Overheard Today

While driving in the car:

Ty: Hey Mom, look over there! There is a cute little baby! Maybe next time we can buy one!

Babysitting

A few weeks ago, we were babysitting some friends' kids (I won't mention what political event was occurring, because I think most of you readers are all sick of hearing about it by now). I wasn't sure if I would have the energy to entertain 5 young kids for almost 5 hours, but the kids played really well together. The older kids taught the younger ones how to play duck-duck-goose, tag, and hide-and-seek. They played cars, trains, threw balls, and raced. At the end of the night, the kids were worn out and had been so great. So, we rewarded them with a movie downstairs. Obviously, they liked it!

Descanso Gardens

A couple days before Halloween, I took the boys to Descanso Gardens. I had just received my new camera, and this is the perfect place to practice. I went in the middle of the day when it was extremely hot and sunny, so I learned a lot about how the sun and shadows affect pictures. Basically, I learned that I went at the wrong time of day. But, I persevered and we had a good time, nonetheless. Although, the boys definitely would have preferred to not have a camera stuck in their face the entire time. After only about a couple hundred shots, I got a handful that I liked. Here are the few that turned out pretty nice.

I am hoping to take a class next year because I definitely don't have raw talent!

Reviews are In!

Bolt scored an 86% on the Tomatometer at Rotten Tomatoes!

Watch the trailer at Apple Trailers,

And then go watch the movie (even if you already have gone to see Twilight this weekend)!

Bolt to the Theaters!

I know that most of the women reading this post probably already have tickets purchased for the upcoming Twilight movie. But, do your husbands and children really want to see a movie about high school vampire love? Most definitely, NOT! Undoubtedly, you already have your girl's night out planned on Friday, November 21st - which includes leaving your poor husband and kids to fend for themselves. So, I suggest you make it up to them by spending some quality time with your family and take them the next day to see Bolt, the new Disney animated movie. If you enjoyed the action-adventure part of The Incredibles and the tenderness that was Lilo & Stitch, you will absolutely love Bolt.

Arthur and I had a chance to attend the premiere screening of it on Saturday. Attending one of these movie premiers always gives me a good excuse to wear a pretty dress, curl my hair, and hire a babysitter for a fun night out with my husband. In addition to not feeling guilty about buying new earrings for the event, we got to watch a great movie. I seriously fell in love with Bolt, the little white dog who believes he is a super hero. This movie is so much more than just a cartoon. I laughed out loud at Rhino, felt my heart pound during the action scenes, and tried to hide my tears in the touching moments.

But, I have to say that my favorite part of the movie was at the end when I got to see this:


I love you, Arthur! This movie is definitely one that you and all the people at Disney can be proud of!

First Public Performance

Today was the primary program in church. I had been a bit nervous about the idea of not being able to feed, distract, and pacify Tyler while he sat up on the stand during the entire meeting. He had a little part to recite that we had been practicing for a couple weeks. Knowing Tyler, the better prepared he is, the better things tend to go. I had considered taking him to the church to practice sitting on the stand, but a busy week didn't allow it. I was confident in his ability to remember his part, but nervous about how the delivery would go.

Tyler's class is the youngest in the primary, and because of the number of kids, there were not enough seats. So, his class had to stand the entire time in the front row. Picture about 10 three-to-four year olds standing in a line for 60 minutes. You don't need to be good at math to know that that could equal serious problems! I started to get nervous, but really for no reason. Although he ducked down below the little wall for much of the time, I was really proud at how well he behaved himself. He sang most of the songs and the little shoving match he started with his good friend, Sarah, was more humorous than disastrous.

The program ended up being really nice. The kids all bore testimony about being Children of God and what that meant to them. They talked about how important the scriptures are and about different parts of the gospel. I was really touched by their sweet voices as they sang songs.

Right before his part, I said a quick and silent prayer for him. He took the microphone, ducked below the wall again and delivered it perfectly! Well, perfectly, in a slow deep growl that amused the entire congregation. Once he was finished, he stood right back up, gave the mic back to the leader, and offered me a priceless proud look.

I love that kid!

P.S. Here is his part for posterity (he came up with it all on his own):

"When I get baptized, I will wear white clothes. My Daddy will baptize me and I will go under the water. Then I will receive the Holy Ghost."

Halloween Gloom

As I mentioned previously, I am really having trouble getting the boys to smile for the camera lately. I mean what is wrong with these little trick-or-treaters? You'd think they were about to attend a funeral!

Or maybe they just got rejected from the upcoming space mission...

Happy Halloween!

We wish you all a hauntingly happy Halloween!

(more pictures to come...)

Halloween Eve

Skull-Baby

I pulled out some of our Halloween Decorations for our annual Trunk-or-Treat at church. How is it possible that a kid who is deathly afraid of Mickey Mouse at Disneyland can snuggle up to this scary ghost thing? We don't have a picture of it, but a few seconds later, he actually gave the ghost a kiss!

Pumpkins and Heat

We recently got a really nice camera that I have been itching to take out for photo shoots with the kids. Unfortunately (as you will see in my next several posts), my kids - especially Tyler - just don't enjoy photo shots and do everything possible to avoid smiling nicely for me.

It has been super hot in Los Angeles and has not felt like Autumn at all. So, last week, we went with some of our good friends to a farm that was hosting a pumpkin patch to try to get in the spirit. It ended up being one of the hottest days of the month, but we enjoyed ourselves, nonetheless. The kids got to feed goats, pick pumpkins, ride tractors (Tyler), scream at me because they were too small to ride a tractor (Dylan), and ride a train. I also got a little practice at using my new camera!

Low Productivity

Since the boys are getting older, they now have to help clean up toys. Special activities or treats are sometimes reserved only for boys who help.

On monday, the activity was Play-Doh.

This boy was a good helper:


This took nearly 3 hours to clean up:



Which is why this boy looks like this:

7 Years and Still No Itch

11 years ago, during General Conference weekend, I met Arthur at a lunch party hosted by some friends at Harvard. We were both in the Cambridge University Ward in Massachusetts. I overheard Arthur say that he was from Sacramento and I immediately had to introduce myself to him as I was also from Sacramento. Almost exactly 4 years later, we were married in the Oakland, CA Temple.

Happy 7th Anniversary, Arthur!

San Diego

Last month, we took a mini-vacation to San Diego with a few of our friends. We stayed at a fabulous beach house in Oceanside, went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park, Sea World, and played at the beach. Unfortunately, our camera mysteriously stopped working at the Wild Animal Park. Just imagine a safari ride complete with giraffes, rhinoceros, zebra and gazelles. I think I can check African Safari off my 30's To-Do List, now!

Here are our pictures (warning - there are a ton!):

Carousel Ride at Belmont Park:

The Amazing Beach House (thank you, Justin and Jennie)

Sea World

Shamu Show - we were sitting in the Splash Zone, but unfortunately did not get drenched:
Penguins
Dolphin Show. Again - no splash:
Bay of Play - at least we got wet here!
Scenes from the drive home:

Dinner at Ruby's on the Pier
I love these pictures that our friend, Nancy, took. They totally represent how much fun and how happy our kids were the entire weekend. Someday, I hope to be able to take such beautiful pictures!