Aiden's 7th Birthday, A Month Ago!

Almost a month ago Aiden turned 7, to not much fanfare :) I am burnt out of the big overdone kids' birthday parties I use to throw. So now I ask them "what do you want to do"? He said Chuck E Cheese, so I complied, but very low key.

So first the usual cake on his actual birthdate, Sept 21st, at the house. Just the 5 of us. I think Robb got this cake from Walmart along with all the Bakugan stuff he asked for....oh boy those Bakugans are soooooo popular. I have no clue exactly what they are, but boy do they get expensive when you buy them for 3 boys! Then Paris chimes in she wants some too!




And a Chuck E Cheese small party on a Monday night (after soccer) for a few family & friends who live nearby....the place was so empty it was actually nice to not have to worry about crowds.











I try and take a photo of Aiden every year with his Papa & Hominee (Robb's parents).


So the parties are getting less stressful and less expensive :) At least for the boys! Ha!!! Paris already has her party planned for January.....I'll let it be a surprise for my blog, but no, not at my house. I am over dealing with 15-20 kids at my house. I am SO OVER class parties, let alone hosting them. I must sound like a grump. I do love bridal and baby showers!! :)

Movie Tour in Hawaii

Ok, any "Lost" fans reading this, I could not wait to post this :) We went on a movie tour in Hawaii on a ranch up on North Shore. Many films are made on this ranch. "Lost" being a TV show with scenes filmed here. Robb and I renacted the "Lost" scene of Jack & Juliet's 2nd kiss in front of the Temptest station. You can see the edge of the old school bus the tour takes us around the property on.



The clip from Lost at the same spot as Robb and I are standing (with more trees in the scene and props)


The Temptest Station looking very "natural" for the taping of the "Lost" tv show:


The Temptest Station in real life is an old war bunker the ranch uses as a museum with stuff inside from past movies. The bunker is a lot bigger then we were allowed to see. It is built into the side of the mountain and is goes up and down 6 stories! Solid concrete! It was also used in "Pearl Harbor" (the movie with Ben Affleck) for a few scenes. Wish my picture was better of the entrance. I do have video to post later!!

Val in Wonderland

My cousin Brecken and I threw a "Val in Wonderland" themed baby shower for my cousin (Brecken's sister in law) Val. She is due in November with a baby girl!!! My grandmother hosted it at her home which we called the "The House of the March Hare" on the invite.....











Val (she is married to my cousin Robbie, or Rob as he liked to be called now that he is an adult, hee hee)


Opening the baby shower gifts



Leah & I

I am home....again!

I am back home. I was in Hawaii since last Wednesday. I had a busy week and just could not stay on top of blogging last week. We got home last night at midnight but did not leave the airport until about 1am because of lost luggage. 3 out of 4 bags arrived home, and of course the one missing bag was my bag. This morning we get a call that my bag boarded the wrong plane :) It's in Portland! Ha ha....so Hawaiian Airlines is going to Fed Ex it to my house. Which will be expensive. My bag was over the weight limit! 58 pounds...yikes!!

Anyhoo, I have a ton of photos from Jason and Nicole's North Shore (Oahu) wedding, which was really beautiful! Also, we went to a luau, Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona, and took a Ranch Movie Tour (which was soooo cool). Then of course I still have all the Miley birthday party photos, and my cousin's baby shower photos. Oh and the MMA fight I went to the night before the birthday party at Disneyland. Whew!!! 10days of nonstop places to be and traveling!!! So glad to be home for awhile.....

Got to go get my dog...she has been boarded for awhile now.

Getting "Lost"

I am so sorry for leaving everyone "high and dry" with my last post. I am busy right now getting LOST and will resume posting Tuesday all my Miley photos, as well as some other exciting photos of my 50 FIRST DATES..........don't worry I am not crazy!!!

PS~ 3 weeks until Uganda!!! Can you believe it?????

Miley's Sweet 16th Concert Video

Here is the video I took with my little Powershot camera (it's not great quality), I did not bring my Nikon in. She did a small concert on "Tom Sawyer's Island", which is now "Pirate's Island" I think. They renamed it. We sat at the River Belle Cafe and ate some dinner and watched this. Her opening act was Billy Ray Cyrus (her dad). For this song she got off the island on the top of a decorated houseboat and sang this song as it glided up and down the bank of the river area where everyone was standing (in front of Pirates of the Caribean all the way to Splash Mountain). I only got a little of the song. My memory card was kind of full, so not much space for videos.

I'm Back!!

