I'm off!

I'm temporarily abandoning my roles as wife and mother, to go to UT for five days to be a sister and "really cool Auntie". I can hardly wait to meet my newest nephew. I might try to bring him back with me in my suitcase ;)

"See" you when I get back!

Attacked by Grandma!

Grandma is infamous for her "Grandma kisses" she likes to leave all over her grandkids. No joke, I have to give my kids a good "look-over" before I send them to nursery or primary each sunday if they've by chance had an encounter with grandma in the halls at church;) but this picture of my new nephew beats them all! Poor, helpless little Gabe...attacked by Grandma! I love it :) lol

Seriously, is he not SUCH a pretty baby? Ahh, I can't stand it! Carrie and Philip, you did a great job with this one! :)

Happy Birthday to my dear friend Hilary!

So Hilary's birthday was yesterday, and I had the idea to scan some pictures I have of the two of us, but our scanner wasn't working, so I'm a day late. I improvised this morning and took pictures of these pictures...but you get the idea.

We met when we were what, like 13? She moved into the house next door and I was so excited to have a new friend. We hit it off right away--that doesn't always happen, and I was so happy to find a true friend in her. You know you have those friends who you might not talk to on a daily basis, but when you do talk it's like no time has passed? That's what I have with Hilary. She's always there when I need her. I'm so proud of her and what she's accomplished in her life. She's a proud wife and mother and such an incredible, hilarious person. I wish we still lived next door to one another :(


First day of freshman year (1992) Nice legs, huh? lol
One of many stake dances we went to...

Prom our Junior year

Prom our senior year

Graduation from Dana Hills High School (1995)

My wedding...



HAPPY 31st BIRTHDAY...I love you girl! Thanks so much for making these wonderful memories with me. I'm so grateful to you for your friendship through the years...XOXO!

And yes, Hilary, most of these pics were taken from the b-day card you made me for my 20th. I've saved it all these years...impressed? So am I, I still misplace everything! lol

Wicked!

So, I have to give a big thanks to two people. First my sister for having her baby a week early, and second to my mom for giving me tickets to Wicked.

Let me explain.

A few months ago my mom bought tickets to Wicked and planned on taking Spencer. He loves plays/theater, and knows almost all the words to the songs from Wicked (thanks to me and my constant playing of the CD), so she thought it'd be fun to take him to see it. Fast forward a few months, and my sister has her baby a week early, therefore not allowing my mom to use the tickets...so who was next in line? ME! Whohooo! I LOVE Wicked...and have now seen it three times this past year. lol The Pantages theater in LA is amazing, and last night we had fourth row seats. We could even see the sweat coming off of the actors ;)

It was a fun memory to make with my Dad and son, and we had a ball. I know Spencer looks less than thrilled in the first pic, but he was stoked to be there. He did get a bit restless, but nothing that a box of Skittles at intermission couldn't fix! His favorites of the night were (in no particular order): the flying monkeys, the fire-breathing dragon, the talking head of the wizard, any actor who held a weapon,and oh, the song "Popular"...even though it was a bit "girly" lol.

Meet my new nephew!

Gabriel Paul Valadez (Gabe) was born Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 12:34 pm weighing in at 7 pounds 9 ounces, 20 inches long. This is my sisters third little boy! He looks just like his older brother Carter, it's crazy! I can't wait to get my hands on him next week when I fly to UT (sans kids) for five days! Whohooo!

We had planned for me to be on the phone when he came into the world, but it happened so fast (only 2 pushes!) that I missed it! But I did get to hear his first cry, and hear my sisters reaction to seeing him for the first time...and I bawled like a baby it was so exciting!

Isn't he just darling? Doesn't my sister look fabulous and aren't my nephews the CUTEST?!

Guilty pleasures...

Either I'm not that exciting lately, or people are just lurking and choosing to not post comments. Oh well, I'll choose to believe the latter, and just continue to talk to myself (and the few who let me know they're here).

So it's been a looong week. Aaron was gone last week to Texas (M-F), and came home with the flu and has been in bed (totally out of commission) for three days now with a 102.7 temperature on and off. Poor guy. But this post isn't about him (sorry, babe) it's about ME!

