The Wildlife Zoo and Aquarium

What a perfect day to visit the Wildlife Zoo and brand new Aquarium in Litchfield Park, Arizona. It is about a 50 mile drive from our home in Mesa. We invited my kids best friends, the Nussbaums, to come with me. Mary, how do you do it with 10? I had 8 kids with me and was constantly counting heads so as not to lose a single one. It was not too crowded and it was 70 degrees outside. Lots of walking so I got my exercise in for the day plus was amused at the kids and their antics. I decided before I went that I would not yell and just have a good time-and we did! Proud Mom minute here-Brandon took all the photos except the ones he is in. He loves photo class and I have to say, he has a good eye when taking pictures.

This is the Tiger fish. Isn't he beautiful? I could have stared at him all day long.

Here are the upside down Jelly fish. I never knew they existed! I have been stung by the regular ones at Virginia Beach and boy, did that hurt.

The cute penguins. The display case was all spotted up so Brandon could not get too clear a picture. We got to watch them swim under water, slide down their rock slide and all the other fun things penguins do.

These are the most poisonous frogs. They are called Dart Frogs and are so tiny and colorful. Makes you wonder how something so tiny can be so poisonous. Just glad we encountered it on the other side of the glass:)

You can tell these swans are used to being fed. They are worse than my dog begging! To top it off, they will nip at your fingers if you get too close and don't have any food.

Jon, Cameron and Darin enoying a moment near the duck and swan pond.

Cool Stingray!! We actually go to touch these in the petting part of the aquarium. They are very slimy and some were friendly too. They would jump up by your hand and flip around to swim the other way.

I called this the Vertical fish but Brandon told me it is actually a trumpet nosed fish.

Aren't these beautiful? They are maccaws with such vibrant colors.

Baby deer. There were 3 born late this year. The boys was in the background with his beginning antlers starting to show.

Brandon and Cameron Nussbaum just hanging out after our long day walking.

White alligator. How would you like to see this in your backyard?!

Watch out-Shark!!

Sea turtle is hiding on top of the rock. I love all the different color plants they put in with Mr. Turtle.

The Swan when she was not begging. More beautiful as she was swimming around the pond.

This was everyone's favorite exhibit-the Pink Flamingoes! We all practiced standing on one leg. We decided we had no clue how they could do this all day long.

The crew starting from left to right. Nick Nussbaum, Camryn, Dylan, Colton, Darin, Jonathon Nussbaum (taller one), Cameron Nussbaum and Brandon.

The kids kept asking today if we could go back today! Too far a drive and too expensive to keep getting in, but we will go back again. The kids were tired when we came home and went right to sleep-great for mom and dad!

Christmas Present

My Lpn, Maria, that I work with likes to laugh at the fact I blog. Not too sure why-might have to do with the fact that she just had twins 6 months ago and has no time! So I told her I was going to blog about the Christmas present I gave her and it made her laugh:)
Maria is a very hard worker and also someone very fun to work with. We both work nights together. I answer the phone calls and try to solve the problems over the phone. If they cannot be solved or if a loved one passes away, Maria is the one who drives out in the middle of the night to make a visit. It is not easy to drive at night when you are already tired nor is it easy to find peoples houses at 2 am. I admire her for taking this task on and I try very hard not to send her on a visit unless it is absolutely necessary. I had been thinking since Thanksgiving what I could give her for Christmas. I thought about gift certificates, diapers, formula, food, clothes, etc.
Right before Christmas I finally came up with the best present I could give her-sleep!! She has 6 children and is also a single mom and does not get much time to sleep. So today I decided that I would make all the visits and give her a break. Thank goodness the phone calls were slow and the visits were not too hard. I left at 9 am this morning and did not get home until 6 pm. I drove all over metro Phoenix and also to hospitals. I did not stop and take a break. About 1 pm, Maria called me and asked if there were any visits to do. I just told her Merry Christmas and that this was her gift. She was speechless! She said it was the best gift she was ever been given. I loved that and it made me feel awesome inside:)

Christmas Day 2008

Thought I would post some pictures of Christmas day at our house. Brandon received a BB gun much to the dismay of myself and his brothers. Oh boy, good thing there is not any ammunition in this yet!

Camryn with her Pee Pee in the Potty doll. Tells you when she needs to pee, wash her hands, brush her teeth, etc. Very fun doll.

Darin with his electric guitar. There was a small fight when Dad was tuning it and then decided to play it. Darin wanted it back and Dad would not give it back!

