Harms Way

2008-12-08T14:33:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning I was really struggling with how to make Christmas be more about Christ and less about Santa in our home. I have always tried, but I feel like the outside influence is so strong that I need to be even stronger! I spent the morning researching different talks on lds.org and found a great talk by Pres. Monson called "In Search of the Christmas Spirit". I knew this was the talk I needed for family home evening this week. Later at Church the relief society lesson was on this same subject and Sis. Graham used parts of the same talk. She did such a wonderful job. I was teary the whole time because it was just another testament that our Heavenly Father knows each one of us personally and what our needs are. The sisters all had great suggestions on ways to bring Christ back into Christmas. I am so grateful for the wonderful ward we are in and the examples of the sweet sisters around us. Sis. Graham was so nervous for her first lesson in RS and she did such an awesome job, I can't wait for more. I wanted to share a little from Pres. Monson's talk because I think we can all use a reminder.

"As we seek Christ, as we find Him, as we follow Him, we shall have the Christmas spirit, not for one fleeting day each year, but as a companion always. We shall learn to forget ourselves. We shall turn our thoughts to the greater benefit of others. This noble transition is exemplified by an entry dated 24 December 1847, in the pioneer diary of Mrs. Rebecca Riter. She describes that first Christmas in the valley of the Great Salt Lake: “The winter was cold. Christmas came and the children were hungry. I had brought a peck of wheat across the plains and hid it under a pile of wood. I thought I would cook a handful for the baby. Then I thought how we would need wheat for seed in the spring, so I left it alone.”
We are prone to say, “Oh, those were difficult times, times of stress and trial,” and they were. But I would also reply, “These times in which we live are also difficult times in their own way.” There is no shortage of opportunities to forget self and think of others. Such opportunities, however limitless they may be, are also perishable. There are hearts to gladden. There are kind words to say. There are gifts to be given. There are deeds to be done. There are souls to be saved." Pres. Monson Ensign Dec. 1987.

This is just a small part of his talk, you can read the rest HERE!

Hopefully I am doing a good job teaching my children the true meaning of Christmas. I think one of the best ways to do this is by example. I would love it if you shared some of your traditions with me. So please comment and if you have any great Christmas book ideas, I need one for book club.

New Look!

2008-12-05T18:48:00.000-08:00

I love my new background! What I love most about it is that I didn't even have to do it! The credit goes to Samantha. She is my blog stylist! Thanks Samantha it looks fabulous!

Since my reason for having a blog in the first place is to capture moments for future generations I thought I should catch up on a few things that happened over the last couple of months!

Christopher and Andrea started school. They both love their new teachers. Christopher is doing so well, he is loving school for the first time ever! Even our carpoolin' friend (Jolene) has noticed a difference in his attitude towards school. Andrea is working very hard and loving being in the same class as her bff Nicole.

Andrea turned SEVEN September 1st! I really can't believe it. She is growing up so fast. Her favorite things right now are: playing with friends, school, baby dolls, cooking and doing dishes, but what she wanted most for her birthday was to get a pedicure with Nicole.

Andrea's piggies are on the right and Nicole's are on the left!

Photo courtesy of Courtney

Halloween was great. Our ward had a fall festival the weekend before. I enjoyed it more that our usual trunk or treat. We were inside with the lights on so you could actually see each other and visit with everybody. They had games for the kids and a chili cook off. On Halloween we got to trick or treat with our cousins. They have lived out of state for the last couple of years and are on the way out of the country, so it is extra special to spend time with them. Samantha was Victoria (Twilight), Christopher was Dark Vader, Andrea was a Witch and Spencer was Buzz Light Year. Unfortunately I didn't get good pictures, we were in such a hurry a couple of them didn't want there pictures taken! I am posting them anyway!

Samantha turned FOURTEEN November 4th! Writing it down doesn't help, I am still in denial. She was looking forward to this birthday. She is now a MiMaid and can attend dances (no yet to my delight) Her favorite things are: friends, music, Twilight, Edward, writing, Edward, blogging, reading blogs, oh and did I say Edward. She choose to forgo a party to go shopping and to dinner with a friend.

