Outnumbered 2:4

Where did the summer go?

2011-07-19T12:40:00.000-07:00

Summer was filled with Swim Lessons, Library trips, beach trips, and driving mommy and daddy crazy!

Here's Micaela going into the First Grade

Alina going into Kindergarden

Rylee starting preschool (yes I cried for days)

And my Christian who refused to take a picture going into the second grade! I miss these kids when they are at school but love it after a long summer break when they do!

Completely out of order

2011-07-19T12:32:00.001-07:00

So I was trying to post from where I left off and managed to create a mess. Excuse it. I'm making one of those bound books. I'm hoping I'll be able to adjust it there.. Hopefully all of you are well.. Enjoy!

Micaela my 6 year oldl ittle lady

2011-07-19T12:21:00.000-07:00

Turning 6 Means TWO cakes!

2011-07-19T12:20:00.000-07:00

She wanted a Hannah Montan Guitar and Purse

Not my best work but my Micaela Leila Girl loved them!

She's one happy little girl. LOVE HER!

Going to Disneyland

2011-07-19T12:17:00.000-07:00

She was the happiest little bean this day, eating churros and popcorn for lunch,

Riding the horsey

and riding ont he teacups over and over and over again!

and eating another churro!

Lady Antebellum and Tim Mcgraw

2011-07-19T09:02:00.000-07:00

For my Birthday Jesse took me to see Tim Mcgraw

When we were dating he used to bust out the ole' guitar and play Tim's songs for me...

I felt like a pretty lucky girl!

Beach: Our happiest place on earth!

2011-07-19T08:59:00.000-07:00

Early summer = freezing cold waters

But they're tough!

Lovin our family time...

Happy Birthday Rylee You're three!

2011-07-19T08:56:00.000-07:00

For the longest time Ry was and still can be honory

She's the baby so she get's her way most the time

But we love our little Girl whether she wants us to or not!

Utah Trip with Daddy

2011-07-19T08:52:00.000-07:00

Means having lots of fung going places

Decorating Easter Eggs with Uncle Dane and Aunt Beth

Going for Pizza at a cool Pirate Place

having so much fun we fall asleep in our popcorn at the movies!

and even squeezing a little friend time with cousins...

Santa Ana Zoo

2011-07-19T08:15:00.000-07:00

One thing we all enjoy is going to the zoo cause theres elephants...

Slides...

and lot's of laughs!

Finally...

2010-02-16T09:28:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning came and went...

all the anticipation...

flashes before you in a blink of an eye...

Until next year.

Christmas Lights

2010-02-16T09:27:00.000-08:00

Off to go see the LA Temple Christmas Lights

Not to much going on this year at the temple

but pretty all the same

Christmas Decorating

2010-02-16T09:24:00.000-08:00

This year I literally let the kids do all the decorating

Usually I am one of those people who has a "designer tree"

So letting go of that was not easy

I ended up with the best looking tree and the happiest little kids ever.

Puppy Love

2010-02-16T09:22:00.000-08:00

Meet Kitty our poodle mix

Yes he's a dog

Kinda funny when you call him ," here kitty kitty"

And out runs a puppy!

Costumes

2010-02-16T09:21:00.000-08:00

Alina was supposed to be a cheerleader but decided to be a punk rock fairy instead.

To be honest I cannot remember what Christian said he was going to be but as usual he didn't dress up.

I was a witch/ vampire

Rylee was Dorothy

Halloween

2010-02-16T09:19:00.000-08:00

Making Popcorn Balls

and carving pumpkins

Happy Halloweeeny!

He's 7!

2010-02-16T09:17:00.000-08:00

For Christian's Birthday we took him to Disneyland. I'd love to write about how we went on all the rides and had so much fun but this kid is an old man!

We literally rode Indiana jones and Pirates of Carribean and he was done.

We ate churros and popcorn and went home. We had to force him to go to eat as well.

He had fun but he's a little homebody and hates to travel further than grandma's house.

I should be happy about that right?

We love our little fuddy duddy!

Missing Tooth

2009-09-13T16:43:00.002-07:00

he wiggled and jiggles until it finally came out...
he was excited for the toothfairy to come and come she did.
with a $1.00

Vegas Babies

2009-09-13T16:41:00.002-07:00

Arriving in Vegas looking at all the Hotels.. they thought they were hot stuff

We took them to the M&M and Coca cola factory, the Shark Reef museum and dinner of course

then just hung out by the pool and lazy river the next day. We had a fun time with all these crazy kids we have!

Pink Cupcakes

2009-08-16T20:13:00.000-07:00

Four years= cupcakes

Alina wanted pink ones with cherries and lot's of sprinkles.

