THE POWER OF A KIND WORD

This past month has been a busy one.....well actually that is an understatement!!! I am still trying to figure out how to balance everything on my plate. I have been a bit surprised at the time my calling requires. I assumed that it could not possibly be more time consuming than serving as the ward RS president and I did that for 3 years while Dave was in the bishopric so this would be a walk in the park compared.....WRONG. It is busy. I'm not complaining....I LOVE IT.....simply admitting my ignorance regarding the needs of the stake is all. March also brought with it 3 lessons to teach in the stake, the woman's conference ( a HUGE event) the girls basketball state tournament, the girls basketball awards banquet which I was in charge of, the starting of the track season, taxes to file, financial aid deadlines, scholarship deadlines, etc. I was stretched thin and a bit stressed. I wondered if it is possible to give 100% to so many things. I doubted myself....ya ya, I know I need to practice what I preach. I talk about this very thing with the sisters in the stake all the time. But I am human too. Just because I have a leadership position doesn't mean I don't struggle with the very same things everyone else does. Satan doesn't discriminate.....he can get to everyone....regardless of your callings! So in the midst of this self doubting phase I learned a great lesson. There is POWER in a kind word! It is so simple but we rarely remember to do it. Within one week I had a sister come up to me in the hall at church, very emotional, and thank me for a talk I'd given. I received an email from another sister expressing gratitude for my example, and I received a card in the mail from a 3ed sister saying some very nice things that I desperately need to hear that day. I felt lifted up.....I felt renewed strength to face some challenging issues that very day. I knew my Heavenly Father loved me and knew of my struggles that week. These 3 sisters taught me something very powerful.....STOP and take the time to say thank you! SLOW DOWN and look for the little things people do and then tell them you appreciate it! When you think to yourself, gosh that was really great...I should tell her what I think....DO IT. It's the spirit whispering to you that someone needs to hear from you. I am grateful to so many people and I will do better at saying so out loud now!

I'M OUT OF HERE!

Last week Brandon was in some trouble and he was pretty angry at us....specifically his Dad....so he decided he was going to run away. Do you know what he packed???
1 pair of jeans
2 football jerseys
1 pair jammie pants
his pink football gloves (the ones he got for breast cancer awareness)
his ipod nano....which he NEVER uses.
When we asked about the nano....he informed us he needed to sell it for money. He knew enough to bring something to sell so he can buy food but didn't think to pack boxers or socks...hmmmm
I probably should be a bit worried about this but instead I find in quite funny!!!
I won't win any mother of the year awards this week.....LOL

HELP WANTED!

I have come to realize that I am officially behind on just about EVERYTHING! I need a maid, a nurse, a cook, a chauffeur, a personal secretary, a masseuse, and a therapist!!! NOT KIDDING! Oh and I need a author to come keep up on my blog! Since there is no way on earth I can catch up I think I will simply focus on the blog for today and highlight a few things from the past 4 months, well maybe ONE thing today...that's right folks it's been FOUR MONTHS!

The most significant thing that happened.....my kids gained a sister. For those of you that don't know the story, call me cuz I am not going to post all the wonderful details here. It will take.....oh say 24 years! For those that do, here are some pictures from Nichole's visit this fall!

Hanging out on my bed.....We really didn't have anything planned until that night so we just relaxed. For some reason my bed has always been the "go to place" Nichole fit right in! This is probably my favorite picture of the week!

SHE IS HERE! This was just precious to see! It was so exciting for the kids! Ty couldn't miss football practice and Dave had to work so they are missing....dang it.


Meeting my sisters Kim and Natalie. I don't know why I didn't have a picture of all three together.

Fall in Florida is VERY different than fall in Utah so we did all the fun fall things.....the haunted corn maze at Corn Belly's was awesome. I am NOT a haunted anything kind of gal and neither is Nichole but the kids all talked her into it. I think Tyler still has bruises from her grabbing him!

Meeting the Diaz side of the family.

