Dizzzneyland

We did it! We took a week long family vacation to Disneyland. It was a fun trip, we are glad we made the memories. Our girls loved it, we think...between the crying and hair pulling I think they had fun. Scarlet was terrified of all the characters, except for the princesses OF COURSE! It was pretty ridiculous, but I guess I should have known. It was fun for Dave and I, we had to laugh about how giddy we would act to try to get our girls to show some enthusiasm. Glad we braved the journey and glad to be home in one piece. And not a trace of vacation blues for me yet...

(Pure heaven, she was so cute with the princesses I got all choked up, it was like she was being reunited with her long lost friends)


(little Rose bud being the brave one, while Scarlet was most likely screaming somewhere in the background)


(And of course the BEACH!! It was like mid to high 80's all week. I am wearing shorts today JUST to try and make a point!! Oh sunny California, see you in my dreams.)

(this pic pretty much says it all)

Catchin' up photo style

Enough of that depressing post about the weather. Lets see some cuteness. We went on a hike up to Timpanogos caves. We got a grand (personal)tour from Katie's sister, Becky. Becky is one of Scarlet's favorite buddies. Scarlet was a little nervous of the caves, but hasn't stopped talking about it since.









It was a great day...look at those puppy dog eyes.

Lest we forget...

I am with everyone on Fall being so great and yadda-yadda. But, did everyone forget what comes after Fall? Well let me quickly remind you because it is still fresh in my mind. After fall comes that mean, creepy Old Man Winter knocking on our doors people. He isn't jolly, and he doesn't say ho-ho-ho. He makes the sun disappear. He stings your nose, and as if that's not enough, he will bite your toes. He makes it so you are a prisoner of your own home. He brings that white stuff that turns dirty gray and lingers and lingers forever. I just want all of you who are sending those welcoming vibes into the universe to stop and think for a minute. Isn't fall just a really mean trick?

I had this thought today, as I felt that autumn chill in my house this morning, that maybe if I am expecting winter to be sooo awful and unbearable...maybe...just maybe it won't be so bad. I have that problem where I start stressing out about things wayyy in advance. MOST of the time, things aren't as bad as I imagine them to be. BUT if I don't think about it and stress a little about it, then I get blindsided. So, if I am anticipating falling into a deep and inconsolable depression from late November until March, then I will be happily surprised when I am actually ok. Isn't that a great way to live your life!! Sheeesh, I am a weirdo.

THE END.

Oregon by the sea...

Home again home again jiggity-jig. Dave and I took a wonderful trip back to one of my mission areas on the Oregon coast. My sister, who recently returned from a mission, offered to watch the girls. How could I pass THAT up!?! I couldn't, BUT the reality of leaving the girls behind for almost a week made my insides churn, and my heart start to RACE! BUT I hadn't been back to Oregon since I came home in 2004(6 years)!! We DROVE the entire way. 10 hours to Klamath Falls, sleep (at Dave's old girlfriends parents house, not awkward surprisingly, anything to save a buck...). Then, 4.5 hrs. to the coast! I wondered if Dave and I would just stare at eachother. It's not like we don't talk...but its usually tid bits here and there in between the girls chatter, laughing, crying, whining, sleeping... you get the gist. Thankfully after these 5 years we are still the greatest of friends and had a dreamy time. There's no one I'd rather drive over 2000 miles with, and that's saying SOMETHING!!

The mission was just as it was in my memory. It was so AWESOME to drive up and down the streets and see houses I remembered knocking on. It's like the towns were frozen in time, just waiting for my return. One thing I didn't remember, it was COLD! That's the only thing I would've changed if I could. But it didn't stop us from walking up and down the BREATHTAKING beaches, whale watching and crabbing off the docks. YES, whale watching! We walked out to one of the bluffs in Port Orford and a big old whale comes swimming below us. I actually screamed, it was a roller coaster kind of scream and I don't know where it came from. The first few whales we saw were really close and I kept screaming! I heard myself doing it but I couldn't stop. I was just SO surprised and SO excited, I guess put those two together and you get screaming.

We visited with some dear friends I met those many years ago. I was sure they wouldn't remember little old (mission chubby) me...but they did. We had such great visits. The trip let me envisions Dave and I in 30 years, or what not, going on our mission, together. What a great day that will be. Bandon by the sea, Coquille and Port Orford will ALWAYS have a special place in my heart.

(A cool look out on our way to Crater Lake)

(Crater Lake)

(more of Crater lake.)

(I proudly informed Dave, in front of the exgirlfriend's parents, that a meteor made the lake. Oh, Volcano? Interesting. sometimes i am very smart.)

(headed to the docks for some crabbin')

(catching a big'n)


(some mossy, lovely waterfalls on our way to the coast)


(Bandon by the sea)


(more of those awesome rocks)


(flying)

(silly)


(silly, again.)

( plus our new friend Richard in bckgrnd, he is a 49ers fan, among other things of course)



(not silly, pretty)

(silly and pretty.)

(maybe it was all a dream)

And another

Forgot one. This book was VERY interesting. The story comes from records in Landcaster , England back in the days of King James the first, when witch craft was kind of infamous. The author bases the book on these records and created this incredible story. It made me wonder about these "witches" or "healers" and what was really going on...very intriguing.

