Prom 2011 . . .

This idea was tragically just a moment in time . . . Sam had wanted to ask a girl to Prom and we kept telling him he needed to ASK right away, but he assured us that asking in March was not necessary.  The week he had planned to ask her we traveled to California to say good bye to a family friend and support the family who had recently lost their husband, father, and grandfather.

The evening we arrived to California Sam received a text message from said girl saying that her ex-boyfriend had asked her to prom.  Sam was crushed, but I told him that if he really wanted to ask her that he should and let her make the decision as to who she would want to go with.

As soon as we returned home the planning progress went into action . . . Sam LOVES Ring Pops and I have been trying to think of someway to use them.  Behold this is what we came up with and the rest is history shall we say.

Be on the lookout though . . Sam and his friend Zach are looking for something fun to do instead of prom to make up for it.

Preston's Birthday

Preston has been counting down his birthday since he arrived last summer . . .  we gave him the choice of having a BIG Party or celebrating with the family and he choice a family activity!  When I asked him what kind of cake he wanted he was quick to tell me German Chocolate and when I informed him that no store makes a good German Chocolate cake he still insisted that was what he wanted . . So I made one!!  That's right folks I made him a three tier German Chocolate cake and it was WONDERFUL!

After school he was able to open all his gifts . . .  I had him call Oma so she was able to hear him open the gift!!  I knew he was going to be pretty excited about the new fire truck Oma, Opa and Daniel had gotten him. (Lower left corner pictures) Preston got some great gifts - Sam got him a Nerf Flag Football game, Breckin and his family got him some cool Lego set, Kaylab got him some fighter jets and Micah and I found a great WWII documentary that he wanted, another Lego set to add to his collection and a Paper Jam Amp for his guitar.

Off we went to Layton Classic Fun Center - that's what he wanted!  He and Kaylab LOVE LOVE playing Laser Tag while Breckin was bounce happy.as you can see from the pictures to follow we had a great time.  Happy Birthday Preston we hope it was a GREAT ONE!

Yup that's Tanya!  What fun is it to have kids if you can't act like one of them from time to time.

Breckin wanted a turn to go with Micah - and Sam got some pictures of them. . .

This is Micah having his own turn. 

Silly Breckin Faces . . .

And such a CUTE little face too . . .  Since Breckin was only going to be a 'short-term' placement I knew that we would never get a chance to take family pictures so I used my front room to take a few pictures of him. 

Congratulations Erika and Steven

I never have ENOUGH to do . . . Yea Right!  When Erika called to tell me she was getting married I offered to help and it is something that I love to do.  So has luck would have it I had some wedding invitations and some ideas and I offered to gift her her wedding invitations.

Sam says . . . .

Sam says to me one day after dinner . . "Tanya I don't feel so good!" My response is . . "well duh Sam! You came home from school and stood in the kitchen eating for 30 minutes non-stop and just ate everything in sight at dinner! How about we go shopping that will make you feel better??"

On the way to Old Navy Sam begin to question me as to what it is like to have menstrual cramps and he believes taking Midol will cure his aching stomach ache!  OK whatever Sam .  . . he now believes he is suffering from Man-Cramps and has begun to feel sorry for every girl who has ever had to endure this pain.

We go to Old Navy he picks out two of the ugliest shirts EVER and I tell him that I hope in the morning he feels better enough to realize those are some ugly shirts! Less then 30 minutes later he has thrown up a dozen times and is complaining about his side aching. He goes to bed with instructions if it gets worse come get me. I even had to CONVINCE him that he had to stay home from school no if - ands - or butts about it.

Next morning he is still in bed and when I check on me he says it got worse during the night, but he didn't want to get out of bed. Dr says bring him in at 11am and I will take a look. By 11:45 we are off to get the fluids for him to drink for the next two hours to have an MRI.

By 5:30pm he is prepped for surgery for an appendectomy to have his appendix removed.  at 6:30 the doctor comes out to tell me that he did great and is in recovery.  Sam stayed the night in the hospital to get some extra attention and came home the next morning.

Valentine's 2011

Wanted to do something fun for Valentine's Day so I made some rasberry filled cupcakes with pink frosting, we had a ham dinner with sprakling cider. 

Afterwards the boys had cute little treat buckets with mircowave popcorn, candy, fruit snacks and a box of See's Candy for each boy - THANKS OMA!!!

Family Night Out

Tonight we took the family to the Layton Classic fun Center for an Unlimited Package deal I found in the Value Coupons; it was unlimited bounce, Pirates Cove, Laser Tag, and Skating  ($1.00 to rent skates) with a Jumbo Pizza and a pitcher of Soda for $30.00 for a family of five.

It was our FIRST time and the place seemed rather run down, but the boys had a BLAST being able to play laser tag for four hours and even enjoyed the pizza.  Preston liked it so much in fact that he asked that we go there for his birthday rather than Chuck E Cheese.

The Grand Finale of the evening was the six of us playing laser tag with another family we knew from the ward. . . .  3 teams of three.  Kaylab, Breckin and Micah were the Green Team  and Preston, Sam and I were the Yellow Team and of course we all lost to the Blue Team.

