Nothing is worth more than this day ~ Goethe

Our 10th Anniversary - DAY ONE

2010-03-15T10:37:00.000-07:00

We celebrated our 10th anniversary where we honeymooned in Carmel-By-The-Sea. We chose this spot because it is close enough to visit often, but this was the first time we had been back! We'll definitely have to make more trips here in the future! We started our first day by driving down to Big Sur.

Bixby Bridge.

Nepenthe

2010-03-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

After driving around Big Sur, we stopped and ate lunch at Nepenthe. We sat on the balcony and just soaked in all the beauty. These pics were taken from my seat.

Point Lobobs State Reserve

2010-03-15T10:18:00.000-07:00

It has been said that this is the greatest meeting of land and sea, and the following pictures will show you why.

I found myself walking on rainbow colored sand. Apparently, it was a "middin" or kitchen from the Indians who lived here hundreds of years ago. What is left is crushed abalone shells all throughout the ground!

2010-03-15T10:07:00.000-07:00

We couldn't tell what this otter was carrying until I did a full zoom with my camera and then cropped after that! After we got this shot, we bumped into a docent who gave us our own private tour! We asked about the otter and he said that they carry their young for up to 8 months after they're born! Neat that we got to see that!

2010-03-15T10:03:00.000-07:00

The orange stuff is algae and the grey stuff is lace lichen. It felt like we were on another world!

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Just when we thought we had seen all the beauty this reserve had to offer, we took one last walk and found China Beach.

After such a long day we mustered up enough energy to walk around downtown Carmel and found a superb restaurant where we had a four course meal for less than the price of our lunch! Yummy and a great way to end the day.

DAY TWO

2010-03-14T21:10:00.000-07:00

We started the day driving along the 17-Mile Drive to get to Monterey.

The Lone Cypress.

2010-03-14T21:09:00.000-07:00

The Drive dropped us off at Cannery Row where we did some shopping and dining. We ate lunch at el Torito on top of the ocean.

After that we drove over to Fisherman's Wharf. We found a nice vendor fair next to the Wharf and then headed back to Carmel to see the Mission before it closed.

Anywhere you turn, you find beauty!

2010-03-14T21:02:00.000-07:00

We finished the day by taking a tour of the Carmel Mission, which happens to be where Junipero Serra is buried.

They had cyclamen at the mission, which was the flower I chose for our reception decorations.

Then we went to the beach before heading back to our cottage for the night. It was a long and beautiful day.

DAY THREE

2010-03-14T18:58:00.000-07:00

We took Pacific Coast Highway most of the way home.

Julia Phieffer Burns State Park. The "paradise" is literally across the highway.

The day was filled with cloud cover and bursts of sun.

We stopped at Moro Bay and got some pictures of Moro Rock.

2010-03-14T18:02:00.000-07:00

Can you see the different hues of blue? I was in constant awe. I need to ask a biologist how in the world the water could be so light in such deep parts. It reminded me of the Bahamas!

The closest we got to Hearst Castle this year was this picture I took from inside the car while driving on the freeway.

This was by far one of the most memorable anniversary trips we have had yet. It was beautiful and relaxing. Thanks Christys, Leudtkes and Dad and Pam!

Night Giggles, Not Night Terrors

2010-03-14T16:59:00.000-07:00

We first discovered "night giggles" (I'll have to find out the real term for it) about a year ago when Matt was holding a sleeping Isaac who suddenly started giggling and then stopped as soon as he started. The whole time he was asleep. He had giggled here and stopped, so by the time I got the camera, I had to cajole him into the giggles again. You can do anything when he is in the state and he will giggle. His eyes are usually closed the whole time. At the end of the video I have a long period to show you that he really is asleep.

The Heber Creeper

2009-12-14T15:18:00.000-08:00

2009-12-14T15:13:00.000-08:00

Yosemite

2009-12-07T13:04:00.000-08:00

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Mono Lake and Mammoth

2009-12-07T12:30:00.000-08:00

GNO

2009-10-11T00:12:00.000-07:00

Thanks for a fun night out, girls!

They Can Swim!

2009-08-30T17:13:00.000-07:00

San Fran Trip

2009-07-03T22:17:00.000-07:00

After our extended family left and I took a good look at our messy home, I booked a hotel in San Francisco and we left the next morning. (That's how I deal with a messy house.) Here are some of my favorite pics I took on our trip. I'll try to finish blogging the trip soon.

Bridges

2009-07-02T23:32:00.000-07:00

Bijou Hotel

2009-07-02T22:28:00.000-07:00

The Bijou Hotel is a "boutique hotel" right in downtown, one block from Powell cable cars and the Bart. It has an old hollywood feel to it with a movie theme. Very Cute. As we were walking through the hall to our room we noticed each room had a movie title on it. We passed Interview with a Vampire, Star Trek IV, The Rock, etc. I was excited to see what ours would be. I was quite surprised to see this:

For years we've been going back and forth about having a third child. We had just started seriously considering it again and then this! I figured Somebody was trying to give us a pretty big hint.

Then in the room it had a cute synopsis of the movie. (Good thing, cuz who has ever heard of Nine Months?)

I LOVED our hotel! The fire escape was right outside our window! I've only seen that on tv shows and movies! And it was fun to feel like a part of the city.

Cable Cars/Museum

2009-07-02T22:24:00.000-07:00

It was so cool to see the cables actually working!

And it was even cooler to see them working under ground where they cross paths and turn on the street.

Cruise around Fisherman's Wharf

2009-07-02T22:21:00.000-07:00

So cool that we got to go into the little area with the sea lions!)

Pier 39

2009-07-02T22:16:00.000-07:00

Lumbard Street and Coit Tower

2009-07-02T22:13:00.000-07:00

Muir Woods

2009-07-02T22:08:00.000-07:00

This is so beautiful just 10 minutes north of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Micah and Heather's Wedding Day

2009-06-27T21:38:00.000-07:00

Family pics at Wayfarers Chapel and Trump Golf Course.

