Ok, so I found a way to get the photos from Disney that they take of you and they try to make you pay $12 for one photo! You can go to free e-card and upload them to your blog FREE!!!! Yay!! So here are all of our cute photos from Disney, but don't worry, that's not all....my photos will be coming and there are a lot, of course!!!
I love this first one of us with the castle! And Brooklyn and I with our sassy pose!
Pixie Hollow- Brooklyn was excited to have her picture with Rosetta because they have matching red hair!
Our first day of D-land, it poured rain the whole day, but that didn't stop us from having fun, here is the end of our day, meeting Mickey and we are all soaked. When we walked in Mickey just hugged and hugged Brooklyn to get her warmed up, it was so cute! And Beckham was super excited, he loves his Mickey!
The first day we walked into the park and right off we met Goofy, Mickey, Minnie and Chip and Dale in their festive sweater, it was so fun and the kids were so excited. (PS, I hate my poncho)
Tinkerbell, yay!
Santa, Mrs, Claus and the Reindeer were at Disneyland! I love this picture!
Beckham loved Pluto almost as much as Mickey and Woody!
Getting the famous shot of the Mickey flowers at the entrance
The castle
Awww, Beckham is hugging Minnie!
So cute!!!
Another with Mickey! That made the kid's day!
Beckham did not like Santa, and from the looks of it, neither did Chris! ha!
Happy Holidays! We hope this letter finds you well and enjoying this wonderful time of season as we update you on our past year. This little Warner Family has had one full year of ups and downs, hard work, celebrations, and a little (well actually a lot)of fun, and lots…………and I mean lots, of traveling!
Our year started out with Chris’ final semester of law school. He graduated in May with high honors at the top of his class, has now passed the bar and starts his job with Perkins Coie, LLP here in Seattle in January. We are so proud of him and we are so excited to start the next part of our lives. He has been enjoying the last five months off. He has enjoyed doing some traveling, playing with the kids, hanging out with his cute wife, reading and playing video games.
Melissa loves being a mommy and playing with her cuties! She loves crafting and creating new and fun stuff with her vinyl lettering machine. And...she still loves to throw parties whether for crafting or girl's night or for the kids. She has continued to run Warner Photography and Word Boutique and both have been very successful this past year. And although Chris has just built her an amazing new website for Warner Photography she has made a very tough decision to stop doing photography. The time has come where she doesn't need to make the money anymore which had put a lot of stress on her. Now that Chris has finished school and has a job, Melissa wants to concentrate more on her family and other hobbies. It's been a very emotional decision for her to make, but she feels it is the best decision right now. She has loved creating memories for so many people and will miss that. You will still be able to see her love of photography through her taking photos of her kids and her desire to do more abstract and landscape art. Melissa is looking forward to the next step in their family's life.....they hope to buy a house in 2010 and can't wait to start the process. She has loved having Chris home the last five months and they have had a great time spending time together as a family, going on dates and traveling.
Brooklyn is our sweet little four year old. She loves doing art and she is really good at it! It is amazing what this little four year old can draw. She loves reading, dancing, listening and lip syncing to music, playing with friends, going to preschool class, and catching bugs. She was able to be a flower girl in both weddings we attended for her uncles. She looked gorgeous and loved being all dressed up. She loves kitties and is soooo excited that we are getting one for Christmas! When we go to Montana, GG and Papa are gladly giving the kids the little black kitty Melissa brought home this summer from a photo shoot. His name is Frosting and he loves the kids as much as they love him!
Beckham is our energetic two year old. He is so fun to be around, always clowning around to get a smile or laugh. He loves jumping, whether on the ground or off of anything. He has started talking and we love to hear his cute little voice and the little sentences he is putting together. He loves Mickey Mouse and Buzz and Woody from Toy Story....so he will be super excited for our Disneyland trip this month. He is his sister's little shadow and wants to be around her and do everything she does, they are good little friends!
We've been able to do a lot of fun things this year. We went to Arizona last March during spring break for Chris' brother's wedding and had a great time. We had Chris' parent's here for his graduation and Melissa's parent's came for Brooklyn's birthday and in that same weekend, we celebrated Melissa's dad's 60th birthday.
