Party On Grace!

Gracie is wearing this wig because:

a) She is auditioning for a role in a new Mike Myers movie...Wayne's World Reunited.

b) She is getting ready to go to the mullet festival.

c) Sarah Palin is her idol.

d) Her dad thinks it's hilarious. He promised to pay her $10 if she would wear it for an entire day.

e) She wants to look like "Gabriella" when she goes to see HSM3 for her Birthday.


Here's a hint:
Notice the matching "T as in Troy" necklaces.


I won the mean mom award that day when I told her the "Gabriella" wig had to wait for us in the car while we went to the movie. I did allow the Gabriella doll to join us against my better judgement since it was Gracie's Birthday. Um, yeah. Let's just say that wasn't the best decision I've ever made. Gracie, Sophie, and "Gabriella" were all belting out the songs at the top of their lungs during the movie. Then one of Gabriella's little white shoes went missing. Gracie was crawling around on the filthy theater floor, rummaging through all the spilled popcorn looking for the precious lost shoe. I'm sure some of our fellow movie goers were ready to strangle us all by the time the movie was over. Gracie refused to leave the theater until the shoe was found. An employee finally took pity on her (and me) and helped us look for the missing shoe with his little flashlight.


Next stop...Chuck E. Cheese. (Yes, the wig had to wait in the car - again!)

After dinner, we had to pick up a couple of things at Target. I finally caved and let her wear the wig inside. I wish I had a copy of the surveillance video taken that night. Hopefully some security guard out there got a good laugh out of us.

The next day we had the grandparents and some cousins over for cupcakes and ice cream.

Gracie got the HSM3 soundtrack from Keri and Mike and a new microphone from Kelton. Soon there was a major dance party going on in the basement. The Gabriella wig made another appearance.

Even the boys (big and little) were dancing and singing. Oh how I wish I had it all on video. Sam won my vote as best dancer that night. I had no idea he could shake it like that. Go Sam!

Happy Birthday Gracie! (Party on!)

Happy Halloween!

Every year Gracie tells us that NEXT YEAR she's going to be a witch. I thought that "next year" would never come, but 2008 year was finally the year of the witch. It's a good thing 2008 was also the warmest Halloween I can ever remember since our little witch refused to layer anything under or over her sparkly dress.


Dallin had big plans to be a Death Eater this year. That is until he saw a "bleeding mask" at the store. It has a little heart that pumps fake blood across the face when you squeeze it. One look at this beauty and he just knew it would make the perfect grim reaper costume. There was no changing his mind - believe me, I tried! It's a little gory for my taste, but I promise there is a sweet face smiling behind the bloody mask.


When Adam found this mullet wig, he happily exchanged his hard earned money for the opportunity to dress up like a "hick." At least that's what he calls it. I, on the other hand, like to call it "High School Adam."


He seriously had this same "do" in his Sr. portrait. OK, so it was a different color, but the style is exactly the same! (I'm also loving the plaid button down shirt with the plaid flannel quilted coat over the top. He just looks so dreamy.) Maybe next year I will sport the old CHS cheer uniform and rat my curls a mile high so I can go with him as "High School Heather." Alright, alright, let's be honest. There are a couple of reasons why that would never really happen. Number 1 is that I doubt I could fit even one leg into my old CHS cheer skirt. And number 2 is that I'm way too lazy now to spend that much time on my hair. But then again, maybe - just maybe - I might be able to find a wig that looks like my high school hair before next Halloween. (Shudder!)

But I digress...back to this Halloween. Adam took the kids trick-or-treating.



I stayed home to pass out the candy.



There was plenty of witch's brew to drink and "brains and bones" to eat. (That would be spaghetti and bone-shaped breadsticks.)


Oh, and we also had our annual family pumpkin carving contest last night.


I just love Halloween. Sigh. I'm kind of sad to see it end.

Farm Fun!

Over the last few years, it's become a tradition for the kids and I to go to the pumpkin patch during Fall Break. I guess it's a tradition we all enjoy because the kids were begging to go again this year I was actually excited to take them.

We always have to start at the "corn box." It's like a sandbox...but with corn instead. Adam covered our sandbox with concrete this past summer. He promised the kids he would build a new one, but I'm wondering if there's any way we could get one of these instead. Corn is a lot easier to shake out of their hair, clothes, and underwear than sand. But then again - it's been a week and a half and I'm still finding corn in the laundry.

Here are some more pictures from our day:

the hayride to the pumpkin patch

hay jumping

the giant hay slide
(that's Dallin going down head first)

pony rides

the petting zoo

the pedal karts
(Dallin's favorite)

the animal train
(Gracie's favorite)

the kids and their pumpkins
(My favorite)

I'm pretty sure this tradition is going to stick. So...anyone want to join us next Fall Break?