I try very hard to make things as equal as possible... and so every year when the kids turn a certain age they get the same kind of cake as the other kids at that age.. crazy I know!

But it actually makes it a little easier for me and when they're older they won't ask why so and so had this over them...
(well i hope anyways)

Isn't she a doll?

Big shoes to Fill

2009-08-16T20:04:00.000-07:00

Literally...

Alina and Rylee love wearing my shoes...

Good thing I have lot's of them...

Rylee is Alina's little shadow....

And Alina loves having someone to blame it on...

Rylee Chanel

2009-07-08T15:04:00.000-07:00

She is not a smiley girl when it comes to pictures... or anything really. She's always been a very serious little girl

She's TWO and today was no exception on smiles!

Each girl has a disney princess they collect Rylee's is Belle yes she's a beauty but more so a little beast with a temper!
Hard to believe with this face!

Alina Isabelle

2009-07-08T15:01:00.000-07:00

She picked out her own outfit just so you know... she's our little miss priss!

She's FOUR!

Every year i have the girls take a picture in one of my dresses...this is one of my favorites so far!

I carried a wAtErMeLoN

2009-06-28T09:14:00.000-07:00

It was the summer of 2009... when everybody called me Audrey and it didn't occur to me to mind...

this was the summer I took my sister to see Dirty Dancing... and I didn't think I would ever find a guy as great as Johnny...

But Billy stole the show with his amazing voice I almost got Penny's Autograph... and I'll never forget...

that NOBODY PUTS BABY IN THE CORNER!

(Yes I am the biggest nerd ever!)

Disneyland with my Minnie Mouse Princess

2009-06-28T09:13:00.000-07:00

June 23rd, 2009 My little Ali Cat turned 4!

and ever since Micaela went to Disneyland for her birthday she couldn't wait... we got up early and she didn't waste any time.. she put on her tinkerbell costume first but decided to go with a 2 year old Minnie Costume.. and i didn't tell her otherwise.. this was her special day...

we spent allll our time in fantasyland riding rides... she did not wanna see the princesses or get her face painted..she wanted to spin and spin and spin...

At the end of the day this little princess was on cloud nine she told me she loved me and gave me lots of kisses.. which she never does!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALI CAT I LOVE YOU SOOO MUCH!

Aliso Creek

2009-06-28T09:12:00.000-07:00

Just our weekly Beach trip...

Dad makes the sand castles...

Kids Destroy the sand castles...

Mom plays in the water (she's part mermaid).... Man I love living in California!

Making the Most of being Old...

2009-06-28T09:10:00.000-07:00

So for my 23rd.. (cough cough) birthday i planned 3 day extravaganza filled with hot air balloon festivals, lake gregory with the family and dinner at disneyland.. but as luck would have it the weather did not approve... plans were changed and i was not a happy girl...

I hypernated most of the weekend staying warm and dry and sulking all the while...

Lucky for me I have a friend whose parents own a cake shop and were going to be making my cake... but since i had no plans they asked if i would wanna come do it myself...

I got to see the tricks I got to play around and make it myself.. the cake was tasty the cake was cute...

and at the end of the day i ate a big huge slice!

Happy Birthday Adriana!

2009-06-07T07:59:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my girl is growing up so fast! Yes, today Adriana celebrates her twenty-something birthday....how old you ask? I've been sworn to secrecy. But here is a happy birthday to the best wife and mother we could ever ask for. WE LOVE YOU!

Baseball and the Beach

2009-04-22T17:31:00.000-07:00

Angels vs Red Sox...

Aside from the fact that the Angels lost... it was a good game! Picture this... bottom of the ninth, bases are loaded and angels are down by one.. 2 outs and 6 foul balls later Angels lose the game 4-5...

but the weather was great the seats were good and we had a blast...

Victor and Sara sporting their gear....

Lucky for me after the game Jesse was feeling young and spry and took me to Crystal Cove...

We ate at the Beach Comber cafe and I walked on the beach then it was up the stairs to the Shake Shack....
I love this guy

San Diego Yoga Tour

2009-04-11T22:47:00.000-07:00

I have been planning my Yoga Tour since last September and waiting for the perfect time to go and try out different studios in San Diego. Finally after months I got to go!
I woke up way to early and drove down for Yoga in the Park.

I had about an hour and a half (my longest break of the day) before my next class so i decided to go for a run around Balboa park

This place is amazing, they have museums galore, a theatre, the botanical gardens an organ pavilion a japanese friendship garden etc...

So i ran back to the car grabbed my camera and enjoyed snapping pictures

I hated to leave but I was there for yoga... I'm sure people think i'm crazy but I love trying new styles of Yoga and learning what I can. I just soak it up. I took a Kundalini Class a Bikram Class (which kicked my butt by the way) and still had another class to go.

