SoCal Allens

Tri Moka

2010-11-23T18:02:00.001-08:00

Hey Ya'll! I've started a new blogging. Well, I'm attempting too. It'll just be about racing, training, and my charity. Check it out. www.trimoka.blogspot.com

An Important Race

2010-09-23T18:03:00.000-07:00

An Important Race

Every athlete will describe each race as "an important race." Wether they are trying to beat a record, place in their age group, or just finish. Any goal an athlete has is important, it's what we train and live for. Well, this was a most important race for me. This was the first race my birth mom has ever attended and I was very excited to show her what I do. What I live and breath for.

I felt a bit nervous as I do at every race but I was so excited. This tri was the start of making up for everything she so selflessly missed out on. Every game I cheered at, every dance recital, field hockey game, or volleyball tournament that she would've given anything to attend and support me on but couldn't because of her sacrifice for me to have the best life possible.

(Erica and I made our first contact through the phone on July 23, 2010, when she found me through the help of LDS Social Services, and we actually met on Sept. 15, 2010. The Kokopelli Tri was only 3 days after meeting her in person for the first time.)

I was so excited to have her there, my heart was pounding so hard. I never dreamed of this day actually happening and here she was, my birth mom and her husband, at a race as my number 1 supporters. I was overwhelmed with a completely different type of excitement and nervousness as my emotions ran wild. As I ran to T1 from my swim tears welled up in my eyes as I saw her standing there ready with the camera and a huge smile on her face! I had a pretty smooth transition and was off on my bike! I was coming down the backside of "the hill" at 35mph when I started to lose control of my bike. My front wheel was wobbling uncontrollably, I started to slow down and noticed it was loose. I slowed down as fast and safe as I could stopping right before a cattle guard. I tightened my wheel, said a pray and kept going. I feel extremely confident that a fellow competitor had something to do with my tire. After my initial reaction of fear wore off, I was pissed! I rode so hard trying to make up some time and ensure that I beat her. Then, just about a mile out of transition my chain pooped off! Crap! I finally finished my ride and took off running. I passed plenty of athletes in my age group and was trying to figure out where I'd place and how far behind I was from where I wanted to be, about 5 mins. I felt good on my run despite the heat (90 degrees). My anger was gone as I decided I wouldn't let her have control of my emotions, instead I decided I would train and compete just to beat her at every other race we both attended. She is my new found motivation.

I was running to the finish line and ran with another girl for a couple hundred yards, we tried to mentally get to each other complaining about how hot it was and the need for a drink. Haha. She pulled away at the tail end beating me by 2 seconds. We gave each other a hug and told each other good job. I found Erica waiting for me with a huge hug! Despite all the obstacles, I raced really well. I am always proud of myself. I have good and bad days and no race is ever perfect. I still placed 10th overall and 1st in my age group.

I can't wait to beat #616 with a big smile on my face! Despite her recklessness and lack of care for others, I'm actually kind of flattered. She felt so threatened by me that she tried to sabotage my race. and still failed at that. What a freakin' loser!

As for Erica, that will forever be my most memorable and most important race and I am so glad I could share that with her and stand on that podium and make her proud and have that moment with her. She has said that she wants to train and do a tri with me and that one day just might be my most important race.

Sept. 18, 2010

Calgary or Bust

2010-07-30T12:07:00.000-07:00

As my parents drove me from St. George, UT to the airport in Las Vegas I was a complete wreck! I was so stressed. Not only was I worried and trying to mentally prepare myself for Ironman Calgary 70.3 but I had to get me and the girls there all by myself. Just thinking about how full my car was packed and the logistics of getting us all through the airport was enough to make me cry on the spot! The back was full of suitcases and carry ons and my bike was tied to the roof. The car was packed so tight there was barley room for our heads to poke out of the top.

I had dressed the girls in their cutest pj's and did Bentley's hair really cute hoping that somebody would want to help the pathetic mom with 2 really cute girls, but Bentley had other plans. She pooped in her underwear and ripped her hair out making herself the homely smelly kid! I thought for sure I was doomed. As we pulled up to the airport and started getting out of the car, there he was, my Prince Charming ready to save the day. (I'm talking about my hubby not some random hot stranger...) My parents secretly bought him a ticket 2 weeks prior and they had kept it a secret the whole time!!! Man, was I happy to see him!

So we boarded the plane together. The girls were so good. Stella was cheesin it up the whole time we were sitting on the runway, and had everybodies attention. She fell asleep the as soon as we took off and slept the whole flight. And much to my surprise Bentley was great too! She sat in her seat the whole 2.5 hours and watched tv.

We arrived in Calgary at 1am and were the last ones to make it through customs. Richard and Jeanne were waiting for us with two cars. We don't pack light....I don't know how I would've done that trip on my own and I'm so glad I didn't have to.

Happy Fathers Day

2010-06-20T14:42:00.000-07:00

To My Love

Lots of tears were shed
Only several years ago.
A helpless and lonely girl
Was tired of dating schmoes.

With children of her own
And no paticular place to go.
she ventured into the world
Down a long and windy road.

She was Looking for the love of her life
For someone to call her, his wife.
She was about to give up hope
And then, she spotted her dream boat.

You made quite the grand enterance
Charging in on your white horse.
You told me to relax,
That we were steady on course.

We dined on pancakes
Late one night.
Later you made up for it
Pursuing me with all your might.

Hiking and skiing,
Hot tubs and biking.
Frequent Evening runs
proved to be a lot of fun.

Two long days in a car
Weren't very hard with you.
Watched hockey in a bar.
Love birds with no curfew.

I took you to my home town,
To my old stomping grounds.
We traveled to the white house,
Where I thought for sure you'd propose
that I become your spouse.

Ready for an adventure
We moved to SoCal.
So unsure of the future
And pregnant with a gal.

We headed to the court house
And said our I do's.
I wanted to spend my life
Right next to you.

We welcomed a little girl
What a beautiful day.
We found out soon after
Another was on her way.

Our days of just us
uickly came and went
Now we have a full bus
And all our money spent.

Tickle fights and soccer games
Recitals and sippy cups.
Our lives have quickly changed
And we're covered in spit up.

I'm so proud to call you my husband
And forever my bestfriend.
To raise four children with you
And endure to the end.

You couldn't be a better father
Our family is complete.
On this day dedicated to you
Happy Fathers Day.

LA Tri Series #3

2010-06-13T15:19:00.000-07:00

My very first medal ever! I placed 1st in my age division, and 8th in womens overall! Whoa!!!

Last Update: 6/16/2010 1:13 PM

Top 10 Women / Men (Tri Express Individual)

Top 10 Women (Tri Express Individual)

Click on column headers to sort the results.

Competitor					Overall		Class	Gender	Swim				Bike				Run
BIB	Name	Hometown	Age	Class	Rank	Time	Rank	Rank	Rank	Time	Pace	T1	Rank	Time	Pace	T2	Rank	Time	Pace
514	Lightfoot, Christina	Oak Park, Ca	46	F45-49	19	00:57:23	1	1	42	00:05:56	00:19:46	00:01:54	20	00:26:48	18.50	00:00:58	19	00:21:47	00:07:01
572	Resh, Holly	Redlands, Ca	15	F15-19	20	00:57:24	1	2	17	00:05:02	00:16:46	00:01:27	46	00:29:16	17.00	00:00:47	12	00:20:52	00:06:43
523	Watts, Rebecca	Topanga, Ca	42	F40-44	22	00:59:02	1	3	44	00:05:57	00:19:50	00:02:02	31	00:27:55	17.80	00:01:22	18	00:21:46	00:07:01
503	Newman, Holly	Carlsbad, Ca	33	F30-34	29	01:00:22	1	4	93	00:06:54	00:23:00	00:02:00	47	00:29:17	17.00	00:01:32	10	00:20:39	00:06:39
508	Canon, Michele	San Marino, Ca	35	F35-39	39	01:03:20	1	5	83	00:06:46	00:22:33	00:03:04	32	00:28:02	17.70	00:01:43	45	00:23:45	00:07:39
812	Zakhar, Heather	Trabuco Canyon, Ca	34	F30-34	43	01:04:42	2	6	41	00:05:55	00:19:43	00:01:59	55	00:29:50	16.60	00:01:05	72	00:25:53	00:08:20
860	Zurek, Helen	Long Beach, Ca	43	Athena	48	01:05:20	1	7	63	00:06:22	00:21:13	00:02:15	53	00:29:41	16.70	00:01:30	63	00:25:32	00:08:14
747	Allen, Moka	Laguna Beach, Ca	24	F20-24	53	01:06:10	1	8	40	00:05:53	00:19:36	00:03:02	66	00:30:32	16.30	00:01:25	60	00:25:18	00:08:09
738	Williamson, Rebecca	Valencia, Ca	34	F30-34	54	01:06:11	3	9	73	00:06:32	00:21:46	00:03:00	71	00:30:55	16.10	00:02:06	43	00:23:38	00:07:37
714	Briney, Laurie	Lakewood, Ca	28	F25-29	56	01:06:42	1	10	47	00:06:07	00:20:23	00:02:56	98	00:32:09	15.40	00:01:35	46	00:23:55	00:07:42

I was so nervous for this tri. The swim has always been scary to me. Loosing goggles, being kicked and hit, not to mention swam on. It's kind of like being held under the water. It absolutely scares me! After some much needed council, I got the courage to start at the front of my wave. I did get hit, kicked and swam on but that would've also happened if I'd started in the back.