Another shot of Brandon and his BB gun. Not sure what Rich was thinking when he bought him this!

Dylan loves to eat. He thinks he has to eat every two hours. He actually asked for the Big City Slider and I had no clue what that was. He was happy with this. I went to Walgreen's for batteries later in the day and guess what I found on clearance? That's right, the Big City Slider machine!! Yes!

I think the face on this picture says it all. We still love the movie Cars at this house.

Dylan with his other much wanted present-the big nerf gun. This thing takes 6 D batteries to operate, thus the trip to Walgreen's later in the day.

Not sure why Darin looks so serious. Brandon and Dylan were getting a Lego Star Wars ship and Brandon also received a huge Lego Star Wars Emperor ship. He is currently locked in his room building and will be for the rest of vacation:) Should keep him from shooting that dang BB gun!

Guess I was so thrilled I put this on here twice!!!

Dylan right before opening presents. He and Darin had been up since 5 am and were so happy that everyone was awake and ready to go.

Camryn got ahold of the camera while I was taking my nap and Rich was supposed to be watching them. There was about 20 shots of Colton, the fan above the table, the floor and various other objects.

Darin and his heelies. He has been rolling all over our house with these. We have a lot of tile in our home so he is having a blast!

Camryn with her Barbie Diamond princess palace. She and Colton have had great fun with this.
We had a wonderful Christmas day as a family. Hope that your 2008 Christmas was great and we are ready for a new year!

Colton and Camryn

Little kids are just too funny. My youngest two have a slight problem coloring on everything they are not supposed too. We have tried and tried to get them to stop, but those little sneakers keep doing it. Camryn colored on Colton's Lightening McQueen with permanent marker. Oh boy, there was some unhappiness at our house!

The best part of this whole story is Camryn got ahold of my camera and took these pictures without my knowing it!!! She is only 3 and I would say she did a pretty good job:) She got Colton to smile (after the fight) and she actually got the picture centered. I was downloading Christmas Eve pictures and these popped up to my great surprise. Those 2 just giggled and then told me the story. Kinda hard to get mad at them taking my camera when I get such cute pics as these!

Christmas Eve

Every year the Christmas Eve dinner for the Rhoton side of the family is at our home. The siblings all got together 5 years ago and decided it would be at our house as it is the biggest. I loved it at first! I would clean all week, touch up paint and decorate the house. Lots of work and love went into it. But as the years have passed, I became resentful of having to do all this and was not enjoying it anymore. I was having a bad attitude (which I never do:))
This year I have had to work my 80 hours this week and the first 2 nights have been very busy, not to mention I have been by myself. My boss gave my LPN the 4 days off and did not replace her. So I have been triaging phone calls and making visits in the middle of the night. The kids are also out of school so I have not had a chance for a nap. The house has not been in perfect order. I was stressing and not feeling the christmas spirit at all-I was just thinking of all the work I had to do for Christmas Eve.
My kids must have sensed something was not right with mom as they were the best helpers cleaning. I usually have to repeat myself 20 times and start yelling to get them to help. This day was different. The house started to become clean, the turkey was cooking and the kids were all getting along. I still was going on no sleep but that was ok as I was so pleased with kids. I gave up the touch up painting and just let things go as they were. My husband came home early and started setting the table and putting up the extra table in the front room for the kids and cousins to sit at.
My sister in laws, Fayella and Lawrette, arrived with their families. My in laws arrived. There was such a fun loving spirit in the house! The kids were running around outside (50 degrees here and finally stopped raining) and cousins were all having fun. We ate our food and were having a great time talking about Christmas's past. Then my sweet sister in laws cleaned the entire kitchen and did the dishes. Wow! I got to sit down and just relax.
We played the White Elephant game with the adults while the kids watched Scooby Doo's Christmas. I got a bath set and Rich got some really old videos-if only our VCR worked! We had a great Christmas Eve and my spirit has changed. I realized it does not matter if the house looks perfect or is perfectly decorated. It just mattered we got together and created family memories.

disney princess

http://www.greatestjournal.com/quiz.bml?Q=16354"><> size=+1>You Are Ariel!

Headstrong and fiesty. You have a mind of your own that' s of center>
<>Which'>http://www.greatestjournal.com/quiz.bml?Q=16354">Which Disney Princess Are You?

