The Little Dragon

Happy Halloween

Some Guys Dream, Others Do

Stole this from my brother's blog and after I picked myself up off the floor from laughing so hard, I decided I needed to share it. This is truly why I don't take jon shopping with me - he hates it so much, I fear he would resort to antics like this guy. Enjoy!

Our Little Preschool Group

I do a co-op preschool with five other moms and I have to say after teaching my first week, we have a pretty great little group. This picture is from a talent show my neighbor put on for the kiddos. They each got a star for performing. Aren't they cute?

This Tuesday we talked all about culture, learned how to say hi in lots of languages, ate some fun foods, and danced to all kinds of music. Today we celebrated Halloween and ate eyeballs and goblin fingers (photos soon!), played fun spooky games and made cute little ghosts and spiders.

I am enjoying this time with the kids and it's really all about fun!

Disneyland Day 3

You may wonder where Disneyland Day 2 is. Well, I haven't managed to download my mom's pictures from the beach or day 2 at the happiest place on earth. Tom, Anne, Kieran and Asher met us there on day 2 and it was a blast. As usual, more to follow.

For day 3, we spent some time at California Adventure, took some halloweenish family pictures, rode some of my favorite rides - Soarin' Over California, the California Screamer, and my latest favorite - the Tower of Terror. I could ride that ten times in a row and never get sick of it. I also rode the Maliboomer by myself. Guess I'm the only real thrill seeker of my little family - at least on this trip. The kids LOVED Toy Story Mania, and we may have to purchase the game for the Wii.

We rode the kids' favorite rides again at Disneyland that afternoon, in particular, harry loves the Matterhorn. He likes to scare the abominable snowman. Silly boy. Luke's favorite was the Haunted Mansion, all done up for Halloween Nightmare Before Christmas Style. Either that, or Splash Mountain, he'll tell you if you ask. Grandma and Grandpa also took him on Indiana Jones and he liked it, "because it's not fast, but it was kinda scary."

Mom and Dad took the kids back to the hotel at dark and let Jon and me spend the last evening in the park on a little date. We met a friend of his from work and hung out with them to watch the fabulous Halloweentime fireworks. We then rode a couple rides, watched Fantasmic, and said our goodbyes to a super place. Disneyland was "at capacity" and felt like a big party that night.

The last few hours at Disneyland always feel a little sad for me. I know the time there is coming to a close and soon life will be back to normal - dishes, laundry, school, housework - and so many other things it was nice to escape from this vacation. The last ride of the night for us, however, made our final minutes there a little more eventful than a peaceful farewell. We rode Indiana Jones, and the ride BROKE while we were in the middle of it! We sat for twenty minutes with the lights on, trying to find the hidden Mickey's in the skeleton room, then we got stuck again right before the big boulder almost falls! It was fun, and different, but when they asked if we wanted another uninterupted ride, we were responsible parents and said, "Thanks, but no thanks." It was almost Midnight and we would have missed the shuttle!

It really was such a great vacation and we can't thank my mom and dad, and brother and sister-in-law enough for helping make it so great. Until next time....maybe we could do this again in six months?!

Disneyland Day 1

This is just a little taste of the Disneyland pictures....feel free to click on the picture to see all of them bigger. I have had such a busy week since we came home, and this week isn't shaping up to be any less busy, so I just made a collage to feel like I posted something "Disneyland." Still to come, lots more pictures, stories, funny quotes, and more pictures. It really is the Happiest Place on Earth. I LOVE Disneyland, and I am so glad my kids do too!

Welcome Baby Scarlett!

Rob and Nicole were blessed Monday with the birth of sweet and perfect baby Scarlett. She is the first baby girl and first cousin to our boys on Jon's side, so we're a little extra excited! Poor Nicole endured 29 hours of induction/labor, two hours of pushing, and ended up with a c-section - another example of why I think my planned c-sections are way easier and less scary than labor!

