tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53314234839712839642024-03-04T22:31:44.882-07:00The Seal Barkheatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061626477737855499noreply@blogger.comBlogger521125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5331423483971283964.post-51558513345919163442019-09-09T00:34:00.001-06:002019-09-09T00:34:24.527-06:00The Final Email I'm feeling all kinds of emotions tonight as I send my final email to Ryan. Writing a weekly email has been my Sunday evening activity for the past 4 years with Jack's mission to the Texas Houston South Mission from 2015-2017 (and one month break) and then Ryan's mission to the Florida Fort Lauderdale mission from 2017-2019. As bitter sweet as it may feel...I am so very excited to get Ryan home and have our family complete. Being a Missionary Mom is one of the hardest things I have done but it was also one of my favorite things and I am grateful for the time my boys got to serve and for the letters that made our love stronger and appreciate each other even more. So here goes...my final email to Elder Ryan Seal.<br />
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<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #201f1e; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, system-ui, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 2;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">8 September 2019</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #201f1e; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, system-ui, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 2;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;" />Dear Elder Ryan Seal</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;" /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #201f1e; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, system-ui, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 2;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s crazy to think that our two year emailing streak is about to end. It’s been a good two years, Ryan!! It seems like just yesterday we were dropping you off at the airport with you telling us "We aren't going to cry!" and then giving you our final hugs and sending you through the security line with Elder Lambert with tears streaming down our faces as we watched you leave us for two years.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOn1PMVM8S0HqtVAZzgIzyteo2Mo_Ookb-4Vj7VpLOMHtNis9bsVAjG9CLf3-ZHf-o5sqZw_-Ak_NcRdcvDwpRwJhu5yw2clBxGdL4iJDXqLvVz2DzVqZdjAN_gUq0FFkI4tHEh5nOPGUw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-09-08+at+11.37.08+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1097" data-original-width="1600" height="438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOn1PMVM8S0HqtVAZzgIzyteo2Mo_Ookb-4Vj7VpLOMHtNis9bsVAjG9CLf3-ZHf-o5sqZw_-Ak_NcRdcvDwpRwJhu5yw2clBxGdL4iJDXqLvVz2DzVqZdjAN_gUq0FFkI4tHEh5nOPGUw/s640/Screen+Shot+2019-09-08+at+11.37.08+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #201f1e; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, system-ui, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 2;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #201f1e; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, system-ui, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 2;">
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<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #201f1e; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, system-ui, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 2;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I know that you are not the same 18 year old boy that we sent out two years ago. The boy who was scared of change and was determined to come home the exact same person. You have changed and grown and even in the few paragraphs that you have shared in your emails each week it has been obvious that your mission has shaped you into a strong, loving, and faithful man.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;" /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I’ve loved every Monday...every email, surprise birthday card or Christmas letter from you in the mail box, chatting on google hangouts and the occasional video chat. Having a child out on a mission is harder than I ever imagined and better than I ever imagined. I’m grateful and so excited to know that in just three more day you will be back home with us. Thank you for sharing your love for Christ with those in your mission and with us back home. I am excited to have some family time with you and hear all about your mission experiences. I am also really excited to go back to your mission field as a family over Thanksgiving and meet the people who meant so much to you these past two years! </span></div>
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<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I am <span class="x__1aFK1bl8nu9HzQ8EPIECQr" id="x_SmartSuggestionsKeyword876344" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Search for suggestions">so excited</span> to hear your discourse on Sunday but I am the most excited for the airport and to give you a great big hug on Thursday! It doesn't seem real that it's really been two years since our last hug. Time is a crazy thing. Some times it seems like it's been longer than two years and other times it seems like we were just dropping you off at the airport. Do you remember how we weighed you on the luggage scale at the airport when we dropped you off? I'll have to see if I have a picture of it so we can get your weight again and see if you were successful at gaining weight these past two years. I know I was! Well I lost it for Jack's wedding but then found it (and more) so you can just call me an over achiever! Haha</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAXoo97r0sCzEn2zeGiwLeozECgmL6SWkHNDVGc6kV8Fz_XjOd6uX0pOWxXL9SMGeJXr2v_kpIkBJK12IjcMXeaE-NKh6ECFxueqxFgG03FOCsAQs5crWXx8nJjM9DRGYiVW1iaPnqqMDA/s1600/IMG_1961.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAXoo97r0sCzEn2zeGiwLeozECgmL6SWkHNDVGc6kV8Fz_XjOd6uX0pOWxXL9SMGeJXr2v_kpIkBJK12IjcMXeaE-NKh6ECFxueqxFgG03FOCsAQs5crWXx8nJjM9DRGYiVW1iaPnqqMDA/s640/IMG_1961.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I still remember how difficult it was for me to leave my mission and go back home. It may not be that way for you because everyone responds differently to change and I don't respond well. It was hard for me to leave Argentina and the people I loved. I had a layover in Miami and it made my heart so happy to still hear everyone speaking Spanish in the airport. It made me feel less far away from my mission. I was excited to see my family but it was so hard to say good bye to a country, language and culture that I had learned to love. Luckily for you, the world seems a lot smaller these days with social media and free video chats. It will be easy for you to stay connected to those members and investigators that you grew close to on your mission. And you served in one of the prettiest parts of the world so it will be fun for you to go back throughout your life. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I'm sure you will feel all kinds of emotions as this chapter in your life comes to an end. So on Thursday when you get on the plane and look out the window, with maybe a few tears on your face, (or maybe that was just an Hermana Stewart thing) seeing Florida fade into the distance, remember that your mission is not over. That flight home will be just the beginning of a lifetime of dedicated service and love for your fellow men. It may look different without your name tag and not speaking Spanish but I know that true joy comes through service and love and I hope you will continue serving and loving just like you did on your mission for these past two years. If I could give you any advice it would be to remember the goals in your "My Plan" and remember why you felt like they were important when you wrote them. Just because you are no longer on a mission doesn't mean they shouldn't matter anymore or were "silly goals". Be grateful for the change that has occurred over these past two years and use this change to direct you in your future path...find the hope, love and joy that you felt on your mission as you continue to serve and give of yourself to others.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;" /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Thank you for you short but sweet emails. Thank you for taking lots of selfies (and car pictures). Thank you for keeping your same sense of humor and tender heart. Thank you for being willing to give of your life these past two years to serve your Savior and the people of the Fort Lauderdale mission. Thank you for working hard and being obedient. Thank you for being a good example and companion. Thank you for being a good leader to your fellow missionaries. A mission is so hard...emotionally, physically, spiritually, mentally. . . and you made it! You have proven time and time again that you can do hard things. You are a true disciple of Christ and determined to do your part for Him. Don't forget all that you've learned as you go throughout your life. Dedicate yourself and give 100% percent in everything and you will find happiness and success. If a job is worth doing, it's worth doing it well (including cleaning your bathroom)!</span></div>
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<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">We have missed you like crazy around here and can't wait to have you back with us right where you belong! I am so very lucky to be your mom. Thanks, Ryan!! I love you forever and ever...even a million (y mas)!</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;" />Enjoy your last few days in the mission field and WE WILL SEE YOU SOON!!!!<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;" /><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;" />Te quiero sin cesar,<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;" />Mom</span></div>
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heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061626477737855499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5331423483971283964.post-72828708053430473902016-01-13T02:15:00.001-07:002016-01-13T08:29:21.547-07:00It's Great To Be 8!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's hard to believe this littlest girl of mine is 8 and getting baptized this week. She has been so excited and looking forward to this day for a long time. I took her to Deseret Book to pick out her own set of scriptures. She had picked out a nice burgundy set until a tiny little set of four books (new testament, old testament, book of mormon and doctrine & covenants/pearl of great price) caught her eye. She instantly knew she wanted that little set (and it didn't hurt that it was on sale for $8). She picked out a few book marks (one with a picture of each latter-day prophet and the other with a schedule to read the book of mormon in one year), a scripture case and scripture marking pencils and we were good to go.<br />
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She was so excited to start marking her scriptures and Gavin told her she should look at my scriptures to see how I marked mine and do something similar with hers (using different colored pencils for specific themes). I found her a few minutes later with my scriptures going through each page and highlighting the exact same scriptures that I had highlighted and in the same colors (except she chose orange to mark her favorite scriptures). The first scripture she marked with orange as one of her favorites was the one her big brother, Jack, chose as his favorite to share on his mission plaque that is hanging up in the church. Awwww!!<br />
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The next night I had my mission reunion here at my house and it was late. I had asked the kids to please hurry and get in bed since it was a school night and almost midnight. I went into Mia's room and was upset that Griffin and Mia were still awake and talking. They were sitting on Mia's bed with scriptures open and reading the Articles of Faith and trying to decide which color they should use, (I gave Mia a sticky note to put in the front of her scriptures with the color key for different scriptural themes..faith, Christ, prayer, commandments/obedience, missionary work, etc) "I think we should use red for the 1st one because it mostly talks about God and Jesus." Then a few minutes later, "I think that scripture is about missionary work, don't you?" So cute! How do you get mad about that?<br />
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She is excited for her big day and wants to invite everyone that she knows! She also can't wait to get her baptism memory book from her grandma. When I told her Grandma and Grandpa might be out of town for her baptism, her only concern was whether she would still get the baptism scrapbook or not. Luckily, we changed the date to earlier in the month and not only will Grandma and Grandpa be in town but so will her cousins and Aunt and Uncle from Washington!<br />
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It's definitely GREAT TO BE EIGHT!<br />
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<br />heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061626477737855499noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5331423483971283964.post-4631761994810999812015-12-25T22:22:00.000-07:002016-11-17T22:38:20.156-07:0025 Days of Christmas Countdown for our Favorite MissionaryI thought it would be fun to do a 25 Days Countdown for Jack's first Christmas in the mission field. I was late at getting started and had to hurry to get things there in time for him to open something each day. I would've tried to do something more centered around Christ if I had thought it out better. I tried to tie in a scripture or thought with each gift but didn't write them down before I mailed them and of course don't remember what I wrote with each gift but this shows the general idea for his countdown.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Day 1</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Advent calendars</span> for his companion and 2 roommates<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Day 2 </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Elf on the Shelf</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Day 3</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Deck The Halls</span> (or your apartment) for Christmas!</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Day 4</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Paper Christmas Tree. </span>I cut this tree out of butcher paper and then sent it to him with tinsel, lights, a light up star for the top of the tree and ornaments that represented favorites for him and his companion.</div>
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Christmas Ornaments</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Day 5</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hot cocoa and mugs</span> for Jack, his companion and roommates</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Day 6</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Christmas stationery and snowman candle</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Day 7</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Christmas goodies</span> to make and to share<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Day 8</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Reindeer antlers and noses</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Day 9</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Magnetic Snowman</span> and Christmas Trees </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Day 10</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Snow in a can </span>(for the sunny Christmas in Houston)</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Day 11</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yummy Christmas Treat</span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Day 12</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Old Maid Card Game</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Day 13</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Christmas Paddle Ball</span> Tournament</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Day 14 </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Make a Gingerbread House</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Day 15</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Panini Grill</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Day 16</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Pine Scented Candle</span>...Let your Light Shine<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Day 17</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Baby It's Cold Outside"</span> hand warmers</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Day 18</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Calendar</span> with sticky notes and messages from ward members.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Day 19</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">100 Days on his mission</span> = 100 piece puzzle. Seals, of course.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Day 20</span><br />
My missionary loves frogs so I try to always send him a few frog items. <span style="font-size: large;">Frog notepad</span>, book mark, notebook and "excelente" frog stamp .<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Day 21</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">CTR rings</span> in Spanish to give to investigators, members and recent converts with a picture of his little brother wearing his CTR that was published on Spanish LDS website with a Spanish quote from Elder Holland.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Day 22</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Star Wars</span> premiere was on this day back home so I sent him some Star Wars decorations and candy to make him feel included in our family viewing.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Day 23 </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">New ornaments</span> to add to his tree<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Day 24 </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Slippers</span> for his tired feet<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Day 25</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">His Christmas package</span> . . . stocking (filled with his favorite treats), sweaters, tie and BofM "Moroni" socks.<br />
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And of course the best Christmas gift of all came later that day when we got to see our cute missionary's face for the first time in almost 4 months!<br />
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<br />heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061626477737855499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5331423483971283964.post-22377373854458344672015-11-26T14:24:00.000-07:002016-11-18T14:25:45.189-07:00Giving Thanks in the Mission Field<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's hard to send Thanksgiving dinner in a package to your missionary so we did our best with a few of his favorites...beef jerky, Pepperidge Farms meat and cheese box, Thanksgiving decorations and drumstick headbands, sunflower seeds and chocolates and caramels. But of course, his favorite part of the package didn't have anything to do with food or treats. He loved the Gratitude Leaf Garland. . . a leaf from each family member with a note of gratitude written to Jack. I always get caught up in trying to think of fun things that he'll want for each holiday when I need to remember that nothing compares to just a hand written note and love from home. <br />