Overall the race went pretty smooth. At mile 1 of the run I passed a runner and a volunteer told us what place we were in. Right as I passed her I had taken 10th and put her in 11th. She announced she'd place 10th. The competition was on at that point and we were booking it. I beat her by a second in a full on sprint to the finish and I ended up in 8th and she took 9th. Perhaps she should've kept her mouth shout.....

I had passed all the water stations without slowing for a drink since I wanted to beat 11th so bad. I should've drank more after the race cause I got soooo dehydrated! I haven't felt so lousy in a really long time. I had the worst headache and threw up. At one point I thought I was dying. It was all worth it to beat 11th and I'd do it all the same if I had the chance.

I'm still nervous about the upcoming swim in August, but I've regained some confidence.

Mike was such a good sport this weekend. I had a race both days and he was stuck dragging babies around and cheering me on. He took such good care of me while I was sick. He pumped me full of gatorade and put me to bed. I love that man so much, he is so supportive and the best hubby I could ever ask for!

CAMP PENDELTON MUD RUN

2010-06-12T14:58:00.000-07:00

Check out the guy behind me. Soooo funny, I'm lovin his sports bra!

So after 3 years of trying to get into the mud run I finally got to run it! The day of registration opened and I was to late, registration was full. A week before the mud run my girlfriend told me that they opened up 500 more spots and I got in!

This was by far the funniest 10k I have ever ran. We got sprayed by the far truck then ran through water being sprayed out of the hydro jet truck. Then we crossed a river 3 times, ran through 3 mud pits and jumped over a 4 foot wall, swam 200 yds, climbed a steap muddy hill, army crawled through one final mud pit.

It was so much fun! I will definitely do it again next year!

Laguna Hills Memorial Day 1/2 Marathon

2010-05-31T15:43:00.000-07:00

Before the race. We all look so HOT!

Camille, Melissa, Brooke, Julia, Sara, Rachel, Me and Michelle.

Camille, Julia, Me, Sara, Rachel, and Michelle.

Tony, Michelle, Me, and Mike

This was a super fun and very hill race. I ran with a bunch of girlfriends and chatted the whole way. My friend, Rob, and some of his friends ran with the American flag and some other ones. It made me a little teary eyed and so proud to be an American. After the race Michelle, Tony, Mike and I ate at Zinc Cafe, it was amazing. I think next year I'll prepare it bit more for the hills.

Stella's 6 Month Photos

2010-04-21T15:11:00.000-07:00

Stella's First Solids

2010-04-15T08:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I gave Stella her first solids, she got peas. I was really hoping for some sour faces but she liked them. She also did really good swallowing them. I thought she'd push them back out with her tongue but she ate em' and had a big grin on her face the whole time.

Makayla was a great big sister and took pictures. They were all a little blurry, but at least we were in the frame. :) The kids were googling over her the whole time and were just as excited as I was about one of her firsts. They love her sooo much.

Naval Special Warfare Superfrog Triathlon

2010-04-14T14:02:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I competed in a half ironman. My parents came out from Utah to support me and we stayed at Loew's Coronado Bay Resort right across from the starting line of the race. Bentley was throwing up the night before and would not got to sleep that night. I would've been tired but had way to much adreneline and nerves rushing through my body to realize how tired I was.

I had to break up my nerves somehow so I whipped out some awesome water wings and a floatie.

The course is considered one of the toughest long distance triathlons around. It was intimidating seeing how many men and how few women were there. Only 45 of the 300 athletes were women. I've never felt more empowered in my life as I did standing at the start of the race surrounded by such strong women, it was the biggest high.

The swim was intense. The course was fully equipped with tons of lifeguards and several times I came close to waving my hands in the air for them to pull me out of the water. The waves were 4-6 ft high and the current was strong. I had a hard time getting out past the waves. As soon as I surfaced after diving under one wave I'd come up only long enough to take a quick breath and get a mouth full of water to choke on as I dove under the next. I took so many kicks to the face and did my own fair share of hitting and kicking. Oooops. I surprised myself finishing the swim in 46 minutes.

After the swim I took off for a 56 mile bike ride. There was a strong 10 mph head wind for half the course on HWY 75 but the scenery was gorgeous.

Last was the 13.1 mile run, 10 of which were in soft sand. I was so not prepared to run in sand but kept my mind occupied by looking for sand dollars. I collected a few along the way (I know how big of a dork I am). Thinking about crossing the finish line and seeing my hubby and girls kept me going.

I didn't get emotional after the race. All I could think was that I was so happy that was over. It wasn't until yesterday that I got teary eyed. I am absolutely amazed by myself and can't believe I pushed myself through that. I wanted to quit at least every 10 minutes and kept finding excuses as to why I should: I'm bored, I'm gonna drown, I just had a baby..... but I am so glad that I didn't, I had way to many 5 am mornings and 4 hour workouts to give up on myself when the day had finally come for all my hard work to pay off. My official time was 6hrs 24min 57sec. Not to bad for my very first triathlon but I have lots of room for improvement for the next half ironman.

Pain is temporary but 70.3 miles is forever.

Sowing Seeds of Joy

2010-03-24T11:10:00.000-07:00

This spring, I thought it'd be fun to plant some flowers in pots with Bentley. I'm always trying to find fun things for us to do together while the kids are at school. We had a lot of fun planting them and putting the seeds in. Bentley did a great job and followed directions fairly well. She loves to water them but seems to be having a very hard time not continuing to play in the dirt. I'm not sure if any of her flowers will actually grow since she won't leave them alone.

She also planted some green beans because they are "Daddy's favorite." I'm not sure he'd agree with her, but he'll eat them anyways since Bentley grew them for him. I'm sure he is encouraging her to play in the dirt and hoping they won't grow.

Bentley's 2nd Birthday

2010-03-11T14:10:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's been two years since we brought Bentley into this world. The time has definitely flown by, she keeps us on our toes and we are constantly trying to keep up with her. She is our little spit fire of the family. She is persistent and strong willed and one of the funniest kids ever. She is so tough, she takes plenty of falls and bonks trying to keep up with Mak and Perry. She isn't afraid of heights, water, the dark, or monsters, but she is terrified of "pidews" aka spiders. She gets in quite a bit of trouble at Kids World for beating up other kids. Along with all of her tomboy characteristics, she loves to play dress up and is obsessed with any Disney Princess and Barbie. She loves to put on makeup too. She is so smart and witty and absolutely loves her Daddy.

For her birthday we took Bentley to Disneyland with just Mommy and Daddy. She had us all to herself for a whole day. We all had so much fun! All she wanted to do was to go see Mickey and Minnie and the Princess'. I don't think she cared for the rides at all.

As soon as we entered the park we hopped on the train and rode it over to Toon Town. She loved the train except for the tunnel. As soon as we got to Toon Town we say Goofy and got a quick picture and autograph, then we headed over to Mickey's house to meet the giant mouse. The whole time we stood in line she kept saying that she was gonna kiss Mickey's nose. As soon as we got in there, she ran up to Mickey, handed him her autograph book took a look at him, and backed right up. She wasn't so sure about about the giant mouse. She wasn't afraid, just unsure.

After we saw Mickey, we walked next door to Minnie's house. She was waiting outside for Bentley. Bentley was a little unsure about Minnie to but was very excited to have met her. After a picture with Minnie we took a tour of her house and Bentley and Dad had a tea party.

Bentley was so excited to see the Princess' so next we headed over there. The line was 1.5 hours so Mike and Bentley went off to go play, go on a ride and get a frozen lemonade, while I stood in line. She was such a good trooper and so patient. She was so mesmerized by all of the princesses. She would run up to them and literally shove her autograph book in their face for them to sign it. Her conversations were so sweet with them. She talked about princess things. She asked each of them if they like her dress and then she'd tell them "I wike your pwincess dwess." She is the perfect mix of tomboy and girlie girl.

After that we went on the carousel where we all sat together. She was so tired from a day of fun so Dad let her hitch a ride back to the car on his shoulders. She was laying on his head. She was so good and slept on the way home.

After we picked up Stella, we had dinner and went for a walk down to the beach. Bentley kept slowly loosing her clothing, which is really no surprise.

Happy Birthday dear Bentley. I am so glad we got to celebrate your birth, and I hope we made it was a very special day for you.

My Political 4 Year Old

2010-01-31T21:15:00.000-08:00

Rob and Kayla were in town this weekend and Kayla was having a little conversation with Perry.

Kayla: "What's your teachers name?"

Perry: "Mrs. Seal."

Kayla: "Mrs. Seal?"

Perry: "No! Seeaal (pronouncing it very slowly for her.)

Kayla: "Seal?"

Perry: "No, like how Orock Obama seals everybody's moneys."

Kayla: " Oh.....Steal."

Perry: "Yeah."

Her name is Mrs. Stihl.

He didn't learn it from me, but at least he knows the truth. He probably wakes up early and watches MSNBC and reads the paper during nap time too.

Perry's Makeover

2010-01-08T17:45:00.001-08:00

Mak: "Perry, are you ready for your makeoever?"

Perry: "Are you going to make me look like a rockstar!?!"

Mak: "Something like that....."

When Perry found out that we were having another girl, he broke down and was balling hysterically because he wanted a brother because "he didn't want to play dress up anymore." Poor little guy..... he does make a very pretty girl though.

Sunday

2010-01-04T20:42:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a great day! It was fast sunday and Makayla and Perry wanted to bare their testimonies. They were so reverent walking up together and Makayla insisted that she help Perry. Bentley stood on my lap and screamed "I WAN TALK." She was very jealous, that girl can't wait to older and I so badly want her to slow down. It was such a special sacrament meeting. I love listening to children bear their testimonies. They totally make me feel guilty for not getting up their with them.

