Sweet Montana

Today I kept Montana home from school because we weren't sure if her eye was 100%. It ended up being fine, but I decided to take her to preschool with me so that she could come home and sleep it off (ha-ya right!) Well, I have this sweet boy in my class who is painfully shy. He doesn't like to sit by or play with anyone, and he rarely interacts at all. Well she chummed up with him within about 5 minutes of class. He just came to life. It was amazing- like he was a different person. They were the best of friends by the end of class. Then tonight, a couple of Eric's friends came by to visit for a minute. After a few minutes Montana brought them both a cupcake because she heard them say they hadn't eaten yet. Then a little later, she brought them both a glass of water. It was so sweet to see her do that with out any prompting at all. I think she has magic powers!! Like a super-hero. She cheers up everyone around her. We love her so!

Happy Birthday Justice!

Wow!! Can you believe our baby is now 6!! We sure can't. Tonight we will have a Transformers Birthday party with his friends and family. He has been out of his mind excited for this. And luckily we are all feeling much better. I will need to spray the house down with Lysol so that we don't pass germs along to anyone else.

Justice is very smart. His teacher gave him high marks at our last Parent-Teacher conference. She also said that he is quite a gentleman. He holds the door open for the girls, and makes the boys wait until all the girls have come in. He also bows to his teacher. Don't know where all of that came from- he is definately not that way at home. But I am happy that he has manners in public. He has a sweet laugh and a beautiful smile. We love to see those dimples. I still remember holding him for 3 days straight at the hospital-knowing it was my last baby, I wanted to make that new baby feeling last forever. I get teary eyed just thinking about it.

Anyhoo-Happy Birthday Justice!!

Sick, Sick, Sick!

Montana woke up with the worst case of pink eye ever yesterday. She came upstairs and looked like someone had punched her in the eye. It was totally swollen and bright red. She gets it quite often for some reason, so we had some prescription ointment on hand. It is getting better already, but not quick enough for her. She asks every 5 minutes if it looks better. Poor kid.

Then yesterday afternoon, Sierra came home early from school feeling ill. She was puking pretty much every hour. Not fun. She had to perform with her cheer squad last night- she barely made it through (we were doubtful). They looked fantastic! I don't know how she did it- but she had a smile on and did it totally full out. She was totally drained afterwards, and still sick. So we came home and she ran for more bathroom fun.

Then, I got sick. Same symptoms. More fun- had to call in sick to work, and cancel my preschool classes. That didn't go over to well. I have a habit of putting on a happy face/voice no matter the situation- so I am not convincing on the phone. This has been a lifetime problem. Note to self: Rehearse sick calls beforehand- must actually sound sick!!

Then this morning Montana woke up sick, as well as her pink eye. It's going to be a fun day. Eric is suppose to fly to Taiwan on Monday- so he is staying away from us like the plague. Wouldn't that be fun- 15 hours on a plane, holding your sickness bag. Pray for him please. Justice spent the night with Grama Laura so that he can go to his singing program at school this morning. Hopefully they don't have the gomboo. Better call and see!

Yep- now Justice is sick too! Wow! Don't come visit us for a few days unless you have a biohazard suit. :-(

Drenched in Light

I have been reading the best book series. It's called the Tending Roses Series by Lisa Wingate. I read the first three books last year when my Grama Dodie got me the first one for Christmas. Now I found out there are two more. It is definately a chick book. I can't put it down. I would highly recommend it for a gift or just a good read!

http://www.lisawingate.com/

Thanksgiving one day, Christmas the next

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We had dinner with mom, of course. She is the best cook in the world. She could open her own restaurant and keep everyone happy. The table was beautiful with china, nametags, candles, and thanksgiving decor. With every bite we were in heaven. We talked about what we are thankful for, some of the responses were: family, food, life, time, living in America, the closeness of our family, memories of each family member, and our homes. We talked about how lucky we are that we have never had a year that we couldn't have a huge feast, and how we hoped that everyone else had one as well. Sierra and Grama Dodie as well as the rest of us were there. Today, Sierra and Chris flew back down to Arizona to have family feast with their side of the family. We got a nice card and gift from Chris that thanked us for being great co-parents. That got our day off to a great start.

We came home from Mom's and put up all our Christmas decorations. It is our tradition. It goes up pretty fast. We played Christmas music and everyone helped. The kids were a flutter of excitement. This morning I did 5 minutes of shopping online and got a few things that were on sale. So I didn't have to go out with the crowds. I was thankful for that! We also went to the West Valley Christmas parade this morning. It was bitter cold. It was only 32 but the wind was cutting right through us. No snow- but it sure feels like winter. We had a fun time waving at everyone and enjoying the sights. Now Christmas is in full swing. YAY!

So You Think You Can Dance Pix

The Show!!!