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Thanksgiving letters from Mia and Griffin</div>
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Elder Seal with his district on Thanksgiving</div>
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So grateful to the amazing ward members in Houston who take such good care of the missionaries. Jack had a yummy Thanksgiving dinner with a table full of missionaries from his area. And the best part of my day was when I got a surprise text in the middle of my Thanksgiving dinner with a picture and video of my missionary from a ward member.<br />
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<br />heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061626477737855499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5331423483971283964.post-19822548706939762332015-03-16T00:40:00.000-06:002016-08-09T23:46:08.218-06:00Surprise Golden Birthday Party<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I LOVE celebrating my kids' GOLDEN BIRTHDAYS. It just adds one more fun addition to an already special day. I wanted to make Hadley's birthday even more exciting by making it a surprise party. Hadley had been grouchy all week and especially on her birthday because she thought I hadn't planned anything fun for her this year. I seriously had to almost force her in the car to get her to her own surprise birthday party. We went to the dollar store to get some treats for the party (she thought she was looking for treats to take to her cousin's surprise party that night) and she sulked as she walked around the store. Did she really think her mom would forget her golden birthday? </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">14 years old on the 14th!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlVIXk_LwGBk7p8KjJZ8OecCk8nsdZ6b7GGKt0LW0JM7yu71RTr33iaNLdA5Bj3cz7goLOTzgdJIpo4cgaw5Gv1ZUlXmYsZIFc4OCCePGYVY_Z3ElEJPBF1tCRYwZxIGDYgCEbZS246fpK/s1600/invite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlVIXk_LwGBk7p8KjJZ8OecCk8nsdZ6b7GGKt0LW0JM7yu71RTr33iaNLdA5Bj3cz7goLOTzgdJIpo4cgaw5Gv1ZUlXmYsZIFc4OCCePGYVY_Z3ElEJPBF1tCRYwZxIGDYgCEbZS246fpK/s640/invite.jpg" width="456" /></a></div>
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Every golden birthday should start with dinner at the GOLDEN ARCHES. Hadley was so surprised (and so happy) when she walked into McDonalds and saw all of her friends inside the restaurant (does McD's qualify as a restaurant?) waiting for her! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvJuXXCLugAFP_uayPhrV2M4iprxi7ij1LVuB1V1G_q-g9-P-swb1VpN6wvQ0FxeSi1WeU5pylHvDlpzgAUcnbh3V7-95v7r8BlbKdCcbMKgQeibV_1OV1blXFvEtkhyphenhyphenn9HRparkzZlsgL/s1600/IMG_1782.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvJuXXCLugAFP_uayPhrV2M4iprxi7ij1LVuB1V1G_q-g9-P-swb1VpN6wvQ0FxeSi1WeU5pylHvDlpzgAUcnbh3V7-95v7r8BlbKdCcbMKgQeibV_1OV1blXFvEtkhyphenhyphenn9HRparkzZlsgL/s640/IMG_1782.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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After dinner we headed down to the hotel to start the celebrating and get settled into our hotel room. I had gone to the hotel earlier in the day and decorated the room all in gold. I had 14 GOLDEN BALLOONS with a picture attached to each balloon from each year of her life. The girls got so excited when they walked into the room and couldn't stop talking about how cute all of the gold decorations and balloons with pictures were. It definitely made Hadley feel loved and celebrated! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy3fLY8dbJG8BzaKYjv2TkLJJzdCQu3SjsBpzbMYtIqhKjESfVHBh4KFwb8o1_AbHWjezzElWSMUu6pRTeP8Hv1bDSzezN3WLZoIQhEn97NCE2KjiSsYvGoklp3xmIFCEQHQKm264mKDeX/s1600/IMG_1758.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy3fLY8dbJG8BzaKYjv2TkLJJzdCQu3SjsBpzbMYtIqhKjESfVHBh4KFwb8o1_AbHWjezzElWSMUu6pRTeP8Hv1bDSzezN3WLZoIQhEn97NCE2KjiSsYvGoklp3xmIFCEQHQKm264mKDeX/s640/IMG_1758.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMGh9f7tVim217y2FtCukEZXXRJqdMqwKKFF1jYs4gRpIX3_4_1ZmeNlQiBzIIwy4FeHBeT_iJ7l-NZiJ64r1hyF3zBtS1Ht0HFKMV61ddBqpG2ZQBYnp4dU2VbDaOc2p6zY4jw-utXpwJ/s1600/IMG_1756.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMGh9f7tVim217y2FtCukEZXXRJqdMqwKKFF1jYs4gRpIX3_4_1ZmeNlQiBzIIwy4FeHBeT_iJ7l-NZiJ64r1hyF3zBtS1Ht0HFKMV61ddBqpG2ZQBYnp4dU2VbDaOc2p6zY4jw-utXpwJ/s640/IMG_1756.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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We sang Happy Birthday to the birthday girl, ate a little cake and then got ready for the activities.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2xbGkrgEIpv2IczNsuSdGvBEmFCLVE0SbIU55nO9cA1Z_TPoYDnuaJ9-0OIp_Ah6RelT_kYR_eJJt2bUJ2AJ-XoFxEB5NwifsYisq8B0FlJlVCABH2fPhrOx_7fPBSKqYS38FFLWqjkIh/s1600/IMG_1790.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2xbGkrgEIpv2IczNsuSdGvBEmFCLVE0SbIU55nO9cA1Z_TPoYDnuaJ9-0OIp_Ah6RelT_kYR_eJJt2bUJ2AJ-XoFxEB5NwifsYisq8B0FlJlVCABH2fPhrOx_7fPBSKqYS38FFLWqjkIh/s640/IMG_1790.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Swimming</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQ-Icz1kfei-jCcBBV_rANj4_Bs0Pw4MGFxGFEPgqckJy7XCD4ZxubJOakdIEfvKMh4jAHOuBW5WA_c5C7FcBPziRcIjaXOnzyPyK6hhsUemQxxPxj1Etek0EnXYUN8hzcCGkVPAyzZPY/s1600/Swimming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQ-Icz1kfei-jCcBBV_rANj4_Bs0Pw4MGFxGFEPgqckJy7XCD4ZxubJOakdIEfvKMh4jAHOuBW5WA_c5C7FcBPziRcIjaXOnzyPyK6hhsUemQxxPxj1Etek0EnXYUN8hzcCGkVPAyzZPY/s640/Swimming.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Manicures and Pedicures with GOLD fingernail polish as one of the options.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMR_piw4Zpt_UpBw0UHzIvPuiVJciZi2u3gDFHPTHyyytKGvEPENXVIj2tXFQJ9r2pxjBJDO9V3Oxr_mwes39XjquV6ExRI0RovAKwlsVXZqsSVM7bpYNxqiJTP6KdPemoO9jgYjgnAFnO/s1600/manicures.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMR_piw4Zpt_UpBw0UHzIvPuiVJciZi2u3gDFHPTHyyytKGvEPENXVIj2tXFQJ9r2pxjBJDO9V3Oxr_mwes39XjquV6ExRI0RovAKwlsVXZqsSVM7bpYNxqiJTP6KdPemoO9jgYjgnAFnO/s640/manicures.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Lots of Games</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg92v2V1jmgKZBjXklmq9vZSkJ2hLdYCrJvo-fSOtHmoifOspq0z2H5k36TK_hk-mHQQZQnYcVhqOEzS-WUu-VKgfYIhH0O8N5BBh7GCvh5jrewRjyK8oy15XZ-pjv1sdtCp6rnC7HRYkeO/s1600/IMG_1819.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg92v2V1jmgKZBjXklmq9vZSkJ2hLdYCrJvo-fSOtHmoifOspq0z2H5k36TK_hk-mHQQZQnYcVhqOEzS-WUu-VKgfYIhH0O8N5BBh7GCvh5jrewRjyK8oy15XZ-pjv1sdtCp6rnC7HRYkeO/s640/IMG_1819.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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And birthday gift opening at midnight. 14 golden gifts! </div>
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(One birthday guest wasn't able to stay up late enough to see the gift opening)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqS7g1u9pZJCVlE86jmxroLDsxGsoR3nIB8PKIZV85P9AIm27GmlL1nBMO3aCcefyyd2VVCv39Qj7VoiqZVWXSKSxtgQ98f5kAyCX_0FKGacqZW7VwfgzFCrW8xNFl7V6oo2reMM559zN/s1600/IMG_1810.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqS7g1u9pZJCVlE86jmxroLDsxGsoR3nIB8PKIZV85P9AIm27GmlL1nBMO3aCcefyyd2VVCv39Qj7VoiqZVWXSKSxtgQ98f5kAyCX_0FKGacqZW7VwfgzFCrW8xNFl7V6oo2reMM559zN/s640/IMG_1810.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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1.<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Demdaco-26220-Willow-Truly-Golden/dp/B002U6C8TS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1461738543&sr=8-1&keywords=golden+willow+tree" target="_blank"> Golden willow tree figure</a></div>
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2. Gold sunglasses</div>
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3. Gold sandals</div>
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4. Gold necklace</div>
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5. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Alex-Ani-Rafaelian-Expandable-Bracelet/dp/B00CUAJEGE?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s01" target="_blank">Gold Alex and Ani "H" bracelet</a></div>
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6. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sephora-OPI-Jewelry-Coats-Sealed/dp/B006LYOHAI?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00" target="_blank">Gold fingernail polish</a></div>
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7. Swimsuit (not gold but wrapped in gold paper)</div>
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8. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sonicety-Electric-Toothbrush-Shinning-Portable/dp/B00IGOTY3Q?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s01" target="_blank">Gold electric toothbrush</a></div>
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9. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Jessi-Kirby/dp/1442452188?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00" target="_blank">Novel, Golden</a></div>
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10. Rose Gold Watch</div>
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11. St. Patrick's Gold 4 Leaf clover tank</div>
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12. Gold belt</div>
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13. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/LOreal-Infallible-Eyeshadow-Imperial-407/dp/B008GFVOOM?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00" target="_blank">Gold eye shadow</a></div>
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14. Joggers</div>
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We were barely able to wake up in time for our free hotel breakfast. I avoided eye contact with the other hotel guests, hoping they wouldn't realize we were the loud room that kept them awake all night. Oops.</div>
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Then it was time to check out of the hotel and head home. The surprise party was a success and Hadley definitely felt loved and golden on her special day! Happy 14th Birthday to this amazing teenager! She is so loved!</div>
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<br />heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061626477737855499noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5331423483971283964.post-30356150731790086212014-09-08T14:42:00.001-06:002015-05-08T23:43:04.224-06:00Baptism Pictures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I look at these pictures of Griffin and Morgan and am overwhelmed with love and gratitude. I am so very blessed to be their mom and am so proud of both of them with their decision to get baptized, <i>together</i>. Both being a support to each other on their special day. Even though Griffin is the little brother and Morgan is almost 4 years older, he has always been an example to Morgan and a source of strength for her. I remember when Morgan was turning 6 and we had a swimming party at the rec center. Morgan was nervous to walk out into the water, not knowing if it would get deeper or she would get too wet. She looked over at Griffin as he was making his way out to the water with no fear. He took her hand and they walked out together. She knew if Griffin could do it, so could she. They bravely walked into the water together. We felt like Griffin’s baptism would be the perfect time for Morgan to also get baptized. Griffin was nervous to have all of the attention just on him and Morgan was unsure about getting baptized but together they gave each other what the other one needed. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpyE_bxohR8X61NdOUCMh2Hqdkop4dJ9RyDDG5QEqj5GsEnFB5L4LwD5Tjo51NSRsKmiK-MEotd72SZSRqVYl-oVA5c4yVSV_TSRN5ptnqsAWB92SS3CcVYtiFmm3qzo1_GPaqTH3oAGyi/s1600/IMG_8416+copy_edited-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpyE_bxohR8X61NdOUCMh2Hqdkop4dJ9RyDDG5QEqj5GsEnFB5L4LwD5Tjo51NSRsKmiK-MEotd72SZSRqVYl-oVA5c4yVSV_TSRN5ptnqsAWB92SS3CcVYtiFmm3qzo1_GPaqTH3oAGyi/s800/IMG_8416+copy_edited-3.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG8_gehmYNysqOJPYeNMcMhyphenhyphenH9TWFrQUDHSv2lT-XOo6WpolrUfHc6hx3qU_BnezA04NHYDmYIIIFFqjCMeFbk8Thui6ZNnlhJI0mNE_7nJRlkcLyiE7Fsuhz19b-bS8tAJtqPydmSzXHb/s1600/Griffin+Baptism.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG8_gehmYNysqOJPYeNMcMhyphenhyphenH9TWFrQUDHSv2lT-XOo6WpolrUfHc6hx3qU_BnezA04NHYDmYIIIFFqjCMeFbk8Thui6ZNnlhJI0mNE_7nJRlkcLyiE7Fsuhz19b-bS8tAJtqPydmSzXHb/s800/Griffin+Baptism.jpg" /></a></div>
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The Baptism Invites</div>
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<br />heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061626477737855499noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5331423483971283964.post-79358807474603008882014-04-29T14:19:00.001-06:002015-05-08T23:42:44.110-06:00Spring Break<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We just got back from a fun and busy trip to San Diego for Easter Break. We planned this trip over a year ago so that we could be sure to get a spot at Capri By The Sea. After we booked our condo, I asked my parents if they wanted to join us. They are always up for another trip and immediately booked their condo about 20 minutes north of Pacific Beach.</div>
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Our current family vehicle has been having issues with the transmission, heat/ac and needed new tires which made driving it to California not a safe option. After looking at renting a car, flying or buying a new car, Gavin decided it was time for us to buy our very first brand new car. The boys were so excited and went with him to pick it up.</div>
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We drove all day and made it to San Diego just in time to get settled in the condo and go to sleep. We woke up the next morning and opened up the curtains and couldn’t get over the view. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Pacific Beach</span></div>
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We grabbed some yummy breakfast at a little spot on Pacific Beach boardwalk called Konos and then headed down to the beach for the day. It was sunny but the wind made it chilly. Apparently not too cold for Gavin and the boys who spent most of the time out in the freezing water, boogy boarding.</div>
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One of the highlights of the trip was getting to go to church in San Diego. It was so good for my kids to see the diversity that the church offers outside of Utah. They all said that it was the best sacrament they had ever been to and that they learned so much. There was a sweet spirit present as we listened to so many newer converts share their testimonies. And hearing Gavin share his testimony of the Book of Mormon and prayer was just an added bonus.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Balboa Park</span></div>
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After church we headed to Balboa Park for the free Sunday afternoon organ concert and (not-free) lunch.</div>
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We walked through the International Cottages and grabbed lots of free samples and since it was House of England’s turn to host there was a Beatles impersonator band and lots of English people walking (and bike riding) around. We even saw people dressed up as characters from Alice in Wonderland.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Mormon Battalion Historic Site</span></div>
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We finished off the afternoon with a tour of the Mormon Battalion Museum. We took the kids here 3 years ago but only the big kids remembered it. Mia loved how the photos inside the picture frames came to life to take us through the tour. “We should get pictures like that in our house, Mom!” And Mia even got to dress up in all of the gear that they soldiers wore in the battalion.</div>
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At the end of the tour the kids got to go back in time and pan for “fool’s gold”, wash clothes by hand and pretend to make bricks.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">La Jolla Tide Pools and Children’s Beach</span> </div>
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The next day we drove into La Jolla for a kayaking tour. Only we were 30 minutes late and had to reschedule for another day. We drove a few blocks down to the tide pools and walked around looking for sea life. It definitely didn’t compare to the tide pools we went to 3 years ago at Cabrillo but Jack and Ryan did find a few crabs. We walked over to Children’s Beach and saw lots of seals (including ourselves) sunbathing on the rocks.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Universal Studios </span></div>
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We only wanted to spend one day at an amusement park and gave the older kids the option of Sea World, Knott’s Berry Farm or Universal Studios. They wanted to try somewhere new and chose Universal Studios. We drove 2 hours from our condo to Universal Studios. Morgan was so nervous the whole ride up and walking into the park. She is not a fan of scary, fast rides. We only had her go on the new Despicable Me ride and The Simpsons ride. She didn’t like The Simpsons ride but acted like she liked DM even though she didn’t want to go on it again. The big kids loved the Transformers and Mummy rides but everyone’s favorite was the Studio Tour. Even though Morgan doesn’t like amusement parks at the time, it seems like she likes it after we are all done and back home. She talks about Shrek 4D movie and that Princess Fiona needed help all of the time now. Just wish she could enjoy it more while it was happening but the fear of the unknown takes away all of the fun for her. Grandma and Grandpa joined us for the day and Ryan kept commenting on how cool it was that Grandma and Grandpa are so young at heart and go on all of the rides with us.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Kayaking</span></div>
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The next day we all just wanted to sleep in after walking all over Universal Studios and getting home late but no rest for the weary. We had an early morning kayak tour set up in La Jolla. We had already had to pay a $50 rescheduling fee for getting late and missing our first tour so we all woke up early and got ready to brave the cold waters. Gavin, Jack and Ryan really braved the cold by not paying the extra $10 for a wetsuit rental. We walked down to La Jolla and got into our kayak teams and headed out into the ocean. I’m still not sure the purpose of our helmets. Maybe it was just to let everyone else know that we didn’t know what we were doing. The waves that we had to paddle over were huge, surfing waves. The smallest person had to sit in the front of the kayak which meant that person got soaked on the way out to the smooth part of the ocean. Poor Morgan, Mia, Griffin and Hadley. After the experience of the huge waves, Mia cried for remaining two hours of kayaking. We kayaked over to some caves and then saw lots of sea lions on the rocks. We all made it without tipping over except for Hadley and me. We tipped over on the way back to the beach when we tried to go over a huge wave.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">San Diego Temple</span></div>
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We spent the afternoon in the temple with Jack, Ryan and Hadley. It was definitely a memorable experience. Such a beautiful temple.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Coronado</span></div>
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We’ve never taken the family over the bridge to Coronado Island and thought we’d try something new. What a beautiful part of California!! We had so much fun walking around the island and seeing the San Diego skyline in the background. We rented surreys that held 6 of us and rode around the island. We rode around on the boardwalk for about 30 minutes. That was long enough for it be fun and not exhausting. </div>