Christopher turned ELEVEN November 19th! November is the month of birthdays in our family. (myself, two of my sister in laws, my Dad and a cousin too!) I still sometimes say he is nine. I don't think it has to do with his maturity level,wink, wink, I just don't like that my kids keep growing up! For his party he had a few friends over to watch Clone Wars and eat pizza. His favorite things are: the Wii, Lego's, reading, Star Wars and watching TV. Christopher also received his Arrow of Light and graduated from Cub Scouts to 11yr Scouts.

Andrea lost her first tooth November 19th. Actually she lost her bottom two teeth the same night. They were just hanging there and her Boopa pulled one and I pulled the other. We only got a picture of the first!

Thanksgiving dinner was at our house this year! It rained for two days before Thanksgiving. We live in AZ, I know we need the rain, but why did it have to rain this week! We usually eat outside all together on two long tables, the kids play outside all day long and it is always gorgeous weather. I was worried about how everything would turn out. It was great. The kids still played outside all day the ground had been so dry it soaked up all the water. We ate inside, played games looked at the adds and made plans for Black Friday. It was so nice to spend the day with family! I am so grateful to be surrounded by wonderful family and friends.

For the first time ever or at least almost ever, we got our Christmas tree up and inside of the house decorated for Christmas Thanksgiving weekend! It was such a fun weekend!

No Excuses!

2008-11-20T09:21:00.000-08:00

That's right, I have no excuses for not posting in forever! My record speaks for its self, I have phases! I do wish I was more consistent because I like to think of my blog as a journal, kind of.
Even though I haven't posted in awhile, I still enjoy reading all of your blogs and keeping up with the fun things you all have been up too! Blogs are the best! I have made friends through blogs, been inspired by others and now I have found a friend I haven't seen since Jr. High! I found her blog through a few links from my friend Jolene's blog. Mary is unforgettable! She has the sweetest personality ever! You know the kind of person that oozes sweetness and you just want to be around them because they make you feel good! That's Mary. She was always smiling and helping others. Any memories I have of her revolve around laughter. Over the years I have thought back on choices I've made that have put me where I am today! (which is completely happy and enjoying life) The choice that made the biggest difference in my life was 18 years ago when I joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I can't even imagine what my life would be like if I hadn't made that decision. It wasn't a tough choice for me, I knew it was right. I didn't just wake up one day and decide to join the Church, I was prepared over the years by people I knew and Mary was an excellent example to me! I am sure she is that same person today, always serving others, being a friend to anyone she meets, and changing lives as she did for me. We never know what influences we have on the people around us. I hope to be more like Mary and I'm excited to get back in touch with her and learn what she has been up to for the last 21 years (jaw dropping I know, it feels like yesterday) You can check out her blog here and see her cute family. Just so you know, she looks exactly the same. I will admit that makes me a little jealous!

Two Down, Two To Go!

2008-08-07T10:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first day of school for Samantha and Spencer. (Christopher and Andrea start on Monday) I have to say that I wasn't as sad as last year to send Samantha off to school yesterday, I couldn't be, she was too excited to see all of her friends and she truly loves to learn. Last year sending her to Jr. High felt like I was throwing her into the lions den. I cried on and off all day, so many times I wanted to go back and get her. Well she survived and so this year my sadness was only that I will miss spending the day with her (and the free day time babysitting too!)

(She really was excited to go! I think maybe she is tired of the 1st day picture routine)

Spencer started preschool yesterday. It was his first, first day of school. He officially started preschool last Feb. So this year he enjoyed getting a new outfit and backpack with the other kids. He has the same teacher which was helpful for both of us. I did cry on the drive home, but we invited a friend and her daughter to come swim with Andrea and I, so my mind was kept busy and I didn't dwell on it to much. He had a great day and can't wait to go back today, he gets to bring snack and show in tell!

The Count Down Ends!