Anyway, congrats to the new parents; we are DYING to see her and will be heading that direction as soon as possible!

The Perfect Birthday

My 34th was pretty awesome. I woke up early, hung out with the fam a little, then I took a nap here: Yep, that's the ocean from my brother's back patio. Then we went and ate on the Malibu Pier.
I do have the best brother ever, before the day started, he presented me with a bunch of ideas to do for my birthday. I decided on the nap, lunch on the pier, surfing/boogie boarding, tide pools, and take out Thai for dinner. Yum.

My folks went to So Cal with us this trip and it was so great having the time to spend with them.

After lunch, we went boogie boarding and played on the beach - my mom has all those photos, so I will have a separate beach post later. After all that fun, Anne picked up Kieran and Asher from school and met us at the tide pools, where the kids had a ball exploring all the little creatures of the sea. Notice no Harry? He crashed in the car on the way to the tide pools, so he and grandpa had a nap in the car!

I love the ocean and it was a beautiful day to play.

I have the greatest brother ever - strangley it seems I manage to position myself in their company for my birthday often....and they always make it fantastic! Anne and Tom both rolled with whatever we wanted to do regardless of their crazy, busy lifestyle with the two teenagers and two little kids!

Exploring...

Luke fell on a little rock and scratched his leg, but he was a trooper.

King of the Rock!

The little prince of the rock!

Grandma's always good for some help with uneasy feet.

Z and Daddy had a ball with Asher on the sand.

Z thinks sand on his little toes is so funny!

Pretty girls.

Baby Z crashed on his cousin Dax that evening. What a perfect day.

Thanks Tom, Anne, Mom, Dad, Jon, and all the kiddos for making my birthday so wonderful. It really was the perfect way to spend the day.

Warning...

Getting my DISNEYLAND pictures uploaded and organized, finally - many posts to follow!!!

A Nice Thought

My sister-in-law, Anne, just had a brithday - we share the excellent month of October- and this summer while they were visiting, she left me a list of quotes and scripures she would like to have displayed around the house. My job is to make them more pleasing to the eye.

This is the first one I've done so far. I printed an 8x10, and framed it in one of the Ikea "Ribba" black 11x14 frames. I was very pleased with it and I think it will look great in their house. It was fun to get to hand deliver it last week while we were on our vacaiton. Happy birthday Anne!

Me and My Guys

Here are just a couple more pictures from our little drive up the canyon Sunday. It was such a pleasant evening.

Fall Ride Preview

I feel like all I ever post is "more to come" and perhaps one dark, dreary, winter day, I'll sit down and get all caught up on this blog. Some is better than none, right? We went for a nice drive up the canyon Sunday and everyone had a great time, especially Tiera - I took this as she was sticking her little head out Daddy's window.

Happy 9 Months!

Nine pictures of my sweetest little nine month old. And just for fun, here are nine things I love about the little goofball (corresponding to the pictures):

1. His sweet little songs he sings while he sits.
2. How he gets stuck under the couch and happily stays there until someone helps him out.
3. His silly little faces. He really is such a ham.
4. I love the look in his eyes just before he cries. He makes sure I'm watching before letting the tears flow.
5. "Soooooo Big!"
6. His look when he is determined to get somewhere.
7. That he endures countless photoshoots for his trigger-happy mom.
8. He puts EVERYTHING in his mouth, but always with a smile.
9. His super sweet, peaceful, happy demeanor. He is such a pleasure to have in our little family.

I'm Just That Kind of Girl

Why I even tried to grow out my hair, I still don't know. My friend Gayelynne cut it last week and I'm feeling much more like myself again! I'm just a short haired gal, what can I say?

Such a SAD Boy

I'm not sure he was sad because the "U" lost....or because he was wearing the shirt. Of course I am kidding, we do have some mixed blood here at our house. He actually was wearing BYU Football pants that same day!

