Sophia's Baptism

Yesterday was a special day for Sophia. Now that she is 8 years old, she was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It was a day she's been looking forward to for a long time. She actually was able to speak on how grateful she was to be baptized, and did an amazing job. She wrote her own talk and practiced it every day a week before her baptism. My favorite line from her talk was when she said that now that she's baptized and has the Holy Ghost with her, "It's like having Jesus follow you everywhere you go."

We are grateful to all our friends who were there and grateful for those who couldn't be there, but have been so thoughtful in acknowledging her special day.

She looked amazing in her sparkling new white dress and her fancy hairdo. Her own personal hairdresser, Ms. Mendy, came over early Saturday morning and gave Sophia a hairstyle that lasted through the baptism until the next day at church.

Since all of our family members are on the west coast, it was great that some special people in Sophia's life could be there. Her adopted church grandpa came, which took a lot of effort for him and made Sophia very happy. Our family friend Rex, who babysits my children, and who they love, was there. She was baptized with Dakota, her friend from her Primary class. She was thrilled her friend Maia was there. Selena & Marlee weren't shy when it came time for cake.

Sophia is a great example to us and we love her so much!

Freezing Buns & Easter Eggs

One of the great advantages of living close to DC is the opportunity to take part in all of the amazing activities they have here, like all of the monuments and the Smithsonians. But one of our favorite activities has been to attend the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House.

I had never heard of this event until we moved out here. I couldn't believe it. We actually were able to go on the White House lawn, our kids got to roll an egg in an egg race, paint Easter eggs, see their favorite TV characters like Clifford, Dora, Barney, Max & Ruby, and see performers like Hannah Montana in their own personal concert. And if you were in the first group, get to see the President and his family welcome you to their home.

Getting tickets was an adventure by itself. My friends looked forward to camping out all night long in front of the White House, freezing their little tails off while they played games, chatted, got interviewed by news reporters and knowing come 7:00 a.m., they'd have their tickets for the great event.

Now, I'm not going to tell you I would camp out in freezing weather to get tickets to any event (maybe for an evening with Mr. Firth or Mr. Crowe) that's what Chris is for. So he'd go with all our friends, sleeping on the sidewalk all night long to secure tickets for us.

The year he had to work and couldn't camp out, no problem. I called a strapping young male to go sleep on the sidewalk and get my tickets. That year it snowed, so it was totally worth the money I paid him. (To this day the amount is unknown to Chris)

Well, this year things changed. They decided to distribute tickets online. This means people who live far from DC and probably won't be buying last-minute plane tickets to fly out here, or people trying to make a profit, can get tickets, which takes tickets away from people who will actually go, because they live close by, and who aren't trying to make money, and showed their enthusiasm and dedication for this event by sitting out all night in the cold to be able to attend.

I am very grateful that we did get to attend as many times as we did. And I'm grateful that my kids are old enough to have memories of going to the White House at Easter time. I'm especially grateful to Chris for being willing to stay out all night to get us tickets. I'm just hoping that it goes back to the way it used to be, so he and our friends have more opportunities to freeze their buns off while getting tickets to a great family memory.

Our first Easter Egg Roll

Atlantic City Adventure

Growing up close to Vegas, my family would drive down the strip to look at all the casino lights. It was always the highlight of our trips driving through the desert from California to Utah, especially seeing the lit up waving cowboy.

So when Chris and I planned a trip to Atlantic City, I was envisioning a mini Las Vegas. I was a little wrong. It was smaller than I imagined and there were a lot of people walking around who were a little scary looking.
But once we were inside the hotels, it was very fun and entertaining. While walking around a casino, there was a fight between some macho men who got escorted out. Then it was unbelievable watching people bid $100 on one hand of 21 over and over again. When I'd see them winning, I wanted to scream at them to leave the table while they were ahead, but no one ever did.

We went to a comedy club that had some intoxicated people who wouldn't stop talking during the show. The comedian handled it really well. Telling them there were dozens of bars in the city they could go to and talk where there wasn't a comedian performing. They refused to hush, so as they got led out, the comedian had the crowd chant, "Na-na-na-na, hey, hey, goodbye."

We did manage to get out of the hotel though and walk on the boardwalk, see the beach, then get back inside where it was warmer to enjoy a buffet.

When we got home, the girls said they didn't want me to go away again. Alec said we could go away any time. I'm thinking we're going to have to go back to Atlantic City, because Reo Speedwagon is going to be playing there in a couple months.

Approval Denied

After a day that consisted of taking down the testimony of a man who spoke in detail about his non-existent sex life, followed by a fast-talking doctor, I was not in the mood to create a Martha Stewart type meal for my hungry children. So I threw together what I thought were some tasty leftovers, fruit, and frozen appetizers.

My angelic children let me know how they felt about dinner as Sophia said, "What are we having for our real dinner?"

I explained to her that she was eating her real dinner. She looked down at her plate and said, "Miss Mendy would not approve."

Alec then chimed in, "She's right."

What?! My children are comparing my cooking to my Betty Crocker-cooking friend Mendy. Well, they're in for a lot of disappointment if they think I can bake or cook like she can.

As I was putting them to bed, Sophia asked if we could eat out tomorrow for dinner.

I think I'll make reservations now to make sure we can get our favorite table at Taco Bell.

Field Trip, Fun & Games

This past few days have been filled with firemen, basketball and lots of calories.

I went to our local volunteer fire department with Selena's preschool. The kids were able to see the fire trucks, the kitchen, their big screen tv room, and their huge bedroom. The most exciting part of the trip was when an alarm started ringing and the men had to respond to a call. The loud ringing scared some of the kids, but not Selena. She and her friend Marlee wanted me to follow the truck so they could see a house on fire. Mendy let Chris and I intrude on her hot date with Michael. We joined them along with Corinne and Clint at Mimi's for dinner, dessert and stimulating talk about kids, friends and fascinating books Clint has read. We could've listened to him for hours -- or he could've talked for hours, I forget which:)Then we headed to Dave & Buster's where I miraculously beat everyone at a car racing game. Then with Chris on my team, beat Mendy & Michael at a basketball shooting game. I only bring this up because Mendy is so competitive and I'm not, so she usually wins when we play anything. I just wanted to point out a time when I was victorious, because it probably won't happen again.Chris & Michael's inner children came out as they had to be torn away from their zombie shooting game. And because we hadn't consumed enough calories that night, we headed off to Cold Stone and ate lots of ice cream.

The weekend was capped off with Alec's basketball award ceremony. He had a fun basketball season. His coaches were the best. We celebrated his season with a spicy lunch at Chipotle.

Happy 12th Birthday Alec!

Ten years ago I made Alec a Teletubbie cake for his 2nd birthday. Today he is 12 and no longer likes the Teletubbies. Time has gone by so fast since my sweet Alec was born. He was the center of my universe for four years until I had another baby, so he was just a tad bit spoiled.

Today I took him shopping for new church clothes. He was not thrilled that that was his birthday shopping trip. He even complained to the cashier about his gift of white shirts and ties. The salesman agreed with him and said I hopefully also bought him video games. I assured him there were presents waiting at home too.

Alec has traveled to more places in his short life, than I have in my many, many decades -- mainly because his dad is a pilot and partly because we've driven from California to Maryland and toured many great states.

Alec visiting Hawaii

Alec at Newport Beach

Alec at a Seattle Mariner's game

Alec at Lake Havasu
The preteen years worry me, but looking at his baby pictures help remind me of the sweet baby he once was and how much I love him!