He's Done - Again (Almost)

Matt walked at CSULB in May 2009 with his bachelor's degree. Then, he decided to go get his master's and credential to teach. Well, a week ago yesterday November 13, 2010, Matt graduated again - this time with his Master's Degree in Education: Secondary Teacher Education. I say he's done almost because he still has his student teaching to do in the spring but all of his classes besides the ones attached to student teaching are done! Torrey and Lou Anne were able to fly in the for weekend and both my parents came with Daniel and I to the ceremony out in Ontario. He looked all kinds of special wearing his master's hood; he looked so important! Afterwards, we took everyone out to lunch at this Philly Cheesesteak place that Matt just found and is in love with. He tried to tell all of us that we were all the reason he was able to do but we all turned right back around and told him that he was the one putting in the work. I mean hello - do you see any of us with our Master's degrees? It was such a great day and we are so very proud of him. I wish my photos would have turned out better - I've got some great blurry ones!

Halloween 2010

This year we honestly had no clue what to make Daniel for Halloween. I mean we started with an ewok and then he was Danielsan from Karate Kid so it's not like we could just follow that up with him being a dinosaur or something. We tried asking him what he wanted to be but I'm not sure he really knew what was going on so that left it up to us again. I think when we went looking, I was really looking for him to be Woody from Toy Story. They had the cheap ones at the Halloween store but they looked a little cheesier than I wanted and the real ones from Disneyland were all in boys sizes and not toddler. Luckily though, we had free disney dollars and so we went looking at Downtown Disney and in Disneyland and we found a Mickey Mouse costume. Daniel loves him some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for those of you who don't already know so we thought it would be pretty perfect for being free. But Daniel didn't want to get any of the costumes (although he did want those massive Mickey hands) and after we bought the costume, he didn't want to try it on at all. We thought we were going to have a problem on our hands but after we forced him into it, he didn't give us to much trouble.

We went to the pumpkin patch the Monday before Halloween and had a good little FHE there picking out our pumpkin. Daniel had a blast running around and didn't want to leave. When I told him we were leaving, he dashed into the hay bale maze and I almost lost him! We carved our pumpkin but I'm lame and totally forgot to take any pictures. Then of course we carved it way to early and it started growing mold. Didn't know that! Oh well, live and learn I guess right? The Friday before Halloween, my mom invited us to help her pick out a pumpkin and watch "Hocus Pocus." When we went over for the movie, Daniel had the bowl of popcorn and my sister Lindsay came over and asked him if she could have some. Without even taking his eyes off the tv, he moved the bowl of popcorn to the side of his bean bag chair so that she couldn't reach the bowl! Little Punk!

Our ward and the ward we share the building with had a Halloween Carnival on the Saturday before Halloween with cute little games for the kids and hot dogs and chili for dinner. I of course was lame and forgot the camera for that too. After the Carinval, everyone headed outside for the trunk or treat where Matt and Daniel walked around the parking lot and they gave out candy at all the trunks. 15 minutes at that and Daniel scored a ton of candy. Then on Halloween, I took Daniel out on our street for about 20 minutes trick or treating. I mostly wanted the neighbors that we know to see how cute he looked in his costume. It was kind of quiet that night though. I think we only had like 15 trick or treaters. Weird. He had a great time though and he looked so frickin cute!

First trip to Disneyland

Not Daniel's obviously. Our brother-in-law, Phil had never been to Disneyland. About a week after we left Colorado, Matt's sister Ali came into town. They just wanted to take a vacation so they thought they'd come let Phil have the exprience at D-land. Ali came in early Monday morning and we just hung out, catching her up on One Tree Hill, getting hot stone massages, and giving her plenty of Auntie/Daniel time when I had to go to the ER Monday night. Phil got into town Wednesday night after he got off work and we watched Space Camp. I always love a good opportunity to watch a classic like Space Camp. Then Thursday night was the day. First day at Disneyland. We got there at like 8:30 and just went to town on literally every ride that Daniel could go on. We didn't have to wait in a line for more than 30 minutes. It was like there was no one there! We literally walked onto Pirates. It was actually a little weird. Ali went to take a picture by the "A" in California, one in the hole and one on the side all cute and Daniel wanted his picture taken too so we put him by the hole and when we were done, he went over by the side to do the same other pose as Ali but some other people swooped in before we could take a picture. It was really cute! By 6 we decided we'd take Daniel home & have my mom stay with him when he went to bed and we went back to have adult time. We watched the fireworks and went on Tower of Terror and got home sometime around midnight.