Harvest Time

Picked all the corn last week (the ones that weren't blown over in the wind storms) - the red sweet corn was especially red and especially sweet. Note to self, don't freeze full uncooked ears of corn for later use. Not so yummy - not as bad as the peach, but a close second.

We Live in a Pretty Awesome Place

I was going through pictures and ran across this I took at our favorite mtn. biking location - Lambert Park, 15 minutes away from home. I love having the mountains so close. We're pretty darn blessed.

He Loves It!

Here's the story of Harry's first day of preschool - I need to get these things written before I forget all the details.

That morning we got Luke ready and off to school and I had about an hour to get Harrison psyched for his first day. He wasn't excited. AT. ALL. We practically forced him to take a bath, then I had to dress him myself after quite a battle of what to wear.

Then came the blessing. We explained to him that daddy was going to put his hands on his head and give him a priesthood blessing like he does for Luke before the school year. He's seen many blessings, not a foreign concept to him. "I don't want a blessing," he says in his little cartoon-y voice. I ask, "Do you want one if you get to sit on my lap?" Sure. So he climbs up and all goes well...until he starts knocking his dad's hands off his head saying, "Get your hands off me, I don't want a blessing!"

We eventually made it through and a few minutes later he was sitting in the corner sobbing. "What's wrong, buddy?" I asked. "I DON'T WANT ONE!!!" OK, bud. Got it....."BUT YOU ALREADY DID IT!!!" he yelled.

Jon did give him a really nice, short blessing and off to school we went. We're doing the co-op thing so it was at a friend's house. He didn't want to be there, didn't want to take his shoes or his backpack off, didn't want to get on board the make believe choo choo train that takes the kids into the family room to learn. I stayed for the opening part, and then told him I needed to go. I whispered, "I'll even get you a doughnut if you're good." He was devastated that I was going to leave. So I sat quietly on the couch, hoping Baby Z would not distract the kids.

About five minutes passed and all of the sudden, Harry turned around and announced, "You can go now, Mom." And he LOVES school ever since! And I LOVE having a few hours a week of just me and the Z. All is well in Harry's little world of school now. I just hope we don't have to go through the same thing every time we switch houses!

I'm an Equal Opportunity Mom

How could I make a cute poster for the Lukester and not make one for Harry's first day of preschool? And...there is a story to tell about this little sweetie's first day....I'll save it for another post.

Kat and the Tiny Peach

I have a little peach tree and like a good girl when the little peaches started to grow, I plucked them all off so the tree could be nourished....well I picked almost all of them. I left three little baby peaches to grow for the season. One blew off in a wind storm, one was a little rotten and smooshy, and one was a beautiful little peach. Yesterday I picked it. It smelled so sweet and delicious, I couldn't wait to get in the house, wash it and have it for a snack. I snapped a few quick pictures of my precious fruit and as I walked back into the kitchen I took a bite.

It was YUCKY. Maybe next year's peaches will be a little sweeter.

Go Cougars!

Afterschool Poll

I want to know what all you moms do with the afterschool routine. Do you do jobs first, then play, then homework/reading, or do you dive right into the homework first? What works for YOU?

THANKS!

Preschool, Already?

I know people say time seems to fly faster as we get older, and I never really grasped that idea until recently. Z is suddenly eight months old (need to do the photo shoot), Luke is a first grader, and Harry is starting his first year of preschool this fall.

A group of us are doing the co-op thing as moms and we needed to provide a picture, so here's the one I took of my little big man. He's grown up so much since Luke has been in school and I know in less than 16 short years we'll be taking his mission picture. Crazy.

Good Morning Sunshine

Baby Z is the happiest baby ever and we love him so so much. Morning is one of his happiest times of the day and his little fuzzy bedhead just makes me smile.

I Spy...

Been meaning to post this little gem for awhile. Jon sold my Nikon D40x to a friend of his and we upgraded to the awesome D90 - complete with HD video. Here's our very first video on the new camera. We play I spy all the time, but this was one of my faves. Also, free legwarmers to the first to identify the song in the background. We heart the 80's.

