Christmas Piano Recital

After my Grandma died she left a little bit of money.  I wanted to buy something that would remind me of her, something that I knew she would be happy that we bought... I guess something that would make her smile.  So, we added our own money to hers and bought a piano.  It has been really fun listening to the girls learn to play.  I found a fabulous piano teacher and we had our first recital on Dec 10.  The girls did great.  I love hearing them play, and I know that my grandma would be proud of them and that she is smiling down on them whenever they play. 

I will try to put some video up of their songs.  It is very cute to see Isabelle counting out the beat with her head... she also does it with her feet (that don't touch the ground).

Lisi Voice Concert

Isabelle's santa letter

Isabelle is excited for Christmas this year. She wrote a letter to Santa and was anxious to get it sent off. She wants a pile of books and a monster high doll. Pretty simple.

Timmy Turkey

We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! This was the yummiest Turkey around!

#15 for my #1

Happy 15th Birthday Lisi--

I remember when you were born and the first thing I said was, "She is so fat" at 10 lbs 11 oz, you were a really big baby, but very adorable and strong. You could hold up your head and you were always content. Daddy said that he took you to the nursery while the soon to be new parents were taking their tour of the maternity floor, and all of their jaws dropped when they saw how big you were. The teacher said that most babies were a little more than half your size. Crazy... you would never know now that you were so big. You were an easy baby, and you have stayed consistent with that throughout your 15 years. You have been pretty easy, and I hope you stay that way (especially next year) You have been a joy to have around. I remember when you were blessed, you were blessed with the ability to make those around you happy. There was a time when we were on the airplane with a really grumpy guy, and you were able to make him smile. At the end of the flight he said he was glad he sat by us because no one could stay in a bad mood with you around.

You have continued to make others happy, and you are always eager to serve. I am so proud of all you do to help those around you.

Daddy and I are very proud of all you have accomplished and we know you will continue to be amazing. We are so blessed to be your parents.

Halloween costumes 2011

Lisi was a Timpanogos Titan, Tim and Debbie were Renaissance people, Timmy was a Penguin of course, Sarah was a mad hatter-- she won the best overall costume at her school, and Isabelle was a snow princess.  Every year I say I am not going to make their costumes... but then I remember how much they love it... so I guess it is worth it in the end.  

Happy Birthday to the 4 year old who has our hearts

Happy 4th Birthday

Timmy!!!!

We love you!!!

 

Timmy has been really fun this year!  He is full of energy and humor.  He has us laughing a lot.  This has been a year of a lot of questions.  His latest question has been "Mommy, why do we go like this--(then blinks)"  I usually say something like our eyes need to get moisture or whatever.  Then I got smart and asked him.  It is because our eyes need a break!  Very smart answer.   

He loves to dance and sing and his favorite song in Tonight, tonight, there's a party on the rooftop, top of the world, tonight....  You can hear him trying to sing as loud as the girls when we turn up the songs in the car.  When he is on his feet and the music is playing, he is usually dancing... this usually requires him trying to spin around on his back, or doing some jumping over his hand on the ground.  He actually has some really good dance moves.  

He also likes to fight the bad guys, and apparently he thinks that is what his daddy does all day.  One day he said, "Why can't the bad guys just all kill each other and then daddy can stay home with us?"  Good question.  Good thing we have a great daddy to take care of those bad guys!  

Some other things Timmy loves are:

Star wars (this is encouraged by daddy and Lisi, since they share the same love) Yoda is his favorite

His green shoes  (at one point he loved them more than his mom and dad... now he loves them the same)

Hanging out with his mom (he has had some anxiety about mom leaving him with other people... now that he is 4, he says he thinks he can handle going to preschool by himself... cross your fingers)

Writing his name

Telling us all the letters he sees... this is fun most of the time :-)

Super heroes-- he likes to be the superheroes and talk about them...

eating ham-- his favorite preparation is flying saucers (Timmy safe cheese between 2 pieces of ham)

being a ham

penguins

Every color but mostly red, yellow, green, and orange

playdates at his house

mom and dad's primary class

building with legos

climbing everything

helping mom cook

playing his leapster or computer games

making everyone swoon and try to arrange future marriages (apparently he has beautiful eyes)

taking care of babies

This year he has grown up a lot, and we have enjoyed watching him-- although we will miss him being our baby.  We adore this little man, and we are happy he is part of our family!