Took this quiz and I am Ariel!! Love it and she even has red hair although I do not like the water and did not picture myself as a mermaid. Fun Quiz to take and see what Disney Princess you are. We certainly watch enough Ariel movies around here that maybe it subconsciously made me answer the quiz that way. Still need to make my parents into the Elf your selves. Will be cool, huh?

Dancing Elves

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/BlSXKS17WrqONA3x

My sons do not want this on here but it is so cute! You can make your family into dancing elves on the officemax website. You then can chose disco, country, classical or contemporary. Enjoy:)

Is Dexter Grandpa?

This is Dexter from the movie Night at the Museum. It is a much loved movie at our house and we watched it today. We love watching everything come to life. I hear there is anyother one called Night at the Smithsonian coming out in 2009. But Dexter stole the movie in this show. He is very naughty and mischievious and gets into everything!

This is Grandpa Fowkes, my dad. He decided to call Colton, my 5 year old, Dexter one year. Colton did not like that and decided that he was going to turn it around and call Grandpa Dexter!! The best part is the name stuck. My dad is a notorious teaser and always has been. I won't let you know the name he calls me:) Anyway, now whenever the phone rings Colton and Camryn want to know if Grandpa Dexter is on the phone. They never call him Grandpa Fowkes anymore. I have tried to get them to call him Grandpa Fowkes, but they both get a twinkle in their eye and say "Nope, it is Grandpa Dexter!" I put the 2 pictures up because as I got to looking at it, they do both kind of look alike, don't ya think:) I am sure I will be receiving a phone call about this as my mom and dad read my blog.

Tim and Ralynne

We had the fun opportunity of going to one of Rich's good friends wedding reception tonight. Ralynne is Samoan and what a beautiful girl she is and a beautiful bride. Tim was just glowing and he has blonde hair and fair skin. They are going to have some wonderful looking kids! The wedding was in traditional Samoan style and was alot of fun.

We had a luau for dinner and right before the dinner was the Samoan tradition of the bride and groom walking down the aisle together again to their spot at the head of the dinner table. The table was a long one set right in the front of the reception hall. The stage was behind Tim and Ralynne (reception was at their Ward chapel meeting house). The stage was decorated in Samoan style and had a wonderful, colorful background.

After the dinner, there was a polynesian dancing group that performed. Ralynne is a part of this dancing group and I wish I knew how to spell the name. Sounded out it is Saka but I know that I am spelling it wrong. The bride took to the stage with her sisters and bridesmaids for the traditional wedding dance. She was such a lovely sight to see in her wedding dress dancing the Samoan dance. Wish I had brought my camera. After she danced, the dancing group came on and performed. They performed dances from Samoa, Tonga and Hawaii and announced each dance before it was performed. Camryn and Colton were up and out of there seats imitating the men and women dancers. The both wanted to know how the girls could shake their grass skirts so fast-me too:)

The highlight was when Ralynne went back on stage with her group to perform a solo. Tim came up and just pretended he knew what he was doing as she did not tell him he was going up there!! She had him lay face down on the floor and then she danced on his back. That part was hilarious. I do not know if it symbolizes anything or if she was just playing around with him. The samoans were screaming loudly when she took the stage. My kids loved it as they screamed right along with them.

It was fun for Rich and I as we had one of our reception's at this same ward building 15 years ago come January 7, 2009. Rich's aunt decorated for it and went all out. I was stunned when I walked in and saw how beautiful it was. There were carosel horses, flowers everywhere, an archway with a swing and a profile portrait of Rich and I (Rich's grandma had drawn them by hand). We had a beautiful reception in Virginia too at the Montclair lake Clubhouse. It was all windows and we had the entire room lit up with candles. It was such a gorgeous room that we did not have to do much decorating and looked so wonderful with how simple we decorated it. We let the natural beauty of the lake and all the glass and candles do the work.

We are very happy for Tim and his new bride as we have been friends of his before his mission, thru his mission and when he came home 2 years ago. It was a fantastic evening and right during the holiday season!

Director for New Moon

http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/

Don't know if you can read the letter, but it is to the fans of the Twilight series from the new director chosen for New Moon. Know many people are going to miss Catherine Hardiwicke but Chris Weitz sounds like he is up for the job and had directed several well known films, including the "American Pie" series and the controversial "Golden Compass". For us Twi-hards, he promises to keep true to the book and the characters in it and Stephenie's visions of New Moon. So here is cheering on a new director and the movie being started in 11 weeks!!

