Twighlight Movie Post!!!!!

Yeeaaahhhhhhh!!! My cousins wife, Jenn, has posted her pictures from the set of Twilight!! She and my cousin, Ginger, live in St.Helen, Oregon, (well, Ginger doesn't live in St. Helen, but close by)---where Stephanie Meyer's book, Twilight (the movie) is being filmed!! They got on set for over two hours and also got some pictures of scenes around town that will be used in the movie! So click on Mark & Jenn under my family blog list and scroll down until you see her Twilight post!!!!!Awesome!!

I'm A Big Girl Now!!

Marissa is now riding in style in her new, front facing, "big girl carseat"!!

Cara & Chy come to Visit!!

A couple of days after getting home from our California trip, Cara & Chy and their four children, Trent, Brittany, Abby & Peyton came to visit! Cara is our niece (from Marty's family) who is just a little bit younger than us and our kids are around the same ages so it's always fun to get together with them!! Since they live in Utah, I let Brant and Jacob skip school to be able to spend time with them...which of coarse, they had NO objections to!! We played at the park, ate some lunch, went to the Glendale Arena and walked around and got ice cream at Cold Stone, picked up food from Raoul & Theresa's (yum!!) and just enjoyed the rest of the evening together. The guys goofed around with the kids, watched some basketball game (...no clue who was playing...) and of coarse had to have Guitar Hero Battles!! Cara & I gave the babies a bath and had so much fun chit chatting and playing with the babies! We LOVED seeing them so much that we even sent them on their way with a big 'ol bag of BOILED PEANUTS!!!! Now ya'll know how much we love our boiled (bold!ha!)peanuts and that the only time we get 'em is when Meema & Peepa bring 'em to us (they brought me 4lbs to California!!YOU ROCK MOM!))...and so for us to give 'em a whole bag...well that shows our love for our family!.."We love 'em more than a fat stinky pig loves his squooshy dirty 'ol mud bath! well, just the thought of those yummy peanuts brings out the true southern girl in me!! So with that being said, I'll end with these few words to Cara, Chy & family: "Ya'll come back, now, ya'hear!"

It Was One Of Those Days

Do you ever have one of those days where any and everything you do...or TRY to do-just seems to never work out like you think it should? And not even that it has to work out exactly like you're expecting...but it just doesn't even come close?! What it really is, is that you take one step forward and three steps back! It's just like when you decide to mow your lawn so it'll look all nice and well kept. You move the dog toys and baseballs off the law and you pick up the dog poop for the day. Life is good. The mower is gased up and the lawn is ready! You rev the engine and you're off!...only to turn the mower around to find yourself face to face with your dog...starring at you while he poops in your path! You stop to clean it up while you tell your precious family member what a "bad, inconciderate dog" he is and then before you know it, you're cruzing with your lawn mower once again! It's only fitting that your beloved pooch decides to test your patience again by pooping in your path one last time before your task is complete!...yea...well...it was just one of those days!!! Tomorrow's gona be better!

Marissa's first Photo Shoot by Amy

My good friend Amy came to our house with her backdrops and did a little "photo shoot" of little miss Marissa! I LOVE the way they turned out!!! Amy's info is below for anyone who may be interested! ...and Thanks Amy!!














Bits of Life Photography
Amy Briscoe
623-332-6968

Our Trip to California

Last weekend Jacob, Marissa and I packed up the car and drove to So Cal for my Uncle's wedding! Brant & Marty had to stay home due to work, testing at school and baseball! We were so excited to get there and see Meema & Peepa (my parents) as well as some aunts, uncles and cousins!! By the time Jacob had watched two movies and listened to a little music while drawing we were there and Marissa was a well behaved little lady so the drive there and back were really kinda nice. We crammed a lot in just a couple of days and had tons of fun! We hit Disney Land one day and Venice Beach the next and the rest of the time was spent eating and having more fun with family! oh yeah-we stopped in on China town too!...an accidental detour! Here are some picts from our trip!

~~Family~~

Peepa & Rissa snuggling together

Wow Meema that's a Sour Lemon..but I Love it!!

Uncle Jimmy, , Paige (his daughter & her fiance), Uncle Steve

Jacob loves singing songs to Marissa!! He helped entertain her while we waited on our food. Thanks Jacob!!

Melody & Darby ...and Jenn in the background!