While Chris was studying for the bar exam in June, Melissa and the kids traveled to Utah to stay with family. While there, Brooklyn was able to take swimming lessons and go to a princess festival. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins. They then traveled to Montana after one day back in Seattle. But in that one day, they took their new canoe out on their favorite lake! It was a fun day and a good break for Chris.
The month of July was spent in Montana. Melissa was able to go to Glacier Park with her brother, his girlfriend and her sister for a weekend kidless! A week or so later, everyone in Melissa's family but Chris and one of her brothers were able to go back to Glacier again and stayed in an amazing lodge that the family had all to themselves! The kids as usual, had a great time on the farm in Montana swimming, catching fireflies and crawdads, and going exploring. When Chris finished his bar exam he was able to fly over to Montana on Beckham's 2nd birthday. Then Chris and Melissa enjoyed a kidless trip to Glacier Park where they stayed a few days and went on some gorgeous hikes!
The family came back to Seattle to start Chris' five month break only to stick around here and there. Since August they have gone to Portland twice, Utah, Idaho for Melissa's brother's wedding and Montana. They are off on a few more trips before Chris starts work. They are headed to California to stay at a resort with friends and go to Disneyland and then down to San Diego to see Melissa's brother and then back to Montana for Christmas.
Melissa has been so busy traveling, playing and working that she hasn't kept up with her blog, as you may have noticed the last post was from June! So if you'd like to see photos from all their travels the past six months, Melissa's new year resolution is to catch up! So keep coming back for more on the fun family trips they've taken.
The Warner's have had one blessed year. We are grateful for the gospel and the gift of the Savior, which without, we would never have had our success and much strength throughout this year. We are thankful to have good friends and family and we hope this letter finds you well. We wish you a warm holiday season full of the Christmas Spirit and a wonderful New Year!
So the kids and I started our 2 month adventure minus Daddy at the beginning of June. 1st stop...Utah to stay with Grammy and Grandpa and the cousins. The first weekend there we went to a luau. The kids absolutely loved it and totally got into it. Brooklyn got to wear a hula outfit Grammy bought for her and she really loved it!
We arrived at the luau and had dinner and then they had an amazing show of many types of dancing, just the men, just the women, men and women and then the slap dancing and fire dancing. Brooklyn was loving the hula girls and danced and danced away while Beckham loved the drumming, slap dancing and the fire dancer.
My kids and their cousins were the only part of the crowd that got into it and danced and had fun....a lot of people started watching the kids because they were being so dang cute! So once again, we had a lot of fun, and I took A LOT of pictures and videos, so take a peek! I dare you not to smile.
So just when you think school is all over....then you have to take a really crappy test that requires you to study at least 8 hours a day, 7 days a week. So... we had a few days before Daddy had to start studying so we went to our favorite getaway, Rattlesnake Lake and had a BBQ. It was a fun day and the kids were stinkin cute. They played in the water, climbed trees and soaked up the sun....and posed really cute for the camera.
It was a nice outing to have before I took the kids for 2 months to Utah and Montana so that Chris could study. We were going to miss him sooooo much, but we weren't going to miss the "grouchy study guy" he becomes when preparing for tests so we were getting out of town! Here are a few pics from our day at the lake!
So after Brooklyn's big birthday celebration we just had a fun weekend hanging out and enjoying a sunny Seattle weekend. We went downtown by Chris' work and to Pike's Market and to the gum wall where Laini left her gum next to my brother, Zane's gum. It was fun to be out and about.
That evening we FINALLY went to Rainforest Cafe.....of course, we had gone before, but Brooklyn was dying to take GG and Papa there. We had a blast eating yummy food and then Beckham was so hyper, he put on quite a show at the table and then in the gift shop where they were playing reggae music. He was dancing and jumping around all the toys, Brooklyn got into it too. From there we went to Alki Beach to watch the sunset and play. Quite a funfilled day.
The next day we went out to Snoqualmie Ridge where Chris and I want to buy a house....hopefully in the next year....keep your fingers crossed!! We went touring model homes which are soooooo gorgeous and then had a picnic at Rattlesnake Lake. The kids absolutely LOVE auntie Laini and loved hanging out with her by the lake.
