Thanksgiving!

We went to Santa Barbara for Thanksgiving. We were there from Tuesday night until Saturday. It was great to be by the beach and around family and in our old hometown. We hope to visit again soon. It was too short and we forgot how much we love it there. It was crazy to be staying in a house where 55 other people were hanging out... but it was mostly a good kind of crazy.

I exercised every day while I was there. I saw my sister every day too, which was so great. We jogged together, talked together, and went shopping together. More on that later.

My kids had a lot of time to hang out with their cousins. I think they were sort of in heaven. And so was I, because I got to be free of responsibility for large chunks of time. My children are at an age where I feel ok about letting them do their thing, and I have very responsible nieces and nephews. It works out splendidly.

I hardly helped at all in the kitchen before or after the Thanksgiving meal. It is shameful really, but it was sort of covered by everyone else. Mostly Alison. But believe me, had any need arisen, I would have helped. As it was, I felt like I was in the way every time I entered the kitchen. Plus, let's be real here. I'm lazy.

The meal was fantastic. I tried so hard not to over-eat, but there were a million dishes and everything was so good! I had a little bit of everything and I was stuffed.

So, besides going on jogs (and walks with Dan) and hanging out with everyone, I went shopping downtown with some family. (In other news- Boom! Santa Barbara now has an H&M.) So, I spent some money. It is nice to shop without kids. Don't get me wrong, I love my kids, but they don't love shopping.

On Friday my sister took Rachel, Alison, and I to Solvang to this amazing place where they sold clothes and fabric for super duper cheap. We didn't think we would spend tons of time there, but we did. We found all kinds of goodies, including formals and temple dresses for three dollars. THREE DOLLARS. All the fabric I bought was a dollar a yard. I scored, and it was super fun. We took pictures in the room where you pay for everything. I offered to be a boy, but Rachel and Lori took one for the team. This picture cracks me up! What a fun group.

We were hungry after foraging for deals in all those different rooms, so we walked to a main street and bought pastries. I wasn't expecting much from my apricot danish, but it was OUT OF THIS WORLD good. I need to go to Solvang next time we visit SB, because it is cute and amazing and I'm still thinking about that danish.

While I was doing other things, Dan went shooting. Once with guns in the mountains with the boys, but mostly he did the kind with his camera. There were a lot of photo-shoots last weekend! He was asked by 4 of his siblings to do family pictures, and he also did a few surf/beach shoots with teen and adult family members for his and Jake's venture into selling clothing. It's called Babes Arizona Surf, and they have a lot of followers on Instagram. Check it out. We hope it will help pay for Jake's mission to Croatia. (Click here for Babes!)

We took the kids to the beach before we left. They wanted to stay there for much longer... mostly to play at the park. It was such a beautiful day... I didn't really want to get in the car either. But we loaded everyone up and headed home eventually. The kids were pretty good in the car, and we had a great vacation. For that I am thankful.

Carnival, Creating, and Celebrating

We went to "Frontier Days" at Asher's school. It is their one and only fundraiser (so they say) and it is huge and beautiful. I always loved carnivals as a kid, and I think my school even did one at some point. It probably wasn't as epic as this one. Each class has a booth. I was stuck at ours for an hour because I volunteered to help and nobody came to relieve me at the end of a half hour shift. It was fine, but I missed the kids going on the train ride, bouncing in the bounce houses, dominating the other booths, and I missed Gwen going on a pony ride. Dan got some video though, so I didn't miss it completely. We saw a lot of friends from church. There were a lot of silent auctions, food choices, etc. I got a free back rub at a booth, but we didn't take advantage of the free face painting. Maybe next year.

I also finished a big sewing project for a friend. Her photo shoot got moved up three weeks, so I felt like I was on Project Runway. I was actually sewing some finishing touches RIGHT before their photo shoot. It is a good thing my friend is laid back. I snagged some pictures from some blogs so I could show what I made.





I made the dresses on her girls. (I took a picture of the baby dress so you could see it a little better.) I also made the ties and bow ties on her boys, and the light blue houndstooth jacket on her oldest one. My friend was SO trusting of me... she gave me fabric and said "make whatever you want." I mean, she knew she wanted ties and dresses, but that was it. She showed me some pictures of kids clothes that she loved, and then gave me complete creative freedom. It was kind of nice, but sometimes I was scared she wouldn't like what I was doing. She ended up loving it all, thank goodness!

 And look at her kids! They are so stinking adorable! What a good looking family.












We also had a birthday in our family... Dan's! I felt bad because I was super busy and didn't have time to get many gifts or to plan very much. But I made him breakfast and lunch, then we went out with family to dinner at Firebirds. It was really nice. When we got back to Stephen and Rachel's house our little niece Lauren had made him a cake. The birthday cakes at their house always feature this Stuart Little figurine. I think it is a cute tradition. We opened presents two days later, so Dan's birthday was stretched out a bit. I think that is always the best way to go.

