Then & Now...

This is Justin and I this time last year. Same time of year, same place. You don't really notice a difference of 60 lbs. gone until you put a before and after side by side. :) My mantra this year has been, "Slow is better than not at all." The weight seemed to come off SO slowly, but the year itself FLEW by! Now I can see, persistence pays off in the end. :)

Vacation!!

This was no ordinary vacation.....It started with the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a live showing of America's Got Talent (3rd row, 10ft from the judges), Disneyland, California Adventure and the World of Color Show! And, if thats not cool enough...Four days with your best friend, no responsibilities and oh yeah...No Kids!

The Walk of Fame was a fun time in Hollywood; it makes you want to go and watch a bunch of old movies and shows

One of the highlights of the trip was the live top 10 show of America's Got Talent...We were on the 3rd row, about 10ft from the three judges...Kelli did touch the arm of Sharon Osbourne and said hello to Piers Morgan and Howie was a foot from us when the show ended. We thought that Little Jackie Evancho was the best by far! Here is a link to the preformance we watched

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnSEdl5GPG4

California Adventure - our first time there... Check out Kelli's face on The Hollywood Tower its CLASSIC! I have to admit, the last time I went to Disneyland I waited long hours in line and it wasn't a whole lot of fun. Fast-foward 12 years and off-season crowds and it was Awesome... 20 minutes was our longest wait time!

Goofy is our all-time favorite character!

So Notice our nifty buttons...one was our aniversary button and the other we got for redeeming our "give a day get a day" coupons... a free ticket to Disneyland and a button too!

The World of Color is an amazing lights, lazers, water jets, theatrical smoke, and a projection show onto the sprays of water... it was Awesome!!

A fun last day of walking on the beach in Long Beach.

Some cool pictures of the sunset from our flight home.

All the boys wanted when we got home was their promised treat... not the souvenir's we bought for them! We sure missed them!

See What You've Missed!

Random Pics...

The following pictures are post worthy, but don't necessarily fall into any one category. Enjoy!

This man does it all! Double duty here! I love you babe!!!

My Cheeto man!! He takes after his GG (and Grandma, and Aunt, and Mom) (Love the flip flops with the pajama ensemble!)

Tuckered...

Family Movie Night...

My Big Boy!

What can I say, I LOVE seeing this!!!

Playing the "Famliy Home Eening Game"

Cupcakes and Cancer....

Recently I've FALLEN IN LOVE with baking cupcakes! Seriously... I go to bed at night thinking about new cupcake flavors! Poor Justin, that's ALL he hears any more! I've caught the cupcake BUG (thanks a lot Roby and Manda)!!! Last month I thought, wouldn't it be great if there was a way I could give back, while at the same time doing something I love? Wouldn't it be great if there was a foundation called, Cupcakes for a Cause? I googled it and guess what? THERE IS!!! It just SOOO happens that September is Children's Cancer Awareness month and CFAC is asking for volunteer's across the country to host cupcake bake sales to benefit their organization. Well as you can guess, I signed up. To make a long story short...er... I've been rallying around volunteers and companies to help donate supplies as well as cupcakes and time. Overall, we have about 400 cupcakes (gourmet, children's and mini's) (200 of which I'm doing on my own), scheduled to sell September 24th-25th at the American Fork Walmart. If you'd like further details on how you can help, please let me know! I am SO grateful for all those who have opened their hearts for such a GREAT cause. I pray it's a success!!!

Yesterday, I went around to businesses to enlist their help; many jumped on board. This is just a sampling...Estin didn't want to miss out. I came into the kitchen to find him "helping" :)

These are just a few I've been trying... Smores: Chocolate cake with a graham cracker crust, melted chocolate middle and toasted marshmallow topping Almond Joy: Dark chocolate cake with a coconut cream cheese filling, milk chocolate ganache and toasted coconut/almonds on top

Dinosaur "Nuseum"

Well, we finally made it to the Dinosaur "nuseum" (see previous post)! Estin was super excited (I have to admit, I was too!) We brought along Estin, Eli and Keaton (the little boy I watch)...what an adventure!!!

Keaton looks THRILLED to be strapped in the stroller!!! :)

I'm SO grateful I don't live during this time period!!!

It's CRAZY how LARGE some of these things are!!!

Estin LOVED the water and sand table!

He looks pretty calm, wonder if he knows what's behind him! :)

It's crazy to think that one day we'll all live together in peace

What a FUN way to finish off Dinosaur week!!

Estin's Preschool...

Estin LOVES preschool! Every day, during Eli's nap, we sit in our preschool corner and have one on one learning. He LOVES it and asks for it as SOON as he wakes up each morning. To switch things up a bit, every Tues. he goes to his friend Seren's house and every Thur. she comes to ours. It's a great little set up! Mon.-Fri. He gets to have school, but at least once a week he gets to go somewhere new. I came home one Tues. afternoon to find him ready and waiting...

Dinosaur Week... Art Project

Endowments...

Our neighbor, Patty, received her endowments today in the Mt. Timp Temple. What a SPECIAL day!! She was also sealed to her parents. Justin and I were so grateful to be invited to such a sacred event. We are SO proud of her!!! She (and her children) have become members of our family!