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Jack and Ryan were crazy drivers and almost crashed into us several times.</div>
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<i>Hotel del Coronado</i></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Seaport Village</span></div>
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We drove back across the bridge to San Diego and went to Seaport Village to walk around and get some dinner.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Las Vegas</span></div>
Crazy how quickly the week fly by! I think we all wanted one more day to just hang out at the beach and condo but it was time to pack up and drive to Vegas for the weekend. We stayed at South Point Hotel. It’s about 10 minutes from the strip and has a movie theater and bowling. We were all ready to be home and didn’t do too much. Gavin took the Mia and Griffin bowling one night. We met up with Jeff and Rae and went to the New York New York casino so the big kids (and Uncle Jeff) could all go on the roller coaster. Then we made our way down the strip to Serendipity’s so Hadley could finally try a frrrrozen hot chocolate. We stayed at the same hotel as Weichers but only saw Sylvie and Surie.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Easter</span></div>
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The Easter bunny found us at our hotel and left everyone a basket of goodies. Each basket had confetti filled eggs that we thought would be fun to break out in the parking lot on our way home. This fun event ended with lots of tears and a confetti mess all over the sidewalk and in our hair.</div>
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We had a yummy Easter dinner in St. George with Nan and Papa on our way back home.</div>
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What a great way to spend Easter break! After 9 days and 2000 miles of driving, we were all ready to get back home, except for Morgan. That girl LOVES vacations and being out of school and doing whatever we want everyday. And I have to agree that nothing quite compares to being on vacation. Until next time. . . stay classy, San Diego!heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061626477737855499noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5331423483971283964.post-9923599054166813492014-04-27T01:55:00.000-06:002015-05-08T23:42:13.740-06:00Junior Prom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Jack is a junior this year and asked sophomore, Annie, to Junior Prom. He dropped off a pillow at her house with this written on the pillowcase: “It’d make all my dreams come true to go to prom with a girl as sweet and pretty as you”. He got answered a few weeks later, the night before we were leaving out of town for Spring Break.</div>
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Prom no longer means just dinner and the dance. There is always a daytime activity as well. He went in a big group of 16 couples. They picked up their dates at 10 am and went on a morning hike up in the mountains. Then they took their dates home to get ready for the dance and picked them up at 5 pm. We got to see them all and take pictures at his friend’s, John’s, house before they left for dinner at Market Street Grill and the dance at Rice Eccles Stadium. <br />
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<i>Jack and Annie</i></div>
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Everyone in the group--all 32 of them</div>
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The Swag Team</div>
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<i>John, Logan, Logan, Jack, Kade and Jace</i></div>
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The Boys</div>
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The Girls</div>
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After the dance they went to a church and watched a movie and played volleyball then took their dates home. Jack got home at 1:15 and even though he doesn’t like to tell us too much but just wants to text his friends about the dance after he gets home, he said he had a great time and lots of fun with his friends and Annie. Seems just like yesterday that I was going to my own Junior Prom. And to now have a child old enough to be going to his own Junior Prom. It really is crazy how quickly the days fly by and your kids go from busy, wild toddlers to busy, (hopefully not <i>too</i>) wild teenagers. </div>
<br />heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061626477737855499noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5331423483971283964.post-28101833554490537062014-03-23T15:12:00.000-06:002015-05-08T23:32:01.672-06:00Vegas BirthdayGavin had a business trip in Vegas over his 43rd Birthday so we decided to follow along and put to good use his suite at The Venetian while he was busy doing other important, business-related things. Gavin and Griffin flew down and the girls (Hadley, Sylvie, Morgan, Mia and I) drove down and met them in Vegas.<br />
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We were only there for a few days and loved our big suite. We stayed busy swimming, eating at the food courts, sightseeing on the Strip and hanging out in The Venetian.<br />
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We didn’t see Gavin at all on his birthday until late that night. We met up for some gelato in St. Marks square and then Gavin and I joined up with his birthday twin, Adam and his wife, Cammi (and his brother Kipp and his wife, Chelsea) for a limo ride to The Paris buffet for dinner. <br />
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It was such a great, relaxing weekend. We really should try to do it more often with Vegas being so close. The kids had a great time and I loved the extra time I got to spend with them.<br />
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We felt pretty lucky that we all got to go on a trip to celebrate Gavin’s birthday even if we only did see him for a few hours the whole weekend.heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061626477737855499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5331423483971283964.post-28827591300913884552014-03-17T14:40:00.000-06:002015-05-08T23:32:36.278-06:00Killing For The CrownHadley is officially a teenager! She’s known for quite awhile what she wanted to do to celebrate her 13th birthday. . . a Murder Mystery birthday party just like her cousins did when they turned 13. The premise for her party was a pre-pageant Miss America party. All of the contestants, judges, father of a beauty queen, private investigator and the pageant hostess made up the guest list. Hadley played the reigning Miss America. <br />
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The girls were the perfect age for this party. They loved getting all dressed up and acting as their new character. I was worried they may be too shy but was wrong. They were up for the challenge of being a beauty queen-- gossiping, black mail and even killing. <br />
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Hadley decided she wanted to have a chocolate fountain instead of a cake which worked out perfectly because the guests could all mingle around the table while working on their objectives and eat lots of chocolate coated treats.<br />
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And it’s no surprise that Gavin got completely into character, accent and all, as “Daddy Big Bucks”. </div>
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Unfortunately, Miss Texas (Sylvie) didn’t make it through the pre-pageant party without being murdered. That is when the investigation started and the clues were given.</div>
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The former Miss America (Brinley) did her best to help us figure out who murdered Miss Texas with clues and hints. Unfortunately, no one really looked at the right hints on the clues and were unable to solve the murder of Miss Texas.</div>
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We eventually found out who did it . . . Miss Arizona (Rilee) and even she was surprised. She didn’t know she had it in her. Apparently she really wanted to win the pageant this year and Miss Texas was her biggest threat.<br />
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Then it was time to vote for the Drama Queen and Best Dressed Awards. Misha won the coveted “Dressed To Kill” Award and Hadley won the “Drama Queen” and “Miss Money Bags” awards.</div>
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Each girl took home a fun and easy parting gift...framed beauty pageant picture in their dress and sash. </div>
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The girls ended the night with one more big group photo and then they took selfies and videos as they walked the red carpet and sang, “Here she comes, Miss America.”</div>
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Hadley loved every minute of her party and said it was definitely one of her favorites. It wasn’t too hard to put together with <a href="http://www.nightofmystery.com/shop/killing-for-the-crown--17" target="_blank">this kit</a> that came with the invitations, parts, clues and awards. <br />
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In honor of her 13th birthday, here are 13 things that we love about Hadley:<br />
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1. She is now in 7th grade.</div>
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2. She insisted that her locker needed to be decorated and wanted shelves, rug, mirror, chandelier, etc. I surprised her and decorated her locker while she was at camp. She was so happy when she opened her locker and it was all decorated. I think she soon realized that she actually didn’t need all of that stuff and it really just got in the way of being able to use the locker for her books and backpack.</div>
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3. She still loves to babysit! Most of her pictures and videos on her iPod are of the cute kids she is babysitting. Ryan decided to surprise her with a babysitting iPod cover for Christmas. She loved it!</div>
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4. Hadley LOVES to read and the Hunger Games series is still her favorite.</div>
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5. She made a beautiful pirate for Halloween! </div>
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6. She is definitely a teenager and has mastered the art of selfies and snapchat.</div>
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7. Loves to be busy and involved and ran for 7th grade SBO and made it! The SBOs got to be on the news and break the ground for the new soccer field that is going in.</div>
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8. She is the BEST big sister and is always looking for fun things to do with Morgan, Griffin and Mia. She takes them on bike rides, bakes cookies, gets them surprises from the store, babysits, crafts. She is the ultimate sister and we are all so lucky to have her!</div>
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9. Hadley and her friends love to do photo shoots together. Some of my favorite pictures are from them being silly and documenting it on their iPods. This generation is so lucky to have so many pictures from their childhood and with their friends.</div>
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10. She finally got her own room and got to decorate it with new (and not-so-new) furnishings. We painted Grandma Norma’s waterfall dresser and vanity in white and added some fun Anthropologie knobs. And decorated her room in gray, yellow and turquoise. </div>
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11. She still plays the piano and is starting to learn some of the Hymns.</div>
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12. She read the Book of Mormon in a day with her Young Women’s group up at an over night cabin activity last summer.</div>
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13. Her 13th birthday celebration consisted of a new iPod (with a camera on the front), Beats headphones and Hunger Games collector Barbies. She wasn’t very good at hiding her disappointment of not getting an iPhone. Just a few more years, cute girl!</div>
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Happy 13th birthday to an amazing, talented, caring, giving, beautiful girl! xo</div>
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<br />heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061626477737855499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5331423483971283964.post-55314893457312648892014-03-02T21:06:00.000-07:002015-05-08T23:41:44.393-06:00Big SisterIt was one of those nights . . . I couldn’t wait to have all of the kids in bed, a quiet house, and finally have a minute to sit down on the couch and relax while I watched some mindless show like The Bachelor. Mia loves to read a story, sing a song and say a prayer before bed. I was having a hard time thinking about tucking her in let alone spending 30 minutes to do it. As I was walking Mia and Morgan upstairs for bed, Morgan grabbed her Pinkalicious book to read in bed. Only Morgan doesn’t have any light in her room (we took the light bulbs out years ago so she couldn’t wake up and play in her room in the middle of the night) so I told her she could read her book in Mia’s room instead. They climbed into Mia’s bed together and I realized I didn’t have to be the one reading the story to Mia-- Morgan and Mia could read the book together with Morgan’s help. <br />
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I’m not sure why I’ve never thought of having them do this before. I was honestly filled with love and overwhelming gratitude that I get to be a mother as I sat on the end of Mia’s bed and watched two of my daughters help one another succeed. “Awesome, Mia!”<br />
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Morgan doesn’t get very many opportunities to fill the "big sister" role or be a teacher to her younger siblings but reading is one area where Morgan excels. I love that we almost always have our phones with us so that these moments can so easily be captured. Morgan tries so hard to be patient with Mia but sometimes just can’t wait and blurts out the whole sentence before Mia even has a chance to try. <br />
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And one more tip . . . always video your kids when it’s bedtime and they know they’re on borrowed time. Behavior is always at it’s best!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/p4oksOa4e0Y" width="560"></iframe>heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061626477737855499noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5331423483971283964.post-49387753434733711022014-01-13T01:54:00.000-07:002015-05-08T23:34:57.690-06:00Lalaloopsy Birthday <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Finally getting a minute to post about Mia's Lalaloopsy 6th birthday party. She loves to read all about her birthdays and loves scrapbooks. The scrapbook will take a little longer than a blog post so at least I can come through on the birthday post before she has another birthday. </div>
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Lalaloopsy Birthday Invitation</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhacrdAhRpx6fvpMHD36Z6jT6uolJKVs4QPiPH3LXa4LtRhCD-ZqI2jgQGxL7JJ3RLjHGZ8JlgwXw6WxHVF3Ea0atktbDY4PMw4OTSO_JRGyzCAhA8m7TqqL3TH6pYxiMd6a7285ME-0BLv/s1600/invite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhacrdAhRpx6fvpMHD36Z6jT6uolJKVs4QPiPH3LXa4LtRhCD-ZqI2jgQGxL7JJ3RLjHGZ8JlgwXw6WxHVF3Ea0atktbDY4PMw4OTSO_JRGyzCAhA8m7TqqL3TH6pYxiMd6a7285ME-0BLv/s800/invite.jpg" /></a></div>
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I surprised her on her birthday with the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BJH2PLU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Lalaloopsy costume</a>, Pillow, to wear to her party. Seriously, how cute is she in that purple wig? So cute that I convinced her to wear this costume 10 months later for Halloween.</div>
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It’s always a rush to open presents, eat breakfast and make it out the door in time for school. She got lots of Lalaloopsy dolls, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000G17FZ6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">roller skates</a>, loom bracelet kit and a few other surprises.</div>
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The birthday girl<br />
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The party decorations were pretty easy since she loves Lalaloopsy dolls and her room is full of them. I brought out all of her Lalaloopsy dolls and toys and used them as the centerpieces. I made the cake with f<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Silicone-Embossing-Fondant-Decoration-Button/dp/B00JHX3C4C/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1420359433&sr=8-5&keywords=fondant+buttons" target="_blank">ondant buttons, ribbons</a>, quilting tool and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DT56WIM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Lalaloopsy candle</a>.<br />
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Hot glued colorful buttons onto fake flowers and made <a href="http://www.amazon.com/CK-Products-4-Inch-Button-Chocolate/dp/B003QP34Y0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1420359365&sr=8-3&keywords=button+chocolate+molds" target="_blank">candy button lollipops</a> to give to each party guest.</div>
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Hadley read a Lalaloopsy book as we waited for all of the guests to arrive then we divided into three groups to go to different craft stations. </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Station #1: Button Bracelets</span></div>
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This was a great activity for this age. They each picked out their favorite button colors (I picked up all of the buttons at Michael’s in the dollar bin section) to make a pattern for their bracelet. I used <a href="http://www.fusionbeads.com/Clear-Stretch-Magic-Elastic-Cord-1mm-diameter_2?CAGPSPN=pla&CAWELAID=120159990000078855&catargetid=120159990000086803&cadevice=c&gclid=CNu31ujv-cICFdGCfgodkn8AIQ" target="_blank">clear, stretchy string</a> for them to string through the button holes and then tied it off to make a bracelet.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Station #2: Picture Frames </span></div>
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I took a picture of each party guest with Mia as they arrived to the party. I used that picture to put inside the Lalaloopsy frame they would make at the party. I used $1 wood frames from Michael’s and painted them in several different color options a few days before the party (I learned the hard way from Hadley’s American Girl party that it is best to have the frames pre-painted so the girls can start right away on decorating the frames and not have to wait for paint to dry). The girls chose the frame with their favorite color and started decorating them with gluing buttons and mod podging a Lalaloopsy picture on them.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Station #3: Shrinky Dinks Necklace</span><br />