2008-08-01T21:45:00.001-07:00

We are heading out right now to get Breaking Dawn! I am so excited! This is really fun in more ways than one. I am having fun with my oldest daughter. We've had a great time this summer rereading the Twilight series and discussing different things we didn't notice the first time through ( second and third times for her). At the same time we've been anticipating the release of Breaking Dawn all summer. It has been a great bonding experience. I really enjoy having something in common with her! Anyway, we are off to the Borders party and then at midnight we will have our book in hand.

I've wanted to post all week about our wonderful Cali trip, but I have been having after vacation blues! I will try to get to it soon. We had fun and I have some good pictures to share. We all know it won't be this weekend, and I will assume you will all be busy reading too!

Picture Tag!

2008-07-11T07:38:00.000-07:00

A lot of tagging going on in July! I saw this on a friends blog and thought it looked like fun. So here we go, 10 things around my house:

#1 My sink

I was pleasantly surprised to find it clean. I wanted this to be as honest as possible. I didn't want to go around and clean the places I needed to take pictures of. (even if cleaning is what I should be doing instead)

#2 My Fridge

In

And Out

IN-N-OUT sounds good, much better than anything I could find in my fridge right now!

#3 Hot Spot

I have too many of these, so I picked the worst. Okay, maybe not the worst, but the worst I wanted to share with the public. My whole office could be considered a hot spot and only a select few have seen it. You know who you are and how special your are to me.

#4 My closet

Nothing exciting here, sorry!

#5 Laundry room

This was my favorite picture to take. This is my new washer and dryer. I love them. I debated on making this room my favorite spot, (a picture coming up) but it really is only my second favorite spot. Who new doing laundry would be a favorite thing to do and that you could wash and dry 2 loads in less than 5 hours. Yes, you heard me, my old washer and dryer took that long. I was still grateful to have them because I wasn't doing it by hand!

#6 What your family is doing right NOW!

This was fun, because they are so cute like this!

Samantha

Christopher (I woke him up, OPPPS!)

Andrea

and Spencer

#7 Favorite spot

This is my favorite spot because I do my favorite things here. Read, watch TV, talk on the phone, and Nap!

#8 Bathroom

Could be worse!

#9 Backyard

Yes, it's cloudy and rainy out today! Yipee! It's a rainy day in AZ! I should be in my favorite spot reading right now!

#10 Self Portrait

It's early okay, I haven't brushed my hair. I am dressed for the gym, which I am more motivated to go than ever after seeing my arms in this picture!

I won't tag anyone because I think this is fun and you will want to do it too, so I look forward to seeing what your 10 spots look like!

Glow in the Dark Tag!

2008-07-05T12:05:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was the 4th and we had a great day! We invited family and friends over for swimming and BBQ. It's tradition to make homemade ice cream and go to the MCC fireworks. The weather was weird last night. It seemed like there was going to be a really bad storm. It was so windy and we could see lightening all around. We decided to stay home and watched a couple of different firework shows on TV. Some of us were disappointed and the ones who hate stormy weather were relieved. (by the way, the storm completely changed directions and it was a beautiful night for fireworks, but by the time we realized that it was to late) We turned out all the lights, spread out the picnic quilt, ate our ice cream, and broke out the neon glow in the dark sticks. It wasn't the same, but we still had a great time. The ice cream is always the best part. Chuck made a peanut butter ice cream with pieces of recesses cups in it (YUMO!) and Boopa made the all time classic tutti frutti!

After everyone left the real party began!

With all of the lights out and everyone having at least one glow stick on, we played TAG! It was so much fun and I must say a good work out too! Only two rules, no upstairs and no tag backs. The funest part is trying to hide right in the open with your glow stick covered, waiting to see how long it takes for someone to notice you! We finally fell into bed around midnight completely exhausted with smiles on our faces.

I have to say that I am so grateful to live in this country and for all of the freedoms we enjoy! Especially for the freedom of religion. I am so grateful to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Next week will mark my 18th year as a member of this church. I am so very thankful for the knowledge I have, to be sealed to a wonderful husband and four beautiful children. I can't imagine anything more wonderful than knowing that I can return and live with my Heavenly Father again someday!

