Picture Nightmares...

We had our ward Christmas breakfast yesterday morning and joined in the annual ritual of eating lots of yummy food, decorating crafts, and forcing our kids to sit on Santa's lap, (tears, claws and all) to get a candy cane. Our ward has an unusual tradition, however, started by our awesome Emcee Brother Rasmussen, while the kids are waiting for Santa to appear..."traditional" Christmas songs are way overrated.


Last week we tried to sit on Santa's lap at my parent's ward Christmas breakfast and this was the result:














So all week long I talked with Scott, telling him that we were going to see Santa again on Saturday, letting him know that if he sat on Santa's lap, he would get a candy cane. Of course, all week long Scott agreed, I'm sure focusing on the candy cane...just get past Santa and get the candy. Well, here's the result from yesterday's 2nd attempt of sitting on Santa's lap...(note the death grip on my neck and the rather desperate face).



























Oh well, next year...but you've gotta have at least one terrified picture with Santa. I'll count my blessings until Scott really catches on to what Santa is all about.

We decided that torturing Scott with Santa wasn't enough for one day, and we had our friends come and take our family picture at the house. Scott was totally into the camera, but when it came time to hold still long enough, say cheese, and look at the camera, other things became suddenly more interesting...including toys he hasn't played with for weeks! But the little trooper came through and we got some fantastic shots...but I think it was due to the fantastic photographer...love it when your visiting teacher pulls through! So here's our little man...he'll be 2 next week!! Can you believe it?!!

Our Halloween Treat

After prepping at our ward trunk-or-treat party, Scott was more than ready to take on the streets Saturday night. So after an afternoon at Jenny's house getting hopped up on candy and cookies, we went home, had dinner with some friends and hit the streets! It took Scott about 2 houses to realize what a goldmine he found simply by knocking on the doors and saying "Trick or Treat!!"...after that, he was sold on the whole process. We taught him well, however, because after saying "thank you" over his shoulder, he would stop at the sidewalk and carefully inspect the candy that had just been thrown into his pumpkin bag.

If it checked out, he moved on to the next door. If, however, he found a sucker, then all thanks were provided to the Halloween spirits by immediately devouring his prize. Needless to say, Scott didn't go to bed that night until rather late...good thing we had an extra hour added on to the clocks.

As far as Halloweens go, this ranked up in the top 5 - love being a mom!

Trunk or Treat

Our ward's Trunk or Treat was last Saturday, and as usual, it was a ball! The youth this year were in charge of creating and supervising all the carnival games, so Matt (the Teacher's Quorum Advisor) helped put together a "Corn Hole" as they are technically called, but to you and I, it's a bean bag toss. The Drennans took home the "Best Costume" trophy (yes, Kristal is pregant), and Spiderman Scott quickly learned what Trunk or Treating is all about...no surprise there. Thanks to those who threw the bash, and for Jen and Brent for hauling their bedazzled crew to spend the evening with us - I think we're still coming down off the sugar rush, but we're ready for the next round Saturday night!!

Too much time on my hands today

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Get Ready to Wet Your Pants

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I DID IT! It was a long 26.2 miles, but I had a lot of fun doing it. I did the marathon with my Dad and he and I took a bus up to the starting line at 4:45am. It was brisk, but they had bonfires all over that you could huddle around to keep you warm until the start. The gun went off and we started running. I ran with my Dad for about a quarter of a mile when he told me to go on ahead of him. It was still pretty dark outside as the race started at 6:45am and it was neat to run under the stars.

Along the course there were cattle ranches and the farmers had come out with their families to cheer on the runners. Some of the best parts were giving the little kids "high fives" as you ran past. The first 18 miles or so went by pretty easily, it was mile 19 that my thighs started to ache and scream at me. I pushed through the pain and with the encouragement of the crowds I pushed on to the finish. My running slowed down dramatically those last few miles, and in hindsight was probably a good thing. Jill and Scott barely made it to see me cross the finish line!

Thanks to all of you who have encouraged me in this endeavor and most of all to my wonderful wife who gave me the time to train for this race.

Will I do it again? Ask me in a few days after my body has recovered.

St. George Marathon

In Back to the Future, Part 3, Doc Brown is in the saloon, "drunk" (he hadn't had his whisky yet), telling the people all about the future, and he mentions that in the future, people will be driving "motorized vehicles", in fact, they will hardly walk anywhere anymore...they will "run for fun". Well, it looks like this is the future, because Matt is going to run the St. George Marathon tomorrow..."for fun". Personally I would rather have my legs chopped off than run a marathon, but Matt's gonna do it! So we're headed up there to cheer him on and bring him home, black toenails and all, when he's done. Wish him luck!

Remember?

