I've been teaching the kids Christmas Carols this year!

Here's a video of

Joy to the World.

And I wish you a merry christmas.



Merry Christmas!

San Francisco Trip

Nov 2009

Oh my goodness! Our San Fran trip flew by and we had so much fun! We covered most of the city and did all the touristy things. I had only been there once but Joe visited often as a child. Here's a few highlights

We decided to fly(ok joe decided to fly) I would have gladly driven! :) But of course the flight went smoothly and I had nothing to worry about. The kids loved being above the clouds and Andy was excited because he thought he'd see God in the sky. He looked out the window the whole time but never saw him.lol

We stayed at the Argonaut Hotel and I can't wait to go back again! It is a nautical themed hotel that is an old refurbished cannery right on the pier. Once inside the brick hotel you feel like you stepped onto a cruise ship,deck chairs are in the lounge,sails hung from the exposed wood beams,a huge light house light in the entry,just beautiful. Exposed red brick in all the rooms too.

So so cute.The staff was amazing and greeted us by name(and the kids) every time we saw them.I can't say enough good things about this place.Outside was old pirate ships, and a small beach.A short walk down to pier 39. And just a block uphill to ghiradeli square and the cable car turnaround.

My mom had schooled andy and autumn on what to do when on a cable car.Sing of course! We first got on and andy was as excited as christmas morning as it started moving and he sang Clang Clang Clang went the trolley,ding ding ding went the bell....oh my grandma would be so proud! The trolley was our main form of transportation and was always super exciting for the kids. Autumn even got to stand off the side and hold on(and sing).

We went to Chinatown twice and had great dinners.We went to union square and got to ice skate in the holiday rink.They were just decorating for christmas and it was amazing to be a part of it. Autumn loved showing off her year of ice skating lessons.

We took a bay cruise around alcatraz and under the golden gate bridge.Hiked through Golden gate park and the academy of sciences to haight ashbury.Visited the exploratorim, and the museum of modern art. We didn't get the MOMA. We were there like 15 min. They had strange exhibits of stacked moving boxes,and pictures hung of just white paint,and it was supposed to be art? Very odd.

Since Ghirdeli square was so close to us we walked there quite a few times for ice cream sundays..so so good. And walking uphill to get there justified the calories right? :)

The kids were exposed to a lot of homeless people along the pier and all the strange performers they have there.There was one guy, a"bushman" he would hide and jump out and scare people and if they screamed he wanted a dollar,a smelly old guy and his "sick dog" collecting money. We did like the musicians that played though.

Autumn got to be part of the Jr. Gold Rush Cheer Team during the 49er titan game. The saturday before the game she went to an all day cheer camp to learn the cheer and practice. I thought it would be a little 2-4-6-8 who do we appreciate type cheer. But I was surprised b/c it was a really complicated routine for all these girls to learn. Autumn practiced hard and loved it. She led her line of girls out on the field and loved meeting and working with the real cheerleaders. They stayed on the field for the anthem and got to line up and cheer the players onto the field too. It was an awesome experience for her and I'm so glad we got to participate. We get the video sent soon and I will post it.

Andy and Joe were so cute during the game. While Autumn and I were there early getting her ready for cheer, the boys went to this huge rally, andy got his face painted so cute,got to play drums and do manly tailgating things. Just seeing Joe at the games was priceless. He loves the niners so much.Made it all worth it. During the second game andy was telling people around us that Niners eat the Bears for lunch. He's so funny.

So,we had an amazing trip.But we needed a vacation from our vacation.We came home with blistered feet and very tired,but with memories that will last forever.And we all definitely Left Our Hearts In San Francisco.

Disneyland Halloween trip 2009

If you know me then you know I am completely obsessed over two things(besides my kids) Disney and Twilight.In 2008 we splurged and got annual passes for disneyland. It was an awesome year and we went soooo much. Our last trip was for xmas and I have been having withdrawal symptoms ever since. We were planning on going only once this year at xmas time again.