At the dinner table Mike asked who wanted to gave the prayer. Bentley raised her hand and shouted that "she wan do it." When we tried to help her she said "NO, I wan do it," and off she went. It started off so well.

"Headenly fader, thant you for my famidy. Thant you for church. Thant you for Kayda, Pewy, Tella, Mom, Dad, and Kayda. Thant you for I pway wit fwiends. Thant you Kayda"...........it was quiet for a moment, she picked up her chocolate milk and started drinking. We all tried so hard not to laugh. She slammed down her sippy cup and kept praying. We all just started laughing and lost it. I think we could've kept it together if she hadn't slammed the sippy cup on the table and exhaled really hard. All that praying sure made her thirsty. Now we have to work on teaching her to be reverent again during her prayers. I love these little moments with my children, it makes all the hard work and weight gain so worth it.

Stella is talking up a storm now. She can't look at us without cooing and smiling. She takes her dear sweet time eating her bottle. She loves to gaze into my eyes and smile while eating. She is such a sweet little baby.

Whale Watching

2010-01-02T10:59:00.000-08:00

My parents are in town for New Years and yesterday we decided to go whale watching. Seeing as though this was mine and Mikes fourth time going and we had never seen a whale we decided, lets go ahead and waste some more money! Thank goodness we were wrong about wasting money! We saw a grey whale as soon as we got out of Dana Point Harbor and followed it for about an hour. It was amazing! We saw his fluke twice. I can't believe that whales get bigger than this guy too! I learned that the blue whale gets to be 110 feet long and is the biggest mammal ever. It was such a beautiful sight. Bentley loved going on the boat and she has the best pair of sea legs I've ever seen. All morning long she kept saying "I wan go on da boat." We say dolphins and sea lions and a ton of pelicans. The dolphins jumped out of the water right next to where Bentley was standing on the boat and she freaked out. She was so excited to see them! Stella was not at all amused, she slept almost the whole time. We all had such a great afternoon on the boat together.

Mike and I got to go see "Have you Heard About the Morgans," last night. Since my parents have been here we have taken full advantage of them and have been sneaking in all the time we can have together as we can get. The line to get tickets was sooooo long! While we were standing in line Mike had the best idea ever! He decided to buy our tickets on Fandango and we'd showthem the confirmation. Well, for some reason it wouldn't let us buy tickets for the 7:05 show so we headed into guest services. The lady that was in front of us had gotten out of line and then returned. We let her cut in front of us since she was there and the line had grown about 5 more people. Out of the blue she handed us tickets to our movie. I insisted on going to the ATM and getting her money but she insisted that I didn't. I thought it was so nice of her and completely unnecessary. It made me feel good and I'm sure it made her feel great too. Thanks for treating us to a movie and a great date night!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-03T15:44:00.000-08:00

We Took on Disneyland with 4 Kids!

2009-12-03T14:32:00.001-08:00

My MIL stayed in town for a few days after Thanksgiving. Mak had minimum day all week at school for parent teacher conferences so we decided to take the kids to Disneyland after school. What were we thinking!? The kids were really good, it was just so much work!

I had been pumping Bentley up about going to Disneyland and seeing Mickey Mouse. She was so excited to go and kept saying "kiss Kickey Mouse on da nose," and she'd giggle and say, "dat funny mom?" When we first got into the park Mickey was out signing autographs so we ran right up and waited in line. She was absolutely mezmorized by the big mouse and just stood there staring at him in awe while we waited for our turn. When it was our turn she was a little unsure about him. She no longer wanted to kiss him but wanted me to (which she thought was funny and I'll I could think about was how many people have kissed that nose prior to me and how sweaty and gross the person inside the costume was) so with a kiss from me and Mak and Perry hugging him and giving him high fives, she decided it'd be alright to give him a high five too. As we walked away she said "bye Kickey Mouse, I wud you," and waved goodbye. I loved taking her to Disneyland. I go so often that its no longer "magical" to me, but watching Bentley for her first time going since she's become a toddler was very magical.

We went on the carousel and Dumbo, then walked over to see Santa's Reindeer. Then I took Mak and Perry on Thunder Mountain Railroad. I had to do some fibbing to get them on there, like there's no dark parts. They had a blast! When the ride was over Perry said "THAT WAS AWESOME!" Then his excietment quickly turned to fear and said "I don't wanna do it again!" Mak compared the ride to "mom's driving except we didn't hit anything or run over any curbs."

When we got off the ride we found Meema and the girls waiting for us with churros! Yummy. The kids were such a sticky mess after wards. We walked over and watched the new Princess and the Frog show and afterwards we went on Pirates of the Caribbean. I was feeding Stella while we were in the ride and Bentley was so afraid of the little waterfall you go down and was on my lap so fast. Stella wasn't at all amused and quickly fell asleep. Bentley liked the pirates.

All in all it was a good day in between a few Bentley breakdowns, she just hates strollers and holding somebodys hand, which is a bit stressful at Disneyland. I loved hanging out with my kids. They were so good. My favorite part was Bentley meet Mickey and going on the roller coaster with my kids. Even though we had a lot of fun, it'll be a while before I dare take them back.

Stella's Blessing

2009-11-29T22:40:00.000-08:00

We blessed Stella over Thanksgiving since all of our family was out here. The blessing was great. Stella didn't make a peep and the spirit was so strong. We got lots of compliments on Stella's blessing dress. It was quite amazing! We bailed right after sacrament to avoid her from getting passed around and breathed on by all of her many admirers. (I have been so paranoid about the swine flu and flu in general. It terrifies me to think what could happen if she got sick so young). We went home and had a few friends come over too and ate lunch and just hung out. It was great having the family here for such a special event.

Boys & Girls

2009-11-28T21:51:00.000-08:00

Tonight Perry said the difference between boys and girls is that " boys fart and girls toot."

Gobble Gobble

2009-11-26T20:31:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving was busy, I just had a baby 5 weeks ago and we had all of Mikes family in town. We started the morning off at the Dana Point Turkey Trot, it is definately my favorite race so I was not going to miss it this year! Besides, I can't eat all that pie and stuffing without exercising that day. Me, Mike, Matt, and Richard ran the 5k and I made us all wear stupid hats. It was a lot of fun and next year we are all going to wear turkey costumes!!!! I'm so excited! Anyways Matt only ran once before the race and totally kick everyones butts! He ran it in 26 minutes! I hate him, I'm so jealous. I cam in second and Mike and Richard were a very close 3rd and 4th. Mike came in speed walking an looked so ridiculous, I was a little embaressed.... or a lot. Anyways we had a lot of fun running it together and Megan did a great job taking pictures for us. I can't wait to kick everbodies butts next year. I already started my training :)

After the race we came home, I put the trukey in the oven, got ready and took a nap. We almost didn't have a turkey dinner because they never delivered my groceries so Mike had to call Von's and set them straight. After I woke up Bentley and I got cooking. She was a great little helper, the night before she helped me make the pies. Dinner was delicious and I did a lot of carbo loading to get ready for Black Friday, it's my favorite holiday.

Place Your Bets

2009-11-22T15:35:00.000-08:00

My FIL, BIL, Hubby and myself are all running the Dana Point Turkey Trot this year. My FIL thinks he can beat me. Before you place your bets let me tell you a few things first. First of all let me point out the lack of confidence he has in himself, he choose the girl to challenge, which are usually slower than boys. Second he choose a girl who just had a baby 4 weeks ago, it'll be 5 weeks and 2 days on Thanksgiving and I will only have been running for 3 weeks 2 days. He didn't choose to challenge Mike or Matt cause he knows he's weak and can't beat them, he choose me who in 3 weeks of training has logged 40 miles. He choose the girl who is super competitive and would run with two broken legs if I had to JUST to beat him. And my third point, he runs on a treadmill! AHAHAHA, he isn't even a runner!

Yesterday he texted Mike saying that he ran 3 miles in 30 minutes (on a treadmill). What a wimp! Today I ran 3 miles in 27 minutes with plenty of hills, pedestrians, and traffic lights. Did I mention that I just had a baby?

So, who are you putting your money on? Grandpa Richard OR me?

Pictures of the Bun in my Oven

2009-11-20T12:07:00.000-08:00

To Cut or Not To Cut

2009-11-18T15:40:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I've wanted to cut my hair ever since I got knocked up but didn't since every preggo girl cuts their hair and regrets it. It's been 4 weeks since I had Stella and I sooooo badly want to chop it. My husband says he likes it either way. REALLY!?! He has to have an opinion. I certainly have opinion on his hair style. It'll just be so much easier and quicker to style. But I also don't want to look all mommy, double GROSS! I was thinking a little past the chin with a side sweepy bang. Whata ya'll think?

Sunday Hike

2009-11-18T14:41:00.001-08:00

On Sunday we went for a hike with all the kids. It was a lot of fun and the weather was nice. Perry was the ranger and showed us which way to go to get to the secret hideout. There is a hideout under some really tall bushes with a swing in it. The kids thought it was pretty cool except Bentley was a little afraid. Stella slept in the sling the whole time and was a good little trooper, and Bentley laid on daddys head on the way back. I love spending time with the kids and my hubby, we don't get to do it enough!

Goodbye Roman

2009-11-15T13:26:00.000-08:00

After much talk and NO looking, we finally found a home for Roman. He was just to much puppy for me to handle after having Stella. I always felt guilty because I was either neglecting his needs to take care of the kids needs or I was neglecting the kids needs to take care of Roman. I just had to much going on and couldn't live every day feeling like I'm not being a GREAT mother.

