What a day...

Saturday's schedule was FULL from the time we woke up to the evening... Larry had to work, but the girls and I were off for a full day of fun. There were alot of fun activities in the community...and we tried to support them all!

We went to an Easter Party at the gym where we made bunny ears, decorated cookies, played games, and more...we left early to head to Lowes to build another bird house...from there we rushed to the mall for a "Handy Manny" Earth Day celebration where we planted an egg carton garden. After that we picked up sandals for the girls, got some food for Easter dinner...and we got ready for a big egg hunt in our neighborhood. The girls had a great time there and we came home to dye some eggs to leave for the bunny.

At the end of the day...I know I was tired, but I think the girls could have kept going...
It was a good day!

Build them and they will come...

We were hoping that if we added some birdhouses to our backyard that the birds (and SPRING...) would come!

Aana and her friend Camryn had a great time building these birdhouses (thanks to predone kits from HomeDepot)...and painting them. I was pretty impressed that these girls knew how to hammer nails straight better than me!

What Happens in Vegas...

Well, Nothing too crazy happened in Vegas but we had a great weekend with Larry's staff at the Dental Town Conference.

We flew out Thursday night and came back Sunday Evening. There were 10 of the staff from his office there and it was great getting to know everyone. Not being in the office, I hadn't previously had a chance to get to know them as well. We were picked up from the airport in a limo... which amazingly held all 10 of us and our luggage.

We stayed at Ceasasrs Palace and enjoyed it. The Conference was a great source of good info for the whole staff...and it served at a great teambuilding experience. I think Larry's favorite moment of the conference was meeting Lee Corso (Analyst of ESPN's College Gameday Football and former college coach.) Lee gave a great speech on the lessons he had learned in life, but afterward he opened it up to questions, and, of course, Larry's hand shot up. As if that wasn't enough...Larry later got a pic with him and he also had a long conversation with a dental legend who is credited to being the "Godfather of Oral Surgery."

My personal highlights were the Cirque show: Le Reve...which was amazing! I can't even describe it...but it was fantastic!! It combined, music, acrobatics, diving, comedy, dancing, and so much more. It is a must see if you are in Vegas!

We also got to see some old college friends that are doing a residency in Vegas...and it is always great to see friends. They took us to Mandalay Bay's Shark Exhibit and it was fun...and they also took us over to In-N-Out...which just speaks for itself.

I also was in the gift shop of Ceasars when Bette Midler walked less than a foot away from me. I wasn't prepared to take a picture...and I only noticed her because the cashier froze and stared...

But my absolute FAVORITE PART was when we were flying home. Larry was so excited because he had a "Priority Boarding" pass and he was so anxious to board that he was showing off in front of his staff and boarded a flight going to Springfield, MO....which was NOT our flight. We let him stay on for a while until I asked someone to go retrieve him. We all laughed so hard...it was hilarious. Even the others in the airport clapped and heckled him as he deboarded the WRONG flight. You would have had to been there...but it was great.

Random shot...

Youthful aspirations...

Aana has always wanted to be a Vetrenarian. She constantly is trying to learn about animals...she uses her doctor kit on her stuffed animals...and she just LOVES animals. This has come as a surprise to me, because I don't really encourage that. I like animals, but don't really want to touch them. (it stems from a deep rooted germaphobia...) Her love for animals surprises me MOST because she has been bit in the face THREE different times by large hunting dogs. I would expect her to be scared to death, but she isn't!

But yesterday, she informed me of a new aspiration. Occasionally she watches the cartoon "Higglytown Heroes" on the Disney channel. If you haven't seen that show, than I need to quickly explain. They glorify every different type of profession that you can think of ranging from hot dog vendor to trash man. Apparently she has recently watched an episode on someone that runs a laundromat...and now. That is what she wants to do. She says she wants to wash other people's laundry for a job. She is insistent...and has mentioned it to me several times. She has a very elaborate scheme and gets to excited to tell me about it!

I appreciate all of the diffferent positions there are in life and I am grateful for those laboring in all different fields...but honestly... I think I am going to quit letting her watch that show~ :)

Cruising...and Lovin' it!

So...Larry and I are trying to recover from an amazing 8 night cruise to the Eastern Caribbean. We went on the Independence of the Seas (Royal Caribbean)...and it is currently the largest, newest ship in the world. It was beautiful and we recommend it to anyone!!! We had way more fun than our pics show, because most of the fun things we did...we didn't carry around our cameras...so I apologize for all of the "posed" shots. It is the best we had.

We had a blast on the islands...we rented Segways in St. Maarten and cruised around the island.

This is the view from our balcony in our room.

We went Rock climbing on the boat!

I bought this hat in Haiti...at their market.


St. Thomas

Larry boogie boarding on the ship. They had an amazing surf simulator. I did this, but also did stand up surfing...and it was a blast. I think Larry didn't take a pic so that I wouldn't show him up! :)

We took a boat out to go snorkeling in both St. Johns and also in Haiti. I really loved that...the oceanlife is amazing!

Just beautiful...

This was the capital in Puerto Rico.

This was our favorite of the animals our room attendant made each night.








There are several things NOT pictured that were large parts of our fun. We ice skated, played volleyball, ping pong, minature golf, went to amazing shows, and so much more! The food...it was amazing. We both frequented the frozen yogurt self serve by the pool several times a day. Our last cruise was our honeymoon 8 years ago and we have decided we definitely aren't waiting that long again! It was amazing! (and I can't go without publicly thanking my parents who willingly and lovingly cared for our girls while we were away!)