Christmas and Disneyland =Magic.

So Joe got this crazy idea that he wanted to take the kids to San Fransisco for a 49er game.2 forty niner games in fact. So I said he would have to make a deal and take us to Disney for the Halloween time promotion if I was going to sit though two 49er games. And it just so happens that its cheaper to buy annual passes than two, two day park hoppers. So we once again have year passes and I couldn't be more thrilled! Joe complains and says I'm crazy but the smile on his face makes me think he loves it more than me!

(Now if only new moon was out already)teehee

Andy finally grew over 40 inches so he was able to go on most of the big boy rides. It was great to all ride as a family and not have to worry about who would sit what out. Guess what his fave ride is now? Tower of terror! I thought it would totally freak him but I guess he's a thrill ride junkie like his dad.I prefer the teacups myself:)

We decided to do a character breakfast and had so much fun. No sooner had we walked through the door then Cap Hook came over and challenged Andy to a duel. They fought for over 5 min and andy loved every second of it. Worth the price of admission. When we were done eating Cap Hook followed andy out into main street to continue the fight. The smile on his face is priceless.

Look at this smile...

He's gonna get that pirate!( the flower was for minnie)

The true nature of my kids..pirates.I love this pic!

And this one. Love autty's pirates scowl!

She is totally a daddy's girl

yes we are crazy adults you see wearing strange things...joe's sportn his superman shirt and mines twilight. Nice

We have been watching winnie the pooh halloween movie like three times a day lately...Andy was thrilled to see them.

Autumn asked the fairy godmother to ride the Matterhorn with her. She said she wasn't old enough to ride it yet.Autumn cracked up and said but my nini rides it and she's a grandma!

The park was all decked out for Halloween with pumpkins everywhere! In all the windows down mainstreet and orange flags everywhere. There was a new fireworks show just for halloween that had zero the flying ghost dog in it.

Amazing pumpkin carvings

I guess I thought it was cooler than they did. They just wanted to ride!

The park was decorated so beautiful for Halloween. Pumpkins were in every window on main street

All the lampposts were adorned in this.

This was greeting you as you walked though the main gate! Love it!

So, that was our disney trip! Autumn wore her Cinderella crown in the first night, and told everyone that she was "celebrating" winning a pageant. So she thinks we took her b/c she did the Cinderella pageant.

But I know the real truth..Joe wanted to go! :)

So here she is getting her crown,sash, and trophy

s

She had the most people there supporting here!

Andy was a proud brother! When they called her he kept saying Autumn won! Autumn won!

So where do you take a cinderella best beauty? To disneyland of course. Pics to follow.. :)

Autumn's first pageant!
Cinderella Nevada Pageant
Oct 24 2009

West Las Vegas Library Theater

Oh My goodness! Autumn did so well in her first pageant! I am so happy and so proud of her. I've waited to put her in one b/c I dont want to be like those crazy mothers on Toddlers and Tierra's. So when she said she was interested I was sooo excited!! I was concerned at first, autumn doesn't like to be put on the spot or the center of attention so I was expecting her to go running and screaming off the stage at every moment. But boy, did this girl surprise me!

Cinderella pageants are a great starting point for this stuff. They offer workshops that teach the contestants the model walk, the turns, how to speak onstage, and one on one interview coaching. What she learned there was very helpful.
This pageant does a group interview before the pageant, talent,casual wear, and party wear. I tried to put the photo's on in that order but they are backwards.

After a lot of ideas she decided on Ballet for her talent. She chose the daddy cinderella song by steven curtis chapman, and together(with Nini) we came up with a routine

She did so well,and looked adorable!

I loved this dress she wore. The two other girls in her catergory are to her left.

She did so great and even remembered to smile!


This was her casual outfit.

She got to introduce herself onstage.

Backstage before it started! She was super excited and felt like a star!