Saturday, October 30, 2010

Trunk-or-Treat--Arizona Style

We did it.  We crashed the party.  It was so wonderful to see our 7th Ward friends!
So many great families, so many memories.
Courtney misses these girls!  How seriously cute are they?!?
We had to keep with tradition & finished up the night at Rawhide.
Shocking!  Darren's in the electric chair!
Happy Haunting!

Temple Trip

We woke up in the wee morning hours to come to a very special event at the Mesa temple.
 The kids & Darren went to the visitor's center and watched the Joseph Smith film while they waited.
 Hooray!  This darlin' little lady had a special day today:)  Congratulations, Karen!  So happy for you, my dear friend!

You sassy thing, you!

Friday, October 29, 2010

Trunk or Treat--California Style

 Xanderman only went to one car for Trunk-or-Treat.  The rest of the time he passed out candy.
{No masks, so we had to do our best with eyeliner}
 Maggie is our favorite!  The Wimmers are an awesome family & little Maggie cracks us up like no other!
 Here's Jack---in all his Halloween glory.
My monster man!
Yeah, stuff it in, baby!  Cotton candy is the best!

Costume Parade

This is the first year the kids have been able to dress up for Halloween at school.
 Jack Skellington {mask and makeup not allowed}
The 6th graders actually provide the valet service for the school pick-up and drop-off.  It is considered a real honor to be a valet.  The kids do such a great job!
6th graders are considered "too old" for the costume parade, but all the younger grades participate.
Courtney's princess-ly patience was being tried, as she was sandwiched between two butterflies. 
These wings keep smackin' me in the face!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Company Rocks!

Since the week of my surgery, we've been flooded with company!
Loved it!  So....
Josh, Jamie, Tyler, Camryn, Stephanie, Kathie, Raeo, Cheryl, Jeanette, Kirk, Netalia, Maleah, Nick, Sheri, Cole, Jacob, David, Amy, Braden, Tristen, Camden, Jaren, Jenni, Jeff, Jaclyn, Lizzie, Layten...
I loved visiting with you all, but am extremely sorry I didn't get pictures documenting our wonderful visits together!
I was recovering.
Thanks for visiting us in SoCal!  XOXOXO's

Fall is in the Air!

On my walk home today...

Monday, October 25, 2010

It's Halloweeeeentime!

This fall season has been so FUN at Disneyland. 
We love all the fall decor, characters in costumes, and of course, Haunted Mansion Holiday.
In September, the Haunted Mansion closes for a few weeks.  The anticipation is palpable, and when it reopens, Tim Burton's Jack Skellington has taken over. 
 Xander's been a little obsessed with Nightmare Before Christmas ever since then.
He's waited weeks to get an autograph from Jack.
 Jack's girlfriend, Sally {who creeps us out in the movie} was actually very sweet & pretty
This nightmare is a dream come true!
I'll admit it.  We're Disney addicts.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Movie Fright Night

Since I was still in recovery mode, we decided to have Courtney's "friend party" later in the month & make it Halloween themed.
We held it outside, and had so much fun decorating for it!
{Our little princess, decorating the rosebushes}
Silhouette makes these ADORABLE cupcake pics and wrappers that you can print and cut out.
We filled skeleton hands with popcorn {complete with bat rings}...
Put some poms in the palms...
Put out twinkle lights, snacks, eyeballs in a cauldron, a few ghosts in the trees...
Courtney picked the movie Alvin & the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein.  Throw in some glow sticks, pass the pumpkin, a mummy wrap & you've got a horrifically fun night!

Monday, October 11, 2010

Newport, Not Hawaii

It was a little blustery at the beach today. 
{I stole these pics from Mom's camera}
Every few years, the Rooses enjoy their timeshare in Hawaii.  Apparently California beaches don't compare after you've been to Hawaii. :)
We had a fun day searching for shells, warding off seagulls & reading.  Mom has a Kindle--jealous!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

10/10/10

Happy Birthday, Princess!  Our doll, our sweetheart, our baby girl!  We adore you!
Breakfast:  Mickey Mouse pancakes with strawberries & whipped cream.
Grandpa took over pancakes while I was on camera duty.  He did a magnificent job!
Grammy gives the best hugs!  What a special Birthday to have your wonderful Grandparents here.
We missed Darren today, since we didn't get to see much of him.  He gave a fantastic talk in church, and then had to drop some friends off for their cruise.
1st attempt at fondant.  Don't laugh.
7 years old!  We feel you've been a part of our family always.
Happy Birthday, beautiful girl.
We LOVE you!

Saturday, October 9, 2010

I'm Too Excited to Sleep!

The morning we woke up to go to Disneyland, Mom told us she couldn't sleep because she was too excited.
 Miss Courtney wanted to come here on her birthday, but sadly, it falls on Sunday this year.  We came the day before instead.
 She kept asking through the day, How many hours until my Birthday now?
She got a special birthday greeting from Goofy.
 Mom has MS, :( so we made good use of the wheelchair.  It was PACKED though, so it was a little tough to maneuver through the crowds.
OH MY GOSH I JUST GOT MAULED BY TIGGER.
{Still a little traumatized}
Mom is looking SO good.  She is kicking heinee in the weight loss challenge!
Waiting was the theme of the day. 
Last picture...before we all got SOAKED on Splash Mountain.  It was insane!  Mom's phone got completely ruined, and we were freezing for the rest of the evening.
{Mooohaha, we had Mom & Dad sit in the front, so they got the worst of it.}
Waiting for the Fireworks...well worth the wait.  It was spectacular!
Fantasmic was awesome, as always.
I always get teary eyed at this part--don't ask me why.
As we were walking out of the park, we found Mickey!  He was looking so dapper in his Halloween costume.
Counting the hours paid off.  On the tram ride, the clock struck midnight, so we sang Courtney Happy Birthday.  Most of the tram joined in.
She said, Oh, now I'm REALLY embarrassed!

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Last on the List

We are so appreciative of my sweet Mother, for coming to take care of us. 
We checked off a lot on the Grandma List, the house is clean, the laundry is done, my freezer is stocked, and we had a great visit.  Thanks, Mom!
 Last on Xander's list:  Making M&M cookies--they turned out delish!
Grandma always gets Alexander so excited about scouting.  They're sewing on his new Orange County council patch.  {It has surfboards on it!}

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Crown of the Sea

That's the translation of Corona Del Mar, one of our favorite indulgences here in California.

 This charming cove, nicknamed "Little Corona," is home to a marine preserve.

 It is protected land, so although there are tons of cool things to see, you aren't supposed to touch or take anything from this area.
Darren took the kids exploring & they found some cool caves & rocks to climb.
{Doesn't that rock out there look so pirate-y?}
 The kids saw crabs, sea anemone, barnacles, sea urchins, snails & such in the tide pools.
 Courtney was in hea-ven!  She told Darren, I wish we could live this day over and over!
 My boy's hair is getting a little sun bleached:)

 Little Corona is a little rocky for boogie boarding, so after a few hours, we headed up the road to Newport so the boys could catch a few waves.
 We LOVE LOVE LOVE this beautiful lady!
Real men sparkle.  Seriously, they do.  How HOT is that?!?