Then Friday came and we warned Phil that it was going to be much crazier today because it was Friday and yesterday was a fluke. And we were wrong. We waited in 2 hour-ish long lines but everything else - Splash, Big Thunder Mountain, Buzz - all short lines. We had Daniel stay with my mom during the day and then we picked him up and brought him back for dinner, some rides, and the World of Color show, which was amazing just by the way. It was by far the most productive 2 days at Disneyland ever!

Saturday we relaxed and let our feet take a break and on Sunday morning they flew back to Colorado. It was really fun to spend time with them - we don't ever get to see and just spend time with just them. Thanks for coming Ali & Phil! It was fun!

Colorado Summer 2010

This year, the Scentsy Convention was in Denver so Matt & I decided that since we didn't have many other plans for the summer, we'd make a 2 week trip out of it. We got to my grandparent's in Cedar City on Saturday the 24th of July and we were able to spend most of the day with them. We were also lucky enough to have my dad's Aunt Pam & Uncle Larry & my cousin Bobby & his wife and kids in town too. I hadn't seen Bobby & Rachel since our wedding so that was a good time.

We got to Colorado on Sunday afternoon and Daniel and Brooklyn became fast friends. As we were driving to Colorado, Colton was driving to Utah and we passed each other somewhere between Glenwood Springs and Newcastle. He says he gave us the "rock on" sign with his pinky and index fingers, and I know we were going about 75 mph but it looked like he was flipping us off from the other side of the road! Lindsay and Colton were moving from Colorado to Utah, their second move in as many months, and we were lucky enough to be able to be there to help them this time. I'm totally not being sarcastic - we were happy to do it. So that's what we did for a couple of days, finish packing and getting their things out and into Torrey and Lou Anne's house for 2 two weeks. Then on Wednesday, my mom flew into Denver to come to convention & the Brinks 2 came into town. Convention was Wednesday night through Friday and it was good times getting all our free stuff. A huge shout out to Matt & the other men for watching all 10 kids while we were away.

Then on Saturday, the men went and loaded the moving truck and then picked up the tables and chairs for Ali & Phil's wedding party. With the changes last year, they were never able to really celebrate with everyone so they figured since everyone was in town, let's do it! Us girls set up and I totally went into Orange County Catering mode, fluffing, staging, organizing, replenishing, etc. It was a lot of work but it was fun! I forgot how much I actually like doing that. The party was a lot of fun. The kids had a blast just rocking out dancing - it was so funny!


The next day we had baby Savannah's blessing. After missing Natalie's baptism, we felt so bad about it and decided we wouldn't be missing anything else so important so we were glad we could be there for the blessing. Savannah looked absolutely georgous in her big poofy dress! The Brinks 2 left after that but we all went back to To and Lo's to hang out the rest of the day. The rest of the week we kind of just chilled. We were able to visit Neil, Jessica, & Ellie while we were there so that was really fun. I can't believe how big & beautiful that little girl has gotten!


We decided to drive straight through home that following Friday instead of stopping at my grandparents'. 15 hours. Daniel was actually a really good kid most of the time but I was so antsy by the 12 hour mark. It's nice to know we CAN do it but I'm not sure we WILL do it again. All in all, we had a great time and I'm glad we were able to spend so much time with Matt's family.

Watching Monsters Inc with Great Grandma Judie

Holding baby Savannah - at least it isn't from when he stuck his face into Lindsay's chest because he was interested in the whole breast feeding thing.