Summer Reading

2008-06-26T08:51:00.000-07:00

I was doing really good at keeping up with my house work until I started my summer reading list! I haven't been able to us self control and put the books down. It all started with The Host and then Fablehaven, The Alchemyst and now The Magician! I putt of reading most of these books until after camp and couldn't wait to just sit sown and read. So after camp I got my house back in order (it took a couple of weeks) and now my house is in shambles again! So what am I doing right now instead of cleaning or reading, (because I told myself no book today until I get at least one room in order) blogging! When it gets this bad I get overwhelmed and just want to ignore it all! So what is on your summer reading list? I need some idea's because I am almost done with mine. Who needs a clean house in the summer any way.

Think Again!

2008-06-16T06:44:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I thought I would have more time when school got out! I kept thinking as soon as school got out and camp was over we could relax! Think again! We are so busy with friends and projects around the house and so on! This summer is going by way to fast! We are having a lot of fun and we do need to stay busy or there will be whining and headaches!

I can't believe it has been almost a month since I posted. Camp was amazing. We had so much fun! The girls were so happy with all of the little things we prepared for them! I just walked around camp with a smile on my face the whole time! I was just so happy to be there and the spirit could be felt every where we went. The girls were such a good example to me. They were constantly serving each other and not just their friends. The last night was the spiritual night and it was one of the most spiritual experiences I have ever had. I am so grateful that these girls got to have this experience at such a young age. I am tearing up thinking about it. This night can't be described any better than on Sarinah's blog. Check it out. The women who put on the Faith Walk are incredible so I am not surprised at all that it was so wonderful!

Our family got some great news last week! We have two cousins who are foster children and are going to be offically sealed to their families July 12th! Rebeka Miles' adobtion was on June 4th and Lexie Harms' adobtion will be on July 8th. We are so thrilled to have these sweet babies offically join the family! We love them so much! I really want to show you pictures, but I don't have thier mom's permisson so I will have to do it another time. I almost forgot, JoyAnn started a blog and you can see pictures of Lexie on her blog!

I hope everyone is having a great summer! I can't wait to hear about all of the adventures!

School's Out For Summer!

2008-05-23T08:54:00.000-07:00

I am so excited for school to be out! I love having the kids home and just hanging out, playing games and swimming! I won't miss driving them to or from school depending on the carpool, but I will miss visiting with the other carpool kids! The end of the school year is always crazy with school concerts and presentation and, and, and.... On top of all of that, this year I have the privilege of helping out with girls camp! Why do I save everything to the last minute? I can't wait to go to camp almost as much as I can't wait for it to be over. Just kidding! I really am having fun with all of the preparations. I can't wait to see their faces when we give them all of their surprises! We are going to have a blast mixed with spiritual moments as well I am sure. I have never been to camp so I really don't know what I am getting into, but I have a good friend who has been for about the last 10 years in a row so it has to be good! The camp theme this year is Joy in the Journey. We are the Virtuous Volkswagens! All of our decorations and wearables are hippied up! Lime green is our main color (my favorite)! I can't wait to report back on all of the good times at camp!

Happy 15th!

2008-05-21T09:17:00.000-07:00

Today is our 15th wedding anniversary! I really can't believe it has been that long. I'm so happy to be married to my best friend! I saw this tag on somebody's blog and thought it would be fun to do today!

1. What date is your anniversary?
May 21, 1993

2. Where did you get married?
Mesa, AZ Temple

3. Who proposed and how?
Chuck proposed at the Temple grounds on one knee! I have always been grateful that he took time to plan it out because it was the last thing he planned ahead!

4. How long were you engaged?
About 4 1/2 months

5. What was the favorite part of your wedding day?
Having the full support of my parents in what had to be a hard day for them. I am the only member in my family and was married in the Temple without my mom and dad. I still get weepy thinking about how much they showed their love for me that day!

