Life's Tough Decisions

I have been putting off writing this post for almost a week now. I think I was trying to come to grips with the life changing decision Ryan and I have made for our family. We have decided it is in our families best interest to move to Utah. Now I always thought that if I got the chance to move "home" I would be so excited...well, I'm not. I think this has been the most difficult decision Ryan and I have had to make for our family so far. There was a lot of fasting, praying, and going to the temple. Although I know and have peace that this is the right decision it doesn't make it any easier. I am going to miss sooooo much!! What I am going to miss the most are the wonderful people who have made themselves a part of my life. They are priceless. I have never had such great friends. I don't even know how to tell them how much I love them and will miss them. There are not words to describe my feelings. sniff, sniff!!

We told the kids on Monday night. I was interested to see what their response would be. Ryan told them that we were moving to Utah and with out pause these were their responses (as I remember them) Riley- Cheering and really excited Hailey- "OH, I am going to miss my friends, can I have a kitty?" Sydney- "Can I have a baby chick?" Carley- Excited because everyone else was. With in five minutes Riley and Hailey were fighting about who gets to feed Grandpa's baby calves, and making plans on how to improve the tree house, and Sydney was making sure she could take her blanky and her animals. They are all so excited.

Every time I get down I go talk to the kids and feed off of their excitement. This will be a great adventure for them. I just need to find joy in the journey. I probably won't be posting much for a while due to frantic packing, and fitting in all our last wishes. When we get settled I will fill you in on the beginning of the next chapter in our lives.

Fun Friday

I have known for a while that Legoland was free the last hour of operation. You can drive right in and walk right in. Although I have known these things for some reason I have not take advantage of it. Well today that all changed. When I got home from picking Riley up from school I packed up all the kids and we went to Legoland. We had a blast!! We were a little late getting there due to lack of planning. For some reason I am doing things VERY spontaniously this week. We only had half an hour in the park, but that was enough for a lot of fun.

We started out with fairy tale brook. Sydney was loving every minute of it. Carley wasn't so sure. To Hailey and Riley this was old news, but still fun. They are both old enough to remember when we had season passes. Oh the good old days!!



Look at Carley's cute little face. Doesn't it just scream WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME MOM??? Poor little thing.

Next we visited the safari ride. Carley wasn't big enough to go on this one, but I don't think she minded. Riley got to ride it twice, onece for each of his sisters. I love how he takes care of them when we are on an outing like this. I gave him the camera, and we got some pretty fun pictures.

Isn't Riley a great photographer?!!

After that we had time for one more ride. Hailey and Riley both really wanted to go on the dinosaur roller coaster, so we headed over there. I was really hoping that Sydney was going to be tall enough to ride. If she wasn't we were going to have a melt down. She was so excited. The top of her head hit the right bar, and we were in business. Hailey cried the first time she rode this roller coaster because she was scared. I was interested to see how Sydney would react. My little adventurer, snuggled between her older brother and sister couldn't have been happier. Since they were the last ride of the day the operator let them go around one extra time. They all had a lot of fun.



Waiting to go. Sydney was so excited.



Catching them as they zoomed by.



My favorite picture of the week. Sydney getting off the roller coaster and letting me know how much fun she had.

When we got back to the car I said, "Anyone who had a good time say OH YEA!!" I think you could have heard them from where ever you are if you had known to listen. We are defently going to have to do that again. In the words of Sydney, "It was todiwy FUN!!" She todiwy wants to do it again.

After all that we came home and had a picnic dinner. I put an old blanket out on the floor and we had pizza and chips while we watched Alvin and the Chipmonks. It was a very fun Friday!!

Valentines

We didn't do a whole lot for Love Day this year. Ryan's birthday is so close to it, and with everything else going on we kinda skipped it. The kids didn't skip it though. The Monday before V-Day we used to put together all the kids valentine cards. I thought this would be a quick fun activity. Two hours later when the kids still weren't done and it was bed time, that thought was long gone. When there are at least 32 kids in each class and two to three teachers it takes FOREVER to fill out all those little cards. I was really glad we got a head start. The kids finished up over the next few days and had fun exchanging them with their friends at school. Sydney was really excited. This was her first Love Day in school. She couldn't wait to give her teacher the card she made for her. It was cute. Happy Valentines Day everyone. I know I am a little late, but we are still in February, so it still counts!!!