Routine - less

I thought that getting Super Luke in school would push us all toward a routine. Unfortunately all I can report four days into school is I am more tired, less organized, and more scattered than ever. Perhaps things will change when Harrison starts preschool and other fall activities begin.

I do keep waiting for that surge of energy to whip the house into shape, do a major weeding of the yard, and attack all those projects I have been putting off all summer - painting the garage, cleaning out the office, staining the front door, organizing the basement, among other countless things I keep meaning to get to. But sadly, that surge of energy is buried far beneath my exhausted exterior and good-intentioned attitude.

I do try to treat each day as a new beginning, however my list keeps growing and although I might check two or three things as done, I'm copying the same 43 things for each week that keep not getting attention. I had such a good routine - not perfect or even close - but a routine that worked for me with two kids. How did this sweet, giggly, happy, wonderful child completely annihilate that routine and I still have not recovered? Will it ever return or am I doomed to a never ending feeling of being buried deeper and deeper everyday?

Oh well, on to tomorrow. At least I can check off one thing done today - blog - check!

My FIRST Grader

Congratulations Graduate!

Grandma Kathy got her degree last week and we are all so proud. It's something she has always wanted to finish and it was fun to see her glow with the sense of accomplishment. As usual, lots more pictures to come, but I wanted to share this one quickly. It's my favorite from the day. Everyone looks so happy! Way to go Grandma! We love you!

I Just Love These Little Faces

Marathon Week

This week has been SO FUN - but I am exhausted! Here's a teeny tiny recap and a preview of many posts to come (if I ever get caught up):

Jon's Birthday - and Meri and Nate in town
Playdate with fun friends and a tiny little pooch
Karate
Zoo with Swog - wahoo!
Cute Hannah's Baptism pictures
Salt Lake Connect Pass Day 1 - Clark Planetarium, Lion House, Aquarium
Boating with Amy and Scott - and my first time wakeboarding
Salt Lake Connect Pass Day 2 - This is the Place, Discovery Gateway
Grandma F's BYU Graduation - and a tasty brunch
Ward activity - dinner hosted at our house
Relief Society Lesson - need to finish preparing
Jenny's garage sale next door - oops think I might have missed contributing my junk
BYU v. Dixie girls soccer game tomorrow night (Go Erin!)

I think that about sums it up. I'm going to bed.

Biz Cards

Just designed these for the little photog biz. I did a black with white version too, but I think I like the white more.

What I've Been Up To

Earlier this week, I got the opportunity to take pictures for one of Jon's friends who just had their first baby. Little Isabelle was WIDE awake the whole shoot and is already a cute little fiery redhead! She seemed so teeny tiny next to my 20 lbs of chunkiness Z. It's such a blessing to get to help people preserve memories.

Me and My Big Brother

I have ever so many posts to catch up for the summer....it was so much fun having my brother, Tom, and his family here for July. Tom and I have always been close, even though we're almost eight years apart in age. He's who got me into team sports when I was 12 and my parents were in London and I was forced to quit gymnastics for a month - thanks to mono.

With the lack of five hours of daily gym, I was bored stiff and Tom was in charge of us, so he found me a softball team to play on for the summer. The only one he could find said they needed a pitcher, so Tom said, "Great! That's exactly what position my little sister plays!" and he raced home that night to teach me how to pitch!

In high school, he worked hard to beat my dad's record of ten varsity letters, and earned 11. Seven years later, I bettered them with my 12! We've always had fun with sports and anything we could go do together and have a lot in common. Growing up, people would always tell me Tom and I were the male and female version of the same person. What do you think? Do we still look alike?

Don't Tell Him He Can't Sit

We've been working on our sitting since he's kinda moved passed it and wants to crawl. He's staring me down in this picture...just before he dove down and rolled over - a rare non-smile moment from the little Z.