Roman now resides in Laguna Niguel with a family with two teenagers, 2 Great Danes, 1 little 10 lb dog, 2 cats, and a bird. He has had a lot of fun playing with the dogs and tormenting the cats and bird. He no longer sleeps in a crate. He has free reign on the house, and has a doggy door that he can go in and out of whenever he wants. The doggy door leads to a huge yard that he can run around in. He goes to work and goes to camping. He is in a great home and is adjusting well.

I miss my dog, he is the sweetest most loving giant lap dog ever. He was so great with the kids, he took so much abuse from them and loved them dearly. He was always ready to play. He loved going on walks to the ocean and playing in the water. He was very good at digging holes in the sand for the kids and loved chasing seagulls. He loved to play fetch even though he wasn't so good at it. He's such a social dog, and loves the dog park. He would always play chase with the other dogs but couldn't keep up, he was the big lanky goofey dog galloping slowly behind all the other dogs.

We miss Roman but know that his new family can take better care of him and love him just as much as we do.

My Birthday

2009-11-04T09:47:00.000-08:00

I had a great birthday! I called my girlfriend Mia to see if she wanted to go get a pedicure with me since my mother-in-law was here and could watch the kids. It was so nice to just sit and get some much needed pampering, it also forced me to get out of my pajamas and get ready for the day. (I have been living in pajamas since I had Stella). Thank goodness I got ready because my hubby threw me a surprise party (that I knew about). He told me he was going to throw a party for me on friday, which I was really stressed out about! I had just had a baby, who was going to watch the kids, and who was going to get ready for this party since he works all day!?! I thought I'd be doing all the planning and preparing for my own birthday party that my husband was "throwing." I called my friend Patience in a panic, and she spilled the beans. Thank goodness for that! She had it all under control and all I had to do was take a shower and get myself ready. My mother-in-law got all the food and put the kids in bed and we had a lot of fun. It was really low key which was perfect. My husband is so sweet and thoughtful, I've never had a surprise party and he did a great job. I shouldn't have gotten so stressed and I should've trusted him. He does a great job spoiling me. I had the best birthday ever.

Happy Birthday to Me!

My birthday cake and crazy hubby!

Brandee, Michelle, Amanda, Stella, Me, Patience, Tara, & Mia

2 Weeks Old

2009-11-03T16:40:00.001-08:00

I can't believe 2 weeks has already passed us by. We've been stuck in the house and I'm sleep deprived, and somehow that was a very fast 2 weeks. Our house has been filled with the spirit amongst all the chaos and it has been great. Though Stella sleeps a lot, I have learned so much about her. She hates being swaddled to tight. She is a very hard to burp, and Enfamil Lipil makes her constipated (which is unfortunate because I stocked up on it prior to her birth from Costco). She makes the funniest faces and bats her eyes already! She is a great sleeper. She sleep 5-6 hours at night, I'm a happy mom. She's perfect.

Trick-or-Treat

2009-10-30T12:06:00.000-07:00

Halloween was a lot of fun. We went to El Morro's Boo Blast. Nobody could believe that I was out and about. Stella stayed home with Grandma Jeanne while Mike and I took the kids. I was absolutely exhausted afterwards but had fun with my kids. The kids went on every ride and played games. They even went through the haunted house. The were absolutely terrified of the unknown while we were standing in line. We looked like awful parents dragging our kids in there against their will. Mak and Perry were gripping my hands so tight, after we got in it wasn't so bad. They even let go of my hands and walked ahead of us. When we got out of the haunted house they kept bragging about it and acting tough. "That wasn't scary at all.", "That was so stupid." It really wasn't scary, even Bentley wasn't afraid.

For Halloween we went up to Michelle and Tony Kimball's house for a Halloween Party and Trick-or-Treating with all of the kids friends from church. This was Bentley's first year that she actually trick-or-treated and she loved it! She was running as fast as she could behind everybody trying to keep up from house to house and she was carrying this huge bag and would not let us carry her candy! Mike and I were laughing so hard at her enthusiasm.

Bentley Bumble Bee

I taught Bentley to go around saying "bzzzzz STING!" and she'd poke people really hard. Oooops

Roman was a fire dog.

October Bake Night

2009-10-28T12:38:00.000-07:00

My friend Amanda organized a bake night. It was so much fun! It was a few days after I had Stella and I was so stir crazy since I hadn't been out of the house yet. We made chocolate chip pumpkin cookies, carmel apples, and carmel popcorn balls. It was so fun to see my girlfriends and hang out. Stella was the star of the night and stole the show. Thanks Amanda for all your hard work and putting together our bake night and letting us destroy your kitchen!

Mia, Sierra, Amanda, Patience, Me, & Lia

Princess Stella

2009-10-20T18:22:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Princess Stella!

I thought the day would never come, but it did! I woke up at 2:30am with contractions. I thought it was a false alarm, since I had had consistent contractions 3 times prior to these ones that had all stopped after a few hours, so I didn't bother waking Mike and tried to sleep in between them. Around 3:30 I woke Mike up begging for an epidural! He started timing my contractions. Once he had woken up I had one 15 mins. apart than 10 mins. apart, than 4 mins. apart. At 4am he quickly called our doctor while I called our friend Mia to come watch the kids and get Makayla off to school.

Mia showed up in less than 5 minutes and the doctor said to head to the hospital. With that, we were off.....in the wrong direction! Mike turned the wrong way on Pacific Coast Highway! He was very calm and put together except for his sense of direction (I think thats my favorite part of our birth story).

We got to the hospital at 4:30am where my doctor was already there and waiting for me! They took us to the womens center to confirm that I was actually in labor, even though I told them I was. I was dilated 4 cm and my contractions were 4 minutes apart. They moved me into a delivery room, and about 30 minutes later the anastegologist was there to give me my epidural. I don't remember my epidural ever being so uncomfortable but I'd never had one before my water broke and my contractions were excruciating.

After the epidural it was smooth sailing. Dr. James hung out with us in the delivery room until Stella was ready for her grand debut. We talked a lot about nothing and my hubby was so calm. The spirit was so strong as our little girl came straight from heaven. I've been playing church hymns just to try to keep the spirit so strong in our house.

The hospital didn't let kids in to visit because of the swine flu so the kids had to wait to meet her but it gave us some good bonding time. Mike actually took a whole week off work and it was so great having the family together and just hanging on the couch together.

Of course Makayla has adjusted fine to Stella as well as Perry. Bentley hasn't been the least bit jealous but she did want me to feed her her sippy cup for about five minutes than was back to normal. Roman took two sniffs of her and walked away. He doesn't even seem to notice her. I'm sure he fears the day that she tries to ride him like a horse and pull his ears and tail, and poke his eyes.

I am the proudest mom. My house is a wreck, I'm exhausted and my kids are crazy and life could not be any better. This is what life is all about.

Roman's Dragon Costume

2009-10-16T07:55:00.001-07:00

I am getting a little carried away with halloween costumes for Roan this year. This is only one of them. It's so hard to not by him these funny costumes! They never make doggie clothes in his size and it kills me! I think doggie clothes are absolutely ridiculous but seeing my horse walking around in them cracks me up, and he doesn't seem to care. The kids are constantly playing dress up with him, so it's time that Roman got some dress up thats not a hot pink princess cape. I am so sorry for the abuse you have to take from this family Roman, but you look so dang cute!

A Few Funnies

2009-10-12T10:17:00.001-07:00

1. A few weeks ago Makayla had 3 friends over after school. I picked them up from the bus stop and was immediately bombarded with baby questions, I immediately went into panic mode.

The conversation:

Me: "Hi girls, how was your day?"

Mak: "Good."

Friend 1: "Where are you going to deliver your baby?" (This girl is 7 and used the word deliver.)

Me: "Saddleback Hospital."

(I was so hoping already that that was the last of this conversation and frantically trying to find another topic but was drawing a complete blank in my state of shock!)

Friend 2: " Why are you delivering it?"

(Oooooh my gosh!!!!! What do I say! Another topic, another topic!!! Why am I drawing a blank!?!)

Friend 1: "Thats where my mommy delivered me."

Me: "Oh, thats great, so what'd you learn at school today?" I was trying to play it cool.

Friend 3: "You never told us why you deliver the baby at the hospital!"

Me: In a panic I said "Because the mailman can't deliver it to the house since she won't fit in the mailbox, so the doctor delivers it at the hospital!"

The car was silent. Oh thank goodness!

2. The animal hospital called while we weren't home. They left a message on the machine. I started playing the message it went something like:

"Hi, this is Laurie from the animal Hospital".....and Perry got so excited.

"MOM! STEWA'S AT THE HOSPITAWL, WETS GO GET HER!

"No, Perry, that was the animal hospital."

With a very confused look on his face he said "Stewas at the animal hospitawl?"

He thought she was delivered to the wrong hospital.

3. Last week we were driving to dance. Bentley was screaming for absolutely no reason for 5-10 minutes. I tried putting her window down, singing, feeding her. I got nothing. She was just very mad about something. After 5 minutes of her high pitched glass breaking screaming on the freeway, I slammed on my brakes and stopped the car. (That was always terrifying to me as a child!) I put the car in park and started yelling at my 19 month old. She quickly quieted down. I sat on the side of the road for a couple minutes calming myself down, my kids were in absolute shock at my reaction, when Perry says "Mom, I can't wait for you to have Stella so your crazy war zones will give me my mommy back." He meant to say crazy hormones. I felt like the worst mother in the world.

