Stake Womens' Conference

Our Stake did a Women's Conference this year. It was awesome! They really went all out. There were four mini-classes (we got to choose which to attend) as well as a main speaker and a luncheon. The tables for the lunch were all decorated around the theme of a book. There were over 50 tables and they all looked amazing! It was fun to see how many different interests there are. I got to decorate two of them. I chose French for one theme and "All Moms Go to Heaven" as the other. I wish I had a picture of the bathrooms to show you. One was decorated with the theme of "Where the Wild Things Are?" They carted in half a dozen silk trees and bunches of plants and printed up enlargements of scenes from the book to hang on the walls. The Men's room was converted for the event using a "Fancy Nancy" theme. It was over-the-top. Aubrey got to use it when she came to help me set up my tables and she went on and on about wanting to re-decorate her room like the bathroom! It was truly "Fancified." (There were even cute little rugs in front of each toilet ...don't worry, you wouldn't even know there were urinals somewhere in there; they were hidden somewhere behind the shower curtain and all the accessories.)

While I was there all day Saturday...


Adam took the kids to the zoo with another dad who'd been left to fend for himself all day. They had a good time. Adam's only question before I left, "How do I curl bangs?" :) He did a good job. He's a great dad to all these little girls. I got the royal treatment too...when I came home, the house was vaccumed, dishes were done, and the laundry was folded. I could get used to this sort of arrangement.

Shy Ballerina

A good friend of mine held a dance class for a handful of girls Aubrey's age over the past couple months. She did such a great job with them and they really enjoyed it. Last week was their Ballerina Party, where they performed for their moms and siblings. Aubrey had been really looking forward to it but when we got there, she wouldn't even stand with the group for a picture, let alone dance! About half-way through, she asked if I would dance with her and that got her feeling comfortable enough to finish the performance. They looked darling and the party was so cute. The room was all decorated and they had themed treats afterwards. Great job Mindy! Thanks for all your hard work with the girls!

March visit from Missy and Rhen

I am playing catch-up on my blog this morning. After a long night with a sick baby (who is almost two and I fear will call her my baby for years to come!), I was exhausted. Aubrey came in dancing around my room early this morning. About a half an hour after I turned a show on for her, she was back in my room to exclaim..."I don't even see my 'breakstast' cooking on the stove, Mom!" In other words, please get up and make my oatmeal now. (We are both in love with Quaker Oatmeal!) I finally got up, but decided to have a lazy morning...something I don't do often and it is great. (I just wish I were cleaned up, but if I were, I would probably be getting something else done so it's a give and take here.) Anyway, we have had an eventful couple of weeks. First, Adam and I went to Disneyland and left the kids with my mom for a weekend; next, Alexis had her surgery; then, Adam's sister and her hubby came to San Francisco, so we headed up there last weekend to spend a day with them. They have come out every March since we've been here and we look forward to our visits with them everytime. We had bread bowls at Boudin (oh, how I love Boudin!), ice cream at Ghiradelli (WAY overpriced, but it is a San Fran experience), and spent time goofing around at the Children's Museum. It was great to be together! The girls love Rhen and Missy and were in tears at parting...we hope for another visit with you soon!

The view is always breathtaking to me as you come over the Oakland Bridge into San Fransisco.


The poppies were out along the route to San Fran and they are stunning. This is such a beautiful time to drive through California. It is green and the trees are covered in blossoms.








Making clay creations for the animation studio. These are what Adam and I made:

Weekend Getaway - Just the Two of us!

My mom came to town a couple weekends back to watch the girls for Adam and me while we went to Disneyland...just the two of us. Well, actually we met our good friends, Jenn and Ryan, there but it was without the little ones. We all participated in Disney's "Give a Day, Get a Day" program to get vouchers for park admission. We had such a good time! (I want to go back!) We played hard at Disneyland and I think we lucked out on the day we picked. The weather was great and the crowds were very managable. We got to ride about everything we wanted to...including a record of four times on Space Mountain! I had so much fun screaming on that ride that I lost my voice the next day! It was great! We had a fantastic pizza in downtown Disney, and the next day went to our favorite spot in Venice Beach, C&O's (Jenn introduced it to us last year)for some garlic knots and Italian cuisine. We went to the Getty Museum in LA, which was fantastic. Adam and I haven't been to an art gallery in a long time and it is something we really love. (It inspired my goal for this month, which is to draw a picture after studying some books from the library...wish me luck!) We also took a walk by the La Brea tar pits to see where literally "tons" of fossils have been recovered in the middle of the city of LA. I can't say enough how much I enjoyed the weekend! Can't wait to do it again sometime. Thanks Jenn and Ryan for being our Disney buddies two years in a row! Someday perhaps we will all go together as families, but for now, it sure is great to be big kids!











La Brea Tar Pits


view from the Getty Museum

Thanks Grandma!

The girls had such a fantastic time with their Grandma while Adam and I went on our weekend getaway to Disneyland. They played and played and played. She brought fun craft projects for them to work on, went to the park, storytime, out for ice cream, baked treats, did some shopping and movie watching and they all had cute hair-dos every day. We felt truly spoiled to have her come and take such good care of the girls. I didn't worry about a thing with her here and that allowed me to truly relax and enjoy my time away; and then to focus on Alexis during her surgery, which was an ALL day afair. I felt spoiled too to have her surprise me by doing some laundry and fixing my broken towel rod...she has always been one to serve and I know of no one else who serves with love the way she does. It is the core of who she is to me. A person who loves to have fun and enjoys life; she works hard when it is time to work, plays hard when it is time to play, and, I think, loves more than anything to do good works for others. My life has been blessed by so many sweet somethings throughout the years...notes or a special treat in my lunchbox, a cute jar of M&Ms at work, a surprise special day together, a cute new outfit on my bed, little somethings in the mail to let me know she's been thinking of me... these are only to name a few. I know I am not the only recipient of her quiet works of love; either small or big. I love that when she comes, I still feel "taken care of" by her and nothing beats the feeling of having your mom take care of you! No one loves you like your mom does! And mom, no one loves you like I do! Thank you for all that you do!

First Surgery

Waiting for the surgery

The bump

Waking up

The ride to the car


Alexis had a minor surgery on Monday to remove a small mass that has been growing on her cheek for the past couple of years. The surgery was performed by a plastic surgeon at the local Children's Hospital. It was a long day but Alexis did very well. She actually seemed a little excited and left the nerves for her Dad and me. She was very sleepy all evening and had a weak stomach from the anethesia but woke up today feeling well again. She is happy to have the bump off her cheek and we are all anxious for the bandage to be removed to see what type of scar was left behind.