A picture perfect weekend!

Gotta love my girls! I had so much fun on Friday. The girls and I went to Gardiner Village to take some pictures. I was trying out our new camera that we needed to get because our other one was stolen. I like it a lot! Anna was so busy though and it was difficult to take her picture but Sara was loving the attention. According to my mom, she is exactly like I was at that age. Oh joy!

Today, we went to our ward christmas brunch at the ward building. We at croissants, ham, hash browns and fruit. Not to mention lots of goodies. I am going to gain 10 pounds if I eat this kind of stuff a lot. We had such a great day!

Thanksgiving

I just realized that it has been a long time since I have written so this entry will probably be a long one. It has been an eventful couple of weeks. We all had the chance to go to Arizona for Thanksgiving. We left on the Tuesday before and stayed until the next Monday. Dave has a lot of family in and around the Phoenix area. So, we headed off... We drove to Page, Arizona and spent the night there and hooked up with Dave's brothers and sisters to drive the rest of the way to Arizona. We all stayed close to each other either at a hotel or at family's. On Thanksgiving Day, we spent the day with Dave's mom side of the family at Grandma Stapley's church. The last time we had seen a lot of family was for Laurel's funeral so it was nice to have a fun occasion to get together at. I ate alot!!!!! Grandma is getting older and it seemed that she was struggling to keep her strength to associate with everyone but I am so glad we saw her. Who knows how long she might be around. On Friday, we decided to just hang out and spend time swimming, yes swimming in November, and eating at In n Out burger. Yummmm!!!!! Saturday morning was really eventful. The reason I don't have pictures posted on this page is because our car was broken into on Saturday morning and someone stole our digital camera. Braeden ran in to inform us that our diaper bag along with our camera was taken. We had a huge family reunion that day and needless to say, we were late. We had to replace the passenger side window and call the cops. I had to admit that I cried. We didn't have a lot of pictures on our memory card but enough of Thanksgiving Day that I wish I had. I was so sad until we arrived at the Gooch Family Circus Reunion 2008! Our family was in matching red T-Shirts that said the previous line and the other families were in other colors that matched. We had such an awesome time. I know Bill would have loved to be there with his brothers and families. We went to a beautiful park in Fountain Hills Arizona. Such a beautiful place. Even though we didn't have a camera, Dave's cousins were all nice enough to send us their pictures that they took. We played games, ate, did activities, launched rockets, had relay races and watched our little family win at football. It was awesome to see all that red runnin' around.
I was so sad to leave on Sunday. We spent some more time with Grandma and then Dave's brother gave us a parting gift. An entire cooler full of elk meat. Today we actually ate it for Sunday dinner. It was good!
We decided to stay in Las Vegas on Sunday night. Dave said that we should let the kids look at all the cool lights and buildings. So we drove down Las Vegas boulevard. It was not a great idea on our part. We proceeded to hit every red light where a truck with not so clothed women were on the side. Brinton was laughing in the back seat while Sara was telling us that those girls aren't modest. Braeden was semi-closing his eyes trying really hard not to look. Yeah right. We got down to the Treasure Island hotel and the pirate show was going on. We thought , alright, something that the kids will enjoy. Oh my gosh! No longer are there mean looking pirates blowing each other up, that would have been awesome. Again, there were scantily clad women who were singing and yelling to the druling men on the boat across the way. We are terrible parents! We finally arrived at our destination. The Stratasphere hotel and it was a little more family friendly. We decided that we better stick to Disneyland. Minnie Mouse might wear a little skirt but she has bloomers on underneath!
As we were coming home, we got to stop off in St. George and spend some time with our good friends Josh and Meg. We went to dinner and hung out at their home. I had such a great time. All I hope is that she gets through her trials and can move on. We love them!
If all these adventures weren't enough, on Dec. 4th, I had my 5th surgery on my shoulder. I hope it works as well as it has in the past. I woke up that morning with a major migraine from not eating the night before so the nurse at the hospital decided to give me Zophran for nausea and Demeral for the pain. Oh my gosh, it hit me like a truck. I threw up four times and passed out all within thirty seconds. I came through it all in one piece so far. Anyway, I will cut this entry so I don't bore anyone. I will have more info soon I am sure.

