Aqua Chicks

I love my little waterpolo girls. I love that they play on the same team and that they have this time together. I never thought I could love watching a high school sport as much as I loved basketball, but I was wrong. I love my little aqua chicks.

Before And After......

By far the BIGGEST laugh of the day came after riding a water ride on a less than warm day....a water ride that goes straight down where you are COVERED in water....and not a little water. The picture speaks for itself.





With Grandma and counsins in town and a very special birthday (happy 18th D!!!) on a school holiday, we decided to take advantage of it and head to Knott's Berry Farm. I intended on being the official photographer - which I did. Here are a few favorite pictures from the day.

It's Christmas!!

This year Christms was on a Sunday. I LOVE Christmas on Sunday; I wish we could do it this way every year - like Easter. We had an amazing meeting with some of the best music around - thank you, Kerinda VanWagoner. We started a new tradition that I think I'm going to love. On Christmas day, we have a big brunch and the following day, we have Christmas dinner. Just our little way of making the beauty of Christmas last a little longer. This year, "K" came for dinner the day after Christmas. We had a wonderful time together.

Family Fun During The Holidays

Right before Christmas we made a mad dash to Utah for Dan's wedding. It was beautiful! We were so foruntate to be able to fit in a trip to Temple Square. Considering it had been years since I had been there at Christmas, I had forgotten just how breathtaking it is when it's all lit up and ready for Christmas. There was such a great feeling there as we all walked around, bundled up and enjoying the terrific scenery and the beautiful spirit. It was the perfect way to begin the Christmas season.






The day after Thanksgiving, I always begin putting up the Christmas decorations. This involves the dreaded Christmas tree; don't get me wrong - the tree is AMAZINGLY beautiful....once it gets up, but getting it untangled from whatever baffoon put it away the year before almost always requires a merit badge in untying knots and Judge Judy to make a ruling. It's never pretty. Fortunately, this year we had "E" who is the most calming influence any household can have. If she hadn't been around, I might have shoved the tree somewhere...and not up the chimney. Anyway, she helped from start to finish - which was more than can be said for any of our male counterparts who disappeared when they saw she had a handle on the whole thing. All I can say is, "Thank heavens for Miss E"!!!!




I LOVE Thanksgiving....it's definitely my favorite holiday of the year. To make it even more wonderful, our whole family was together this year. YAY times a million!!!!!!! We had our amazing sister missionaries join us, along with one of our great friends and former missionaries, Elder Lopez. Probably my favorite part of the day is when everyone has eaten and we're all sitting around the table, unbelievably full and we start sharing stories. It always evolves into hysterical laughter. Definitely a day I am grateful for.