Quick Trip

Last weekend Becky and Weston blessed their new little boy Holland. Ryan and I had been planning on making a quick trip for the blessing before Ryan lost his job. After the job loss he didn't feel like it would be possible financially to make the trip. I really wanted to go for a few reasons 1. I felt like it was really important to support Becky and Weston. 2. I knew that Ryan would feel bad for a long time if he didn't go. and 3. Who wants to miss out on holding fun new little babies?! I was pretty resigned to the fact that we wouldn't be going when out of the blue Ryan said, LETS GO!! This was Friday morning, and I thought GREAT, only one problem. I was throwing one of the ladies I VT a baby shower on Saturday morning. We would have to leave after the shower meaning we would have to drive late into the night. Oh well, you do what you gotta do, right?! Well when Ryan got home from taking the kids to school he said the car was acting funny. He quickly took it over to our mechanic and found out that our transmission is starting to go out. GREAT!! Now we couldn't go again. We had gotten every one's hopes up, we told Becky and Weston we were coming, we told the kids we were going, and now we had to let them down. I knew there was going to be a lot of crying and fit throwing. Well Ryan called Becky and told her the sad news. I think she was pretty sad because she called back a little later and told Ryan that they would like to rent us a car so we could come. After a little talking we decided to take them up on their offer and we were ready to hit the road again.
We left our house about 12:45 pm on Saturday and got to Weston and Becky's about 1:15 am. I'm glad Ryan is such a great driver. The kids did pretty good considering they had to sit in the car for 12 hours. We stopped in St. George about 7:30, got the kids ice cream, and let them play in the McDonalds play area for about an hour to wear them out. -- Yes, I let my kids play in a McDonalds play area. I'm sure that I will have to have counseling at some point to help me come to grips with that one. For those of you who don't know, I have a bit of a McDonalds phobia. I did draw the line the next day when Ryan tried to put some of the kids in the same clothes they had worn when they played there. I told him I had to wash them before they could be worn again.-- When we got back in the car they crashed for the rest of the trip. It was pretty nice. I was very grateful that Weston and Becky's church didn't start until 2:30pm. If we didn't have kids we would have been able to sleep in. LOL!!
We did a quick hair job on Becky and got everyone ready. Weston gave Holland a wonderful blessing. The family dinner after was a lot of fun too. It was good to see Ryan's aunts Kathy and Caroline. We hadn't seen them for many years. It is always fun to get together with the Fullers. They are a wonderful family!! My kids love playing with Tamera's kids. I am a little surprised that the clubhouse is still standing after our kids got done with it. They had a lot of fun. I am so grateful we got to be there. We already miss so many things being so far away.
The kids LOVE Holland!! There was more than one fight over who's turn it was to hold him. Carley was especially attached to him. She would cry and get very upset if you tried to take him from her, and if someone else was holding him she was begging for him. Riley was really excited to have another boy cousin.

On Monday morning we left Weston and Becky's mid morning after a wonderful breakfast, --Ryan still raves about it Becky!!-- and headed out to Mountain Home to surprise Brittany. Everyone but her knew we were coming. I like surprises and thought this would be a fun one to pull off. When we got to the Mountain Home turn off I called Brittany and asked her what she was up to. She said she was playing with Tasha and the boys, Tanner and Jackson, (Tasha had gone up to "visit" Brittany so she could be there when we got there, and to give Brittany a reason to get herself and the baby ready). I hid a chuckle and said, "I want to come play." --I knew she wouldn't think anything of it and would play along because we play this game often.-- Brittany, without skipping a beat or suspecting anything, said, "Okay come on over." Again trying really hard not to laugh, I said, "Okay, I'll be there in a minute." She said she would call me when Tasha and the boys left and we got off the phone. I was really excited. When I closed the car door Brittany heard it and started complaining about more people coming to see her and the baby. --She doesn't like a lot of people around her new little one, and who can blame her.-- She looked out the window, looked back at Tasha, who I imagine is about to burst by this time, and said, "You have got to be freaking kidding me!!" She burst out the door and said, "You have got to be kidding me!! What are you doing here?!!" I looked hurt and said, "You said I could come over." It was great!!! I had a lot of fun with it. It was a lot of fun to see them too.
Tessa is SO tiny, and has SO much hair. She has as much hair as Carley does and Carley has been working on hers for almost two years now. Tanner and Jackson have grown a ton. Especially Jackson. All the kids had fun playing. True to form Sydney and Tanner enjoyed their love hate relationship. One minute they are playing great, the next they are fighting and hitting. Maybe someday they will just play nicely. Riley and Hailey had a LOT of fun being able to run outside and play. They don't get to do that here. They hardly fought at all. They would go outside, be gone for hours, and play nicely together. It was great. I hope someday they can have that at their own house. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of them outside because I spent all my time holding Tessa. My Mom made a birthday cake for Ryan so they could share in the celebration of his birthday. It was YUMMY!! That night after all the kids were in bed we stayed up WAY too late playing cards. It was a lot of fun. No one really wanted to go to bed, but we all knew we would be in a lot of trouble if we didn't. We hit the sack about 2:00am and thanks to our kids were back up and moving somewhere between 5-7:30. I'm glad my kids are a little older so I got to sleep in until 7:30. After we raided my Mom's pantry and paid a visit to Grandpa and Grandma Lindsay we hit the road again.
It was good to be able to see everyone even if it was only for a day. It was well worth the time and money we spent on it. We would do it again in a second. Either we will get a job or we won't, we may run out of money at some point, but we will never run out of the memories we made on a quick trip to Utah. Thanks everyone for your help and support!!