In need of a miracle

Today, I called my dear friend Megan who is in St. George. She and her husband Josh were in Salt Lake this past weekend for a wedding and to have new sets of tests done in conjunction with her cancer treatment. I called her today to see if she received her results and the news was not good. Her tumors have grown and are now on her spine. I sat and listened to her tell me that her Oncologist gave her two options. 1-try another chemo that would probably not touch the tumors or 2-don't do anything and be medicated for comfort. She said she didn't like either option. I was really impressed that in the entire conversation, she never said that she should give up and she spoke of her faith the entire time. Today was the first time since she told me she had cancer that I was actually mad. It was a surprise. I love Meg and want so badly for a miracle to come quickly. The first time I met Meg, she and I seemed to connect immediatly and I found an instant friend. That had never happened to me before then and I have cherished our friendship ever since. Megan and I are convinced that Dave and Josh served a mission together just so we could meet and become friends. The Lord placed her in my life for a reason. She has seen me through some difficult times and I am hoping that I can help her through this horrible ordeal. I intend to wear out my knees in prayer for Meg and her family.

Halloween Party Weekend

This weekend was a fun one! Friday night, we went to my mom and dad's house to decorate cookies and carve pumpkins. We had pizza from the Pie, yum, and watched Iron Man. It was so much fun to hang out. My mom worked so hard to bake cookies and my kids had so much fun. Sara said that Grandma is the best baker in the world. On Saturday, we went to our annual ward chili cook off and Halloween party. There were so many people there and we had such a great time! Braeden decided that for Halloween he was going to dress up as a punk rocker. He had fake piercings, spiked hair, and makeup. He ended up looking like the lead singer of Green Day. I told him that if he ever dressed like that when he's older, he is in big trouble. Brinton dressed up like a hippie. He has the personality for that particular costume. He had a huge afro and fun glasses. Sara dressed up like a witch. She had a green face and a black wig. She thought it was awesome that no one knew who she was. Anna was the tooth fairy. She will have her signs on her for Halloween Night that say 'cash 4 molars' and 'put the tooth down and no one will get hurt'. She had really curly hair and a crown and wand. It was such a fun night. We had a fishing pond, donuts on the string and dancing all night. It was awesome and I made new friends. I love our ward. We have such a wonderful group of families and our Bishop is amazing.
Yesterday was our Primary Program. It was so cute. It was Sara's first primary program and I was so worried that she wouldn't do her part because she was covering her eyes through the entire first song. She somehow found the courage and said her part. Her part was 'when I see Jesus I will give him a big hug'. She memorized her part and so did the boys. My dad came to see them and Anna loved having him there. She rarely goes to anyone else when I'm around but she went to him. It was also nice being able to sit with Dave. He asked if Anna was always this busy and I just laughed. It was nice having him help out in Sacrament meeting. I ended the weekend with my weekly Music Festival practice. It was a particularly spiritual practice and I am so excited to sing in November. I wish I had the talent to write songs like some of these composers. I have also made some new friends through this experience. I didn't think I would have any more time to give but I am glad that I have added this to my schedule. What a great weekend!

Fun Week

So Sunday began normally this week. The kids were running around the house getting ready while they fight about who knows what. I think Sundays are the days that we are lucky to get out of the house. We somehow make it out of the house every week. Not always in one piece though. We had ward conference and Jake Trent, Merilee Boyce (the stake president's wife) and our sweet Bishop spoke. We also heard from the ward choir. It was such a great Sacrament Meeting and I actually heard most of it. Dave told me that I needed to be in the combined Relief Society/Priesthood meeting. I wasn't really worried about why until he hinted that the Stake Presidency was going to spotlight the Bishopric wives. I have already been spotlighted twice before and I was so embarrassed. Dave just laughed and watched me blush. That afternoon we went to my parent's house for dinner and I came back for the music festival practice. I am looking forward to performing in November for the Relief Society Music Festival. Our choir director is awesome. She is the choir teacher at Taylorsville High and has such a cute personality. It was a great day!
Last night we had our normal Family Home Evening lesson taught by Braeden. When we had a chance to hang out together, Dave said he had a DVD to show. It was a DVD that they all made for me with pictures and music. Apparantly they had been working on it for a long time. It was so awesome. It was such a sweet thing to do. It was also fun looking back on photos from a long time ago. I have a beautiful family!

Weekend Events

This weekend was such a busy one but a fun one. Dave was off work from Wednesday on. We had so much fun just hanging out with the kids. We went and saw Wall-E and Kung Fu Panda in the theaters on Friday and went out to dinner at Wingers which is Brinton's favorite restaurant. Anything spicy and it is his favorite. Today, Braeden had to be at a soccer tournament in Orem at 7:15am. Yes, I said am. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not a morning person at all. It was so early and so cold! As soon as Braeden's game was done, Brinton had his game at 11:30 back in Salt Lake. It went from freezing in the morning to really hot in the afternoon. We had fun though. My mom and dad came to the game and we went to Gardiner Village that afternoon to see the witches. It was so crowded but fun. Sara decided that she was going to be a witch for Halloween because they had cute hats there. So, we gave in and bought her a hat and cape for Halloween. What a fun day. It was so fun to actually see Dave. I know he got a kick out of spending time with the kids. He misses being at home but knows that schooling will be worth it.