So after a nice rest and a hot shower we were ready to paint the town and eat some good food!

We didn't even get lost... well not really and luckily had made reservations before hand!

We went to a restaurant called Portugalia for a Belly Dancing show were the Shimmy sisters were performing... they are pretty amazing and yes that is a real snake!

We "only" had to wait an hour and half for our food but luckily we barely noticed with the show our appetizer and there house bread... Our food was sooo good though it was worth the wait, well except for Beth's her's was weird!

After our meal we got a delicious chocolate cake with a cream filling and a really soft chocolate icing topped with raspberry's!

When we left the restaurant we decided to stop for hot chocolate at Denny's where we sat and talked till 1 when we headed for the yacht.

I had such a fun time with these girls! And finally went to bed around 2 after getting reprimanded my Beth's 14 yr old son! Unfortunately I had to leave by 6 am to get back home in time to teach my yoga class while the girls went to Extraordinary Desserts for breakfast... this place is amazing and i am still extremely jealous!!!

See....

Bet you're jealous now too!

Disneyland

2009-04-11T22:01:00.000-07:00

On Caela's bday i got to take just her to Disneyland. We had such a fun time riding the teacups, getting to meet some princesses, eating ice cream, riding the teacups again...

It was by far her most favorite ride... she kept telling me to go faster and faster and i had to close my eyes in order not to puke.

She was a little disappointed the Ariel was nowhere to be found but was happy to meet Cinderella Jasmine and Belle...

She was the happiest little girl after getting her face painted and thought i was a pretty cool mom too!

Happy Late B-day Caela

2009-04-05T11:43:00.000-07:00

It's been pretty crazy around here with birthdays and spring break... This was Micaela's Birthday cake... she loved it except she said, " Mom she's supposed to have red hair like ariel!" and i said "Yeah but this mermaid has blonde hair like you" she looked at me and said, "That's yellow-ah." and walked a way... gotta love her attitude..

She was so excited that her best friend Audrey could come over for her party

These were the lips off the mermaid

Best Friends

Seaworld and BBKing

2009-01-11T18:27:00.000-08:00

(Brian, Beth, Dane Penguin, Lexi Alina, Micaela, Jesse and Me)

Xmas was hectic, we had a wedding in utah in which it took us 30 hours to get to due to the nasty storm.
Family dinner after family dinner cookie exchanges and shopping galore.
Everyone got what they wanted the kids got more than they needed and we enjoyed every single minute of it.

Before the year was over we had the chance of using our seaworld passes one more time. It was Saturday morning and we got everyone ready, except Christian didn't wanna go he said it was too cold and he would stay with Grandma and Grandpa. I tried everything to get him to come but he didn't want too. He's such silly little old man. Rylee wasn't feeling so good so Grandma said she could stay too.

We had a fun time just with the "twins" though it felt kind of weird with only two kids!

We watched the Dolphins, ate strawberries and creme funnel cake, popcorn and cotton candy, walked around some of the aquariums and finished our trip with the Shamu Holiday Show.

December 29th Jesse and I went to the House of Blues in Downtown Disney to see 83 year old BBKing.

His opening act was Chris Pierce a really good singer whom I had never heard of, but really enjoyed .

Then came BBKing he had so many stories to go along with his songs
It was pretty cool to see this living legend!

It took about an hour after the concert to get our car from Valet, we ran out of gas when we were about two miles from the gas station... didn't get home until close to 2 am. But had a great time all the while!

Happy Holidays

2008-12-15T20:56:00.000-08:00

Every year we take our Christmas pictures in front of Jesse's parents fireplace, we either dress up the kids in Sunday Best's
or coordinating outfits... one year we even did matching Old Navy Fleece Sweaters.
This year I told the kids we were taking pictures and to pick out their favorite outfit...

That was a dream come true for these two

Christian had his heart set on Jesse's sweater and Rylee didn't care

Unfortunately for Jesse that rule didn't apply... yes i picked out his outfit cuz if left up to him...
well we just don't wanna go there.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Southern Belles, Corpses Brides and Pirates Oh My!

2008-11-15T14:40:00.000-08:00

Gansta-

Just postin some pics of our fun halloween costumes... Hope you Enjoy

Fairy Princess-

Jack Sparrow-

Corpse Bride-

Southern Belle-

And the invisible man Jesse-

Our Halloween was a week long celebration, including carriage rides, brain digging for swords (don't ask) and our wards Trunk Or Treat. The kids had a blast Jesse got lot's of candy... and I'm fearing dentist visits.

These are busy months for everyone and we look forward to hearing how everyone's holidays are spent. Happy Holiday's

I'm so proud of you mommy!