We then were able to celebrate Dad's (Bob, Papa, or Grandpa's) 60th birthday. He isn't much for parties but we made him a nice dinner and a really fun dessert. We got chocolate linguini from the market and it was delicious! We added ice cream, whip cream, chocolate sauce, and strawberries. And it didn't disappoint, very yummy and fun for a different type of dessert. Brooklyn and Beckham then gave Papa their present they made....a cement stone with their handprints in it and pictures of them and it said, "We love you!" He loved it...it was a fun night and a very fun weekend. I love it when people come to visit!!
So here it finally is......the moment you've all been waiting for...the pictures from the High School Musical Party!
I know, I know.....it's taken me way too long to post these but believe me, it was worth the wait!
So, as you know, Brooklyn and I (and Beckham.......and Chris a little bit) are HUGE HSM fans! So are our friends, Janeece and Linus. Janeece, Linus, Brooklyn and I went to HSM3 at the theatre and then had a party when it came out on video but this was the BIG party. HSM stuff everywhere. My parents and sister, who are also fans, were in town for the big party.
Brooklyn's party started in the late afternoon and she was dressed in her "Gabriella" dress, wig and all and Linus came over and played the part of "Troy". The whole downstairs was decorated with HSM stuff, it was awesome! They did some karaoke on the HSM stage and put on quite a show. Beckham, was a backup singer and dancer, what a stinkin' cute kid! We had so much fun watching them and singing along. We had a fun dinner and then opened presents, which consisted of MORE HSM stuff and a few other things like a lightning bug catcher for GG and Papa house and a bug playground. She loved those things equally as much as her HSM stuff. One of the best presents was her Sharpay dress that she got from GG and Papa. Other favorites were her sparkly HSM shirt from Linus and HSM sleeping bag from Auntie Laini! We had some more karoke and watched bits and pieces of the movies and then had cake!
I made a giant cupcake decorated with HSM stars and a candle, Brooklyn loved it! There were some sweet party favors and then we played outside and then Brooklyn and Beckham put on a little show for everyone while cuddling in their HSM sleeping bag before heading off to bed.
It was a party to remember. Brooklyn and I had been planning it for months and had found so many fun HSM decorations. She absolutely loved it and we all had a great time!!! WARNING...LOTS and I mean LOTS of cute pictures ahead!!!
And here are the videos...keep in mind, they were a bit out of practice and had an audience of more of Janeece and I.
I am pretty crazy about holidays and decorating and throwing parties. Brooklyn had 3 parties for her birthday. A friend party, a party with Grammy and Grandpa and a High School Musical party with Linus, Janeece, GG, Papa, Laini and us. I don't think that's too much and we had a blast.
My parents and Laini came over to celebrate Chris graduating and Brooklyn's birthday and my dad's 60th birthday. We had a great weekend! The morning of Brooklyn's birthday was packed with fun! We headed downtown to Seattle Center where Brooklyn, Laini, GG and Papa went up to the top of the Space Needle. They enjoyed the views on a clear, sunny day in Seattle while Beckham, Chris and I went to the children's museum. We were the first ones there so Beckham had a blast being the only one in the grocery store!
From there we met back up and went to the Pacific Science Center where we saw the dinosaurs, played in the fun exhibits, went to the bug zoo, butterfly house, and the Under the Sea 3D movie. We all had a great time. The butterfly house once again did not disappoint, my mom was wearing a colorful shirt with flowers on it and butterflies kept landing on her. Beckham and Brooklyn thought it was great! It was a funfilled morning only to get even more fun as we went home and prepared for the High School Musical party that afternoon. Here are the photos of our fun morning before the HSM event!
I'm on the enrichment commitee at church and I LOVE it. We have a fun commitee so that makes it all the better. We prepared a fun night for the sisters in the ward called an "8 cow woman night". It was based on the good old church movie, Johnny Lingo. To sum up the movie for those of you who haven't seen it....Johnny Lingo buys a "not so cute" wife with 8 cows, when normally a "pretty" girl would normally be bought for 2 or 3 cows. Moral of the story...discovering and bringing out a woman's true worth.
