Thanksgiving Weekend

Wow, it has been a crazy and fun filled weekend...and I have LOTS of pictures! Chad came down for Thanksgiving and we had so much fun with the girls and my family. We had Thanksgiving at my parents and missed Byron, Hayley, Kyle, Pam, Logan and Emily. But it was nice to have Kim's parents there and the dinner was fabulous!



Chad and I took the girls to Disneyland the day after Thanksgiving-crazy I know. It was SO crowded! We would had died if it wasn't for a Disney employee that took us under her wing. She overheard us debating on whether to take the girls on Snow White or not, and she said, "That ride is too scary, let's go on Alice and Wonderland." So she walked us right up to the front of the line! Then she took us on the Storyboat ride and the Casey Jr train. She then gave us preferred seating passes for perfect seat to watch the parade and two more passes to walk to the front of the line on any rides we wanted! I don't know how we got so lucky, but she saved us at least 4 hours of waiting in line! It was a wonderful day and the girls loved it!







Then on Saturday Chad went golfing with the guys of the family (we missed you Byron!) and had some quality "Guy time"

Katelyn wanted to go golfing so bad, so I took her miniature golfing instead


I have so many blessings in my life and things to be grateful for. It's amazing that once you start listing things you are grateful for, the list just continues to grow! My top blessings on my list are:
The gospel, my Heavenly Father who knows me personally, a second chance at love (with someone who is everything I ever wanted), two beautiful girls, and an amazing family! It's so true that after any size rainstorm, there is always a rainbow!

Happy Birthday Marci!

I cannot believe Thanksgiving is in two days! Where has the time gone!? Here are a few pics I took with a disposable camera I bought when Chad and I went to Santa Barbara...I am definitely buying a camera Friday! So much has happened the past couple of weeks and I have no pictures! Aunt Jody, Annalise, Brian, Aurora and their two kids (Wes and Aubrey) came to CA to visit us and we had so much fun! It was great to get the cousins together and watch them play. Thanks you guys for making the HUGE effort to come and see us!

Already a big girl!

Nothing like sisters!

I just got back from Utah and Chad is coming for Thanksgiving, which will be fun. Here is a pic of us at Santa Barbara...
Today is Marci's birthday- HAPPY BIRTHDAY! She is my best friend and I am so glad that I have her! This next year is going to bring many changes and more happiness for her:) Love you!

Don't want to forget...

I am dying without my camera! I took these two pictures last week with my mom's camera, and that's all I have! I am so used to taking pictures on a daily basis, and it's killing me not to...I think I will have to buy a camera well before Christmas. Maybe on Black Friday. Anyways, both of the girls are changing so much and I wanted to write some things down for myself so I don't forget...Love this picture-she's saying "Wahoo! I lost some weight!"
Taylor:
Taylor is becoming such a big girl! She wants to do whatever her big sister is doing and gets mad if anyone tries to help her. She is in that fun independent stage where she wants to do it all, but can't...ah, the cycle of frustration! She also refuses to be fed, which makes it very hard since she is already a picky eater! I am not used to a picky eater since Katelyn will eat ANYTHING and is always hungry! So, Taylor usually just makes a mess of herself and rarely gets any of the food in her mouth! She is talking so much! She gabs all day long, but the words that she says correctly are: Baby, Bubble, Hi, Mommy, Ball, Doggie, Fishie, Birdie.

Taylor is left handed and I think she will be a reader...she will sit in her chair and look at books all day long. She LOVES her Grandpa and has such an amazing bond with him. Her eyes light up when he enters the room and he is the only one she will eat for.My two partners in crime-they love to paint

Katelyn:
Katelyn is loving Preschool and is making leaps forward in her social and cognitive skills. She is the Mother Hen and has to make sure that everyone is taken care of. She is the best big sister and loves to be the leader. Lately she has become obsessed with telling me that she loves me, and I can't get enough of it! All day long she will stop and say, "Mom, I love you!" And she has to make sure anyone who leaves the house gets a hug and a kiss! Now that Katelyn is finally coming out of her temper tantrums and fits, Taylor is entering them! Katelyn has become easier in that sense, but she has sue gotten some serious attitude! She is finally sleeping well for me! This girls just has the biggest heart and is so sensitive to me and my feelings. Whenever I cry, she gets so worried and concerned and will sit with me until I stop. She loves to see me happy and just gets so excited when I am excited-I love it!

As for me, life is good. I am heading to Salt Lake this weekend and I am so excited because I am going to a Coldplay concert....and I get to see Chad :)

What's new?

Well, the cat's out of the bag and I have been getting a ton of questions, so I figured it was time to write a post about what is going on in my personal life. I have been wanting to write this post for a while now, but how do you write about something very personal that you know a lot of people will be reading? I will give it a try...

When I went to the singles conference in San Francisco I met someone. I never imagined that it would go anywhere and just enjoyed meeting him and thought he was such a great person with a good heart. Well, within a week after that he flew out here to spend the weekend here, and it has been wonderful ever since. We alternate visiting eachother every couple of weeks (which is getting very expensive-he lives in Salt Lake), and things are going great. His name is Chad and I think he is the greatest person, with the biggest heart . Here are a few pictures of a couple of our adventures so far...I hope there are many more to come! I will write more details later...Disneyland

Gardner Village in UtahEating birthday cake at my brother's house

No more camera!

I am so upset because my camera was stolen this weekend in Ventura...and the memory card in it was full!!! I am just sick about all of those lost photos! Go ahead, steal my camera, but leave the memory card! So, the pictures I was going to post are gone...
Last week we celebrated both of my parents' birthdays and yesterday we celebrated my brother Aaron's birthday. It was fun and is always fun to get together with family. I have been a busy girl and had lots of cute pics to post:( Ok, I just had to vent...Now I know what I am going to ask for for Christmas!

Yummy recipe!

I found this recipe online and LOVED it! It's so easy to make and is so flavorful! Try it!

Capellini Caprese

Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken, cubed
1/2 lb. capellini or spaghetti, uncooked
2/3 cup Tuscan House Italian salad dressing
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups halved grape or cherry tomatoes
1 cup Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese
1/3 cup fresh basil, finely sliced

Directions:
Cook pasta as directed on package. Meanwhile, cook chicken with dressing, onion and garlic in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add tomatoes; cook 5 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

Drain pasta. Add to tomato mixture; mix lightly. Sprinkle with cheese and basil.

Happy Halloween!

We had a wonderful Halloween! I finally talked Katelyn into wearing her Tinkerbell costume. She was a pirate for her Preschool party, and then all last week she changed her mind every day on what she wanted to be. But I had already bought the Tinkerbell costume, so I just kept reminding her that that is what she was going to be! We started the day off with making sugar cookies and masks with Jordan and Hunter. It was a success, but every time I do a craft with them I am reminded how much work it is!


Then it was time to get ready! I was pretty proud at how Katelyn's hair turned out!

Here are my pretty princesses! It was impossible to get a picture of Taylor, so these are the best I got!

Me and my beautiful girls!

The best shot of the three of them!

Trick or Treating! It was so much fun to watch Katelyn and Jordan. It's evenings like these that make you love being a mom! Katelyn was literally running from house to house, and would say trick or treat as soon as she knocked on the door, before they would even open the door! Then she would say, "Can my sister Taylor have some candy too!?" It was so cute! She would then say, "Come on Jordan! Let's go get some more!" All through the night Katelyn would hold my hand and say, "Mom, this is the BEST Halloween ever!" It was a wonderful night...and Taylor was so content to sit in her stroller and suck on her lollipop!