I grew up doing Shrinky Dinks and thought it would be fun for Mia and her friends to witness the magic of <a href="http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/creativity-for-kids-make-your-own-ezee-shrinks-kit/ID=prod6079327-product?ext=gooBaby_Kids_ampersand_Toys_PLA_Shrink_Plastic_prod6079327_pla&adtype=pla&kpid=sku6072669&sst=475afad1-fb5d-0389-4b28-00003a2ac941&kpid=sku6072669" target="_blank">Shrinky Dinks</a>. The girls traced and colored their favorite Lalaloopsy onto the special magical paper and then cut them out and put them on the baking tray to go into the oven. Only a few minutes later, a cute little charm came back out of the oven, ready to put on their chain for a necklace. For this project, I bought just the Shrinky Dinks paper at Michael’s (much cheaper than buying the whole kit) and used regular colored pencils and bought a bag of chains for the necklaces. <br />
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Birthday girl and cake. </div>
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Love how she looks up to think about her birthday wish before blowing out the candle.</div>
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After the presents were all opened, they finished up the the party with a Lalaloopsy movie (rented from our local library).</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Parting Gifts:</span></div>
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Mia helped me pick out what she wanted to to put in the gift bags. Each girl took home her picture frame, buttons, Lalaloopsy hair clip, coloring book, button bracelet, Shrinky Dinks necklace and a button lollipop.</div>
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Mia loved every minute of her birthday and started planning her next birthday party that night. I, on the other hand, wasn’t ready to start thinking about next year quite yet. One party is enough for me in one day.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In honor of her 6th birthday . . . 6 random things about Mia:</span></div>
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1. She started Kindergarten this year and loves school and learning. She spends most of her free time drawing, coloring and writing.</div>
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2. She lost her first tooth on Thanksgiving morning. She wasn’t eating very much for several weeks because she said it hurt too much with her wiggly tooth. I wanted to her to be able to feast with us on Thanksgiving so that morning I surprised her by pulling it out when she thought I was just checking to see how wiggly it was. She wasn’t ready to part with her tooth quite yet and shed some tears over the missing tooth.<br />
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3. After begging me to put her in dance for several years, I finally enrolled her in a kindergarten dance class.<br />
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4. We found out at a routine dentist appointment that Mia was tongue tied. They numbed up her mouth and then lasered under her tongue. She was so brave even though she could still feel a lot of the pain through the numbing.<br />
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5. Mia is my little lunch buddy. She goes to morning kindergarten and I pick her up at 11:20 each day just in time for lunch. Her favorite lunch spot is a Vietnamese restaurant and her favorite food is Pho without the meat or veggies--just broth with noodles.<br />
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6. She loves roller skating and spends most of her time roller skating around the house.</div>
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Happy 6th Birthday to our little Mia Kate! We love you!</div>
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<br />heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061626477737855499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5331423483971283964.post-79632173378508065962013-12-29T21:49:00.000-07:002015-05-08T23:43:40.912-06:00Christmas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We had a very Merry Christmas! It was filled with food, gifts, love, family, games, a movie and lots of boxes and wrapping paper!</div>
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Jack got just what he was asking for-- a Zagg iPad keyboard, Polo Red cologne, clothes and a few Xbox games. I guess Santa didn’t get the memo about moving him to the naughty list for speeding 46 miles over the speed limit.<br />
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Ryan got a skateboard, black bear hamster, Disney Infinity figures, clothes and a watch.<br />
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Hadley got a new iPod screen, makeup, clothes and shoes, Katniss barbie, snow boots, Frozen soundtrack, necklace, books, scarf and hat.<br />
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Morgan got Elsa, Anna and Kristoff barbies from Disney Frozen. She also got all of the barbies from her favorite show, Barbie In The Dreamhouse. She spent the entire day singing Frozen songs with her new barbies and reading her new books.<br />
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Mia must have been really good because Santa brought her the American Girl doll (“Merragirl Doll”), Molly. She’s her favorite doll because “her glasses make her look so cute” but unfortunately her glasses were broken when we opened up the box so now she is anxiously waiting for the replacement pair to arrive. She also got Lego Friends “Mia's Magic Show”, all of the fairytale mini lalaloopsy dolls, Wizard of Oz mini lalaloopsy dolls, shrinky dinks and Wreck It Ralph Infinity figure.<br />
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Griffin got the new Disney Infinity start up pack and lots of playing figures. He also got Skylanders for Xbox and a target for his bow and arrow, the game, Quirkle and the book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Some of his presents didn’t get here for Christmas so he got to open them the day after Christmas--a Kwanzaa miracle- a new tennis racquet, basketball and hexbug.<br />
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Gavin made his favorite Christmas breakfast meal -- overnight cinnamon french toast and we all enjoyed some before heading up to my parents’ house for another Christmas brunch and more gift exchanging.<br />
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Grandma and Grandpa spoiled their grandkids once again. I guess that’s what grandparents do when it’s Christmas.</div>
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Grandma and Grandpa with all of their grandchildren (always miss out on having the Rushings)</div>
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And as always, I’m always relieved to have Christmas over. It’s just a little bit more stressful as a mom than it was as a child. It will be nice to get the Christmas stuff all put away and get ready for a new year!heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061626477737855499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5331423483971283964.post-65368015618045106742013-12-29T15:40:00.001-07:002015-05-08T23:44:14.173-06:00Christmas EveWe tried something new this year with our celebration on Christmas Eve. We stayed home with our own little family instead of meeting up with extended family. We started the night with a sit down dinner of ham and shrimp. Mia and Griffin were so excited for it to finally be Christmas Eve. They’ve been checking out the presents under the tree and counting down the days to get to Christmas Eve so they could finally open three gifts for the wisemen tradition. Mia was my big helper. She helped me with setting the table and bringing up all of the Christmas dishes. We got our glasses set up for sparkling cider and eggnog and then lit the candles. A fun Christmas Eve toast and it was time to eat.<br />
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After dinner we got together to read the last Christmas story in our book, sang Silent Night with Ryan and Mia leading the music and then read about the birth of our Savior in Luke and Matthew. After reading about the Wisemen in the Bible and discussing the symbolism of the three gifts that they brought to baby Jesus, the kids all got to open their <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">3 Wisemen gifts</span>--<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;">gold</span> (something fun), <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">red</span> (something sentimental) and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6aa84f;">green</span> (something needed).</div>
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<b>Jack</b> got a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;">UofU blanket</span>, a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">driver’s license ornament</span> (for turning 16 and getting his license and a crazy speeding ticket) and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6aa84f;">UofU pajamas</span>.</div>
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<b>Ryan</b> got a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;">BYU blanket</span>, a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Willow Tree ornament--“You will always have my heart”</span> with a gold heart (for his golden birthday this year) and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6aa84f;">BYU pajamas</span>.</div>
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<b>Hadley</b> got a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;">Hunger Games bracelet</span>, a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Willow Tree ornament--“Dance of Life”</span> (since she started up dance again this year) and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6aa84f;">Hunger Games pajamas</span> (she’s slightly obsessed with Hunger Games).</div>
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<b>Morgan</b> got <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;">Frozen and Barbie books</span> (and then ran off to the living room to read her new books and didn’t want to open up any other gifts), Toy Story <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Jessie ornament</span> and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6aa84f;">Christmas pajamas</span>.</div>
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<b>Griffin</b> got <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;">loom bands</span> to make rubberband bracelets, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Ninja ornaments</span> (since he was a ninja for Halloween) and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6aa84f;">Christmas pajamas</span>.</div>
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<b>Mia</b> got a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;">“Dorothy" mini Lalaloopsy</span> doll, the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Wizard of Oz ornaments</span> (since she was Dorothy for Halloween) and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6aa84f;">Christmas pajamas</span>.</div>
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Then we set up cookies and milk for Santa, watched the movie “ELF" together and then off to bed. Ready for Christmas.</div>
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heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061626477737855499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5331423483971283964.post-20497050027370177942013-12-28T19:20:00.000-07:002015-05-08T23:45:14.931-06:00Advent Activities<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Day 1 {Advent Calendars}</span></b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Day 2 {Live Nativity}</span></b><br />
This is one of my favorite Christmas activities. We went on the first night to beat the storm that was coming. We weren’t the only ones with this great idea. . . 2 hours later we finally got up to the front of the line and made our way into the building that was transformed into Bethlehem. It was the sweetest thing to turn around the corner and see the baby with the light shining down on him. He was lying in the manger, wrapped in a blanket and staring into his mother’s eyes. Probably a lot like it looked 2000 years ago.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Day 3 {Decorate the Tree}</span></b><br />
I wasnt’ excited about putting up all of the Christmas decorations this year. I’ve been working a lot more which means the house has been severely neglected. And the last thing I want to do when the house isn’t clean is to add more mess. The kids brought up a box of decorations and I put that stuff up, the stockings, the Christmas scene on the piano and the nativity and called it good. Didn’t even get to putting up the wreath or garland on the front door. And I don’t think anyone noticed or cared. So much stress that’s part of this time of year is self imposed and I opted for less stress this Christmas. I even let the kids put up all of the ornaments on the tree. Doesn’t look much different than when I do it and they had a lot more fun doing it. <br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Day 4 {Festival of Trees}</span></b><br />
We asked Mia and Griffin at the beginning of the Christmas season what their favorite advent activity is that we do each year and they both answered, “Festival of Trees!” so we made sure it was added to the list. The big family activities just get harder and harder to keep up with as the kids get older. Jack and Ryan prefer hanging out with their friends a lot more than hanging out with their parents. They were not excited about this activity but warmed up to it to once they got there and saw a lot of kids from their school there, volunteering. Mia wanted a picture in front of <i>every</i> tree that had a doll. Most of the trees have dolls. There are hundreds of trees. I did my best but still couldn’t keep up with her demands and there were some tears of frustration. Mia cried a little too.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Day 5 {Sound Of Music Live}</span></b><br />
It gets to be too much to do something out of the house every night and I love when there are cute Christmas shows on the TV that we can watch together as a family. Carrie Underwood’s voice was amazing and the acting was. . . well, I just think plays are not meant to be filmed and on TV but we still enjoyed a cozy night on the couch next to the warm fire.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Day 6 {Letters to Santa}</span></b><br />
Morgan, Griffin and Mia wrote a letter to Santa and took it to Macy’s for the Make A Wish foundation. Macy’s donated $1 for each letter mailed to Santa on this day. Nothing compares to the sweet hand-written letters of children to Santa.<br />
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Griffin’s Letter:<br />
“Dear Santa,<br />
You might have gotten my other letter first but first what I want for christmas is Disney Infinity, Win U, but really I don’t care,<br />
Love Griffin<br />
P.S. I think you’r on the nice list Lol!”<br />
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Mia’s Letter:<br />
“Dear Santa,<br />
I like Molly the Mercin Dall (American Girl doll).<br />
I like the SaGe (Saige--another American Girl doll).<br />
I like NcRacR (nutcracker)<br />
I like the FrosiN Doll (Frozen doll).<br />
I like LaGos FEs Na Mia (Lego’s Friends Named Mia).<br />
I like OLaF<br />
Love Mia 6766”<br />
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Morgan’s Letter:<br />
“Dear Santa,<br />
I want BarBie Books and Frozen Books<br />
Love Morgan Seal”<br />
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Then we went home and watched, “Yes, Virginia”.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Day 7 {Play--Simple Gifts of Christmas}</span></b><br />
We went back to the 4th ward for their Christmas dinner and play. It felt like going home. Morgan greeted everyone with hugs as she walked down each of the rows of tables. <br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Day 8 {Gingerbread Cookies with Grandma}</span></b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Day 9 {HOT tub and HOT Chocolate}</b></span><br />
This is a favorite activity. It was so cold outside and the perfect weather for hot tubbing and drinking hot chocolate right before bed.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Day 10 {Movie -- Disney Frozen}</b></span><br />
This was our second time and the kids liked it even better than the first. Morgan sang all of the songs the entire way home, deliriously happy. <br />
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Then she and Mia wanted to sing a few more songs before bed. Mia’s favorite is, “Do you want to build a snowman?” and Morgan’s favorite is, “Let It Go”. She was so excited when that song started in the movie and Elsa takes off her crown and throws it. “Mom, it’s Let It Go. She’s not a queen anymore!”<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Day 11 {Hadley’s School Choir Concert}</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Day 12 {Ware’s Christmas Party}</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Day 13 {Sugar Cookies and Park City}</b></span><br />
Hadley made sugar cookies with the little ones while we escaped for an over-nighter to Park City with our friends, the Steenbliks and Wilkos. It was such a nice escape with yummy food, lots of late night games, hot tubbing and shopping.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Day 14 {Winter Formal, Church Dinner, Basketball}</b></span><br />
Jack went to his High School’s girl choice winter formal with Olivia. He said it was his favorite dance yet and so much fun.<br />
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We also had our ward dinner with a few songs from the Primary kids as we learned about Christmas traditions around the world.<br />
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Then Gavin took off with Ryan and went to the UofU vs BYU basketball game with friends and family.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Day 15 {Stewart Family Christmas}</b></span><br />
The tradition that my Grandma Norma started 40 years ago continues today at my parents’ home. We all get together with the Anderson family for dinner and a Christmas program. Morgan loves when it’s her turn to read a part in front of everyone.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Day 16 {Desert Star Playhouse--Miracle on 42nd Street}</b></span><br />
We love going to this theater for Christmas plays but this production wasn’t our favorite. Always a great time to be with all of the family though. We had to leave Mia and Griffin home after a mix up with the tickets and couldn’t buy any more because it had sold out. They were happy to stay home and play with their cousins, Lilly and Luke.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Day 17 {Oops. We may have skipped this day. But Mia did have her Polar Express Party.}</b></span><br />
or so I thought. I sent her a day early to school in her pajamas and slippers. She had a note in her hand when I picked her up from school letting me know that her Polar Express party would be the next day and to please not have her wear slippers. Well at least Mia wasn’t the only one who wore her pajamas early and she didn’t complain about wearing pajamas to school two days in a row!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Day 18 {Gingerbread Houses}</b></span><br />
I always think this will be so much better than it is. We bought kits hoping that it would make the house building easier this year. So you can imagine our disappointment when we opened the kits and found the sides of the houses all in pieces. We tried to glue everything back together with the icing but after an hour of fighting with the walls and collapsed houses we had to pull out the big guns . . . the hot glue gun. The houses finally stayed together but were no longer edible. (Thank you to Target for refunding our money on our broken kits).<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Day 19 {Snow Day and Teacher Gifts}</b></span><br />
