IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS

SMALL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

It's the little things that count sometimes, right? Well, here are some small accomplishments that I would like to share with you all that I'm quite proud of...

1. The McDonald's here has been shutting down at night early for the past two months so they can build their "McCafe"...a coffee shop type area. I am happy to say that just the other day I pulled in with the girls to get breakfast before the parade and they said, "Mom, what's McCafe?" I said, "You know what it is. Haven't you seen them building it?" And she said, "No mom, we haven't had fast food for a long time."

I think that's an accomplishment when one considers that when I was single and working, we ate out a lot...much more than I'd like to admit...and we've slowly started to get away from this habit, but it was still part of our lives. I'll give myself a pat on my back...I'm not afraid to brag. :) (But should I be embarrassed that "I" knew what McCafe was? heehee)

2. When all of us traveled to a different destination for Fall Break (see previous post), but then all flew back to the same airport to return home, we stopped by the Tucson Convention Center to see Disney On Ice: High School Musical 1 & 2 (see other previous post). However, because I had some car trouble (future post to come), we got there about 15 minutes late. A few of my Girl Scouts were waiting for me, but their moms didn't have cell phones, so I couldn't call them to let them know I was running late. When I finally showed up and gave them all their tickets, the one mom said to me, "Ya, my daughter was really stressed that you weren't here cuz she said, 'Mom, it's not like Christy to be late. She's always on time.' " Mmmhmmm, thaz right! (If you're Mormon AND a Startup...you know how hard that character flaw can be to correct.)

3. Lastly, there's been some drama lately with the adults in the Girl Scout troop...mostly "he-said-she-said" stuff...and people accusing others of gossipping about them. I have tried my best not to react to it (especially since it's mostly all untrue and mostly all about me) and not to get pulled into the drama. However, it's hard when you want so badly to "clear the air" and get people to know that what they're hearing is not true. But through it all, I've hoped that the people who have been "hearing" it would know me better and know that I wouldn't do something like that.

So it goes...one mom told me that three of the parents were having a conversation and the third mom retorted back to the first mom who was trying to gossip..."No, Christy wouldn't say that. She doesn't gossip or get involved in that kind of drama. I don't believe you." And then walked away. Swwwwisshhhhhh! Thank you very much!

So-even if you many of you are laughing at me for relishing in these moments, know that I'm still proud of them...cuz these are my accomplishments and they may be small...but they're big in my eyes. Hope you all have some small moments to be proud of!

PARTY HARD!

(Read the post below this one first)

A couple nights after our Visiting Teaching Group Goodbye Party to Shawna, Brian had the great idea of inviting Shawna and James over for dinner the night before they were leaving so they had somewhere to eat after their stuff was all packed up. I wonder if they would have agreed if they knew they were gonna be at our house til 2 a.m.

And of course we had to invite Randi and her husband Brent. We had Grape Tomato Pasta (F'amazing!) and all the fixins, Italian Sodas (F'amazing...and 100 points to Randi and Brent who love them more than we do...seeing as though they have a crate of club soda and Torani flavored syrups in their garage), and Panna Cotta (the most F'amazing thing of the night...)...Can you tell what the word of the night was? I had just introduced this word to them, so it has a little sentimental-ness to it.

Afterward, we thought it would be fun to play some cards for a few hours, but I guess to them that meant for 8 hours! We laughed so hard that our stomachs all hurt the next day. And James and Shawna didn't think it would be as great as it was, so they made a fall-back plan of buying tickets to the movies...big mistake! They came back right after the movies to finish playin some o' that Hand & Foot!

We're gonna miss you Shawna, but at least you left us Brent and Randi to hang out with. I think that'll suffice. heehee.

(Xoe & Xanthe have hard time saying goodbye. But ya...we farmed them out to a friend's house. This is them not wanting to leave Shawna and James).

Visiting Teaching Groups

Our ward has the most amazing program. Well, actually it is a program those from Salt Lake has started, but not many wards are doing it. It's called Visiting Teaching Groups. Instead of having a partner and then making appointments to visit other women, there are about 6 of us who get together all at once and visit, eat treats, have the lesson and just have a blasted old time.

In the groups, you also have the option of going out for lunch, dinner, movies...whatEVER you want. (10 points if you can guess what movie that last line was based on).

So, this picture (albeit not the best one of me) is from our Goodbye Party to Shawna (the one on the right). She was only here for a few months while her husband was in training. But while she was here, we all became great friends. We were sad to see her go, but it was great to have an excuse to have a fun night out. We went to Hibachi Grill (similar to Benihana's) and then of course we had to do Coldstone!

We have had some great hardy laughs on our Visiting Teaching nights...and even though I'm a big supporter of Visiting Teaching anyway (but that's for another post sometime), I wasn't ever excited to do it. But now, I actually look forward to my Visiting Teaching. Love you guys!

