HARRY POTTER and the SLEEP OVER at AUNT MARISA'S


Finally, the much anticipated Harry Potter movie swept thru Idaho Falls like a tornado!! A few of my siblings are big fans - mem not so much. So, I got to have a sleep over with all my nieces and nephews!! And we had a blast! We started the evening out with the smaller kids upstairs watching Bolt. Look at them sitting so nicely watching the movie!! I thought to myself, "see, they are so good! There's nothing to it!"




And the girls were downstairs getting their forts built so they could watch "Princess Protection Program." Come on Jess, give me a smile!

Soon after the first ten minutes of the movie, the kids decided it would be funner to PLAY Bolt instead of watch it. Then somehow, it turned into the Star Wars droids that were after them!! Oh the imagination of kids! I love it!

OK, does it get any cuter than this?!! Look at Tyler!! TOTAL CONCENTRATION!!

JOSEPH, and the AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT

Hannah had the opportunity to be in the children's chorus for this production. A lady in our ward is very involved in the community theatrical stuff and came to our house back in February to see if Hannah would like to try this type of thing. Well, the rest is history. Hannah had a blast! She would sing the songs in the shower, on the way to the store, at the dinner table. I don't know how many times she showed us the dances. It was so much fun to watch her learn and love it. On opening night when the curtain opened and I saw her up there on the stage, my eyes filled with tears! I was so proud of her and so excited that she was getting to experience that! There's a proud moment for this momma!

Hannah sold so many tickets and got one for free. She immediately informed me that the ticket was for Jessica to come to the show. So closing night, Jess was able to see the show.

Hannah was part of the tribe of LEVI, but her favorite brother was Benjamin!

These were the narrators. Hannah became pretty fond of them both. They had beautiful voices and did a great job. Something about genetics makes the voices blend and create a sound that you can't get anywhere else. It was fun to listen to them.

Here's Hannah with the "Pharoah" and the lady from our ward Lynne Mitchell. Hannah thought that the pharaoh was hot!!

And here she is with the star of the show, Joseph. He had a fantastic voice. What a pleasure it was to listen to him. Hannah got to be right next to him in a couple of the scenes!! He called her Hannah Banana.

JONAS BROTHERS WORLD TOUR 2009!!

"Nick's my pick!!!!"
"Kevin = Heaven!"


In February, my sister-in-law texted me and said that she'd just bought tickets to see these guys in concert. She thought that Hannah and I would want to come. I was so excited that I immediately got online and bought tickets, just for me and Han. I thought that this would be a perfect trip for just the two of us, a little quality time together. I held on to the tickets until April. Mike and I finally decided to tell her about her surprise. She darn near peed her pants. She was soooo excited. All her friends were jealous and the planning of the outfit and posters began.

So, here we are, early in the morning, on the way the Boise.


We made a quick detour in Poky to grab a Jamba with Aunt Jen. We mourned the death of Michael Jackson (happened the night before) and Aunt Jen joined in the excitement of the trip!

Once we got to Boise, Hannah decided that she wanted to shop for a new outfit for the concert. She had been given a $40 gift certificate from a single mom in our ward. Hannah walked her two youngest kids to school every day this year. Anyway, she wanted to go shopping. She knew exactly what she was looking for. Everything I held up, she' d give the ol' nose wrinkle and kept shopping. She was really eyeing the mini skirts with the leggings under. I encouraged her to keep looking. (Quite frankly, I just couldn't wrap my brain around my daughter in a short skirt and leggings.) I told her that I didn't mind the leggings, but that the skirts were too short. If she could find something that was a little bit longer, that would be great.

Jonas Brothers, here we come!!!

She had 82 cents left! What a shopper!

We met up with my sister-in-law Rainey, and cousin Wyatt, at the Cheesecake Factory for some fantastic food. Always fun!!

After completely stuffing ourselves, and the biggest joke in parking history, we finally made it to the concert. Jordan Sparks was the opening act! She was GREAT!!! Hannah wasn't sure she was ok with the volume of the concert. She wasn't really enjoying it, so I ran out to the lobby to see if they sold ear plugs. They did, and finally Hannah relaxed, smiled a little, and sang along with a few of the songs. I made her stand up a couple of times, clap and wave her arms, but she was much more reserved that the other 14,000 girls there!

It was quite the show!

We were about 100 feet from the stage! Of course, my camera doesn't do so well, but we had great seats.

Take a listen!!

They played for about an hour and a half. What a fun night!!

Can't beat spending a great night at a fantastic concert with your daughter! I had a fabulous night. I feel so blessed that we are able to create some special memories with our kids. I have learned that it doesn't have to be the Jonas Brothers World Tour to spend some quality one on one, but when there is the opportunity to do something like this, I feel blessed that we are able to make it happen. These are special times for me. My Hannah is growing up. She's certainly not a little girl anymore. I'll hang on to every special moment I can!!!

PESKY BIRDS!!!

I think it's because of all the rain we've been having, but a few weeks ago, I noticed a lot of commotion around my pink hanging basket in the front yard. I went out to check to see if the little tweetie birds had made a nest. I started to take the basket down and the birds flew out!! I screamed really loud and then started laughing at myself!! So, I decided to wait for Mike. He took down the basket. We couldn't find anything around the edges of the plant. Finally, Mike pulled the plant apart. Those birds had burrowed this nest and these eggs in the middle of the hanging basket. I could not believe it. What's worse, is the next day, after we'd destroyed the nest, more commotion. We took the hanging basket down again, the birds didn't even bother to build a nest this time. The momma just laid her eggs in the hole where the other nest had been built!!