Isikawa Elementary Orchestra

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70Sgzuyt0b4

Darin is in his second year of orchestra playing the violin. He loves to play it even though he does not put the practice time into it like he should. He plays surprisinly well for the amount of practice he does. It is the same with piano. He can hear a tune or play it once or twice and just have it down. He did not get that from me at all!! Maybe his dad or his Grandpa Fowkes but skipped over this daughter:) The orchestra sounded great for being the 4th, 5th and 6th graders. Most of the time they were in tune and sounded great. I remember going to my baby brother's concerts and it seems like there was a lot of squeaking or maybe a I just imagined it! Anyway, enjoy some good holiday music played by an enthusiatic bunch of kids. My son is in the back row, with dark auburn hair and a striped brown and dark brown sweater. He plays the violin.

Camryn's Preschool Program

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZN91PBN9bY

Here is a link to Camryn's christmas preschool program. I finally posted it on youtube as it was the only way I could get it on here. Crazy! I had pictured a perfect program with her singing cutely and doing the movements. Instead she picked her nose (which I cut out), picked her owie and kept looking around the room. When she finally did sing a song, her reindeer ears were too big and were over her eyes. Oh well, at least I have a funny program with her true character in it. She is the one with red hair and in pink, of course. Enjoy!

Joy to Everyone

http://www.joytoeveryone.com

I saw this on a friend's blog and it said to share, so I am. It is a very touching video and I did shed a few tears upon watching it. Enjoy!

Best Friend

I have been trying for 3 days to post Camryn's christmas play and Darin's orchestra concert but the videos must be too long as they will not post. I will try later but it has frustrated me. So instead I will write about the fun I had the first 2 years of college and my best friend, Jill Salyers, who kept me thankfully reined in. And Mom, just close your eyes as you read this or pretend it was another daughter who wasted their time:)

I had the privelidge of attending BYU in 1987. I was accepted with early acceptance thanks to good grades at high school although it was a good thing I was accepted early as I had a bad case of senioritis. It was a no brainer when it came to who I would room with. I was just thankful she wanted to room with me and that her big sister was also at BYU and took us under her wing. I remember the first day we got into our dorm room and Jill and I both thought, this is so small!! It was a good thing she was clean as it made me pick up and keep my side clean our else our box would have been a mess. We ate in the cafeteria and I don't think either one of us gained the freshman 15 lbs as the food was just soso. We hung out with Deneim (her big sister) for the first month as we eased into college life and making friends with the girls on our floor. We were lucky to make good friends with the girls next door and the ones across the hallway from us. We all came from different backgrounds but had the same church background and we all clicked as friends. I will have to say that Kim and I were the more wild of the bunch and tried to talk the others into staying up late and going out late. If the others would not, her and I just would go. There were plenty of times Jill would say "Don't do it Steph" but I did not listen. I was far from home and thought I knew it all and could just take care of myself. Boy, was I dumb!!!

Thankfully by going to BYU we had to sign a code of honor. It meant no drinking, no smoking, no illicit drugs, and no premarital sex. I took these things very seriously and did not even think about breaking this code. I had fun but did not push the limits on these issues. What we did do was go out dancing at the Palace and then decided we would hitchhike home as it was a far walk and cold. Jill stayed home and did her homework (like I should have!) We did hitch a ride and made it back to the dorm after joyriding with a group of boys for awhile. Looking back that was not one of the most intelligent choices we could have made. Who knows who could have picked us up or their motives. When I told Jill, I was properly chewed out and I did not do it again. And I needed to hear that-what was I thinking?! That was not to say Jill did not go to dances with us or have fun, she was just mature and made wiser choices and reminded us we should too.

The next year, 6 of us decided to live at the Riviera apartments. This was the happening place to live (the Osmonds had lived there at one point) plus my two cousins had lived there the year before. We divided up who was going to bring dishes, cooking utensils, baking dishes, silverware, etc. The furniture was provided and we all brought pictures and other things to make it cozy. Again, I was lucky enough to have Jill in my room with me. This was bigger than our box and was a real room!! We signed up to inspect apartments for extra cash-this actually was a fun way to look at boys apartments and get bribes not to write them up for having disgusting apartments.