2008-11-04T20:45:00.000-08:00

Christian asked me this year to make a pirate ship and a treasure chest... so i did! When i was finished Christian wrapped his arms around me and said he was so proud of me for making two cakes for him.

I couldnt find his pirate figure so he put a little bond guy instead.... it worked.

I can't believe he's Six..

Happy Birthday Baby I hope all your wishes come true!!!!

Rylee Chanel 18 months

2008-10-08T09:01:00.000-07:00

If you know Rylee, you know that she does not smile when you want her to... she's stubborn! You could sit in front of her for hours trying everything ... anything to make her laugh and she'll just look at you (just ask Grandpa!). And then there are times where she is sooo silly she'll be laughing her butt off. Well picture day is no exception. We looked like idiots trying everything. The photographer, me, Jesse, Micaela, Christian and Alina without luck. Well we did get a little smirk out of her. She's adorable in her little red dress and we love her! She's saying all sorts of words now and can count up to eight in Spanish staring with "No no." instead of uno. Her new trick is sticking her finger in her nose, pulling it out and saying, "Ewwww!" And she hates wearing diapers too... she'll take off her pants and her diaper and run away from you when you try to put it back on. Last night I resorted to putting tights on her because she can't take those off. I'm hoping this means she'll potty train easy like Micaela!

This is fun...

2008-10-01T21:25:00.000-07:00

1. As a comment on this blog post, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Don't Mind the Sweat...

2008-09-21T21:24:00.000-07:00

1:50:49:7

So I didn't get pictures of me during the swim (thank goodness)
or the Bike... but here I am coming in from the run waving at the kids. I'm not sure if I'm smiling or grimacing.

For those of you unaware last Saturday I competed in my first Sprint Triathlon.
I swam half a mile in brown murky water, I biked 14 miles of ROLLING HILLS and I ran 3.1 miles.

(Me, the kiddos and KC)
This event isn't for the weak at heart.
At one point during the bike, my chain locked and I had to get off my bike
and try to get it out, I nearly lost it but was saved by a nice gentlemen who got out of his car to help me. I missed my goal by 5 minutes but still came in 8th in my age group. Not bad...
I want to do it again but FASTER!

Here's some more...

2008-09-12T12:48:00.000-07:00

Didn't she do Amazing!!!! She totally captured their personalities

Impromptu photo shoot

2008-09-12T12:40:00.000-07:00

So I have a student at school, sEmily she's the editor of the "Aviator" our yearbook. Last week at school we had a pancake pigout. Emily was there taking pictures and since my kids are too stinkin cute... she couldn't resist. Here are a few... Needless to say I booked her to take our family pictures at the end of this month...

Micaela "Mickey" My kids call her... Is the ring leader and with her wild hair.. Peter pan.

This is Christian's favorite pose...

Alina is my little model.
Rylee was sleeping

Where did you go?

2008-09-11T09:13:00.001-07:00

No, we haven't died.......yet anyways. I'm sure Adriana will be all over this blog thing in the next week or two. I'll be at the BYU-UCLA game in Provo this weekend, and Adriana will be doing her sprint triathlon. She's been training for the longest time for it, so she'll be kickin' booty. I've been practicing my screaming at the refs for the upcoming game (no swearing, I promise!). Immediately following the game I will be watching USC dismantle Ohio St. I'm not sure where I'll be watching the game, but no doubt you will find me in front of a TV somewhere.

Las Vegas= Bad Haircuts

2008-07-07T18:45:00.000-07:00

This last Wednesday I was lucky enough to get to go to Las Vegas with my friend KC.
We got a room at the Monte Carlo and tickets to a Natasha Beddingfield Concert.
It was Hot Drive, but after a not so quick stop at the Outlet mall we tackled the road and made it just in time to get ready and head over to the House of Blues.

Too bad we couldn't take pictures in the concert becuase it was awesome, The Veronicas are sooo awesome live and if only I could sing like Natasha. Unfortunately Kate Voguele (sp?) didn't show and no one knew why. It was a blast.

After the concert we went to the Eiffel Tower Restaurant for Dessert. It was closed. But just our luck the manager let us up to look around and said he'd try to get us some desserts.
The Desserts and View were amazing.

The next day we went to the spa were I got a massage. Then we hit the pool until 12:00. We checked out and made our way home...

On our way home Jesse called to warn me... Christian had decided to give his sisters a haircut

I'm not sure if you can see in the pictures how bad it is, but he didn't just cut a few here and there, he cut out chunks of their hair. I knew they would have to go super short in order to get evened out.

I'm thinking they thought it would fun to have their big brother cut their hair but I'm pretty sure they are not to happy with him now.

I took them in as soon as possible to try and get it fixed. Micaela sat perfectly still and I'm afraid she liked going to the salon a little too much.