A Little Confused

2009-10-05T15:14:00.001-07:00

Bentley and I were looking at pictures on the computer and we came across last years Christmas pictures with Santa Claus. She started telling us who was who and when she pointed to Santa she said "Jedus." I guess the are kinda the same person, or the same concept. Santa is just a little heavier.

Tanaka Farms Round 1

2009-10-03T19:43:00.000-07:00

Mak and Perry were gone for the weekend so we rounded up Bentley and took her to Tanaka Farms for a little bit of fall fun. We went on a tractor ride over to the petting zoo where she pet every single goat and had a little conversation with each and every single one of them. The goats loved her hair bows and tried to have a little taste of them, I guess we shoulda coughed up a few bucks to feed them. After the ride we went and looked at the pumpkins. Bentley was fascinated with the scarecrow, of course my crazy little girl wasn't at all afraid. She was so tired after just an hour that we decided to go and that we needed to come back with Mak and Perry.

Anniversary

2009-09-27T16:18:00.001-07:00

Mike,

Happy anniversary! I can't believe it's only been two years! These have definitely been the fastest and funnest years of my life! We have gone through so much together, good and bad, and I am so happy that we have had each other to support each other through it all.

I am so happy that I am your wife and best friend. I feel so honored to be the mother of your children and to be called your wife, even more so your eternal companion. I am so proud of you and all your hard work and dedication to your family. You play a very vital role in our family and we would not be complete without you.

You are the best husband a girl could have, I thank God everyday for you. I am so thankful for all that you do for me and the kids. I know I am always asking more from you and am a very big nag but it is because I cannot run our home without you. You do so much more than any other husband, father or man I know.

I am so thankful for your testimony in the church and that you are a priesthood holder and take advantage of the blessings that brings us. You bring such a sweet spirit into our home, I miss it when you are away. I am very thankful for the spiritual growth we have made together.

You impress me everyday. You are my role model and I look up to you and lean on you for strength in my weakest times. You are a great example to our children especially to Perry.

I love you more than any words can express. I will never stop loving you and will hold your hand as we travel down this short road of life and never let go. I look forward to all the years to come, all the anniversaries, birthdays, holidays and just raising our family on a day to day basis. I can only try to be as perfect to you, as you are to me and pray it is good enough.

I love you so much!

Your Joebin

Perry's First Soccer Game

2009-09-26T17:42:00.000-07:00

Is he not the cutest thing you've ever seen!?! This is finally Perry's year! He gets to go to school 3 days a week instead of 2 and he gets to play soccer. His shorts were waaaaay to big and kept falling off, a few times they ended up around his ankles, it's a good thing he wore underwear (he usually doesn't). I love watching him grow up!

Stella's Cradle

2009-09-24T10:22:00.000-07:00

Stella's cradle is finally here and all put together. I absolutely loves it and wish that I could have one in my size! I think it is the poshest little cradle and a perfect fit for my little princess to rest her weary little head. Now she can be born whenever she is ready. Sooner is better than later though.

Miley Cyrus Concert

2009-09-24T09:43:00.001-07:00

Last night I took Makayla on a mommy daughter date and we went to her very first concert. We went to see Miley Cyrus, Makayla is her biggest fan EVER! The concert started at 7:00 so we left a 5:30. That clearly was not enough time! It took us 1.5 hours to get there with all the traffic and parking was a nightmare! It's a good thing Mak is such good company! We sang Miley Cyrus the wholeway there at the top of our lungs!

Once we got there, we grab some dinner and found our seats. We sat right by all the disney actresses! Mak was in heaven. She even got her picture taken with Debby Ryan (Bailey) from The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, before security started turning fans away. Mak was so excited once Miley finally came on. We didn't do much sitting we danced and sang to every song, yes thats right, I know the words to every song. And my 9 month pregnant self was shaking it!

The concert got out at 9:30 and we booked it up the stairs to get in line for a t-shirt. The most expensive t-shirt I have ever bought in my life ($40 for a cotton screen printed t-shirt)! We made it through the line in about 10 minutes but the back of the line was wrapped around the corner by the time we were leaving. Glad we missed that line!

I loved getting lots of hugs and cuddles through the concert from Makayla. She was so excited and watching her excitement and smiles was so worth the traffic, long lines, and massive crowd of screaming little girls. I am so happy that I have such a great friendship with my daughter and that we can go on fun trips and see concerts together. Hopefully it will stay this way for a long time. I am absolutely dreading the day when I am embarrassing and she no longer wants to hang out with me.

False Alarm!

2009-09-23T17:47:00.000-07:00

Today I thought I was in labor. I have been induced with all 3 kids but I want to go into labor with Stella so I can have that experience. I feel like it's my first baby, and I feel very unsure of what's to come since I've never done this before. I am so excited and nervous and anxious and a big ball of crazy hormonal emotions.

So, today I thought I was in labor. I have braxton hicks contractions practically all day long but these ones were all about 10 minutes apart. Are contractions supposed to be like 10 minutes apart to the second or are they about 10 minutes? I don't know. I started to panic after my fourth contraction that was about 10 minutes apart so I called Mike. He didn't answer, so I texted him. He didn't respond after a few minutes so I really started to panic. I ran to the bathroom (so not to scare my kids) and started crying. I was a mess. I kept calling him and he didn't answer.

Finally he responded to my text, "I'm in a meeting."

ARE YOU SERIOUS!!!! I could've been having a baby on the bathroom floor and he's "in a meeting!?!"

"How far apart are your contractions?" he texts.

"About 10 minutes." I respond.

"Okay, we don't need to go to the hospital until they are 5 minutes apart, text me when you have the next one."

OMG!!!! I wanted to kill him! Was he not thinking about traffic from our house to the hospital? PCH? The canyon? Thats only one lane! What if there was an accident and it's all backed up!

I am now terrified to go into labor! I am not so sure I have full confidence in my husband to get me to the hospital in time and I already know that I will be an absolute mess and not able to drive myself!

Pray for me!

1st Day of Preschool

2009-09-14T16:40:00.001-07:00

He survived! He was so excited to go to school today and cried when I picked him up because he wanted to stay and play. I am so happy that he loves school and his teacher, Mrs. Stihl. I am however very sad that he doesn't want to come home. He is such a big boy, I swear he could survive in elementary school already.

Bentley was a little upset that she didn't get to stay at school. Well, to say she was a little upset is an understatement. She was devastated, and screamed for Perry the whole time I carried her to the car and then I had to wrestle her into her car seat! My kids hate me.

I Love Saturdays

2009-09-12T19:55:00.001-07:00

The kids love having Mike home on Saturday and so do I. This morning we made a big breakfast and then got ready to go to Mak's first soccer game.

Her team this year is the Mighty Marshmellows! She did so well. She didn't chase any butterflies or braid her hair during the game. She still prances like that dainty ballerina that she is but we've made some improvement! She even stopped to balls from going into the goal! They won 8-0!

After the game we all came home and took some much needed naps. Then we went to the Tall Ships Festival in Dana Point with the Kimballs. We had to park and take a shuttle to the harbor, which happened to be a school bus. Bentley was so silly and The Wheels on the Bus the whole way there. We had a funnel cake, kettle corn, and fresh squezzed lemonade. Perry was absolutley in love with all the pirates walking around! He is "ready to learn how to sail like pirates. "

Bentley's Prayer

2009-09-11T20:06:00.000-07:00

Hedenly Fadr,

Tant tu, iddy biddy bider.

Amen!

A Pregnant Girls Dinner

2009-09-10T19:36:00.000-07:00

I have been eating horribly lately! For dinner I had a giant bowl of chocolate ice cream, half a bag of pita chips with sea salt, and then a waffle sandwich with whipped cream in the middle, which I actually didn't eat. I will hate myself later when I am trying to lose all of this baby weight but for now I guess I'll try to enjoy it since it's the last time I'll be pregnant and have a valid excuse. I think I'll go eat a cinnamon roll right now.

Back to School

2009-09-08T19:30:00.000-07:00

It's official, we have a second grader! This year has been much different than any other of Makayla's first days at school. There was absolutely no fear, or tears! The whole family piled into the car to take her to her first day of school. I walked her to her class and she was so giddy the whole time. She was so excited to meet her teacher and see all of her friends. I am so glad that she loves her school and loves her new teacher, Mrs. Goodman, too.

Some how I still manage to be a wreck and cry when I leave her on the first day of school.

Swimming in the Ocean

2009-09-07T19:13:00.000-07:00

Over the summer Mak has become quite the swimmer. Last week I went to the beach with the kids and some friends, the waves were really calm so slowly but surely I got that girl out past the waves. I couldn't believe that my cautious Makayla was swimming in the ocean. We were diving through waves together and floating on our backs. We even had two waves crash on us while we were going out and not once did she say she wanted to get out or go back in.

We went to the beach again on labor day with Dad and some friends and as soon as we got there all Makayla wanted to do was go swimming in the ocean. We had the whole family out there at one point, even Bentley.

Bentley squealed and laughed the whole time. She is definitely the little fish in the family. She was under the water and every time a big wave would come, she would point and say " a big one!" while giggling and kicking her legs.

We had to drag Perry out who screamed the whole time! Poor little guy, we are so mean to him! Later he told me that he wanted to learn how to swim so that he could go snorkeling like dad.