For my birthday this year Matt found an old box of pictures and sent them all off to be scanned and burned to a CD...as easy as that sounds, it really wasn't. There were a total of 1523 pictures. The cool thing about the company he used was that they didn't give the price per picture, it was a price per box - so however many pictures you can fit in the box they send you, that's what you get. So here are a few funny ones...if you want the story behind the pictures, it'll cost ya.

Yummy yummy yum yum

So ever since my brother David came and stayed with us and brought us lettuce wraps from Pei Wei restaurant, I have not been able to rid myself of the craving for them. Mouth watering lettuce wraps...sometimes Matt has to take me to the closest Pei Wei and that's all we order. I quickly learned where each Pei Wei or PF Chang restaurant is and how long it takes to get there - just in case. And I'm not even pregnant. This is an unbelievably masterfully strong craving - just what do they put in those wraps?!?!

Well, of course my practical mind has some power over my physical cravings and because my bank account can't afford too many trips to Pei Wei in one month, I decided to resort to other methods...love the internet. With the help of Google, I found the golden recipe!! Ok, so it's probably not THE actual recipe, but it's darn close and good enough to satisfy my crazy cravings! If you want it, go to: http://www.recipezaar.com/P-F-Changs-Chicken-Lettuce-Wraps-15865. All I have to say is Yummy yummy yum yum!!

There and back again

We came, we saw, we conquered....Mt. Julius Caesar, that is. Matt along with his Dad and brother-in-law Mark went on a backpacking trip about a week ago, and they actually made it to the top and back - without much injury. Unlike Frodo and Bilbo Baggins, however, they did not have to carry a ring and avoid ringwraiths and orcs, although, they did encounter a little bit of marshy swamp land with lots of mosquitos, but that's about as close to any epic journey they'll ever get. However, they did almost freeze themselves to death while trying to bathe in run-off water pooled in the rocks, so that would have made for some pretty interesting drama. They even were prepared enough to set up their own "Kitchen Stadium" (for all you Iron Chef America fans out there). Enjoy the pictures!

I'm a member now...

It's official - I'm a member of the Toddlers In Trouble Club. I was busy getting cleaned up this morning and during my shower I hear..."MOM!!" through the gargling spray of the shower. I called back for Scott, but he didn't respond or come into the bathroom to check on me. So I quickly finish my shower and call for Scott again. All I get is "Mom!" And this is what I found...

It's kind of hard to tell in the picture, but the chair is just far enough away that he can't reach it to climb down. Luckily he hadn't re-programed the computers. Like the look on his face that says "What took you so long?"

Swim Lessons

Because I have a most awesome sister who thinks of me anytime she can, she arranged for 8 free swim lessons for Scott! I know Scott is a little young still for an actual "lesson", but I think you can't ever start them too early - and I discovered my son is a little FISH. He loves the water! Definitely didn't get that from me...I'll sit by the pool and dip my feet in, so this is a testament of how moms will do anything for their children. (But the pool is heated).

So now Scott can blow bubbles and loves to jump off the side of the pool into my arms and kick a little. He does the best with arm floaties on and loves to float around the spa (now that's MY son!). The only time he'll take a break from the pool is if there is a big fat bowl of popcorn on the patio table...who can't answer that call!

More Disneyland trips

So Matt's birthday was last Tuesday, and we decided to take Disneyland up on it's Free Birthday Pass offer (great marketing, by the way). We called Mom and Dad practically on the way down to let them know we'd be coming and spent a fantastic (and hot) weekend in California! We just can't get enough of Disneyland...and this time Scott couldn't get enough of the Carousel - he wouldn't even let us hold him on the horse!

This time it was a real California adventure, though - we experienced a 4.7 earthquake at about 8:45 Sunday night!! My parents' home rocked and rolled for about 20 seconds (which is a VERY long time - trust me) and after taking 4.7 seconds to fly down the hall to check Scott, things settled down. However, Matt and I were just about to step into the bobsleds at the Matterhorn ride at Disneyland, and all of a sudden a bunch of sensors started beeping on the ride...yep - another earthquake (although official Disney reports say it was an 'equipment malfunction') shut down the entire park for about 40 minutes. That's definitely a first for me. But it passed and we got back on the rides again.

We also enjoyed an air show at Chino Hills airport (our necks are still recovering from having them bent back for about an hour), and took another quick trip to the beach.

We were lucky enough to be there the same weekend as Aaron and Brooke and their family as well as Sarah and Austin, so we all got together and went to see Angels and Demons. (Aaron and Brooke graciously babysat for us!) We got to meet up with David and Joy - they're staying at a beach house is Oceanside (LUCKY!!) at the movies as well, so it was a "mini-Dunyon" reunion with 4 of the 8 children together.