The Best Presents!!

December was a fun baby month for us.

On Dec. 19 Becky and Weston welcomed their sweet little boy to the world. Holland was born at 12:10 pm he weighed 8 lbs 3 oz and was 20 inches long. He has a little bit of dark hair and is so cute!! We can't wait to meet him. Riley is so excited that he has another BOY cousin.

Becky if I ever have another baby I want to look as gorgeous as you when it is all over!!

On Dec. 31 Brittany and Kreg welcomed their sweet little girl to the world. Tessa was born at 7:12 pm she weighed 7lb 8oz and was 20 inches long. She has a lot of dark hair and is beautiful. We can't wait to meet her. The girls are excited about their new little GIRL cousin (the girls still outnumber the boys).





Brittany I need to know the secret for growing baby hair. My kids have all been baled. Poor Hailey didn't have any hair until she was about 3!

Holland and Tessa were definitely the best presents we got this year!!

October Part 3

Halloween

Okay I am really done going over October when we are in December, but the kids really want their Halloween pictures up. Halloween was really fun. We had Steven here with us which made it the best!! The little girls and I went to the beach with him for a few hours one morning. It wasn't the best beach weather, but the beach is always fun. He helped the kids, especially Sydney, carve their pumpkins. He even helped me get the kids dressed and ready to go trick-or-treating. I don't know if we would have made it out the door without him. I underestimated the amount of time it takes to put make-up on three girls and one boy. Riley was a zombie soccer player, Hailey was Snow White, Sydney was a princess, and Carley was a fairy. We went to our ward trunk-or-treat the first Saturday of the month, then on Halloween our friends invited us to their church's trunk-or-treat. (We had invited them to ours too. We have similar families and have a lot of fun together.) The kids made out like bandits. I think they got enough candy to last them to at least next Halloween. Riley kept tying to bribe Steven to do his chores with his. After a few days I took it away, and we moved on from Halloween. The kids had a lot of fun carving pumpkins with Steven. Having someone visiting always makes things more fun. The kids still ask when Uncle Steven is coming back. They loved having him here. After looking at some of the pictures he took I have to chuckle and wonder why! Some of them look like he was torturing them. I know the loved every minute of it though. Enjoy!!

October Part 2

The Pumpkin Patch.

Every year we take the kids to Bates Nut farm to pick out their pumpkins, see the animals, and have a fun family day. This year was even more fun because Uncle Steven, my brother, was here visiting and got to come with us. Thanks to him we have some great pictures. I desperately need to get a new camera.
The kids each picked out their pumpkins and we went over to the animals. We went on a Monday this year because we didn't have any Saturdays to spare. It turned out to be a lot more fun. There was hardly anyone there, and the animals wanted to be fed since they hadn't been fed by the crouds all day. They were eating right out of our hands. Carley, as we have already seen, is a big climber. She had a great time climbing to the tops of the fences. She would get really mad when we made her get down. After we were done with the animals we went into the cute little country store to see what they had and get everyone a little treat. We ended up getting everyone IBC grape, black cherry, and rood beer soda. Root beer is my favorite and there was only one left. My sweet family let me have it and they split up the other flavors. We got everyone their own except Carley. We didn't think she would be able to drink one on her own and could share with everyone else. She was fine with that until she got a taste of mine. She didn't want anything else after that. I have to admit I have taught her some bad habits, she is a root beer adict. Check out what a little shlup she turned into when she got the bottle to herself. Needless to say, I didn't get anymore. So much for MY root beer. Oh well I gave it up to a cutie.

