Have patience Amy!

Somehow I always run into a quote when I really need to read it. 

"Everywhere in nature we are taught the lessons of patience and waiting. We want things a long time before we get them, and the fact that we wanted them a long time makes them all the more precious when they come."

This is what I keep reading over and over and over. Why can't I understand this?

FiRSt DaY oF GyMnAStiCS

Savannah had her first gymnastics class today.  She loved it so much!  When we got there the older class was still going on and she wanted to join them right away.  She was not shy at all.  I made her sit patiently until her class started and when she was able to go jump and play on all the equipment she had a blast.  Her teacher was very nice.  Savannah did really well listening to what she needed to do.  She learned how to do the superman, a pike, the cinnamon roll, the banana and she already knew her straddle (thanks to her cousin Dinana who takes her to dance class when she teaches).  I was very proud of her.  She is growing into such a beautiful and fun girl!

VaCAtiOnS 2009

So I was going through our pictures today and realized there were vacations I was going to blog about but just got busy and never did it. They are a little late (only about a year)but I figured I better blog about them before I forget everything that happened!

The first trip we took was last January. We went on a weeklong trip to Las Vegas with our good friends and old neighbors; Nathan, Mary Lynne and McKay. We had rented a condo that was off the strip so we didn't have to deal with all that mess. We actually ended up going there because I needed a break from winter and it was somewhere close but the temperature was a beautiful 70 degrees. We mostly hung out at the condo and went swimming, played some basketball, and the boys played Xbox. Mary Lynne and I did manage to get some shopping in though. We also had our traditional crepes for breakfast (thanks to the Millers for teaching us how). We went and walked around the Las Vegas Temple grounds and "tried" to take some family photos. I thought it would cure my need for warmer weather but when I got back home I just realized even more how I didn't want it to be winter anymore but oh well we had a fun time.

The second trip we took was in August of last year. It was amazing!  We went to the most magical place on earth! DISNEYLAND! We got to go with my sister and her family. It was lots of fun and all the kids really enjoyed being with their cousins. Before we left on our trip we had Mickey Mouse shaped chocolate chip pancakes (thanks to Jeremy). This is one of Savannahs favorite things to eat for breakfast. I wonder why? Then it was off to California. We stayed the first night in a regular hotel but then checked into the Grand California Adventure Hotel. It was awesome! It was the best because we were right at the park so when Savannah got tired of standing in lines we were able to come back to the room for a nap or break. I would probably have to write a book about how much she liked this vacation. We have been back now for five months and she still prays every night that we might be able to go to Disneyland tomorrow. We were able to do the character breakfast (which I highly recommend - then you don't have to stand in line to see them)Savannah loved every minute of it. I don't know that she ate much breakfast but she got so much attention from those characters. She did make sure that she put down a couple glasses of chocolate milk (another one of her favorites). Savannah loved all the rides especially the carousels. I think because they had the shortest lines. She also rode her first roller coaster. It was in toon town and I really can't believe they let her on it. She put her arms up in the air and everything. Savannah and I went and saw the light parade while the others rode some rides and she was doing her dance in the walkway while we were waiting. A worker came up to her and asked her if she could blow on his flash light to turn it on. She did so he asked her if she would like to sit in special seating for the parade. He took us to this golden bench they had all blocked off and no one could sit in front of you. It was so fun. We had a blast watching the parade from the special seating. We stayed there for five nights and were able to see the fireworks from our room. They were awesome. I just loved seeing Savannah having the best time of her life. When we went to the pool Jeremy spoiled me and let me order a specialty drink. Like some kind of smoothie. Savannah soon learned that every time we went swimming we would get a yummy drink. She started picking up the drink menus and relaxing in the chairs and would look over them. She pretty much took over the drinks. It was nice to have family there with us. It made it that much more fun. I know Savannah said so many things but of course I can't remember them now. I seriously should take pen and paper everywhere I go, she says the funniest things! After Disneyland we went to the beach for a few days. Savannah loved walking along the beach. She had so much fun with her daddy chasing birds and looking for seashells.