Alina did not like it at all, so they were only able to even out some parts the back still looks really bad. But here are the end results...

And I guess Micaela forgives Christian.
Not sure if Alina does though...

Alina turned three...

2008-06-27T20:29:00.000-07:00

It's June 23rd and I went for a bike ride early in the morning before the kids got up.... Well when I got home they were up alright and had decided to make a special birthday breakfast for Alina but instead of getting down the salt they got down the food coloring.. And well they decided to Hulk out...
Food coloring comes out of the carpet it wiped off the floor but on kids it leaves a green sheen that only comes off after a few showers... So needless to say we postponed her birthday pictures...

Here is her princess crown cake she asked me to make... not the best but I think I'm getting a little better.

It was a fun filled day with lot's of birthday requests that ended up with a pizza party followed by cake and Ice cream

I was hoping that now that she's three she would no longer be a terrible two... I think it got worst.
But we love her...

Crystal Cove

2008-06-14T23:15:00.000-07:00

Friday me and the "twins" went to the Crystal Cove state beach. It's the best beach and I love it. This beach is dedicated to perserving history. Lot's of 1920's movies were actually filmed here and recently the historical society came in and renovated cottages for the public to rent out. It's super hard to get reservationS as they book seven months in advance and sell out within five minutes. So we just went for the day but one day...

Regardless our day was fun; we played in the water and found a crab. We let him go and dug treasures in the sand for awhile,we had lunch at the beach comber cafe and then played some more. Before we left we walked up the stairs for shakes at the shake shack and then took the tram to our car.

We had so much fun.

(Just coloring.)

(At the beach comber cafe waiting for lunch that came with frozen bananas...yum)

(Shakes from Ruby's Shake Shack)

I had to bribe Alina to take a picture with us with Shakes... See previous picture.

(This is the Beach Blanket I made out of towels)

(Photography by Alina)

(Micaela loves pictures, Alina does not)

(Just kickin' it.)

Go Granny Go!!

2008-06-08T16:28:00.000-07:00

We started the evening with a quick shopping trip, where Jesse bought me a purse and picked out some perfume for me. (FYI Miss Dior Cheri smells really good)

Then we met his family at Chevy's for dinner (soo good)
And then since I was feeling a little ancient Jesse took me to K-1 Speed an indoor go cart track
in hopes of making me feel youthful

It was a lot of fun racing around the track but when we left I felt more like a granny....

See... the track attendants kept making me pull over so others could pass me by. Apprantly I was going to slow!!

I even think Jesse lapped me as well as everyone else on the track !!!
We had a lot of fun though.

Happy Birthday to me!!!

2008-06-08T16:20:00.000-07:00

So I'm 25!!!
And I feel old!!!

But regardless this is the cake I made myself.
It was an orange pineapple cake with coconut cream cheese frosting... yum!
(Those are dried pineapple slices on top)

SeaWorld

2008-05-17T18:04:00.000-07:00

Every year we get fun cards for Sea World and go about a million times. The girls are obsessed with Shamu and the Dolphins and I'm in love with Pineapple Pete's ...

While Christian can't get enough of Clyde and Seamore's Risky Business I can't get enough funnel cake...

The drive is far and the day is long but it's worth it to see their smiling faces when Shamu jumps out of the water...

I have two more weeks of work and the kids have a little less than month so needless to say we are on a count down... I can't wait for summer!!!

Rylee's 1 year pictures

2008-05-07T00:21:00.000-07:00

Being the procrastinators that we are, we waited until almost a month later to get Rylee's 1 year pics taken. She's normally totally straight faced, no expressions. But this trip she really opened up, which was nice. I still think she has a career in Poker, but I don't think Adriana will let me do that to her.

The traditional picture wearing mommy's dress.

Her concerned look.

Oh yeah, she's hot stuff and she knows it!

Happy Birthday Rylee

2008-04-14T21:42:00.000-07:00

I can't believe our little Ry Ry is 1 year old.

We had a little Birthday Party for her today and this is the Hat Cake I made for her

And she was such a little lady about eating it, she didn't even dig into the piece we gave her. She loved all her outfits and presents and so did her sisters...

Spring Into this

2008-04-14T20:44:00.000-07:00

So I'm going to play catch up... first with a couple of Easter Pictures

Of my adorable kids and hottie husband.... aren't they cute!

2008-04-14T20:43:00.000-07:00

Now Spring Break... we started our week with a trip to the park where we had a picnic lunch

Chased the ducks...

and where I tried to keep track of my four kids plus my niece Lexi... Jesse thought I was crazy for going by myself

But it was a blast...

2008-04-14T20:42:00.000-07:00

When the wind picked up and cut our play time short though we decided we needed to take a trip to Nubi's (my favorite place in town: A serve yourself Frozen Yogurt shop).