Baby Neve

Baby Neve was born on Sunday. The kids were dying to meet her, so we headed down on Monday for family night. Here's Ella and Gracie and her sweet new baby cousin:

Neve has adorable chubby cheeks and the tiniest little "thunder thighs" you've ever seen. Pretty impressive for a 1-day-old. Congrats Dave and April.

Countdown to HSM3

I know, I know...the new High School Musical movie opens in theaters today. Some theaters even had showings at 12:01 this morning. For most people, the countdown to HSM3 is over. But at our house we are counting down until we actually see it next week. Princess Grace has decided to take Sophie with her to see the new movie as part of her Birthday celebration next week. So for us it's 8 days until HSM3. 8 days to dream about singing and dancing with Troy.

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Almost a Vegetarian

Dallin and I were sitting in on Gracie's singing class this week while they were learning the lyrics to "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas." There is a phrase in the song where the mom thinks the hippo is going to eat the kid up, but the teacher said hippos are vegetarians.

I guess vegetarian isn't a word that is used every day in Kindergarten or something because when Miss Jenn asked if anyone knew what a vegetarian was, Gracie was the only one sitting up tall in her seat and waving her hand wildly. I slumped down and braced myself for what I thought she was going to say...something about her mommy being a vegetarian. But NOOOO. That's not what she said at all. She proudly explained that a vegetarian is "someone who takes care of animals."

Close my dear. Very close.

It's good to know that my eating habits haven't scarred her for life - I'm sure I can make up for that with some of my other habits.

Spilling the Beans About Dad

Dallin and Gracie had so much fun playing "mom tag" that they asked me if they could answer the same questions about dad. I thought that was only fair.

Gracie

1. What is something dad always says to you? Go clean your room.
2. What makes dad happy? Going on bike rides.
3. What makes dad sad? When his bike is broken.
4. How does your dad make you laugh? He tells me porpoise stories.
5. What was your dad like as a child? Kinda like Aaron. (His twin brother.)
6. How old is your dad? 32.
7. How tall is your dad? 16 inches tall.
8. What is his favorite thing to do? To go mountain biking.
9. What does your dad do when you're not around? Goes mountain biking.
10. If your dad becomes famous, what will it be for? Telling people about porpoises.
11. What is your dad really good at? Riding his bike.
12. What is your dad not very good at? Keeping his bike on the car.
13. What does your dad do for his job? He goes to work.
14. What is your dad's favorite food? Meat.
15. What makes you proud of your dad? When he rubs my feet.
16. If your dad were a cartoon character, who would he be? SpongeBob.
17. What do you and your dad do together? Go to Day's Market and get candy.
18. How are you and your dad the same? We like to ride bikes.
19. How are you and your dad different? I don't ride my bike on mountains.
20. How do you know your dad loves you? He snuggles me.
21. What does your dad like most about your mom? When she goes to the garden with him.
22. Where is your dad's favorite place to go? To the meat store.

Dallin

1. What is something dad always says to you? Go clean your room.
2. What makes dad happy? Going on bike rides.
3. What makes dad sad? When he can't go on bike rides.
4. How does your dad make you laugh? He does silly stuff on his bike.
5. What was your dad like as a child? Someone who was really interested in trucks.
6. How old is your dad? 33.
7. How tall is your dad? 6 feet 5 3/4 inches.
8. What is his favorite thing to do? Mountain biking.
9. What does your dad do when you're not around? Goes mountain biking.
10. If your dad becomes famous, what will it be for? Mountain biking.
11. What is your dad really good at? Mountain biking.
12. What is your dad not very good at? Skateboarding.
13. What does your dad do for his job? Epic Engineering.
14. What is your dad's favorite food? Black Angus steak.
15. What makes you proud of your dad? That he cooks meat for us.
16. If your dad were a cartoon character, who would he be? A tall Donald Duck.
17. What do you and your dad do together? Sometimes we go to Dutch Hollow on our bikes.
18. How are you and your dad the same? We like to ride mountain bikes.
19. How are you and your dad different? He's tall and I'm short.
20. How do you know your dad loves you? He takes us places.
21. What does your dad like most about your mom? She tries her hardest to clean the house.
22. Where is your dad's favorite place to go? Moab.

Tagged - The Kids Tell All

Dallin and Gracie were tagged by Hunter and Savannah. I'm not a fan of blog tag, but this one made me laugh and I didn't have to answer all the questions.

