Memorial Day 2008

Waking up to such a rainy, dreary day threatened to ruin our Memorial Day plans...but it actually did just the opposite. We had planned to spend a small amount of time at the cemetaries delivering flowers and then spend the rest of the day at my mom's house swimming and cooking out and just relaxing after our exciting weekend at the sand dunes. Well, the rain foiled that plan, so we had to come up with something else for the holiday. Since we couldn't really go outside, we spent most of the morning just playing with the kids...whatever they wanted to play. We don't get the chance to do that very often, so it was nice. Then, when we caught a break in the weather, we finally made it to the cemetaries. But instead of just placing our flowers and leaving, we spent time and lingered at each site. We told the kids who these family members were that we were visiting and then shared stories and memories with them. It was so nice to just take the time to remember those who have gone before us and shaped our lives in so many different ways. We also spent some time explaining to the kids about why we have memorial day and what it means to live in a country with all the freedoms and opportunities that we enjoy here. So, at the end of this memorial day, I am very thankful for the rain and the time it allowed us to really reflect on this day and what it means. And I am very grateful for the meaninful time spent with the kids. I don't know if they will remember it, but I will.

Boys

I do miss Korinne every day when she is in school, but I wouldn't trade these days with my boys for anything!! Porter wanted me to play with him today, so I decided to heed Elder Ballard's advice from Conference yesterday, and live in the moment and just enjoy these kids more while they are little. So, I cancelled my plans for Walmart and Costco (which didn't sound like much fun anyway), and I let Porter pick the games and then jumped in (literally) with both feet. It's amazing how an 18 month old can handle a lightsaber, but he's very good at it! So, boy games have a lot of running and jumping and wrestling and good guys and bad guys, and I could go on and on. Can you tell how much fun we had today?
Porter said it best when he said, "Mom, you're a good player!"
Thanks buddy, I had a great time! Let's do it again soon!

On another note, Conference this weekend was very uplifting and edifying. I didn't get to listen as intently to all the messages as I would have liked, (that's just how it goes with kids in the house). But I did feel a tremendous confirmation in my heart of our new prophet when I was able to participate in the solemn assembly on Saturday. I watched President Monson closely during this conference and I know without a doubt that he is our prophet and I sustain him wholeheartedly. I love him, and I can't wait to hear more from him.

And, anoter note....thanks girls for a wonderful weekend (Mar. 28-29). My girlfriends from highschool and I were able to get away for about 24 hours to Laurie's cabin in the Uintahs, and it was wonderful to reconnect with them all. When we get back together, it feels like the years haven't even passed. We stayed up most of the night talking, reminiscing, giggling, eating junk and just enjoying every minute! I sure missed the ones that weren't able to come, but we'll plan another, and I can't wait! Love ya gals!!

Ahh, the lovely springtime!

You've gotta love springtime in Utah.

One day, you're outside enjoying the warm weather...

The next day....well...

Okay, so maybe there wasn't quite this much snow when we woke up yesterday morning, but you get the point. But I love to live in a place where you get such drastic changes in all four seasons! What a great place to live!

Single mom

Well, it's Wednesday, the 4th day since Colby has been out of town for work. We miss him immensely (is that how it's spelled?), and we are all really looking forward to Friday afternoon when he gets home. Also, since it's Wednesday, it's cleaning day and as Korinne so elegantly put it this morning....."I HAAAAATE WEDNESDAY!!!" I just sighed and tried to gear myself up for the inevitable fight after school to get chores done before tumbling.
I was in the bathroom (with the door locked) enjoying a few moments by myself when Korinne came home from school. Much to my surprise, when I came out, she was scrubbing her bathroom WITHOUT BEING ASKED!!! She had only been home for about 2 minutes and she just rolled up her sleeves and went to work! UNBELIEVABLE! Of course, her friend Maddi called about 20 minutes later to see if she could play. She got the rest of her work done in 20 minutes! That is a world record for her. So, of course she got to play!
So, feeling pretty good about my day, as I was tucking the kids into bed, I went through the nightly ritual of asking them what their favorite part of the day was, and they had varying answers. But then Porter told me "I sure will be glad when dad gets home so it won't be just you."
Thanks buddy. Me too.

Happiest place on earth!!

Well, Santa Clause came through for us and sent us to Disneyland, just like he promised and we are completely happied out! It was extremely fun, and we can't wait to go again! (Except for maybe Holt, he wasnt' so thrilled about spending so much time in his stroller).


Our first day, we managed to completely avoid FantasyLand, we headed straight for the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean, which is one of my all time favorites! Then, the kids and dad had to run through Tarzan's Treehouse before our Fast Pass time for Indiana Jones. Unfortunately, Porter wasn't quite tall enough for Indiana, so Korinne got to go twice in a row, which she said was "totally awesome". But, Porter was a very good sport about the whole thing. We had to constantly have our autograph books out and we spent a lot of time in line for autographs, but to the kids, it was worth it.

The weather was great most of the time, high 50's to mid 60's, definitely better than here!

We hit the electric parade that first night, but by the time it was over we were all so exhausted, nobody except Grandma Rolli wanted to stay for the fireworks. Luckily, our hotel was only an 8 minute walk away, so it was very convenient the whole time.

