Ventura, California

Joe and I took a canoe out and I peeled this starfish off the side of a boat. Then we paddled until we found our resort and I hopped out to grab our kids and the camera to document my bravery! Joe was too scared to grab it! :-) I had to reach into the water and it was so pokey it actually hurt to hold it - plus it was really heavy! I wanted to keep it, but Joe is so sweet and convince me to put it back into it natural habitat so it would die.

The water was soooo cold, but none the less, the girls had a fun time on the beach!

We had so much fun on our trip to California this year. We stayed right on the Bay in Ventura and our room views were so picture perfect. Joe and the girls even saw dolphins and seals right from our room! The beach was right across from the bay, so you had to drive a few minutes to get to it, but was still super close. We stayed for a week and also went to Knottsberry Farm, The Aquarium of the Pacific and our favorite was strawberry picking at Underwood Family Farms. The kids had a blast and I think Ava ate a pound of strawberries while we picked. Joe's parents stayed there too and brought one of the Grandkids - Tylo. So she's in a lot of our pictures in case you're wondering who that cutie pie is! She was such a help with our girls and even spent the night with Annalise a few times in our room. All in all, it was a great family memory and we can't wait to go back next year!

Just Call Me "BUG GIRL"

To preface this post you need to know that usually when Annalise see's a spider she screams so loud, you'd think she was being tortured. Seriously, I go running and fully expect her leg to be cut off or something. Well, yesterday the bug guy came so a few spiders have been coming out. Annalise was in her room playing and she comes running in waving her fairy princess wand saying, "I killed the spider"! And sure enough on the tip of her magic wand, there was a recently smashed spider. We tell her "good job" and to be "careful around spiders". Then she says in her dramatic voice, "I know what you can call me........BUG GIRL!" She proceeds to run off saying that bug girl is going to go find more bugs to kill. Way to go Bug Girl! Oh, and extra points for killing it so gracefully with your princess wand! :-)

How you EARN a BABY.....and other cute stuff...

So, at the encouragement of Vonda, I am blogging so I don't forget this cute comment Annalise made. Oh, and a few other cute things.
Annalise is obsessed with babies lately. She wants to know how and when she'll get a baby in her tummy and when I will FINALLY get a baby in my tummy (hmm, I think Daddy is trying to send messages through her..). I told her after she gets married and has a baby, then I will be a grandma. This makes her go into histerics every time I tell her this. Why all the crying? Well, she doens't want me to be a grandma, because she worried I'll be too old to play "Monster Hide-and-go-seek", which apparently is my specialty. (I learned this from my mother). So I've been telling her that I can't have a baby until she treats her "baby" (aka Ava) she already has nicely. She tells me all the things she'll do with the baby, like lifting her up on the swings, and teaching her how to play hide and go seek, etc. Oh, and apparently the only people allowed to hold the "baby to be" (far in the future, mind you) is Daddy, Mommy and of course - herself. And she was adamant that she'll take "much care" of this baby. Well, I just remind her that she'll have to prove she can treat her existing baby sweetly before I'll even think of having a baby. Soooo, long story short, the other day I over hear her playing very sweetly with Ava; and talking very sweetly.....this doesn't happen too often so my ears perk up very quickly. Then Annalise exclaims, "I'm gonna EARN a BABY!!!" Yikes, hopefully she doesn't turn too nice with her sister b/c I'm not ready to earn a baby just yet!

Okay, and even though Ava doesn't talk as much as her older sister, she does do and say some funny things. Today she's been walking around saying "sorry, Darlin" all day. So cute. Actually she's been REALLY cute lately and I'm thinking that has a lot to do with the fact that she's sleeping like a teenager. Seriously, I have to keep checking on her b/c I can't believe how much she's been sleeping .... HOORAY!!

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

The sweetest thing happened with Ava the other night. We were outside talking to neighbors and it was already dark outside. The girls were running around playing and having fun. And then I didn't see any more flashes of Ava running across the yard; instead I look over and she's laying on her back (on the driveway), pointing to the sky and singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". It was just so darn cute, I wanted to eat her up!