Timmy's last year in pictures

Back to School

Timmy Started Preschool this year with Miss Heidi. He picked his own clothes. An owl hat, a sweatshirt that is too small, flip flops and shorts. Silly Boy.  Mommy also goes to school with him as the helper.  Hopefully soon he will out grow his anxiety of being left with anyone but mom :-)

Lisi started 9th grade this year at PGJH (later she switched to Oak Canyon). She is taking some very hard classes, but she will do a great job!

Isabelle is in 3rd grade with Mrs. Lono. She is super excited to see her friends and ready to learn.

Sarah loves school and officially starts middle school in 6th grade. Her teacher is Mrs. Shaw.

San Francisco 2011

Tim often travels to San Francisco for work, and the kids never know what it is like where he goes. So, we decided that it would be fun to take a trip with him. We took 2 days to drive the 14 hours to get there, after you get to Reno the drive is really beautiful. We stayed in Palo Alto, and Tim wanted to show the girls Stanford... it is his dream for one of our kids to go there (so I guess we need to save our pennies). It is a beautiful campus. We were also lucky to be able to go eat dinner with Tim's friend Brady and his family. They were very sweet and the kids got along great with their kids (and the parents got along too ;-)). They suggested that we ride bikes across the golden gate bridge, so the next day we set out on an adventure. We couldn't get tickets to Alcatraz (apparently you have to reserve months in advance, and since we planned this last minute, we were out of luck), so we decided to do the bike ride. I was a little nervous because I had the 4 kids and I was the only adult... but fortunately Lisi is super responsible, and Sarah doesn't need help riding a bike. Isabelle can ride a bike, but I was nervous about the hills and the bridge so we got one of those little bikes that attach to the back of a regular bike. Lisi rode with Isabelle and Timmy rode on the back of my bike. It was a blast. I would definitely recommend if you are in the SF area, to ride across the bridge. There were a couple of hard spots, but the kids did great, and we made it. There was one problem... one side of the bridge was closed so both lanes of bike traffic and all the pedestrians were on the same side, so it was super crowded. One professional biker was going again traffic and yelling at everyone to stay to the right. He was so busy yelling at people that he didn't see Lisi and Isabelle and ran right into them. They were okay, and hopefully the guys ego was a little bruised because he was not very nice. We made it to the little town across the bridge, Sausalito. There were some scary moments, but my kids were troopers and I was proud of how great they did. We would have loved to stay and explore Sausalito some more, but we had to get back so Tim could go to a work dinner (and we were his transportation). It is a very charming town and people were really nice there. We took the ferry back to the pier and saw the seals. The next day we ate a lot of crazy food at Mission Street Chinese food, and then got some yummy ice cream and Timmy safe sorbet at Bi Rite creamery. Yum. We also went to Santa Monica Pier while we were there. It took us a long time to get there because it was rush hour-- not good timing, but the kids had a great time! Timmy got sopping wet and very sandy, and we had to buy Sarah new shoes... but overall it was a lot of fun. We learned that we are not very good beach people though because we have no idea what to bring and how dirty you get :-). We were also very lucky to spend time with Dave and Mandy (Dave is Debbie's cousin) and our kids were the best of friends and Debbie fell in love with little Eloise. They are a beautiful family and we wish they lived closer. We never get tired of spending time with them. Then we drove the long drive home. The kids did great in the car and Tim was surprised to learn that his favorite part of the trip was spending time with other families... so on our big trip next year we hope to visit lots of people!

Strawberry Days 2011

Strawberry days is lots of fun. Full of parades, music, and rides, and of course strawberries. Every year it is a highlight of the summer.

I have the kind of husband. . .

I have the kind of husband . . .