A day in Park City was a must! It is beautiful up there! We went to eat, looked around the shops, got chocolate of course, and rode the Alpine Coaster. That was a first for all of us! It was AWESOME. I think Nichole spent the entire time on the phone...." I am riding down a MOUNTAIN on a COASTER!!" It was so fun to watch her. The colors were perfect that week....It was unseasonably warm so the day was perfect!

Tyler had a football game on Friday. Nichole actually cried. When I asked her what was wrong she simply said she never had a sibling to cheer for before. It was precious! She was Ty's good luck charm that night....they won!

Nichole and her "little" brother. Hmmmmmm

The WORST "see ya later" ever!!! It was hard to see her go through that gate. I am SO grateful that her parents are so wonderful and want to share her with us! We have grown by not just one but three. BJ and Walton are my heroes!

So ta ta for now.....I will post more in a few months....hehe

WHICH ONE???

We had family pictures taken a few weeks ago and honestly cannot decide which one I like best. I love them all but narrowed it to these two. My family is pretty divided so help me decided!

the road

the waterfall

THE DEMISE OF YODA!

As Lys and Tyler were getting old enough to get a divers licence we knew we had to think about a car. Because we live sooooo far out in the middle of nowhere, it was a nightmare to drive them to and from their sports activities all the time. We knew we didn't have a ton of money to pay cash but didn't want a payment either. A friend of our told us about a school district in central Utah that auctioned off their old driver's ed cars once they hit a certain mileage. The cars weren't lookers but they were good, safe cars. Hence the addition of "YODA" to our family. Yes, I said Yoda. When Lys and I drove down there to pick up the car, she saw it and said, "That thing is OLD". By the time we made the 2 hour drive home, she has decided to name it Yoda. Now since I have never seen Star Wars, I really didn't get it. But the rest of my family thought the name fit perfectly and the Lumina has been Yoda for almost 2 years now. They were pretty happy to have their own car. I was pretty happy to have a big, safe car for my kids that only cost me $250....yep $250....for a whole car, engine and all!!

Lys her first time behind the wheel of her own car! Happy as can be!

Fast forward 18 months......now I am REALLY grateful for an old beater with an ugly HUGE trunk and a "they don't build them like they used to" kind of frame! That car, along with some quick thinking saved my son's life!

notice how the trunk is now in the backseat???

so here is the story......Tyler texted me during 1st period and asked if he could be late for 2nd period. Tianna was sick and needed a ride home. I told him that was fine. At 9:15 I get a text that says....."we just got hit" What the freak?? What would possess him to TEXT me that? Well he wasn't exactly thinking and the second he hit send he realized that was a bad idea and tried to call but I was already trying to call him on his cell from my cell....at the same time calling Dave from the house phone. Dave had just left for work so I knew he was somewhere around the area Ty should have been. I got Dave on the house phone and had Ty on my cell phone....The conversation was a bit crazy...I ask Ty questions and then try to relay information to Dave so he can find him. It never occured to me to hang up and let Dave call him directly....I wasn't thinking striaght at the moment!

Mom, we have been hit by a dump truck

Dave they have been hit by a dump truck

Tyler....are you OK? Yes, mom....I think so.

Yes, Dave they think they are OK

Where are you Ty?

On the side of the road.

they are on the side of the road Dave

Where Tyler?

On the right side?

Dave they are on the right side!

Uhhhh, jenn, the right side WHERE?

Ty, WHERE....what road?