A Day in the Life

I'm adding some information on this weekend. Sunday we went over to Brad and Stacy's house for Sunday conference. We had three different kinds of soup and other food that was so perfect for the cold weather that came on. Conference was so awesome. It was nice to hear the talks. My Sundays are usually chasing after my own kids in sacrament meeting and running after other people's kids in Nursery that I rarely feel like I'm inspired. It always seems that the brethren of the church are speaking just to me.
So right now, I'm sitting here with Brinton, Sara and Anna watching Spongebob and doing laundry. Yeah!!! What a wonderful life. Today was such a normal day. Sara had dance and thank heavens she didn't want to wear the ugly princess polka dotted tights! She just wanted to wear her fairy skirt over her leotard. We really need to work on her fashion sense. Dave is at school and is taking his midterms this week. He is taking a really difficult Accounting class but still is getting an A. I would've given everything for the grade point he keeps.

Fun weekend!

This weekend turned out to be a really fun one! Friday, I drove Sara and her best friend Ian down to the Discovery Kids Museum at Gateway for her first ever preschool field trip. Woo hoo!!!! It was actually really fun. I can't believe how many interactive areas they have for kids. They had a ball room that scared Sara though. You put these plastic balls into the tubes that go to various places in the room. She thought she was going to get sucked up in one of the tubes. Her favorite thing about their time at the museum was being able to sit in the Lifeflight helicopter on the roof. She now wants to fly one someday. I had several friends who were there as well with their kids and it was nice to have adult conversations. Needless to say, Sara had a blast and hopefully it was really memorable for her.
That night, we threw a baby shower for a good friend of mine Audrey Fish. We had it at our church building because our house just isn't big enough to accomodate everyone. It was so much fun seeing everyone. Especially friends who had moved out of the ward a while back. I hope it was fun for Audrey and I'm looking forward to meeting her little guy.
Saturday, we went to my mom's house to listen to conference. She had made us an awesome breakfast which my kids reminded me they never get at home; ever! The conference talks were so awesome. My favorite was Joseph B. Wirthlin's talk. Even though he sat in a chair, his energy for what he was saying really came through. He has such a sweet personality and always has humor in his talks. I was really uplifted. I loved watching the children's choir in the second session. There were two boys who were actually slapping each other to make sure they were standing up tall. I can't wait to listen tomorrow to the talks. I can't imagine ever having to be in a position to speak to all those members of the church. But, I was really excited about a temple being built in Rome, Italy. What a momentous event that will be for the members in Italy! Well, bedtime for me. I might actually be able to sleep in!!

Havin' fun with the girls

Today was an unusually relaxed day. Thank heavens! Sara had dance today at Murray High School. On the way to dance, she tore her tights so we decided to buy her some new ones on the way. We get to the tight section and she sees the most beautiful polka dotted princess tights she has ever seen!! Oh my gosh they are hideous. As a parent, this was one of those times when to avoid having a meltdown in the store, you decide that it's easier to give in then to worry about sleeping beauty all over your daughter's ankles. I felt a little better about my decision when I dropped her off at dance and saw that another girl had wanted to come to dance in her pajamas and tap shoes. I guess I'm not too bad. Lately, my girls just look like I don't care that their hair is done, their socks are dirty and their arms are written on with marker. Probably because I don't. I have learned that I have to let some things go. Looking at Anna's picture today, you can judge whether Anna should have her hair combed or not. I found out today that my friend Megan got her results on her most recent pett scan. Her cancer has not shrunk but it hasn't grown either. I really think that this is more of a positive sign than a negative. Because Bill had a sarcoma, I know how aggressive this type of cancer can be and to have not grown at all in a few months is unbelievable to me. I know it is because of the Lord and her faith that she is going to be around for a while!! Good Luck Meg. We love you.

A Day At The Zoo!

From The Zoo

Friday, Dave had the day off of work so we decided to spend some quality time with the girls. Dave chose the zoo for an outing. It turned out to be such an awesome day. The weather was perfect and the girls were in a good mood. Yeah!! The zoo has changed so much since I was a little girl, which was ages ago. We were able to see a lot of little babies that were born not too long ago. Sara loved all the animals but was so excited to see some big snakes! Go figure. She likes princesses, dolls, reptiles and her badger! What a variety. Anna loved the tigers and cats. She tried to hug them through the glass. She has no fear. We are in big trouble one day! We had so much fun though and after the zoo we took the girls to Red Robin where Sara informed me that this must be 'the fanciest restaurant we've ever been to'! Apparently, she's easy to please. Needless to say, it was fun to have Dave home for the day and to spend some time with him since we don't see a lot of him nowadays. The girls had so much fun I am tempted to get them a zoo pass for the year.