I'm Back!!!! Whew.......24 hour trip to Disneyland for Miley Cyrus' 16th birthday party. I will post pictures and 1 video I took with my camera tomorrow. I am so tired. It was SO FUN. The experience in the park and "celebrity hunting" as we called it was a hoot!! WOW, was there so many celebrities out!!! 5000 tickets sold and so the park was at a good capacity for this event. She sang songs, we got cupcakes, rides were open, fireworks, games, parade of stars, stars walking around freely (which was neat), photo opts with cool decor all over and goodie bags to take home. Worth every penny!!! 6pm-11pm last night. Me, Paris, Rose Mary, Jacque, Leah & Kenzie went....flew over and back within 24 hours! We had 1 extra ticket from someone not being able to go with us (sniff sniff), but it's ok because we found the perfect girl to take the ticket!! Tonya's daughter Texie!!! And in her own words "it was the best night of my life"....so she had a blast and Tonya hung out in Downtown Disney for 5 hours while we were in the party!

More details and pics tomorrow...off to bed......oh and we stayed in the "princess suite" at the Disneyland Hotel! Which was a 1st for us. Never even heard of the "princess suite" before :)

Their Style...

I Hope They Make a Doll :)

E's first Soccer Game of the Season

Evan's first game of the season..Fall 2008! This was a night game and we beat the team. I think 8 to 0. Maybe 6 to 0. Forgot since this was like 3 weeks ago, I am really behind in updating photos.

Evan's coach's 16 year old daughter showed Paris how to make duck lips with pringles at the game!

My "Soccer Mom" shirt (see the ball?)...the back has his number blinged on it :) A big 4. We took this photo after we got home. We stay at the fields for another soccer game to watch and support another fellow team. Then a bunch of us went to ice cream at DQ. Like 20+ or more of us. So this is tired us, on a Saturday night, at like midnight. I had to show the shirt though. Thanks Liz for making it for me! I have orders for you!!

OH~ That is the necklace I made at Signature's Charm-tini!!! It's a build it yourself charm necklace from Brighton. You can take off and add pieces according to what you are wearing or holidays...so smart and affordable too. Great Xmas idea!!!!! I love mine :) Robb told me to enjoy the Charm-tini party at Signatures, so I did!! LOVE the necklace.....

A Monday Thought...

1 Week From Today

Can you guess where I am going in 1 week for 1 night???? Rose Mary, Leah and I have been planning a little overnight trip for the little girls since August 25th....they LOVE Miley Cyrus and Hannah Montana. Did you hear? She is turning 16 and shutting Disneyland down for her Birthday Party, and 5000 guests. Guess what? We got tickets!!! It's sold out now...




http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/disneyparks/en_US/minisites/mileyCyrusSweet16Birthday/index

Flying out to Anaheim at 11am on Sunday October 5th. Home by Noon on Monday October 6th.

My Frame Project

Robb did not know I was taking this photo :)

This is our TV room, which is our little media room with all the computers too. I do NOT let my kids have computers in their rooms, NO WAY :) I do trust them, I do NOT trust the world. Anyways, this was my old scrapbook room, which is now moved into my workout room, which is now gone since I work out at "The Club" :) Ha ha Yes, I do change things a lot around here.

I group photos by "time". So this wall is all this past summer (2008). I actually threw in a few from last year (not summer though) because I had to balance it out with a few photos of my brother Tyler in there. For the most part this is all of our summer travels. It's not totally done though. After our Hawaii trip in a few weeks I'll have a few more photos to make it totally done!!! I had to run to Aaron Brothers for more frames on Friday morning before my workout. They have a 50% off area in the back that all these came from. I mixed and matched. I did not pay retail for these. I scoff at retail price for frames. And Pottery Barn prices for frames are just crazy, I'd never pay that, never, even if I was a ba-jillionaire :) It's about "principle", you know????

I may take a photo of another wall I have done, it's a wall of summer 2007, all our Europe travels. Greece, Turkey, Italy, France, Spain, Monanco....it's lovely! Anyhoo, this is 2008 in the photo. Alaska, Salvation Mountain, Disneyland, San Diego, Coronado Island..I guess I missed putting photos of Lake Powell up there though, hummmmmmm.........



I told Robb this is my wall of WOW (like the Webkins Wheel of Wow), ha ha!

Belly Up!

Yep, another fish went belly up! 2 in 2 weeks...some kind of record for us. The last of the orginal fish we moved into this house a year and a half ago. So after this happened last weekend I (or shall I say, Robb) cleaned the tank. So we have 1 albino small sucker fish left (looks like a catfish) in the tank. Then also 1 beta fish. So tomorrow I may surprise the kids and get 2 more for the tank and another beta. The only problem is, guess who feeds the fish??? Oh and cleans the tank and bowl? Oh and has to find them a home, or a feeding timer for our vacations??? Yes, if you said ME, you are right. So they aren't really the kids' fish. They are mine. Cleverly disguised as the kids'!!!