Okay, here's some other funny things so I don't forget. We were at the pool today and a fly keeps pestering Annalise. In frustration, she yells out to me, "Mom these bee's won't leave me alone! They think my ears are flowers!"

Okay and the last thing happened while I was changing Ava's stinky diaper. Well, let's just say that since she is a girl, you really have to clean it out well. So I start cleaning "it" out, and she looks at me really serious, points to me and sternly says, "No Mommy....... No!" Maybe you had to be there, but I was laughing hysterically! She was oh so serious for such a little girl.

Okay, that's it. I just thought my kids have been extra funny lately!

My Favorite Smell in the World!!

I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!! Why? Because my beloved STAR JASMINE VINES are in full bloom gracing my courtyard with their heavenly scent! The second you open the gate, you get a gorgeous whiff of this divine plant that God must have created just for me! I love it! It makes my day and I could stay out there sniffing all day long. I even add it to my flower arrangements in the house to give them a little boost in scent. Aah! And don't be jealous, if you haven't planted this fab plant in your garden, come on over and have a seat in the courtyard and start breathing in this wonderful aroma. :-)

My First Piano

Isn't she a beauty? After much searching, a creepy piano salesmen, and a lost deposit on a lesser quality piano, I found the perfect piano for my family! And boy did I have my criteria. I wanted a good brand, a nice tone and feel and it had to be the right color for my decor. Sounds simple eh? Not so. There are a lot of bad pianos out there folks - not to mention the right color for aesthetic purposes! So I finally settled on a Sohmer piano. Original Sohmers (made prior to mid 1980's when the Sohmer brothers sold their company) are hard to find and are usually quite pricey for piano's their age. Well, I got a REALLY good deal! I found someone selling a piano that they inherited and obviously they didn't know the quality of the piano. I had a piano specialist come examine it before I bought it and he said it was a gorgeous, quality piano and easily worth 5k. I talked the guy down to $800. Yeah baby! Anyway, I am so excited to have a piano again. I haven't played for about 9 years when I played on my parents Sohmer grand piano! I'm pretty rusty, but it's fun going through my old music. I actually have played the kids to sleep a few times and for some reason Joe thinks it quite sexy when I play. Bonus! :-) Anyway, I love, love, love it! Oh, and if you are wondering if I can accompany something or play in relief society, sorry, but this is one guilty pleasure I save only for myself. I developed massive stage fright and actually ran out of a recital in the middle of a piece once. In my dramatic style I ran out and drove myself over to the graveyard to visit my recently passed Aunties grave. Yes, I am crazy and very emotional. Poor, poor Joe......

Noses and Hair Elastics don't go together!

+ = Annalise's Nostril!!

Yes, you guessed it, I had my first "nose incident" with Annalise. At night sometimes she'll pull the elastic ties out of her hair and throw them on the floor. Well, she was being really naughty the other day so I sent her to her room and went to play the piano for some stress relief. Well, not 2 pages into my music and I hear frantic screaming. It's the kind of scream when there is a hideous spider or something, so I go running ....expecting to kill a bug of some kind. NOPE! Annalise is freaking out, screaming there is something in her nose, "A HAIR BAND" she's screaming and sobbing at the same time. And boy was I mad. Not only did I have to take her to the doctor, but I had just put Ava down for a much needed nap. So we tear Ava out of bed and head out the door. I probably should have comforted her more, but why the heck did she shove a hair tie up her nose? So on the way to the doctor she's crying saying things like, "Is the doctor gonna cut my nose off and give me a new one?" At least I told her THAT wouldn't happen. They took us right back and it took 4 adults to hold her down. She was crying so hard and was begging me to make them stop. I was crying too. Poor kid. The doctor (after LOTS of trying) was finally able to reach it. She said we were lucky because it was almost out of reach. Whew was I glad it was over and Annalise was ecstatic to get two stickers on the way out! :-)