The Show was AWESOME!! We were screaming and carrying on all night long!! We all got souveniers and snacks and settled in. It was a mad house of women and girls, and a few men too. We made a poster for Neil (gorgeous) & Pasha (Sierra loves him). Molly & Sierra would hold up the poster and scream their little heads off. I had such a headache at the end of the night. The dancing was fabulous, and we were happy that most of the top 20 was there, including Hok- my personal favorite. After the show we were leaving the building and I noticed that there were a bunch of people lined up behind a makeshift fence and that security was on the other side of the fence. So, being naturally nosey like I am, I asked someone what was going on. They said the dancers were going to exit the building this way. SO- we were psyched and pushed our way into a spot. They finally came out about an hour later. We got pics and all of them signed our poster. Neil even kissed Sierra on the head after Niki was shouting "KISS HER, KISS HER!!" We were like little girls. It was hilarious. So it was LATE when we left and we all were so exhausted from all the fun! So worth the trip. The pics of the show didn't turn out very good because I couldn't use a flash- but they are mostly for the memories. We will definately go again- hopefully it will be somewhere closer next year!! But visiting Arizona was awesome. The drive home was beautiful. We went right by the Grand Canyon, and through Flagstaff which was very green and forested. BEAUTIFUL! Thanks for a great time girls!!

Party in Arizona!!!

Sierra and I traveled to Arizona yesterday. We are here to see the So You Think You Can Dance Concert! Yahoo!!! We were going to drive down with Diane and Molly but we ended up flying on Continental with a buddy pass from her dad. We thought that would be a lot faster- but we ended up spending 12 hours at the airport instead of 12 hours in the car. So, we have decided to just drive home with them!

We got here and Niki picked us up at the airport. We went to the funnest restaurant last night. It was called San Tan Flats Steakhouse. It was an outdoor restaurant (Only in Arizona right!) There were picnic type tables all over with a little firepit at each one. There was a big stage upfront with a little dance floor. A live band played but it didn't start until we were really ready to leave. You go inside to order and pick up your food (and it was great food) and then you eat it outside by your fire! We had so much fun. Niki brought smore stuff and we roasted them after dinner. It was such great weather and a great atmosphere of fun and food. A great way to start off our vacation.

We came back to Niki's beautiful MANSION of a house. It is absolutely gorgeous. She is really a talented decorator and such a great host. We all had our own room and bed. She gave me a ton of ideas to decorate my own abode. So I can't wait to get back to it.

Tonight is the concert! We are so excited!! Wish the rest of my family could have come too- I sure miss 'em!

Pasta & Hairspray

Eric was doing his lodge duties for the night, so the kids and I were off for some fun and adventure. We went to Fazoli's for dinner. The kids were in heaven. Pasta, pizza, & pop. They were being so cute with each other. Tana was trying to be polite. She had to burp, and put her hands around her mouth- which she thought would make it more quiet- but it was so loud. We all just kind of sat there trying not to laugh. Silly girl. On our way out the kids set off the alarm in the van while I was refilling my drink. I heard it but I didn't think it was our car. I kept thinking, "Geez, turn that thing off!!" So it was embarrassing to find out it was me. hee hee. So it was going off for a while with the poor kids inside covering their ears. Sorry guys. We decided to go see Hairspray with my man John Travolta in drag. I couldn't stop laughing. Sierra liked it too, but Justice and Tana were bored for the most part. It is a cute show. A 5 star in my opinion. It has an 50's integration story tied in with the dancing show. After the movie Sierra said that she loves movies that inspire you to do something great. Here I am thinking she means like including all people, or being nice to everyone or something like that. Then she said " I can't wait to try a new hairstyle like the ones in the movie- I loved her dress too!" So much for deep thinking. The kids have been in a serious "Shotgun" war. You know, who gets the front seat. So after the movie, they all started running at full speed to see who would get the front. It was hilarious. They were shoving and pushing and sitting on top of each other. I have tried assigned seats, rotating seats, first one there gets it- none of it seems to work. HELP. I think we will go back to assigned seats as there are brusies this morning from last nights escapades. I love hanging with my kids.

Anniversary Celebration

WOW! We had a great anniversary! We dropped the kids off to spend the night with Grama Laura (thanks mom), and then we were off the the Armstrong Mansion Bed & Breakfast. We had a beautiful room with a jacuzzi! It was the same room we had on our wedding night 9 years ago. It was exactly like we remembered it. Beautiful!! We went to Rodizio Grill for dinner. Holy smokes- that was so good. If you like meat, like Eric does, this is the place to go. He was so funny- as the "meat boys" would come around, he was craning his neck in excitement to see what was coming next. It was hilarious. We were so stuffed. The rest of our stay at the B & B was awesome! We have had a marriage that is a constant blessing. Eric is my hero. He is always there for me. He is the one that works hard to try to iron out the roller coaster of our marriage. He loves me for all my quirkiness, mistakes, and faults. We complete each other. Although we are opposites in many respects- we fill in where the other cannot or doesn't want to. It has been a beautiful marriage. The ups and downs have made it a thrilling ride that I don't want to get off of. It is always challenging, fun, and full of blessings. I love you babe. Happy Anniversary. Thanks for putting up with me. Here's to 9 more and forever more! oxoxo

9 Years

As of the 14th, my lovely wife and i have been married for 9 years. I can't believe it has been that long. I guess life has a way of moving very quickly. In the past 9 years a lot has happened. We have had some wonderful moments and a few not so wonderful. There have been scary times. There have been bleeding children, broken bones, illness and any number of other things.

So far I have made it sound like it has been all bad. This is not the case. The good times have far outweighed the bad. There has been love and laughter. There have been vacations filled with smiles. There have been days filled with movies and popcorn. There have been weekends when all we did was sit and play games and just be with each other. As I said there have been many more good days than bad.

In the last 9 years there has been one constant in my life. That one thing is my wife. She has been beside me everyday. She is the rock that supports me. I can't say enough about her. All I think I can say is Thank you and I love ya.

Here's too another 9 years.