Walking the Parade

VETERANS' DAY

Every year, the girls walk with their Girl Scout troop in the Veterans Day parade down Fry Blvd. (it's like Main Street here). It's such great fun for so many reasons. And because we live in a "military town" the feeling of patriotism is very strong.

Miss Sierra Vista was lining up near us and got out of her car to come say hi. She talked to us all about becoming Sierra Vista. One of the things was finding an issue of "need" around the community and making a plan to make a change. Funny thing! That's exactly our Girl Scout theme this year! I'll post more about our fun special guest we had come to the troop meeting to present them with the theme.

Unlike last year where I was a coleader, I'm now the main Troop Girl Scout Leader. The girls and I have such a great time. And what better place can the girls get our craft on than at Girl Scouts. It's a good thing we do other things too otherwise we'd just be called Craft Scouts or something.

This is our view of what the street looked like during the parade. There were other Girl Scout troops walking in front and back of us. You can see how many people in our little town come out for the parades.

TEETHING-My Plague

I thought teething was done. I thought I only had to contend with teething with my youngest baby, who is consistently cutting teeth 24 hours a day, which is also bringing an end to my sanity. The whining, the complaining and the doping-up on medicine is not only happening in my household to the 4 month old, but to the two 9 year olds as well.



It seems as though I can never escape from the wrath of children losing teeth and then growing more. It'll never end. I just realized that once I think it's over, they'll need to have their wisdom teeth pulled, and then someday they'll need dentures. *sigh*



This is Xanthe sporting the hole from her most recent loose tooth incident. At least now, though, they're old enough to pull it out themselves. She sat obsessed one day wiggling it, twisting it and bending it back and forth, unable to focus on anything else until this tooth was gone.

But I'll admit, I kinda liked when I got to pull their teeth...doing the twisting and pulling and wriggling back and forth....to then hear the crack of the last root the tooth is hanging on by, snap. There is a sense of satisfaction holding that tooth in your hand. Alas, she wouldn't let me touch her mouth this time. At least I have one more small kid I can have at it in his mouth when he starts to turn around 5 or 6. I'll have a few teeth to help him pull before he denies me.

RANDOM SPENCER PICTURES

See disclaimer to the right....

Playing with Daddy...
Spencer laughs so hard when Brian rubs his mouth on his tummy. These are pictures I tried to catch of his hysterical laughing.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMBER

This is my sister. Her name is Amber. She is a SERIOUSLY crazy girl! Today is her birthday so I'd like to give her a Shout-Out (aka tribute) to this oh-so-great and beautiful sis of mine!

Let me tell you a little about Amber:

Like I said, she is really crazy! Every city she lives in she rallies together a group of girls and gets them to do things they would otherwise do. She plans wacky parties, gets them to go to romance movies with her and forms fun groups to do things like make and trade cards, etc. I'm sure that if I have people like that out here by me who would do crazy things , I wouldn't know it cuz I don't rally people together like she can. For instance, to prove my point, here are two recent parties she had with her Boise friends (before moving to California). The first picture is from her White Trash Bunco party. Amazing. (SV People...we HAVE to plan some fun stuff! Who's in?)

Second, her friends threw her a Surprise Going Away Party. And she just thought they were going to dinner, but they surprised her with an 80's party on the town. (When she showed up, they crimped her hair, took her in a limo with a Rod Stewart look-alike driver and danced it up in the streets.) I know that Amber was a major part, if not a complete part, in getting this crazy side out of these girls who would normally have a very boring life.

Amber is a very passionate person. Nothing she does is ever done part-way, run-of-the-mill, or ordinary. It's never half-assed. From every GetTogether she plans, to just exercising, she does it with dedication and commitment. Her invitations are always amazing (nothing just thrown-together, and if they're thrown-together, they don't look like it). When she dresses her kids, their hair is always done with a matching bow, or the perfect shoes. Take for example this-when Nan and I moved into my mom's house...we sort of just assimilated into the rooms that were already there and just lived amongst their dwellings. Amber has just recently moved in there. If you walk into her bedroom, you wouldn't even know it was a part of the same house my parents live in. She has seriously made a home out of two bedrooms. You feel like you're walking into a whole new realm. Amazing.

This picture is from the fun and incredible baby shower she and my other sister's threw me.

Amber is also a very sensitive, compassionate and empathic person. I really think she is psychic and can tap into people's energy they're throwing off and really feel what they're feeling. Cuz she is always doing things for people that is perfect for what they need. I can't tell you how many times I have gotten a package in the mail when I've been having a rotten day. And it was a package from my sister Amber with things to either just brighten my day, make me feel like I was at an event that I had missed (like when I missed the retreat...she sent me all the handouts and gifts), or something to get me excited for the upcoming baby. When I asked her why, she said because she knows what it's like to live away from family and she wanted me to feel remembered. Amazing.