Teacher gifts are another thing I simplified this year. The kids ended up giving chocolate sticks with a gift card. It didn’t take days or weeks to prepare and the kids were still just as excited to write out the gift tag and give it to their teachers the next day. We were hit with tons of snow and tried to stay home as much as possible. Cassidy dropped by for a few hours on her way home from college and then I drove her in the snowy weather back to the airport.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Day 20 {Seal Gift Exchange}</b></span><br />
Trevor and Annie hosted the annual Seal family gift exchange. We had a yummy potato bar and salads. Then the gift exchange with the cousins and Nan and Papa.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Day 21 {The Nutcracker}</b></span><br />
This tradition has just been with Hadley the last few years but I felt like it was time to invite the other two girls. I was really nervous about Morgan and how she would do. We go to the professional production in the big theater downtown. The tickets are not cheap and it’s really quiet during the performance. Morgan has a hard time with new, unknown settings and makes random, loud noises. It usually stops after she adjusts to what is happening (everything around her) and then she does fine. I was prepared to spend some time out in the lobby with her if needed. We met up for dinner with the Seal girl cousins at Outback Steakhouse. Morgan was complaining that everything was hurting, “my tummy hurts. My nose hurts. (and on and on.)” I was joking that I had brought Debbie Downer with me to dinner. But as we were getting ready to leave the restaurant and pose for a picture, Morgan threw up. Nothing is worse than trying to hide vomit from others enjoying a nice dinner out together. We were able to take Avery with Morgan’s ticket and meet up with Gavin to take her home. She was fine once she got home. Not sure what was going on. Maybe it was too much for her too! Mia loved it and has been learning about the different dances in her ballet class. I tried to explain part of the ballet to her and she responded, “I already know, Mom. I’ve seen the movie!"<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Day 22 {Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt. Hot Chocolate. Games}</b></span><br />
We love this sort of annual tradition with the DeBrys. This year we separated and had a timed scavenger hunt. We didn’t choose a very decorated neighborhood and ended up not finding very many on the list. But we did get the grinch! After the scavenger hunt we met up at their house for yummy <i>hot</i> chocolate and some games -- the candy bar game and the name game.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Day 23 {Christmas Adam -- Roller Skating and Bounce House}</b></span><br />
Our plans changed from outdoor ice skating to indoor roller skating. Much warmer and easier with 3 little ones who don’t know how to do either.<br />
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And we did it. These activities keep us busy but are usually full of great memories (mixed with screaming kids fighting in the car). I don’t think the kids got to bed on time one night in December. Very little homework was done. A few minutes of piano practicing here and there. But that’s what December is all about. At least I hope it is.<br />
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<br />heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061626477737855499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5331423483971283964.post-8112243679578123572013-12-24T13:59:00.001-07:002015-05-08T23:46:04.237-06:00Merry Christmas from our family to yours!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061626477737855499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5331423483971283964.post-45861409107110031102013-11-21T14:23:00.000-07:002015-05-09T01:24:50.510-06:00Ryan’s Golden 15th BirthdayRyan turned <span style="font-size: x-large;">15</span> on November <span style="font-size: x-large;">15th</span> which meant one thing . . . it was time for a <span style="font-size: large;">GOLDEN</span> celebration! Wait. You’ve never heard of a “Golden Birthday”? You’re not alone. I never celebrated my own golden birthday when I turned 6 and didn’t even know I had missed out on anything. Then my sister started celebrating Golden Birthdays with my nieces and nephews and I decided to look into this golden tradition. In case you are wondering . . . <b style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; text-align: -webkit-center;"> A Golden Birthday = the birthday when your age matches the day of the month you were born on. </b>It’s a fun way to celebrate and make the birthday stand out for your child (or adult if your special someone’s birthday falls on days 18-31). <br />
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I decorated the house in gold. 15 helium balloons with a picture from each year hanging on the balloon, cake with golden sprinkles and golden fountain and 15 presents wrapped in gold foil. Each present having something to do with “gold”.</div>
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Ryan’s birthday was on a Friday but he didn’t have school that day since the trimester ended the day before. He got to sleep in and wake up when he was ready to open his presents. And then had big plans to go out with his friends for a Birthday breakfast.</div>
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His 15 <span style="font-size: large;">Golden</span> Gifts:<br />
1. Golden skull bank<br />
2. Golden Eye 007 Xbox game<br />
3. Goldfish Crackers<br />
4. iPhone 5 (wrapped in gold)<br />
5. Golden tie clip<br />
6. Gold yo yo<br />
7. Gold mirror cube puzzle<br />
8. Golden compass<br />
9. Gold iPhone stylus<br />
10. Black and Gold athletic shorts<br />
11. Willow Tree Heart of Gold figurine<br />
12. Gold Rolo’s candy<br />
13. Ferrero Rocher chocolates<br />
14. iPhone Golden case<br />
15. Hairdryer (couldn’t find a gold one so it was black--wrapped in gold)<br />
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Birthday breakfast with his friends</div>
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He had a little party that night at our house. Pizza, Movie and Treats.</div>
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Ryan, Daniel, Tanner, Tate and Adi</div>
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In honor of his 15th Birthday . . . 15 random things about Ryan.</div>
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1. He got his braces off in February and 9 months later is just realizing he has good teeth and should really show them when he smiles.</div>
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2. Our school district switched things up this year and moved 9th grade up to the high school. He was the first class to get moved up and is a big high schooler this year. He signed up for AP and Honor classes and got a 3.6 first trimester.</div>
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3. He is playing football again this year even though he lost his partner-in-crime, Tate, this year and didn’t have a quarterback on his team that could continue with a passing game.</div>
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4. He started his first job last December at the middle school. He’s a sweeper and works every day after school for about 2 hours. He loves getting his monthly deposit in his bank and usually celebrates with a debit card transaction at the convenient store on the corner. </div>
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5. He went to EFY for the first time this summer with his friend, Tate, and came home with a renewed faith and love for the gospel.</div>
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6. He wanted part of his big birthday gift early this year. We found just what he wanted at the Skullcandy warehouse in Park City.</div>
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7. He learned how to bake in his FACs class. He is going to make one girl a very lucky wife one day!</div>
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8. Church basketball champions. Once again.<br />
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9. He went on Pioneer Trek over the summer. I didn’t hear much about this from Ryan or Jack but am glad they had this opportunity to go learn more about the pioneers and the sacrifices they made so we can enjoy the gospel today.<br />
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10. Fun Run with the family. “The family that colors together, stays together!” It took weeks to get this chalk out of car, carpets, hair, skin and house.<br />
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11. He is a great big brother!<br />
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12. I made a deal with the boys when they were younger that if they played the piano until they were 16 they could have any cell phone they wanted. Jack stuck to that deal but Ryan quit piano about 6 months before he turned 15. He got a cell phone for his birthday but had to agree to pay the monthly data fee until he did something else that equalled practicing the piano everyday. He decided he would work on earning his Eagle in Scouting. Let’s just say he is still paying the monthly fee since he hasn’t done any scouting at home since that conversation. </div>
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13. He is now old enough to get his Learner’s Permit to drive but the DMV is only open weekdays until 5:00. Ryan works everyday after school until 5. We just need to get him there before May 15th in order for him to be able to get his driver’s license on his 16th birthday.</div>
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14. He loves to snow ski and takes the bus up to Brighton Ski Resort with his friends.</div>
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15. Ryan’s middle school was torn down after his last day of 8th grade to build a new one. <br />
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Happy 15th Birthday, Ryan! We love you! xoxo</div>
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heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061626477737855499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5331423483971283964.post-39346487040686360892013-11-02T00:49:00.000-06:002015-05-08T23:51:23.619-06:00Happy Halloween from Mykonos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For how much we all love the holidays, it’s crazy that not one of us thought about throwing in a few fake mustaches, eye patches, masks (or anything Halloweenish) into our suitcases. This was the extent of our Halloween festivities...a few carved pumpkins on a table in the cruise lobby and Jenni’s scary spider necklace.</div>
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We spent Halloween on the islands of Mykonos and Delos. Taking a ferry between the two of them.</div>
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I have no idea why Mykonos’ nickname is “The island of the winds”.</div>
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We started the day at <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Delos</span> looking at all of the ruins with our crazy guide Yolanda who was more concerned about her free coffee and having us search the ruins for her lost map(ah) than giving us any information about what we were seeing. </div>
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Delos is one of the most important mythological, historical and archaeological sites in Greece. Delos had position as a holy sanctuary for a millennium before Olympian Greek mythology made this island the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis in 900 BC. Even thought the guides claim to speak English, it is still so hard to understand what they are saying. Yolanda liked to add an extra “ah” to end every sentence. Gavin clarified with our tour guide that it was true that Apollo and Artemis were twins(ah). And the answer is yes. They are twins and were born on the island of Delos. The only thing I got out of all of the ruins tours was how they collected their water with cisterns and an aqueduct system. The rest I had to get from Wikipedia, like that a number of purifications were executed in the 6th century BC by the city-state of Athens to make the island pure for the proper worship of the gods. All of the graves had to be dug up and moved to another island. After that it was prohibited that anyone could die or be born on the island. Delos - unlike other Greek islands - did not have an indigenous, self supporting community of its own so in later years it became uninhabited.</div>
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Standing in the Theater which at one time had enough seats to hold 5500 people</div>
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We took the ferry back to <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Mykonos</span> and immediately fell in love with the architecture and bright colored doors and flowers against the backdrop of the white buildings and blue sea. And the windmills? Oh I loved the windmills!</div>
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“Petros” the pelican has been the official mascot of Mykonos for over 50 years. In the 50’s, a wounded pelican was found off the coast of Mykonos shore and nursed back to health and remained on the island. He was supported by the locals and known by the name, “Petros”. He died 30 years later but three new pelicans were brought to the island and now reside around the town of Mykonos.</div>
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Mykonos windmills</div>
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Little Venice--rows of fishing houses that line the waterfront with their balconies hanging over the sea. </div>
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The streets in Mykonos are narrow and winding with little shops, restaurants and boutiques with the cutest white linen clothing and souvenirs. And free entertainment for tourists who may not even be looking for entertainment.</div>
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Loved everything this beautiful island had to offer and that was without even seeing any of the beautiful beaches with the white sand and crystal blue water.<br />
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Up next . . . Kusadasi, Turkeyheatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061626477737855499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5331423483971283964.post-78818147064204142852013-10-30T01:25:00.000-06:002016-09-13T07:11:28.109-06:00{Athens}This trip was spent running from city to city so it was perfect to have a little break at the beginning in Athens. We met up with Scott and Heidi (and the rest of the family), squished as much clothing as possible into our suitcases so we didn’t have to pay the hefty extra baggage fee on Easy Jet and started our journey from Rome to Athens. Chad and Jenni flew out earlier in the day and found their way around the city and metro stations by our hotel. It’s was obvious (and sad) to see what has happened to Greece because of their economy crashing and everyone wanting more and more from the government. A scary sight of what can happen to our country if we continue in the direction we are headed. Most of the businesses are vacant, locked up for good and covered by graffiti. <br />
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It was the perfect time to travel. Fewer tourists, perfect weather and cheaper flights and cruises. We got to Athens airport and found a car that could fit all of us. Our driver kept saying how our hotel was in a very scary location and to be cautious walking around outside. We couldn’t stop laughing since Scott booked this hotel without any input from the rest of us. We were nervous getting out of our taxi and shocked to see Chad and Jenni walking around the corner after a leisurely walk around the neighborhood. Jenni said the next neighborhood over was really scary but it seemed to be safe by our hotel. <br />
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There were some positives to our scary neighborhood hotel -- rooftop pool with amazing views of Athens and the Acropolis. </div>
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Chad and Jenni wanted to take us to this great little spot for gyros and greek salads for dinner. The gyros were yummy and only cost 1 euro ($1.30). This is when where we found out Chad is Greek and at one with his people. One of my favorite things about Greece is the food. I’m not a big pizza and pasta fan so after only one day in Rome, I was ready for a change.<br />
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<i> </i>Yes, those are french fries <i>inside</i> the gyro<i>. </i>Delicious!</div>
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When we first started planning this trip, I was most excited to go to Athens and back to the Acropolis and Parthenon. I went to Athens when I was 7 years old and was anxious to go back and see what I could remember from that trip, besides feeding and holding pigeons and catching frogs. </div>
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My brother, Chad, had this great idea of reenacting our picture from Athens. 35 years later. Wish I still had those awesome tube socks with footprints on the top and tennis dress (and those legs!).</div>
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We toured all around Athens. Starting at the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Acropolis</span>--an ancient fortress on a high rocky hill above the city that has buildings that were constructed in the 5th century BC-- with our tour guide and personal photographer, Kula. I remembered the Parthenon from 35 years ago but didn’t remember all of the stairs that it took to get to the top of the Acropolis. I also remembered being able to walk inside and touch the columns. Our tour guide, Kula, confirmed this memory and said it’s just been these past few decades that they've stopped letting tourists inside the temples.</div>
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As we walked up the hill towards the Parthenon, we were able to get a great view of the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus</span>. This theater could seat 17,000 spectators.</div>
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When we came to the top of the stairs, the Temple of Athena Nike was on one side and the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Erechtheum</span> was on the other side. This ancient Greek temple was dedicated to both Athena and Poseidon. The entire temple is on a slope and built entirely of marble. <br />
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Kula did some crazy moves to get this picture and lots of “excuse me, excuse me” to other tourists who were getting in the way of our personal picture. On a side note, Blake was also transformed into a huge Greek God on top of Acropolis.<br />
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We finally made our way to the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Parthenon</span>, a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena. It is considered the most important surviving building of Greece and one of the worlds’ greatest cultural monuments. We saw a lot of ruins on our trip but I think this was my favorite just because of the memories of seeing it for the first time as a child and being able to return and see it again.</div>
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I have way too many close up pictures from this trip thanks to the timer camera app on my phone. </div>
