Hello!

Hello friends! I have been wanting to do this update for a long time. It seems like the further I get behind, the harder it is to start again! I will try really hard to keep up to date from now on. After all, I do have a lot to say!

I have attempted to put together some of the major events of the last 5 months. Get ready...this is going to be a long post.

Mr. T started taking piano this fall and he loves it. He has the BEST teacher and she makes it very fun for him. He loves being able to learn a song and then play it faster and faster. He had his very first Christmas recital and did such a great job! He had all his songs memorized and played them perfectly. It was fun to watch him & see how much he likes applause!

Miss S had the opportunity to travel with her dance group to Disneyland and dance down mainstreet in the "Dance the Magic" holiday parade. It was an amazing experience and is something she will always remember. It wasn't without drama though! After practicing for almost 3 months (and I won't say how much it cost), it almost didn't happen. Her parade happened to fall on one of the rainiest day in Southern California in the last 10 years. It literally poured all day long. I mean all day.

She left in the early afternoon for backstage practice and we waited to hear if they would be allowed to dance in the rain. As the afternoon went on, we learned that the first parade of the day was cancelled. She was supposed to be part of the introduction to the second parade, and as time got closer they cancelled that parade also. But they were still going to let the girls dance if the weather improved. We waited and waited. I was getting text messages every other minute with news... "on hold", "starting in 10 minutes" and then the last one said "they are just going to walk and wave." Just then we looked down the street, saw them coming & they were dancing! It was one of the happiest moments. The street was lined with families of all the dance groups (no one else would wait in the rain!) and there were not many dry eyes. It was as if the skies parted and all our prayers were heard because it didn't rain at all until the girls were done. It really was magical.

We got to spend a couple of days at Disneyland with our friends the Kirkpatricks & we loved it! The kids had a wonderful time together and enjoyed every minute. We are glad to have spent this vacation and made some great memories with them!

Some highlights were...

*Seeing the Christmas decorations

*Miss H getting to go on all the big rides. Her favorites were Tower of Terror and Space mountain! She is so fun!

*Seeing the "real" Santa

*Watching Miss S. dance down mainstreet & surviving the rain

*Getting our matching Vans

*Mr. T making his own remote control car at RideMakerz

*Caramel apples, beignets, churros, gumbo...

We took one day and had fun driving around LA. We went to the American Girl store - a must from some members of the family. We saw the Princess and the frog movie, which was a big hit! We also went to the Chinese theatre, walked along the "Stars" and met some interesting characters. Then we went to Cheesecake factory in Beverly Hills. Great day!

Miss S got to perform in two local parades to prepare for the Disneyland parade. She danced in the Downtown parade and also a night parade. It was so fun to watch her. She did an amazing job and looked super cute in her costume. She loved sharing this experience with one of her best friends!

I love a guy in uniform, especially this one. Mr. T was so happy to earn his Bobcat and is enjoying scouts a lot. He is happily working towards his next badge! And you might have guessed my new calling...don't I look great in yellow?

We had Indiana Jones, Belle and a scary bride at our house for Halloween. They were sure cute! Miss H really got into it this year, running from house to house. They all loved spending the night with their cousin Olivia!

Do you recognize the "scary bride" dress in this picture? It was my very fancy, Jessica Mcclintock 8th grade graduation dress! Yes, that is me, braces and all. I think I have seen that hairstyle again lately... retro 1990.

We had to take a trip to our favorite pumpkin patch. They had some nice big pumpkins this year! It is fun to see the kids take pictures in the same places for the last 6 years, they sure have grown!

Mr. T turned 8 this year and was preparing to be baptized in our church. These are some of the pictures we took for his big day. Isn't he handsome!
He was baptized and confirmed a member of our church a couple of days after his 8th birthday We had family fly in from Utah to spend the weekend with us and be there for the baptism, which was a lot of fun. It was a special day for him and we are so grateful to all those who shared it with him! We are also very proud of him and the important decision he made to be baptized. He is an amazing son, brother and friend. He is sweet, thoughtful, smart, funny and very unselfish. We love him so much.

We had a new addition to our family! My sister had her third little girl and we all fell immediately in love. Can you blame us? She is so beautiful.

One of the highlights of the year was when I got to meet "my band", Collective Soul. I can't even explain how excited I was. Pete and I went to San Francisco to see them play at the Regency ballroom, a beautiful and intimate venue. We got to go backstage right before the concert and meet the guys. They were really cool and talked to us for a couple minutes until they were whisked away by the band manager. Then we got to go upstairs and stood front row for the concert. These pictures show how close we were, no zooming used! I even got a guitar pick thrown at me from Will - he saw me, threw it all the way across the stage and it hit me in the head! I loved every second. They put on the best concert ever. I am excited because I get to see them again in a couple weeks! Yes, I'm a little obsessed. Go listen to their music and see how great they are!

Miss S had another great soccer season with her team! She has been on this team for 5 years and has played with some of the girls for 6 years now. They are so cute together. They work so well and genuinely like each other. Not to mention that they are really good. They always end up winners! I love the bottom picture, it perfectly illustrates how they feel about each other!

The kids looked so cute and were very excited on the first day of school. I can't believe they are starting 2nd and 5th grade! They have awesome teachers and are looking forward to an amazing year.

Miss H started her second year of pre-school at Miss Cathy's. She was so excited to get back and see all of her friends and be in class again. She loves her teacher & thinks learning is so fun. We are so glad she gets to go to such a great school.

It was time for Miss H to get a haircut...I put it off as long as I could! I loved her ringlets. They were amazing and I knew that when I cut her hair they would be gone. But she needed it, so I cut her hair (and cried as I did it). The ringlets are gone, but there is still a little curl at the bottom. I have to admit that her hair looks much better and she immediately looked older!

In July we went to Kauai with all of my family for two weeks. It was heaven. We had the most incredible time and find ourselves wanting to go back almost daily. We loved the island and found a lot of favorite spots. We feel so grateful to be able to spend time with our family in such a remarkable place. We can't wait to go with them again!

Some of our favorite things from this trip were...

* Finding "secret beach"

* Shaved ice!

* Pete & the guys scuba diving

* Going on the helicopter ride

* Watching the giant turtles at Queens bath

* Going up to Waimea canyon

* Exploring the island

* Spending time with family!

Miss H decided to be daring and get her ears pierced while in Kauai. I thought she was kidding at first, but she wasn't! So we found a store and she picked out some cute pink jewels. Luckily they did both ears at once because she was shocked. She was very brave though and didn't cry! I love the middle picture - it shows her right after the piercing and she is trying so hard to control herself! She looks so cute.