SR 73 on the right side

can you see this is going no where? I'm in panic mode at this time. He is talking...that is good but he isn't actually making much sense. Dave just gets onto 73 and drives...it only took 5 min or less and he tell me he is there. OK, I will hang up and let him go to him. I have 10 students arriving. I have to decide how to get them home. Dave calls me right back and says the car is bad but the kids are OK....just stay put. He would deal with the police and paramedics. That was probably a polite way of saying you will just panic, yell some bad words at the truck driver and construction workers so stay home please! A VERY TRUE STATEMENT!

almost 2 hours later Tyler walked through the door. The paramedics said they needed to be checked out but we could take them in ourselves. I hugged and hugged that kid! I have never been so grateful to see him come down the stairs! We drove to Tianna's house and she, her mother, Tyler and I went to the ER. We got checked in and they did xrays. I was shaking so bad that the Dr brought me a coke...which I don't even drink. I said no, it's OK...I'm fine and I was told to drink it anyway...by both the nurse and Tyler! Kinda funny....well not really! I was shaking pretty bad but I actually held it together pretty good...that is until the Dr said, after getting the details and seeing photos, that the kids should have been killed. My jaw dropped! Let me explain.....

There is alot of construction around the high school and surrounding streets. The road into Tianna's neighborhood was closed so they had to go out on SR 73 and take a different way. They were headed west and needed to make a left hand turn. He slowed to almost a full stop and noticed that the dump truck was not stopping. There is not turn lane set up in this construction zone (well there is NOW). He yelled at Tianna that the truck wasn't stopping and then held on tight and hit the gas. That action saved their lives! When asked why he thought to do that he said at the moment he didn't know for sure.....just that he recalled that he needed to be moving forward to lessen the impact. Later he remembered learning about that in his physics class! And who says you won't use all that crap they make you learn in HS later in life!!! The impact threw them forward into oncoming traffic but luckily the truck coming towards them was far away and saw what happened! Ty was able to control the car enough to steer over to the side of the road and check on Tianna. She was OK....scared but alert. They both had seat belts on! So back to the hospital.....I actually hadn't seen photos yet. I knew I needed to know he was OK before I saw what happened or I would be too upset. After the Dr said that....I finally looked at pictures. I was shocked to realize that the truck didn't actually "hit" them....it drove on top of them. The bumper is still in place......that scared me! That is why the Dr said what he said. There was no reason that truck didn't keep going and drive right up over the car and crush them. Well there certainly was a reason......THESE KIDS ARE NEEDED HERE! The moral to this story...... today I am grateful! Grateful that my kids drove a big clunker......grateful that a physics teacher decided to use a car accident as an object lesson.....grateful that I learned "better late then never" since the truck driver did see them at the last minute and slam on his breaks so he didn't hit them going 50 MPH.....grateful that there wasn't a backseat full of teenagers.......grateful that my son is a calm person who never panics.....grateful that the Lord saw fit to spare these two sweet kids! I won't ever drive the same again!

RUNNING RACES....

I've decided that life is like like running the 350 meter hurdles......you make it over one hurdle and breath a sigh of relief only to realize you are approaching the next one at full speed! It's all good as long as you keep going even when you biff it BIG TIME! I started a new race today....a personal one. I made it over my first hurdle. It wasn't a big one....actually more like a very tiny one but it was still an obstacle to hurdle. I'm gonna win this race I'm on.....I'm gonna do it!

PHOTO SHOOT

My in-laws had their 50th wedding anniversary a week ago and we put together a photo frame with all the grandkids as a gift. Here are some of the kids. I think they are pretty dang cute! The girls were quite cooperative but getting the boys to smile is another thing all together. What is it about boys and smiling??? I don't get it! When I let them know I had all day.....no where to go....nothing to do.....and I didn't mind sitting out by the tree for hours if needed......they perked right up and I got to see teeth. Mission accomplished in 5 minutes!

SUMMERTIME ADVENTURES

It sure has been a crazy summer around here! I was looking at my calendar and there has been less then 2 weeks all summer that I haven't either been out of town or had my family here with me! It's been jammed packed with activities but SO much fun. Sometimes I long for the days that I was "stuck home" all the time but honestly, I wouldn't trade the time I get to spend with all my sisters for anything!

In June, my sister Katie and her 2 girls came for two weeks. We had SO much fun. Dave wants to adopt the girls and spoils them rotten....well he spoils their teeth at least. They know Uncle Davey is good for CANDY! Here is some of the stuff we did on her visit.

it is tradition to make smores out back whenever the cousins are around. The little ones love it.