The next day we picked up our new puppy Tonks... Short for Miss Nymphadora Swan Tonks.. (the kids couldn't decide whether they wanted to name her Miss Swan or Nymphdora Tonks, let me rephrase: The Girls couldn't decide. We're still working on the whole compromise thing with them)

Wednesday we left the puppy the desert and Jesse (he was taking a class) for the beaches of Santa Barbara

Where we went to the Ty Sea Center a really cool museum on the pier..

2008-04-14T20:41:00.000-07:00

While we were there we got to pet sharks and hold spikey things like this, They even have a life size gray whale and her calf hanging from the ceiling (that I think is glass blown.)

After the museum we took a stroll over to Mother Stearns Candy Co. and stalked up on candy

For the ride... Let me just say this thing is harder than it looks especially when two people are pedaling for six. But we pedaled up and down the beach for a while and the kids loved it. They kept saying faster faster... (probably becuase we were going ridiculously slow)

Thankfully the kids were spent after dinner and pretty much passed out once we got to hotel.

They woke up Thursday morning ready to roll and rested up. So we headed for breakfast on the beach... and ate yummy California Burritos and Orange Juice Pancakes at the Shoreline Cafe...

2008-04-14T20:40:00.000-07:00

Then literally a stones throw from the ocean we set up our stuff

and just played in the sand for a while...

It didn't take long for the kids to start asking when we were going to the Santa Barbara Zoo

And meet up with their cousins... the monkeys!

2008-04-14T20:36:00.000-07:00

The coolest thing about this small zoo is that you can feed the giraffes. The kids loved their big purple tounges...

So after a fun filled day in the sun we packed up our stuff and headed home.

The only thing that could have made it better would have been having Jesse there. I'm glad that my friend and babysitter Kacy was there with me, I just hope my kids didn't scare her off from having kids of her own someday.

The Little Nermaid

2008-03-11T06:18:00.000-07:00

Sunday was Micaela's Birthday She turned Four!!! I can't believe what a little lady she is. Saturday night my sister treated us to dinner and the ballet. Micaela and I ate Chocolate cake for dinner and after we went and saw the Little Mermaid, or as Micaela calls it the Little Nermaid.

(Me and Micaela)

She had so much fun watching Prince Eric and all the characters dance, but she never took her eyes off Ariel, and when she wasn't on stage she would ask me where she was, constantly.

(MJ and Micaela)
Everyone there kept telling Micaela how cute she was I swear this little girl makes friends wherever she goes.

(A Cril Micaela a Seahorse and Me)

After the show some of the characters came out and she was able to take pictures with them and get their autographs. She was so excited.

(Sebastian and Micaela)
As soon as the show was over she wanted to see it again. We had to convince her that Ariel had to go to sleep so she settled for a little mermaid doll and mermaid crown.

Rylee 9 months old

2008-02-04T19:41:00.000-08:00

Rylee turned 9 months old on January 14, but we put off taking her pictures until now. She had a cold for about two weeks, plus the weather hasn't been the best. But today Adriana couldn't wait any longer and took her. She is the hardest kid to get to smile, so this is what we had to settle with. The first two pictures were the closest thing to a smile. Either way we still think she's the most beautiful baby in the world.

Long Time No See

2008-02-01T11:50:00.000-08:00

It's been a while, but we haven't fallen off the face of the map like most people probably think. We're just staying busy with life. Here's a few pics of the kids, hope you enjoy!

Rylee loves this piano. Put it on one of the thousands of demos it has and she'll dance forever.

Girls having a pajama party.

Christian taking an upclose pic of his mug.

Rylee loves oreos.....isn't it obvious?

Santa Came!

2007-12-30T19:37:00.000-08:00

Well, Christmas has come and gone, and the kids loved every second. As usual we spent Christmas Eve with Adriana's family. We first went over to her grandma's for the traditional Christmas Eve get together. Afterwards Adriana's mom and sister came over and we opened up presents. On Christmas day the kids were kind enough to let us sleep in, but not too long. They tore through their presents, but were most excited about their bikes. We usually go over to my parents' house afterwards, but this year we invited my family over for Christmas dinner. We opened up more presents before dinner, and by the time we were done with our 3 sessions of unwrapping we had 3 big trash bags full of stuff and a garage packed with cardboard boxes. What a day!

One of Christian's favorites....a Venom mask with web shooter. He used up the entire can of "spider web" that day. The entire house was covered in it!

Here's Micaela showing off her new ride. Nobody gets more excited about Christmas than her....she's just as excited about her presents as others opening theirs, and she wants to help you open them!

Alina got a brand new baby doll.....one of many she actually got this Christmas. She loves babies and takes as many as she can fit in her arms whenever we go somewhere.

