12:31 am

A group of fabulous women from my ward went to the 12:31 am showing of New Moon! Yes, "A.M.!" It was a riot! I loved it! I actually hadn't even seen Twilight yet, when I got a ticket. But I just couldn't pass up going on such a fun girls outing. (Don't worry, I have seen it now.)

We all met up a little after 10 pm and went out for frozen yogurt, enjoyed each others company, giggled and chatted. Then headed over to Orem for the show. Luckily, we didn't have to wait in any long lines (whew... it was freezing outside!) The whole theater was rented and we had assigned seats.
l-r: Kami A, Andrea P, Isabel M, McKell L, Jennifer L, Anna (friend of Melissa's), me, Melissa T, Shanna K and Kirra S

You may notice that some of us are holding long bags? What is that, you might ask?! Camping chairs?! Yes! Some of our assigned seats were in the handicapped spots... which meant no chairs! So we brought camping chairs. They may have been full of sand and smelled like campfire, but at least we knew where they'd been! (And were actually quite cozy!)
Jennifer and I before the show. Wow, I'm really cheesing it!

The show was pretty good. No, nothing spectacular. Pretty corny at parts. Maybe even tear jerking at others. But really fun. The best part was the atmosphere! I had never been to a movie in that setting before. Hilarious! Seriously hilarious. The oohing and aaahhing. Giggling. Screaming. Clapping. More screaming! Hilarious!

I loved the outing! (Thanks Andrea!) Hope to do it again June 30th! (PS. I did get to squeeze a nap in on Friday.)

telling stories

I thought I'd share some clips of my little story tellers!

Hannah and I will take turns telling stories, either retelling fairy tales or making up our own. Here's Hannah telling one at lunch time. What a little cutie-head. Gotta love that chocolate milk mustache!


Bryson has got the cutest little babble! I love it. I was able to capture a little bit of it. It is like he's always telling us stories too. Listen close... you'll love it too!

"Princess Show"

On Saturday Princess Cinderella (Hannah) and I were able to go to the "Princess Show" (Disney Princess on Ice at Energy Solutions Arena). Marj, my mother-in-law, had access to some tickets, who then offered them to all the granddaughters. We went up with Princess Jasmine (Elli, Hannah's cousin) and Bre. What fun!

Hannah got to wear one of her dress-up dresses, necklaces, and crown for the event. She choose to wear blue, so she could be Cinderella! Elli borrowed a dress as well. They looked as lovely as could be and felt even lovelier! They were so excited!As silly as it may sound, I got teary eyed as the show began. (Yes! To Disney Princess on Ice!) I was watching my little princess, who was wide-eyed and in wonder, so excited to see the princesses! It was a "mom moment" I shall never forget. I felt such love for Hannah. I was excited to share this excitement and joy with her!

When the first princess came out and was waving, Hannah exclaimed, "She's waving to me! She saw my dress and she thinks its beautiful!" Later, after intermission, Cinderella finally came. Delighted Hannah said, "Look Mom! I see me! There I am!"

She was intent and captivated the entire time. The second half she sat on my lap. (I think just to get that much closer!) When asked what her favorite part was she always says "Them dancing!" Then she'll add something new/different each time someone asks, like "Jasmine and Aladin flying on the magic carpet."

Hannah,
I love you so much. I love seeing the delight and joy in your eyes. You make me so happy! Thanks for letting me love you and be a princess with you!
Love, Mom

Bry's Birthday Bash

On Friday evening we had both sides of our family over for a birthday bash for Bryson. Conclusion #1: We have way too small of a house for that many people! Conclusion #2: We have wonderful family! (Sorry, there will be more pictures than any of you really care to see!)

