Big Rocks & Big Tractors

 Disclaimer:  I took these photos with my phone...so they are not the best.

Today, Brody and I made a quick stop at Uncle Mark's job site (their lot for their new house), on our way home from the store.  Uncle Mark told us that he had uncovered some serious boulders while he was grading.  So, we checked them out today!

 We also had to jump on the tractors too!

Brody said that this one was just the right size for him, cause he could reach the pedals!

 

This bad boy was HUGE!  And Brody said it looked plastic (like a really big giant toy tractor!):

It was a short and sweet little trip AND we got to see Uncle Mark and Michael too!  Good Day!

SWTCW Season 4 Premiere Party!

 This year, our party was a little bit more low-key.  I have been so busy planning my parents surprise birthday party and working and dealing with some migraines, that all I put together this year, was a cool dinner.  I opened up the Star Wars Cookbook and took the "Tie Fighter" dogs recipe, but made X-Wings instead.  They turned out pretty good and the kids loved them!

 I made a fruit salad and named it-"The Force Fruit Salad".

 And then we had to have our favorite-"Yoda Soda".

 Here's the party crew (minus Brody & Luke), enjoying the Star Wars yumminess:

Cali, Chloe, Gavin, Aaron & Max

I can't remember too much about the show...my head was killing me and these kids are so loud, it was hard to follow.  But the kids had a great time and I'm glad I could pull something together to make the night extra special.

Mormon Tabernacle Choir 9/11 Tribute

10 years ago...

I don't know if I ever wrote down my feelings on that day.  I know that I was living with my parents in Vista and Gavin and I were playing in the kitchen of my parents trailer.  The phone rang and it was my friend Shauna Woolf.  She asked if my brother, Gavin and his, Shawna were ok.  I had no idea what she was talking about.  She told me turn on the tv.  I turned it on and saw, to my horror the 2 towers blazing.  I froze and watched as the rest of the horrific events took place the rest of the morning.  What seemed like hours, was only minutes.  I was able to get through to Gavin & Shawna in NY and know that they were ok.  I cried a lot that day and the days following as all the stories came out.  I felt such a love and pride for my country....and I was a little scared too.  I was pregnant with Cali and fearful of the world I was bringing her into.  

I know that this Country was set aside for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to come forth.  I know that it exists for those of us who love God, to worship Him freely.  I am grateful to live in this Blessed Land and remember today, those that gave their lives to protect those who died and continue to fight and risk their lives to protect our freedoms.

Renewal of Faith Is Needed

Ten years after the harrowing events of September 11th, President Monson remarks on the incredible turn towards religion and spirituality that took place after the 2001 terrorist attacks, but notes that as the collective grief healed, this renewed faith waned. The spiritual lessons of sorrow were forgotten. President Monson makes his comments in a Washington Postseries that asks some of the world’s most influential religious leaders how September 11th affected faith and belief. Read the complete essay.

Heavenly Father Is Faithful to Us

Though His children may sometimes forget Him, President Monson says, Heavenly Father never forgets His children. President Monson urges all people to continue to look to our constant God for guidance in all conditions.

“If there is a spiritual lesson to be learned from our experience of that fateful day,” he says, “it may be that we owe to God the same faithfulness that He gives to us. . . . We too should be with Him in every season.”

President Monson admonishes that destruction and tragedy should be seen as a chance to rebuild our lives with God in our hearts and minds—“we must speak to Him, listen to Him, and serve Him.”

"Power Outage Day"

What do you do when school is cancelled?  YOU GO TO DISNEYLAND!!!  Or at least, that's what we did.

 We only went for 6 hours, because we had a birthday party to get to at night.  But we got to do so much because it wasn't crowded.  And the weather was perfect!  We started out at Disneyland. 

 And after my most favorite ride on Star Tours so far, we headed over to California Adventure.  While Cali & Gav were on the Rapids, I took these 2 over to the Wilderness Trail.  We've never done that before and they had so much fun!

 We had to ride the new Little Mermaid ride and it was so cute!

 And look at all my cuties on the King Triton Carousel!  

I love hangin' out with these 4!  I would like to thank the SDG&E employee who screwed up and shut off the power, so that we could have this fun day!  Thank You !!!!

BLACK OUT 2011!!!!

