Oh, Audrey! And Christmas...

I think Victoria looks so gorgeous in this picture. Hey Brady, your pretty cute yourself.

Brayden and Audrey sledding on Grandma's and Grandpa's front hill of a yard.

Ellie and Aunt Tracie.

This year for Christmas eve we had a family party with my side at Aunt Heidi's house. We had such a Delicious dinner prepared by Erik, exchange presents and talk to Danny on the phone (he is in Jail). Sorry I don't have any pics of that night because I hadn't opened my new camera I got for Christmas yet!

Christmas day was so fun. When the kids got up Audrey ran in the front room, looked at all the presents and saw that there was a kid car (the kind you drive Flintstones style) and pushed all the other presents out of the way and jumped in gushing "Car, ahhh!" Good thing it was for her. This year we tried a new tradition. Victoria and I wrote a letter to Santa, asking him if he could only bring 3 presents for each of us, because we wanted to have Christmas be just like the first, when the 3 wise men brought Jesus 3 gifts. I loved how it turned out and I am pretty sure we will keep this one going.

He is so excited, can't you tell?

Victoria got this Easy Bake oven for Christmas and has treated the whole family to some yummy treats.

This is a picture of Audrey on Christmas day, trying to sneak and steal Ellie's Peach Cobbler baby food Ellie got in her stocking.

These are Dora slippers Aunt Laura and Uncle Mike got Audrey for Christmas. She loves Dora!

Audrey on her first day of dance. She wasn't quite sure what to think about it at first, but now she is participating and seems to be enjoying herself.

This little cutie has been such a handful lately. I put her down for a nap 2 days ago and when I went in to check on her, she was had found Victoria's hair gel and covered herself and her doll in it and took off her diaper.

Yesterday I came into the Kitchen where apparently she had been, because I saw that Ellie's formula can had been dumped out into various cups all over the counter.

2 days ago we were all sitting at the table eating and I was telling her to eat her food and she did a sharp hand gesture and said "No, Tupid (stupid) Dog!" Alan and I just looked at eat other and busted up laughing. Alan's dad always calls his dog "Stupid Dog," she picks up the darnedest things. So Funny.

CS Performance

I choreographed a dance for Ballet Level 7 at Center Stage's Nutcracker Demonstration performance. It is this Wednesday, November 16th at 5:30 pm and 6:15 pm. My dance is very first both times. It is at Center Stage in Studio 5, which is downstairs. I don't expect anyone to come, but if you want to you can!

Chorus Performance

Victoria is participating in Bonneville Elementary Chorus and has a performance coming up.
For those who would like to come, here is the info:

Friday, Dec. 18th at 12:30 p.m. at University Mall in the old Mervyn's Court
or
Monday, Dec. 21 at Bonneville Elementary at 7 p.m.

I don't expect you come, I just always forget to let everyone know about this sort of thing. If you want to great, but not a big deal if you don't.

Let's Catch Up, Shall We?

Ellie love Carrots and Baby Oatmeal.

So Beautiful

Brayden is a Pirate, Victoria is a Mermaid, and Audrey was supposed to be a Poodle but was to terrified of the Costume, so we dug up some dress ups. I guess she is a fairy.

Audrey had gathered up 3 different kinds of diaper ointment and put it all over her hands, and then apparently fell asleep.

Ellie showing off her amazing turnout and flexibility.

Victoria right before her baptism. Tor, we are so proud of you.

Laura, Kathrin, Tracie, and Myself went to the SYTYCD show last Saturday. It was so amazing. My fav. dance is still Jeanine and Jayson choreographed by Travis Wall. Second fav. is the Addicted piece by Mia Micheals. Third is the Breast cancer dance choreographed by Tyce Dioreo. All of the dancers were so beautiful and I had a blast. It was allot of fun to hang out with the sister in laws.

I got a job teaching an Advanced Ballet class at Center Stage in Orem. Center Stage is a pretty prestigious dance studio, with allot of alumni that have joined Odyessey, appeared on SYTYCD or Dancing with the Stars. I love teaching there, I have to say it is my favorite place I have taught at so far. I have about 16 students and I love them. I have only had one girl with an attitude problem so far and they love to get chatty, but I have really cracked the whip on them and things are awesome. I am so grateful for the lessons I learned while owning the studio, which is pretty much all we got out of it. But I feel like I am such a better teacher because of that experience, and it sure added allot to my resume. I am so grateful that my love for ballet can still be a part of my life. I love it!