We could not get Makayla out of the water the whole day! She would just swith off with adults so she could stay in the water. Mike, Mia, Tony, Sherrie and I all took her and Abi in the ocean. Dan and Mia took her kayaking too, she had an absolute blast. She rode with Dan and they even rolled the kayak in a wave coming back in and she handled it like a trooper. She didn't have one tear and was all smiles as soon as she stood up. She even said that she wants to go kayaking next weekend. I absolutely love that she is conquering some fears and building confidence. I am also excited that we are starting to share the same love of the ocean. She is very excited to do junior guards next summer, and so far thats been about all she can talk about.

POOP!

2009-09-05T18:59:00.000-07:00

CAUTION: This post is graphic and may not be suitable for all viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.

I know this is random and gross but let me remind you that you are reading MY journal, and I write about EVERY milestone.

Bentley pooped in the potty! I am so proud of her! I can't believe that she isn't even 18 months yet and is starting to potty train. This little girls just so badly wants to be like Mak and Perry in every way, it's a good thing that they are such great examples to her! There is nothing that they can do that she can't. She is definiately the busiest Allen in this house. We love her so much and are so very proud of her.

Scooter's Jungle

2009-08-31T18:52:00.000-07:00

This year Makayla had her birthday party at Scooter's Jungle. All the kids had so much fun! I think it's safe to say everyone went home and slept so well. I am all about having birthday parties at a venue so I don't have to worry about a thing! I can't believe she is 7! She is way to big now and way more mature than I am!

A Little Spoiled

2009-08-29T13:57:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been a lot of fun so far! My parents came out from Utah to help celebrate Makayla's birthday. They brought her cousin and best friend, Autumn, with them. Saturday morning we got up and headed to Zoomars, which is now my favorite thing to do with the kids. They had so much fun! Bentley is afraid of any small animals. She loved looking at the bunnies and guineas pigs but would not go near them, but she had no problem running full speed towards the horses when it was her turn for a pony ride. The kids all got a basket of food to feed the animals which the goats seemed to love the most. They all got to go on pony rides and Bentley and Perry rode the train twice! Bentley's favorite was definitely the train. She giggled and waved the whole time, while most kids looked like they were going to die of boredom.

My dad is so in love with all of his grandkids. I love how they just melt his heart. My dad can act like quite an old man and complain of every ache and pain but when he is around his grandkids he quickly becomes one of the kids, just oversized.

These two girls, laughed and giggled all weekend! I loved having Autumn out here to play. She gave us daily performances on her violin, and was so well behaved. I am so happy that these two are such good friends.

After Perry and Bentley laid down for a nap my mom and I stole the girls away from the house for some pampering. We all went and got manicures and pedicures. It was my Autumns and my mothers first mani and pedi. The girls sat at one end of the salon and my mom and I at the other. Autumn looked like she was about to fall asleep, she was so relaxed and Makayla told the little asian girl the worst jokes for about an hour while we were there. My mom and I could not stop laughing. Afterwards we went and got a slice of pizza and a soda. We all had the best afternoon together. Autumn told me several times that we spoiled her rotten and that I am the best aunt ever!

Happy Birthday Makayla

2009-08-08T13:51:00.000-07:00

I can not begin to tell you how much I love this little girl! She has become much more than just a daughter this past year. She has truly become one of my best friends. She is so stunningly beautiful and mature for her age, she is quite the entertainer, so caring for others, and helpful. She is always so concerned about others feelings. I have learned so much from my daughter by her great example to me. I strive to be more like her everyday. I love spending time with her and enjoy our mommy daughter dates. This little girl and I have traveled a very long road together and I am so happy that we have found our road to a happily ever after.

Happy Birthday Makattack!

This family would not be complete without you and we are all so thankful that you are a part of it. We love you so much, and could not ask for a better daughter or big sister. I can't believe you are 7! Time is flying by before my eyes.

We Love You!

Mom, Dad, Bug, Monster, and Bean

My Turn

2009-08-04T21:14:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I don't often get a chance to write a blog because I am not the designated "blogger" of the family. The DB is off with the girls tonight eating pizza and pizzookies. I thought I should take this opportunity of utter and complete calmness in our noisy busy house to write about how amazing our family's DB really is. She is the absolute love of my life. All of my happiness comes through or is associated with her love, kindness, support, friendship, and beauty. I don't do a great job of telling her how much I love her. But I do more than anything. She has done more me in the time that I have known her, than what I thought possible for one human to do for another. These are some of the few of my many favorite memories of her. Everyone can tell by our blog how great of a mother she is so I decided to just focus on her for tonight.She almost does everything right. One thing she is not so great at is knowing when I am taking a video of her. Most of the time she poses until she realizes that there has been no flash. It usually takes 10 seconds.

This picture completely confirms my theory that someone surely had to bribe this beautiful woman to marry a knock kneed goofball and become my bride for all eternity.

She is never afraid to try anything, especially if you say she can't do it. Yes she is in this picture.

Unless she is pregnant she always looks like this. Happy, cheerful and always the life of the party. If she doesn't look like this then she will tell you why. She is not afraid to tell people how she feels, both good and bad, which is something that I respect more than she will ever know.

All I can say is that you are beautiful and I am the most blessed, lucky, and karma receiving lover of Jobin in the world.

Give me a Break!

2009-08-02T13:53:00.000-07:00

The trouble maker, Roman.

These are going to be a very long last two months of my pregnancy. The other day I had heart burn and my sciatic nerve was pinched. After some Tylenol and Tums I hit the hay. Only it took forever to fall asleep. About 30 minutes after falling asleep I was restless and wide awake! Hoping I wouldn't wake my sleeping beauty I took a tub in the dark (he hasn't fixed the bathroom door). After about 5 minutes in the tub I couldn't take the heat from it with my heartburn so I just wrapped up in a towel and headed upstairs. I ate half a bottle of Tums and took more Tylenol plopped down on the couch and watched tv hoping that the awful infomercials played at that hour would bore me to sleep. Maybe 20 minutes after I'd started to doze on the couch I could hear Roman banging around in his crate! Oh brother! So , still in my towel, I opened the garage door and let him out of his crate to got to the bathroom. He went out piddled then took off running down the rode like a bat out of hell! I took off behind him screaming in my towel that doesn't quite cover my 7 months pregnant tummy. I caught his tale and he turned around and took off the other way ran straight into the house where I proceeded to chase him through the kitchen! I eventually got him into his crate with the help of my sleeping beauty who was no longer asleep after all the screaming at 3am. With the heartburn gone and my back feeling better Mike whisked me off to bed! Sigh....sleep.....or not! The stupid neighbors dog started barking, and woke me up again! At this point I burst out in tears and started crying! I was exhausted, frustrated, and humiliated. I mine as well have been streaking.

My neighbors are so kind and haven't said anything. Either their super nice or luckily I didn't wake them.... okay, they are just super nice. Hopefully tonight will be better. Why didn't I just close the garage and let the dog go? It was clearly a bad judgment call I made while sleep deprived and pregnant. Next time he'll be homeless and left to fend for himself.

Ferrari California

2009-07-31T10:36:00.001-07:00

My husband has been in love since he was 5 years old and it wasn't with a girl from kindergarten. His first love was a Ferrari. When we were invited to the unveiling of the new Ferrari California he was so excited! It was a lot of fun and the food was great. He was so cute, all he kept commenting on was how fast the top went down! It did go down very fast, but out of all the things a $250,000 car could impress you with he was very impressed with something so simple! Lucky for me he is easily satisfied. Thanks for the fun date night and forcing me out of my pajamas.

Time for Bed Baby

2009-07-28T22:16:00.000-07:00

Bentley loves to get ready for bed! She loves playing in the tub. She'll lay on her belly and blow bubbles and practices kicking her feet in the tub. She loves to splash! You can dump a whole bucket of water on her head and it doesn't bother her at all. She even dumps water over her head all by herself.

Bentley loves to brush her teeth all by herself just like Mak and Perry. She thinks that she doesn't need Mommy's help at all! She is very stubborn and persistent which I will someday see as a strength in her character instead of a frustration for me.

Bentley will let me do her hair as long as it's done quickly. Otherwise, she likes to try to drink the perfumes on my counter.

Bentley is very good about being revrant and saying her prayers for about 3 seconds. She sits down and says "Thank you....AMEN!"

Then we give kisses and she lays down in her crib, curls up like a bug with her bum in the air, cuddles her Buppy and goes night night.

Sweet dreams my love.

2009-07-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I took Bentley and Roman to the Spectrum. Bentley played in the splash pads for the first time and had so much fun! She kept looking down where the water shoots out and she kept getting hit in the face! I was laughing so hard at her. She is such a curious little girl. We had a lot of fun and it was such a great way to cool off on such a hot summer day!

Utah

2009-07-27T19:41:00.000-07:00

We headed to Utah for Matt's, my brother in law, mission homecoming. He served his mission in Richmond, Virginia. The kids were so excited to see him! Mak and Perry didn't remember him very well since they were 4 and 2 when he left, but they picked up right where they left off. They had so much fun playing with Uncle Matt! Bentley met her uncle for the first time ever and ran right to him when we got to Grandma Hartshorn's house. Bentley wanted to play with Uncle Matt, Grandpappy, or Dad the whole time. She wanted nothing to do with the women.

This was Bentley's second trip on an airplane and she did not want to sit still at all! She didn't cry or whine but she just wanted to play the whole time! At least it's only 1.5hr trip!

We stayed at Stein Erickson Lodge the first night we were there. It was very relaxing and it was so nice to just have my hubby around for a day.

On Thursday we drove down to Salt Lake to be closer to all the family activities. We stayed at the Little America. Mak and Perry love to stay at hotels. The kids all gained up on Dad and had a massive tickle and pillow fight! Friday morning we went to the Days of 47 Parade to celebrate Pioneer day. Bentley loved the "horsheys." I think they are her new favorite animal. Mak and Perry got front row seats. A family that had camped overnight was kind enough to squeeze them into the group and let them sit front and center to watch the parade.