Isaac never stopped dancing (except for the chocolate fountain!)

Everybody on the dance floor!

Pre-Wedding...

2009-06-25T18:26:00.000-07:00

At Mollie's beach condo, or "the sleeping place" as Seth has come to call it.

A day in Burbank. Heather's shower, visiting the Lees, and a stop at the mall.

Rehearsal dinner at the Napa Rose. YUM!

Our last days with the Fields

2009-06-14T12:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, there are way to many pictures for this post. Looks like I'll have to do a slideshow...

Riverside Tour

2009-06-13T11:59:00.000-07:00

Dr. Owen Jones

2009-06-13T11:54:00.000-07:00

Visit With Grandma Reynolds

2009-06-12T10:12:00.000-07:00

We finally got to see Matt perform with the school band! They play all sorts of fun songs from oldies to rock and the band teacher always asks Matt to play along on his electric guitar. You can imagine how much the students love that! It has created a fan club for Mr. Jones. Even students that he doesn't know say hi to him walking in the halls. His children are mini celebrities. Whenever we visit we get surrounded by students and I can hear kids saying "that's Mr. Jones' kids" to each other as we're walking down the halls.

We had lunch together in Matt's room.

Then we headed down to the Cabrillo Aquarium. There was a fire truck parked outside.

California Science Center

2009-06-07T10:09:00.000-07:00

Draper's First Visit

2009-06-07T09:42:00.000-07:00

We went to grandpas house.

Got to see baby William.

Slept on top of each other.

Rocked out.

Visited Micah and Heather and got to play with Bella.

Memorial Weekend 2009

2009-05-29T09:25:00.000-07:00

Well, we had big plans for camping at Buckhorn for the weekend and we were about to start loading up our camping gear when I decided to check the weather. After we saw it was going to reach mid-60s for the highs in Wrightwood (lower elevation than Buckhorn) we decided to wait until it got a little warmer to camp there. So, we hiked up to Switzer Falls with the Browers, which turned out tobe a very long hike, but it was nice and shady and the boys did great!

We decided the falls weren't worth the hike, but at least we've done it.

On Monday the boys chose Travel Town over Knotts. I swear! Everytime we go there they are as excited as the first time! They can't get enough of this place! This was also the day their little cousin, William entered the world! I can't wait to see him next week!

Tom Sawyer's Island at Disneyland

2009-05-19T21:35:00.000-07:00

Our Family Is Falling Apart

2009-05-18T11:10:00.000-07:00

The top of our piano normally looks like this:
But tonight when we came home from the Field's house after there had been a 5.0 earthquake, we came home to this:

Some figurines had also fallen off one of our shelves. This is the first quake I've been in that has made things fall to the floor. It was short, but a good jolt and rolling. We really need to get ready for more!

Anne's First Overnighter

2009-05-17T13:33:00.000-07:00

As the second part of our extended anniversary (the first part being Medeival Times and a night at the Radisson and no Knott's the next day because I had the 24-hour flu), Matt and I ditched the boys and headed for the mountains. This was my first attempt at an overnight hiking trip. I have to say that I was really nervous about how I would do with a pack, since I can't handle carrying a purse around town. Thankfully, Matt carried twice the weight I did and it felt more like a nice walk.

Spring is definitely the time to be in the mountains. It was so green and beautiful!

We camped at Hogees at about 3,000 ft. 2.5 miles in (a baby hike, but Matt wanted me to enjoy my first hiking experience!). The next day we hiked out of Hogees and up to Sturdavent Falls and then up the worst .6 miles I've ever done (about 4 mi.).

Amazingly, I slept better than I can remember while camping! It was so nice to camp withOUT the boys, just Matt and I. Thanks Dad and Pam! I'm ready for more!

Knott's with Grandma Lee

2009-05-11T17:28:00.000-07:00

We fed the roosters and their newborns.
The ducks too.

Rode the horse -drawn carraige.

Saw the city on the Sky Cabin and rode some rides.

Griffith Observatory with FamiLee

2009-05-09T22:36:00.000-07:00

We spent a lovely day up "north" on Saturday. Micah, Ben and Jon and crew met us at the observatory for a get together for mother's day.

We watched "Water Is Life" in the planetarium.Then headed to Burbank for lunch at Chevy's Where the kids wrestled, ate, and lounged with their uncles.

Jon and crew left and we decided to see Disney's Earth which was amazing! Here's a pic of the boys before the movie playing games on their iPhones. Good times.

Maritime Museum

2009-05-08T22:51:00.000-07:00

We picked up grandma at LAX for the mother's day weekend on friday. We had originally decided to go to Pt. Fermin, but on the way I remembered that the boys still hadn't been to the Maritime Museum on the port in SP. So, we changed plans and instead of McDonalds, we went to Acapulco that was right next door to the museum. It was one of my favorite places to go for lunch when I worked in SP and where I had also taken mom and Jon before. It is a beautiful place to relax and eat. So, I knew the boys would love it. We had a table by the sea. The boys were too busy spotting a stingray (not witnessed by an adult), crabs, and starfish to eat much food.

Then we walked over to the museum. There were lots of cool things outside to look at.

Before we really got exploring, the Angels Gate trolley rolled by.
They were working on renovating the old line before I quit working. Of course the boys were enamored, so we decided to take a ride. It just happened to be free for the mother's day weekend!

We took it to the end of the line and back to the museum to continue our tour.

Spring Break 2009

2009-04-13T09:42:00.001-07:00

RED CLIFFS

On Saturday of Matt's spring break we saw that early the following week the weather would be great at Red Cliffs in southern Utah. That determined our plans. We got ready and left early monday morning. We happened to get my favorite family camping spot we had when I was a child that has the perfect climbing rocks attached to it.

My sister, Lisa, and I called this the "Quiet Cove".