So, we had an 8 cow woman night where we were all enlightened with 8 different ways to become a well rounded woman in the gospel. The night was so fun and everyone loved the mini classes. Here are some pictures from our night.
So we celebrated our little Brooklyn's birthday with a mini party. She invited a bunch of friends and we made mini food, mini party favors and played mini games. I got pictures of all the elements of the party and then only got one shot....yes, one shot people, of the actual party. No wonder people hire photographers for their kid's birthday parties because when you host....you don't have time!
The kids had a great time and Brooklyn loved it. They loved their buffet of mini food and all the ladies had a great time socializing during the party, which is always a great time. Brooklyn got lots of fun presents. And everyone enjoyed their mini pinatas, which were pretty stinking cute if I say so myself! Good times!
We made it! 3 years....done! Check it off the list. Our journey started in July of 2006 and man, we thought it was going to be a looooooonnng 3 years....and look at it, it's already 2009! He took his last finals the other day (thank goodness!) It's a bitter-sweet feeling, I mean, of course I am glad we are done, but it's weird that we are moving on to the next step...it's exciting and yet a little scary.
The last 3 years we've done so much and we loved every minute, but sometimes don't you wish you could go back and relive some of the moments, my kids are going to be 4 and 2...when did that happen? Crazy is all I have to say.
3 years ago we were scared to death of a "real big city" which turned out not to be as big and scary as we thought. We came up here, explored, found jobs, got into the groove of school and ended up loving it. The first semester really wasn't bad, I was anticipating Chris being gone 8 hours a day and then coming home to study all night (which did happen occasionally) but his hours were awesome. He was home by 4 most of the time and only had school until noon on Friday. I was busy getting my name out there in photography and we did really well and were very blessed, I owe a lot of my jobs to Sue Thulin who I partnered up with for some photography jobs.
I also worked at 24 hour fitness on monday nights 6-11pm and Thursday night graveyard shift (I know, I have no idea why). It was killer, especially being pregnant. The next day after my graveyard, I was absolutely dead....poor Brooklyn, oh well we made it through. I was actually pregnant twice and even thinking about my graveyard shift makes me cringe, it is where, in the middle of the night, I miscarried our second child. I know, you probably didn't want to know that but this is like my diary and I needed to put that in here because it made Chris and I so much stronger at that point in our lives and I know he watches over us. But the happy part is I was able to get pregnant a month later with our little Beckham. That year was probably the slowest. Being pregnant obviously makes things go reeallly slow, living in a little 2 bedroom place with crazy neighbors on either side and waiting again to see if we were transferring schools.
The most exciting thing about school that year was Chris was #1 in his class of 335 people!!! I knew that kid was smart, but this.....was amazing! He was one of the only student with a family to take care of as well as study, that is just cool. This gave us the opportunity of scholarships, possible school transfers, bigger job opportunities. He is awesome! And because he was so awesome, I bought him a wii!! and then I went into labor that night...
So our second year started off with a brand new baby boy and a very confident hot school boy going into his second year and interviewing for BIG internships. Thankfully, he was given scholarships and had a smaller internship so that I did not have to work at 24 hour fitness anymore!!! Just pictures here and there.
Chris went to interview after interview. So many firms liked him, but there was one in particular that he was interested in, Perkins Coie. He was able to get that internship and we were so excited about that!
The rest of that year was good, mostly because we had moved into a 3 bedroom apartment and things were falling into place. I started another company that year....Word-Boutique, a vinyl lettering company, which is small, but I like to keep it that way so that I can still make some moolah but have time for my fam......and make whatever I want whenever I want!
The Perkins Coie internship was awesome for Chris, he really liked what he was doing, he went out to fancy restaurants everyday, and we got free zip cars all summer as well as fun perks like going sailing and to a retreat at an awesome resort! So don't worry, it didn't end there...they offered him a job at the end of the summer....whew! wipe the brow, we have a job after school!!
3rd year....flew!! Chris still had good grades, had an awesome schedule (he was hardly at school), and we were having fun. Now, we're here! Done with crappy finals which I often left and went to my parents while he studied. Graduation weekend already.