So this fish' name was a Phx Suns' name. I forgot which. Not Nash, he died already awhile ago. Not Amare, we never named a fish Amare. So I am not sure who???? So I'll just call him Nemo :) Sounds good!!! Since really he was my fish for the last 2 years, the kids just did not know it.

Gymnastics

Paris started Gymnastics this month with her cousins. I'll be changing days after this week because she starts tennis, so today was her last day with Kenzie and Sierra. She has taken some acro classes so she knew how to do cart wheels and hand stands before coming into this class. Then after watching the Olympics she was hooked into learning more :) So as long as it does not interfere with her other activities or the other kids' I don't mind it!

Aiden & Paris

First off...today is Aiden's 7th birthday!!!! My little Lu-lu bug (that is what I call him) is 7 today!!!! I'll post photos after tomorrow night, as we are having a little party for him.

This week was Aiden's class' week to perform in chapel. They performed a skit about Moses and Pharoah. Aiden was chosen to be Pharoah. So I went to Party City and all I could find was a Caesar costume in an adult size. So I got it, cut it and pinned it down. Wah-la :) A few thousand years a part, but hey, close enough. So Aiden had some cue cards, but memorized most of his lines. I was impressed. They also sang a few songs as group. So Weds I spent Chapel with his school and watched his perform. It was a packed sanctuary full of students, parents and teachers. Wow! I was very impressed!! I videoed too, or actually my sister Trystan did. But I need to edit it. She was too wiggly and I think anyone watching it will get motion sickness.

(See Aiden? Back row, corner)



(See Aiden? Gold sash, You did not know Pharoah could look like Caesar huh?)



Yay, Paris' uniform arrived and this was the first game that all CCV cheer teams had their cute uniforms on to cheer in. So I was more free with taking photos and video. Their age group is Pre-k and Kindergarten, so it is really a cute age group to watch. They were cheering for tackle football players that were 10 years old, which was fun and they almost got tackled themselves 1 time during the 2nd half. 1 girl on our team either forgot her uniform or something, so that kinda ruined my photos (hee hee, I am only joking)....

First Half of the game





Half Time show in the middle of the field! See Paris??? Right side, pony tail, red bow.

Water Break during the 2nd half of the game...



My busy week starts all over again tomorrow....school, guitar lessons, ballet, soccer, gymnastics, cooking lessons, cheer practice and so on. Evan also has a science project to do, oh joy!!! A model of the Earth, in layers :) My geology class last Spring will help with that :) ha!

Thursday Equals Yoga-Day

Well I tried someone new for my nails today and they look terrible...and on top of that I was 7 minutes LATE for yoga. GASP!! I am NEVER late. I am ALWAYS early. If I give my kids any lesson of good manners it is the importance of promptness (and of course please and thank yous). So my nails look bad, and she cut my skin 2 times filing the nail. OUCH. Try to Purell your hands after that. Burn burn burn. Yes, I am addicted to Purell :) So anyway, I did relax a little with Yoga. At the end of yoga we relax and I always get to this point of almost falling asleep. It's so funny to me, because I CAN NOT TAKE DAY NAPS, but at the end of yoga I am totally wiped out! A little "down dog", "eagle", "chair pose", "warrior 1 & 2", then I am ready for a siesta!!!


My mat and bag are not this cute though....I may need to go shopping!!! Ha ha :)

Now, does this makes sense...I go work out, then a few times a week I have to splurge at Jack in the Box. This is what I am IN LOVE WITH!!!!!!! YUMMO :) Oh and you have to get the Oreo milkshake too!!!




Nutrition Facts - Jack in the Box, Cheesy Macaroni Bites (6 piece).

Calories - 440
Calories from Fat - 230
Total Fat - 25 grams
Carbs - 41 grams
Saturated Fat - 10 grams
Trans Fat - 4 grams
Cholesterol - 30 milligrams
Sodium - 1220 milligrams
Protein - 13 grams

1/2 Way Through Sept

I have been so busy with Sept it is crazy. I have some pictures and video I need to upload. This week has been packed with 1 thing after another. I am just tired :) I'll write more this weekend.....

On a different note:
*50 days until I leave for Africa
*I am addicted to pistachios
*I am sooooooo HAPPY Dan won Big Brother
*No matter how busy I am, I have still been working out
*I am ready to ban sugary junk food in my house, I have crazy kids all of the sudden, I think this is sugar related
*I just realized we have 16 weeks left of 2008
*Which means I have 19 weeks left of being 30 years old
*Will I ever have time to catch up on my DVR recordings?
*Can't wait to see the new TV show "Kim & Kath" :)

I ponder to myself...why do I never get to bed before 11pm, and I always wake up before 6:30am. OH YES, KIDS :) And the many things I am doing for them....ha ha!

Night Night..........13 minutes until bedtime for me!!

A Sunday Quote

“Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are.
Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two.”

~ the movie "Captain Corelli's Mandolin"