6. What would you change if you could?
I wish I could remember more, it flew by so fast - I think I would have changed the song we danced to for our "first dance." We forgot to bring the one we really wanted the and the DJ didn’t have it, so we pick one really quick.(Forever Young) We wanted "If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful"

7.Wedding colors?
Wedgwood blue, yellow and coral! (no comment please!)

8.Do you remember anything special from your ceremony?
One of our close family friends came up to congratulate us and told us we were officially married at 10:13 am. I love knowing that and like to watch the clock and remember the moment!

9.Were you clean or messy when you cut your wedding cake?
Clean!!!

10.Where did you go on your honeymoon?
Disneyland of course!

11.How long have you been married now?
15 fabulous years!

Jolene , Nicole , and Pam you have been tagged!

Football Superstar

2008-05-12T11:22:00.000-07:00

Andrea is our six year old football superstar. For two years she has been begging us to let her play flag football. An opportunity came up and we finally let her play. She had so much fun and I wish we would have let her sooner. Their last game was Sat. They did really well overall. She had a great coach and learned a lot. She was so sad that it was over. She was the only girl on her team and wasn't intimidated by that at all. I am so proud of her. I was out of town for team pictures and I am dreading how they will turn out. Dad and cute hair, I don't think so. Luckily I got some good pictures of my own.

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T10:58:00.001-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to everyone...I know so many wonderful mothers!! I am so thankful for my own mother! She is an amazing example to me. She is constantly serving others. I hope to be more like her. I am blessed to have my Grandmother near buy. She is so much fun to be around and she always is thinking of others.

I love homemade gifts. This Mother's Day, I received four of them along with some other fun things. Spencer made a card at school and he was asked several questions.

My mother's name is mommy

She is 5 years old

She weighs 5 pounds

Her shoe size is 5

She has green eyes

She has black hair

Her favorite food is pizza

Her favorite color is blue

Her favorite TV show is baseball
Her favorite hobby is shopping
Her biggest wish is that she could cook
Her best friend is Daddy.

Six out of twelve isn't too bad!

Andrea wrote me a poem:

Mom

Kind, Funny

Cooking, Cleaning, Sewing

We Read Stories Together

Mama Bear

Our children are so observant. It always surprises me how well they know us, sometimes even better than we know ourselves.

Christopher made me a ceramic pot painted like a watermelon filled with candy and a card that said "you are one in a melon" I love it!

Samantha is in Jr. High now and there is no time in school to make gifts for Mom. She took time out of her busy day and made me the cutest card with a poem:

Mother...

We only have one Mom.

One Mommy,

One Mother...

And that is you

We won't wait till it's to late to

Tell you we love you!

Being a mother truly is one of the best gifts I have been given. It may sometimes be hard to remember during late nights, tantrums, and mundane tasks, but I have been entrusted with God's children and will try my best to raise them in righteousness.

"Motherhood is more than bearing children. … It is the essence of who we are as women." Sheri Dew, “Are We Not All Mothers?,” Ensign, Nov 2001

WC 2008

2008-05-06T07:59:00.000-07:00

This past week I had the opportunity to attend Women's Conference at BYU with my good friends Nicole, Jolene, Vicki, and Pam. We hardly slept, ate a lot of junk (I had fry sauce for the first time, Yum O), shopped and more than once we laughed so hard we cried. It truly was a girl's weekend like no other.
Tue. night we gave each other "prizes" and "tags". "Prizes" are matching gifts we give to each other. This year there were pj's, jewlery, bags, journals, and hoodies. The tags were awesome and will be such a great reminder of all the good times. Nicole describes the "tags" the best, go to her blog to see all the GLORY!

We went a day early so that we could go to the Salt Lake Temple. It was the first time I have ever been through a live session. It was amazing. It was the perfect way to start our Conference weekend.
Sheri Dew was the opening speaker Thurs. morning. She counseled us, that asking ourselves daily why God has placed us in any given situation is more important than "feverishly working down a list of to-do's that may or may not have lasting significance." I am really going to try and do it!

