Andrew & Kelli's Open House at Mom's House

The holidays were over & kids were back in school. Things didn't slow down though--things were starting to pick up again. Andrew & Kelli were having their open house at Mom's home, so we got going & tried to get everything organized, decided & picked out for their day. My mom was amazing, as always, running all over town to find the little things she needed to decorate. I don't know how one woman does as much as she does, but I was more than impressed with the energy she had & how well she put the whole thing together. It turned out to be a beautiful night & I heard so many wonderful comments on how much fun they had. For as long as my parents have lived in the same house, they have gone through many ward & stake changes. When they invite many of their friends to a gathering like this, it's a great time for them to all get together again & catch up on old times & current happenings.
I wish I had taken more pictures, but I was running around with the rest of my family trying to keep the trays of food full that were on the tables. The colors were black & ice blue. My mom wanted it to have a winter theme, but not Christmas--she really put it all together down to the last detail . Some highlights for me were the ice cake (they had a real wedding cake in CA, so my mom thought an ice cake would be fun--it was beautiful!!), ice punch bowl, chocolate fountain, the tent off the patio door, the food (sandwiches, meat balls, fruit, everything you could think of to dip in chocolate & Cheesecake Factory cheesecake--YUM!), the whole winter feel & most of all FAMILY! It was a fun night for all of us. I am so happy is now officially part of our family & I look forward to many more family occasions where she will be there with us.

Brooklyn is my Sneak!

My little Brooklyn is such a sneak!! She crawls around the house & just hunts for anything. She's so quiet when she's "on the hunt", that I don't know where she disappears to & she doesn't answer when I call her name. I found her in my closet & she had gotten into my purse. After I saw the mess all over her, I quickly picked her up to go clean her up. A thought came to me to take a picture, so I sat her down in the kitchen & took a couple of photos. After I changed her I realized the box of candy was not in the photos, so I had her hold the box again, which she gladly did until she realized it was empty. It's a good thing she is such a cutie cause I would have been somewhat upset after I saw the mess. I guess I need to learn to keep things out of my purse (Junior Mint Caramels) & somewhere up high.


Such an innocent look!

Playing in the Snow

The last few days, we have gotten more snow than the whole winter put together, I think. My kids were very excited when they got home from school & wanted to play in it. They got all bundled up & headed out. Allie was gung-ho until she got snow inside her glove & then she was done. Nicole & Brittany were out for about an hour & then Nicole decided her fingers had had it. Melissa went out & helped Brittany shovel snow, just for fun. They were there until dinner time. It's so nice to see my kids play outside. We can get so couped up during the winter time--I love seeing them play out there. Notice I still stay inside & watch from the window--they are crazy! It's too cold! =)

Andrew & Kelli's Wedding

While we were in Utah for Christmas Break, Jake & I flew down to Newport Beach for my youngest brother's wedding. Jake's sisters & in-laws were kind enough to watch our kids for us while we took this quick trip--and it was quick. We flew down Thurs. evening & flew back Fri. evening. We were there long enough to see the wedding, eat at the luncheon, do a quick shopping trip at Steve & Barry's & then head back to the airport. It was a great trip except for the flight down. Since the flu had been going around, of course, I would have to get it while on my way to the wedding. I was thinking all week that I felt it coming on, but if I kept eating the symptoms would stop. Weird, I know. As we headed to the airport in SLC I was not feeling so well so I started eating & drinking. As time went on, that trick didn't work anymore. The first flight to Vegas wasn't so bad, but on the flight into Orange County I wasn't so lucky. As we decended to the airport I had to use one of those barf bags. I was so embarrassed! I was sitting by the window & Jake was next to me, so he leaned forward to no one could see me. I was afraid the man in front of me could hear me, but Jake said he couldn't hear anything & fortunatly the plane noise is pretty loud. After I got it all out, I sealed up the bag & carried it off the plane to the nearest garbage. That was a first for me!! Amazingly enough, I felt great after that & didn't have any more problems. I was so grateful cause I was worried about being able to go to the wedding & if I was there, what do you do if you are feeling sick during the ceremony & need to leave the room? I'm so glad I didn't have to find out. The wedding was wonderful and the Newport Beach Temple is absolutely beautiful!! The whole area down there is beautiful! Kelli looked gorgeous & Andrew was so happy. I am happy for both of the them & wish only the best to them in the years to come.

