Tu hAbLaS eSpAnOl?

After a great vacation...it is so hard to come back home to regular life. Don't you think? If only we could live a life "on vacation" at all times! And the beach is just too far away from here! It was so nice to practice the 'ol spanish and realize how very much I am forgetting! It was all too nice to see my family as well. I wish Corb & Amy could have gone, so that was a bummer...but my mom did bring a friend, Mark...and he was fun to get to know. He took all of our joking really well! What a place to vacation...I tell ya. It is as close to heaven as it gets for me




We got to see Tanner & Emily and their cute puppy too...and Brandon & Mayra's new puppy, and the rest, well, it is pretty much said well enough by the pictures. We just had too much fun.




CAN YOU TELL I LIKE TO TAKE PICTURES?
WE LOVE PUERTO PENASCO A LITTLE TOO MUCH I THINK!

WE JUST LOVE THE SAND AND WATER AND ARE SO ATTRACTED TO IT!

THIS WAS MY FAVORITE PART OF THE TRIP...ATV RIDING...AND THE KIDS LOVED IT TOO! I DID HAVE A GALLON OF SAND IN MY EYES AFTERWARDS THOUGH...

HAPPY EASTER! WE LOVED BEING WITH THE AZ COUSINS!

ThAnKs MaYrA



Do you want to see how talented Mayra is at sewing? She made my kids' Easter outfits. She is too nice to us...and I am so glad she has a talent that benefits me! Thanks!


DOESN'T YOUR BOYFRIEND LOOK HANDSOME?

AnNeLiSe UpDaTeS


The latest and greatest from our little girl is...TADAH! She got glasses! I must say she looks pretty darn cute wearing them, but I was so sad when they told me she needed them. Why? Because I had really thick glasses growing up and got ridiculed so badly I have a hard time remembering very many days I didn't cry after school. Now don't feel too badly for me...because I have been blessed to be able to wear contacts and so will she. Her eyesight is also nothing compared to what mine is- and only needs to wear the glasses to school. However, she loves them and chooses to wear them alot more than that! Which I think is great because now she can see better and that is all that matters! I sure love her and I am sorry I passed on my bad eyesight to her!

AND... I have posted a couple drawings she did lately. Can you tell what her three biggest obsessions are?
1. MERMAIDS


2. WONNDER WOMAN AND THE JUSTICE LEAGUE


3. DRAWING PICTURES & ART! I need to try to help her develop this talent... I think there is some ability there and mostly she just loves it and enjoys it so much!

PiNnoCcHiO



I just had to post on this too...Annelise has love the movie Pinnochio since it came out. She drew a picture of Pinnochio when he has donkey ears with Cleo (the goldfish) and Figaro (the cat). I am so glad too because I am a personal huge fan of the movie...why you say? Well, because the main song is super duper special to me. "When you wish upon a star" was written by my Uncle Lloyd Harline. And since he is from my dad's side...we had a special experience with the song when my dad was dying. We all have plaques in our homes with the words. The song just makes me cry. And I have tried to sing it to each of my kids when they were babies before putting them to bed. I also have Cole's room decorated with stars and the plaque as a theme because we love the song. And I love the family it came from! And I do wish upon stars...and have always believed that my wishes do come true. Do you?

hAnDpRiNt


I just had to post on this today...I was sitting eating breakfast and saw this little handprint on my dishwasher. Instantly, (being that I am OCD about a clean house) I thought...that little stinker Annelise leaving handprints all over! But then, almost instantly I thought- one day, that little handprint won't be there on my dishwasher anymore. And I find myself then balling over my cereal! I just love my 3 little ninos and I will be so sad when they are all grown. Annelise is going to Kindergarten soon, and I never thought I would be the one to cry about it. I realize now that my worrying will only increase the less she is home with me. And Aaron and Cole are growing so fast I can't keep up. I just absolutely love them so much and am so thankful for those handprints I find.

ThE 912 pRoJeCt

Well, I have not made a political post in a while...so this one will be fun! I recently watched a show on Glenn Beck about the 912 project. It is so nice to have somewhere to turn when I feel so dissatisfied with the government. Glenn Beck has outlined 9 principles and 12 values that he believes in, and if you believe in them too, then you believe in the 912 project. He has a website and I added it to my blog list and I am going to regularly check it. It is a great forum for those of us who love America and don't want to see it fail. Thanks to Glenn Beck for starting the project.