Top Fifteen Reasons we moved.

15. The sound of Silence.

Our new place is so quiet.

14. An Ocean view!!

Okay it is very far off and very tiny, but it is still there.

13. A working oven.

My oven takes about an hour or more to heat up. It will be nice to have one that can do that in about 15 min.

12.No more laundry outside!!

Hailey didn't even know you could have laundry inside. Oh sad.

11. No more Ants!!

Since the house was tented for termites we have been taken over by ants. They are everywhere. Most of the time I can't even figure out why they are where they are.

10. Definable Space.

Having a Kitchen, Living Room, Dining Room, instead of a livingroomofficedinningroomkitchen.

9. Carpet!!!

We have found you need this for boys to wrestle safely.

8. Better School.

The school the kids are in now is okay, but the one they will be in is the best in the district.

7. No more smoke.

Our neighbors smoke outside to save their kids from second hand smoke, I guess. Unfortunately it is right outside our living room window. The smoke drifts into our house and we get the second hand smoke. Yea for us! (Hear that last statement dripping in sarcasm.) YUCK!!

6. No more BIG SHIRLEY-

Great for exercise really bad for parking, or backing your car out. This picture doesn't quite catch the actual steepness of this hill. One more percentage and they would have had to pave it in cement because asphalt would slide off. YIKES!

5. No more baked Braman all-a-mode.

10:00 am, 5:00 pm, 7:00 pm
Before making dinner. After making dinner.

This will be the first time, since moving to CA 81/2 years ago, that I will have central air!

4. A window for the girls.

This has worried me since we moved in. I have had nightmares about there being a fire and not being able to get my girls out. A window will also help so they don't roast.

3. No more neighbors puking outside our bedroom window at 4:30 am.

This happened on Labor Day. The new neighbors moved in on Thursday and on Monday (Labor Day) had a roaring party that lasted until 4:30 am. It only ended when one of them puked outside our bedroom window. This also happened to be the night before the First Day of School. Although, it was kind of a blessing in disguise. If they hadn't made such fools of themselves we wouldn't have looked for a new place to live.

2. Safety.

In the 19 months that we have lived here I have put my own house on lock down twice for our safety. The police were canvasing the neighborhood on foot, in cars, and from the air. Never a good sign.

1. A better bed to bloom in.

There is a quote, "Bloom where you are planted." Usually I totally agree that you should make the best of where you are. However, I have found that sometimes when the weeds are shutting out the sun, you feel like you are shrinking instead of growing, and there is no way that your beautiful petals will ever be seen, it is time to find a new bed.

LeAnna Ng

LeAnna Ng

January 20, 1980 - August 4, 2008

LeAnna was my cousin (my mom's twin sisters daughter) and a friend. It came as quite a shock when I was told on the 4th that she had passed away. I hope she knows how much we loved her and will miss her. She was beautiful in so many ways. She had a beautiful voice, was very talented in the arts, drawing, painting, decorating, and she loved people. She was kind to everyone and everything.
The kids and I traveled up to her funeral on Friday. We got a little lost when we got into town and got to the church just as the funeral was starting. I was really sad about this. I really wanted to see her one last time and tell her good by. I know she wasn't really there in her body, it was more of a closure thing for me. My Mom, seeing how upset I was, arranged for us to go over and view her after the family dinner. I was relieved. The funeral was beautiful. Her parents gave the eulogy. Her husband Chuen spoke on the wonderful and simply gorgeous person she was. Finally her stake president, who also happens to be a cousin, Pres. Thompson spoke on the plan of salvation. It was perfect.
After the dinner we headed over to the funeral home. I was a little worried about what the kids would say and think. They had never been to a funeral before. It actually turned out, of all things, fun. She was gorgeous. She looked like a porcelain doll. What made it fun was the kids comments. We all got a good laugh, and I think LeAnna would have too. Maybe she was whispering to them what to say. Here are a few of my favorites;

Sydney- "Mommy pick me up so I can see the princess!" (LeAnna always
referred to herself as a princess).

Sydney- "She's a fairy princess!" (LeAnna also loved fairies.)

Hailey- "Mommy is she The Tooth Fairy?"

Sydney- "Mommy, Shh! You are going to wake her up!"

Riley's questions and comments were more serious opening up some good conversation and teaching opportunities.

LeAnna was a wonderful person! I look forward to seeing her again.