Chris' parents flew in for the weekend and we had a great time. We celebrated Brooklyn's birthday a week early, went out to dinner, and gave Chris gifts. I made him a photo book documenting our last 3 years and then told him about his more expensive gift he would get once he made money. I am going to make him a frame with his diplomas and tassels, and other accomplishments but because we didn't have the diploma yet, I couldn't make it....and it's kinda pricy! His parents gave him money for new suits, he's going to look sooooo good.
On May 16th, we all went down to Seattle Center and went into Key Arena where the graduation was held. It was really nice. Except for once they started actually giving out the diplomas, Chris was a "W" name, so 300 and some people and an hour later, he finally got his. Brooklyn waited and waited and when it was time, they called his name and I yelled, "That's my man!" and Brooklyn yelled, "That's my Daddy!" It was pretty cool to watch and see him get hooded. A little choked up feeling.....ok so then he was done and we went outside and played by the fountain and went to the science center with the kids. It was a great day and I'm so proud of you Christopher Lou!!! I love you!
It's only been 4 months since your birthday and the post I wanted to do is just now getting on the blog....I guess we've been busy huh? Our 6th anniversary was the other day so don't expect a post on that until January!
Well, Happy 30th Birthday....a little late! I mean we celebrated and all but here is the post on the fun!
So...here it is the list...30 reasons why I love you my hot school boy!
30) He is waaaayyyyy too smart. 29)Our arguments always turn into laughing. 28)He loves to explore anything with the kids and I wherever we go. 27)Yeah, he's gotten a wii fit age of 20 more than once. 26)He lets me look for houses and dream even though we aren't looking......yet! 25)Our favorite date is going to the temple. 24)He never complains that I cut his hair differently every time. 23)He does some of the best voices that I never get sick of. 22)He helps me with both of my businesses and is excited and supportive about them. 21)He's my computer go-to guy. 20)He's a sucka, a fool, a foolish sucka! 19)He lets me have girl's nights whenever I want. 18)He likes to punch dance when he gets frustrated. 17)We love to watch the same tv shows and movies and can watch them over and over and laugh just as hard each time. 16)He always knows how to make me smile no matter what is happening. 15)He loves Montana and going to visit the farm and Glacier Park (my two fav places) 14)He listens to my 80's music. 13)He's scared to pick up a dead mouse and throw it in the trash so I end up doing it and he kills the spiders for me....it's a good arrangement. 12)On a good day, I can still beat him at Dr. Mario or playing horseshoes. 11)He loves to just hang out with me, we are bestest friends. 10)He listens to all my insanely great ideas before telling me I'm crazy and then ends up supporting me with each insanely great idea. 9)He sometimes gets the giggles during our prayers and we can't stop forever! 8)Amazing blue eyes 7)His sense of humor 6)The way he dresses, mmmmmmmm. 5)His super sexy smile! 4)His really super HOT and SEXY voice!!! 3)His knowledge of the gospel and his respect for the priesthood. 2)He's the best daddy in the world, the kids and I adore him. 1)He's all mine and he loves me and I love him.....a lot!!
There are many many more reasons I love Chris, but you'll have to wait until he turns 100 to find out. We had a fun weekend back in April. Chris was going through finals so we celebrated as much as we could in between the studying. The best thing we did on his birthday was Brooklyn and I made him a 30 layer cake out of easy bake oven cakes and it was awesome and he loved it! Chris doesn't care much for birthdays and I'm all about birthdays.....so he does love whatever we come up with!
So if you read my "Michael" post, you'll know how bored I am. I am missing my lovey. I'm still in Utah having a nice time but I get reeeeaaalllyy bored at night and so out came my feelings about Michael Jackson, "Hee Hee" (picture me singing that really high and grabbing my crotch with spin and tip toe pose, ah yeah, now I'm just getting weird, maybe it's time to go to bed. But anyway, even though I like Michael........I really am missing Chris A LOT more and would rather be cuddling on the couch watching nothingness on TV than typing. Night Night!!