Gracie

1. What is something mom always says to you? Be good.
2. What makes mom happy? When I snuggle her.
3. What makes mom sad? When I have to go to time out.
4. How does your mom make you laugh? When she tickles me.
5. What was your mom like as a child? A Harry Potter book.
6. How old is your mom? 31. Am I right?
7. How tall is your mom? 20 inches long.
8. What is her favorite thing to do? Spend time with me.
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? Clean up the house.
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Being a mom.
11. What is your mom really good at? Playing with me.
12. What is your mom not very good at? Going on the monkey bars.
13. What does your mom do for her job? A mom.
14. What is your mom's favorite food? Cheese enchiladas from Ellie. (El Toro)
15. What makes you proud of your mom? Because she's my mom.
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Cinderella.
17. What do you and your mom do together? Play games.
18. How are you and your mom the same? We both have brown hair.
19. How are you and your mom different? We don't have the same clothes.
20. How do you know your mom loves you? We have lots of fun together.
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? Because he rubs her head.
22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? Olive Garden.


Dallin

1. What is something mom always says to you? I love you the most and a lot.
2. What makes mom happy? Spending time with her kids.
3. What makes mom sad? When dad goes on bike rides.
4. How does your mom make you laugh? The way she hides ships when we play Battleship.
5. What was your mom like as a child? She had short brown curly hair.
6. How old is your mom? 34
7. How tall is your mom? 5' 6"
8. What is her favorite thing to do? Spend time with her family.
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? Cleans.
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Loving her kids.
11. What is your mom really good at? Making dinner.
12. What is your mom not very good at? Being mean.
13. What does your mom do for her job? She's a mom.
14. What is your mom's favorite food? Enchiladas.
15. What makes you proud of your mom? I think she's the best mom.
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Olive Oyl from Popeye.
17. What do you and your mom do together? Read Harry Potter books and play games.
18. How are you and your mom the same? We breathe heavily. (Can you tell we both have colds right now?)
19. How are you and your mom different? I like meat and she doesn't.
20. How do you know your mom loves you? She laughs a lot when she's with me.
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? That he's funny.
22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? Disneyland with her kids.


Dallin tags Logan and Kelton.
Gracie tags Ella and Addison.

30 Days Hath September...

...and I didn't blog on a single one of them. But it's a new month, and the blogging vacation is officially over.

Here's the run-down on what we've been up to the last month or so:

Dallin started 2nd grade. If you ask him how he likes school, he'll probably shrug and then tell you, "It's too easy."

Gracie started Kindergarten. I didn't cry when I dropped her off the first day...or the next day...or the next. You get the picture. But I reserve the right to cry and have a pity party a year from now when my "baby" leaves me all day for 1st grade.

Here she is with her BFF, Sophie.

Gracie turned and looked at me as her class was going inside on the first day. That's more than Dallin did on his first day of K, so I guess she might like me after all. But then again, when I go to pick her up after school, she begs to stay with Mrs. W. just a little bit longer. She's completely in love with her teacher and even says that Mrs. W. looks just like Snow White. If you ask me, Mrs. W. must be a little bit magical to have not just 7, but 27 little dwarfs hanging on her every word. She's amazing!

In other news, Dallin just finished his first season of flag football.

And Gracie hit the soccer field again. She had been on an 18-month hiatus after she realized that she could get the same snacks at home - and without all that running around. Her final game was rained out, so now we can cross soccer off our list - at least until next Spring.

Gracie also hung up her leotard and ballet shoes this Fall in exchange for group singing classes. We found a lady who is teaching lessons in her basement. She has a cute stage down there complete with lighting and musical instruments. Gracie is in her element there for sure. Her big dream is to be on American Idol one day - that or a High School Musical movie. She really wanted to do dance, AND singing, AND soccer, AND tumbling, AND a cheer clinic. But I was a mean mom and made her choose what she wanted to do most.

As for me, I was released as the ward Relief Society President. I've been in the RS presidency since Gracie was a baby. She'll be 6 in just a couple weeks, and she can't remember life any other way. She literally jumped up and down and did the happy dance when I told her I was getting released. "YAY, no more food orders!" she cheered. While it's been nice to have the weight lifted off my shoulders, it's also been harder than I thought it would be to sit back and let it all go. I still lay awake at night worrying about the sisters I've grown to love so much.

Adam has been spending every spare moment on his mountain bike trying to get in as many "final" rides as he can before the snow flies - which could be any day now considering where we live. His mountain bike had a near-death experience when it flew off the back of his bike rack on I-15 a couple of weeks ago. Luckily the airborne bike didn't kill or maim anyone, and Adam wasn't hit by a semi while darting onto the freeway waving his arms trying to rescue his "baby." He claimed he was swearing off mountain biking for good after that little mishap, but he didn't fool me. The bike was in critical condition for a few days, but after some TLC and a big chunk of change, it's back in working order. Adam was out enjoying the "maiden voyage" on his new and improved bike less than a week after the accident.