SHS Preference 2011

Here is a few photos of Sam and his date, Megan
shortly before they left to go have dinner and go to the dance.

Preference Response 2011

Not to sure how many raffle tickets there were, but 60 balloons later and an entire
Wal-Mart bags of raffle tickets Sam said yes to the girl who asked him to Preference 2011.

 Megan's mom took this photo when Megan got home and found her bedroom.

Preference Request 2011

There is nothing like sitting at the dinner table enjoying your dinner when you hear a loud knock repeated but several rings of the door bell - only to find that your front porch looks like someone was unable to control the mess they made . . .  OH WAIT it's the girls asks guys semi-formal dance!!!

Lucky Number Seven . . . Breckin

Breckin - Age 7

• Birth Date: December 5th
• Age: 7 years old
• 1st grader at Lakeside Elementary
• Hometown: Clinton, Utah
• Favorite Sport: Soccer
• Favorite Color: Red
• Favorite Movie:Toy Story 3
• Hobbies: Building stuff, and playing with cars and pretending to be a Secret Spy Agent
• Favorite Food: Cheese Pizza with Alfredo sauce (he has acid reflux)
• Favorite Holiday:Halloween and Christmas
• Least Favorite Food:Stir Fry

Work in Progress . . .

I had HUGE plans for the younger boys bedroom during Christmas break!!!  However, did I mention that I was nearly on my death bed those two weeks the boys were out of school.  So Micah prepped, taped and painted the boys bedroom.

Nana's Hairbows for Hailey

Here is my little buddy during our California trip; 

Hailey is the youngest of the three girls and is such the girlie-girlie!

During our visit we spent a great deal of time together hang out, each morning she would bring me the hair brush, a bottle of water and some hair ties to do her hair.  She is nothing like her sisters who prefer to wear a headband or braid - she wants something fun and cute - and Nana doesn't know how to do cute little girl hair do's so I made do with what I knew. 

One thing I do know hjow to do is make hairbows so I made a handful of bows for Hailey to wear - Mostly for her Singing Hands Performances.  Here is just an example of some that she wore that day.

A Must Have California Experince

Micah and I had to take Sam to In-N-Out Burger

He had his first Double Double, French Fries and Vanilla Shake. . .  loved the burger and the shake,
but thought the fires tasted like deep fried Styrofoam.

Monopoly Night with Nana

The girls and I spent the evening in the Motor home playing Monopoly this evening -
I can't believe how much these little ladies have grown up!

It seems like just a short time ago that I was there the afternoon Rebecka was born (and she turned 11 in October). Rebecka is 11 going on 21 most days; sassy and know it all, but she is just as happy and joyful as I remember her to be when her parents and I all lived together. I am looking forward to the time when Nana is more important than boys, make up and iPods.

McKayla who has grown into such an amazing and smart 10 years old - I know I am not suppose to have favorites, but she is mine! She is such a spitfire and so full of attitude - Like two peas in a pod we are! My last night there we had a chance to spend some quality time together and I soooo sooooo LOVED it!

Little Miss Hailey - She spent most of the time snuggling with me and wanting to spend time with me that I just about to pack her up and bring her home. We spent sometime together making some bows for her to wear to school and to her Singing Hands performances and just enjoyed the time we had.

Looking for Sea Ceatures in Caycous

 

These afternoon we packed up a picnic lunch with the Smith and Celedon Family 

to head over to the coast to show Sam some of the highlights of living in the Central Coast of California.

We took a long walk down the water so that everyone could search the tidepools for sea life. 

Hearst Castle Visitor Center

After we took a walk on the beach we drove up to the Hearst Castle Visitor Center
to let Sam learn about Hearst Castle and William Randall Hearst.

As we were walking along in search of sea creatures we came across this  

"little guy" taking a nap along the shore line.

Morro Bay, California

What is a trip to California without a visit to the Central Coast and a chance to see beach after beach.

Caycuos, California

 

There is a portion of coast line along the Central Coast were you will find thousands of Elephant Seals; 

during this time of the year most of them have their babies and enjoying the warmth from the sun.

It is a pretty amazing place - there is a long walking path that takes you about a mile down where you can observe these sea creatures.  The area is now gated, but when Micah and I were first married we took a trip there with some friends and were able to walk right up to them. 

However, it is VERY DANGEROUS and not recommend, but it was an amazing experience to say we have walked among these creatures.

Caycuos, California

Family Day at the Beach

SMFD - Firefighter in Training

Sam took a trip down to see the San Miguel Fire Department - 

and now whenever you ask if he can do something he replies 'I am a Volunteer Firefighter!'

BUSTED Little Lady . . . .

If I have said it once I have said it a million times; it is a good thing this little girl is one of my favorites!  

Sam caught her RED handed doing this to my truck.  The worst part of it all is that I was the one who gave her the silly string for her socking stuffer -That'll be the last time!!!

Gilbert and Ken had to show Micah and Sam the damage 

from a fire that had taken place in the river bed months before.