Our second day, we couldn't avoid Fantasy Land, so that's where we headed. The lines can be a little ridiculous, but all in all, we did good getting to everything. Except, much to Korinne's dismay, Small World was closed. I guess we'll catch that next time. We headed to Tomorrow Land and tried to get Porter in the Jedi Training show, but he wasn't chosen. He was heartbroken, (he loves Star Wars!), so we promised him we would try again. When the lines started getting too intense, we headed over to Tom Sawyer's island to run around for a while. Holt loved this and took off as fast as his little legs could go...it was great!

Then, we hit Thunder Mountain, which is awesome, but Porter was asleep in the stroller by now, so we decided we'd have to do it again later, which Korinne was more than happy with because she loved it! Same with Splash Mountain. (Korinne stayed dry the first time, but got soaked the second time)So we headed to the Dreams Come True (or something) parade. It was very joyful! Then, we got to one of Porter's favorites, Buzz Lightyear!

About this time, everyone was getting hungry and Korinne and Porter wanted to swim at the hotel, so we walked to the Cheesecake Factory (yummy!) for dinner and then headed back to the hotel to swim. There was no way I was getting in, but the kids didn't care if it was cold, they jumped right in. Colby and the kids were pretty tired again that night, so after everyone got to bed, me and my mom headed back to the park to watch the fireworks. It was, by far, the best fireworks show I have ever seen! Disney doesn't do anything half-way! After the fireworks, the park was staying open until midnight, but most of the people cleared out, so my mom and I walked onto almost every ride, (we had to wait 15 minutes for Space Mountain), but it was great!

The next morning, we had early morning entry, so we raced over the Finding Nemo ride. Well, everyone else had the same idea and we still ended up spending 45 minutes in line. But the kids, including Holt, got a big kick out of it. We then had our breakfast with the characters at the Plaza Inn. I don't think Korinne and Porter really ate anything, but they got plenty of signatures in their books!


Next, we headed over to California Adventure. Korinne wouldn't have anything to do with the Tower of Terror, (she remembered it from last time), but Porter was all for it. Korinne tried to scare him into not going on it, but it didn't work, and he LOVED it! He's all for the thrill rides! Then we headed to the Turtle encounter with Crush. Crush decided to have a little chat with Porter, but he clammed up a bit. Crush asked him where he was from, and in his very straight forward way, Porter replied "home". It was cute. We watched the High School Musical 2 street production, and Korinne and Porter got to join them and dance through part of the songs, which they were ecstatic about!

We headed over to Soarin' over California next, (which is my other favorite ride!). Most of the rides have a 40 inch requirement, and Porter is 39 3/4 inches, so we weren't worried about him getting on, but they wouldn't let him pass. I told the guy measuring him that Porter had been able to go on it a year ago, but he still wouldn't let him on. A lady behind us had heard our predicament, so she pulled us over to the side and gave us this little tip.... fold some napkins over in his shoes and he'll get right on. Well, it's not the most honest thing, but we did it for the rest of the rides and he had no problem passing the height requirement!! Yeah! (Except for California Screamin, he's not even close for that one). But, Korinne loved Screamin and she went on it twice, once with Colby and once with me and Grandma, it was great!

Our last day, we hit just a few of the things we had missed. Korinne headed to the Princess Fantasy Fair and got her hair done like a Princess and her face painted, and waited in line for almost 2 hours to get Princess signatures, but it was well worth it for her.

Since it was raining some this day, they had cancelled the first few shows of the Jedi Training, so we did a meet and greet with the Star Wars Characters. Darth Mall was kind of scary, but Jedi Porter used the force and kept us safe!


Later in the afternoon, everything finally dried out, so we got our chance for the Jedi Training again. The force must have been pretty strong with us because Porter and Korinne were chosen this time! Yeah!! Porter fought Darth Vader and Korinne fought Darth Mall and the both did fantastic!

It was hard to say goodbye to such an exciting place, but we'll look forward to the next time!!

Korinne's highlights: California Screamin, Princess Fantasy Fair, Jedi Training.

Porter's highlights: The Tower of Terror, Jedi Training

Holt's Highlights: getting out of the stroller and running!!

Colby's highlights: watching Porter and Korinne do Jedi Training, and Soarin' over California

My Highlights: Being with my family and making fun memories!!

Grandma Rolli's highlights: she just loves everything about Disneyland!!

career choice

Much to my dismay, Korinne announced to us that she wants to be a Jazz Dancer when she grows up. Does it really look that fun? Have we taken her to too many Jazz games? I don't know, but being the supportive parent, I told her she can do anything she decides to do, but she would really have to work harder on getting her legs tight together on her backhandsprings and whips. So, needless to say, she has been tirelessly working on those backhandsprings. We'll see how long this keeps up, but the extra practice is paying off!!

Move over Rachael Ray!

The Latest Delicacy from the kitchen of Korinne...

Honey Graham Cracker M&M Sandwich Magnifique

An after school snack sensation!!

Recipe: One slice whole wheat bread

One graham cracker(broken into 4th's)

Honey

M&M's

Spread honey on bread, layer on graham crackers and m&m's, fold over and enjoy!! Yum!

The kitchen help!!