Family Update

Well, I thought I would give all of you a quick heads up with the family news lately. There has been a lot going on around here.

Rinar's dad is very sick right now. He is currently hanging out at a hospital in Murray, Utah. They did a biopsy on his lungs and everything looks good there. However, tomorrow (hopefully) they will be doing a brain biopsy to see if he has an inoperable brain tumor called gliomatosis cerebri. It is pretty yucky. We are hoping for the best, but planning for the worst.

Rinar went up there today with his older brother. They will be staying for a while, relieving a few other siblings that have been there over the weekend.

Rinar's mom is hanging in there pretty good, but if it is not too much trouble, please remember them in your prayers. I am sure they can use every prayer you send their way.

Rinar's dad is a man of great faith and obedience and he has been very calm through this entire ordeal. I am grateful for his example.

Rinar is doing really well and has a positive attitude. I have quite an amazing husband, but you guys probably knew that already.

Anyways, thanks for all of the well wishes and love. Family and friends mean everything to us and we are so grateful for how you have all touched our lives in so many ways.

I will keep you posted with any news I get.

Disneyland is a Happy Place

We just got back from Disneyland. Two days at the happiest place on earth. We had a lot of fun. And more importantly, we survived!!! Just me and Rinar and 5 kids...3 of them being 2 years-old and younger. It is a miracle, I tell you.

The first day was spent exclusively at Disneyland. Raef and Zach were old pros and did great, had lots of fun and never got tired...so their story is pretty boring. However, Eli is a more interesting topic of conversation.

Here he is in the morning. He was doing great. He got his picture taken with Pooh while his brothers rode Splash Mountain a couple of times.

He wasn't too fond of Pooh or Eeyore and would bury his head into his shoulder. Julia was ambivalent.
He loved the Dumbo ride...yes, so much that he wouldn't get off of the ride. No way, uh huh! Then he tried to run away from me, so I had to throw him over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
He settled (?) for a picture of Dumbo in the consolation cab. Can't you see how happy he is?

We did lots of the rides for him and he never really saw a need to wait in a line or get off the ride when it was done. It took a bit of convincing and pulling, grabbing, and tackling to get him to comply with the rules of the park.

The best experience with this was when I took him with Raef and Zach on Autopia and he had a complete meltdown. Complete...I mean complete meltdown. But somehow we muddled through. So day one was over and we headed back to the hotel for a BBQ and swimming. Eli loved the swimming part of our trip. The first night he had a hard time saying goodbye to the pool to go to bed. It was a violent and riveting goodbye. Needless to say, when we let him swim again we were fearful what his reaction would be, but he did loads better and walked out docilely when we were done.

On day two we went to California Adventures. We had never been there before and it was a lot of fun. The morning went perfectly for everyone. Eli was more used to the routine and did great getting on and off rides. I was greatly relieved.

Raef and Zach got asked to play musical chairs in a little street show and it was very funny. The guy asked Raef how he thought he would do and Raef responded, "I don't know. I might lose." That's the spirit Raef! I am so proud of that can-don't attitude.

By the way, he did lose in a nail biter in the end with some punk 10 year-old girl. Okay, punk might be a tad bit of an exaggeration.

Then we hit a couple more rides. The day was drawing to a close. Rinar took the boys on them as Eli was too small to go. So we just waited for them...

Eli was such a trooper, as was Harry.


You know they say that Disney is the happiest place on earth.

I totally agree.


It is so happy, it just makes Eli cry tears of joy.

Okay, well do you think it might be time to go? Yes, we bought them all HUGE lollipops to top off a sugar-filled day. It turned Eli's frown upside down real quick. I put him in the car with that lollipop. Then when we stopped in Barstow for gas, his face was so caked with sugar that even his eyelashes were plastered to his face. He slept to Barstow...and then he was awake all the way to Las Vegas!!!!


and then 8.8 miles from Las Vegas look what happened...

All I can say is...I survived Disneyland.

Look Who Came For a Visit

My beautiful sister Heather came up from Phoenix and stayed with us for a few days. We had a lot of fun. We went to breakfast together and then did a little bit of shopping on Saturday. Then she so magnanimously babysat for us and our neighbors so that we could go to a Valentine's dance at church.


Then as she was leaving I mentioned that I lost my sunglasses (again) and she gave me one of her pairs. It's Coach. Only the best for my sister...and for me.

Love you, girl.

Happy Birthday Eli

My little guy is now 2 years old. Wow, how time flies. We had a fun little birthday "party" for him. I invited Justin and Lindsay and their crew and also a new family in our ward...Cyntha and Sean (or is it Shawn...hmmmm...) and their two little boys.


I made a super-healthy Mexican feast with turkey burger and whole wheat tortilla shells. There were no leftovers, so it must have been pretty good.


Then Eli got his cookie cake. You knew it would have to be a cookie cake, right? He blew out one candle and then got all shy on everyone and didn't want to blow out the second one. He finally did. He is quite a little character these days but truly the joy of my life.

.

I am very blessed.

She's Marrying Who?!?!?!?

Well, we went up to St. George today for Aislinn's wedding. She decided to get married on a Wednesday because of the cool date that will always be associated with her union... 2/10/2010.

Get it?

And Wednesday is always a great day to get married. Weekends are so overrated if you ask me.

