From Mom and Dad

Girls, we couldn't fit this in the car for the trip, so this is one of your presents when we get back, new bedspreads and pictures for your walls. We hope you like them! Love , Mom and Dad

Christmas Traditions

Every year growing up we went out as a family and picked out a Christmas Tree together. This is the main reason why I don't break down and buy an artificial tree. I love the memories it brings back to go out and pick out a real tree and the smell of it in the house when you come home at Holiday time. I must admit that it is a much less freezing cold activity to pick out a tree in Southern California than in Utah. We picked out a cute tree this year while the kids ran wild in and out of all the other the trees on the lot. I couldn't get Jackson to stand still for 2 seconds to take a photo. Next, we always go see the lights at the temple every year. This year, instead of driving 4 blocks to see the lights, we had to drive 35 miles but as usual, the lights were beautiful. The only problem was that it was POURING RAIN the whole time we were there. Oh well, you can't have EVERY day be sunny, can you? We shouldn't be greedy.

Christmas Photos 2010

My "go-to" photographer, Lindsay, moved to AUSTRALIA this past year. Seriously, Australia?? I found a friend here in our ward who takes photos as a hobby so I asked her to shoot some of my kids for our annual Christmas photos. She did a great job and got some cute shots and was WAY more patient than I would have been.

Vasquez Rocks

We took the kids to Vasquez Rocks, a county park about 20 miles from our house. We took a picnic lunch and did a little light hiking after that. The kids LOVED IT. Jackson was so cute. He kept saying "I like this place Mommy!" over and over. We tried hiking to the top but I got too scared with the kids so we got to the top, almost. The climb down was a bit trickier than the way up. I guess we have deprived our kids of having an outdoorsy lifestyle with my strict "NO CAMPING" policy. Maybe we should make a few exceptions??? We'll have to see if I can find any campgrounds with showers, flush toilets and beds.

Allie's New Glasses

About a month after school started, the kids came home and told me that they had eye exams at school. I didn't really think anything of it until I got a letter in the mail a few weeks later that said Allison didn't pass her exam and that she needed to be taken for a comprehensive eye exam. We did that last week and sure enough, Allie is far-sighted. On Saturday she and I went to pick out glasses. These are the ones she liked the best. Doesn't she look cuter, smarter and older?

My Little Monsters

We have had a Halloween extravaganza at our house this weekend. On Friday, we had the school Boo Fest, the big carnival the school puts on every Halloween. I got the kids dressed and took them outside our front door to take some pictures. As I turned on my camera, I heard a woman's voice coming from the inside of our neighbor's house. We couldn't actually see her voice; just hear her directing our every move. "Stand up kids. Sit down kids. Take one of each of them by themselves. Have the little boy stand on the step. Make sure they are all smiling, etc. etc. " This is why Jackson is looking off in another direction with a puzzled expression in some of the shots. The kooky lady was talking to us the entire time, and we couldn't actually see her. We escaped and went to the carnival where the kids (not the mom) had a blast.
Today, Rachel had a costume party at one of her friend's house. IN PALMDALE. Lance took Rachel and Jackson. From what Lance said, they didn't have that great of a turnout for the party. Perhaps because Palmdale is 35 miles away from where all the kids you invited actually live??

Allie's entire class went to a musical version of Click, Clack, Moo. It was really cute. It was only an hour so the kids paid attention and laughed the whole time. Note to self: take the kids to more plays. It is fun.

Tonight was our ward's Trunk or Treat. WOW! People told me that our ward takes the fall/winter holidays very seriously. They weren't kidding. It was a Trunk or Treat to beat all Trunk or Treats. The activities committee must have been planning it since the day after Halloween last year.

I think that's it. Whew! I'm tired! And it isn't even Halloween yet.

Rachel's 10th Birthday

I can't believe that my little Rachel turned 10 today. It doesn't seem like it has been 10 years since we brought her home from the hospital to our little apartment in West LA. It seems like yesterday that Lance would take her for drives to the airport to try and get her to go to sleep.
We are so happy to have Rachel be a part of our family. Here are a few of the things that we love about Rachel:
• She does everything with enthusiasm: School, Piano, Singing to the radio at the top of her lungs, and even fighting with her sister.
• She is almost always happy. Take it from someone who has a "glass half empty" outlook on life, it is refreshing to have someone around who looks on the bright side of things.
• She is very friendly and helpful.
• She loves little kids.
• She is a great big sister.
• She loves everything about the gospel.
• She is a nice person. In a world of not so nice people, she stands out.
I feel very grateful to be Rachel's mom. I have seen her grow from the fattest, cutest baby into the beautiful girl she is today. Happy Birthday Rachie-Roo!

Lombardi Ranch

For years now, Lance and I have taken our kids up to the mountains to go to a Halloween Festival. We get up early on a Saturday, jump on the 10 Freeway and drive over an hour to get there. Since we moved, we found out that we have Lombardi Ranch about two miles up the road from us. They have a great Halloween Festival every year complete with petting zoo, train, hay AND pony rides (which, sadly, Rachel has grown too big for,) corn maze, live country music bands, crafts, and of course millions of pumpkins (well, perhaps not MILLIONS, but a real lot.) The kids had a great time. Who knew that we live just two short miles away from farm country? Our LA friends tease us that we do, but we didn't think it was actually true until yesterday.

San Diego Zoo-Fall Break 2010

The kids and another distant "cousin."


Rachel sporting her new haircut, Jackson sporting his adorable dimple, and Allison, her cute smile.





The kids had the entire week off of school for what is called "Fall Break" in these parts. We never had a "Fall Break" in the LA Unified, so this was new for us. I didn't really want to spend all week home alone with the kids so we called Aunt Jill, packed up and went to San Diego. Our Arizona cousins were there being watched while their parents were on a cruise so, bonus, we got so see them as well. We went to the San Diego Zoo on Friday. Here are the pictures. Can you tell which ones are the monkeys and which ones are the kids? We'll let you decide.

Detroit 187 Trailer

Lance is working on a new show called Detroit 1-8-7. For those of you who aren't down with the cop lingo "1-8-7" is police code for "homicide." The show is about homicide detectives in Detroit. Someone kindly pointed out to me recently that in Detroit, 1-8-7 isn't actually the code for homicide like it is here in LA, it's a totally different number (how in the world would you know this?) I asked Lance about the "scandal" and he told me that the creators of the series totally know that 1-8-7 isn't the code for homicide in Detroit but that the title was catchy so they named it that anyway. Why does Lance always have to work on shows that people love to analyze and point out the flaws?? Anyhoo...the third episode, which airs tomorrow night at 10:00 on ABC, will have his name in the credits. So have your remote and your magnifying glass ready and you'll be able to see it.

It's a good, solid show. I like Michael Imperioli, even though I never watched a full episode of the Sopranos. I would recommend that you check it out. One a side note, I overheard Allie telling someone that her dad works on a show called Detroit 6-8-2. I have no idea what that is police code for......maybe it's homicide????

Detroit 1-8-7

Park City-Summer 2010

My mom and dad rented a condo in Park City for Labor Day Weekend this year. Everyone was able to come except for Lance (working) and Ava (with Kristie.) Except for those two exceptions, the entire family stayed together in the condo all weekend. The kids had so much fun playing (and occasionally fighting) with their cousins. They got to swim, go on walks in the mountain air, go down the alpine slide, do craft projects, play board games, eat great food and hang out with grandpa and grandma. The adults got to shop at the outlets, go to Swiss Days, play pool, visit and eat tons of yummy food. Thanks to G&G Madsen for such a fun weekend.