Days like this

I am in a funk of sorts (or maybe just a case of the Monday blues). Yesterday was one of those moody, lay around days. I just felt grumpy and barely had patience for the whining and crying that my girls insisted on doing. So I sat in my messy house and read. Isn't that a great solution? Probably not, but I survived the day anyway. I feel a little better today, but there is just that little thunder cloud kind of looming over me! I will just go ahead and blame it on the new birth control I started a few weeks ago...there. Done! Life has been...interesting as of late. My sister got home from the mission, my Dad has had a relapse with his health, the curtains are wanting to close on summer (I am NOT ready) so I am trying to use our 7 peaks passes as much as possible. All of these details are to explain why I haven't had many book reviews recently. Fear not, I have be reading...
This was on my book club list. It is a memoir about a girl growing up in the Soviet Union in the 60's-70's. It was really eye opening for me. I didn't have a real grasp of what communism looked like. This book made me appreciate our freedoms, even though I get frustrated and complain alot about our government and the direction it is taking, I still have ALOT...ALOT to be greatful for.

I must be kind of drawn to the civil rights era. I keep finding these books about the lives of these slaves and I am so sickened and perplexed by it all. This particular story is actually based on the lives of the writers ancestors. She felt drawn to learn their history, so she quit her job as a VP in a fortune 500 company to research, travel and eventually write this historical novel. It's about survival and how these strong women did everything they could to make life easier for their families. Oh, it was painful to read but it was also very invigorating to see how bound these women were to family and whatever freedom they could obtain in a span of three generations.

Last but not least, just finished this one today. A girl finds out from her father, on his death bed that she has a half- sister. I would give this book a 3.75 stars. It was written well enough and had some interesting situations and themes. There was some language that I would have liked to deleted. I squeezed out a tear or two and it made me think about family ties etc...so, nice.

Rosie Posy

(Irrisitable! I am in LOVE with that baby!)

On Rosie's b day Scarlet woke up and burst through Rosie's door and shouted "Happy Birthday Rosie." I was honestly surprised Scarlet remembered by herself. Then they continues their usually morning ritual of playing in Rosie's crib until Dave or myself rolled out of bed. Sometimes we get to spy on them playing together. It's usually Rosie laying on Scarlet trying to poke her eyeballs and Scarlet giggles. Have I ever mentioned how lucky I am?? Oh I did. Right. Before Dave left for work he said to Rosie "I hadn't even met you yet this time last year!!"

How does time pass so slow and so fast at the same time?!? Its just something you never get used to, I guess. Do you think there will ever be a time stopper device? I mean, we never thought we would have half the technological shenanigans we do now. I would pause time for a few weeks, so I could watch Rosie walk JUST like she does right now. She kind of stumbles along sideways with her arms out and it is just too much for my heart to take (I wrote this post awhile ago and she walks different now, she plows forward now with a big wide stance). I just love all her faces and antics and I know I will forget them...sigh. Anyway, our one year old is a very delightful little girl. And if you are tired of hearing about her already then you will want to skip skip skip on down to the pictures, cuz momma needs to say some things so I can look back and remember what I loved about Rosie Sue.

She gives the sweetest hugs. She is a snuggler. She just buries her little head into your shoulder until you think your heart might burst. She snuggles any stuffed animal that is lucky enough to cross her path. She picks them up and squeezes them to her little neck. I get jealous sometimes the way she holds them so lovingly.

She just started to pucker her little lips for kisses. She will come at you with her shuffling feet and her head turned sideways, or whatever angle she needs to, so she can plant one right on the lips. She also likes to bring her stuffed animals over for a kiss or two.

She loves to drag books over and climb up on my lap and look and point at the pictures.

If we are not doing something fast enough she goes "uh-uh" and stamps her little feet. This happens if she needs a bite of something, or we aren't picking her up to read a book fast enough...etc.

She puts phones up to her ears and says "HI."

She started saying "UH-OH" and "Booo."

I am pretty sure Scarlet never did this---Rosie will wake up from a nap or in the morning and just hang out for awhile in her crib. We hear her making little noises, and we go peek in, she is usually just bumbling around, sometimes she will just be laying there staring up at the ceiling. We want to know what she is THINKING about!?!

She is a clingy little lady. I can't remember if Scarlet's separation anxiety went on this long and intense. What can I say, Dave and I are really cool I guess. She can't bear to have us out of her sight. Even if we are both there and one leaves she can barely cope (happy to report she is doing much better). I am glad she likes me but it gets a little exhausting sometimes.

She is a little thing. At her 1 year appointment she weighed in at 17 lbs and 6oz. She was in the 12th percentile but is now in the 5th. Its got to be that she NEVER stops moving!!

If any of us lay down she will stop whatever she is doing and come throw herself on top of you and just roll herself all over. She will wipe her snotty nose all over your shirt(and bite--watch out). If a pillow is on the ground she throws herself on top of it and rolls back and forth.

Her buck teeth are the icing on the cake. She has a world class grin and those dimples...just see if you can resist.

She is the strangest eater. I can't figure it out so she mostly lives off her bottle (eating better now too). I think it is partially laziness/second child syndrome. I just feed her a little of this and that throughout the day. Things she likes to eat at the moment; blueberries, chocolate(oops), yogurt, bites of my cereal, avacados, ...hmmm, bites of my lunch ...and dinner.

Ok that will have to do for now. She has had a good year, I think about how lucky she is that she gets to have a big sister to play with...even if this big sister is kind of... OVERLY affectionate ...that's a nice way to put it. Scarlet must have been bored stiff with just me around to do the entertaining. Rosie gets a front row seat to all kinds of theatrics, and dramatics that take place around here.

Is that long enough for those of you who made it this far...??? I could go on and on...but I won't, for now anyway.

Pictures of a very cute one year old...

(Rosie went through 3 outfits during her party, if you didn't notice.)