San Diego!!

My whole family spent a week in San Diego together. We stayed in a nice beach house just seconds away from the beach. It was quite nice. We didn't want to come home. All the kids had so much fun being kids and getting dirty in the sand.

DAY 1: THE DRIVE THERE

Oct. 14, 2007

I am not sure why it took us 8 hours to get to San Diego, but it was the longest ride to San Diego I have ever driven. We still can't figure out why it took us that long. We didn't take any long breaks or anything. Our kids were amazing in the car. They always seem to amaze me when we drive for so long. They talk a lot but they are definietly cute!!


DAY 2: THE BEACH

Oct. 15, 2007

The other 2 kids are my brother Ryan's kids, Drake and Blayke.

The first day we spent at the beach was really cold. My kids spent more time bundled in towels than playing in the sand.

Mark and my brothers in their wetsuits attempting to catch some waves.

My cute little nephews, my sister Lisa's kids, Cole, Clayton, Caden & Crew.

DAY 3: DISNEYLAND!!

Oct. 16, 2007

We drove up to Disneyland to spend the day there!! That was a fun day! And lucky for everyone, my pregnant sister-in-law Melissa and I were the ones that got to stay behind and entertain the little ones while everyone else got to go on the big rides.

It was decorated so cute with Halloween things and colors! I love Disneyland for all the fun things they do.

Dad and Elli on the Mr. Toad ride. She way too excited to drive the car.

Braeden and I on Dumbo!

Elli and I were waiting in line to see Ariel and she was posing for me so I had to take pictures. We were waiting in an hour long line for the new Nemo ride so Elli and I decided to let them stand in line for us while we went to see Ariel.

The highlight of the day was when Elli talked to Ariel. Ariel actually took the time to ask Elli questions and ask her about her hair, painted fingernails, and other things. It was quite delicious. Elli stood in the same position and answered YES to every question that Ariel asked. She was in awe of her. Ariel made Elli's day. That is all she talked about the rest of the day. I'm glad I stood in line for that. Definitely a fun thing for little girls!

The Buzz Lightyear ride. Elli and I went on this ride about 8 times while everyone else went to space mountain and other rides.

Another ride Elli and I went on A LOT while everyone went on Splash Mountain. Winnie the Pooh is probably my favorite kids ride right now!! SOOO CUTE!! This is Ryan's younger kids, Blayke and Brock. We hung with them a lot!!

My sister Kara and I !

Elli fell asleep at the end of the day!! Yippee! She sleeps with her eyes open. You can barely tell in this picture, but they were open. So adorable when they sleep!

The last ride of the day! Mark and Braeden went on Autopia. Braeden was so tired and not himself or else he would be in the driver's seat.

The last picture of the day!! Braeden and his cousins in front of the cute pumkin!

It is taking me FOREVER to post about our little trip, but I will finish later!!

In Honor of our Anniversary

Our anniversary was last Saturday. We spent all last week on Mission Beach in San Diego with all of my family and had so much fun. We went to Disneyland and Sea World and just had a blast hanging out on the beach enjoying the great weather. Our last full day there was our anniversary and we both remembered all week long. But come Saturday morning, I told Mark, "Oh, it's our anniversary, Happy Anniversary babe!!" We laughed that it took all morning to remember it and then the rest of the day, we forgot about it. It wasn't until Sunday when we were driving home that we mentioned our anniversary again. I can't believe we didn't do anything to celebrate. But it was fun being in the city that we spent our Honeymoon in. When we got to San Diego, we drove by the beautiful resort we stayed at on the bay and the yummy restaurant we ate at. It was fun reminiscing our honeymoon. But I thought since it was our anniversary, I would go back in time when Mark and I met and got married....... Here it is.....

Where did you meet your husband?

Mark and I were in 4th Ward (Singles Ward) together. A year or so before we actually met, Mark said he wanted to ask me out but he always saw me with the same guy and thought me and that other guy were dating. Well, I was always with my brother, Ryan. We always hung out and went to church, parties and whatever else together. Well, Ryan and I spoke in church and Mark finally realized that Ryan was my brother so he decided to ask me out.