We were able to go out on the lake with Russell and Michele one night. It was the first time I had been to UT lake......how is it possible that I live 10 min from a lake and had never been out on it??? The girls got to tube.....Reagan was a hoot! She got comfortable with that REALLY fast!

We all went to Lagoon one day. It was 4 of the sisters and their families along with our friends. This is a summer tradition now! There is a new ride....Bombora......Reagan LOVED it. She kept asking us to take her on it OVER and OVER. It think Dave said he took her on it at least 10 times!

The swings......it makes me dizzy to just watch! My kids....not so much. Are they crazy hanging over like this????

This picture makes Dave and I laugh! Ty was So good at helping out with all the little kids! He was pushing the stroller with Ally in it and we said to ourselves.....hey, that's Ty in 6 years!

Katie, Nat, me, and Kim......we are missing Christie and Emily. My sisters are my best friends in the world!

this is the fam riding Wicked.....I've been on it once. I opted out this time! I was sick for an hour after riding it last year!

Um.....ya.....my kids DO NOT get their height from me!

Katie was here over Father's Day and I spent a week in Idaho with all my family. It told my Dad I was leaving Sat night to come home and be with Dave for Father's Day but actually surprised him and showed up to his church. I think he was really happy. This picture makes me giggle though.....he is the only person I can stand next to and feel tall...... (see picture above....hehe)

during the week in Idaho, we went camping at one of my Mom's favorite spots. Actually it was the same spot we had the last family reunion at before she died. We haven't been back since. I thought I might not like it there but it was fine. It was fun to remember that time with her. The kids got to help cook breakfast...the best part of camping is the food!

I will never get used to going to "visit" my mom in a cemetery. I HATE it. I still feel so cheated and I still have some pretty big issues with her death. I get through the days but sometimes I just plain feel angry. One day I will get past he anger stage of grief....not sure when that will be though.

I love getting to watch my Dad play his music. He loves doing it and you can tell while he's up there! I do have to laugh at the "groupies" that follow his band around. I spared you that picture!

The week Katie was here in Utah, we took a day and went to Temple square. It was really fun but we didn't have nearly enough time to see everything. She actually went back another day with my sister Kim!

Toombs reunions ALWAYS include swimming......it was pretty chilly the day we went so we actually spent most of the time in the hot pools. The crazy kids did venture out to the regular pool....the were blue by the time they got out but happy!

This is most of the grandkids on the Toombs side. We are a big group! By this time they were all pretty sick of us taking pictures....haha

And all that was only the first 2 weeks in June! Whew

HABITS.....

Habits....we all have them right. Some are good...some are bad....some are just random. My random habit is playing with my earring. I know I do it but I'm not always conscience of it. I have had people ask me what I'm thinking about....what is bothering me. When I question why they are asking they point out that I'm twisting my earring. It is not always a bad thing.....I play with my earring when I read, when I'm on the phone with my sisters and yes.....when I'm in deep thought. My RS presidency always knew when I was concerned.....sometimes Stace would even lean over to me and ask what was up......"you're twisting again" Funny! I guess I will never be a poker player....LOL

Dave caught this a few times on camera. The first one is one of his favorite pictures.....I was sitting in the car after church thinking....he called my name and asked me to smile.

This one was just last week at the parade. It was a rough week. I had gotten very little sleep the day prior because Brandon was sick and in the ER.....I can't help but wonder what I was thinking at that moment.

I guess this is why I almost always put earrings on in the morning......my ear lobe would be sore if I didn't!

JEANS

My pants are too big....I know, I know.....that is usually a good thing but I hate shopping. REALLY, I do not like shopping at all! My theory....get in, get out. The only time that shopping is fun is with my sisters and since I need some new jeans, I believe my sisters need to come visit me!!!
The end

Test upload from my kool phone!

THE NOT SO GREAT PART OF THE TRIP.......