On Saturday, we went to Snowbird to ride the Alpine Slide, and just go play! Bentley had such a fun time in the bounce house! We couldn't get her out of there! Perry rode the Alpine Slide with Mike and they raced Uncle Matt. Of course they won! Makayla was so afraid to ride it so she went with Aunt Megan, who is very cautious! They came down so slow, it was the perfect speed for Makayla and she had the biggest smile afterwards! I was so proud of her for conquering her fears, she wanted to ride it over and over! Afterwards Mike, Matt and Makayla went to ride the mechanical bull! Again, Mak was so afraid! She was crying so hard and being the awful Mom that I am I reminded her of how she felt about the Alpine Slide and how much fun she ended up having! Still crying I pushed her into that line and got my camera ready while laughing hysterically! She ended up having a lot of fun and went on it again! I love that kid! We rode the tram up to the top of Snowbird and enjoyed the amazing views! We also saw a deer while we were up there.

Saturday evening we went to the Oquirrh Hill Temple Open House. It was so special taking my children into the temple with me and walking through the celestial room with them. They were so curious about what went on in every room and had so many questions for me. Perry was mostly concerned with the baptismal font where we do baptisms for the dead. He didn't understand why people come to die in a bath tub at the temple, he is certain that thats where he wants to die when he's old. Makayla's favorite part was the brides room. She loved the gorgeous chandeliers and vanities. She told me that she can't wait to be a bride and get married in the temple. I am so thankful for the spirit that we felt as a family walking through the house of the lord together. I am also thankful for the love my children have for the gospel and how the open house excited them and their growth in the church!

After we went to the open house we went out to eat. Perry rode with Uncle Matt and his girlfriend, Catherine. While they were in the car Perry asked Uncle Matt, "Are we friends?"

"Perry, we're gonna be friends for a very long time."

"Thats good, Uncle Matt."

We had a lot of fun in Utah, despite the heat. I love traveling with my family and am so grateful for the memories that we made together! I am so happy that the kids love their Uncle Matt and had a great time bonding with him. We are so proud of him and his commitment to serve the lord, but we are also very happy to him home!

Swim Lessons

2009-07-20T09:15:00.000-07:00

The kids took some swim lessons and I am so proud of them! Mak started at a level 3 and at the end of one week she graduated to a level 4. She has learned to dive, do the back stroke, and breast stroke. She is so confident in the water and has more and more fun swimming.

Mak diving.

Perry has really started becoming more comfortable in the water. He will jump in but still doesn't want to get his head wet. He's learned to kick and "scoop the water". I'm sure he'll be swimming by the end of the summer! Good job Lovies!

Perry's 4th Birthday

2009-07-06T16:51:00.000-07:00

This year I was not up for the tasking of planning and preparing for a birthday party and then cleaning up after all those kids! So I found a solution, we had Perry's party at Bears, Buddies and Toys. It was the best party ever!

The party was was held in a library and a pirate ship! This is the second year in a row Perry has wanted a pirate party.

All of the boys dressed up like pirates and the girls got to dress up like princess'.

All the kids got to stuff an animal of their choice and pick out any outfit they wanted. They all made a wish for Perry and put their wishing star in his stuffed animal.

This is Perry's girlfriend Lily. They met in preschool. When Perry was star of the week he had a poster he had to fill out about himself. One of the questions was "If you had one wish, what would you wish for?" Perry's response was "That Lily will marry me and for rock n' roll toys."

Perry's preschool buddies: Matteo aka Matato, James, Louis, and Perry

The kids got to march in their own parade around the pirate ship.

Bentley got to march too, although she didn't keep up.

Perry and Johnny

Take a big breathe and make a wish!

I can't believe my little man is 4! It's amazing how much he has grown and learned in 4 years! I am so pleased with the little boy he is becoming. He is so sensitive, patient and kind. He never ceases to melt my heart or make me laugh hysterically! I love you Perry, more than you will ever know!

4th of July

2009-07-04T16:17:00.000-07:00

Our morning started off at a ward breakfast at Bluebird Park, the bishop and previous bishops cook pancakes for everyone. They were delicious!

After breakfast the kids all participated in games and races.

This was Perry's first time climbing up these ropes all by himself with some coaching from his favorite, Nonnie!

Bentley was absolutely exhausted!

Michelle Kimball, Me, and Brittany Ballash

After our picnic we came home and took naps, then made our way to the beach. Mike loves to play Smashball and Bentley always wants to play. This is Bentley and Daxton giving it a try!

Nonnie and Makayla

Perry just couldn't take anymore and fell asleep under the umbrella.

The kids dug a huge hole with some help from Mike and Greg.

Cutest swimsuit ever on the cutest baby ever!

We bbq'ed at our house after and watched all 4 firework shows from our patio without having to fight any crowds or parking! It was so much fun and such a great day!

We Made it to St. George!

2009-07-03T15:50:00.000-07:00

We always have such a good time at my Mom's house. We got all the cousins together and they played in the sprinklers and ate lollypops. The girls love to find roley poleys!

A Roley Poley!

Makayla with her cousin Autumn

Makayla, Autumn, and Brad aka Toad

We went for a walk to the pond to feed the ducks. Bentley walked all the to and from the pond which is about .25 miles each way. She refuses to be treated like a baby, and I'm okay with that.

Nonnie and Bentley feeding the ducks. Bentley puts her hands in her armpits like wings and quacks like a duck!

It was fun visiting my parents, we always enjoy hanging out with them!

Seriously!?!?!

2009-07-02T13:24:00.000-07:00

Bentley and I were headed to my parents, in St. George, all by ourselves without Dad. We wanted to get an early start so we'd beat traffic in CA and the heat through Death Valley. Things didn't really go according to plan. I had the car all loaded up I just needed to Bentley's car seat behind the passenger seat so that I could see her and her snacks better so I put her in the front seat while I moved her car seat. After doing that I needed to hook up the DVD player and get a movie rolling for her. I got her out of the front seat, closed the door and put her in her car seat. Dad gave her kissed and closed the door and then gave me kisses goodbye. I ran around to hop in the car and my door was locked.... with the power on in the car(but not running). I wasn't going to go very far and neither was Bentley. While she was in the front see she locked to doors. UGH! Time: approximatley, 7:30am. We called a locksmith and he could be here in an hour. Are you kidding me! My baby's in the car! So, we called another locksmith located in Laguna, he was on his way over and should be here in 10 minutes! 15 minutes later, no tow truck...... so we called and he got a flat tire! OH MY HECK, this was turning out to be some crazy day. So, we just called the police department. And man did we get some service! Not only did the police department respond but so did the fire department, a tow truck, and the neighborhood! How embaressing!!!!! The tow guy popped the door open and as soon as he unlocked the car.... the battery died! Just shoot me now! Then we had to push the car out of the garage so we could get the hood open and jump it. An hour and a half later and a lot of embaressment we were good to go. We made it with no further incidents to my parents 6.5 hours including 2 stops. There was no traffic the whole way and Bentley was an amazing little car rider!

Your probably wonder how Bentley handled being locked in the car for 1.5 hours. She didn't even notice! She sat and watched Monsters Inc. the whole time. I love that kid!

Here is the police car and tow truck blocking our one way street!

And the fire truck!

Okay, so it's happened once and hopefully never again! At least it was 65 degrees and the car was in the garage. It could've been a lot worse. When I was 7, I backed my Mom's car into another car at my Dad's work! So lets hope that never happens!

Beach Baby

2009-06-29T07:18:00.000-07:00

I love taking Bentley to the beach, we seem to go everyday! She loves looking for sand crabs and and splashing in the waves! If you even start to dig a hole she'll come sit in it and laugh! She eats a lot of sand since she can't keep it off her hands and won't let me feed her. She is a very big girl and can do anything that the older kids can do.....or so she thinks! I love my little beach baby!

This is Bentley's Buppy. She goes everywhere with us!

Jazz Recital

2009-06-24T16:00:00.000-07:00

Makayla had 2 recitals this year! She did just as well the 2nd night! The girls danced to Ladies Night, and it was so stinkin cute!

Mak's movie star make up!

Those are Mike's really embarrassing jazz hands.

Good job Mak Attack! I can't wait for next years recital!

Ballet Recital

2009-06-23T15:28:00.000-07:00

Makayla has worked so hard all year for her recitals, and the big night was finally here! She was so excited and loved getting into her costumes and having her hair and makeup done. She said she felt like "such a star!" She was definitely the star of the show. Dress rehearsal went well and she was ready for opening night! With this being her 4th recital she was not nervous at all! After rehearsal we went home to eat and get Perry ready to go too. We snuck some flowers into the car, and once Dad got home we loaded everyone in the car and headed to Mak's recital! Once we got there I delivered Mak backstage, she was as silly and her sweet spirit helped calm the nervous girls. The rest of us took our seats and waited to see the star of the show. When it was Makaylas turn to dance the girls came on stage and looked so beautiful, so grown up with all there makeup! Being the emotional wreck I am, I got all teary eyed and emotional watching all of Makayla's hard work pay off! She looked so graceful and remembered all of the choreography THEN all of a sudden smoke started filling the stage(it was just special effects)! Mak's eyes filled with fear, she continued dancing but only with half the effort as she looked around to see if anyone else was panicking. My tears quickly turned into laughter! Mike and I could not hold it together! Maybe next time they should practice with the smoke or at least warn the 5 & 6 year old girls before their big performance so they won't be alarmed next time!

