Catalina Trip

Scott and I took a trip to Catalina last week for a romantic getaway. His office gave us the trip for a Christmas present. Yeah Me! I got to enjoy it too. We had a great time. It was chilly and rained a bit, but we didn't let that stop us from exploring the island. This is Avalon Bay where the ships come in and is the most popular harbor on the island.
You can see the casino behind us that was built by William Wrigley Jr. the bubble gum magnet. He started up the tourist part of the island and there is alot of celebrity memorabilia in the restaurants and shops. People like Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Cary Grant all vacationed there back in the day.
This is me by a buffalo. I found out that buffalos were brought to the island for a movie in the 20's and became so numerous that they actually had to ship some back to Nebraska to keep the population down. See, I learned something while I was there! We hiked to the Wrigley Monument (in the rain) and enjoyed the view. But mostly we just enjoyed eachother and the time to chill. I wish I could get away every month!

Frazzle Rock

It's been such a busy time of year with projects and such that I haven't had time to blog very much this year. Having four kids in three different schools is taking it's toll on me. It doesn't help that someone (Who shall remain nameless) forgets something and wants me to bring it to her at least three times a week. I drive to seminary two days a week, three different schools and after school activities every day. It's been kinda crazy. Not to mention homework! Science fair projects, book reports, mission projects, seriously, how do working moms do it? I can barely keep up on anything and I am home! Oh yeah, maybe I could stop using the computer because that's a time sucker right there. So in honor of feeling frazzled, I thought I'd post what I feel like I must look like at the end of the day...these lovely pics are me on my 16th birthday, courtesy of my friends.

This is what my hair looks like from behind, and usually still when I wake up.
And this is from the front when I am in a hurry to do my makeup. See I haven't really changed that much in the last 20 years.

London Bridge is falling down...

The London Bridge is not falling down...they just moved it to Lake Havasu! Who knew? I took a trip this weekend and ended up in Lake Havasu to visit my brother and his family and saw an amazing sight. The London Bridge. Yes, the one from the nursery rhyme and that song by Fergie. It was a short trip (if you can call any trip taken with four kids short) and we detoured to Big Bear for a snow day on the way home. It was great to visit Dan and Jess and family to see the new addition. New adorable addition named Elijah Burke Aston. It was so nice to visit them and see their new house and spend time together. We also got to visit Dan's classroom (he teaches at Lake Havasu High-GO KNIGHTS) It was fun to see him in his element. We had a great time and on the way home we took a detour and swung by Big Bear for a snow day.
Scott and I by the London Bridge

This is at the London Bridge in Lake Havasu.

An original phone booth "London's calling..."
A fashionable Lady always wears a hat!
Fun in the snow!

Carter's just along for the ride.
T and Scott throwing snowballs at eachother.
The guys helped Dan build a shed for his backyard.

At Elijah's blessing-what a blessing it is to have such a wonderful family!

The cousins-little did we know that they had been bribed by Grandpa to smile. With the Japanese candy that they all love, Hi-chews!

On the way home we stopped to collect some volcanic rocks. You can never have enough lava rocks right?

2009-We are Family

The adults trying to rock out-Amy played guitar like a rock star, I think Ty and Zanna were singing and Scarlett was taking a turn on the drums.

Ames and Sammy sitting at the kitchen table. Oh yeah, of course Buzz was there too!

Miss and I on New Year's Eve. Miss is rockin the "Hair-do!"

Scarlett has an amazing voice, Zanna already plays the hardest parts on drums and Ty working the guitar!

Mark and Lacey...what can I say? Great minds think alike! They were inseparable.

Taylor and Matt, too cool at 12 and 13. They are well on their way to teenager hood.

Well it's 2009. To catch up...we had the cousins for the holidays. We spent the new year rockin out on the rock band. We could start a family band ala "The Partridge Family" I'm sure. I have found that my children are extremely gifted in the music area...chips off the old block. (The old block being Scott, not me) I, on the other hand, stink. And that is putting it mildly. Back to Scott though, when I say "Old Block", I don't mean that really, though he is turning 4-0 this week. I feel bad that I haven't updated in so long, but as they say, no news is good news! We were extremely busy and happy over the holidays and I was so sad to see the cousins go. I wish they lived closer. We missed Dan and Jess, but hopefully (fingers crossed) will get to see them this week. They have a new member of their family. And baby makes three! Can't wait to see my new little nephew. Family is a blessing, I don't tell mine often enough how much I love them. I have an amazing family. Though they can be crazy at times...I won't hold it against them, if they don't hold it against me! We got to spend alot of time hanging out with my brother Paul and his wife Scarlett too, I love them so much! It was fun to be with them. It is extremely hard to let Amy go back to Utah. I miss her when she's gone. The month of January is already flying by!

Remember, Cherish, Love and Share

Remembering Christmases past is part of what makes Christmas Special. I love to see the love and joy on Carter and Lacey's faces!
Cherishing the special moments that are often too rare.
Loving your Dad so much you can't be next to him, you have to be on him!
Sharing you happiness and love with others. Remember the past, cherish and love now and share your love with others!

Fa La La

Tis the season to be jolly and joyful. I am so thankful for the Christmas season because it means I get to spend time with my family and friends. We get to see family that comes from far away (like Washington and Utah) and we also get to welcome a new member into our family (From Arizona) The air is filled with candles and Christmas trees. Ornaments and Christmas lights galore. Enjoy the moments...that's my mantra this season.

Give Thanks

Giving thanks has never been a gift of mine. I don't say it often enough and I am sure that the people in my life wish I would say thanks more often. So thanks to my Family and Friends, for being wonderful supportive people that make my life sweeter and enriched for having you in it. Since I have so few pics from Thanksgiving, I will attempt to take many more for Christmas. But let me point out a few shining stars in my life and I am taking this opportunity to give thanks. Thanks to Licorice for chewing up everything he can get his mouth on.
Thanks to Zanna and Aubrey for giving me the opportunity to see Twilight again.
Thanks to Carter and Tyler for reminding me that exploring is fun especially with Grandpa's handy mole-vision flashlights!