If the shoe fits...

I was tidying up the house the other day and gathered up all the kids shoes.
(We have to be diligent about keeping them off the floor since Sophie is around)
I put them all together on the bench and it I had to do a double take....

Can you guess why???Yep... all Converse. Miranda even has another plaid pair, but she was wearing them at the time. The purple pair is her newest addition and she wore the red for Seussical as Cat in the Hat.
Parker has his eyes on a blue pair too.

I've tried wearing these kind of shoes, but I just can't get used to the flat bottoms.
I also just realized that they both wear the same size shoe, and since Converse are unisex...
they can share (like that will ever happen, but hey... in a pinch right?)

And here's another little tidbit... they both wear the same size as me too!
YIKES... how did they ever grow up so fast?

Escape to.....

The Happiest Place on Earth!

It's been 5 years, 6 months, 4 days, 8 hours and 37 seconds since our last trip to Disneyland (but who's counting)
Miranda was 9 and Parker was 6 the last time we went. I'm not sure why it's been so long since we've been. Perhaps part because Ryan doesn't like crowds, so that leaves out weekends and holidays and the kids don't like missing school... that leaves out weekdays. So somehow we let all this time pass without visiting Mickey.

On a whim, we decided to ditch our traditional Halloween extravaganza and head to California (it only took a little eyelash batting and begging from me).
This is very unusual for me because I really like to plan things out.
Literally, 1 day before leaving we finalized plans, found subs for church, sitters for the dogs, and booked a hotel.
And I'm sooooo glad we did!!!

I was nervous that the crowds this Halloween weekend would be too much for Ryan to take and it would scare him from ever going again.
Although it was fairly crowded... the wait time on all the rides was no more than 20-30 minutes without the fast pass. I've never been to Disneyland and been able to ride as many rides as we did this trip.

The kids were amazing. It was like taking them for the first time because they didn't remember a lot about it. They rode all the "big" rides for the first time because they were either too short or too nervous to ride last time.
I can't express how fun it was to spend this weekend together as a family!
We didn't have a plan, schedule or care in the world and it was AWESOME!!
Because it was Nevada Day Weekend as well, we ran into a few friends from Vegas. We knew of more that went, but never saw them.

It seemed a little strange to not do the traditional Halloween activities. No costumes, no candy, no Trunk or Treat, but we really didn't even miss it.

So here's a few highlights from our Wonderful Halloween Weekend in Disneyland.

Music to my ears

Miranda had her first High School Choir concert last night.
I can definitely say I enjoy High School concerts soooo much more than Middle School.
Her choir actually had parts and was so enjoyable to listen to. There were less people in the audience so we could actually see and hear her. Miranda likes her choir teacher Dr. Kruger. She also has her for Musical Theater
As a finale all the choirs combined to do Sweeney Todd - a fun number to do at Halloween.They turned all the lights red for atmosphere.
If this is any indication of how other concerts will be...I'm looking forward to their Christmas concert.

Kara & Glenn's Wedding

Friday Night was my niece Kara & her new hubby Glenn's Open House. They were married last weekend in Salt Lake Temple.
This photo was taken after Kara's Endowment the week before they were married.
Kara and Glenn both looked the part of Newlyweds.
Amber and Harlen now have 2 son in laws that have been added to their already large family of 7 kids. Harlen and KaraHarlen with 2 of his girls, Leslie & KaraAmber looked beautiful in her signature color purple.
Miranda had the privilege of watching some of her little cousins for the evening. She was such a good sport and did it with a smile :) Harlen did a fabulous job decorating for the event. It looked simply beautiful!
(You can see more photo's of the reception HERE )They served cake and cookies all color coordinated of course!
Toward the end of the evening I was able to pull my sisters, Amber and Natalie aside for a photo. (I wish all of my siblings would have been there. It seems I don't see them too much lately) (hint hint)
It was a beautiful reception and I wish Kara and Glenn a wonderful new life together!

Excellent Young Woman

Last Night was our Ward's Young Women in Excellence.
Each girl prepared a display for a value project they have been working on.
Miranda decided to display a shadow box collage of memorabilia from her experience with Seussical Jr.Miranda was asked to create the centerpieces for the cupcake desserts and name cards for each of the girls.
With a little brainstorming.... this is what we came up withThe girls placed their project displays around the value they represented.(You can see more photo's of the centerpieces HERE )
The program was beautiful. All the girls did an excellent job with their projects.

Miranda has made so many wonderful friends in our ward.
This is Shaun one of her BFF's.
I'm so proud of Miranda and all her accomplishments this past year. She never ceases to amaze me with all her talents and ambition. I'm so fortunate to have such a loving, kind, fun and oh so talented daughter.

Bishopric Wives Dinner

Each year our Stake hosts a special dinner in honor of the Bishopric Wives of all the wards.
I was asked to help out last year (see post here).
This year Ryan was in charge so that meant I was "asked" to help again.
So I started with the Invitations and Favors to give to all the wives.
You can check those out HERE on my craft blog. We asked some of the Young Women, including Miranda, from our ward to serve at the dinner.
They did such an AMAZING job and took their duties very seriously.We had a full house and all the Sisters enjoyed themselves. Ryan arranged for a few other High Council members to help out in the kitchenIt was a total group effort and everyone did their part to make the night run smoothly.
The food was divine.
We started with grapes, and bread on the table for appetizers.
Then the salad was mixed green with chopped strawberries, apples, green onion, tomato and candied pecans with balsalmic dressing.
Main dish was fresh garlic green beans, herbed rice, and a delicious Tenetian chicken with a mango chutney and cilantro lime dipping sauce.
To finish off the evening we had cheesecake with fruit toppings.

I was exhausted at the end of the day, but it was all worth it!

Heart Walk - take 2

Miranda, Parker and I joined my cousins Stacie & Nicole (and other friends and family) at the American Heart Association Heart Walk. We went last year (check it out HERE) and it was sooo cold, but this year was quite the opposite.
Stacie was able to get team T-shirts made up for all of us. Her son Reid Michael died when he was only 10 weeks old of heart problems. He was born a month before Miranda so would be 14 now. So our team is appropriately called "Remembering Reid Michael"

We all enjoyed a free Popsicle before the treacherous 3 mile walk
Unfortunately Stacie's stroller was broken so Charlotte (Stacie's little girl) had to stay behind with Grandpa Reid.
Parker was bummed because Wyatt wasn't able to join us this year. But he brought along his I-pod and did quite well. He even ran to the finish line to make it before the 1 hour mark.
Charlotte was our welcoming committee when we arrived and couldn't wait to show off her rainbow tattoo.
Can't wait to do it again next year. It's such a great cause and I'm happy to be a small part of it!