A few days later, I opened up my french doors to go outside and this is what I see! Right by my door!!

So I called Mike at work and told him. This time, I had to face the bird myself. So I pulled a chair over and surveyed the situation. No eggs, but a very protective momma robin purched on our phone wire about ten feet away. "Here goes nothing, I thought." Knocked down the eggless nest without being attacked. Feeling pretty good, right? The very next morning, I opened the door to turn on the water, and those dang birds had rebuilt that nest overnight. I was sure that the mom had laid her eggs because she kept sitting in the nest and wouldn't move if I opened the door. So I waited for the right moment and gathered my courage for a second go around.

Can you believe it!! The momma bird sat purched on my patio chair the whole rest of that day. If we opened the door, she'd fly to the light, where the nest was. Mike ended up having to shoot her. (Please, don't think less of us!!)

SPEAKING OF BIRDS....

Abbey's final ballet performance of the year was "Hansel and Gretel." And Abbey's little class were the canaries!! (A little sick of birds at this point!!) Abbey did so good! She was so graceful and right on! It's been fun to watch her this year. She sure loves ballet. She walks around the house with her long neck, pretty ballet fingers on her tip toes. She's hilarious!! She'll yell at me "mom, say presenting the beautiful princess abbey." Then, she'll walk down the hall all balarinaeee. It's a pretty good laugh!!

Her cute little friend Bayli.

The cutest canary ever!!!

TWIN FALLS TEMPLE

Mike and I decided to take the kids down to Twin Falls to see Shoshone Falls and the temple. We thought "oh this is a perfect day trip" OK!! Here are some of the most frequently used phrases:

"Are we there yet"

"I'm hungry"

"I've got to go the bathroom!! Serious!!"

"Is that it?"

"Can we go now?"

"I'm really hungry AND thirsty"

Mike and I looked at each other several times during the day laughing our butts off!! What a trip! The falls were a little bit disappointing. They weren't running as hard as people said they were. My little camera doesn't do them justice, nor does it capture the beauty of the Twin Falls Temple. It was beautiful. I learn to appreciate my parents each time I take a trip with my children. Don't know how they ever survived taking 5 of us!!!

Hannah took this picture!! Not too shabby!!

Dad, feeling extremely happy that we are a "forever family!!"

This picture is from the back of the temple.

Very beautiful!! Like I said, my little camera doesn't capture it, but it was a very pretty temple.

Now at Shoshone Falls

Enter one of the many phrases from the above list!

These are the falls.

Smile everyone!! This is a fantastic family outing!

The falls were still very pretty. Just wished they would have been running a littel higher.

BRACES!!

The much anticipated day has finally arrived! Hannah got her braces on. Just four across her front teeth. The ladies at the orthodontists office got a kick out of Hannah's imagination. She'd thought up just about every scenario possible. They just laughed!! They hurt for the first few days, and now she has trouble chewing because of the brackets, but all in all, doing pretty well. She's sure growing up fast!!

WII Casualty!!

Tanner got his first set of stitches. He was playing the wii, tripped on the chord and took the corner of the entertainment center in the head! He was so brave!! The numbing medicine didn't take very well, so he felt the last two stitches go in. He cried just a little. He told Dr. Brower that he wanted black stitches because it's Steelers colors. He just laughed. So the nurse brought in a bright yellow bandaid once he was put back together. GO STEELERS!!!

FIRST GYNMASTICS MEET

Last weekend was Tanner's first meet. They performed for a judge and everything!! He was so dang cute and did a really good job. They had to do a floor routine and a routine on the rings.

In his little division, he took 3rd all around; second on floor and third on rings.

Saluting the other gymnasts

Here he is in the middle of the rings routine.

These are the cute boys in his little class. It's been so fun to watch him get stronger, more coordinated and focused. And he likes doing it!!

KITE FESTIVAL

We went the the kite festival at Sandy Downs. When we got there, we thought we'd be able to pick up a couple of kites for cheap. The cheapest kite was like $13.00. Justin told the kids to "huddle up" and told them that we could buy everyone their very own kite for less money than that. MOAN!! GROAN!! WAH!!

So off to Kmart we went and sure enough, everyone got a kite for about that same price!! Nice huddle Just!!!

Some assembly required.

Everyone is SO happy to be at the kite festival.

GAME ON!!!

Mike and Abbey against Hannah and Tanner.

Abbey's idea of blocking is punching or pushing the other two to the ground.

Mike had more fun tormenting the kids, making them chase him ALL over the yard.

DOWN! SET! HUT!!

I had to through in this picture. I was right in the middle of a lesson. Mike came home from work and sat down on the couch. Pretty soon I could hear him breathing louder than the music. When I turned around, Tanner had crawled up on his lap and they'd both fallen asleep. Pretty cute.

KIDS DO THE DARNDEST THINGS!!

So the other day, Abbey tells me she wants a tatoo. Of course, I was shocked and asked her why. She said that it wasn't fair that Hannah got one on her face a few days before. (A prize she'd won at school.) Anyway, I finished doing her hair and she ran off to play. I finished getting ready for the day and thought that the kids were just downstairs playing the Wii. Lunch time came and the kids came upstairs. I asked Abbey why she would write on herself and on Tanner. She said, "I told you I wanted a dang tatoo!!!"

Oh my!