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We walked back down all of the stairs and made our way over to Mars Hill. This is where it is said that the Apostle Paul gave his sermon. After seeing all of the idolatry, temples and statues built up to Greek gods, he preached to the Athenians. He taught “you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself any carved image. . .” His sermon had 3 main points. 1. The power of God and that His power “made the world and everything in it” (Rom 1:20). 2. The omnipresence of God. “He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:27-28). 3. God’s plan is that “repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations” (Luke 24:27).</div>
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We sat on top of Mars Hill and looked around the city and up at the buildings on top of the Acropolis as we listened to Scott read Paul’s words from the New Testament. It was definitely a highlight of the trip.</div>
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We made our way through <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">ancient Agora </span>and stopped to strike a STATUE pose (this used to be our favorite thing to do on our European vacations back when we were teenagers) until we got the whistle blown on us and had to get down before we were thrown out.</div>
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The <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Temple of Hephaestus</span> can be seen from the Acropolis. It is just a short walk from the acropolis to Agora where this temple sits on a hill. It is one one of the few temples with the roof still intact. It was built around the same time as the Parthenon and used as a Greek Orthodox church from 700 AD to 1821. </div>
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We did a little shopping in <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Plaka</span> and learned more about the charms and key chains we were seeing in every shop that looked like an eye. Made to fight off the evil eye. And of course we had to purchase lots of these lucky charms to take home to our loved ones. Mia wore her “lucky bracelet” to school the first day after we got home and came home disappointed. “This bracelet isn’t lucky. The whole class had to do time out for not listening during story time."</div>
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Gavin and Scott were able to have a race on the track inside the original Olympic Stadium, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Panathenaic Stadium</span>. It looks like Gavin may have had a <i>little</i> bit of a false start but they both somehow ended up taking 1st place.</div>
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Next we made our way to the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Temple of Olympian Zeus.</span> This is the view of the temple from the Acropolis. Construction began in the 6th century BC but was not completed for almost 700 years. </div>
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This temple was the largest in Ancient Greece (even larger than the Parthenon). Today only 15 of the 104 massive columns remain standing. The 16th column was blown over in a severe windstorm more than 150 years ago and was left where it fell.</div>
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The Arch of Hadrian is right in front of the Temple of Zeus. The gate separated the old city from the new city. The side facing the Acropolis says “This is Athens, the ancient city of Theseus.” The other side, facing the temple says “This is the city of Hadrian and not of Theseus.” You can see the acropolis through the arch.</div>
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Very few Athenians spoke English which made for interesting conversations. Gavin and Scott only added to the confusion as they switched between English and Spanish while talking to the locals. And who knows what Gavin was doing when we were trying to speak with our cab driver, who only knew a few words in English, and was asking us what “holiday” meant in America (since we use the word vacation instead of holiday for a trip). Gavin, in all seriousness, looked at the taxi driver and said, "Christmas is coming. The goose is getting fat. Please do put a penny in the old man’s hat. If you haven’t got a penny, a ha’penny will do. If you haven’t got a ha’penny, then God bless you!” </div>
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The best was when we stopped in a bakery for breakfast and nothing was in English. We decided to be adventurous and all get something different and try our luck. Scott asked the worker if there was cheese inside as he pointed to something. She hesitantly nodded her head. He took a bite and found a hot dog inside, he yelled “HOT DOG!” The worker laughed and said, “Yes! That’s it!”</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"></span>We had a few hours the next day before we had to get on the cruise ship and spent the morning at the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">National Archaeological Museum of Athens</span> which I liked for the first 60 minutes then I sat on a bench while the rest of the group explored every room. Heidi wasn’t able to join us since she stayed back at the hotel to take care of some scheduling back home (even though it was 1 in the morning in the states). She missed out on a lot of great picture opportunities. </div>
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We got back to the hotel and gathered all of our belongings and started the 20 minute journey to the metro station. Walking through Athens, pulling our luggage behind us. In an area where we were warned to not carry backpacks or purses. </div>
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It was time to say good bye to Athens as we made our way down the metro to the pier to board our ship!</div>
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Next Stop, Mykonos . . . </div>
heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061626477737855499noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5331423483971283964.post-60074136508834824342013-10-28T00:20:00.000-06:002015-05-09T00:06:40.170-06:00European Family Vacation {ROME}I’m finally feeling free of jet lag and getting some energy back (and time) to look through the thousands of pictures I took while traveling around Europe the last few weeks. Gavin and I joined up with my parents; sister, Heidi (and her spouse, Scott); brother, Chad (and his wife, Jenni); and my brother, Blake for a European family adventure. What started out as a Caribbean cruise with just Chad and Jenni quickly turned into a Mediterranean cruise with most of my family after we found a great deal on a Greek isle cruise and free airfare with our frequent flier miles. The best part of the vacation was just being all together. Really, we could have gone anywhere and had the best time but luckily for us, this wasn’t <i>just anywhere</i>. (Warning: Picture Overload). <br />
Rome to Athens to Mykonos to Kusadasi to Santorini to Naples to Rome to Amsterdam to Seattle.<br />
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I had this great idea the night before our flight to stay up most of the night, making sure I would be really tired on the plane ride over and sleep. Never having to deal with jet lag. I packed and cleaned and took a bubble bath. Painted my nails. All of the things I usually don’t do at 3 am. We got on our plane and were excited to see some empty benches.<br />
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So we moved from our row with only 2 seats and took the open bench with 4 seats. As we were taking off, we realized why that bench may have been up for grabs. Sitting right behind us was a mom and her baby and toddler. They cried and cried. Nonstop. I think the baby finally fell asleep for about 3o minutes and so did I. Flying over, we skipped right through the night and what should have been midnight at home when we landed, was 8 am in Rome.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">First Stop: Rome</span><br />
We bought tickets for the Hop On Hop Off bus tour in Rome and started our adventures. On our own. We lost my mom, dad, Chad, Jenni and Blake on the way from the ticket station to the bus but quickly caught up with them after one stop.<br />
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First place we visited (or walked by) was the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Altare della Patria</span>. The monument holds the tomb of the unknown soldier with an eternal flame, built after World War I. The monument has been controversial because it’s construction destroyed a large area of the Capitoline Hill (where we lost my parents and siblings as we walked to the bus stop). It stands out as the construction is white, boxy and lacks a dome or a tower. And is often called “the wedding cake” building. (<i>Thanks Wikipedia</i>).<br />
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We got to <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Vatican City</span> just in time to watch, with thousands of other tourists, Pope Frances conduct the Sunday mass services. We never got to see anything like this when we visited the Vatican 6 years ago so loved being able to see the new pope, even if we aren’t Catholic. And bonus . . . he’s Argentine!<br />
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We made it to the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Spanish Steps</span> and stopped to take some pictures and check out the tourists and vendors. The steps are crowded with people going up and down or just taking a break. We witnessed a random, crazy fight between the vendors and while we all walked away, Gavin decided to walk right in the middle of the fight.<br />
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There are artists at the top of the Spanish Steps who will draw your portrait for a fee. Heidi and my parents got their portraits done while in Rome. What talent! I’m used to the crazy caricature portraits and nothing that looks like a true portrait. Such a great souvenir!<br />
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Walking through the streets of Rome.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Trevi Fountain</span>. The largest fountain in Rome. Tourists throw in coins using the right hand over the left shoulder in hopes of returning to Rome one day. 3,000 Euros ($4000 USD) are thrown into this fountain each day. We decided to save our money so that we can afford to come back one day.<br />
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Sights and Sounds of Rome</div>
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We walked around the maze of streets from Trevi fountain and finally found the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Pantheon</span>. (Not to be confused with the Parthenon. We found that a few days later in Athens.) The Pantheon is one of the best-preserved of all Roman buildings. It was a temple to all of the gods of Ancient Rome but since then has been used as a Roman Catholic church. My favorite thing about the Pantheon is that the only source of light is the open dome at the top of the building and the front entrance. Last time we visited the Pantheon, it was raining and we got wet <i>inside</i> the building.<br />
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It was time for dinner and a gelato so we headed to my favorite piazza in Rome-- <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Piazza Navona. </span>This piazza is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian and is in the shape of an oval. It’s full of beautiful artwork, fountains and yummy gelato.<br />
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We took one more round trip tour on the bus, fell asleep a few times and finally made it to the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Roman Colloseum</span>. It was closed for the night but still such a beautiful, incredible place to visit, even from the outside.<br />
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Finally we made it back to our hotel, after way too many hours of no sleep, ready to begin our next adventure in the morning. . . Athens.<br />
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<br />heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061626477737855499noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5331423483971283964.post-65692162816944730892013-10-01T15:29:00.000-06:002015-05-09T00:12:46.999-06:00Frankenweenie Birthday Party<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This little spitfire turned 11 years old a few weeks ago. It doesn’t seem real to me. She’s as tall as her 7 year old little brother and acts younger than a pre-teen but unfortunately that doesn’t mean <i>everything</i> is delayed. Her body is changing and, emotionally, I’m not ready for it yet. It just doesn’t feel right when it still seems she’s a few years younger than her actual age. But that’s what happens, ready or not, she’s growing up! She has her 5th grade maturation program coming up in a few weeks but I think we will skip it since I won’t be in town. So many changes come with this age . . . only one more year in elementary school and then she’s off to middle school and we’re still not sure what we are going to do for her school placement next year. If inclusion will still be in her best interest or if a cluster setting at a different middle school, away from all of her neighborhood friends is a better fit. Ugh. It’s just too much to think about right now so I just pretend like it’s years away. </div>
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Morgan’s favorite activities are swimming and watching movies so I knew she would be excited about doing one of those things (once again) for her birthday party this year. I thought she would want a Hotel Transylvania party since she loves to watch that movie over and over again and got so excited to wear the Harry Potter cape at Griffin’s party and kept saying “Look! I’m a vampire!” but when I asked her she kept saying, “Nope. Frankenweenie Party!” There was no changing her mind. She was set on it! I wasn’t sure what we could do for a Frankenweenie party but somehow it all came together and ended up being a really fun birthday party!</div>
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We started her birthday with her favorite foods for breakfast--sausages, strawberries, jello with whip cream and chocolate milk. Then she had a few minutes to open some gifts. She was excited to get the Frankenweenie books and stuffed animals. She only likes to open a few gifts and then she’s done for the year. We have to almost force her open the rest of them. So I try to keep our presents to a minimum for her.</div>
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Gift that came in the mail from Nan and Papa</div>
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Morgan talked about her birthday for weeks and was so excited that it was finally here. She was all smiles and laughter in the morning until she found out it was a school day. “Nope. No school for me today. It’s my birthday!” And any good mom would have just let their child stay home from school on their birthday but this mom had way too much left to do to be ready for her birthday party and needed that break from all of the kids. So I tried to make up for it with a birthday treat delivery to her 5th grade class.</div>
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Then it was time for her birthday party. I lucked out on the decorations with her birthday being the month before Halloween. I was able to find lime green halloween decorations that coordinated with her Frankenweenie theme and when else can you find bone sprinkles for the table and cupcakes? All of the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_13?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=frankenweenie+plush&sprefix=frankenweenie%2Caps%2C719" target="_blank">Frankenweenie dolls</a> were marked way down on Amazon since the movie came out last year so, of course, I bought them all. </div>
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We started with a Frankenweenie dinner-- green jello, green grapes, “weenies” (pigs in a blanket), chips and green soda. </div>
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The Party Guests</div>
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There were lots of gifts with so many friends which takes a long time because Morgan likes to check out each gift and play with each one before opening the next one. She was not happy about being rushed or about having to open more gifts. <br />
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Morgan with her buddy, Paxton. He has always gone out of his way to look out for Morgan-- requests the seat right next to her in the classroom, asks if he can be her reading partner, etc. One day when I was asking Morgan if she had fun swimming at my parents’ house with lots of neighborhood friends she said, “Yes! And Paxton?” “Oh. Did you have fun with Paxton?” “Yes! He’s my cousin!” Which is her way of saying he’s so much more than just a friend.<br />
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Grandma and Grandpa came to the party too!</div>
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Make a wish!!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGDdmJ5q-zEJheYcRAJckamM_4E6wCDbz0T2k69HyRvPG1qngwVJj6kfVDX67Lvs7OF43yTiV4Kb_iuSTM9Aq6TzkQtQYdL6NvB-NWmxfCu47T3wEdOONhsGBRhio168Vx7rCUuo_b3uHg/s1600/IMG_9612.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGDdmJ5q-zEJheYcRAJckamM_4E6wCDbz0T2k69HyRvPG1qngwVJj6kfVDX67Lvs7OF43yTiV4Kb_iuSTM9Aq6TzkQtQYdL6NvB-NWmxfCu47T3wEdOONhsGBRhio168Vx7rCUuo_b3uHg/s640/IMG_9612.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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After cupcakes and ice cream, it was finally time to watch FRANKENWEENIE.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqFNLTKQoITy3TzjXBhATnWa31WRf9Ycq0HGGujqAJ8lPqTIQtr808gyBinoraE1y5blV0ItcLa7BlW2v230M8m6uVcnRdafSAIl68oBZRj9R0wqKr1yiaCgKGgi2LKXPN3B1FvLQdn6lM/s1600/IMG_9674.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqFNLTKQoITy3TzjXBhATnWa31WRf9Ycq0HGGujqAJ8lPqTIQtr808gyBinoraE1y5blV0ItcLa7BlW2v230M8m6uVcnRdafSAIl68oBZRj9R0wqKr1yiaCgKGgi2LKXPN3B1FvLQdn6lM/s640/IMG_9674.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Gift bags:</span> </div>
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<a href="http://family.go.com/printables/article-1056850-frankenweenie-character-masks--t/" target="_blank">Frankenweenie character mask</a> (“Weird Girl” was the party favorite)</div>
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"Turtle Monster" green slime ($ section at Target)</div>
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<a href="http://a.family.go.com/images/cms/disney/PDFs/frankenweenie-coloring-pages-maze-sf-printable-0912.pdf" target="_blank">Frankenweenie coloring page and maze</a></div>
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Frankenweenie soda </div>
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<a href="http://www.target.com/p/sour-patch-zombie-kids-soft-chewy-candy-80-pk/-/A-14702380#prodSlot=dlp_medium_1_12&term=sour+patch" target="_blank">Zombie sour patch kids</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxJKyox6M4HryXZJr6M2e3scK8-0kFtAQQUen5FTSrDosVWbdR_Jla73jHGZjmlDoja2O1WnnALFAus9IABEEepSma8gdpVXfjCiZkdlwHqiKezbHH7cVa7f_TKRETYuYp3v9N_yeU0ODo/s1600/IMG_9564.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxJKyox6M4HryXZJr6M2e3scK8-0kFtAQQUen5FTSrDosVWbdR_Jla73jHGZjmlDoja2O1WnnALFAus9IABEEepSma8gdpVXfjCiZkdlwHqiKezbHH7cVa7f_TKRETYuYp3v9N_yeU0ODo/s640/IMG_9564.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">And since she’s 11-- here are 11 things you may not know about Morgan</span>:</div>
