciting event take place in our home. Maryn informed me that her cat, Golden Purple Flower, and her monkey, Monkey Face, got married! A few minutes after the marriage ceremony, Golden Purple Flower was pregnant with a puppy! (See above photo for the expecting couple.)

The new puppy, Cilla, was born within 5 minutes. She was born with lavender ears and a mask. The whole happy family is pictured below.

Bonfire at Huntington Beach!

Yesterday my mom and Chad came down and treated all of us to a bonfire on the beach! My sister Beth, and her family are here visiting and it's been so much fun. The weather was great- cool but not cold. My brother Slade came with Sara and Kaydence as well. The time together was wonderful. It's really only once a year my sister makes it here from Utah, so it's so special to get to see her and her husband Ken, and the kids: Kenny, Maeli and Sadie. Thanks mom and Chad for making it such a special day!!

Tribute to Glenn!

This post is a tribute to my wonderful husband whom I love with all of my heart. He is sunshine to my soul. His birthday was a few days ago amidst all of the election drama and so I'm late with honoring him for his special day.

I wanted to share a few pictures from his past with all of you. I don't have many, but I posted all I have!

Glenn Learning to Walk

Glenn's Junior Picture!

Glenn's Senior Picture!

Glenn's College Freshman Picture!

Glenn's Mission Pictures!

Our Engagement 1995!

Glenn's First Dirt Bike Trip 1996!