Anyways, the wedding was getting ready to start and Zach was sitting in the back of the room {thank goodness!!!} when he saw Grandpa walking Aunt Aislinn down the aisle. He blurts out, "She's marrying Grandpa?!?!?!?!"


Enjoy.

Ah, love is in the air.

A Covenant Day

Today was one of those wonderful days you don't ever want to forget. My little guys were baptized. It was a sweet day.

***

I spent several hours doing lots of cooking, because Rinar's family drove down from St. George to be a part of their special day. Everyone could make it except for Lani, due to pregnancy things.

Anyways, lunch was at 2pm and we ate French Dip sandwiches, sweet pork sandwiches, hot spinach artichoke dip, cowboy caviar, and guacamole. Everyone seemed to like the food and there was lots of it. I now have leftovers for my dinner co-op, so I am set.


Rinar got the kids there 30 minutes early and I was able to get myself and the other three there 5 minutes before it started. When I walked through the doors, Raef ran up to me in his white jump suit, wearing a ginormous grin on his face. It really struck me: my kids are really getting baptized!

I did my best to keep the day as low-key as possible. I didn't want to be stressed out trying to do too many things. My strategy worked. I didn't feel any contention or angst about anything, so I felt spiritually prepared for their big day. It was important that I feel this way because I gave the talk on the gift of the Holy Ghost.

I think it went well and I felt the spirit. I hope others did too.

This first part of the meeting was in the sacrament room. Zach and Raef were baptized along with Trevor M. and Madeliene N. There were a lot of people there. Trevor's mom Carolyn gave the talk on the Holy Ghost and my sweet nieces Lindy, Bryn, Bethany, and Mary Jane sang a baptism song. It was adorable and really brought the spirit to the meeting. When we finished with this part of the program we went into the room with the baptismal font. They invited all of the children to the front to watch. Unfortunately, there were a lot of kids and it pretty much blocked the view so I couldn't see very much. There was a mirror on the top of the wall at an angle, so I could see the tops of their heads, but not much else.

Then we headed to another room to do the confirmation. By then, the injuns were getting mighty restless. Our ship had entered stormy waters. In other words, it was not the most reverent confirmation I have ever been to. However, they both sat in the chair very reverently, folded their arms, and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. There were a lot of men in the circle with Rinar: Grandpa, Nordel, Lyf, Dustin, Rich G., Stan, Rich M. Oh, I have a feeling I am forgetting someone. Who?

After this, we went back to our house for cake and ice cream. I had an awesome, fancy cake made for the occasion. One layer was marble cake and the other was yellow, with a lemon creme filling. Zach picked out the flavors when I ordered it.


My house was a zoo! Crowded, chaotic, and crazy. (How do you like that alliteration?) But it was so nice to have so many of our friends and family over to celebrate.


Life truly is about the people you love, who share their lives with you.

I know that I am so blessed and grateful for the people in my life.

Thanks to all of you. I am blowing you kisses right now.

Rediscovering Annie

My kids have discovered the movie "Annie". It is in our DVD player in the car. This was the very first movie I ever watched. I L-O-V-E-D it. I was Annie. I would sing all of the songs everywhere I went. I would act out the different scenes in movie and it was all so real in my head. I could understand her and relate to her. She was me.

Obviously, I could not understand Miss Hannigan. She was the most awful, horrible lady in the world...a true villian.

But now, I feel bad for Miss Hannigan. As I have listened to the movie play repeatedly in the car, I came to a new realization.

I have become Miss Hannigan!

I am an over-worked, bedraggled lady with sagging breasts and a bad hair-do. I yell all the time and my face is usually contorted into a furrow of disgust when I look at my kids. Or I just sigh in despair, "I surrender!"

Remember the beginning of the movie when she tells them, "This place better shine like the top of the Chrysler building or your backsides will." I think I talk like that to my kids everyday. And they cower briefly and then go on their merry ways because they know I don't really mean it.

She sings woefully, "Little girls, little girls, everywhere I turn I can see them"

Grant it, I don't have little girls, but just substitute girls for boys and this will really make sense for me. Everywhere I turn, I can see them, too.

"Night and day I eat sleep and breathe them"

Yep, I sure do that these days.

"Little cheeks, little teeth, everything around me is little."

Amen sister!

"If I ring little necks, surely I will get an acquittal."

I would acquit her...no doubt about it.

"I'd have cracked years ago if it weren't for my sense of humor"

Ain't that the truth.

"Some day I will land in the nuthouse, with all the nuts and the squirrels. There I'll stay tucked away till the prohibition of little girls."

I think I was seeing squirrels yesterday, for sure.

Poor Ms. Hannigan. Poor me. Of course she does get to ride on an elephant at the end of the movie, so there must be a happy ending for me as well.

My Olympic Challenge is Awesome

Well, my Olympic Challenge seems to be working great. I have lost 7 pounds so far and I can definitely feel the effects of my hard work. For example, I wore my pre-pregnancy pants yesterday. They were a little snug, but still fit nicely with no muffin top.

Today I put on some pants I procured at Deseret Industries that fit me, but were snug when I bought them. Now I feel like I need a belt. They are quite loose. It is such a wonderful problem to have, I tell you.

There are only four more days left for this first challenge and then we take one week off and start again. There are a lot of my other friends who have also had a bit of weight loss by participating. It is so great to do this with friends and see them be successful. It makes it worth it even more.