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1. I think she is going to grow up to be a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">sound effects artist</span>. She loves to watch movies with subtitles because she likes to read along and say the lines with the actors. All of those random sound effect sounds? Yep, they also get subtitled. I never really thought about it until we were on a hike this past summer and stepped on a branch, Morgan said, “twig snapping”. I wasn’t sure what she said so I asked her again and she repeated, “twig snapping”. I couldn’t stop laughing but at the same time, was excited to hear her use new vocabulary that she picked up all on her own from subtitles. She has now become our official closed captioning commentator. For example, we were sharing a hotel room on our last trip to Lake Powell and Ryan would not be quiet as we were trying to fall asleep. Yawning too loud. Pretending to sneeze. Knocking on the nightstand. Morgan was quick with each reprimand, “Stop sighing! Stop sniffling! Stop sneezing! Stop knocking on the door!” Then the other day she was petting our neighbor’s dog and the dog was making her dog sounds as she was excited to be getting loves. Morgan quickly said, “oh, she’s whimpering”. And she couldn’t have chosen a better verb! Of course, there is always bad that comes with the good, like the words we don’t want her to know and repeat. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikhE1CPvNKS8H0jIqYgOC9ZOCgkirmml5YKe9_47YIAKkVJSQ-9nFlgxaOlG3fX7mgoySBskv94t6rfEVmrkNqiFmwMy1MwIdv_OYZmDVFdxXfrS9-5PMJbQjV4vTqPXL_49h1MNNk9H9b/s1600/IMG_7310.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikhE1CPvNKS8H0jIqYgOC9ZOCgkirmml5YKe9_47YIAKkVJSQ-9nFlgxaOlG3fX7mgoySBskv94t6rfEVmrkNqiFmwMy1MwIdv_OYZmDVFdxXfrS9-5PMJbQjV4vTqPXL_49h1MNNk9H9b/s400/IMG_7310.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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2. She’s in <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">5th grade</span> and goes to her neighborhood school. She has a morning aide and afternoon aide who are very loving and patient with her. They know Morgan well since they were both with her last year as well. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjZxNYYXqxW83BUVjeGTIlLgqiQ2EwBq3Upz8_Otw5Yv9mafnMDNpDmKwmjr9fHEQ2Scn7xL7BDJJocHZP-Ld7T9DQU331P7O6hBNZKo3as5z_8EQXxYSwL1EHQzOkM1Kl0hzzUoUL_7O2/s1600/IMG_9187.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjZxNYYXqxW83BUVjeGTIlLgqiQ2EwBq3Upz8_Otw5Yv9mafnMDNpDmKwmjr9fHEQ2Scn7xL7BDJJocHZP-Ld7T9DQU331P7O6hBNZKo3as5z_8EQXxYSwL1EHQzOkM1Kl0hzzUoUL_7O2/s400/IMG_9187.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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3. She is a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">great reader</span> and loves to read Pinkalicious books, church song books, subtitles and whatever books are around. She reads on a 4th grade level.</div>
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4. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Spelling</span> is her best subject in school. She usually gets 100% on her tests and has the same words as her peers.</div>
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5. She started swimming for the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Special Olympics</span> this fall. She loves going to swim team but is still working on swimming the full length of the pool instead of floating or underwater swimming to the bottom of the pool. She competed in her first meet last month and got a bronze medal. She took 3rd out of 3 swimmers (that’s a nice way of saying she took last.) She has her first state meet this next weekend.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibTJEvlnh1-IvrZNtC7PAI92A-PPobwQCEXmye6sMc4GqZ-ofrdmwbq9w7pna1oFanySuQYFcy-g0PfORYJBl0tcOcx6xj6PSEk74EY3qTnphpKNYmOYVAzGi7QRH__yp_dpaoAj1HaR0h/s1600/IMG_7234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibTJEvlnh1-IvrZNtC7PAI92A-PPobwQCEXmye6sMc4GqZ-ofrdmwbq9w7pna1oFanySuQYFcy-g0PfORYJBl0tcOcx6xj6PSEk74EY3qTnphpKNYmOYVAzGi7QRH__yp_dpaoAj1HaR0h/s400/IMG_7234.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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6. She still cheers with <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Elite Angels</span> and loves the competitions and performing but doesn’t love the practices.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLOxBBB1xRwuCUFqw14SDzVj8-f9NmQefto6M_AEw6YIiyjYc06jmJ66lYiLjcm1fVPtg-7Siomu3A-qkfAOtFBKm-NDLbcfSnPS4Q6JW0A-p0W2rzPP_tvTQa2P3-wm2D_9JcdSAQJwz_/s1600/IMG_6012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLOxBBB1xRwuCUFqw14SDzVj8-f9NmQefto6M_AEw6YIiyjYc06jmJ66lYiLjcm1fVPtg-7Siomu3A-qkfAOtFBKm-NDLbcfSnPS4Q6JW0A-p0W2rzPP_tvTQa2P3-wm2D_9JcdSAQJwz_/s400/IMG_6012.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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7. She has sensory issues with her feet and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">hates shoes</span> and socks and wants to wear flip flops everyday. Which doesn’t really work that well in Utah with our cold winters and lots of snow. </div>
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8. She holds all of her <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">dolls by their head</span> (Jessie, Merida and Tangled are her favorites) as she watches movies or reads books with them. They help read the book or act out parts of the movie. She’s recently started talking to herself through her doll. It’s actually been interesting to listen to her talk back and forth with the doll and get a glimpse into what she is really thinking. She has detailed conversations with them. Morgan is the naughty one and the “barbie" is the parent. </div>
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For example--</div>
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Morgan: “Oh my God!” (a phrase we don’t use but she picked up from subtitles and movies)</div>
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Barbie: “You shouldn’t say that. That isn’t nice.”</div>
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Morgan: “Oh I’m sorry! My bad!”</div>
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Barbie; “That’s ok. Just don’t say it.”</div>
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Morgan: “Ok” </div>
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9. She works hard every day at school to earn a “<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Super Day</span>” which means she earns watching her favorite movies on the computer after school. Of course she can’t watch them without subtitles, Jessie and skipping back to the same scene over and over and over again. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-epTVE3A5HuggojtGrLjHSz5t4A6gPVH-Af00YRbcun0UcOD5R6b9mwMm5_r-1vmRt-I6gtCGGz1RWpKfg0pQGR0xP4n9z7v5WmYes1eHY0bpKTich8aDcsvxiChapa8_pH8dONvm8j85/s1600/IMG_7305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-epTVE3A5HuggojtGrLjHSz5t4A6gPVH-Af00YRbcun0UcOD5R6b9mwMm5_r-1vmRt-I6gtCGGz1RWpKfg0pQGR0xP4n9z7v5WmYes1eHY0bpKTich8aDcsvxiChapa8_pH8dONvm8j85/s320/IMG_7305.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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10. Morgan loves to sing and the first time I heard her singing “<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Reflection</span>” from Mulan it was like the first time I had ever really listened to the words of that song. The words took on a whole new meaning as I listened to Morgan sing the song. </div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Look at me,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"> </span></i></div>
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">I will never pass for a perfect bride, or a perfect</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">daughter.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Can it be, I'm not meant to play this part?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Now I see, that if I were truly to be myself.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Who is that girl I see?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Staring straight</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">back at me?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Why is my reflection someone I don't know?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Some how I cannot hide,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Who I am.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Though I've tried.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">When will my reflection show?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Who I am </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><i>Inside.</i></span><br />
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11. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Stats</span>. Height and Weight = 4’2” and 65 lbs.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Corbel, helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><i><br /></i></span><br />
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And one more just for fun-- She never hides her excitement or frustration. You definitely know when Morgan is happy because you will hear lots of “<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">whees</span>” and “<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">woohoos</span>”!!!<br />
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Happy 11th Birthday Morgan! We are so lucky to have you in our family! We love you!</div>
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heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061626477737855499noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5331423483971283964.post-26279103030230043532013-07-30T01:52:00.001-06:002015-05-09T00:15:11.599-06:00Jack’s 16th {surprise} Birthday Party<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
There are certain birthdays that hit me harder than others. . . so far the emotional ones have been 8, 12, and now 16. Jack turned 16 last week and we had a big surprise birthday party for him. I wanted to do something fun and different for his 16th birthday. I was planning on renting out a party place for wallyball, games and movie theater (to watch a sixteen year highlight DVD of Jack) when I realized we could do all of that at my parents’ house <i>and</i> swim. So what I had hoped would be fun and different ended up being a whole lot like all of his previous birthdays. Swimming at his grandparents. Just this year there was no pinata. I really wanted this birthday to be special and for Jack to feel the love that we have for him. And hope that Jack was able to feel that even if it was the same ol’ swimming party and cake. </div>
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Jack wanted one present for his birthday. . . an iPhone5. I promised Jack years ago that if he played the piano until he was 16 he could pick out any cell phone he wanted for his 16th birthday. And that was all the motivation he needed to keep on playing. He started piano in first grade and only took one break a few years ago. That adds up to a lot of hours and dedication over the past 9 years. He definitely earned that phone. <br />
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The night before his birthday I asked Jack what he wanted to do for his birthday (since he had decided he would take some friends boating when they all got back in town a few weeks later) and he said he wanted breakfast at Kneaders, lunch at Melty Way and dinner at Outback Steakhouse. He later decided he would rather sleep in and skip the breakfast portion of the celebration. We did make it to Melty Way for lunch with the family but that was the only one. We’ll have to take him to Outback some time before summer is over to make up for not going on his birthday.<br />
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Then I had to find somewhere for him to go while we set up for his surprise party at my parents. I sent him to a movie, Pacific Rim, with his friend, Logan and told them we would go to dinner at Outback after the movie. </div>
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We got it all set up and then waited for Jack to arrive. We were hiding in the wallyball court and could hear him walking down the stairs. Gavin told him that Grandma had a table she needed help moving that was in the court. Everyone was hiding in the corner, except for me, I was out in the middle of the court waiting to film the surprise. He looked over the edge of the court on his way down the stairs to see what table needed to be moved and saw me. Bummer. I ruined the surprise. But he was still happy to see his friends. I’m still not sure if he knew about the party or not. I think he figured we were up to something. I think they all had a fun night playing wallyball, swimming and hanging out together. <br />
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My favorite part of the party was watching the highlight DVD. We waited until sunset with everyone in the pool and set up the outdoor projector and screen on the deck overlooking the valley and watched Jack’s life pass by in 30 minutes. It was an emotional project to do and even more emotional to watch. It seems just like yesterday that he was that curly headed, smart as can be, little toddler. I’m so proud of the young man he has become. And the video was a visual reminder of all of the fun times we have had together and the blessing it has been to be his Mom. He’s such a good kid, so well balanced . . . talented, funny, goofy, loving, smart, social, example, a little naughty. It all makes him who he is and who we love!<br />
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And for the die hards (aka family) who have a few minutes (34 to be exact) to spare and want to see what an amazing kid my boy is. Grab a snack. Sit back and relax. And enjoy . . .<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/70716371" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> <br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/70716371">Jack 16 Years</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user19658810">Sealbark</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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In honor of his 16th Birthday . . . 16 things we love about Jack.<br />
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1. He can laugh and call his friends at midnight when he finds out he didn’t pass his AP European History exam. All in a random Batman voice.<br />
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2. He grew a 2.5 inches taller this past year and is now 6’1”<br />
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3. He didn’t get his driver’s license on his 16th birthday because he waited too long to get his permit. He has to wait until September 1st to take the test. He’s having fun driving all over with me though. We need to venture out to the freeway one day soon. (I’m so not ready for this!)<br />
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4. He lettered in track as a Sophomore.<br />
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5. His latest hobby is making music videos with his friends. And they’re all a little random and weird.<br />
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6. He thought it would be funny on our last vacation to Bear Lake to leave a lasting scent in the sauna.<br />
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7. He had his first date a few months ago when he went to Prom with a group date.<br />
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8. He worked as a sweeper this past year at his high school and saved enough money to buy an iPad. Then lost his motivation to work.<br />
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9. He loves to stay up all night and sleep all day. (just like his dad!)<br />
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10. He was ordained a Priest the day after his birthday and got to bless the Sacrament for the first time with his dad this past Sunday. My kids were all thrilled by how big the pieces of bread were on the Sacrament tray.<br />
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11. His favorite activities are boating and basketball.<br />
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12. He and Ryan just discovered the greatness of Netflix and have spent most of the summer watching Lost episodes.<br />
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13. He’s a really good BIG brother. Even though he can pester his siblings just like they all do, he’s the first one to offer a piggy back ride to a younger sibling when they need an extra boost or to give a hug or love.<br />
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14. He’s a great friend and has had the same two best friends since he was 2 years old. Long lasting friendships are rare these days. I loved seeing all of the pictures in the DVD of Jack with Logan and Jace.<br />
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15. He hates to wear pants and wears shorts year round except for the few hours at church every Sunday.<br />
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16. He went with his friends to donate blood a few days ago and acted disappointed when he found out he wasn’t eligible to donate because of his vacation to Mexico last fall. Secretly, I think he was relieved and happy that he still got the Skullcandy earbuds they were giving away.<br />
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Happy 16th Birthday Jacko! We love you!</div>
<br />heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061626477737855499noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5331423483971283964.post-53018119363027128902013-07-22T00:29:00.002-06:002015-05-09T00:18:23.994-06:00‘GRIFFIN’dor Birthday Celebration<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
July is a busy month -- our family has 3 birthdays and an anniversary all within days of each other. I am finally getting a minute to breathe and as fun as it was to put together these birthday parties, I am so relieved to have this week over with and time to relax and enjoy summer where the livin' is easy again!</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Griffin turned 7</span> this week and we celebrated with a big<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> Harry Potter</span> birthday party. I had so much fun with all of the birthday preparations for this party (I’ll list all of the details in this post for those looking for HP birthday party ideas) and thought it was kind of funny when I would find a new idea online. “Hadley, are there chocolate frogs in any of the Harry Potter movies?” It probably would have been easier to come up with some of my own ideas for the party if I had ever seen any of the Harry Potter movies. Luckily there are blogs with lots of great ideas and I just copied the stuff that looked like fun and something I could easily put together in a few days. I knew right when Griffin said he wanted a Harry Potter birthday that it would be fun to have a magician for the birthday entertainment. Griffin was excited about the magician so we booked<a href="http://www.utahmagic.com/birthday.html" target="_blank"> the exact same magician</a> that came to Ryan’s Harry Potter birthday party 9 years ago (Highly recommend him if you are local. He’s great entertainment for the adults and the kids).</div>
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Griffin was so excited for his birthday and started counting down the days about a month ago. And got really excited when the number of days left were finally in the single digits. Reminding me each day how many days were left until his Birthday, “only 3 more days until it’s my birthday, Mom!”.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Party Details</span><br />
