Catching Up!

Wow it has been a long while, so please forgive me! So here are a few things we have been up too. I have to say also that they aren't in chronological order! Sorry!

Olivia turns 12! She love candy corn and her birthday is days before Halloween so that always works out to her advantage!

Birthday Breakfast!

Grandma and Eliza working on the cake!

12 is a super big deal....you get to wear make-up! (in limited amounts of course!)

Can you tell this is what she truly wanted....a pink camerea, it had to be pink!

Firguring out the new toy...

How better to finish a great day but with Olivia's favorate...white cake with straberries and cream.

Preschool art door! This is Eliza's first year of school and she has been very prolific with her projects!

Cute boy going off to a dance! Love the PINK shirt! I had to add this one!

MY POOR NEGLECTED BLOG

New posts coming soon. Sorry!!!

Tagged!!!

I was tagged about 2 weeks ago by Dave's cousin Jen Opp. Jen is a cool gal. She seems to have a shy and modest personality, but after reading her blog I am finding out what a great sense of humor and quick wit she has. Also she is a great writer! OK so here you are!

TAGGED-3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions, 3 facts about yourself, and tag five people by listing their names at the end of post!

3 JOYS

-a sparking clean kitchen
-that time of night when the kids are all in bed and the house is quiet and I can hang out with David!
-watching my kids gain their OWN testimony of the gospel and seeing them try so hard to choose the right and make good choices.

3 FEARS

-Bears in Yosemite
-getting the Stomach Flu
-that my children will stray away from the gospel

3 GOALS

-get my kids craft and school supply drawers organized, its a MESS
-get Eliza off the Binky She is 3 years old for heavens sake!!
-to stand in the temple with all of children and their spouses

3 CURRENT OBSESSIONS/COLLECTIONS

-nieniedialouges.blogspot.com
-bravo tv reality shows ie, Project Runway, Top Chef(my favorite and it starts soon yay!), Top Design
-talk radio (my kids are getting really annoyed!)

3 FACTS ABOUT MYSELF

-I have never lived alone
-I used to work at Disneyland
-I like chocolate way too much!


I am sorry but i don't have that many friends or family who blog and i don't know who to tag!

Garden Update

I know everybody has been waiting with baited breath for a report on our garden! Well I do not have a green thumb. I need help! We have lots of basil and cilantro, but some kind of caterpillar has suck the life out of all of our tomatoes. Every time I would take off one of those greedy caterpillars, another one would make it's way over to our poor tomato plant! Also our zucchini plant is covered in some kind of tiny, sticky black things! Does anybody have some suggestions on how to keep away the tomato parasites and the sticky black things on our zucchini? HELP!!!

look at that tomato killer!!!

Our only tomato that didn't get eaten but it still had cracks!

My Soccer Star!

Olivia started soccer about a month ago. She loves to play and can't wait until it starts every year. We have to sign up in March and they start to play in the beginning of August. It is soo hot out there when we start! Her first game was 2 weeks ago, and it was 108 degrees!!! Man it was hot! I have to say though it didn't deter her team, they won 5-0! Olivia is playing right of left mid this season and she is enjoying the new challenge, as last year she was a defender! So you know where we will be every Saturday untill November!!

Got to get that ball!

We love #15!

She's in the zone!

Way to go Olivia!!!!

My Little Kitchen Helper!

I wonder where she learned how to do this!!!

JOY SCHOOL

Eliza started preschool last week!! What am I going to do with myself for 3 hours twice a week? The first day I was very good and went to the gym and picked up groceries, but I have to admit the second day even though I was ready to go the gym and exercise I didn't go. Do you know what I did instead? I went home got myself a snack,(it was only 9:30am) kicked up my feet and watched my tivoed Project Runway!!!! I think I am going to like preschool! Actually we are doing Joy School. There are six kids and the moms each take turns, 4 lessons in a row, teaching. Eliza loves it and I am actually excited to take my turn too. I go next week, so I will let you know how it goes!

They are a cute and good group of kids!

This is Carlene, can you tell it is her turn this week?

Have fun Eliza, it's just the beginning!

YOSEMITE!!

