Christmas in California

As today is Tyler's 5th birthday & I have so much on my to-do list, this will be a relatively brief post just showing some of our highlights of Christmas this year. We were able to spend some time this year with Mike's side of the family in California & took a day with our family for the boys' first trip to Disneyland. A great time was had by all. The only downers...Disneyland is INSANELY BUSY Christmas week and mom & Tyler were both sick with possible food poisoning at the end of the week. Otherwise, we'll enjoy the memories. Here are a few of them:

Book Review...A Perfect Day

A Perfect Day by Richard Paul Evans

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I was trying to think of a word that described what this book meant to me....nostalgic. Maybe it helps that so many locations referred to are in my home state and familiar to me. Maybe it is because of the simplicity of how we are reminded what life is all about. Either way, I loved this book. It brought back what I have been looking for in a book for so long...the longing to find out what was next. I didn't feel like I was "in the story", but I was intrigued by the characters and what would become of them. Many of the scenarios were what one might consider basic, yet it took a very surprising and interesting twist & touched my heart. If you are interested in a feel good story (my favorites), I would recommend this book.


View all my reviews.

Trenton's Snow Day

Trenton was excited to have his first snow day off of school. I was simply amazed at how quickly they cancel school for this area. I'm from northern Utah where we could have at least a foot of snow and school would still be in session. But here, I guess 2 inches is enough.

Trenton took full advantage and was out building his snowmen first thing in the morning. He was joined by a bunch of neighbor kids for a snowball fight that later ended in his snowmen being knocked down. Luckily we got a picture before that happened.
The next morning when I went to wake Trenton up for school, he wasn't in his bed. The bathroom light was on & the door was locked, so I assumed the obvious. However, after about a half hour & no noise from the bathroom, I decided I better check on him. I knocked on the door, but there was no answer. So, I decided to peek under the door....here is what I found:
Apparently it's warmer in the bathroom over the heat vent than it is in his room. Guess that's more important than a soft bed??

Secrets with Santa

The other day, I was having absolutely no luck getting the boys to clean their room. Awhile later, my realtor, Cindy, called & said to come on down to her office. She said "Santa Steve" was there meeting with the kids & taking pictures. Steve is actually her husband, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Santa Claus. I decided to take this as an "opportunity of sorts". I asked her if she could slip a little word in so Santa might "encourage" the boys to clean their room. Luckily the boys didn't remember Steve this time.

Last year we went to see Santa at a furniture store. It was a very long line & only seconds with Santa. This time was entirely different. They had quite the little chat with Santa. Tyler was in awe. Both were quite thrilled when they realized Santa's beard was real. They came to the agreement that the Santa at the furniture store last year was just one of Santa's helpers, and this was the REAL SANTA!! Their favorite part was that they said this Santa was soooo funny! They also said that Santa told them a secret & they couldn't tell me what it was. Trent had a little more urgency about cleaning his room once we got home, but at least now they'll believe me a little more when I tell them I have Santa's number...and so does my realtor.

Mobile Home for sale

We have a mobile home for sale. If you know of anyone who may be interested, please send them this blog & contact me for more information. It is located in St. George, Utah, but can be moved anywhere at buyer's expense.

It is a 1997 3 bedroom, 2 bath, approx 980 sq. ft. Features include:
New paint
New laminate wood flooring in living room & hall
New water heater
New landscaping
Refrigerator, gas oven w/stove, & dishwasher included
Garbage disposal
Carport
Evaporative cooler w/thermostat (more efficient)
2 ceiling fans
& much more!
$29,999....Fantastic deal!

See more pictures

New do's

Just a little highlight of our Thanksgiving, even if it is a week late. We enjoyed the weekend at my parent's house. We also enjoyed the pleasure of a few added aunts, uncles , and probably the best part for me...being able to spend some time with my Grandma. We did unfortunately have to leave Mike home to work, but we'll be lucky enough to all have a few days together for a Christmas vacation this year. The boys & I also made new friends from my parents' ward that we just adore.

It was a busy weekend. I believe I totaled 9 haircuts, 7 highlights, 1 color, and a new color for me :) Trenton & Tyler were both excited about their highlights too. It's a little hard to see, but here's a pic of our new do's & one of me.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because
it was time for a change! The chicken wanted change!

JOHN MC CAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the
road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation
and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the
road...

SARAH PALIN: Because by golly, I was gonna shoot
his sorry liberal butt for blocking my view of Russia!

HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I
personally helped that little chicken to cross the road.
This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure right
from Day One that every chicken in this country gets the
chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really
isn't about me.

GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the
chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the
chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is
either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground
here.

DICK CHENEY: Where's my gun?

COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you
can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing
the road.

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that
chicken. What is your definition of crossing?

AL GORE: I invented the chicken.

JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken
cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross,
and I was misled about the chicken's
intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We
need some black chickens.

DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this
chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the
problem on this side of the road before it goes after the
problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is
help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on
his current problems before adding new problems.

OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is
having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so
bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his
mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm
going to give this chicken a car so that he c an just drive
across the road and not live his life like the rest of the
chickens.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason to believe
here is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have
access to the other side of the road.

NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because
he's guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he
walks.

PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent,
hardworking American.

MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which
way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the
Farmers Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a
certain level. No little bird gave me any insider
information.

DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he
cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but
why it crossed I've not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone.

JERRY FALWELL: Because the chicken was gay!
Can't you people see the plain truth? That's why
they call it the other side. Yes, my friends, that chicken
is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay,
too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this
abomination that the liberal media whitewashes with
seemingly harmless phrases like the other side. That
chicken should not be crossing the road. It's as plain
and as simple as that.

GRANDPA: In my day we didn't ask why the
chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken
crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS: Isn't that interesting? In a
few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for
the first time, the heart warming story of how it
experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to
accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross
the road.

JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world
crossing roads together, in peace.

BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken2008,
which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file
your important documents, and balance your checkbook.
Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken2008. This
new platform is much more stable and will never crash.

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the
road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?

Scentsy Goodies

I'm posting this blog for a few reasons:
1. I was doing some Christmas shopping at my friend Jenny's house the other day. I knew she was a Scentsy distributor, but had no idea just how great their products are. I went to see what there was to choose from, and I gotta tell ya, I was in scent heaven...so was Tyler. He loved smelling all the different scents about as much as me :) If I wasn't buying for Christmas presents, I'd be buying for myself!
2. I love free stuff & I love good smelly things...what's better than both? So, by posting this, I am now entered to win free Scentsy goodies!! If you want to enter as well, you can go here: Scentsy Goodness

Did I Expect Angels? book review

Did I Expect Angels? by Kathryn Maughan

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I loved the new insight at looking at things from a different angle. I wish that more emphasis/detail would have been placed on certain parts, but it wasn't imperative. This book was a little difficult to "get into" in the beginning because of the Spanish & broken English dialogue, but this did also add to the authenticity of the characters. I loved the story and it brought me to tears. Overall a great book that I would recommend.


View all my reviews.

Bribing the tooth fairy.

Last night, Trenton lost his third tooth. He told us he wanted to write a letter to the tooth fairy. Now, please keep in mind, Trent has been given $1 dollar by the tooth fairy for each previous tooth he has lost. His letter went as follows: "Dear tooth fairy. Can you please get me two dollars this time and here's a treat." He placed this into a zip lock bag with his tooth and a piece of candy from Halloween and tucked them under his pillow.


This morning, when he checked under his pillow, he found the bag, now with the tooth, candy, & his letter gone, replaced by a new card. I have scanned the inside of the card for you all to see. Pretty clever tooth fairy, huh?? And the best part...he was so excited to tell us that he has 12 molars!

Relaxation?

We were forced into a little rest and relaxation at our house today. Trenton stayed home from school, feeling quite miserable. He had a nasty cough, a decent fever, & a massive headache. Poor kid! Tyler also enjoyed the down time...who knew exercise equipment could turn into relaxation equipment.

Halloween '08

Figured I should put some Halloween pics on here. The night before Halloween, we carved pumpkins. The boys described to Daddy how they wanted their pumpkins to look & he drew the pictures for them to carve.

On Halloween night, we went trunk-or-treating at the church. Trenton was a police detective & Tyler was batman. Still not sure how he saw through his mask! Mike took his balloons to make balloon animals for the kids there. Who knew that would be such a hit! We were the last ones out of the parking lot after an hour & a half. Next year, we're taking numbers for everyone in line.

Crazy Hair Day

This week at Trenton's school is Red Ribbon Week (drug free education week). They do some sort of fun twist each day to help the kids remember fun ways to say no. Today's theme was "Don't Get Mixed Up on Drugs." They were invited to wear miss matched clothes & have crazy hair. Trenton wanted to have a mohawk...here it is!

New Blogger, Dentist appt.

OK, so I'm completely new to this "blogging thing". I've had many friends recently encouraging me to give it a shot. So, here I am....feeling completely uninspired & uncreative. But, when something exciting does happen, I'll do my best to remember to put it on here for our friends & family to see. Honestly, probably the hardest part will be remembering to get recent pics on here.

We'll start off our blog with the most exciting event for the day. Tyler and the dentist. We've tried to take Tyler to the dentist at least 1-2 times the past 3 years. Each time, he would stick out & stiffen his arms & legs in an attempt to not go through any doorways. Once inside, it was a lot of kicking & screaming. Basically every dentist realized very quickly he wasn't going to let them even put a finger inside his mouth. Well, today I did my best to psych him up for it. He has expressed interest in wanting a new toothbrush. I told him if he was a good boy & let the dentist work on his teeth without a fight, he would earn one. Even if the dentist didn't give him one, I certainly would do it on my own at that point. Well, may miracles never cease...he calmly walked into the exam room, hopped into the chair on his own, laid down, and let the assistant take x-rays, clean his teeth, floss & apply fluoride. He even let the dentist check his teeth. We actually had to tell him he could shut his mouth when he was all done. He was amazing! And luckily, the dentist even gave him a really cool new toothbrush..even his favorite color. It was a big day for little Tyler. Sorry, I didn't get any pictures of this event. Maybe next time :)