Sooooo.....I said I would post the ridiculous part of our trip.....SERIOUSLY, we had the dumbest of luck. If it could go wrong it did. Well....almost. The car didn't have to be towed, that was a VERY good thing and no one was injured (except the part where I almost murdered Tyler.....really, I did!) And in fairness....not all of the stuff was actually "something wrong" but it was stupid and annoying! I apologize in advance for the lengthy post but this is my journal of sorts and I'm only writing about this fiasco once!

So, lets start off with....I am a time freak. I HATE being off schedule and I HATE being late and don't much appreciate anyone else who is late.....it's rude! So problem #1 just got me off to a bad start! Anyway...

Problem #1 TRAFFIC

We left the house and got to the Pioneer Crossing to see it backed up. I mean WAY backed up. It took us an hour to get about 3 miles. We finally got off and took the Frontage rd. By then we had to eat and of course we had to argue as to where to eat. Keep in mind, we aren't even out of Utah county and it's already 6:30. We left at 4! SERIOUSLY....I was annoyed!

Problem #2 HEADLIGHTS

We leave Orem and get all the way to Provo (about 2 miles for you that live out of state) and realize Kim has a headlight out. We go to the nearest Checker to get a new one and find out....NO CHECKER. It is now a Radio Shack. YIKES. As Dave is looking up where the next closest auto parts store is, Kim decides to pull a Fonzie and hit the headlight......WaLa, it comes back on. Problem solved...we decide to just tighten some stuff and be on our way.

problem #3 THE STUPID GPS

the thing is supposed to make the trip easier, faster, don't get yourself lost...right? Well, technically, we didn't get lost but the darn thing has to take us in the most round-about, crazy way possible to the condo. We even went through some apartment parking lots! When it's 11 PM, that is REALLY annoying! It's a good thing Dave turned the voice off.....I think I would hit the thing if I had to listen to "turn left here" no....."rerouting"......"turn right in 50 feet"...etc!

After 7 hours we finally make it to St George for the night. That should have been a 4 hour drive at most!

Drive day two....

Problem #4 SEATBELTS

So I have to preface this by saying Tyler had been told to put his sealtbelt on about a zillion times! He just doesn't do it when he is in the back.....says he "forgets". Well I'm pretty sure he wont forget again! We get to the "do you have any fruit or plants in your car" checkpoint. Now lets just talk about that for a second.....it's about the dumbest checkpoint there is. Why in the world would you actually tell them you have fruit? It's not like they search the car.....UNLESS you say yes. Then I guess they search the entire car.....cuz you could be lying about "how much" you really have and all. See... one would not want to get in too much trouble so they will say they only have 1 orange when actually they have 10 so the "fruit cops" have to pull everything out and make sure you really don't have more. (can you hear the annoyance I have with this particular check point?) Well we roll through and the lady on the right barely gets your little question out and waves us by but Dave happens to turn to the left and there is a cop stopping us. He asks where we are going....."Disneyland" He smirks and says "well it appears that your child isn't restrained....how old are your kids?" Dave and I both flip our heads around and look at Tyler. We are asked why he is not in belt and he says "Uh, I guess I forgot" The cop then asks how old our children are again and for our licence, registration....you know the drill. I start bawling. No one in the car dares say a word to me.....they realize I have just reached my breaking point with this darn drive! We wait for him to come back.....hoping for a warning but knowing it is taking too long for that. He comes to the window and asks Tyler's age again.....didn't we just answer that TWICE??? Dave gets the ticket and we drive on in silence. That is until we get to Baker......

Problem #5 TAIL LIGHTS and WIPERS

See, before the "child endangerment" ticket....I look up and realize we have no left blinker or brake light. Try driving through LA traffic without being able to signal.....NOT. We have to find an auto parts store.....again...refer to problem #2.....and replace these things. That is where I officially blew up. Kim had to actually take me behind the car and remind me that I was acting like a fool and to chill out. It actually worked for a few minutes but then I got mad and blew up at Dave. (I kind have a temper from time to time.....my sister's aren't allowed to comment on this statement!) We sat in the parking lot and argued for 30 minutes.....ya that was fun! Apparently Kim thought she had solved the problem and told Ty he needed to thank her and his response was"if you think for one minute that your little talk calmed my mom down.....YOU'RE WRONG"! I actually had to laugh at that......I was pretty ticked! I really should spend more time describing this scene to you but I am still a bit ticked about it so I will just move on! Oh and Kim's car needed new wipers. At least we got to deal with two problems in one stop!