I'm glad he's happy, but do you know what would make me happy? Packing up the bike, the helmet, and the smokin' hot spandex pants for the winter. I'm really looking forward to reclaiming my husband, my evenings, and my weekends for a while...well for a few days at least. You know - until the Jazz season starts again. LOL! A girl can dream, right?

10 Years

10 years ago today I waved goodbye to the single life and became a married woman. I won't mention any names, but I know there were some people who thought that I might never say "I do." I'm pretty sure there was more than one sigh of relief breathed on my behalf that day. I wasn't very old according to the world's standards, but in our LDS culture I was certainly getting up there in years.

I thought I was finally ready to take the plunge. I had traveled. I had worked. I had lived away from home and survived all kinds of "interesting" roommates. I had experienced college life. (I married Adam just a few days after I finished my last college class.) I knew what I was looking for. I had dated and I had learned from my mistakes. I had been through painful break-ups and broken hearts - sometimes mine, sometimes not. I had seen close friends marry - and in some cases divorce. But I was ready! In my mind, I was mature, experienced, and prepared. And even more importantly I was in love.

I honestly thought I knew what I was getting into, but looking back now it's almost laughable how naive I really was.

The truth is that the last 10 years haven't exactly been the textbook definition of marital bliss. Don't get me wrong, there has been plenty of happiness and fulfillment along the way, but there has also been enough frustration and discouragement mixed in to keep us grounded. When we got married, Adam still had 3 years of school ahead of him. Children didn't come as easily or abundantly as we would have liked. Our marriage has survived job frustrations, miscommunications, relocations, church callings, financial struggles, construction projects, and major impulse purchases that weren't always discussed or agreed upon beforehand. And after 10 years of marriage we still don't always see eye to eye on issues like finances, parenting, adoption, and mountain biking, but we're getting closer.

It hasn't always been easy, but marriage has also brought me more happiness that I could have imagined 10 years ago. I mean how could I have known then how it would feel to see my husband finally graduate and get his first "real" job? Or to move into our first home? Or to hold my newborn babies for the first time? Or to see those babies grow up and play bucking bronco on the trampoline or make dangerously long bicycle trains with their daddy? Or to watch firsthand as they start to gain a testimony? I had no idea life could be this good!

And I can honestly say that if I could turn back time...I'd do it all over again.

Kindergarten 'ssessment

Today we took her in for her Kindergarten "'ssessment" test. She's been a little bit anxious about the "test" - so much so that she was insisting for a while that she wasn't going to Kindergarten if she had to take the test.

To ease her anxiety, I let her sign her own name to schedule the appointment on back to school night. She put her little "John Hancock" down for Friday at 9:30. Fabulous, I thought! Until I discovered that I would be delivering food orders on Friday at 9:30. (You'd think I'd never done this before...) I called the school to reschedule and they had an opening, but we had to be there in less than half an hour.

So off we went to the school where she showed them everything she's forgotten since preschool. LOL! No seriously, she did fine, but she really had forgotten more than I had realized over the summer. I suddenly felt like a slacker mom for going all summer without doing any writing with her. Oops! But we did have lots of fun together the last 3 months. That's got to count for something...right?

Dallin was a total crack-up when I took him in for his assessment 2 years ago. When the teacher asked him how high he could count he replied, "I can count waaaaay past 1,000, but I just don't think you have time for that." LOL!

Anyone who knows Gracie knows that she has never been one to be outdone. She had her own funny moment this time around. The teacher handed her some blocks and asked her to name the shapes. Gracie rattled them off, no problem. Next the teacher handed her a bundle of crayons and asked Gracie to tell her what color the crayons were. Gracie picked up the red and turned it around and around just looking at it. This went on for a little bit too long and honestly the silence was making me quite uncomfortable. "How could she not know the color red?" I was thinking to myself. Finally she found the spot she was looking for on the label and slowly sounded out the word "red." Next she picked up a purple crayon and read from the label, "violet." She repeated this for each of the colors. The teacher turned and looked at me kind of surprised and asked me if she was reading already? It was a classic Gracie moment and it was all I could do to keep from laughing out loud.

Scrappin'

I haven't scrapped much at all this year. I'm not sure what's gotten into me. Either I'm having a really looooong slump, or I'm losing the love of scrapping altogether. I'm just not feeling it lately. But Shabby Princess released some new products over the weekend, which means that I got to play with them so I actually scrapped a few pages over the last couple of weeks. I'm really out of the habit and feeling pretty rusty all around.

I did a couple of pages from the "Twirl" Piece-a-cake album. These pages were pre-made...just add photos, a title, and some journaling. It really can't get any easier.

Here are a couple pages I did with her new Summer Cottage kit at Digi Shop Talk:

And another one I did with one of her new coaster sets.