Wizard of Oz and Halloween

I have been SO BUSY. SO BUSY!!! I mentioned being cast in the Wizard of Oz, but I also did a lot of work with choreography and so forth. I was at rehearsal all the time.

(Here I am in my Second Act glory.)  

 And when I wasn't at rehearsal, I was trying to finish sewing projects that were way overdue. I made a bunch of girl superhero costumes for a family in our ward. They were relatively easy, but I didn't have a lot of free time. I committed to them before I decided to do the play, so it was my fault for taking too much on. They turned out cute in the end, but I think I almost gave that poor mom a heart attack, because true to form, I gave them to her the day before she wanted to use them. Sorry Jennie! (She also just had her fifth child, so she really needed more to worry about in her life.) I planned to get them done way before Halloween. It would have been a piece of cake with no Wizard of Oz.

Batman and Robin are twins. Isn't that the cutest?

Made: Tutus, logos, masks, sleeves, one pair of fake boots (Superman's), and some wristlets/ crown thing for WW.

Side note, these kids are the nicest ever. Whenever Wonder Woman sees me, she gives me a big hug. She tells me that she wants to grow up to be like me. I better start shaping up!

I did not dress up for Halloween. Being green for seven performances took the desire out of me I guess. But Dan was Tony Stark. I cannot tell you how excited I was when he actually wanted to be someone for Halloween. He even made his own arc reactor. I am so proud. The costume was subtle, but he looked awesome. Asher and Gwen went to Aunt Amy's trunk or treat one night when I was performing. Asher was Captain America that night, hence the picture. But for actual Halloween, Asher was Indiana Jones and Gwen was Rapunzel. Cost? Free! We borrowed and we used what we had. Best Halloween ever!

Halloween snuck up on me. We decorated the night before, and then it was only because Asher really wanted me to. I don't have many Halloween decorations, so I just used the spooky stuff I had on hand and my fabric stash. No problem.

The kids have been eating candy like crazy. I can't stop them and they can't stop themselves. Consequently, they have been a little temperamental. Emphases on the MENTAL. But they will detox soon and then all will be right with the world.

So that is it. I'm basically caught up. Whew!

Utah!

We went up to Utah for the first week of October. It was in the middle of Wizard of Oz rehearsals, but I am glad I took that break. Unfortunately, I was sick almost the entire time. However, my awesome parents watched my kids in the morning so that I could sleep in and get better. I hadn't slept in consistently like that in a long time.

While we were there, we did a few things (despite my sickness):
-One of the first things we did was go on a family walk with my mom. We took the trail near her house that she walks almost daily. It was so beautiful! We don't see much of fall in Arizona, but Utah's autumn is spectacular. Even Asher noticed how beautiful it was there. He went on and on about it.

-We visited the Adairs in northern Utah (without our kids, and Dan spent the night so he could work and hang out).
-We went to dinner with my sister Tracy and our brother and his wife... and I met their sweet little baby girl. I also saw their condo for the first time, which was fun.
-We took the kids to the Springville Museum of Art. They had a strange style of art featured, but I loved the water sculpture. The kids got to draw a little, and see the big Bronze Indian. The Russian art was amazing! I took a few pictures. But my favorite part was something that my mom and I discovered by accident as we were trying to leave. It was an exhibition of Fred Howard's study of the Tabernacle and the organ. I loved the style of his paintings.

-We ate at Magleby's with our family and Jon and Lisa Williams, which is funny because the last time we saw them was when they got married... and their brunch was at Magleby's. (Different location, but still.) We met their cute daughter Jane, and they came over to my parents house so that we could talk and hang out.
-Chad and Clara hooked us up with a guy who cooked dinner for the family. It took 4 hours, and in return, he wanted us to buy his super expensive cookware. Ever heard of SaladMaster? Yeah. I was actually interested in it, but it was far too expensive, and it was presented in a way that turned me off. The guy was like "you are going to die of cancer and obesity unless you buy and use our cookware." And he somehow took 3 1/3 hours to give us that information. At the very least, that experience will give our family something to joke about for years to come.
-My dad gave Asher and Gwen tractor rides, we ate my favorite childhood salsa (made from garden grown tomatoes-thanks mom!), we watched the first presidential debate, we saw the movie Hugo (in 3D!), Dan went shooting with Jess, the kids and I saw my sister Kristy's new house, we visited Grandma Great on our way in and our way out, and we enjoyed everyone's company. We also got to chat with Dan's parents for a while. They were in town for General Conference. Asher and Gwen were confused.