We called up some old friends of ours that moved to St. George a few years ago and they dropped by to catch up and roast some hot dogs and marshmallows. The moon was so bright that night we could hardly see the stars! It was casting shadows like the sun and it was so light that I could climb up the rocks without a flashlight!
The next day we hiked up the river. I wish these pictures could do the beauty justice!

Below is what Seth called the "broken pirate ship."

Amazing!!

This is our classic Lee family foto area. Later when we got to grandma Lee's we compared this to our old one with the seven kids. I'll have to get that from mom and add it in.
On the way back, Isaac ran ahead of me. Just at the point I was thinking I should have caught up with him, I called out his name. That was when I heard the "gunfire" and saw that I was standing right in front of a cove we had discovered on the hike up. And in it was my little sharpshooter who had sneakily been waiting for me to pass.

Nothing beats southern Utah!

(This is a small 1/2 mile walk. Red Cliffs is right off the 15 at Leeds. I think we'll be stopping here more often during our Utah trips for a great picnic spot or rest stop)

Fun with cousins

2009-04-13T09:37:00.000-07:00

Whe I checked on the weather on Tuesday and it said it was supposed to rain all week in Long Beach, we figured we may as well go up and spend time with grandma and cousins. So instead of spending another night at Red Cliffs as planned we called grandma Lee and told her we'd be up in a few hours and asked Tom and Laura if we could crash their spring break. Our boys couldn't have been happier to go to their cousins' house!

Treehouse Museum

2009-04-13T09:30:00.000-07:00

Of course, Isaac wanted to spend the whole time at this old fashioned fire truck. Seth mostly played with the train tables!

Isaac would NOT leave this old fashioned school house. He sat and listened to a 10 year old girl read stories and inspect the children's drawings of a sun. He loved it! Even after many of the kids had come and gone. I guess he's ready for kindergarten!

Calico

2009-04-13T09:24:00.000-07:00

On our trip home we toured Calico ghost town and walked through a mine and panned for gold.

I love my husband!

2009-03-04T10:21:00.000-08:00

Matt calls me from work today and has his whole class wish me a happy anniversary on speaker phone. He usually does this for my birthday, but this was a first for our anniversary! I'm normally so busy going about my day that I forget about what day it is until I pick up the phone and hear one of his classes singing happy birthday to me! I LOVE this! Isaac was beaming on our way home from Knott's on his b-day when I put my cell on speaker so he could hear them sing to him. I love my man! Thanks honey! And Happy Anniversary!

(To be continued...)

Beauty Everywhere!

2009-01-27T12:52:00.000-08:00

World's Worst Santa

2009-01-05T21:36:00.000-08:00

So. This year was the first year I've ever had to really deal with the Santa thing. Isaac started showing interest in him by asking some basic questions to which I would hem and haw or ask him what he thinks in response. I've sort of been dreading this for years. I pride myself on my practically perfect honesty and knew this would taint my record. ANYWAY, after talking with a few people and getting their advice, I planned to do the traditional. Or at least try.

Well, this was the first year that we actually bought christmas presents for the boys that came in boxes (i.e. NOT from the thrift store). Since I never do this (not even for birthdays), I didn't know that packaged toys are much more noticable to little boys than random "items" in what looks like a plastic grocery sack. At least I didn't know until we opened the van door and Isaac asks what's in this bag? and I realize I never took the forklift that he asked Santa for out of the van! OOPS!!! I quickly yank it off the seat and say 'nothing' while I run it into grandma Reynold's house and throw it on the other side of our bed and hurry and go back to the van to go wherever we were going. You'd think I'd learn my lesson. Well, I didn't.

I left the forklift there with the other "Santa" stocking stuffers and figured he'd never go over there. Maybe I felt it would be too deceitful if I were to hide it in the closet. Or maybe I was just too lazy to wrap it. Afterall, I was still looking for a better forklift since the one I found was technically a telehandler, not a forklift (Isaac would know the difference, but still be happy). After Isaac came to me in the living room and asked who the forklift was for I played dumb (no lying involved there!) and when he had forgotten I finally put it in the closet.

Now that he had seen the forklift (and his mother being a bumbling idiot about it), I was sure my perceptive little boy would figure it out. So, to throw him off, Aunt Rebecca suggested we take it out of the box and put a bow on it. To make a super long story even longer...Christmas day went off without any incriminating questions from Isaac. Whew!

Then tonight, (Jan 5th) Matt threatened to take Isaac's forklift back. When Isaac asked why, he snapped back, "Because I'm the one who bought it!" He didn't even realize that he could be giving it all away. Hopefully Isaac won't either!

Christmasing with the Joneses

2008-12-27T22:16:00.000-08:00

Can't miss the lights at Temple Square! We tried to meet up with the Lee's but they were leaving by the time we got there.

Why walk on the sidewalk when there's piles of snow to walk through? This was Isaac's usual everywhere he walked.

Fun on Christmas day.

Fun with family.

2008-12-25T10:23:00.000-08:00

For those of you who have ever wondered why Matt was never the lead singer in any of his bands, here is your answer:

(This was Christmas Day and Matt had been helping in the kitchen. Don't you think the gingerbread man apron puts it over the top? Btw, we've dubbed those dance moves by Matt "The Special Ed" and it's really quite difficult to do. If you don't believe me, try it!)

Squeezing It All In

2008-12-16T11:57:00.000-08:00

Christmas is the busiest season of the year. Maybe when we're not traveling to Utah (if ever), it will help calm things down a bit for us. But this year before we left Long Beach we had two must-do activities remaining.
The first was the Long Beach Aquarium. I had won some passes to the aquarium earlier in the year and they would expire before we got back home. It was nice since we hadn't been there in a while.

The boys loved this little tank with about 20 tiny rays and Seth even dared to put his hand in a few times. Isaac has become quite interested in rays. I couldn't help but laugh when he asked the attendant what their names were.