~~Venice Beach~~




~~Disney Land~~

Jacob was Soo excited to be at Disney Land! We have been to Disney World several times, but he was too young to remember, so for him, this was like his first time!
Me and my cousin, Erin. It was so fun seeing and spending time with her!!!
The Three Muskateers back together again!!! Me, Melody & Erin had so much fun with each other and our kids!

I wasn't sure if Jacob would like the swings or if he'd hate them...but he really wanted to try, so we did! ...and he LOved it!!

Jacob becomes a Jedi Knight!!

Jacob's Highlight of the trip was being trained and sworn in as a Jedi Knight at Disney Land!! He, along with several others were chosen to be trained. He took this responsibility VERY seriously (and believe me, you could see it in his face how serious he was!)! As his final test, he fought Darth Maul with the light saber routine that he was taught. At the end, he threw in a couple of his own moves...including trying to throw Darth Maul across the stage with THE FORCE! Everyone loved it and cheered him on!!

I think I'm becoming obsessed!

Ok-so all I have done so far with my blog is get it started, make one slideshow and then this is only my second post!!! In doing these three things I have already succeeded to #1-not put baseball clothes in dryer early enough for Marty and Brant (meaning they had to wear 'slightly damp' uniforms to Thurs nights game) #2-I totally didn't even think about dinner one night...although I might have gotten by 'undected'-by declaring it "Pizza Night" and #3-I made us late to a Money/Finacial Seminar last night that we swore we were going to be early to! So, I'm realizing that I need to learn to find the balance between my normal everyday 'stuff' that has to get done and all of this blogging 'stuff'! I'm not only spending time working on mine but I'm spending more and more time spying on all of your blogs as well! And to matters worse, I totally dreampt (is that a word? Is it spelled right? If it's wrong replace dreampt with dreamed)....about it last night! All I remember is that I put a picture of a yummy looking brownie (triple chunk) on my blog and my blog blew up into a million pieces! .....this, my friends, is a sure sign that #1--I'm craving Chocolate! and #2--I'm officially becoming obsessed!! If Marty discovers the depth of this obsession, then I'm sure it's back to scrapbooking for me!! I need go get the kids ready for church now so when Marty gets home from his am meeting at church, he'll never suspect that I have been blogging...besides, I'm going to attempt to be on time today!!!

My First Post!

So I'm finally starting our family blog and I'm so excited about it!! In a way I feel a little overwhelmed about it all...this whole 'blogging' thing can be a little stress inducing at times, I think. And then I think of all of your blogs and how cute and fun and creative they are and just hope and pray that our blog doesn't just totally suck! Non-the-less, I shall enter into the blogging community with shoulders back, my head held high and nothing but creative juices shall flow through my veins!!
For all of our beloved friends who we have not seen in several years, I'll just list some things that we as a family have experienced in the past five years since we've left our hometown:
---We moved far, far away, built a house, Marty started his own Bi-Lingual Speech Business, Hulk-pet gerbil dies & gets thrown in dumpster (funny story), Jacob had near drowning, Brant starts playing baseball, Tiff takes pottery classes, Brant adopts our dog-Max, Jacob escapes again from house and is found on sidewalk of busy street, Marty called to Elders Quorom Pres again, Tiff grads from Nail School,many trips to Utah, Nevada, California & all over Arizona, ward splits and Marty's back in Elders Quorom...again, adopt a pyscotic BOY puppy, Lindsay tells us it's a GIRL puppy, GIRL puppy "goes to live with nice little ol man and little ol lady", and last year we welcomed our beautiful baby sister-Marissa-into our family!! So that brings us up-to-date! Marty is still contracting into schools but in a different district this year, still serving in Elders Quorom Pres (smile)& coaching Brant's baseball team. I quit working at the Salon when Marissa was born and am staying home now. I am a teacher in RS and LOVE it! Brant is in the 4th grade, playing baseball, pitching some which he is excited about, playing piano and enjoying Scouts. Jacob is in the 2nd grade (mainstreams into reg ed class most of the day!), loves to write and draw, just finished his bowling league, and enjoys scouts. And finally, our little smiley face chubb nugget, Marissa, is climbing up the stairs and pulling up on everything! She has been such a joy to all of us! ok-- so thats it for now...that's all. I will end this entry so that I will something to say on my next one (heehee)! TTFN (Ta Ta For Now)