Mexico!

Heather and Sean

Alan and I hanging out at the condo or hotel? Whatever you call it.

Me looking in on a Catholic Mass.

Me, trying to make it look like I was naked. Didn't work though.

The waves off of Divorce Beach were so awesome! It was so beautiful.

In between Lovers and Divorce beach.

Coming out of a cave that smelled like pee.

Al and I having a blast swimming in the big waves in the Sea of Cortez.

Blurry pic. Sorry.

Al covered in sunscreen and sand, drinking his drink.

This was one of the cheapest resterants we went to. I loved my sandwich. It was made out of Ham, refried beans, hot dogs, pineapple and cheese. Weird I know, but really good. I don't have a picture of our favorite resarant El Fagon. It was really cheap but so good. We went there twice! I wish we had Mexican food like that here. Hmmmm...Yum.

Heidi and Erik

The first or second night there, we went to this restaurant "Jasmin's".

Can you see why I gained 4 lbs? Check out those servings.

Authentic Mexican Restaurant Decor.

Me at the Mega, searching for some good produce.

At the hotel's restaurant "Mamma Mia".

Alan and I had the opportunity to go to San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico October 1st-8Th. My dad gave my sisters and I the trip as wedding presents. It was so fun to spend time with my sisters, and the get to know their husbands better. One of the funniest things I learned was about Heidi's husband Erik, was When he sleeps he can't have anything touching him at all. Heidi says he puts pillow surrounding him like it is Fort Knox. Erik said sometimes it even bugs him to have his fingers touch, so he will put the blanket in between his fingers to separate them while he sleeps. Hilarious! Heather and Sean did not get there until Saturday afternoon. So the first couple of days with Heidi and Erik we learned that we are all too much alike. We were all so laid back it was hard to make decisions. When Heather and Sean got here we definitely had more direction, and that is when we did most of our activities. There was a huge Super Store called "Mega" (It like the Mexican version of Wal-mart- but with customer service). The store smelled of stinky fish most of the time. They had so many fly's swarming around the meat, it was so unsanitary. I had a hard time picking produce I felt comfortable eating, because most of it looked rotten. One funny thing about he Mega was, you didn't have to buy a whole melon, they would cut off the part you wanted and Saran wrap the rest and put it back on the pile. Weird?
In most boutique type stores and street vendors you could negotiate the price. Which I actually really enjoyed. I was actually nervous at first, but when I realized I would just end up paying extra if I didn't negotiate. I got a $20 dollar item for $8. I love a good deal! The only Spanish I really learned was: Donda esta el Banias (Spell?- Where is the bathroom)? We ate soooo much food. I gained 4 lbs on the trip, which is actually good considering how much I ate. We went through so many boxes of Oreo's (Although Alan ate most of them:) ) My favorite part of the trip was sleeping in every day, not cleaning, and not taking care of kids. It was such a good break.

Victoria's Baptisim

You are invited to Victoria Paul's Baptisim.
Date: October 31 (Halloween)
Time: 10 a.m.
Where: Our Stake Center (965 W. 2000 N. Orem, Ut 84057)

Following the Baptisim, we will be having a luncheon at our house. We will be having Soup in bread bowls. If you would like to bring something, pick from the list below and then comment so we know what to expect.

Creamy Soups for bread bowls
Thinner soups we will have in regular bowls
Halloween Treats or Regular treats
Apple Cider

We hope to see you all there.

Happy Birthday Audrey!

We sure love our spunky Audrey. Things that Audrey says that are so cute: Boovie (movie), Gulk (milk), Sighy (Outside), NO,NO,NO , oh Kay, Bobbie (Barbie), Gook (Book), Gankette (Blanket), Bood (Food), Seazohz (Cereal).

On Audrey's birthday right after we woke up she opened her presents. she got a little piano (it reminds me of the piano lioness? plays on charlie brown), a Barbie, a Dora puzzle, 4 monster bath toys, and a magna doodle. She had Cookie Crisp cereal for breakfast. Later in the morning I turned on Cartoons for her to watch while I took a shower and this is what she was doing when I got out (the picture above).

Audrey, you are such a sweet girl with so much personality. Remember, Mommy and Daddy will always love you and be there for you!

Love, Mom