The last trip of the year was our annual camping trip to Fish Lake with our family. We have been doing this for I think four years now. I started it up because we like to go camping and Jeremy's birthday is always near Labor Day weekend so it works out perfect. We usually do some fun activities like egg race, family home evening, four wheeling, fishing, shooting, and we always have a candy jar that everyone guess how much candy is in it. Whoever gets closest to the number wins the jar of candy. Of course there is lots of good food! We usually have a surprise storm that comes in on us. It is actually really fun because everyone starts running around frantically trying to get everything covered. We have a good relaxed time with our family.

So I found these quotes today and they really hit the spot right now. Anyone who is close to me knows what I am feeling right now.  I appreciate all the kind words of encouragement everyone has given me. I really am thankful to have such a caring family and great friends.

"Between you and every goal that you wish to achieve, there is a series of obstacles, and the bigger the goal, the bigger the obstacles. Your decision to be, have and do something out of the ordinary entails facing difficulties and challenges that are out of the ordinary as well. Sometimes your greatest asset is simply your ability to stay with it longer than anyone else."

~ Brian Tracy

 "When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns,

And many a failure turns about

When he might have won had he stuck it out;

Don't give up though the pace seems slow--

You may succeed with another blow,

Success is failure turned inside out--

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems so far;

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--

It's when things seem worst that you must not quit."

~ Unknown

GO JAZZ!

We went last Monday to the Jazz game.  They were playing against Miami.  Although I am a huge Jazz fan and I will watch the game until the last second even if they are losing, I was worried what the outcome of this game would be.  Luckily, we blew them out of the water!  It was such a good game.  To make it even better we were able to enjoy the game with family.  Wyatt and Samantha and their kids went with us and we also had Arnaud (our foreign exchange student).  It was lots of fun.  Savannah loved that her cousins were there.  This was Arnaud's first NBA basketball game and also Savannah's first time actually going to the game.  She did pretty good until they had people dressed up like blue ballerinas and then the whole game that is all she asked for.  I think Arnaud had a good time. I had a blast and hope that we can make many more memories for our exchange student while he is in America.  GO JAZZ!

We went to the airport today to pick up the exchange student that will be living with us for the next five months. His name is Arnaud and he is from Belgium.  He was supposed to be here last night but missed one of his flights because his first flight was late.  Poor guy he had to sleep over night in the Houston airport.  When I was making signs, Savannah insisted that she got to make one. She was pretty proud of her sign.  When he arrived we snapped a quick picture and then went to Red Robin to eat lunch.  It already has been lots of fun hearing him talk and getting to know more about him. He was extremely tired so we then came home so he could catch up on sleep. We look forward to learning more about his culture and teaching him about ours.

wE LOvE SuNDaES on SUnDaYs!

So we always have ice cream in the house! It is our families' weakness!  Jeremy could just go for a big bowl of vanilla ice cream but me no way it has to have everything on it!  Savannah just loves that she gets to eat the ice cream; she could care less what kind it is!  Something about ice cream and being together as a family sharing a big bowl of it together just makes me smile.  I love having a day out of the week that we can relax and think about what is important to us.  We love knowing that on Sundays we will be with our family all day. We love Sundays and sundaes!

On New Year's Eve we decided to have a few people over and play the Wii and eat all night!  The kids loved it! They played a good game of football down stairs.  Everyone kicked my bum at all the games (except I was dominating Elizabeth in sword fighting until she realized what I was doing).  Jeremy and I decided we probably shouldn't really go canoeing because we can't even paddle together on a game. And we realized that Elizabeth and Mike are awesome at couple bowling!  We watched the count down and was trying to figure out what exactly Jennifer Lopez was wearing (no offense to anyone who likes the one piece body suits).  And we also realized that Dick Clark is not dead.  We had a good time and can not believe we all were able to stay up until midnight with kids but the boys sure showed us up staying awake until 4am!  Hope everyone has a wonderful year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

A happy New Year! Grant that I

May bring no tear to any eye

When this New Year in time shall end

Let it be said I've played the friend,

Have lived and loved and labored here,

And made of it a happy year.

~Edgar Guest