-Dan and I also went to the first session of General Conference at the Conference Center. It was amazing! I had never been. We were in "nosebleed" seats, but we had a good experience regardless. Afterwards we at ate at an amazing hamburger place called JCW's. Everything was SO good. We have to remember that place for our next Utah trip.    

To sum up: We had a great time, and we are wishing we could go up again soon. I feel like I don't see OR talk to my family enough. I wish I was better at keeping in touch, and I wish we saw them more. Ah well, that's life I guess.

Life Gets in the Way

Forgive me Blogger, for I have sinned. It has been almost four months since my last entry. Many things have happened in my life since then, but all those things have kept me so busy, that I haven't had the time to blog about anything. And I feel quite guilty about it because this blog is sort of my journal. So... here goes.

 We went on a cruise. It was the same cruise we did 10 years ago for our honeymoon, but this time it was with Carnival and it was for Dan's parent's FIFTIETH wedding anniversary. Eight of their kids and spouses were there. It was fun to be on a big boat with so many people that I love. And our adventures in Mexico were fun, fun, fun! On the boat we did a lot of hanging out and talking. We played trivia, family jeopardy, and took tours together. We were at the same few tables for dinner every night, switching back and forth for variety. We walked around in our robes, attended shows together, and tried to find empty rooms to take over. On shore, we took a guided van tour to a place where we could swim and jump off rocks (Puerto Vallarta), ate yummy food, shopped for souvenirs, relaxed on the beach, and walked all around (2 days in Cabo San Lucas). It was a blast, and very relaxing. I actually lost two pounds.

 Asher had a birthday. I felt bad that we didn't make a big deal or invite any friends. He requested a Star Wars party, so I made him a Star Wars cake and some of his gifts were Star Wars themed. It was just our little family, and then unexpectedly Stephen and Rachel stopped by with Lauren and Calvin and some gifts. It was an awesome thing, because then it felt like a real party.

 I had a birthday. It was pretty uneventful, but I went to breakfast with my sisters-in-law (they are the sweetest) and Dan got me a ukelele and a fitbit. I love both gifts. And the ukelele lead to our re-do of the front room, which is now a music room. Yay!

On my birthday, Asher started kindergarten. I didn't cry. He didn't cry. In fact, he told me that if he saw anyone crying he would pat their shoulder and say, "don't worry, your mom will be here soon." He is the only kid in school doing the half-day schedule, but we aren't too worried about him. He seems to love school so far, and he is learning a ton. We think he looks cute in his uniform, and he is pretty good about doing his homework.

I should also mention that I finally got our family to the dentist. It was Asher's first trip... he was such a champ! Gwen wouldn't even open her mouth, but I guess she is still pretty young (and sassy). Everyone checked out pretty well except for me. I had three crowns put on. I was in pain for over a month. It was finally resolved, thank heaven. Mouth pain is the worst.

Besides all of these milestones, I have had a lot of day to day things that keep me busy as well. I have had a strange influx of sewing projects. I sewed curtains for a neighbor, a tablecloth for a random lady from our neighborhood, girl scout patches and mending for a new friend who lives by Amy, family picture/correlating outfits for a new friend and her five kids, and Halloween costumes for four cute girls from church. Then there are the piano and voice lessons, the random sewing lessons, the primary program we just had where I was in charge of the music (and 300 kids), babysitting a sweet little girl once and week, family events, etc, etc, etc! I feel like it is hard enough to keep up on the cleaning and the homework (Asher has about 45 minutes of hands-on homework a day) and the kids.

                     (Half done curtain for a client. I guess I forgot to take pictures when I was finished.) 

On top of ALL of that... I am in another play. Copperstar's The Wizard of Oz. I HAD to audition, because that movie and that story were such a part of my formative years. I feel like The Wizard of Oz is stitched in my soul somewhere. Anyway, I am the Wicked Witch (!) and I couldn't be more excited about painting myself green, throwing fire, and flying on stage. On top of that, I have been helping with choreography... so basically I have been there every rehearsal and then some. It is coming together, and I am so happy with the way it is turning out! But of course it is also time consuming. Dan is my hero for putting the kids to bed every night and for being generally supportive and good to me.

 So there it is. Now that I am safely on vacation in Utah, I have the time and mental space to dedicate to my blog. This is my life, and I'm not sorry. I'm only sorry it took me this long to post it. 

Asher is Growing Up

Asher graduated pre-school last month. It has been so good for him to be around other kids his age two days a week. It has helped him socially, and the peer pressure has helped him to care a little more about learning. He can write his name, Hallelujah! His teachers were awesome, and his graduation was the best ceremony I have ever attended. It was short and cute and fun. The kids got to slide down a slide when their name was called. And Asher looked so darn cute in his graduation gear.