Too important not to blog...LARRY TURNED 30!

March 5th, my amazing husband crossed a new threshold...into the 30's! It was a big and important day that I needed to recognize on our blog...but didn't have time as it was the day before we left for our cruise. We celebrated by having dinner at Anthony's with the family and he got a big Craftsman tool chest...

But I didn't want it to pass so quickly, so I wanted to list 30 reasons why the girls and I are grateful for Larry:

He looks good in a baithing suit! (he will kill me for posting that pic)

He is easy going.

He keeps us laughing (mostly at him..but laughing)

He works hard

He irons his own clothes.

He is always optimistic.

He is a great dad!

He isn't a picky eater

He is a great provider for our family

He changes diapers!!

He is full of cheezy jokes the kids love.

He is smart.

He is very proud of being a BYU fan!

He is the only boy in our house...and we need balance

He always figures out our video game, computer, and electronic problems.

He is good at reading bedtime stories

He loves chocolate as much as I do.

He read Twilight!

He shows us how much he loves us.

He never forgets to take out the trash.

He is a good "cuddler" (says Aana)

He is "naturally athletic" (inside joke!)

He is very good at soduko puzzles.

He supports the girls and I in all that we do.
He is easy to buy clothes for...if it is blue...he will like it!

He gets along with everybody!

He does great magic tricks!

He watches American Idol with us!

He is great at cleaning up the fridge.

He is a good example for our children.

We love you Larry...Happy Birthday!

St. POTTY's Day at our house!

No...that wasn't a misspelling...today was officially St. POTTY's day! I had put off potty training Addie until we returned from our cruise. So yesterday we began the fun. We had a Potty party, did several potty dances, sang potty songs, read potty books, bought potty candy...and lived by the toilet. You are all jealous, I know!

I must report that she had 8 accidents (unless that was the leprechauns "pot of GOLD" for me) and finally went in the toilet for the first time at 8:15 pm on the way to bed. (Aana basically potty trained herself at 17 months...so I had a sneaky suspicion that this one would be challenging...just because!) Addie knows exactly what to do...she is just stubborn....but I can't give in. She just turned 2, and I am done buying diapers, so the battle begins! I will keep you posted on our progress!

I know..I know!

My blog has tanked, but I am promising a strong return. February flew by....Aana and Addison's birthdays, Valentines, our anniversary, work, illness, etc.

At this moment, Larry and I are leaving for 10 days for a cruise. The girls will be at Grandma and Grandpa's house! This is our first real trip since our honeymoon 8 years ago. We are excited and will post pics.

I promise I will redeem myself as a blogger...just not until later!

PS- Kelly, if you read this blog in the mean time...Happy birthday on March 15th. I would call you, but I'll be out of the country. I am thinking about you though!

Belated but important: Aana turns 6...and Addie turns 2!

The oldest of my birthday girls, Aana, had a birthday party this year. She had some friends over from her class at school, and it was nice to get to know some of the girls she plays with everyday. We kept it simple, because that is what Aana wanted. She loves the classic birthday party...she likes it at home, with the hokey pokey, limbo, YMCA, bingo, cupcakes...and her absolute favorite part is always the "goodie bags!" We had a great time and I think Aana enjoyed every minute!

Addie didn't get a party this year, because she is still a a little young, but maybe next year. After we cleaned up Aana's party we had the family come over and we ate dinner and celebrated a even more. The girls wanted cream puffs instead of a cake...which made me laugh! Overall we had a great day and both girls had a blast!

The Great Wolf Lodge...and the beginning of the birthday fun!

Larry had to work on the girls' birthday so we decided to leave a week early and head up near Olympia to the Great Wolf Lodge. We had been to one in Cleveland and knew how fun it would be so we were so excited when the built one here. We headed out Saturday morning and got there as soon as they would let us in the park. The girls had a blast and took to the water like fish! It made me really excited to use the pool this summer!!!

Aana also took a ton of pictures with her new camera...Thanks Lynette and Dave...she is loving it!

The girls enjoyed craft time, bingo, story time with all of the other kids, a fun birthday dinner with chocolate cupcakes...and of course, the waterpark. Addie loved the wave pool and Larry and Aana enjoyed the bigger slides. We were all exhausted by the time we spent two days there...and we loved the ride home in the new family van. (I am amazed at all that you can put in that thing!!!)

I had pictures of some of the things I witnessed. There are always the people in tiny bikinis that shouldn't be wearing them...but I was also lucky to witness a grown man picking his nose and eating it...over and over. I love people watching in large, public places, but this place was just full of entertainment!! (RANDOM...I know. That is just how I am !)

Long lost $ I never even missed...

So, I had found a link that I am sure you have all seen about searching a database for unclaimed money or property. I didn't expect in a million years that I would find anything on there, but guess what... I DID! I found a $300 check from who knows what from when I was in college at BYU...

I filed a quick claim and the check is coming my way... I LOVE that little surprise and won't let that money go to waste. I also found $5.42 owed to my dad from over 30 years ago in Texas, but there was an awful lot of paperwork needed to claim it...so we passed. I am not sure you will be so lucky...but you might as well check it out. I was pleasantly suprised!

www.unclaimed.org