Problem #6 FORGETTING THE IMPORTANT STUFF

We are pretty tired of driving by now and just want to get to the condo but we discovered that we didn't have the WII sensor. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal.....just don't play. But the kids were getting WII games that night and we HAD to have a sensor. So we try to find a Walmart. I realized that Target is the store of choice in Cali but after a few wrong turns and missed exits....we finally found one. That was an experience. We were there on Christmas Eve in LA....we were probably the only white folk in the store. I wouldn't let Lys out of my site. Even when I turned my head just long enough to get the sensor out of the locked cabinet....she had some guy ask her if she was a "balla" (that is LA talk for do you play basketball) and then go relay the information to his son. (lys tells is much better than that though) We did get the LAST sensor though....whew!

Problem #7 DINNER

We get to the room and were SO ready to eat. We carefully planned our trip and brought along food to cook in the condo....the problem was this room only had a small microwave, not a full kitchen like to thought. Taco salad was not going to work. I panicked at first....it was 7 PM on Christmas Eve.....I was sure nothing would be open. It certainly isn't at home. BUT, alas....this is Anaheim......the Christmas destination of the west so of course places were open. New plan....pizza! I thought the kids would be horrified at the not so "Christmasy" dinner but they were just fine with it! Crisis averted!

BREAK IN THE "ADVENTURE" FOR 2 DAYS OF DISNEYLAND FUN!!!!
then the drive home..........here we go again!

Problem #8 TRAFFIC....again!

OK....so apparently it is NOT a good idea to drive home the Monday after Christmas weekend! We decided the night before to go ahead and stop in Vegas rather then drive all the way home in one day. That would allow us to sleep in a bit on Monday so we would be rested for the trip. It's a dang good thing we did! The traffic was horrendous! I am talking bumper to bumper all the way from LA. There were times we were going 25 on the highway. I have never seen it like that. I get really really car sick so after about an hour I told Dave to pull off, I was going to drive. Now you know I must have felt awful because I wouldn't "choose" to drive in that mess at all.....let alone in California......but I was going to start throwing up if I didn't. I was sure the traffic would let up soon.....NOT! A few little highlights, if you want to call them that, on this leg of trip.......we got a good laugh as we passed the "do you have fruit in your car" checkpoint. Ty doesn't yet see the humor in it since he now has a ticket to pay! We also learned that the 10 commandments are posted on the side of the freeway. No really, I'm serious! They are signs.....like those political ones that say vote for so and so. We were going so dang slow that we had time to read them, think about it, and talk about it before we got to the next one. I can't help but wonder who's idea it was to put those there anyway! Somewhere between Victorville and Baker we finally make it to a rest stop to use the bathroom. Lys and I were dying. Well apparently....SO WAS EVERYONE ELSE......

