San Diego and Our Priceless Memories

We decided to surprise the kids with a trip to San Diego this weekend. It was in the low 70s and perfect weather. Ben and I decided that we were going to create some priceless memories. Oh, no.. right? Our trip started waking up at 3:30 am Saturday morning and catching the 6:00am flight. We were able to catch the flight and arrived in S.D. around 9am. We then took a shuttle to the hotel (in a bus with no shocks) and arrived only to find out we had 5 min. to catch the shuttle to Sea World. So we checked in our luggage and changed shoes and we were off to Sea World. We then were able to enjoy the rides and weather.We were able to see The Polar Express in 4-D. Where it snowed in the theatre and the temp. adjusted as you neared the North Pole. We were also able to see the holiday Shamu night show which is pretty amazing. We then made it back to the hotel around 7:45pm. We went to check in and then down to the rest. to eat. Ella fell asleep in the booth sitting straight up before dinner arrived. Camden fell asleep on my lap shortly after his dinner arrived. The food was great and we tucked ourselves in early for the night. The next morning we woke up and were able to swim at 8am. The pool was heated and felt pretty warm.... considering it was a little chilly outside. We then decided we had enough of the kids arguing and wanted to take the 1:30 flight home. At the airport as the plane was boarding we found out there were only middle seats available. So we opted to wait until the next flight 3 hours later. My kids again fell asleep on the airport floor and in my lap and I was able to read a book. We ended up at home 8pm Sunday night and tucked everyone in for bed. Although, we tried to create some priceless memories Ben and I both agreed we had enough of those "priceless" memories to last us a VERY long time.

My Gangsta Four Year Old- Happy B day!

My youngest is four today! It started off being a great day until Camden went to go to preschool and hit his eye on a friend's van. Bummer.... Here are a pictures of the celebration. I made the cake from scratch and decorated the cake myself! Camden is at a fun age and loves to pretend to imagine things and dress up as a super hero.

Ella's first meet

Here are a few pictures of Ella at her first meet. This was the first performance in front of a large audience. She did great! She got a 7.4 on bars, 6.85 on floor (the audience was right next to the floor), a 7.0 on vault, and a 5.5 on beam. Ella's gym. coach thought Ella's vault was funny... because she'd never seen her vault like that before. I'm proud of her for performing in front of a large crowd. It will be fun to see her as she gets in more meets this year. The judge on the beam must have been from Russia. (as my father in law said) Ella didn't fall off once! GO ELLA!

Last few Months

Here are a few photos from the past few months. The first one is of the kids at the fair. The second is of me and bangs. I think I like them.... they cover that big frown wrinkle in the middle of my forehead. The third picture is of Parker at the fair. They had a human heart you could touch and he was eager to inspect it. The last picture is of Mckenna who is Ella's good friend from gymnastics. On a happy note Ben started his new job today! Yeah.... we are excited for this next step in his career.

Hike to local falls

We had fun on our hike this weekend. It was 1/2 mile down..which wasn't too challenging. On the way up Camden started to complain that he was sweating. I told him that was good... he was burning calories but that didn't seem to cease the complaining. So Ben found a "magic" walking stick that seemed to help Camden finish the hike. Ella ran on the way up.... I know that's a big surprise! Ben also made a contribution to this set of pictures. See which one you think it is...

Day at Dash Pt Park

Camden spent the watching some older boys on their skim boards. He was pretty bummed we hadn't brought ours until he found this piece of wood. If you look closely you can see part of a piece of wood under his feet. Here he is balancing on his homemade surfboard

A little present for myself

I haven't been on a vacation by myself in 7 to 8 years. I started feeling how wonderful it would be just to sneak away. As it turns out (it was a sign) the flights to Hawaii were super cheap. So a few girlfriends and I went for a few days the first part of June. It was a trip of many firsts for me. I went parasailing, and swam in sharks cove, and swam to a waterfall. I also tried octopus at Todai. Barf.... I wouldn't recomend it. It was fun to see my nephew and my brother and his family. It was so great to remember who I am. Sometimes, I think we tend to lose ourselves throughout the days and years. This was great for me as Jodi said "for many reasons". So I will leave it at that...... I am trying this year to not just endure my life but really enjoy it!

Logan Temple Doors

My father in law loves taking pictures of doors. He has taken some amazing pictures. So I noticed I have been looking at doors and really appreciating them lately. I know that sounds odd. On our break we visited the temple and I noticed these beautiful doors. I have been trying to appreciate the little things in life more and take in their beauty.

The Park with an Attitude!

Here are a few pictures of us at the park. We took advantage of the weather a few weeks ago . I didn't even have to pose the girls.... Ava had eveyone looking anywhere but the camera. So cute! So she is the director of this picture. I love these pictures! The girls seemed natural at posing. Camden also seemed to enjoy the camera. He seems to enjoy making faces and getting his picture taken.

Our birthday celebration

Catching a wave

For Parker and Ella's birthdays this month I talked them into going to the GWL instead of a big friend party. Here's a photo of Taylor, (our cousin)Armondo,(one of Parker's close friend who moved this weekend) Ella and Parker catching a wave.

Our playdate

Sometimes it's a little hard to convince Parker to go and do things with his sister and brother.

Today we had fun riding slides, and playing laser tag. You can see the excitement on Parker's face! Thanks Mom and Dad for going with us.

A Little Touch of Heaven

Today around 12:30 it became suddenly warm! I think the temp. was 53 degrees. The great part is that the sun was shining! The kids and I went to the park and there was noone else there and I was able to lay on a bench in the sun and close my eyes. I was pushing Camden and he keep asking for a "hot dog" and I couldn't figure out what he meant until Ella translated that he wanted an "underdog". Camden cracks me up- he is constantly asking to listen to my "earpod". Get it? I think I might have the sun disorder where you get down due to lack of warmth on your face. I thought of Texas today and considered trading the trees for the sagebrush and sun.

Just a quick note- we switched computers so I have to get the software up for my pictures to be displayed. So hopefully I can post some soon!

I am a better person because of you

I recently had an ultrasound and the tech found a few things that were abnormal.Two years after discovering my cancer...before every test I find myself terrified. The thoughts and the feelings you endure seem to cripple you. I do recognize that I scraped by this year and for that I am grateful. Although, in my heart I find myself grieving for those who have not been so lucky.
There have been so many of my friends who have been affected, changed or touched by cancer. I can think of a childhood friend who has faced cancer and beaten it. A friend who is currently battling with reoccuring cancer. Another who's dad is facing cancer again. A dear friend whose husband is starting chemo. soon. My heart is so heavy...this has been on my mind esp. this past month. I do want to say to these friends that I love you...You are all amazing and have all had such a profound influence on who I am today. There have been many times when I have not closed my prayers. I just needed that extra comfort and to feel that little bit of peace.You have all given me some form of this peace. I wish I could give you that peace... but know it will be heaven sent. I wish there was more I could do. I am praying for you, I am thinking of you and your families.