Our family went on a camping trip with our friends The Martin's to Yosemite this past Labor Day weekend! We had the best time. I haven't been camping since I had Eliza (she's 3 1/2) and I have to admit I was a little nervous. Was she going to sleep at night, would she run off, and of course she is going to be filthy! I don't know what I was worrying about, aside from falling off her air mattress a few times, she slept great, and she was so happy being outside 24/7 she was happy staying in our campsite playing in the dirt, so needles to say she was filthy, but interestingly not as dirty as Tyler my 14 year old!!! The big kids had a great time too. It was so nice to get away from life and be outdoors. David and Tyler go backpacking quite a bit and I always stay behind with the girls, so I was happy to come along this time. Although it wasn't quite the same bringing me and the girls along. I defiantly bring more stuff!!!!

The start of the trip, the girls were so excited that they just had to break out in song! Too bad I didn't get a video.

We didn't get to our campsite until 9pm and we had to set up a new tent. Needless to say I wasn't thinking about pictures. I really wouldn't want to document us at that point anyways... it wasn't one our better moments. Soooo here is David the next morning enjoying a breakfast burrito. Yummy!

This is Jennifer. She probably won't be very happy with me for adding this picture, but I think she looks good.

I think I know why I really enjoyed this particular camping trip.....can you guess, I didn't do any dishes! Scott did most of them! Thanks Scott! Don't the boys look happy! Ha-Ha!!
Eliza lasted about five minutes in the backpack...what's up with her? I would love to get a ride!

He's a cute kid... I think I will keep him....even though he knows more than me now! Notice Eliza isn't in the backpack, that fact slowed down our walk tremendously.

Having fun on the Yosemite Shuttle.This was the only visitor we saw in our camp. Thank goodness, I was the only one who didn't want to see a bear! I forgot to change the setting on my camera, so you couldn't see his beautiful antlers!

One day we visited Toulumne Meadows. This was one spot we walked to. It was gorgeous.
Daddy helping Eliza... notice no backpack!


Slow and steady wins the race. Well not in this case!

They MADE IT! It was about a mile and half walk! Of course we had to caring back! But getting there she did it all on her own!

The two Tyler's!

We thought maybe a Christmas Card picture...maybe not! The kids looked good.

The whole gang in the shadow of Half Dome! Well maybe not the Tyler's are missing!

Thanks Martin Family, we had a so much fun! Until next time...

My Mom

Today is the second anniversary of the day my mom passed away. I want to dedicate this post to her! Mom was an awesome lady with many wonderful qualities and talents. She was a great mother and loved all of us so much. Each one of my brothers, sister and I all inherited some of her great attributes. My sister definatly inherited her abbility to be a fantastic cook among other things, my brother Scott got her real estate saavy, my brother Hal, aquired her love of reading (and they loved to play cards and gamble togather! Naughty, Naughty!!!) and me well I don't know. I know I am like her because I find myself saying things to my children, she used to say to me, and doing things the way she used to them!!!

I LOVE YOU MOM, THIS ONE IS FOR YOU!

Mom would have Christmas Cookie Day at Grandma's. The kids LOVED it.

Mom's posterity,minus Drew her second oldest grandson

Mom loved to come and help when her grandbabies arrived. Here she is when Eliza arrived!

All of the grandkids, Tyler, Drew, Christina, Emily Adam, Eliza, Olivia

Mom with her grandkids (plus a great niece!) on her 70th birthday!!

Baseball Fun!

David's work buys season tickets to the Rivercats games every season and we get to go A LOT!!! The Rivercats are Sacramento's minor legue team that feeds into the Oakland A's. David actually pays attention to game, while the rest of us hang out, chat, walk around the stadium, and decide what treat we are going to eat! I will admit I do get excited when a player hits a home run! The games are a fun family activity, we all enjoy being togather on warm summer nights, especially when there is a cool Delta breeze!

Go Rivercats!!!!

Lake Tahoe

We went up to Lake Tahoe a few weekends ago to meet some friends who are spending their summer there! We had such a great time. I always forget how much I love it there. We definatly need to go up there more often. We are only 2 hours away!!

Having fun in the boat. I love Eliza's head popping out!
Sammy(an old family friend), and Eliza taking shelter under the umbrellaEliza made some new friends! She was so excited to play with the "duckies"! Too bad they really didn't want to play with her! Those mean ducks!!!

Conner and Tyler. His mom, Karen and I were pregnant togather!
Olivia loves to ham it up for the camera! She always looks cute though!

One last look at the lake before we have to go home. Until next time!

We love Lake Tahoe! Thanks Yost Family, we had a great time!