Perry was so excite to give Makayla her flowers! He kept telling her "You did such a great job Makaywa." "You look so beatufuw Makaywa."

After her recital we went to Golden Spoon to celebrate! I asked Makayla to put a napkin in her leotard so she wouldn't spill and stain it. She was so hesitant and I could tell she was embarrassed so Mike and Perry and I all shoved napkins in our shirts so Mak wouldn't feel like the only dork, instead we are just a dorky family which is probably worse but we sure had some good giggles about it.
Encore Makayla!

My Favorite Things about Summer

2009-06-22T17:00:00.001-07:00

The 4th of July.

Tan lines.

I love juicy watermelon in the summer and seed spitting contest with my kids. I love watching the juice run down their little arms while they eat it too.

I love watching my kids explore tiny critters, like sand crabs. These sand crabs kept them entertained for 1.5 hours today.

I love the smell and having friends and family over for a BBQ.

The ice cream truck.

Sandy babies.

Today we went to the beach with a bunch of friends. As I was walking down to the beach with Bentley, Sam Ferguson, yelled "WOW MOM, SHE HAS A BIG TUMMY!" 3yr. olds are so honest aren't they. I just love being pregnant!

Father's Day

2009-06-22T10:07:00.000-07:00

This father's day we started out by getting breakfast at our favorite restaurant, The Loft at The Montage Resort. The kids love it there and they like to act fancy, sooo cute! While we were there the hostess' gave them little stuffed animals. That definitely made their day. They haven't stopped carrying them around since. After breakfast we headed to church. The primary sang for all the Dads. It was Perry's very first time sining with the primary in sacrament and he was so very excited! He had the biggest grin on his face!

After church we headed to the Beverly Hills car show on Rodeo Dr. This is one of the first traditions we have started as a family. Mike & Perry love looking at all the cars and Makayla & I love window shopping.

This is a Makayla size car and in her color too.

I love watching my boys bond over guy stuff. Perry loves it to since he is usually stuck with all of us girls doing girl stuff all day!

We had to take a few pictures of our little Bentley in front of a Bentley.

Like mother like daughter! This is a Dior window display I caught her drooling over! She is my little fashionista!

My little guy is soooo tough!

Mike,

We hope you had the best fathers day ever! We love you so much and so appreciate you. Our family would not be complete without you. You are the most amazing man I have ever met in my life and I look up to you for so many reasons! I try to be more like you every day. You are such a good example to me and the kids, and teaching us what type of person we should be. Thanks for being the best father ever to our children. Thank you for teaching Perry to be such a gentleman, I give you all the credit for him opening my door and telling me how beautiful I look, and how well he treats his sisters and his "girlfriends." Thank you so much for being Makayla, Bentley, and my Prince Charming. Thank you for your unconditional love and support to all of us. You have such a big job in this family and you do it better than anybody else ever could! I can't believe that I am the lucky girl that is yours for eternity and that I get the privilege of being your wife, best friend, confidant, shoulder to cry on, partner in crime, and eternal companion. I am so glad we have a day to celebrate you as father. There is no way that we could ever show you enough how much we love and appreciate you.

All our love!

Joebin, Bug, Sissy, Monster, & Bean

My Little Fishies

2009-06-22T09:23:00.000-07:00

The kids and I have been swimming everyday so far this summer, even in the rain! Bentley has proven to be quite a little fish. She loves to dunk, and blow bubbles. I'll have her blow bubbles and then we dunk and I'll pull her through the water. She's going to be quite the swimmer. She also likes jumping in the pool. She loves wearing goggles. She wants to be just like Makayla and Perry. Anything that they do she wants to do too.

Madison taught Makayla how to dive! I am so proud of her! She keeps getting better and better at swimming, she also will go down the slide into the pool too. She is getting so comfortable around the water.

Last Day of School

2009-06-18T18:18:00.000-07:00

My little girl is getting bigger and bigger and I am having such a hard time with it. I remember on her first day of school she was so nervous! I drove her to school and we waited outside with all the other students for their teachers to come get them and walk them to class. She just held on to my leg making it so hard for me to even take a picture of her! Her face as she walked away from me with her teacher read a thousand different expressions. I had her hold a new friends hand, Cossette's, so they could offer each other a bit of comfort. She was very excited but her fear showed more. This was the first year that she got to buy lunch, this was the first year that she'd get to walk in the hallways by herself to go to the office or bathroom. This was the first year that she would ride the school bus, and go on field trips.

On her second day of school I was so nervous! It was the first day she'd ride the school bus. As we walked to her bus stop she had tears in her eyes and I could feel her trembling. Another boy in her class, Scotty, rode the same bus and was at the same bus stop, so I told her to just keep up with him and follow him to your class, in the afternoon you just get off at the same stop as him and I will be waiting for you. Even still I was nervous she would get lost at school in a sea of unfamilar faces and be terrified. The bus was pulling up and it was time to say goodbye, she burst into tears! Trying to be the strong mother I am I gave her a big hug and kiss and sent her on the bus. I found her face in the window looking at me just sobbing as she rode away. I felt like the worst mother ever! I walked up the hill to get home crying so hard I couldn't breathe! I felt like the biggest boob!

Today she finished first grade, and she is over all of those fears and is so impatient for summer to be over so she can go back to school! Am I that awful to hang out with? I am so proud of her and the wonderful little girl that she is. She has had wonderful grades and has honestly enjoyed learning! She came home every day and sat down and did her homework, she also finished a math challenge this year and won an award for it. She has made some good friends and has stood by her standards and been a great example to them. She also won a character counts award this year for being caring. I could not be any more proud of her!

Last day of school

(It's no surprise to me she surrounded by boys.)

School BBQ

Perry loved sitting with all the 1st graders!

I guess we are on to 2nd grade! I'm sure she will do just as well probably even better next year. We love you so much Makayla, you couldn't make us prouder!

Date Night

2009-06-17T09:08:00.000-07:00

We went on a double date with our friends Dan & Mia. We rode the Tower of Terror and Soaring over California. My new favorite treat at Disneyland is the Candied Almonds. I'm craving them right now! We had a ton of fun! It was both Mike and Dan's first time at California Adventure and I think they had a good time.

Fashion Show

2009-06-13T19:32:00.000-07:00

This weekend I was in a fashion show with Makayla and my besty, Patience(she's going to kill me when she sees her picture up on my blog, muahahaha!!!) . We were helpingout a friend from church, Heather Fish. We modeled for Japanese Weekend, and Pearl Swimwear.

This was Makayla's first fashion show ever and she rocked it! I was such a proud Momma! She had her hand on her hip and had the cutest bounce in her walk. Everyone was cheering for her as she walked down the runway and she absolutely loved it! I've always said that tall skinny girl of mine was meant for runway and she's proving it to be true.

I thought it was so cute that Mike came and brought Bentley and Perry. They were very excited to see Makayla and I. Perry would yell and Bentley would say "hi Mama" everytime I walked down the runway, it was so cute! Afterwards Perry gave Makayla and I the most beautiful sunflowers ever. He is such a cute little man. Thanks Mike for teaching Perry to be such a gentleman and bring our fans to cheer us on. It was nice to have such comforting faces in the crowd.

Puppy Party

2009-05-30T08:51:00.000-07:00

The kids were invited to a birthday party for their friend Abby Kimball, at Moulton Meadow Park. She had a puppy party and the kids had so much fun playing the puppies. It was a chilly day so all the puppies had tiny puppy blankets. Bentley was a little nervous around such small puppies. We kept having to tell her to be gentle since she is so used to having a giant 86lb puppy around our house. The kids had a ton of fun playing with the puppies, then they got to stuff a puppy to take home and watch a magic show. The kids had a ton of fun and were wiped out when we got home.

Surprise Birthday Party

2009-05-29T22:49:00.000-07:00

Mike turned 25 on May 30, and on the 29th I threw him a surprise party. I would've thrown it on his birthday since it was on a Saturday but was having an incredibly hard time finding a way to get him out of the house so that I could get ready for it. Plan A:Greg was going to take him scuba diving but then he had to fly to Utah. Plan B: Dan was going to taking him riding but he had to work in San Diego. So with two friends out of town and not able to make the party or help me get him out of the house I decided to go for, Plan C: Friday night after work. All plans were pretty complicated but Plan C was the hardest.

Mike always leaves work early on Fridays and gets home at about 6. Nobody could make it home from work and to our house before that which meant Greg had to stall him at work for an hour! That morning Greg asked if they could car pool and for some strange reason Mike "couldn't" that day so with some help from me we convinced him to finally carpool. The boys left work at 6:30 and some of our guests still hadn't arrived so I called Mike and asked if they could stop at the grocery store. They were in line and a couple people still hadn't made it to our house so Brittany called and needed a very specific kind of feminine hygiene product, we figured that would buy us at least 15-20 more minutes! :D

I made the made the best homemade enchiladas and tortilla soup, I also picked up some Sprinkles cupcakes since those are Mike's favorite. The boys watched the Lakers game (ugh), played Rock Band, and finished with some Catch Phrase. I think Catch Phrase was definitely the funniest except it brought out some pretty competitive sides of people (cough cough, Reagan's a cheater).

Finally all the guests had arrived and the boys were on their way home. We all hid in the kitchen for his big arrival. I think we surprised him good. This is the second year in a row that I had a surprise party for him so I think we'll have to wait a few years before another, he's on to me now. I just love spoiling my wonderful husband! Thanks everyone or making this surprise party happen.