Kids hosing each other off from getting dirty outside

Aww! He likes his Aunt Lindsay now!

Watching youtube videos

Playing football with uncle Josh

Life is funny

No seriously, it's hilarious. Daniel's 2 now so we figured it was time to have another baby. We were going to start trying this month so that way it works out with my work. I have about a 3 month window before I would have to have a sub start my school year for me, which is awful to come back to because the first week is the most important in setting the tone for the year. And I don't have enough days in the middle of the school year. So timing is pretty essential.

Then yesterday, the day Matt's sister Ali came to town, I had severe & instantaneous stomache pain. We ended up in the ER and after a 5 hour visit, I found out I have multiple gall stones. And apparently they don't go away and you don't pass them. So I have to have my gall bladder removed. Awesome, right?

Then I went to my OBGYN this morning (yes, it's been a lovey past 18 hours) and she told me that it's dangerous to be pregnant and have another attack. Like serious problems for baby & multiple medical procedures for me. She told me not to get pregnant. Then she told me that the surgeon I was referred to is really good but really busy so it may be October before I get surgery, which by the way puts me outside of that 3 month window. So now I'm just waiting to get an appointment. I know that everything happens for a reason and Heavenly Father knows what's best for me and knows how everything will turn out but I'm not really sure how this is helping my eternal progression. Guess I just need to pray for patience and understanding and trust that things will work out.

Golf 101

Daniel has been into golf for a little over a year now. He loved watching Matt go outside and swing the clubs so he now has his own set of clubs (plastic of course). He will literally be outside all day hitting golf balls if we let him. He's actually gotten pretty good with his plastic golf balls and hits it almost every time and has a "great follow through" according to our neighbor. Well this morning was a little overcast and Matt wanted to go to the driving range so he thought "let's take Daniel too" so we did. His first trip to the driving range. We went to Lakewood Country Club since their range is usually less busy and Matt and Daniel hit balls for an hour. Daniel hit real balls so they didn't go very far but he was so freakin excited! We had to keep reminding him that he couldn't go out on the range to chase after the balls but he got the hang of it pretty fast. He was actually upset when we ran out of balls and went home and that was an hour later. Matt also found out about a junior golf camp and I'm sure he's already planning on it the instant Daniel is old enough! Here are some fun pictures I got while we were there. I think miniature golf is up next - work on his putting. But Matt and Neil aren't allowed to teach him how to putt since they play mini golf "as it lies."

Summer Fun

Angels Game: For Father’s Day Daniel & I got tickets for Matt, my dad, Daniel, & myself to go see the Angels vs Rockies game on Friday, June 25th. We like sitting out in right field so we have a chance of catching a homerun or simply just getting a warm-up ball from the outfielders. It’s obviously far from home plate but it’s an amazing view of the whole field. We went to the same game last year against the Rockies, the Angels lost, and Daniel managed to leak through his diaper and pee on me at the very beginning of the game. This year, we saw them play the Rockies, the Angels lost, and Daniel peed on me at the very beginning of the game. Maybe we should get everyone giftcards for Father’s Day next year. But it was a lot of fun and Daniel loved watching the fireworks after the game.

River: As many of you know, I grew up going to the river every year. We go for a week at a time and sunbathe, waterski, ride seadoos, read books, hang out with my cousins and family friends, and mostly just relax. Well, since getting married, I haven’t gone every year. Matt had summer school the first year so we only went for the weekend. The next year, Daniel was a month and a half old and really what was he going to get out of it except a heat rash? Then last year, Matt & I disagreed about whether Daniel was old enough (he’s just super cautious because he didn’t grow up with it – Becca & my cousin were at the river when they were only a couple of months and that was before the air conditioned trailers) plus I had decided to teach summer school. So I was super excited to go this year. My mom and Lindsay left Friday but I was helping host a baby shower on Saturday and Matt had a meeting with Elder Hales on Sunday morning (ya – the apostle. I’ll let him tell you all about that later) so we left after church on Sunday and stayed through Thursday with everyone else. We also had my Uncle Eric and Uncle Matt along with their families come which was a lot of fun since they’re about my age anyways and between the 2 we had 5 more kids under the age of 9 for Daniel to have fun with.