We also couldn't miss our traditional trip to Naples with Grampa Lee and Pam. We went to CPK and then walked around Naples to see the lights. We noticed that on one whole side of the canal nobody was home and NO Christmas lights were up or on. We were so surprised, since usually there are lights as far as the eye can see. Then our suspicions were confirmed when we saw this:

The dual bucket arial lift made Isaac's night! It was pretty amazing to watch that massive thing move from the other side of the canal.

Thanks grandpa and Pam for a great time!

Christmasing With Friends

2008-12-15T22:16:00.000-08:00

The season partying started with a small fondue party at the Field's house. Even though we are still in the "experimenting" stage, it was delicious and we resolved to do it sooner than next Christmas!

Next came the ward Grinchmas party where we had lots of delicious delicacies from Dr. Suess' book that looked fantastical and tasted fantastic! Though an nontraditional Christmas party, the story of the Grinch reminds us of the most important characteristic of our Savior and God; love.

Then tonight we went on a cruise to see the Christmas lights at Naples for F.H.E. with a group of friends.

The boys loved it!

Please Don't Call the Authorities!

2008-12-09T11:16:00.000-08:00

We all know we can't watch our kids every second of the day. There are things that need to get done, afterall, like designing christmas cards (me) or facebooking (Matt). We also know that kids can get into trouble if not carefully supervised.

This is what happens while I'm at the computer:

Isacc won't stop creating! (And making a mess in the process). This is what happens when mom is gone and dad is at the computer:
The boys decided to try jumping off the bunk bed without adult supervision (as are the rules).
Fortunately, the impact only squished the bone in Seth's foot together (I forget what it's called), so as soon as he was able, he was allowed to bear weight on it. We found that riding his bike was the best way he could play until he could run around! Even though he could weight-bear after two days, he wore the brace for 10 days and he passed inspection just in time for our trip to Utah!

Heritage Park

2008-12-03T18:06:00.000-08:00

We went to Heritage Park for play group today. It has been 3 years since the last time we were there when Seth was about one month old! It is a huge, beautiful park with cannons and other "old and fashioned" things that Isaac loves.

Do you think the boys enjoyed it? I hope I can remember to go there again soon!

Isaac's 5th Birthday Party

2008-12-01T14:34:00.000-08:00

THANKSGIVING DAY

2008-11-28T08:44:00.001-08:00

2nd review of Twilight

2008-11-25T23:56:00.000-08:00

Matt came with me the second time I saw Twilight. Instead of a bunch of screaming teenagers, the audience consisted of bunches of couples. I don't know how much this altered my experience from the previous viewing, but it was MUCH better the second time while I tried to watch it from a "never read it before" point of view. (It also helped to be holding Matt's hand throughout!) Matt's response to my very hesitant inquiry as to how he liked it was, "Interesting..." (Woo hoo!) Then he kept asking questions (of course, all about the vampire aspect). The next morning you can imagine my jaw dropping when he told me he was considering reading it!

Back when I was reading it and he was mocking me, I told him he could learn a lot from Edward. Well, today I found out how correct that statement was. After his refusal to finish bathing the boys because of my criticisms, I attempted to block his way out of the bathroom. After a quick little struggle he stopped (while I kept "pushing" him) and looked down at me and said, "Do you know how easy it would be for me to move you? I'm a lot stronger than you." The meadow scene immediately flashed through my mind. Unfortunately, he wasn't hypothetically threatening my life, otherwise I could have responded appropriately and kissed him. Instead I gave a disappointed look and said, "That wasn't what you were supposed to learn from Edward!"

Twilight

2008-11-25T10:29:00.000-08:00

A group of us gals (young and old) went to see twilight on opening night. I'm waiting to see how I feel after I see it again without the screaming teens (though that was pretty entertaining in and of itself!) But for now, I wasn't thrilled...

I Couldn't Wait!

2008-11-24T17:31:00.000-08:00

I know, I'm horrible. I've been wanting to do this for over a week, but I've been exercising self control...until now. I just can't wait for Christmas and since it was getting cold and cloudy here today, I finally gave in and winterized my layout.

Happy Birthday Isaac (and Prince)!

2008-11-23T15:44:00.000-08:00

Today is Isaac's fifth birthday and I wish I had something fun to report, but we're having his party next week, so for now we'll post about one of his best friend's party, who happens to have been born two days before Isaac.

Prince and Isaac became close friends last year in preschool. Prince is now in kindergarten and misses Isaac so much that one day his dad took him late to kindergarten just so he could stop by the preschool and see Isaac (they had lost our phone number).

Busy at work drawing on t-shirts. They LOVED this and Isaac wouldn't take his off for days! This was such a great brithday party idea.

While I was taking pictures of Isaac and Prince, Matt pointed out that Seth had joined up with a family we shared our lunch table with. Seth is pontificating on the facts of the new plastic snake he got in the pinata.

You can tell it had been 5 months since these friends had seen each other!

Seeing the World Through Someone Else's Glasses

2008-11-19T10:33:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday there was a scheduled prop 8 protest outside of our church building. Many church members were a little worried and very cautious. It actually turned out to be a peaceful "silent" protest and there were only about 50 people there holding signs. So, even though I was mostly relieved, I have to admit I was a little disappointed too. A friend of ours was working "security" and talked with an ex-mormon protester. The protester said that he was baptized at 21, but when he came out he was excommunicated. He said he had nothing against the church per se, but was fighting for this cause. I can understand the prop H8ers point of view. I don't know if they can understand the other side, though. In a couple of attempts I have made to discuss the issue with H8ers, I have asked some questions but not received any answers. They tell me their point of view and when I ask questions (that are sincere to me) they end the coversation. I have resolved that this is an issue that both sides feel so strongly about that it is pointless and impossible to discuss. I wonder if anyone else has been able to have an enlightening conversation with opposing parties?