I feel like I've been going and going and sometimes am surprised that I even remember to breathe for myself. Tonight after tucking the kids into bed (after a fun St. Patrick's Day "green dinner" complete with an FHE Easter egg hunt about Christ) and ALSO after tucking Aaron into bed (with a foot rub to boot!) I was desperate to do something for myself...so what did I do?

At 9:30pm I made a McDonald's run.

That's right. My guilty pleasures: A McDonald's cheeseburger with a small fry.

Oh and the fries were gone by the time I reached the gate to my housing tract.

And wait, there's more! To top it all off: I cranked up the local radio stations country music and sang my little heart out round-trip! Yes country music and yes, I did sing my heart out (great songs tonight). I learned to LOVE country while attending college at Utah State University. This little known fact still bugs the crud out of Aaron...and what's up with that? A Montana boy, born and raised, who doesn't appreciate country music? Aaanyway.

So there you have it. A McDonald's cheeseburger, small fry and country music made me feel SO much better tonight. A little date night with myself! lol. I never do this either, I can't recall the last time I ate McDonalds. Oh wait, yes I do. It was for Spencer's birthday in January, but I had a salad. I swear it.

Okay,so fess up! What are your guilty pleasures?

Check it out: The Daily Bite!

You must check this blog out! My friends Sara and Kate combined their cooking talents and together birthed this fun and fabulous new blog. It's filled with delish recipes complete with step by step instructions. I've benefited from their awesome culinary skills before, and now you all can too! Man, I have such talented friends :)

THE DAILY BITE.

Oh, and please don't be shy...if you end up trying a recipe, post a comment. They'll love it!

Tower of Terror!

So yesterday we went to Disneyland/California Adventure with my folks, brother Rob and his girlfriend Blythe (down from UT for the weekend) and we had SUCH a great time. Aaron's still in Texas, so we missed him of course. This is the first time I've been to Disneyland since Leda was about 6 months old. Since that time, Spencer has really grown up and has learned to love thrill-rides. Not sure who he got that from as Aaron and I don't particularly love them (we hate Magic Mountain) but we can tolerate and enjoy the coasters at these parks.

So the only ride I haven't been on between the two parks is California Adventures: The Tower of Terror. Aaron has asked me repeatedly to try it out, to which I've always said no, or had the excuse that I was pregnant, lol. Well, yesterday my brother Rob (very persuasive) somehow convinced me, Blythe AND Spencer to give it a try. HOLY COW. I hate drops, so I hated EVERY MINUTE of the darn ride...but Spencer absolutely loved it!

This is a picture of a picture, but you can get the idea. We are on the back row: My Dad, Spencer, Me, Blythe, and Rob. As Rob said, "Look at Spencer! Calm as a summers morning!" lol...we were dying at how composed he is in this shot. He loved it and wanted to go again, nevermind the fact that his legs were so wobbly I had to carry him off the ride at the end ;)

I think Aaron and I have a little daredevil on our hands! More importantly I think I have now created a little "tower of terror buddy" for Aaron...so these two can have some father-son bonding time next trip to the park. As for me? No way, I'll be waiting for them at the exit.

For you Carrie...

My sisters been harping on me for days to update my blog. I haven't been on top of things because Aaron has been out of town again (though this time for five days instead of eight)and I've been a bit busy. Plus, he took our camera with him...so I haven't taken any fun pictures this week. However, my friend Lisa (thanks Lisa!)took these cute shots of Chase at the beach this past Tuesday, and so I'll put these up to make you happy Carrie ;)

Chase always has his finger either in his mouth, or at least near it, when he's unsure of himself--but once he got comfortable in the sand, he had a blast. We can't wait to go again! I took the boys while Leda was in preschool, as it was a lot more manageable then taking all three kiddos...but I'll have to give that a whirl sometime soon as Leda's been asking to go "pay at the beach too!" lol.

Video Montage

I've had a few friends ask that I post this on my blog for reference. I used One true media and found it really easy to use. Let me know if you need any help! I have yet to order the DVD (but plan to) so I don't know about the quality as far as that goes...maybe I'll order the DVD here sometime before he turns 2 in September! lol

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com