Amber is a very spontaneous person too! I can't tell you how many times she will just womp (yes, I used that word) something up at the last minute just because she felt like it. She used to work for Delta and I can't even keep track of how many times she just jumped on a plane and flew out (with two kids!) for some random family gathering. Just recently when Spencer was born she just got it in her head that she had 2-1/2 days to kill, so she hopped on a plane and came to visit us. Know what she said was the reason? Cuz she NEEDED to squeeze and bite Spencer's cheeks and hug him and hold him. That was it! She needed no other reason. hahaha. Amazing.

Our Universal Studios trip. (I used to live 10 minutes from the park so they came out to visit and have a fun vacation.)

One thing about Amber that I especially noticed on my last trip out to California is that she never stops! Never! She's like the Energizer bunny that just keeps going and going and going and going. When I was ready to put myself to bed, she was getting dressed to go for a run. And then when Spencer woke up about 11:00 P.M., I asked her husband where she had gone and he said, "Grocery shopping..." No matter how tired she is, she follows through with what she wants to get done that day and makes sure things are set-right before she goes to bed. Her kids are always in their pajamas, always bathed and teeth have been brushed since before they even had teeth! Amazing.

Some fun memories I have of Amber:

1. I thought she was the cutest cupie baby-doll there ever was. I remember when she was born and I vividly remember my mom bringing her home from the hospital, even though I was only 4. I also remember getting my heart set on the name Melissa. But my Aunt Cheryl had to go and steal that name for her daughter that was born a couple months before Amber. Just to appease me (but I'm sure cuz she liked the name too), my mom named her Amber MELISSA.

2. Amber loves to travel. I love hearing her stories about randomly hopping on a plane with Matt and going to St. John, or Japan, or Hawaii simply because they wanted to (or their flight benefits were going to run out so why not?) A couple years ago, she combined her flight benefits with her talent of rallying people, and a party, together and got us all to get passports, tickets and packed bags to fly to the Dominican Republic for a Sister's Getaway. And this was when she and Nanette were I think 7 months pregnant.

3. I loved when she just up and joined me on a trip to Cincinnatti, Ohio for a conference for Xoe. I was single at the time and really wanted to talk to the doctor who invented the surgery Xoe had just had. She hopped on a plane and met me there, and even attended some of the classes with me to get to know Xoe's condition a little better.

And of course, with Amber, you can't just go to a conference. You have to do something crazy along with it. What did we do? Karaoke! And as deathly scared as Amber was to get up there, she got up and sang 'Redneck Woman' by Gretchen Wilson and not surprisingly was the only one that had the whole place singin right along with her. Fun times!

4. Amber loves my girls like her own. She used to "nanny" for me when I lived in Monrovia and worked in Sherman Oaks (45 minute drive). She would make the long drive through traffic every day to come play and have fun with Xoe & Xanthe. She also flew them out to Omaha, Nebraska to spend a week with her....just because. She took them to a water park, the zoo, made Father's Day presents, made pancakes in the shape of their names and got them plane ride activities, and much more. But not only did she fly them out, she got on two or three planes (layovers) each way to go accompany them to and from Omaha. The girls still talk about that trip.

My favorite picture of Amber, well sequence of pictures, is below. She is the one in blue pants. Does anyone think there is something seriously wrong with the second picture? hahaha. It makes me laugh every time I see it.

Happy Birthday Amber! We're so glad you're in California now and can see you a lot easier and a lot more often. We love you!

DISNEY ON ICE

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 1 & 2

Our Girl Scout Troop got great cheap tickets to see High School Musical, Movies 1&2 on Ice at the Tucson Convention Center. It was fun, but I would have rather seen it on a different day, rather than the same day we all flew home from our Fall Break trips. We all landed in Phoenix and then drove an hour and a half to Tucson to meet up with everyone for the 7:30 p.m. show. Then had to drive another hour and half home to Sierra Vista after the show! But it was fun and Disney ALWAYS puts on a great show. We saw the princesses one the year before and that, I have to say, was pretty impressive.

Okay, here are pictures....(Oh, and of course the girls took like 50,000 of every movement every actor made, but I'll spare you those. I've already deleted them...)

Spencer & I messing around with the camera. He was way into the show and sat quietly through most of it just watching intently. You can tell by this picture he was FOCUSED. :) Check out the fuzz on the back of his head that's starting to grow in.

PURE DESPERATION

HAD to take a trip to Tucson (1 hour 15 minutes)...
HAD to take the grouchy, teething, sleep-deprived baby...
HAD to take the baby who can't hold toys yet, and hates pacifiers...
DIDN'T have a portable DVD player...
This is what I resorted to...






Not to worry though. At least he was watching YoGabba! :) That's educational, right?!