Together Forever

Today was a very special day for my sister Heather...
Not only is it her birthday, but she went to the Temple to be sealed to her husband Nathan and their two beautiful kids, Ian and Garrett.
It was such a beautiful & special occasion to be a part of
They are so happy... It was truly a beautiful sight to see them all in white.

Congratulations!!!

Thanksgiving Blessings

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year.
Because my parents are serving in the Philappines I decided to play "hostess with the mostess" and host dinner at my place.
The weather was perfect for eating outside. I even had a jumper to entertain the kids.

It was so great to have all my siblings together. Ryan's parents came as well as my Grandma Sanders.
The only thing was missing was my parents, but they were able to Skype in and join us for a bit. They also shipped their contribution to the meal.... Pringles in Seaweed, Crab and Shrimp flavors (let me know if you want to try some... there's plenty left over)

Enjoy a little slideshow of the Fabulous Thanksgiving day!

Family Game Nights

I don't know if it's because of the commercials on TV or if he's just into torture, but Parker has taken in upon himself to declare every night "Family Game Night".
Which is fine, we're all willing (well, somewhat) , except he always seems to want to start playing 10 minutes before bed and wants to play Monopoly or other brain intensive game that lasts for hours. (Really, does Monopoly EVER end??)

Last night we were able to talk him into Liars Dice instead of Life. When he lost the game, he declared we needed to play another round so he could redeem himself, but none of us fell for it. (It truly was way past bed time by then too)

So tonight, after returning home from Smart Night, we are all hungry, and exhausted.. he decided he wanted to play Twister.

Me: "Ummm, I think I donated that to DI"
Parker: "No you didn't... I'll go get it"

Ryan and Miranda had just made fun of me so to "Punish them" I agreed that we would all play if Parker could find it. (he he)

Ryan was first to be the spinner guy because he had "already warmed it up".
I won the first game so then I got to do the spinner.

The kids laughed... "But dad... I didn't think you could bend"
Well, the joke was on them because Ryan won the next game.

So Miranda and Parker had a "loser- tie- breaker game"
Miranda won that one -
(Parker really needs to re-think family game night because he keeps losing!)Then Miranda and Parker just played around with the game and tried to avoid photo'sSo yes... we've given into the lure of TV commercials. We now have Family Game night... every night... about 8:45pm.... wanna join us???

My Little Sweeties

It seems like every time I turn around these two get bigger and bigger.
They are developing their own unique style and ways of doing things.
I treasure all their little and major milestones in life.
Time passes too quickly and I don't want to miss a thing!
I know they are both destined for great things and It's up to me and Ryan to guide and direct them in the right way... hope I don't mess up!

First Recital

Parker had his first Saxophone Recital today for his private lessons studio.
He practiced all week and was more than ready.
He played "The Medallion Calls" from Pirates of the Carribean.

He was a bit nervous, but did a fabulous job.

I've seen so much growth in his playing since starting school.
He was able to advance into Intermediate Band, with the 7th and 8th graders at the end of September.
He has even been able to hold on to his position as 1st chair Saxophone player after 2 playing tests!

He has a real talent and passion for playing.
We're so proud of his accomplishments!

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.