There was a concert Thursday night. I have to say I had a really great time and felt a little like a teenager (which is only a couple of years younger than I am now). If you are looking for some fun uplifting music check out Eclipse, and Hilliary Weeks (she has a new album coming out soon). They were just a couple of the performers.

The last speaker on Friday was President Monson. He is such an amazing man. The spirit was overwhelming as he entered the room. We all stood (17,000 plus, women) and sang together "We Thank Thee o God for a Prophet". I will never forget that feeling. I am so grateful for a living prophet and the guidance the gospel brings. Make the time next year to attend Women’s Conference - you will not be disappointed.

Thanks for all the support from our Hubbies, especially Nicole's DH for putting up with late nights and loud giggles from the basement. You're the BEST!

Book Signing

2008-04-26T07:57:00.000-07:00

On Thursday night I took my two older kids and two of their friends (while their mom watched my two younger ones. Thanks again!) to a Brandon Mull book signing. I was just as excited as they were. I love his books. He wrote the Fablehaven series, the third book just came out. If you haven't read them click Here to find out more. The website is really cool check it out. We got to the bookstore at 5:30pm and waited in line to get our ticket. At 6pm they gave us a ticket and let us in the store where they had areas set up with activities. The kids saw school friends and had a lot of fun. It was so nice to not have to wait in line the whole night. They called our group of blue C's and we then had to wait about 20 min. in line to meet him. He was so nice. He took a minute to talk to each child. I was so excited for the kids that I almost forgot to have him sign the book I was holding. We were out of there by 8pm.

Four more days until Women's Conference. I can't wait, I've never been. I have a huge long list of things to do before Tue. I add more things everyday than I cross off. Blogging wasn't on my list of things to do. I better go get something done.

Tag Your It

2008-04-20T16:41:00.000-07:00

Well blogging obviously isn't one of my strong points. I would really love it to be. I guess I got a little intimidated reading all of the other fabulous blogs out there! I think I was waiting for something really extra special to happen and then I could write about it! Not much happens in our home. I've been reading about all of these random animals invasions in people's homes. All we get are flies. That is pretty much our excitement lately. Although it was pretty funny watching my husband go around trying to catch the flies with his hands. I was having Karate Kid flash backs.

My daughter and her friend made my blog look all fancy so I felt like it was time to give it a try again.I figured an easy way to get back into it would be to answer the TAG I got back in Nov. So here are seven random things you may or may not know about me:

1. I am not coordinated enough to style the back of my hair.

2. I joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints when I was 17.

3. I want to be on Amazing Race. When I walk in the mornings with a friend, we sometimes jog from light post to light post and I imagine we are on the last leg of the race and we are running to the finish line!

4. In high school I was in the AFJROTC.

5. I was born in Michigan.

6. I love frogs.

7. I have no musical abilities. (no surprise if I have ever sat by you in RS)

I can't figure out how to link to other blog so I guess I will only follow the second rule of tagging. I know I've done it before. That's what I get for waiting so long. I will have to figure everything out again.

"No Grouchiness Aloud Day!"

2007-11-01T06:37:00.000-07:00

Today is our annual "No Grouchiness Aloud Day"! It is kind of nice that this holiday is the day after Halloween, because if there was ever a day that the kids would be grouchy, today would be the day. Up late counting candy, sneaking a piece here and there, and washing off make up makes for a late night and tummy aches. So this morning as I am waking up the kids, I hear "NO I DON'T WANT TO GET UP!" and "I DON'T WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL!" I simply remind them what today is "NGAD"! AKA my birthday! This is the only reason it actually works. I don't think it would be effective any other day. The kids feel guilty being grouchy to me on my Bday, so right now I have happy children getting ready for school without any complaints.

We had a great time last night. I love Halloween. There aren't any other holidays,that I can think of, that you share with your neighborhood. It is so fun to get out and meet new people and see your friends all dressed up. Candy is always a bonus. We walked around more than usual last night, but most of the time we were enjoying all of the decked out homes. Some people in our neighborhood go all out with their decorations. I love it!

I am going to try and post a picture or two. So far I haven't been able to do this.