Rylee just enjoying her first Christmas. With that smile she'll be getting whatever she wants!

Christmas 2007

2007-12-23T21:41:00.000-08:00

Well, another year is coming to an end. This has been a good year, full of ups and downs, but one event stands above the rest. In April we welcomed our 4th child into our little clan. Rylee Chanel has been a the sweetest baby we could've asked for. She has 2 older sisters and an older brother that love her and want to help her with everything. She looks just like her sisters but with dark hair. Christian turned 5 in October. He has loved going to preschool with his sister, and loves being in primary. His favorite thing right now is any transformer he can convince his grandma to buy him. Micaela will be 4 next March, and loves going to school with her older brother. Hard to believe this next Sunday will be her last in nursery, but she is Ms. Sunshine and makes friends with everyone she meets (scary for us as parents!) Alina is.... well, Alina. She is Ms. Mayhem, and chaos seems to follow her where she goes. But she makes us laugh with everything she does, even if it takes a while to stop being mad. And nobody gives hugs like Alina! Adriana and I just celebrated our 6th anniversary and we can't believe how fast time has gone by. Adriana is working with students at risk of dropping out of high school at Excelsior Education Center, and being personal progress leader in young women also keeps her busy. I will be testing for my insurance license to become an agent in January, and am in the Elders Quorum presidency. We're expecting big changes soon with us switching roles of who brings the bacon and who cooks it (although Adriana does more cooking than me, I'll admit). It hasn't been easy but we've grown to appreciate what each of us does for this large, young family of ours. We are blessed with more than we deserve, and continue to see those blessings daily. When all is said and done, we have our eternal family and can't ask for more. We hope all our friends and family have a great holiday season. Thank you for your love and friendships.
Love, The Redmonds (Jesse, Adriana, Christian, Micaela, Alina, and Rylee)

Wicked

2007-12-05T06:40:00.000-08:00

My beautiful and my most favorite sister took me to see

Wicked last weekend.. It was amazing

Aren't we too cute!!

Thanks MJ for Wicked and the Spicy Basil Noodles.. Love you!

Decorating for Christmas

2007-12-05T06:35:00.000-08:00

As usual the girls are goofing around while...

Christian decided we were taking to long to decorate the tree

So he rounded up whatever he could find and decided he'd do it himself

Finished project... I helped!

Getting Ready For Church

2007-12-05T06:31:00.000-08:00

Having girls is so much fun... They love to primp and prep and it makes me laugh... To bad it never lasts long!!!

Unwanted House Guest

2007-11-11T18:01:00.000-08:00

Well this week was pretty interesting for me, not only was I home the whole week but so were most of the kids. Usually Christian and Micaela go to school from 8-11 every morning but this week Christian had two dentist appt (he can thank his dad for bad genes on that one) and Micaela had a cold then Impentigo a very commmon bacterial infection that spreads when skin is broken, and since she had a cold and a very raw nose form her mom constantly wiping the snot off it, it spread. Everything under her nose her cheeks and a little on her foreheard was red and bumpy (I tried taking a picture of it but it didn't come out in any of the 100 I took)
Alina was Alina never phased, always active and kept me on my toes. Rylee had a cold and broke her first two teeth.
Busy, Busy. So needless to say I didn't get to decopauge Micaela's bed but I did manage to catch "the" mouse who I have to say was very smart but 8 glue traps and a complete spring (technically fall) cleaning later I suceeded, I also got to hang out with a good friend who is moving.. Chanel what am I going to do on Wednesdays from now on?

Happy Halloween

2007-10-29T22:30:00.000-07:00

Pictures before the ward Halloween Party, where they had a lot of fun and ate way too much candy.

Little Lady Bug.. also know as Bugaboo

Alina what does a cowgirl say, "Yeehaw cowboy"

Are you Miss Swan Incognito or Captain Jack Sparrow? "Umm just a pirate mom!"

He has a knight cosutme that he refuses to wear.. Like father like son!

Christian Turned Five!!!

2007-10-29T22:15:00.000-07:00

Here are his Kiddie Kandid Shots, he got up on the platform and hammed it up...

Back in May Christian told me he wanted a Green Dragon Cake for his birthday. See for the past two years I have been experimenting in the whole cake decorating thing... and I think I do okay if I don't say so myself. So when he said Green Dragon I figured I would try, I found a picture of a really cute cake and was really excited. But then the Transformer movie came out and that was the end of The Green Dragon. He wanted a Transformer cake. So I did my best ...

So it's not exactly Optimus Prime

But Christian new exactly what I meant it to be

He was so excited, he kept saying, "Thankyou mommy Thankyou!"
Then when I was all done with the cake he said, "Okay now make a megatron cake."
Maybe next year.