Where was your first date?

Mark had this theory for first dates. Take the girl to lunch so if it isn’t working out, you just have to be with her for an hour or so. And if it does go well, you ask her out again for dinner and whatever. So Mark and I went to lunch at Mi Amigos on Gilbert and Southern in Mesa. I honestly was not too excited to go out with him (and Mark denies this, he thinks I wanted him so badly.) But I thought, it was just lunch and how bad could it go. So I went and that is where I knew something was different about that boy. (I am bound to be cheesy writing this) There was a certain point where my whole perspective changed and he caught my attention. It’s hard to describe exactly what that was. Well, the weekend after, our singles ward went on a camping trip and that was another fun time we had together.

Where was your first kiss?

It was only a week after our first date that we kissed. We were hanging out together so much. We were at his house in the living room and it just happened. That was definitely a great kiss. It was interrupted by one his roommates coming through the front door though.

How long did you date?

As crazy as it sounds, we only dated for exactly one month before we got engaged. And we married exactly four months after our first date. I went to work with him one time and I remember our conversation perfectly. We both had the confirmation before we talked about it. It was just meant to be.

How did he propose?

This is such a cute story considering Mark tried so hard to keep it a secret and make the proposal exciting and memorable. I totally knew his plans to ask me to marry him, but I tried to play it off like I had no idea. We decided to go to California for the weekend and hang with his family. Right when we got into the LA area, he took me to this mall and told me to stay in the Dillard’s store and shop for an hour while he went somewhere. He wouldn’t tell me where he was going. So we decided to meet at another store at a certain time and when I was heading to that store after an hour, I saw him in a jewelry store. I ran as fast as I could so he didn’t see me and feel like his plans were ruined. I told him after he proposed about that. But then he tried to throw me off by telling me we were going to the LA Temple to hang out so I would think he was proposing there. We ended up just going to his brother’s house instead. We went to the beach the next morning and I was going to watch him surf. (It was funny because I saw something bulging out of his swimsuit pocket on the side and I knew it was the ring.) He usually is out in the water surfing for a long time but he came back earlier than normal. When he was coming in, he acted all surprised when he saw a clam shell. He picked it up and showed me and was trying to open it. When he finally got it opened (which took a while since he super glued it shut) the ring was in there. He asked me, I cried and we were engaged after only knowing each other for a month.

When and where did you get married?

All of Mark’s brothers and his parents had been married in the Los Angeles Temple and I thought it would be kind of cool to be married in a temple other than the Mesa Temple. Plus my family got a chance to go to Disneyland the day before the wedding. We were married October 20, 2001 in the Los Angeles Temple. Such a wonderful experience that was to be married and sealed to man of my dreams!! So many friends and family made the extra effort to come to LA to see us married and that meant a lot.

How did the reception go?

Well, I was lucky and got to have 2 receptions. I got to get dressed twice in my wedding dress and get my hair done twice. The first reception was in the backyard of Mark’s parent’s home in Simi Valley, California. It was beautiful and a night to remember. So many wonderful people came. The second was at Stonebridge Manor in Mesa, Arizona. The most memorable things I think Mark and I remember the most was the mini chimichangas that were catered. We still talk about those to this day. It was a beautiful reception with so many people. I felt so lucky to have such great parents and in-laws to go out of their way to make that time in my life so great!!

How was the honeymoon?

Oh, the honeymoon! What can you say about a time where it really doesn’t matter where you go, what you eat, or how you get there, all that matters is who you are with!! We had a great time! Such a great time that I didn’t get any pictures of it. We had our cameras but didn’t use them. We spent our honeymoon in San Diego in this awesome resort. We had our own little private beach, but now that I think of it, we never sat on the beach or even walked on it. Hhhmmmmmm, I wonder why??!!

Schnepf Farms

Well, Friday night, we decided to go to Schnepf Farms with Mark's family. I thought it would end in disaster since Elli didn't get her nap for the day, but it turned out being really fun!!

