Last week we went to Disneyland for a family trip with Corey's family. His mom, Shirlee sponsored all of us to go. Corey's brother, Huddy, and his family had a chance to go years ago when he was on leave from Iraq, but turned around half way there when Ryan went into the hospital when he was a baby. So, they haven't ever been able to go. It was a fun trip with the whole family. I decided that when we do it again, I won't be in charge of tickets! I left my adult ticket for Huddy's son and I had his child ticket! Since they weren't going to get to Disneyland until around noon the first day, I ended up having to upgrade the child ticket so I could get in! Then the next day, I tried to use Shirlee's birthday pass that she had used the day before! I forgot that I had already given her the right ticket to hold on to, and she forgot too. That led to some fun that day when we were trying to figure out what in the world we were doing! The first day we lost Ryan for about 15 minutes. We had broken up our group after dinner and some were waiting while others went to the bathroom. Ryan followed the group going to the bathroom, but they didn't know. Each group thought he was with the other. When they came back, I noticed they didn't have Ryan. Corey and I started backtracking where they went calling his name. After a few stores, a Disney worker and he came out and we found him! He did exactly what he was supposed to do and when he realized he was lost, he found a Disney worker and told her he couldn't find his mom and dad. Right after we got to him, the security guard came. Ryan had told him his name and home phone number, but didn't know the area code. The rest of the trip, we practiced our CELL phone numbers! Needless to say, we were freaked out and sooooo relieved. It wasn't a long ordeal, but it was a scary one. We had lots of fun going on rides, and Ryan was big enough for all of them. He even went on the California Screamer roller coaster and loved it. He wasn't afraid to go on anything. Abby's favorite rides were in A Bugs Life where they have rides for little kiddies. She thought they were really cool. Cayden, of course, went on everything and his favorite I think was Tower of Terror! He loved laughing at me on the scary ones that he made me go on, because I would scream really loud!




Happy Birthday, Grandma Shirlee! We got to go to Disneyland on her birthday. She had a button that she wore the whole time that said "Happy Birthday, Shirlee"








Abby got to go to Pixie Hollow to see Tinkerbell. Although, Tinkerbell had to go tinker on something, she wasn't there. But, we did get to see these two fairies! I can't remember their names!






TURKEY LEGS! We got one, or two, or three! It was our dinner!

We went on Mark Twain's River Boat ride going around Tom Sawyer's Island. Lots of fun.

The kids stumbled upon this guy who was doing chalk drawings for people. He didn't have anyone there at that time, so he started drawing Santa Claus. He was so cute with the kids all crowded around him explaining what he was doing. They stayed there for about 20 minutes. It was great.

Quick Family Update

Just for grins, and sorry I don't have any pictures, I thought I'd give everyone a quick update on the family. The boys just finished their Fall Baseball season. It was really fun, busy, and great learning experiences for both boys. Cayden went up to Minors this season. That is very different than Rookies. The kids pitch the ball, so needless to say there aren't many hits and a lots of walks! It threw him off for a while and even though he is a great hitter, it wasn't until the last part of the season that he started hitting. It's intimidating to the kids to have another kid pitching (sometimes they actually get hit by the ball, Yikes!). Cayden tried out pitching at the beginning of the season, but for some reason he didn't do anymore towards the end. Not sure why, unless he told the coach he didn't want to. All in all he had a great season. He is really becoming a great ball player. Ryan also did really wonderful. He is growing up so fast and still has a great time playing. He, too, toward the end of the season starting hitting the ball just about every time he was up to bat! The problem was that he hit it right to the first baseman most times and got out! But, he really stepped it up and started taking the game more seriously than in the past. He really enjoyed playing, and we really, really enjoyed watching him. Abby is doing really well at becoming a young woman. Yes, she is only 4, but just about every morning, she wants to put my make up on. I let her put on some eye shadow (sheer) just so she thinks she's getting some. I really enjoy my days with her. She will go anywhere I drag her and is such a good girl. She is back in her gym class and enjoying every minute of it. I think she's ready to try out for the olympics in her mind! Corey has been called as the Elder's Quorum President and has been keeping busy with all that entails. I am now the Primary Secretary and love it! It's busier than I thought, but I have wanted to be a secretary for a long time. I also have lost 27 pounds on the HCG diet that I did with my cousin. I feel really good and have maintained it so far (2 weeks) and I am really motivated to keep maintaining it. I am going to do another round after the first of the year and I can't wait to lose even more! Well, that's a short update on all of us. We are off to Disneyland with Corey's mom and brother's family. I will definitely be posting a bunch of pictures when we get back!

Day trip to St. George

We took a day trip to St. George on a Monday when the kids were out of school and Corey didn't have to work. We thought it would be fun to take Cayden's friend, Tanner, with us. We had a great time. Here are some pictures of us climbing on the "Dixie" rocks. On the front of the rocks some people have painted a big "DIXIE" and it makes for some fun exploring.

Abby 1st Day at Preschool

As you can see, she is very excited to go to her first day of preschool. What I don't have pictures of or audio was the screaming, "I- DON'T- WANT- TO- GO- TO- SCHOOL!" that I heard the entire way there. She goes to a new preschool this year that is about 15 minutes away. I carpool with my friend Liz and her daughter Aurora. This was such a fun drive to school that day. Aurora just kind of stared at her wondering what the problem was. Needless to say, that was the last time. I don't know what she was going through, but it's all better now. She likes the drive and loves school. I hear she even has a boyfriend! We'll have to talk about that...

We Moved!

Got your attention? What I mean is my shop, Flowers by Michelle, moved to a new location this week! Yes, you can relax, the family is still in our house. I have been working lots of hours these last few weeks helping the shop get ready to move. Due to some circumstances out of our control, Michelle made the bold, brave, scary decision to move the shop. We are in Centennial Hills now at 6510 N. Buffalo Dr. #130. It is in a great location with lots of other businesses all around us. We are right next to a Verizon and more importantly, Taco Bell. It really is a nice shop and once we get more settled in, I will post some pictures of it. It has been really exciting and we hope to see a boost in business since we are one of only 3 florists in that area. People seem to be responding really well. We are looking forward to a great future! I have been working for Flowers by Michelle for over 10 years now, and really feel like the shop is "mine" and those of you who know me well know how much I care about Michelle and the business. I am excited for this change and hope that everyone has a chance to see the new place!

1st Day of School

At the crack of dawn, these two boys were dressed and ready for their first day of school. Their backpacks have been ready to go for two days. They think it's cool that their classrooms both have 7's in them! How cute are they walking across the cross walk?

Ryan will be in the big kid area now that he's in first grade. No more kindergarden secure area. That gives me a little anxiety! Can he find his classroom dot by himself? Will he remember to pick up his backpack before going in to class? Cayden is now over with the bigger kids. There are two sets of jungle gyms, one for 1st and 2nd grade and the other for 3rd through 5th grade. I couldn't be in two places at once, but Cayden was way too cool for me to "hang" with him, so I stuck with Ryan who was a teeny bit nervous. He got comfortable after a bit and once he found some of his friends. I was able to sneak one picture of the two of them together.

Preschool Orientation

Abby had her Preschool Orientation at her new school on Saturday. It is at a new school, and she gets to go with her friend Aurora. She was really excited and had a great time playing around with the different things.