I don't think I have blogged about any pre-school field trips other than the trip to the farm, but we also visited a fire station, the Phoenix zoo, and had a few fun park days. Asher always made the best crafts, and he was always excited when it was his turn to bring the snack or share a book. Near the end of the year he started worrying about whether his shirts were cool. I am a little bit glad that the school he will be attending next year requires uniforms. But I just cannot believe that he will be in kindergarten.

Since Dan and I are about to go on a cruise and Asher and Gwen are staying with their Aunt Amy for a week, I figured it was time for Asher to take swimming lessons. The house has a pool, and the pool has a gate, but better safe than sorry. (I wanted Gwen to be water safe too, but since she is not potty trained yet she wasn't allowed in the class.) Anyway, Asher was afraid of the water, and now he is not. I took him to 6 days of swimming class and now he can monkey walk, put his head in the water and blow bubbles, jump to people in the pool, and kick in the water. His teacher was so good with him. She knew just what to say and just how hard to push him. I'm proud of him, and I love how proud he is of himself.

We took this trip to Santa Barbara...

The week after I finished that dress, our family took a trip to Santa Barbara. We stayed with Dan's parents and we visited my sister who had just had a beautiful baby boy. He was 5 days old when I held him, and he is such a little love. They named him Jameson Osa Wrenn. My sister said she felt great, and she was walking around looking healthy as can be. I am so amazed at her resilient nature and her boundless energy. If I had a C-section I'm sure I wouldn't be able to walk for a week. The kids loved playing together, both at my sister's house in the mountains and at their grandparent's house. Another great thing about going to visit so close to when the baby was born was that we got to see Billy. He is in the National Forest Service, so he is off fighting fires a lot. This was actually his first time meeting Gwen, and she is 2 1/2 years old! It was fun to have him around.

While in Santa Barbara, we also went to the carousel with the kids. Asher thought it was fun, but Gwen was a little scared. I stayed standing next to her, holding her, and she was fine. We also went to the zoo that day. We had been to the Phoenix zoo twice recently, but the kids loved the Santa Barbara zoo because it is smaller and way less hot. We went on the train with Grandpa, which was fun. We also ate at the Habit, even though we have a Habit near us now.

We went on a date while G&G watched our children. We ate at the Palace Grill, which is probably our favorite restaurant in Santa Barbara. The food is cajun/creole and SO delicious, the atmosphere is fun and reminds me of places I ate in New Orleans, and the service is exceptional. We love that place. We also walked around downtown a little bit. It is both interesting and sad to see it change so much from when we lived there. Certain stores that were fixtures before are no longer there. That's life I guess.

I tried to do some running/jogging even though I forgot my workout shoes. That was a mistake. My shins and ankles hurt for a week afterward. I didn't even run that much, and I finished off my workout with yoga. Moral: don't run without shoes.

Some of my favorite moments of the trip were seeing our kids with their grandparents... playing games with Grandpa, Gwen sleeping in Grandma's arms. I also loved how often Asher played outside. He just opened the side doors and climbed up the treehouse throughout the day. He hates going outside in Arizona (as do I) and I just think that is not healthy. Sometimes I wonder if we are living in the wrong place. We used to be outside all the time when we lived in Santa Barbara. Oh well.

One night we had spaghetti, and Asher was trying to feed Gwen a noodle. She was refusing and protesting as usual, and I said that I would eat the noodle if he wanted. So he gives me one end of the noodle and he puts the other in his mouth, and we both slurped until we kissed. He wanted to have a Lady and the Tramp moment. He is the cutest boy ever.

Before we left for Simi Valley, we went to an awesome park downtown called Kid's World. It was hard to keep track of Asher, he was like a monkey running and climbing all over everything. Gwen was easier to keep track of, because she was a little intimidated by the size of the place. We explored together, and when she found a steering wheel, she said "Look, Mom! I a pirate!" She happily played at that little area for quite some time. My friend Anna met us there with her sweet baby girl Georgiana. I used to walk and talk with Anna all the time when Asher was a baby, and I'm so glad she has a little one of her own now. We walked to her house and hung out with her husband and talked for a little while. I wanted the kids to go to the beach while we were in town, but it didn't work out. The kids were sleeping on the way out of town and Asher just wanted to get to the Murphy's house as soon as possible anyway. He proclaimed "I already know what the beach looks like!" We went out to eat with all the Simi Valley Hixons and stayed with the Murphys. My kids LOVE the Murphys, and the Murphys love them right back. Asher sometimes still asks to go to their house.

So there you have it. I hadn't blogged about it because I haven't had my pictures ready. And I still don't. Maybe I'll add some later, maybe I won't. But I wanted to at least document it before I forget.