Problem #9 THE REST STOP

I have never seen anything like it....really! Everyone was pulling off. This rest stop was in the middle of no where....which mean there was no where else to go potty! The cars are backed up the entire length of the off ramp trying to park. When you finally do get to the parking lot you see the line to the women's bathroom all the way to the curb. It was a 45 min wait! The men, now that was interesting....they decided to forget the line and just pee in the lawn along the fence. How would it be??? It's a good thing it was dark! Ashlee and Brandon are in the car playing on the computer while they waited and we didn't realize this would drain our car battery. (they had them plugged in since their batteries had long since died) We are ready to go and.......OOPS....the van won't start. I feel the panic rising in my chest. Kim and Darren had left and the jumper cables were not in the car. (why exactly was that??? We have two sets and they are always under the back seat but not today...ugh) I tell myself it's OK.....after all, there are HUNDREDS of people around. Well, either no one had cable or everyone was just too rude to help! It took maybe 15 min to find someone to jump us. The car starts, crisis averted and we are on our way again. Still two hours to go and it's 5 PM. By now it's getting cold so I turn the heater on.....NO HEAT! Oh, not only don't we have heat but the air conditioner is stuck on. I don't know if I should laugh or cry. I think I laughed but Dave may say different! It wasn't "too" bad to Vegas but the trip from Vegas home was SO SO cold! Thank you Darren for letting me ride with Kim so I wasn't so cold. But poor Dave is now sick with the flu/ cold like stuff. Probably from driving in an ice cube! You are all gonna ask what happened.....we don't know. We tried everything...change fuses, relays, etc. Disconnect the battery. Bang on a few thing....yell at the car.....nothing worked. We are now taking it in for what I suspect will be a very costly electrical repair. NICE!

We finally make it to Vegas......NINE HOURS LATER! I am sick of the drive, sick of the cold and sick of fast food and guess what......Emily and I start planning the next trip with the entire Toombs family. No matter how bad the travel was....and it was bad.....Disney is just the place to be!

THE END

JUST DANCE 2

I am quite certain I will be in big trouble for posting these videos so you better all enjoy now.....I might have to take them off in a few days! We seriously laughed so hard playing this game. I was sure we were going to get kicked out of the hotel. I figured out the next day that we were above the parking garage......good thing! I say this was one of the best Christmas Eves ever!

DISNEY CHRISTMAS

This year for Christmas we decided to forgot presents and take a trip instead. We were a bit unsure if the kids would really like it....come Christmas morning and there wasn't anything to open but when we got home they all said it was a big hit and would rather do this again then get gifts. I am ALL FOR THAT! These photos aren't in order but I'm too lazy to try and fix them all....

We actually did get the kids a couple of things to open on Christmas Eve. They each got a new hoodie and they got a couple of WII games. We planned to play that night so we brought all the WII stuff with us. These photos are of us playing Michael Jackson Just Dance and Just Dance 2. You have no idea how funny this was! I have video but have been threatened with my life if I post them.....give it a few weeks, i will put them on anyway!

Lys and Brandon's attempt at Michael Jackson. It is actually pretty hard!

This was just about the funniest thing you have ever seen in your life!

opening the games

Lys has a thing for the Incredibles. She dressed up as Mrs. Incredible for Halloween.

Not exactly sure what was wrong with Brandon at that moment......

Kim and I on Christmas Day. It was so fun to go together....no fights this time, although we did consider going back to the scene of the crime form 2004 and taking a photo just to be funny!

my silly, not so camera shy kids!

On our way in on Christmas Day. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Disney! That moment you turn the corner to Main Street is just magical. I sure did think of Mom!

Dylan was a hoot.....it is fun to go with a child. They see things so differently. He was so dang excited to see the characters!

Em and I on Toy Story Mania

OK....so it WAS pretty crowded. Actually the park reached capacity on Christmas Day. "Capacity".....what would that be for Disneyland???? LOTS and LOTS of people.
But......it really didn't feel that crowded and we didn't wait in long lines at all....as long as you fastpass!

We spent Christmas Day with the Daltons. We were there 2 years ago with them and were so excited to meet up again this year! They are an awesome family!!!

I am so so glad we decided to do this! The kids are getting older and the memories last longer than the toys! I enjoyed myself a lot more then I have since Mom died. I just don't like Christmas at home....I keep waiting for her to walk up the stairs in her santa hat. This year I almost forgot how upset I was about her being gone on Christmas day......that is a GOOD thing! I think it's official.....we will spend very few Christmas's at home!

We took about 400 photos but I think this will do for the blog! In a few days i will post the "not so good" part of the trip. Lets just say we had a very ridiculous run of bad luck on the travel days! NOT FUNNY!