My family at the wedding--minus 8 grandkids


My wonderful parents!! I love you both!


Andrew & Kelli Yorgason--Welcome to the family, Kelli!!


Newport Beach Temple

Christmas Vacation 2007

This year, we travelled to Utah so spend Christmas with Jake's family. I always get nervous this time of year to travel with the unknown of what the weather will be like. Our trip down was mostly blue skies & the kids did really good. Jake's sister, Julie, & her family were kind enough to put up all 7 of us in her home. We are grateful to them & I don't know about their family, but we were definitely comfortable & felt right at home. Here's quick rundown of the Christmas break events...


Christmas morning--girls in their new Christmas dresses from Grammie & Grandpa






After church, we went to John & Courtney's home for a "make-your-own pizza" dinner & decorate cookies






Christmas Eve, we went to Joe & Erin's home for yummy appetizers, BINGO (I took home the grand prize of $50!!), Christmas pj's, and a guys against girls Jeopardy (let's just say we have lots of competitors in the family)



All the grandkids in their Christmas pajamas











We braved the cold & went to see the lights at Temple Square. Brittany wasn't feeling well, so she wasn't able to go.

Christmas Day 2007

Christmas this year didn't turn out the way we thought it would. Here's what happened...
About 2:30 AM, Nicole came into our room & said she felt like she was going to throw-up. Before I could process what was just said, she threw up. Jake & I scrambled to get her cleaned up, clean the bed & carpet & put her back to bed without waking up anyone else. From then until around 7 AM, Nicole continued throwing up--about 11 times. It was a long night. Fortunately, it didn't take long before nothing else was coming up, but to see her little body go through all that is a killer. Julie's boys woke up & were downstairs ready to open gifts & Jake & I went down to watch. Brooklyn was the first one up (around 7:30), but the others didn't wake up until after 8 AM. It is so fun to watch them so excited & trying to anticipate what could be in their stockings & presents. They finally were all up & didn't waste any time getting things opened. Poor Nicole, she tried to open presents in between more throwing up (by the time she went to bed that night she had thrown up more than 30 times!! It was awful.) She seemed to like her gifts, but it was hard to get too excited when she was feeling so bad. I tried to take pictures of the other kids, but I didn't get much taken since I was helping Nicole. Melissa started to get sick early in the afternoon & the flow of the flu through everyone had begun. Every few hours & over the next few days we saw people, one by one, slowing down & finding the bowls. It's definitely a Christmas we'll all remember.

Brooklyn protective of her stocking. She had fruit snacks inside & she wasn't going to let anyone near them.

Nicole trying hard to open her presents & be a little excited about them.

The girls opening their gift from Grammie & Grandpa. It was one of the highlights for their gifts.

The kids enjoying Christmas morning.

The sick ones were quarantined to my room the rest of the day. We set up our DVD player & had bowls & towels around to try & keep things somewhat clean. So glad to have all the over with.

A trip to the firestation

A friend of mine from church arranged for a tour of the local firestation & invited us to go along. I took Allie & Brooke with me. Every once in a while, Allie gets really nervous about her surroundings & gets clingy real fast. This was one of those occasions. The firemen did a great job talking to the kids about fire safety, they showed a video & then let the kids get a tour of the trucks. Allie wasn't quite sure about what was going to happen, so she stayed near the back of the pack most of the time. I think she did enjoy it cause she told her dad & sisters all about it later that night.


Getting a close look where the firefighters sit while riding to a fire


The "Jaws of Life"--Allie seemed to be feeling a little more comfortable or was really interested in what was being shown. She's a little closer to the front


The firefighters wanted the kids to know that even though the uniforms looked scary, they were still nice men & would help them if they were caught in a fire.


Allie was nervous to stand by the firetruck by herself, but I got one picture of her there before the tears started to form.

We made it through the tour. Good job, Allie! Thank you to our local firefighters!!