The rule at BYU was no boys in the rooms. We had some best guy friends from home (just friends) that hung out at our apartment all the time. We had a many a slumber party with them by bringing all of our mattresses into the front room. That way we were not technically breaking the rules and we had great fun staying up watching movies, giggling, popping popcorn and just sharing stories with the other roomies of growing up with Eric Brown and Chris Barkdull. I remember Chris steamrolling all of us and Jill with her great laugh going into hysterics and telling him to get off her and quit steamrolling us (of course he would do it again).

Jill's sister was dating and engaged to one of the Brown cousins so we had the great fun of going to their cabin for each conference. It was fun to get away and be in the outdoors and just have fun with Jeff's parents and the roomies. It was beautiful up there (just before Park City) and many a fun time was had throwing things from the loft to the 2 lovebirds down below. We are lucky Deneim still talked to us after doing that to her!!

Jill and I also went to all the football games. What fun that was cheering on the cougars and generally having a great time. If I ever said I was going out with a boy or staying out late, Jill was quick to say "You better be back at a reasonable time!" It was a good thing she was waiting for a missionary the first year of our college experience. The second year she started to date so I was allowed to stay out later and get away with a little bit more:)

I never once got upset with Jill for playing mom. I was always so happy to have my best friend there to bounce off ideas, cry with, laugh with, reason with and love with. I needed that influence in my life even though I thought I was soooo grown up. And Jill is younger than me!! Jill is still there for me to chat with, cry with and now I can give her nursing advice and sometimes life advice (haha). Jill, I will always love you for being such a best friend and mentor (and going to watch dirty dancing with about 20 times:))

Colton and Camryn Singing

Darin had his annual Christmas performance of the orchestra at Ishikawa Elementary. Still trying to download that video as it is a big file. The last song the orchestra played was Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. This was played by the combined 4th, 5th, and 6th grade orchestra. Darin is in the 5th grade. The whole audience sang the song and I could not zoom in on Darin so I took a cute video of Colton and Camryn singing this song together. I love how Carmyn had to push her way into Colton's singing-poor Colton! Enjoy:)

Sending our Soldiers a Card

I got this link from my mom in Sandy, Utah. Xerox is sending free cards to our troops overseas. All the cards are hand drawn by children. It does not let you send to any particular person but to a soldier. I signed all of ours The Rhoton Family. It just asks for your name, your hometown, state and to pick a card. It even has different sayings you can click on or you can create your own. What a great idea and what a pick me up for our brave men and women who are serving our country at this time. The web address is LetsSayThanks.com. You can send one card or however many you want. Our troops need this now as I feel too many Americans are just thinking "oh well, someone else will send them a pick me up". Visit the site and make a soldiers day!!

Serenity Christmas Party 2008

We had the best work Christmas party this year. It was at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Phoenix. It had just been remodeled and opened 3 weeks ago. But it was not the location, the ok food or the party itself that was fun. The best part was attending with Rich, Julie and Gary Burk(who have been our friends for years) and my goofball friend Michelle Faulk. These guys made the party fun and we got out and danced like we haven't since the last Christmas party-oh my little piggys! Julie and Michelle just came to work for Serenity but I have known them both at other hospices and friend levels.

We did find time to dance. We loved Pink's song "So what, I am a rock star" and our all time favorite "Rock Lobster" by the B52's. No one but us six seemed to know what to do with the song. So we demonstrated by dancing and then all getting on the floor when the song says "down, down, down". 2 of my coworkers thought we needed CPR-how silly!!

The best part was roaming the hotel. Michelle and her boyfriend rented a room on the 7th floor for the night. We rode the elevator all the way to the 37th floor, got off and looked down the stairwell. Creepy feeling! All of a sudden one of us said "let's drop our gum down the stairwell" so we did. We are all in our early 40's and 50's-not 16. We watched our gross gum go all the way down and then we ran:)

Next stop was the outdoor pool and indoor workout gym which was awesome. We were going to throw Gary into the pool but it was too cold so we let him off this once. We then went into the gym where we all got on the workout equipment. Granted, we were all still dressed up but who cares? My hubby and Gary started lifting free weights and doing the old skit from SNL. They then wrapped their heads in towels (like turbans) and began ninja fighting with some sort of workout ropes. Julie and I were trying so hard not to pee our pants!! Michelle and her boyfriend were on the treadmill doing the dance made famous on youtube, but those 2 fell off! We then then tired of the gym, went out to the hall and started knocking on people's doors and running. I know, juvenile, but so much fun. No one had been drinking either-we were just goofy. Michelle had rented a room for the night so we went back there to try out her comfy pillows and bed. We finally got the boot and headed to the Valet parking to retrieve our car.