NATURE: Awesome and Awful

2008-11-15T16:57:00.000-08:00

Since I was going to Pasadena for a bridesmaid fitting for my brother Micah's wedding, we decided to make a family trip of it and do our favorite little Monrovia Falls hike. We love this hike because it is all shaded and the boys can do the 1.6 mile round-trip "hike" on their own. A lizard! Exploring.
Now I can truthfully say that Isaac really is camoflauged! Can you find him? Can you see the waterfall?
We got to enjoy the smell of autmun leaves. Which really is just to say, the smell of dying leaves, which this trail has year-round. But at least it reminded me of beautiful fall trips up the canyon in Utah.

We are so blessed to have this beauty so close! As we got back to the nature center we ran into a ranger who we overheard on the walkie talkie. She was just going to get everyone off the mountain because all of their firefighters are out of town on multiple fires and they didn't want to risk another one.

This happened while we were hiking. I thought it was horrible, but at least it was in Yorba Linda so we wouldn't have to deal with it in Long Beach. But this is what we found as we entered Long Beach city limits:

This is not fog.

This is not a rain cloud.

This is not a sunset.

I got some of the falling ashes on video, but it was too hard to see. Crazy!

Veteran's Day At Griffith Observatory

2008-11-15T16:30:00.001-08:00

Matt had Tuesday off, so we decided to finally take a long-awaited trip to Griffith Observatory because we haven't been since it was renovated a couple of years ago.

There were some new exhibits and an added level.

The best part was the show we saw in the planetarium which showed how water is on the earth and in the universe. It was pretty cool.

My favorite part of the observatory is apparently my boys' least favorite. They were hanging on for their lives! It was a lovely day, but I think Matt and I will have to come back on a date!

Seth and Snoopy: Two Of A Kind

2008-11-14T14:03:00.000-08:00

We laughed so hard this year when we watched It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. If you remember the scene where Linus plays the piano and Snoopy cries when the music is "sad" and is happy when it is more upbeat and back and forth as he plays, then you'll understand. I really wish I could post this scene I'm talking about so you could directly compare.

He's been this way since he was a baby. It took me a good year to figure out his "sensitivity" to music.

How to lose 5 lbs in 24 hours

2008-11-12T01:27:00.000-08:00

All you have to do is get the flu bug from your boys, throw up a couple of times and at the same time get a crimp that you don't know about in your insulin pump. Blood sugars go high, take insulin (and since you don't test often anyway, figure its fine). Test later, still high, figure it's from sickness, more insulin. Get desperately thristy, but can't keep a drop down. Figure you'd rather get a drop down than be that thristy and you'd rather vomit than feel nauseous anyway. Test blood, still high, take out pump, crimped, of course. Change pump. Notice each time you ralph you get weaker and weaker and your heart rate and breathing don't slow down either. Weigh yourself and notice you're 5 lbs. less than you were this morning. FINALLY! Oh, yeah, and your extremities are starting to feel numb.

Look at the clock, 12:15 am. Wake your barely asleep husband to tell him you're dying. Husband calls good friend Melissa who comes over to be with sleeping boys. Tell your husband you think you'll need an ambulance and friend agrees. Luckily, one more trip to the bathroom allows you to now be able to walk to the car and make the trip to the E.R.

How to get fast E.R. service:
While you were waiting for your friend to get to your house you have your husband write down a list of your symptoms in case you go into a coma on the way. You can barely walk into the hospital. While husband is trying to get you admitted and gives the nurse your list you lie right down on the waiting room floor because you can't even sit in a chair. The nurse comes around and tells the 2 other people waiting that he'll be right back for them, but he has to take care of you first. Husband puts you in a wheel chair and wheels you off to a room.

How to gain 5 lbs in 12 hours:
After debriefing staff and blood gets drawn, start the infusion of 3 bags of saline and some of potassium and magnesium. Also get an anti-nausea infusion that makes it all worth it. Once the nausea is gone, you can deal with anything. You can finally speak without slurring and after they take some arterial blood from your wrist, they move you to the critical care unit. Even though both of your arms are hooked up to different machines and monitoring devices you find a way to get a little bit of sleep.

Then it's morning and they bring you cream of wheat (which you've been wanting for the past few mornings) and the nurse says you need a diabetic meal so they bring another one with eggs and french toast. You're so hungry you eat both. Then for lunch they bring teriyaki/pineapple chicken with wild rice and steamed zuchinni with a wheat roll and pear. You find yourself wondering if Kaiser has stepped up their meals or if you're really just that starving. Go home and weigh yourself and wish you hadn't.
That day was election day. Even though Matt got a sub, he took the boys to his school so he could be there to do the mock election in his homeroom. What kind of great teacher, dad and husband is that? I was glad I was released in time to go vote, even though I could have voted in the hospital (who knew?).

30-Year Old Prophecy Fulfilled

2008-11-11T08:13:00.000-08:00

"Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, in the months and years ahead, events are likely to require each member to decide whether or not he will follow the First Presidency. Members will find it more difficult to halt longer between two opinions. President Marion G. Romney said, many years ago, that he had 'never hesitated to follow the counsel of the Authorities of the Church even though it crossed my social, professional or political life.'

"This is a hard doctrine, but it is a particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked. In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ. . . . Your discipleship may see the time when such religious convictions are discounted. . . . This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions.

"Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive. Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened....Before the ultimate victory of the forces of righteousness, some skirmishes will be lost. Even in these, however, let us leave a record so that the choices are clear, letting others do as they will in the face of prophetic counsel. There will also be times, happily, when a minor defeat seems probable, but others will step forward, having been rallied to rightness by what we do. We will know the joy, on occasion, of having awakened a slumbering majority of the decent people of all races and creeds which was, till then, unconscious of itself. Jesus said that when the fig trees put forth their leaves, 'summer is nigh.' Thus warned that summer is upon us, let us not then complain of the heat."
~ Elder Neal A. Maxwell 1978

Vasquez Rocks

2008-11-06T21:46:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday we went with the Browers to Vasquez Rocks. Matt has been wanting to take the boys there forever and we finally got to go. It was raining that day so I was super excited to get to finally feel some rain on my face (since it literally only rains in Long Beach in the early a.m. before I get up, much to my dismay.)