The kids on the airplane ride! This is Braeden's "GIRLFRIEND" Haley. He told me that he has 3 girlfriends and his cousin was one of them.

This is our sweet Ashley who comes over to my house and picks up the kids' rooms and makes their beds for them. She is such a sweetheart!

Even though Elli barely met the height qualifications, Mark took her on the rollercoaster ride. We had no idea she would smile the whole time and put her hands in the air!!

Braeden had so much fun that when he got he told me, Dude, that was awesome. Let's go again!" He says DUDE to everyone.

Mark and I decided to go rock climbing. Mark got to the top, I only got up halfway. I got scared when the little handles didn't have good enough grips for me. But it was fun!!

On the train ride with his cousins!! Trevor, Carson and Bradley!!

Braeden has been counting to 100 lately. He gets on our computer and types all the numbers and he even counted to 200 yesterday. He is so fun when it comes to things like that. He really enjoys learning. But after he got his face painted, I looked at it and asked him why he got a 100 on his face, he told me because he knows how to count that high. He is so funny!

We had a blast there. We have been going to Schnepf Farms for about 3 years now every October! We love it. Especially their pumkin doughnuts!! MMMmmmmm...Doughnuts!!

Fall Festival!!

Braeden's school put on this exciting carnival for the students. My kids had a blast and they didn't want to leave.

Braeden attampting to do the rock wall. He didn't want to go any higher. Even though he hadn't seen any other person fall.

One of the fun inflatable slides they had!! Couldn't keep them off this one though!!

Aaaawwww!!!
























The kids tried to throw the football in the hole, well, Elli was smart and she just put it in the hole! Braeden did pretty good considering the ball was almost as big as him!!

Just plain cute!

Well almost every morning, Mark makes this fruity/veggie concoction. He adds whatever fruit and vegetables we have in the fridge and it is good sometimes. Elli loves to help him make it. She is such a mooch when it comes to thing like this.

Amazin' Jakes

OK- so Mark called me last Friday saying he was super stressed at work and he wanted Elli and I to tag along with him at work while he ran a few errands. I told him we should take Braeden out of school so we don't have to worry about going back to pick him up. So we did and we decided to do something fun! We went to Amazing Jakes since we had never been there before. That was a blast for the kids.

Braeden helping Daddy before went to Amazing Jakes! (Mark owns a Stucco company.)

Us waiting in line for the go karts!

The kids on the Frog Hopper! Their favorite ride! That was Elli first time on that ride and it was cute watching her have so much fun!

Before we left, we grabbed some ice cream cones and this is what happens when you give this girl ice cream! We had a great day except it took us 2 HOURS to get home, literally. There was so much traffic it made it impossible to go down a different route. Power, Ellsworth, and Ironwood were backed up for who knows why???? At least we wore our kids out enough that they both fell asleep giving Mark and I some time to talk without interuptions!

Keeping Busy!

Every General Conference, it is so difficult keeping our kids quiet enough for Mark and I to actually listen to what is being said. Well, our kids did good for a while. They played real nice this morning. Braeden likes to print out coloring pages online, so he printed a page for him and Elli. Well, I had to get a picture of this girl. She is such a great colorer for a 2 year old. Look at how hard she tries to stay inside the lines!! She also sticks out her tongue every time she concentrates on things like this. Braeden does that too. They get it from their Grandpa Greg!

Their favorite thing to do together is put legos together. Elli pretends to be making something cool, but Braeden is awesome at actually building what the directions say.

NLightN

Mark is in this music group called NLightN. They do a lot of firesides and some concerts. But last night they did a fireside here in Queen Creek and unfortunately the piano player, Mark Peterson, couldn't make it there. So my Mark took his place for the night and he did AMAZING!! I am not just saying this because he's my hubby, but he blew me away. Even I had no idea he could play like that! Well, all I wanted to do was to make sure he knew I was serious and that I am proud of him. All of these guys are very talented and even though I hear their music every Sunday, I never get tired of it. It brings a special spirit in our home and I am so thankful to have such a talented husband!!