Well I was able to get a picture, but I can't figure out how to get it down here! I will just leave it up there so you can see the cuties! I am really lame at this kind of thing! Someday I will get the hang of it! Hope everyone enjoys "NGAD"!

Catching Up!

2007-10-18T20:38:00.000-07:00

Well I didn't get off to a fast start with the blogging thing. I was really excited to get started and then our family got hit with the stomach flu. Needless to say that on top of catching up after a vacation and Cub Scouts and and and... I haven't even had time to check my email. So I will back up a little and tell you about the last couple of weeks.

At the beginning of Oct. my two favorite Aunts (and three dogs) came to visit. They were driving cross country literally, from Homestead, Florida to Seattle, Washington. They stopped off here for a couple of days and we had a great time. My Aunt Dawn was moving to Seattle and my Aunt Cecile was helping. They had a great time and have successfully made it to Seattle. The best part of it for me was showing off my beautiful children and handsome husband. They had never met each other. We were very sad to see them go, but we did get promises of return visits. I think the Tinkerbell room sold them!

The following weekend was General Conference. I love to listen to the General Authorities. I always learn something new and am reminded of things I know and need to work on. I am so very grateful to have the gospel in my life.

After Conference, we headed to Cali. for fall break. I think every other person in AZ did as well! We went to Knott's Berry Farm and Disneyland. To keep it short I will give you the highs and lows of the trip. Low points first: everyone from AZ was there so the lines were to long at Disneyland, Splash Mountain broke while hubby and kids were on it (although that may have been on Christopher's high list, he thought it was cool to walk out), Andrea is finally tall enough to ride Indiana Jones and it was closed for annual repair.

High points: Knott's Berry farm was empty, we walked onto every ride and did them all at least twice. We only waited 15 min. for Nemo by pure luck. We didn't get the stomach flu until after we got home. And the best part of the trip for me was seeing Blake Lewis from American Idol!!!!! He was walking down Main Street with his girlfriend and a cast member. Samantha saw him first, he was a little bit ahead of us. I ran up ahead dragging Andrea (I almost ran off without her) stopped and tried to look casual as he walked by. Chuck had the camera and was in a shop with Christopher so I didn't get a picture. Shucks! I wanted to yell out "Blake we're from AZ and we voted for you!!!!" If you didn't know the winner of American Idol is from AZ. As we walked back to meet up with Chuck, we saw a few teenage girls running to try and catch up with Blake and I thought to myself "is this really appropriate for a 30ish woman with four kids?" Oh well it was still my high point.

On a friend's blog this week she posted all of the famous people she has ever seen. I thought it would be fun to list the few I have seen. If you want to read Kelly B's click HERE

Of course on the top of my list would be Blake and you know that story. When I was looking for a picture to post I learned he is already in the Wikipedia free encyclopedia! No Pictures are posted because I can't figure it out even after Jolene told me.

The next most recent would be Jessica Simpson at the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport. We were both ordering McDonald's! I know that seems hard to beleive, but my sister in law says Jessica eats good all through the week and has what ever she wants on the weekends.

At the St. Louis airport we saw the Dalai Lama! I only got to see the top of his head. He was surrounded by at least 30 people or body guards. I think they said he was on his way to London.

When I was in High School I got to go to a charity tennis match that had several celebrities matched up with famous tennis players. I only had eyes for Andre Agassi at the time! I got his autograph!

At Disneyland another time we saw Melanie Griffith in the Blue Bayou restaurant. I was pretty sure it was her, but to be sure I asked the waiter if it was her. He told me he wasn't aloud to say, but that celeberties come and celebrate their children's Bday's in the private room, wink! wink! I guess Melanie was there with her children or the waiter was flirting. You decide. That is pretty much it for me and the rich and famous!

Here We Go!

2007-10-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

I am not really sure why I am doing this! I guess I really enjoy reading my friend's blogs and thought maybe I should give it a try. It is a great way to keep in touch with friends and family. I have never been good at keeping a journal. Hopefully this will work as a substitute.