The first spout of rain happened not soon after we left the van, so we all hopped back in while it passed by. The new rain left enough water for a mini flash flood and since it's all rocks and sand it formed great little waterfalls and rivers for the kids to play in.

From then on out we just played around and took shelter under rocks for the brief spurts of rain that came and went. I wish I could have bottled the freshly wet rock and juniper scents that we got to enjoy that afternoon.

Tagged From The Other Side Of The World

2008-11-05T20:14:00.000-08:00

It's true, my darling niece, Ewelina or "Evie", who lives in Poland, tagged me. So, I must submit.

Seven weird facts about me:

1. I feel like I can't breathe and get frantically claustrophobic when my legs and feet are under a blanket and someone sits or leans on them.

2. I told Fred Savage to "be quiet" once.

3. I've eaten dog (just like I expected, not too great).

4. ...And blood sausage (not too bad).

5. ...And silk worm larvae (crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside. Really gross).

6. One of my addictions is thrift store shopping. I go at least once a week.

7. I can literally sleep anytime, anywhere. I love it and can't get enough! I've been that way ever since I was a young child.

I'll open this up to anyone who would like to do it!

A MUST-SEE VIDEO FOR CHILDREN

2008-11-02T10:30:00.000-08:00

Every child (and some of us adults, ahem) must watch this quick video of my darling niece and one of her many made up songs.

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-02T09:45:00.001-08:00

For the 4th year in a row we went trick or treating on Second Street where all the businesses give out candy to the kids. This is the last year we'll get to do this with our good friends, the Fields before they move. : (

This is Isaac's new thing he does when crossing a street. I don't know if it's to stop the cars or because I told him he was too small for people in cars to see him.

One thing I haven't noticed until this year was the costumes the candy-givers were wearing. Luckily I don't think my boys did! I even have one picture that is so risque I can't post it! What's a street full of these girls without one of these:
Can you guess what Seth was for halloween? He decided to be a pain in the neck. By the end of the night, it was not such a happy halloween for him since he wasn't feeling well. He lasted a good while, though. This is the second year in a row he refused to wear a costume.

This was the first year we got to go with some other good friends, the Browers and Radcliffes. After our long trek down Second Street, we had a yummy dinner at BJ's. After that we went trick or treating in our friend's neighborhood. I wish we would have gotten a picture at the best house of all, the Johnson's. It was SO much fun with all the houses decorated and nice people giving out candy. I think we'll replace the crowds at 2nd Street next year for the traditional door to door.

Here's some pics of our extended Halloween at our ward fall festival on Saturday night, November 1st. I really wish I had known Seth was still sick, but it was too late by the time he threw up in the hallway.

So Much For Safety

2008-10-25T22:46:00.000-07:00

I would have never imagined that I would have let my boys do this when I got this most amazing, rock solid bunk bed from Tiffany (I'll post about it later) a couple of months ago.

It appears that the boys needed a little bit more of a challenge than when they were doing this.

Okay, don't they look like little cherubs here?

Oh, CRAP!!!

2008-10-25T22:10:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's great to have an independent child.

Sometimes it's not.

(Seth had gotten to the end of the toilet paper roll and then used the hand towel. GROSS! At least he's resourceful!)

Howdy Matey!

2008-10-18T22:21:00.000-07:00

So, we went to Camp Snoopy's treasure hunt today. Of course, I was too busy holding their goodie bags to take pictures of them at the stations. It was pretty cute with free candy and pirate garb.
I guess on the weekends they run the big engine through Knott's (when we've gone during the week it's been a smaller train). It was amazing to see the steam engine start up and take off. It was even more cool to actually ride the original 1881 train that travelled through UT, AZ and NM. Isaac didn't quite get the "hold-up" on the train, maybe next time.

Today we went through the old ghost town part of Knott's. It's such a boy's world with knife shops and gun shops. The museum is AMAZING (I can't believe I haven't been in it yet). I was very impressed with all of the original western artifacts Knott's has in it's collection.
I was so excited when we happened to be at the Blacksmith shop and a staged old-fashioned show-down started up right where we were. Of course, Seth was scared but I was very surprised that Isaac kept wanting to leave and even started to cry. We didn't get to see how it ended, I guess the gun shots were a little too loud for Isaac. I have to remind myself that he is still 4 years old!
Here's a pic of the boys on a very small little engine. Can't imagine what it was used for. We also enjoyed going into the old-fashioned school building. I didn't know it was an original school building from AK! It was neat to show the boys since they've been in Matt's classroom a few times and can compare.
Well, ever since we got home, Isaac has been busy making a Jolly Roger flag (impressive, isn't it?), pirate prison and treasure chest with some of the booty they got today. He even did a pirate dance for me and Matt. I love days like today.

Feliz Cumpleaños Ben!

2008-10-15T09:51:00.000-07:00

Seth's Birthday Ralley

2008-10-13T23:46:00.000-07:00

♫ Happy Birthday To Seth ♪

2008-10-13T23:30:00.000-07:00

Signs of the Times

2008-10-12T15:32:00.000-07:00

My initial thoughts on gay marriage were, "Whatever, what difference does it make if they call it a marriage or a union, it's all the same. Not a big deal." Even though I didn't understand the importance of the issue I was asked to head up efforts for Prop 22 support in 2000. So I did.