Now when we got there initially, we kind of bypassed everyone in line and went in backwards. We feigned ignorance and the guy gave us the parking thing for our window. He neglected to say leave the hanging portion in the car!! So I took the whole thing back to the Valet service to ask for my car please. The lady started to laugh and asked if I seriously parked there. Of course we did!! She then said that the yellow part was supposed to be hung in the rearview mirror but I had it in my hot little hand. They thankfully found our car and we drove home to kids put nicely to bed by Brandon.

I know this sounds so juvenile but we had the best time acting like teens and giggling the whole time (men included). I hope to go out with these 2 couples again so we can have a more mature time:) The video is me trying to talk Michelle into dancing and then taping the Burk's dancing to some song I don't know. We will have to ask Juje (our nickname for her) the name of the song. Here is to acting like kids for a brief period of time:)

In The End by Linkin Park

Thanks, Erin, for another great tag! This one is as funny as the last one with the birthday, day of week, etc.

1. Put your music on a listening device on shuffle (like an ipod)
2. For each question, press the button to get your answer
3. You must wrtie down that song name no matter how silly it makes you look
4. Title this post what the answer to your last question is
5. Good luck and have fun!

IF SOMEONE SAYS ' IS THIS OK' YOU SAY? Letter shapes by They Might Be Giants

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF? Freedom by George Michael

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A BOY/GIRL? Wake me up before you go go by Wham

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY? The Sweet Escape by Gwen Stefani

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE? Can't Stand Losing You by The Police

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU? Orange County Girl by Gwen Stefani

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU? Baby Please Come Home for Christmas by Mariah Carey

WHAT DO YOU OFTEN THINK ABOUT? All these lives by Daughtry

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE? Sweet Dreams by The Eurythics

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY? Where the streets have no name by U2

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? The little drummer Boy by Jessica and Ashlee Simpson

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE? Don't stop believing by Journey

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING? Amish Paradise by "Weird Al" Yankovich

WHAT WILL PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL? Burning Up by Jonas Brothers

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR? Silent Night by Kenny G

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET? S.O.S by Jonas Brothers

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS? With or Without you by U2

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO NAME THIS EMAIL? In the End by Linkin Park

So now it is your turn to play along!! I tag Jill, Mary, Kasandra, Melanie M., Lisa Lines, Tammy Taylor, Tink and whoever else would like to play along. This is a fun one!

Christmas Devotional and Luke 2

I once again could not figure out how to put the videos next to my post. Mary, I need one of your teenagers please:) I posted President Thomas S. Monson's Christmas address at the devotional on Sunday night. I have always loved his stories and the fact that he was bishop at 30 years old. He took under his wing a group of Widows in his ward and has dropped by, sent packages and spoken at all the funerals thus far. What a wise and humble man we have to be the Prophet of our church. I was so sad when President Hinckley died and I thought to myself "who could fill his shoes?" He was my prophet for most of my young adult, newly married and baby stage of life. He also showed how to really love a spouse and was heartbroken when his sweetheart passed away before him.

I realized that President Monson does not need to fill anyone's shoes. He receives direct revelation from Jesus himself and as I watched the devotional I could literally see the prophet's mantle resting on his shoulders. He still watches after those widows to this day and he tells a cute story of one of the widows wanting him to recite poetry at her funeral. She said he did a great job but she really wanted 2 verses so he better start practicing!!

I also posted the short film aptly named Luke 2. This one has singing over the background which the original does not. It makes me realize what life was like when Jesus was born and the complete love his mother had for him. It was very simple times and Mary did not have a hospital to go to or any type of pain med. Now that is labor the hard way!! I also love how Joseph accepts him as his own flesh and blood even though he is the son of God.

The video clips are at the bottom so take the time to enjoy them and be spiritually fed on this Christmas season!

I yelled at a Birdbath because I am awesome!!

Here is a cute game I found on If you give a Mom a moment's site. It made me laugh out loud to see the combination I got!