Yesterday around 3:45 PM, all the power in San Diego County (& parts of OC, Mexico and AZ), went out!  5 Million people were without power!  As the news people kept saying..."It was Historical".  They originally predicted that we wouldn't get power until some time today.  So, we got out all our candles and flashlights and got ready for our night.  We had so much fun!  For dinner, the kids ate all the ice cream we had, because that was just going to go bad.  Plus, we BBQ the chicken we had in the freezer, so that it wouldn't go bad.  Luckily, I have a gas stove, so that I could make rice and beans to go with it.  After dinner, once it was pitch black-everywhere, we used the candles and flashlights while we played board games and read books.  My MP3 player was charged and my speakers are battery powered, so we had music too.  So, before bed, we grabbed our flashlights and had ourselves a little dance party.  SDG&E held a news conference and announced that all county schools would be closed today!  Hurray!  The power came on some time in the middle of the night and the kids were up around 6:45-so excited that there was no school!  POWER OUTAGE DAY!  It was such a fun night, I hope we can do that again soon.

Labor Day Mini Moon

 We had a 3 day weekend and no soccer games, so Jeremy and I decided to escape to LA.  We stayed in the cutest little hotel in Glendale (The Brandwood).  We got there pretty late on Friday night and tried to sleep in on Saturday, but my internal clock had me awake at 7:15 (dangit!).  We strolled through downtown and found a delicious restaurant called "Foxy's".  The breakfast was amazing!  I had a yummy omelette and Jeremy had Cinnamon Roll French Toast! 

After a late morning nap, we ventured out to Griffith Park.  First stop - the carousel.  That place needs a little TLC, but it was neat to see.

 The organ was totally cool....

 And here's a picture of me looking at a bench that Walt Disney sat on:

 I really liked this tree....

 We drove through the park and headed up to the Observatory.  It was packed with people getting ready for a "Star Party".  The view from up here is amazing and so is the observatory itself.  We walked all around the outside and roof, and then headed in for some exhibits.

 Here's my weight on the moon...

 Here's Jer's...

Up at the observatory, you can see the Hollywood sign really well.  We thought about hiking up to it, but we were worried it would be dark when we were on our way back down.  So, this is our sign pic:

 I had a list of things I wanted to see in LA.  So, we headed downtown to the La Brea Tar Pits. 

 It was really cool to see!

 LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art), was our next stop.  I really wanted to see the Tim Burton Exhibit, but Jeremy was too cheap.  Oh Well!  So we played with the free exhibits outside.

 My Ox:

 I'm a Rabbit!

We also went inside the Ahmanson Building to use the restroom and Jeremy got in trouble for playing with a sculpture.  The security guard told him that "you're not supposed to touch things in a museum".  It was funny!

Sunday was a very interesting day.  I had wanted to find the "castle" I always see off the 5 freeway when passing Glendale, but could not figure out what or where it was.  So, after a late morning brunch at Porto's (OMGosh-the best bakery!), we headed in the direction of where I thought it would be-and we found it!  In a Cemetery!  Or rather, a Memorial Park.  This is the Grand Mausoleum at Forest Lawn-Glendale.

 When we first drove up, I wasn't sure if pictures would be appropriate.  Then we found out that this place encourages it.  This park is a celebration of life, not death.  The whole history of this place is so neat.  Check out the website for all the info., cause I can't write it all here.

 We spent the whole afternoon visiting the Glendale and Hollywood Hills Parks.  There was a beautiful presentation about Leonardo DaVinci's Last Supper Painting inside the Mausoleum.  And we got to walk around a little bit.  The Architecture is amazing!  It's a replica of some cathedral in Italy.

 We got to drive through the arches and head up to another amazing building-The Church of the Crucifixion-Resurrection.  We watched another cool presentation about the largest painting ever done of the Crucifixion.  And then one about a painting of the Resurrection.  

 This is the Church of the Recessional.  It is so cute and surrounded by beautiful gardens and tributes to the poet, Rudyard Kipling.  Ronald Reagan married his first wife, Jane Wyman here.  It is a replica of some famous chapel in England.

 Over at the Hollywood Hills Park, there's a whole tribute to our American Heritage and History.  Here's a replica of the Old North Church in Boston that Paul Revere rode out of.

 George Washington Memorial...

 Birth of Liberty Mosaic...

 Abraham Lincoln memorial...

 Who knew we would find so many neat things in a couple of cemeteries?  There was so much more to see, but we were kind of getting burnt out....so we headed back into town to check out:

 This is LA's own "Diagon Alley".  There are little shops set up inside that resemble those found in the Harry Potter books and movies.  We had so much fun playing in here and getting little gifts for the kids.

Death Eater

The Hat Shop

The Great Hall

The Wand Shop

The Book Shop

The Robe Shop

 This is such a fun place for Harry Potter fans!  Even Dobby is there to greet you!

 And we couldn't leave without the the latest issue of "The Quibbler".

We finished our weekend with meals at cute little restaurants we found along our way.  We took the coast home on Monday and even stopped in Manhattan Beach for some surf and sun.  It was a great weekend and cheap and close to home!