Here we are 8 years later with the same issue. I am just beginning to understand the importance as I hear about what has been happening since the definition of marriage has been altered in some places (see below for a few examples). I guess the many different church leaders really are inspired. I believe that even though right now we may not fully understand the implications gay marriages will bring in the future, God does. And I am thankful that His servants have heeded His warning and are advising us on this issue, otherwise I may have voted in favor of something that I'm really not in favor of. Here is what we didn't see coming:

On Friday, October 10th, 2008 a first-grade class took a field trip to witness atheir lesbian teacher's wedding in California. Click Here for the article from the San Francisco Chronicle.
A father in Massachusetts was frustrated when his twin kindergartners were taught about homosexuality at school by the teachers. He insisted he be notified in the future before such things were discussed so he could pull his boys out of school. He was taken to jail. Click Here for the story.
A Catholic adoption agency in the UK closed their doors because of the Government's new homosexual equality laws. The Equality Act forbids discrimination in the provision of goods and services on the basis of sexual orientation. The law was forced through Parliament last year despite past Prime Minister Tony Blair's recommendation that Catholic adoption agencies be exempted from the rules. Click Here for more info.
Earlier this month judges in Connecticut overturned the state law (just as the judges in California did) to legalize gay marriage. This is not just an issue in California. The majority of Californians voted years ago to keep traditional marriage as the only marriage recognized in the state of California, 4 judges overturned our vote.

This is happening everywhere and the leaders of the church and others have warned that the outcome of California’s vote will affect the way the other states vote. So PLEASE…even if you don’t live in California, put this on your blog or email this on. The internet knows no state line. You know contacts in California that I don’t…and so do your friends. Please pass this on as it will eventually have an effect on everyone!

"Occasionally discouragement may darken our pathway; frustration may be a constant companion. In our ears there may sound the sophistry of Satan as he whispers, "You cannot save the world; your small efforts are meaningless. You haven't time to be concerned for others." Trusting in the Lord, let us turn our heads from such falsehoods and make certain our feet are firmly planted in the path of service and our hearts and souls dedicated to follow the example of the Lord."
--President Thomas S. Monson

Click Here for excerpts from the LDS Broadcast given on October 8th by Elders M. Russell Ballard, Quentin L. Cook and L. Whitney Clayton.

Voting info:
October 20th: Last day to apply for an absentee ballot if voting out of state.
October 27th: Last day to apply for “Vote by Mail”
November 4th: Election day. Polls close at 8:00pm. Vote by mail may be hand delievered to poll site.

Excerpts taken from this site.

It's Autumn!

2008-10-10T15:57:00.001-07:00

...At least it is at the pumpkin patch just off the marina in Long Beach! They bring the patch to us along with a few rides.

The past two years the favorite ride was the firetruck. I guess this year it's the motorcycles.

The boys love jumping in the pile of hay.
See?
Inside the teepee.
so much fun!

Isaac Discourses

2008-09-30T08:57:00.000-07:00

Isaac woke in the middle of the night with an ear ache. After uncontrolable crying through medication and a mommy prayer, I asked if he wanted daddy to give him a blessing. He nodded his head and said, "Yeah, but not a super long one."

Explainig to his cousin, Beth, about Adam and Eve in a book on the creation, Isaac said, "You know why they're naked? Because they been in the water."

My wonderful husband frequently watches church videos with the boys on Sunday. He was watching To This End Was I Born with Isaac. Isaac asked, "Who is that?" Matt replied, "Judas Iscariot." Isaac crinkled his nose and asked, "Why is Judas scarey?"

Singing and Dancing With the Stars

2008-09-23T15:18:00.000-07:00

Saturday night I went with a group of friends to watch and participate in the Mama Mia! sing-along at the movies. I hadn't seen it yet, so I didn't know what to expect from the movie and more especially from the sing-along part of it! Other than being a little distracting from watching the show for the first time, the singing part was fun and weird. Our group was all on the back row, so we couldn't hear anyone else in the theatre (not many, anyway) since they were all in front of us facing forward. So, we felt like it was just us singing. Weird but fun, especially if Natalie is sitting next to you!

More fun with friends!!!!

Monday Nat, Meli and I got to go to the Premier for Dancing With The Stars. It was a 2 hour show and we got to see all of the dancers perform. It was very entertaining (if you saw it you know what I'm talking about) and we managed to get on the camera a few times too! Oh, and we shook the host's hand as he walked past us before filming. Thanks Melissa for getting the tickets and inviting us!

♫ Happy Birthday To Me ♪

2008-09-14T20:44:00.000-07:00

Today is my birthday. I'm 33. Whoa! It seems so much worse when the numbers stare you in the face! Anyway, some years are better than others as far as birthday celebrations go. I usually feel weird about my birthday and have mixed feelings regarding it. Of course, everyone wants a big to-do for their special day, but often it doesn't turn out that way. Well, over the past few years, I've found a way to celebrate that doesn't require that your birthday be a perfect day, which usually brings dissapointment in some way or another. This isn't the way my mother did it one time by buying everyone else in our family gifts for her birthday because at least someone would be happy and gifts would be given on her birthday. No, I'm not so philanthropic. My self-ish new-found way to celebrate is to spread the cheer over as many days as possible and eat as many birthday "treats" as necessary. So, here's how I did it this year:

THURSDAY...lunch with some of my closest friends at The Crab Pot with Strawberry Rhubarb Cake and icecream for a birthday treat.

FRIDAY...Dinner with more friends at El Torito that turned into 3 hours of fun! Laser tag would have to wait for another night. We were surprised they didn't kick us out as it got close to 10 pm, but we're not sure they even knew we were out there anyway! And, yes, Chrissy, I LOVE flan!

SATURDAY...we went to Knott's for some family fun and had to celebrate with a funnel cake.

SUNDAY...Natalie made a delicious chicken cordon bleu dinner with twice baked potatoes, homemade bread etc., etc. We ate some chocolate cake and then we headed over to the Browers for their daughter's birthday celebration where we ate more cake and icecream! By this time I was more than happy to share the celebration with my sweet friend Audrey, who turned one on the 13th, but had her "friends" party today.

