It's been a long time. . .

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I haven't written anything in a long time, partly because I have been COMPLETELY, ABSOLUTELY enjoying having my family home. The boys are home from school and Dylan even took time off from work to enjoy Christmas vacation with us. Another reason I haven't written is because I am simplifying my life, cutting the clutter, trimming the fat, etc. Usually, after Christmas I tend to feel down in the dumps. Not this year. This year I'm ready to take down the decorations (which, by the way, are all down except the Christmas tree) and face the year with a clean and de-cluttered house. I'm ready to face the New Year with hope that this will be an awesome year for everyone. Hope and Simplicity. Those are my new themes for the new year. Just like that Primary song that says, "I want my life to be as clean as Earth right after rain", I look forward to the fresh start of a New Year. Well, that's all I have for now. Happy New Year, everyone!

Better late than never!

As I mentioned before, we went to my niece, Ashley's, wedding in October down in Anaheim. Michael was asked to be the ring bearer, and to my surprise he really enjoyed it! Here are a few favorite shots. It was really difficult to narrow it down.
Here he is with the flower girl, Kylie. She helped bring him out of his shell a bit. I don't think she has a shy bone in her body!


This is Ashley and her new hubby, Randy. Adorable couple!


My niece, Alyssa, got Dylan out on the dance floor! I realize that all of my boys are going to need very outgoing girls to get them out on the dance floor if there ever is any hope of them dancing.


Michael cutting a rug.


One of my favorite pictures!



It's hard to believe that this beautiful little bride used to crawl around on her knees all day pretending to be a dog!


This is right after Dylan Jr. and Nathan caught Michael's eye while going down the aisle.


Three of my handsome boys. The other one did this most of the time -

Happy Birthday, little Michael.

Today Michael turns 7 years old. I can't believe that we are just one year left until he is baptized! He is still my cuddly little Michael for now, though. He was my pudgiest baby, and a very well behaved baby, too. I can still remember how, when he'd get excited or was happy, he would start spinning his little feet in circles. Each would go in the opposite direction of each other. This picture is of him dancing with the flower girl from my niece's wedding. I would never have been able to get him to do that, but for a complete stranger, he did it. Go figure! And here he is with his giant pumpkin that he had to carry back to the car, all by himself.

He still has fluffy little cheeks that I love to pinch!

Bubbles!

While we were down in Anaheim for my niece's wedding, we stayed in a place that had a jetted tub in the bathroom. What a hit it was with the boys! It may look like we added soap to the tub, but those bubbles are just from the baby-bath and shampoo that Dylan rinsed off of the boys. I would love to have a tub like that some day, but we'd have to live in some other town where the water wasn't so expensive!

Something scary . . .

I am so behind in my posting. I've been waiting for some photos to do a post of my niece's wedding that Michael was the ring bearer for, so that is still a future post. But I do have to tell you what happened to me last night. I had been in bed for about an hour, so I was pretty out of it. It was time for me to turn over, and when I turn over, I don't just roll over, I sit up a bit and then flop over. Well, as I turned over, there was Nathan. Just standing there. Beside the bed. FREAKING ME OUT! I let out some weird sound that wasn't really a full scream because I realized that it was Nathan, and not some stranger standing over me. He calmly said that he was feeling sick. Let's just say that I didn't really feel like going to sleep after that for about, oh, another TWO hours. I'm sure I looked just like this:

His Favorite Things

Lately William likes to ask us, "Who is your favorite good guy?", "Who is your favorite bad guy?", or "Who is your favorite spiderman character?", etc. Today, as I fed him a bowl of Spongebob noodle soup and watermelon, he asked me, "Who is your favorite girl?" I thought for a moment, and answered "Tinkerbell." So, I asked him, "Who is your favorite girl?" He then smiled and said, "You." He has totally, completely got me wrapped around his little finger!

This may sound a little cheesy . . .

. . .but being at the vineyard yesterday evening was a wonderfully spiritual experience. I know, like I said, cheesy. But you know, it was. I wish I had a camera to take pictures of our dusty group walking together to our last row. It sort of reminded of the scene from "Man in the Iron Mask" where the Musketeers have just been shot at in the prison. They come walking out of the smoke, a little ragged and injured a bit, but they persevere. I know, totally cheesy, but as I saw our ragged group trudge along to our extra and final row, I thought to myself, "This is what it is all about." People were enjoying friendships, families were enjoying being together, and everyone had that "put you shoulder to the wheel" mentality. I am so glad that we made it there.

Ashley's Bridal Shower

So, this last Saturday we threw a bridal shower for my niece, Ashley. I think it was a great success . . .she got lots a goodies for her new married life. I can't believe that my little niece who used to crawl around on all fours, barking like a dog, and who used to say she was going to marry Gonzo (Yes that's the blue one from the Muppets with the long nose), is getting married in October! I do have to tell one story about her before I go. Shortly after I got my driver's license, I wanted to take her to the movies. She was probably three or four years old. We went to go see "Thumbelina" and when we sat down in the theater seats, she was too tiny to keep the seat from folding up on her! She had to sit on my lap for the whole movie. Well, she hasn't gown much since then. But she will be a beautiful little bride.

California

This last Saturday we took a fun family trip up to Sequoia and Kings National Parks. It got me thinking about how many wonderful things there are about our state. On the way up we passed this beautiful citrus grove. I just love something about seeing lush green trees planted in rows on hills.

Where else can you go from seeing a beautifully kept grove of fruit trees to this?


I've spent a lot of time complaining about the state of California. It's just not the same California I grew up in. I can't tell you the number of times I've wished we could just move away and find that perfect quaint little town in a state that I felt was right to raise a family in. But I imagine that could be said of a lot of other places as well. There's so much that I wish we could change about how it is run. But for now, I've just got to think of the positive points this state has, and pray for the best.

Happy 3rd Birthday, William!

Today William turned 3, and it has been a very busy day. The start of the day wasn't too fun for him, he was a bit under the weather, but felt much better by noon. Here he is shooting his brothers with his Buzz Lightyear gun, and the other picture he is holding his mini Book of Mormon. When we bought that for him on the way home from Utah, he kept saying "I love my Book of Mornin." It kept him occupied for about half an hour! We love you, little William!