Pick the month you were born:

1. January.......I kicked


2. February.....I loved


3. March...........I karate chopped


4. April..............I licked


5. May...............I jumped in


6. June...............I smelled


7. July................I did the Macerena with


8. August............I had lunch with


9. September....I danced with


10. October..........I sang to


11. November......I yelled at


12. December.......I ran over

Pick the Day you were born:

1. 1.....at a birdbath
2. 2.....a monster
3. 3......a phone
4. 4.......a fork
5. 5........a snowman
6. 6........a gangster
7. 7.........my mobile phone
8. 8.........my dog
9. 9.........my best friend's boyfriend
10. 10.......my neighbor
11. 11........a science teacher
12. 12........a banana
13. 13........a fireman
14. 14.......a stuffed animal
15. 15.......a goat
16. 16.......a pickle
17. 17.......your mom
18. 18.......a spoon
19. 19.......a smurf
20. 20.......a baseball bat
21. 21........a ninja
22. 22........Chuck Norris
23. 23........a noodle
24. 24........a squirrell
25. 25........a football player
26. 26........my sister
27. 27.........my brother
28. 28.........an Ipod
29. 29.........a surfer
30. 30.........a homeless guy
31. 31.........a llama

Pick the color of the shirt you are wearing

White...........because I am cool like that

Black............because that is how I roll

Pink.............because I'm NOT crazy

Red..............because the voices told me too

Blue.............because I'm sexy and do what I want

Green..........because I think I need some senior's help

Purple.........because I am AWESOME

Gray...........because Big Bird said to and he is my leader

Yellow........because someone offereded me a million dollars

Orange.......because someone in my family thinks I am stupid anyway

Brown........because I can

Other.........because I am a ninja

None.........because I can't control myself:)

Put your answers to the question-it will be funny to see what people come up with. I mean, come on, I yelled at a Birdbath because I am awesome~~~

Christmas Picture Bribery

This second one is just goofy of them all but I had to put it on here for posterity's sake)

Why does my oldest, Brandon think he needs to be bribed into taking a picture with Santa? We do this almost every year, yet this year I had to chase him down, bribe him and let him wear his special hat. The hat I really don't care about, but i wanted a picture of all 5 of them gathered around Santa so I could send out a photo christmas card.
So Brandon may think he is getting bribed, but he has another thought coming about that-hehehe!!! Much Thanks to my blogging friends the McMillan's for helping out here. Except for Brother McMillan, I think you will be taking that bale of hay to the top of the rooftop for the reindeer. Tried to get up there to rescue a toy last year and about slid off the roof onto my hiney!!

Lindsey Ward Party

We had our annual Ward Christmas Party tonight and it was a blast. Lots of good food, fun and entertainment was had by all. I will take a few minutes and describe the picutes I took of the entertainment. The above group is the Mesa Highlander Bagpipes, Drumcorp and Dancers. I have known Marissa ( on the far right and her mom, right behing her) for 8 years. In fact Christy and her husband, David met while drumming in this group together. Marissa is one of the dancers for the Highland group and is awesome plus she is in my primary class!

Cathy and Michael Bowden are just one of those rare couples your meet that you fall in love with. Cathy used to live very close to me when we lived in Homestead 2. Now we live 2 miles from there! Cathy did not know I was taking her picuture but her hubby did and I caught him with the flash-oops. She and 3 other friends came to my rescue when I was put on bedrest with Colton (# 4 boy). They arranged amongst themselves to bring in meals 3 times a week. I have to say I loved the Bowden meals as Michael is a professional chef-the food was always delicious and 5 star in my book!!

Here is another shot of the Mesa Highlander bagpipes and drumline. Chisty is 3rd from the left and boy can she twirl those drum sticks and drum at the same time!!

Herre arre my 3 boys taking part in the primary manager scene. Darin was Joseph and boy does he look bored!! Dylan has his usual look on his face and Colton is in yellow and just beaming. Leave it to him to just have fun and savor the moment.

Brandon is officially out of primary. He did not want his picture taken but Cathy B0wden was sitting right behind him and kicked him in the rear per my request. She has 3 boys so she knows the trials it can be to get a picture taken!!! Geez, I let him leave his precious hat on:)

Here is a favorite picture of Camryn and Dad. Dad was catching a kiss and Camryn was flasing the surf's up dude sign. My 2 cutie pies:)

Camryn wanted her hair in rollers before we left. Her hair does not hold a curl but she is sure wishing she would have a beautiful mane of curls. It turned out cute anyways and mom had fun finally messing with her hair.

It was a great program and a fun party. Neighbors, friends and members alike came out and all had fun and partook of a great time. Our new ward is officially a year old and it finally feels like home and somewhere we love to be:) A Big shout out to the activities committee for pulling it all together and setting up extra chairs and tables as more and more people arrived. Can't wait for next years!!