Of all of the great presents I received (THANK YOU everyone!) I'd have to say my most favorite gift, by far, was this telephone message left by my fellow birthday girl.

I'm so lucky to share my birthday with my sweet niece, Lillian. Ealier in the day I had left a birthday message for her on her phone and I'm so glad that she did the same for me! Thanks Lil!

I'm so thankful to have such wonderful friends and family to make my birthweek such a great one. Thank you so much!

To D, or not to D?

2008-09-10T11:18:00.000-07:00

Matt and I call Disneyland "the big D" when we're around the boys (so as not to instigate unwanted whining regarding going to said park).

It has been about a year now that Isaac has loved going on the rollercoasters at Disneyland. That's about all he cares about. He doesn't seem to know or care about all of the other wonderful things about Disneyland that people pay big money for. He doesn't know ANYthing about Disney. Granted, I don't spend much time reinforcing disney character's names, etc. (No, I take that back, I tried pointing out a Woody character one time when we were walking around and he looked at his gargantuan mask and flailing arms like, "what the heck is that?") But, honestly, he has never showed one INKLING of interest in any of it....and our passes were about to expire.

Hence, the BIG decision: To D or not to D?

Now, on the other hand, Isaac LOVES trains (still). He is also very interested in all things "old and fashioned" as he says. He also talks a lot about mining since we got to see some first hand gold digging during a mountain trip and went to the Kenecott copper mine in Utah this summer. So, I found myself thinking, what better place than Knott's? It's got everything Isaac wants.

Well, the decision came in the summer when I showed Isaac a rock shaped like Mickey Mouse and asked him what it looked like to which he replied, "that Disneyland thing." At that exact moment my decision was made. Knott's it is!

So we went for a quick preview on Monday and here's what we did:

SO, here are the pros and cons to Knott's for our family:

CONS
~ All the questions that come along with Isaac's interest in everything he sees there (like trains and old fashioned tools, etc). Should've seen that one coming!
~ It really is pretty ghetto (as my good friend Jackie has pointed out), but nothing we can't handle!
~ I'm guessing we'll be dealing with more teens.
~ Not the best place for a romantic-ish night out with hubby. (Like Dland)
~ No Dole Whips. =(

PROS
~ Super easy to park and walk into theme park. (compared to Dland) I feel like I could do this any day alone. I never did at Dland.
~ No one plans major vacations involving Knotts=rarely crowded.
~ Therefore, no waiting in lines!!!!!!! We basically walked on every ride on monday. That's a necessity with 2 little boys.
~ A great place for a super fun date night.
~ Much better food (Johnny Rockets, TGI Friday's, Panda Express, Dippin' Dots, Funnel cakes)
~ Supreme Scream and more big-kid rides. (Bummed they took out the Scrambler, that was my fav!)
~ Characters Isaac can actually recognize what they are and likes them.

As you can see, it's a pretty close call, but perhaps the biggest determining factor was when I found out that I could get four season passes (with NO blockout dates) for LESS than one deluxe pass to Disneyland, I almost flipped.

I feel like I'm explaining why I left all that I believe in or something! Don't worry, I haven't lost the faith. It was just time for some change$. ;)

If anyone has Knott's passes let me know and we can meet up sometime!

Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-08T22:30:00.000-07:00

We took a last-minute camping trip to Buckhorn with some of our AWESOMEST friends for the weekend. Luckily we found a beautiful, humongous shared site. We had lots of fun and enjoyed it so much, we found ourselves wishing we could stay just one more day.

Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-08T22:24:00.000-07:00

2008-09-08T08:37:00.000-07:00

This is a little oasis we found off a hiking trail near the campground (you can hear the water dribbling down the rocks in the background). The woman helping me is someone I met earlier that morning at the campground who happened to be there as well.

Sequoia

2008-09-06T22:33:00.000-07:00

Butterfly-catching in Sequoia

2008-09-06T22:15:00.000-07:00

2008-09-06T22:02:00.000-07:00

Privacy Please

2008-08-26T09:31:00.000-07:00

I think I can officially say that Seth is potty trained now. He's been waking up in the middle of his naps and the middle of the night to go tot he bathroom. I guess that's trained enough.

These pics were taken before he was one, but of course, he's a couple of months away from turning three now.

"Hmmm, this is fun!"

"I'm a big boy!"

Sometimes You Just Gotta Walk Away!

2008-08-25T23:50:00.000-07:00

And that's just what we did....after waiting and waiting on the temporarily impaired Toy Story Mania before the cast members finally freed us from our seats and shuffled us out.

(Thank goodness for Spencer's arrow pass! It made it less traumatic since we didn't have to wait an hour in line like most people only to make it halfway through the ride!)

We got some pretty cool pictures that most people will never get, though.

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised at the amount of decor there is that isn't even part of the ride. It's amazing how much there is that you never see unless you have a minute!

On the way out a cast member gave us a card to get right back on the ride when it was operational again. Not that we needed it since Spencer's pass does the same thing. (Thanks Natalie for letting us get our fill of the ride while we had you in our clutches!)

We're hoping the next ride we get escorted through will be Pirates of the Caribbean!

Swimming at grandpa's

2008-08-18T10:13:00.000-07:00

Grandma Reynolds and Rebecca and Kevin Visit

2008-08-11T10:05:00.000-07:00

2008-08-05T09:59:00.000-07:00

Grandma's visit and Su's Bday

2008-08-04T09:55:00.000-07:00

7/31-8/01 2008

2008-07-31T09:51:00.000-07:00

We're Still Alive...

2008-07-23T19:21:00.000-07:00

and KICKING! This summer is too busy and WAAAAAY too fun to devote any real amount of time to blogging. I meant to write this before summer started, but we've been too busy! Things should slow down in mid-August, so.....stay tuned!

July 6-22 2008

2008-07-15T09:17:00.000-07:00