I've been tagged

2007-10-21T19:16:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged by Heather. The rules...player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves at the end of the post, player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read our blog for the rules!

1. I have a habit of playing with the corner of my pillow before I go to bed.. Been doing it since I was a baby.

2. Hey Heather I do the same thing.. Straighten my hair on Friday or Saturday and let it go for 3 to 4 days.. Then it goes back to having a mind of it's own.

3. I have unusually large feet for how short I am.... Size 9.5 in normal shoes but 10 in all the cute ones and I'm only 5'3.

4.I have what is called Myoclonic Jerks in lament's terms my leg twitches right before I fall asleep or if I'm tired.

5. I workout 5 days a week sometimes twice when I teach and I sweat like a man... Gross!

6. I'm a sucker for Teen Drama books like The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.. all four of them!

I tag: Ashleigh, Chanel, Jamie (aw.. this sucks I just realized I don't really have six people I can tag.. Chanel you'll have to make up the three for me)

Times Flies

2007-10-17T17:21:00.000-07:00

Rylee Chanel Redmond is 6 months old. She's been crawling around for the past month as tiny as she is and what can I say.. She's a doll! She's growing up to fast trying to keep up with the big kids.

Times Like these...

2007-10-17T17:16:00.000-07:00

are priceless...

but there are also times I would sell the kids on ebay!! J/K

Italian Que Bella

2007-10-17T17:07:00.000-07:00

Spicy Eggplant

Apricot and Chocolate Biscotti

Braised Brussel Sprouts

I tried to take pictures of the pasta but it was all gone..

A few weekends ago we did a girls night and took a cooking class. It was really fun to cook,eat, laugh and eat... We took the Italian class where we made Spicy Eggplant appetizers, Braised Brussel Sprouts, Pink Pasta, Four different Fettucine alfredo variations and Apricot and Chocolate Biscotti..
YUM!!!

Apple Picking

2007-10-17T11:49:00.000-07:00

We went to Riley's Farms this past weekend. The kids had a fun time picking apples and making their very own apple cider. We started off at the store where the kids each picked out a few things to get. Of course they went straight for the candy, but also got harmonicas. After we finished up at the store we went to the cider press so the kids could make the apple cider. Alina kept yelling, "No daddy, it's not your turn!" at Jesse. But she couldn't turn the press by herself, so she had no choice. We planned on taking a hay ride up to the orchards to pick apples, but it ran out of gas... not your typical hayride apparently. So we drove up and parked right amongst the trees instead. It was a really good family day!

Transformers

2007-10-10T06:59:00.000-07:00

So Christian loves transformers as I'm sure most little boys do... But do all little boys beg their mom's to take pictures of them??

Funny stuff: I bumped into Christian the other day and he turned to me and said,
" Hey I'm walking here!"

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun..

2007-10-10T06:44:00.000-07:00

First of all I love that movie.. I haven't seen it in forever...
Just wanted to post some pics of the girls being girls!

Utard wannabe

2007-09-24T10:45:00.000-07:00

We went to utah this weekend and had alot of fun catching up with friends and family... The kids got to see there cousins and were so happy.
The drive up there was not bad at all. The kids were great!

Saturday we went to a Monument dedication of Jesse's great great great grandfather Anson Call at This is the place Heritage Park. Elder oaks spoke and did the dedication it was really neat.

Funny Story; The kids saw a bunch of people dressed up like pioneers and while pointing at them they yelled " PIRATES"

I want the white one mom!!!

2007-09-24T10:18:00.000-07:00

Of course while the dedication was going on my girls were running around.

Finally they stopped upon horses and while Micaela is feeding the horses.... Alina is trying to ride them....

A friendly visitor

2007-09-24T10:12:00.000-07:00

The other day I came home and saw a tiny desert tortoise coming up to the front door. I took it inside and let the kids hold and "play" with her for a little bit.

They did not want to let her go but finally they let me put her back outside to go find her mommy!

Christian:" Bye tiny turtle, thanks for coming over"

2007-09-16T12:02:00.000-07:00

So we went to take our family pictures about a week ago, and I'm sure you can relate..... The kids are going crazy the husband is getting cranky and I'm trying to stay calm... right? They didn't turn out to bad.. I think they really captured the kids personalities.. Don't you?

Kids say the funniest things

2007-09-01T22:11:00.000-07:00

Christian: "Mom my tummy is snoring cause I'm so hungry "

Christian: Are Jersey's ears tiny or big

Me: They're big

Christian: Oh my ears are big... I must look like a dog!

Me: "Micaela, say you are sorry right now!"
Micaela: "Sorry right now."

Alina: "Mom I have the hiccups"... (she sneezed)