Then we returned home and Dad followed a few days later and in 1 (one) day he and Matt crowned out our entire house as well as a few rooms at a neighbor's house!! All I can say is WOW!!! The house looks gorgeous and new even with the unpainted moulding and I LOVE it. Matt and Dad....just amazing. I'm still applauding - they're the only ones I know who will willingly work until 12:30 am one night and again all day the next day until 11:00 pm - stopping only because they ran out of material. (But the promise of chocolate cake at the end kept them diligent). So you know who to call if you need some work done on your house!!

And Happy Memorial Day tomorrow! Have fun BBQ-ing!

New calling

Well, it finally caught up to me...I couldn't avoid it any longer. We even tried going on trips over the weekends so our Bishopric wouldn't be able to hunt us down, but eventually they caught up to us and it landed - on me. Yep, I am the new Relief Society Enrichment Leader! Watch out Centennial Pointe Ward!

I'm actually pretty excited about the calling - I've been the "Homemaking Leader" before once upon a time (am I dating myself here?), so I know the drill, but with the new guidelines, I feel a little bit, um, let's just say overwhelmed, with the calling. Luckily we have a VERY active ward, so I don't have any worries about actually getting a good majority of the sisters to attend, but just the thought of having to run these mini-activities without a full "Homemaking Board" makes me shiver.

So, here's the plea for all you blog stalkers out there - land 'em on me - any ideas you have for Enrichment activities or stuff that you just LOVED in your ward, or even things that you hated - let me know! I've got a good list going of things, and my mom and sisters have helped a TON, but there can never be enough ideas!

BTW - I'm trying to stay away from too many "traditional" enrichment ideas for two very good reasons:
1 - I couldn't sew to save my life...sorry mom.
2 - They've been overdone lately and um...that's why I've been called? :)

So, sorry but we'll not be doing any crochet necklaces (although I heard that they could be the new prom night fashion)

Homemade aprons (sassy, though - if no one offers any other ideas...)


or learning to play Cat's Cradle with leftover yarn (disappointing, I know - just wait until I'm released and then you'll be back in the game)


Thanks in advance for all the spectacular ideas!! Stay tuned....

Busy Spring Days...

So we've been busy since the weather has turned a little warmer and we're determined to enjoy our precious weeks of Spring that we get here in Vegas. Sarah and Austin came to visit us while Austin had his Spring Break and we had a ball! We went to the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay and then to the conservatory at Bellagio and finished off the afternoon watching the water show out in front of the Bellagio. The kids couldn't get enough and needless to say, they all slept well that night. We love it when Sarah and Austin come - and it was fun to see Duke for one last time before we had to say goodbye to him. Love You Dukey-Face!!

This is Sophie and Duke having a stand-off at my Mom and Dad's house.

Then I convinced Jen to pack up the kids and haul down to California for their Spring Break, so Monday afternoon we stuffed the kids in the car and made it to CA without any major incident and only one stop - I think that's a record.

Scott on the way to CA
As soon as we hit Mom and Dad's driveway we unloaded and were at the beach within 30 minutes of our arrival - another record. (Remember, this is with 6 kids in tow). Tuesday we were lucky enough to make it to the park and crash an Easter Egg hunt a Senior Living Home planned, and Andrew adopted about 5 grandparents for the morning.
Then we went to Fashion Island to play,
stopping to have a shake at the Crystal Cove Shake Shack and again finished the day at the beach. (Can't get enough of the beach!! Love it - April and we're at the beach.)


Wednesday we spent the afternoon at a petting zoo in San Juan Capistrano - you know you have a wonderful Grandma when she goes to a petting zoo feeling the way she does about animals. Scott enthusiastically greeted all the rabbits, guinea pigs, horses, ducks, geese, pigs and goats with a loud "Hi Doggie!" We met up with Matt's sister Carrie and her four girls as well and had a ball, ending the day at a really cool park. Again, no difficulties getting the kids to sleep that night.




Unfortunately we had to pack up and head back home Thursday morning - no one wanted to leave Grandma and Grandpa's house - moms included!! - but we had to hurry back to meet Aaron and Brooke, Emma and Heidi, and Grandma and Grandpa Storer who came down from Utah for Easter weekend.

Today we spent the afternoon at Jen's house celebrating Heidi's 2nd birthday and having an Easter Egg hunt. Let me tell ya - if you ever need to have a killer Easter Egg Hunt, just go to Jen's...MILLIONS of easter eggs filled with goodies. Scott had a ball finding all the eggs in the flowers (sorry about the crushed flower beds) and having a crazy fun time with all his cousins.



Tomorrow we'll head back to Jen's house for Easter dinner and celebrate the resurrection of the Savior. I love being able to teach Scott and all the little ones about how the Savior was resurrected Easter morning to complete His mission here on earth. The lights just sparkle in their eyes as they remember the truths they knew before they came to us.

So Happy Easter to all - hopefully I'll be more on the ball and post again before another month goes by!