The trip had a couple of issues (as it seems to have every time we go to the river). First, my mom’s trailer didn’t have working water so bathroom visits were at the community bathrooms which aren’t that bad but when it’s 85 out when you get up at 8 am, you don’t want to leave the air conditioning. Then, the other trailer we borrowed didn’t have working air conditioning so my uncles and their families were in 85 degree heat at 8 am. Then the seadoo we borrowed didn’t work. Then we couldn’t ski behind the boat because it apparently hates me. Then the trailer we borrowed had the owner come get it a day early and therefore kicked my uncles’ families out so we had a super full trailer at my mom’s. I mention all these things like the trip was bad though. Seriously – we had a great time.

Before we went to the river we bought life vests for Daniel & Matt. We tried getting Daniel to put his on at the house and he screamed!!! He hated it. We were so concerned that he would never want to put on the vest and just go out in the water without it. When we got there of course though, we made sure that he knew he couldn’t go out without a parent and his life vest. Once he realized that the vest allowed him to go splash, the problem wasn’t keeping the vest on – it was getting him to take it off! We had to drag him out of the water and make him sit under the shade and drink some water.

We had a ton of fun and Daniel liked riding on the seadoos, going for trips on the golf cart, splashing with the Harris’ dogs, playing in the sand, and singing “The Boys Are Back” for everyone. For me, it was a completely different experience. I could spend countless hours floating down river, laying out on the boat, reading books, sitting by the edge of the cliff at night looking at the stars. Now I had a baby to watch out for. We had to constantly be paying attention to him, keeping him safe, making sure he was eating and drinking, trying to keep some semblance of a sleeping schedule. But even though it was totally different, I loved every minute of it. I LOVED watching Daniel love the river. Matt also had a great time going out and battle tubing. You get 2 inner tubes behind the seadoo with 2 people on one and the middle person tries to jump to the other tube to knock the single rider off. It was very interesting to watch! I have video but I don't know how to transfer from our video camera to the computer without it being a huge file.

Plus there was the added bonus of ending the trip with one of our group traditions that we had stopped doing years ago. We all used to meet at the Pizza Hut in Blythe for dinner before we all went our separate ways. This year we did it again. And they had Martika’s “Toy Soldiers” on the juke box that we played, which was also a tradition that my cousin Randy and I had every year. Hopefully in 2 years we’ll be able to go again!

Fourth of July: Matt’s favorite holiday is the Fourth of July. He says Christmas doesn’t count because Christmas is everyone’s favorite. So obviously we love celebrating the fourth. Now I love my house for lots of reasons. But I think one of the best reasons is because of the city we live in. It’s one of the few cities in the county that allows us to set off fireworks in front of our house. Soooooo excited!!! So we decided to have my family (minus Brent since he’s in San Diego – I feel like I’m always saying that) over for a bbq & fireworks. We couldn’t decide what we were going to make so we had carne asada, burgers, & hot dogs. It was pretty much awesome. Daniel & Clayton helped me decorate cupcakes which really turned into them sticking their fingers in the cupcakes and eating the sprinkles but it was fun. Unfortunately the Tows couldn’t stay long but everyone else stuck around for fireworks outside. Between my mom, Becca, & us getting fireworks, we had 2 ½ hours worth of straight fireworks. It was awesome! We got Daniel some of those little poppers and he loved them! Then he saw that we’d let him play with sparklers and that was even more awesome. I think we spent much more time watching Daniel’s reaction to all the fireworks than we actually did watching the fireworks. He was an absolute crack up! The facial expressions! Anyways, we had a great 4th and are so happy & grateful that we live in such a great country enjoying the freedoms that we do and we’re so grateful for those who serve to protect those freedoms.

This is the firework picture that Daniel made in Nursery - so cute!