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<a href="http://helpinglittlehands.blogspot.com/2013/01/diy-harry-potter-wands.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Harry Potter Wands</span></a> I bought wooden dowels, hot glue and craft paint at Michael’s and followed this <a href="http://helpinglittlehands.blogspot.com/2013/01/diy-harry-potter-wands.html" target="_blank">tutorial</a>.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Harry Potter Cake</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Owl Cupcakes</span> made with oreos, chocolate drops and candy corns</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EBMUNU/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Chocolate Frogs</span></a> I used <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EBMUNU/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">this kit</a> from Amazon and chocolate melts from Michaels. And printed out this <a href="http://gaddia.deviantart.com/art/Chocolate-Frog-Box-Design-160073288" target="_blank">template</a> on cardstock to make the boxes for the frogs. Surprisingly the boxes took the most time with the cutting and pasting that it took to put them together. </div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans</span> I bought the big container of jelly beans from Costco and filled <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000IZ33PG/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">spice jars </a>with jelly beans and put <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/home/Harry%20Potter%20Birthday" target="_blank">labels</a> on them that I printed out on full sheet shipping label paper. </div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Butter Beer drinks</span> I bought IBC cream soda and added<a href="https://www.dropbox.com/home/Harry%20Potter%20Birthday" target="_blank"> Butterbeer labels</a> for the kids to take home in their party bags and bought 2 liter Shasta cream soda with <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/home/Harry%20Potter%20Birthday" target="_blank">Butterbeer labels</a> to use during the party. </div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Golden Snitches</span> made with Ferrero Rocher chocolates and yellow feathers hot glued on the sides. </div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004N8TJTI/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Harry Potter glasses</span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Black Capes</span> I ran out of time to order capes but bought black, plastic tablecloths at Zurchers and cut each cape about 3 ft long and 2 1/2 ft wide. I got 4 capes out of each rectangular tablecloth. I then stapled 2 pleats on the top part (so it wouldn’t be such a big gap around the back) then safety pinned the capes on the kids shirts.</div>
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<a href="https://www.dropbox.com/home/Harry%20Potter%20Birthday" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Harry Potter Signs</span></a> for table display</div>
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My favorite birthday party helpers--Gavin, Ryan and Hadley! Ryan baked the cake (and may have forgotten to set the timer on the oven). Gavin decorated the cake and did this awesome Harry Potter design. Ryan helped the party guests choose their wand from Olivander’s Wand shop. Hadley was in charge of Madam Malkin’s Robes and glasses. She helped each guest get fitted into their robe and glasses.<br />
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The wands were by far the biggest hit of the party! I almost didn’t make them since I was running out of time to get everything done but so glad I didn’t skip them. If you decide to only do one thing for your Harry Potter party, this is it! The kids were so excited to pick one out and find out they got to take the wand home with them. I used this <a href="http://helpinglittlehands.blogspot.com/2013/01/diy-harry-potter-wands.html" target="_blank">easy online tutorial</a> and wooden dowels, hot glue and paints. And VOILA . . . awesome Harry Potter wands that your kids will love using to cast all of their spells.<br />
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After the party guests were all dressed up in their robes, HP glasses and matched with their magical wand, it was time for pictures in front of Platform 9 3/4. Train departing for Griffindor Tower.<br />
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And seriously, Mia made the cutest Hermoine</div>
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All of the party guests</div>
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Griffin loved being the main assistant in the magician’s show. He got to hold rabbits, a dove, balloon animals and have quarters fall out of his nose and ears. He was a little silly and didn’t have the best manners. I remember Ryan acting the same way at his party. It must have something to do with being a 7 year old and standing up in front of all of your friends and trying to act like it’s not a big deal. Or my kids just have really bad manners.</div>
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After the magic show, it was time to pull out the sorting hat to sort the guests into Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw houses. The kids had fun with this and had no idea that Hadley had my phone on speaker in her pocket while Ryan called out the house names from the basement.<br />
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THE BIRTHDAY BOY!</div>
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After the party I saw that the magician was doing a free show at our local library which is about 10 houses away. I wish I would have known that when I was planning his party! I could have saved some money and taken the kids to the free magic show at the library. Griffin, Hadley and Mia were excited to go watch the show again before dinner. Griffin got to choose anywhere he wanted to go for his birthday dinner. Of course, he chose Chick-Fil-A and enjoyed some more birthday ice cream.</div>
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In honor of his 7th birthday. . . 7 things we love about Griffin!<br />
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1. He just started playing soccer and basketball this past year and is loving it. His favorite position in soccer is defense. I think his team had one victory last season. He’s got the best backwards hop on the basketball court and is so much fun to watch.<br />
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2. He is a great reader and was on the top reading level in his first grade class. Now if we could just get him to sit down and enjoy reading.<br />
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3. He LOVES his electronic devices and is the first one to have all of his morning jobs done so he can play on the iPad right when he wakes up. And he does a great job with making his bed and keeping his bedroom picked up.<br />
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4. He still gets upset easily when he doesn’t get his way but has made progress this past year. His outbursts when something doesn’t go his way is something that we are still working on. Trying to help him understand that sometimes accidents happen, that <i>he </i>may have been the one to misplace something, etc.<br />
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5. He loves for me to cuddle with him at night. It doesn’t have to be long but just a few minutes to talk about his day and have a little one on one time together. And he says he likes Mom to lay by him better than Dad because Mom falls asleep faster.<br />
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6. His favorite food is McDonald’s Happy Meal with chicken nuggets and sweet and sour sauce.<br />
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7. He is my biggest helper. He does his morning jobs without complaining and usually without me asking. He offers to take the trash out to the big garbage cans when he sees me getting ready to do it. <br />
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Happy 7th Birthday Griffin! </div>
<br />heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061626477737855499noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5331423483971283964.post-15521636727926098162013-07-01T02:01:00.000-06:002015-05-09T00:20:43.149-06:00SUNDANCE {with a dash of Robert Redford}<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We spent the weekend at the beautiful Sundance Resort. It was a quick getaway which makes packing simple and easy. We grabbed a few outfits, sweatshirts and swimsuits and drove 60 minutes south. Mia made sure she grabbed all of her necessities . . . a purse, sunglasses, hat, harmonica and a few books.</div>
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This was our family’s first time to visit Sundance. The kids loved checking out all of the wildlife--snakes, ferrets, squirrels, butterflies--and anything else they could see through the binoculars (usually a sibling’s face). And we loved the cabin-like rooms that were big enough to fit all of us.<br />
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Our first night we took a tractor ride up the mountain to watch the Utah Symphony’s Patriotic Celebration in the outdoor amphitheatre. It was a beautiful evening and the music was perfect. The younger kids were ready to head back to our room after the first few songs but made it through the whole performance and even enjoyed it a little bit.<br />
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The highlight for me was seeing Robert Redford and having him smile at Morgan and me! We were walking back from the bathroom and he watched us as we walked back to our seats and gave us a big smile. Seeing Robert Redford <i>at</i> Sundance is definitely the icing on the cake! Gavin jokingly asked when checking in if we would be seeing Mr. Redford this weekend. They told him they were 99% sure that we would not see him claiming he only visits the resort a few times a year and they never know when that will be. Well, lucky us!<br />
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<i>Robert Redford (sitting in black shirt)</i><br />
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The Utah mountains are the perfect escape in the summer, usually a little cooler than home but this weekend was so hot everywhere that it didn’t feel any cooler. We spent the afternoon on the lake, boating at Deer Creek.<br />
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The lake was so crowded and rough but that didn’t stop Jack from trying out the wake board. He’s been watching YouTube wake board videos with crazy stunts and been excited to get out behind the boat and practice. He stayed out there a long time and never complained about all of the other boats and rough waters.<br />
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A few people suggested we should hike up to Stewart Falls to see the beautiful waterfalls. We took the chair lift up to the top of the mountain and started our 3 mile hike. It was a super hot day again. We didn’t have the best hiking shoes or clothing (Morgan refused to wear her tennis shoes and hiked in crocs). I forgot to put sunscreen on any of us. And we had no idea what we had gotten ourselves into.<br />
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It was a narrow trail on the side of the mountain for most of the way to the falls. Morgan and I both share a fear of heights. My heart was pounding as I tried not to look at the edge or focus on my kids running ahead not concerned about the possibility that they could fall of the mountain. Morgan was just as scared and clinging to Gavin, saying over and over, “I can NOT!” We found a place in the shade to rest and pass around a jug of water to share with each other. All of us realized this was a much harder hike than we had anticipated and tried to decide if it was better to just turn around and go back. After some discussion we decided to keep going forward, that it would be worth it to finish the hike. We started hiking again and within a few minutes we were off of the steep trail and on to an easier section of the hike. It was a good reminder that just like in LIFE . . . when you feel like giving up and scared to go any further if you could only see around the corner, you would find that the hardest challenges were behind you and the rest is downhill.<br />
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Morgan has such a hard time in the heat and isn’t able to regulate her body heat very well (you can see how flushed and splotchy her face gets in the heat). She’s lucky she’s got such a strong daddy and big brother who carried for most of the 3 mile hike. <br />
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After 2 hours of hiking, we finally made it to the falls. Enjoyed the beautiful view, rested on the rocks and played in the stream for awhile. Then it was time to start on our hike back down to the resort. The hike down was easier and only took an hour. It was miserably hot but I’m still glad we did it. It was a hard activity to do as a family but it’s these kind of activities that bring us closer and make us stronger. Jack and Ryan were loving and concerned big brothers and did their best to take care of their younger siblings. Helping them on steep terrain, carrying them on their backs, going back up the trail to make sure their dad didn’t need any help with Morgan, sacrificing an extra sip so the little kids could have more to drink. It made me proud to see their love and concern. <br />
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We finally made it down the mountain and we looked like we had been camping for weeks. We walked into the resort’s bathrooms covered in dust and dirt, head to toe. We were more than ready to get back to our air conditioned home and showers. And Hadley. She had her own adventure this weekend. She went with the Young Women to a Book of Mormon reading activity at a cabin in Brighton Resort. They all read the Book of Mormon in two days together. We missed having her with us but know she accomplished something she will never forget. . . reading the entire Book of Mormon at 12 years old. <br />
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Happy end of a great weekend!heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061626477737855499noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5331423483971283964.post-15136495774680604732013-06-07T01:31:00.001-06:002015-05-09T00:21:51.343-06:00Another one bites the dust.Tomorrow is <i>technically</i> the last day of school. Jack and Ryan decided to stop going a few days ago claiming no one is going anymore and the teachers aren’t even taking roll. I always get anxiety with the end of a school year. Nothing signifies my kids getting older more than the school year ending and knowing they will never be that little again. I know a lot of moms cry on the first day of school. I cry on the last day (or the last week). I feel lucky that I got to be part of so many end of year activities this past month . . . egg drop, field trips to the zoo, This Is The Place, Wheeler Farm, park and helping with the parachute game on field day. <br />
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I want my teenagers to have the fun memories that come with the end of the school year--hanging out in the halls with their friends, passing their yearbook around; Instead Jack picked up his yearbook and stayed for about an hour for signatures. Ryan didn’t even go to school today and missed getting his yearbook until he went up after school for work. I saw a picture of another middle school student in front of the school with his buddies. Next year that school will be gone, torn down, to make room for the new school they’ve been building behind it these past 2 years. I’m hoping I can get Ryan and a few of his friends to go up there tomorrow to get one last picture before they make their way to high school next year. <br />
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I’m helping with the end of year party for 6th grade tomorrow. I don’t think it has sunk in yet that Hadley will be going to junior high in the fall. She has grown up so quickly and is becoming such an incredible young lady. She helped Morgan and Griffin tonight with writing their thank you cards to their teachers and gave them a bath while I was at a Ds moms dinner. She is always looking for ways to help. It feels like uncharted waters with her going to junior high. Not sure what to expect with a girl. I remember the catty and meanness of junior high girls. I remember the insecurities and never feeling good enough. My wish for Hadley is for her to know SHE IS GOOD ENOUGH. She is MORE than good enough. I hope she is able to focus on what really matters and always be the first one with a kind word or to lift another. To continue with her strong faith and testimony in her Savior.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The kids all made cards for their teachers tonight and put a picture collage on the front of the card with a gift card inside.</i></span><br />
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Morgan had an amazing 4th grade year. Her teacher loved having her in her classroom and <i>part</i> of the class. She insisted that all of her therapies be pushed in the classroom and that Morgan only leave her classroom for 30 minutes of Math each day. We are going to miss Mrs. McBee and her love, attitude and belief in Morgan. Luckily her aides are both planning on coming back next year to be with her again. That gives me some peace through all of the transitioning and hope that what has happened this year can continue next year. Morgan’s behavior tracking had 3 choices this year: Super, Okay, and Rough. ‘Super Day’ meant she got to watch a movie on the computer when she got home from school (her favorite thing), which meant she was laser focused on getting a super day and asked her teacher and aides repeatedly throughout the day, “Super Day?”<br />
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Griffin is ready for summer. Academics and reading come so easily for him and I don’t think he felt very challenged this year. He started the year in a classroom without knowing any of the other students (all of his neighborhood friends were in another class) and ended the year with lots of friends. I think he had a good year but he definitely loves his electronics and would rather be home on the iPad watching Pokemon or playing games.<br />
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Mia is so ready for Kindergarten now that Preschool is over. She asks everyday if she is going to Kindergarten today and how she will know when it is the end of summer. She <i>loved </i>preschool and was excited to go every time. She learned classic songs that even her grandma remembers, how to tie her shoes, her address and phone number, how to write her letters and is able to sound out simple words and is totally capable of reading but just waiting for her mom to check out some beginning reading books from the library and get started. She had her final preschool program and talked about it for weeks before it happened. She loves performing and doesn’t get shy at all to be in front of people.<br />
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I’m looking forward to summer and having everyone around for a little bit. It gets crazy with scout camp, basketball camps, girls camp, Brighton camp, EFY and Trek. Everyone will be together for only 3 of the 10 weeks of summer. Hopefully we can make the best of those 3 weeks. Now it’s time to get ready for the “clap out” tomorrow when Hadley and all of the 6th graders make their final walk down the halls of their school. <i>Sniff, sniff</i>.heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061626477737855499noreply@blogger.com1