The 9 principles are:
1. America Is Good.2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.
God “The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the external rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.” from George Washington’s first Inaugural address.
3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday. Honesty “I hope that I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider to be the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” George Washington
4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government. Marriage/Family “It is in the love of one’s family only that heartfelt happiness is know. By a law of our nature, we cannot be happy without the endearing connections of a family.” Thomas Jefferson
5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it. Justice “I deem one of the essential principles of our government… equal and exact justice to all men of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political.” Thomas Jefferson
6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results. Life, Liberty, & The Pursuit of Happiness “Everyone has a natural right to choose that vocation in life which he thinks most likely to give him comfortable subsistence.” Thomas Jefferson
7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable. Charity “It is not everyone who asketh that deserveth charity; all however, are worth of the inquiry or the deserving may suffer.” George Washington
8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion. On your right to disagree “In a free and republican government, you cannot restrain the voice of the multitude; every man will speak as he thinks, or more properly without thinking.” George Washington
9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.
Who works for whom? “I consider the people who constitute a society or a nation as the source of all authority in that nation.” Thomas Jefferson


12 Values
• Honesty
• Reverence
• Hope
• Thrift
• Humility
• Charity
• Sincerity
• Moderation
• Hard Work
• Courage
• Personal Responsibility
• Gratitude


I just love the 912 project idea. If you think about it...we may need something like this now with the way the government it going! With Auto bailouts; a 700 billion bailout (Bush's stimulus #1); bank bailout (and possibly the nationalization of banks); Obama's bailout (stimulus #2); and the Omnibus 410 (our massive new budget plan with 9000 earmarks); It equals to 2 trillion, 200 billion in spending and 6 trillion in guarantees! Congress and the President are extremely destructive and will be especially for the next 3 months. Where will all the money come from? Taxes? Print more money? (more inflation) China? Or borrowing from the future? (giving the debt to our kids & grand kids)

We need to learn a lesson from the Jimmy Carter years and repeal half of the stimulus package! Conservatives cannot be the book balancers for the liberals. It is bad money and bad bureaucracy. Unfortunately, Obama was not the change we needed, he is up to bad politics as usual with increased energy taxes and income taxes and spending. The republicans are just not keeping to their values either...the country is more about these two parties now: 1)Big government & elites
2)party of the people (the Reagan party) That is why I am so interested in the 912 project, because it has the principles and values that the party of the people would espouse. Do you believe/agree in the 912 project?

bRitT's BiRtHdAy






I did have a good birthday. It started with a dream I have had since I was little. I have always wanted to see Celine Dion in concert. And now I have. I think after I die and am "made perfect" I want to have as much singing ability as she does. It was a great concert. We had good seats and the set was just amazing. What a production! And Celine is just funny and so cute! My mom took me for my bday and then stayed a few days (surprise!)
The kids just love her and it was a good weekend. She did however bring another one of the scooters we love and so now the kids don't have to fight over the same one!
I actually got to celebrate it with my cute grandma. Her bday is two days before so we got to be together. She turned 87 years young! She is amazing! We went out to dinner to an Italian restaurant (my second favorite food) called Tucci's. Then, on Sunday, Josh first embarrassed me by giving me a public compliment in his testimony in church! Then, I got to take a nap and had my first favorite food, french toast, to break the fast! I usually am not so excited for Sunday birthdays, but it was a nice one. And I got the perfect excuse to celebrate it all weekend! I am however a little closer to 30 and am not so excited about that! Thanks for a good bday!

sNoW dAyS





I had been promising the kids I would take them out and build a snow man with them the next time it snowed- so when it snowed last week we really had our fun. Josh wasn't home so we made a whole bunch of snow balls to get him when he got home. Except, he found us out...(I threw some at the car) so he drove out of the driveway and drove around the neighborhood for 30 minutes waiting for us to go inside. We tricked him and still got him with a couple good ones as he ran in the house! It is ironic, I am from Arizona, and thought I would hate the snow moving here. But, I actually love it. I probably love it more than most. I like the days when it is snowy and overcast. I am the type to like bad weather. I think I had too many sunny days growing up that I like it when the sky is different colors. Wierd huh. Josh is counting down the days until summer and I am counting down the days till I the winter is over; except he is excited and I will be sad.

WiLl U bE mY VaLeNtiNe?





Thankfully Josh and the kids answered "yes" to be MINE! I really did enjoy having Valentine's day on a weekend. It was so fun. We did heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast, cupid brought us all a few things, Josh took me out to lunch to Mimi's Cafe, (dinner time would have been nuts!), we watched a movie all together as a family (madagascar 2) and visited Josh's parents for some chocolate covered strawberries. I really did enjoy the holiday. And I relished in a day to just eat lots of chocolate. Hmmm...I mean I really relished in a day where I had many opportunities to tell my family and friends how very much I love them. And I do. So if I didn't tell you then...I love you!

DrApEr TeMpLe


Josh and I got to take the kids to see the Draper Temple Open house on Friday. It is the most beautiful temple and it was so fun to take the kids there. I loved being able to explain special things to her and for her to have this great learning experience. She loved the mirrors in the Sealing rooms. The whole time she kept asking when we would get to the room where people get married. It was just amazing to take our kids. Some have said that the spirit is less poignant in an un-dedicated temple than a dedicated temple, but I absolutely felt the spirit. If you get the chance to go, you should. I wish our picture would have turned out better- the sun was so bright so Annelise looks like a turkey in it. I know how lucky I am to be able to attend the temple and wish I could more regularly. I also know how lucky we all are to live near some many beautiful buildings. It is truly amazing.