So today I hear of Michael Jackson's death and it caught me by surprise. If any of you know me, you know what a HUGE Michael fan I am, always have been, always will be. I know, I know, a lot of you are thinking, "but he was so weird". Despite his weirdness, you can't dismiss his talent, for he was truly a talented man. I have loved all of his music and own all of it. Even after putting my CD's onto my computer and ipod, I still kept the CD's and cases.
I remember when I was young how BIG he was, I remember watching about his concerts on TV and how people would pass out from being in such large crowds and the people who would cry when they saw him. One year, my aunt got all the girl cousins Michael Jackson posters. I was jealous because I wasn't old enough to have one yet but loved my sisters. I remember you could walk around the room and his eyes would stare at you wherever you were ( I know, kinda creepy, but I thought it was cool then).
I remember my sister getting the Thriller ALBUM and we all thought it was so cool and played it over and over and over.....she's still got it, it's going to be worth some bucks! In fact, Chris and I have come upon a Michael Jackson's Moonwalker old school video game that his aunt is getting rid of for FREE! We can have it and it's so funny because last night we were talking about how we would get it to Seattle and today that thing is worth A LOT!! Dibs! We called it, I need that thing in my house now!!
My cousins and I all loved all of his music and when we were growing up, we would get together and make up dance routines in the barn on the farm in Simms. And yes, we have them recorded. I particularly remember my sis and cousin, Teri jitterbugging to "The Way You Make Me Feel". I also remember those two playing "Bad" on the keyboard, man those were some good times.
I loved both Janet and Michael Jackson. I used to record their videos and performances so I could make up cheerleading routines in Jr, High and High School. We got some sweet moves from those two.
My college years and beyond no matter what, if I was having a crazy day, sad day, or even a happy day, I could always put in his music and it would make me want to dance and feel care free. His "Scream" album has some really good songs that didn't make it as big, but have awesome messages. Anyone who rode in my car knew that Michael would play at some point.
My kids love to dance and we have lunchtime dance parties and I would play 80's music with a lot of Michael Jackson. The kids loved his music and easily danced to it. One of Brooklyn's favs is "Wanna be startin' somethin" which is so cool when he gets to the "mama say ma ma sa ma ma coo sa" they also love the "scary song"...Thriller.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that his music and dancing means a lot to me and I grew up on it and love it! Even though his life turned weird, I always wanted to see him in concert and I'm sooooo jealous for those who actually got to see him at his prime. It just seemed he'd always be around and die later on, it's just weird that he is gone.
Bye Michael, thanks for the entertainment and for sharing it with us, it'll live on for a long time in our house! And.....I'm sure I still my senior paper I wrote on you!
Chris' parents came in the middle of May for graduation and for Brooklyn's birthday...and just cause they like us. First things first, as soon as they got here, the presents came out. Both Brooklyn and Beckham got presents, Brooklyn because she was going to turn 4 and Beckham, well, because he is cute!!
Brooklyn got the My Little Pony Amusement Park, both her and Beckham went crazy for it, it's a really cute toy! She also got some cute little kid dishes, they are so fun and they both like using them. Grammy made her two dresses and she loves them both, especially the lady bug one. Aunt Julia and Mia got her an awesome High School Musical slide projector so she can make her own movies and even put them to music. She got a Hannah Montana doll from Claire and Xander that she call Sharpay since she doesn't really know who Hannah Montana is. She was already spoiled and still had two other parties to come.
It was a nice day so after the present opening and cupcakes, we decided to go for a walk and take the kids in the wagon. Chris had a brilliant idea of riding down a muddy hill in the wagon. And as it turns out, it was pretty fun, Brooklyn thought it was so fun and so crazy! Check it out!
Besides graduation, we also took the time to go to the park and play and go to the museum....dinosaurs and butterflies! oh and some circus stunts too...
We are the Warner's. Chris, Melissa, Brooklyn and Beckham. We are currently living in Seattle while Chris attends law school at Seattle University. I stay at home and play with my sweet and adorable kids while running warnerportraits.com and my new business word-boutique. This blog will journal ours lives through the happy and sad, the good and bad, the spiritual moments and most importantly the fun times!
Stayed tuned for more of our amazing trip!