Who loves his family
Who is incredibly loyal
Who looks out for the underdog
Who encourages his kids to be TRUE BLUE-- and loves Jimmer mania!
Who lifts his kids up (figuratively and literally)
Who will wait for hours to save our spot for the Disneyland parade just because he wants the kids to experience it all
Who wants better for his kids than he ever had
Who loves going to Disneyland almost as much as the kids (actually maybe even more)
Who is always there for me and his children
Who endures hours and hours and crazy schedules so he can support his kids in all they do
Who is kind, to everyone (even if they are not kind back)
Who always assumes the best in a situation
Whom I don't have to ask to go to the temple, he is always ready
Who leads our family with love and strength
Who is generous
Who reads to his kids
Who brings home flowers just because
Who always has a treat in his bag
Who is a dreamer
Who plays with his kids
Who loves to travel
Who misses us when he is gone
Who will take the morning shift after a long night with babies (I will always be grateful for this one :-)
Who can cook yummy yummy food
Who can not only cook it, but will do it when I call him at 5:30 with nothing for dinner :-)
Who mops the floor :-)
Who adores his wife
Whom I never have to nag
Who is always good
Whom I can always depend on
Whose wife adores him
Who likes to hang out with his wife :-)
Who believes in princesses
Who works hard
Who will always look 25
Who sacrifices for us everyday
Who enjoys good food, and always knows the best place to eat wherever he goes
Who is the best man I know (even better than any man anyone else knows too!)
Who is willing to have his children pile on him whenever he sits down
Who enjoys talking to his kids
Who is super funny and makes me laugh all the time
Who has the best stories to tell
Who is dedicated
Who is worthy
Whom I never have to doubt
Who loves to go on walks
Who loves the sunshine (but not the heat)
Who loves to cuddle
Who is just plain awesome!
Who wants me to buy more stuff for me :-)
Who is thoughtful
Who is smarter than anyone I know, but will never ever act like it.
Who is humble
Who, if he ever went on Jeopardy, would win!
Who is quiet
Who is patient
Who puts up with me :-)
Who sword fights with his son
Who never complains
Who is forgiving
Who treats everyone with respect and kindness
Who makes others around him better
Who makes his wife proud to be his wife
Who loves to read
Who remembers everything he has ever read
Who is the perfect husband for me (a very imperfect wife)
Who is honest and fair
Who loves adventure
Who will jump off a waterfall with me!
Who buys a new car every time we have a new baby :-)
Who always looks good :-)
Who is the velvet hammer!
Whom everyone loves
Whom everyone looks up to
Who is my very best friend
Whom I am grateful for


The list can go on and on.  But Tim is truly the most amazing person in the world!   He is my amazing person and I am so grateful for the man he is and for all that he has given me.  He is a great dad, and the best husband!  I love you Tim!  Thanks for being who you are!

Love,
Deb

Happy Birthday Tim!  You are the best!

The big 8!

Happy Happy Birthday to my Silly and Sweet Isabelle! You bring so many smiles to us and brighten everyday! We can't believe you're 8 already! We hope you get your wish and we can find a real live fairy for you for your birthday! We love you-- Mommy, Daddy, Lisi, Sarah, and Timmy

Nauyaca waterfal

 

Debbie's second jump

Tim's first jump, sorry it is sideways, I forgot that you have to do it horizontally

Tim and I went to a place called Nauyaca waterfall.  A man named Don Lulo and his wife Dona Ruth own this property and run a little business where they have a horseback tour to a waterfall.  This is definitely our favorite part of the trip so far.  We were served breakfast and then we went on a horseback ride for about an hour and a half to a beautiful waterfall.  We were able to swim and we climbed the waterfall, and then jumped off.  It was really amazing.  I am so glad we did it.  The jump was a little scary at first, but we both did it.  I went twice an Tim went once.  Then we got back on our horse, and went to their little house for lunch, it was typical Costa Rican food.  We met a lot of nice people, and have fallen in love with the people of Costa Rica.  Don Lulo is the sweetest little old man you will ever meet-- and he didn't believe me when I told him we were from the USA.  His wife cooked us the meals and Tim says it was the best that he has eaten in Costa Rica.  It was nice to meet and visit with a family here.  We have not met anyone from Costa Rica that does not have a permanent smile on their face-- and it definitely rubs off on everyone around.  Beautiful people.

On our way back down the mountain, all the cars on the highway were stopped and there was something lying on the road.  We couldn't tell what it was, then we realized it was a sloth.  We have seen a sloth in a tree, but everyone said you would never see one on the ground because they just come out of the tree once a week to take care of business, and then go right back up.  So, we watched some guy get out of his car and poke the sloth, and then he picked him up and put him on the other side of the road.  Then, everyone just went back to their normal routine.  We took a picture on the way by. . .

if you click on the picture and then on the plus sign you can see his face.

Happy Happy 11th Birthday Sarah

To my beautiful, smart, compassionate, PASSIONATE, friendly, independent daughter with the biggest heart and a beautiful smile:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

We love your guts!

Conversations with Timmy

Tim: Daddy has to go to work
Timmy: I don't want you to go to work
Tim:  Do you want to call my boss and tell him I am sick
Timmy (on the pretend phone): My daddy is sick, he can't come to work.
Tim: Daddy has to go to work so we have money
Timmy: We already have money
Tim: We need more money so we can buy things
Timmy: I don't want things. . . I want a cookie
Debbie: We need money to buy things at the store so we can make cookies
Timmy: We have them at home
Tim: We have to use our money to pay for our home
Timmy:  We can't carry our home.
Debbie: Where do we need to carry our home
Timmy:  It is too big to carry it to the store. It won't fit in the doors.