I tried to keep it somewhat simple this year. No dinner or games. Just cake, ice cream, gifts and visiting. Although I did have to get party hats and blowers for the kids and put a few banners and streamers up. I made a "1" cake (yellow cake with chocolate frosting) and then cupcakes (chocolate cake with vanilla frosting) which were supposed to look like balloons.Bryson smiled and clapped as everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to him. He, once again, devoured his cake. We took his clothes off and he was cover head to toe. I had to bathe him before present time.Here are some pictures of all the fun people at the birthday bash!He loved his gifts and was so sad when I tried to take it away so he could open the next present. The kids were all right there in his face... they loved the gifts too! He got a big quilt from Grandma Marj, a garage and heliport from Grandma and Grandpa Allen, a dog, cars, books, penguin, blocks, etc... He was showered by gifts and love! Then he was in bed before everyone left! Whew! What a party. You sure are loved Bryson!

Bry's Birthday Day

Last Thursday, Bryson turned one! I still can't believe it. Time has gone by so quickly. The sleepless nights lasted way to long... and at times I wasn't sure if we'd ever make it to this point. But here we are! Suddenly he's big!
In the morning, Bry cruised over to his three presents. Most happy with the bow and the crinkly paper. Hannah was right there, wanting to open all the gifts and play with the toys. Once the blow up lion, dollar store car from Hannah and a remote control car were open, Bryson was very intrigued! He loved the cars!

I made pancakes for breakfast. A "1" for Bryson (and of course a "3" for Hannah... a request at every pancake breakfast). The pancake was pretty big (butter and syrup-less); he devoured it.

Nic came home from work with a little John Deere tractor with animals. He loved driving it around. (Hannah loved it too.) Then after dinner we had cupcakes, Bry's first. He didn't blow out the candle, of course. He thought it all looked so fun, he was trying to grab for it, so I hurried and blew it out.
























I thought he devoured the pancake, but the cupcake was another story... it really was devoured! Bryson loved eating it, but especially smashing it between his fingers. What a fun little birthday!

"Give it to me!" "Hurry, Mom! Move your hands!"













"Look at my hands!"








"Mmmm"

Doesn't this make you smile?!

Life is crazy... as always! I'm being slow with my birhday posts for Bryson, but I wanted to post a preview picture of all the many birthday pictures to come! Sure love you Bry. Happy Birthday! Isn't he so cute! If nothing else, hope this makes you smile today. It sure did me!

Guess who is turning 1!

You'll never guess what Nic brought home!

Yes, rabbits! Two of them! Nic had mentioned it the week before and I STRONGLY discouraged it. I said, maybe when Hannah was 8... well, she's not 8 yet... but on Wednesday, Nic came home from work with them. Not sure why Nic thought it was a good idea. And NIC... of all people... he doesn't even like animals! He said he was just trying to be a fun dad. Hannah does love them (but I've made it clear these are Hannah and DADDY's bunnies, NOT mine!)

They came with a nice cage and will stay outside. Hannah named them Fluffy and Pat. In the mornings Hannah loves to go out and check on them to see if they are awake yet. We'll see how long the excitement lasts. Who would have thought?!

Roller Skating Party

My request for my birthday was to go rollerskating for family night. I figured if it was a birthday wish, Nic couldn't refuse. I thought it would be a fun family outing. And yes, Hannah loved it! Bryson was in the stroller, Nic pushing it (which made for a great balance), Hannah held onto the stroller with one hand and held my hand with the other. She was all over the place, but she was giggling the entire time! Her legs were flailing and kicking, back arching... but she never got frustrated. (It made it a little difficult for the rest of us to keep our balance, but we managed.) Scooters were allowed too, so when Hannah needed a break from the skates, we busted the scooter out and she continued to cruise around. Bry loved it too. He kept jam'n out to the music, bobbing his head and waving his arms. What a fun birthday!I had a great birthday. I felt so loved! Thank you so much for all your messages, cards, and love! You are all so wonderful!

written by hannah

hannah's name. written by hannah. all by herself. (a couple weeks ago.)(today. november 6th, 2009.)

We're off to see the Wizard...

...the wonderful Wizard of Oz!

Hannah was an adorable Dorothy.Bryson the cutest little lion ever.Nic a stunning tinman, and I a goofy scarecrow! I wanted to do a family theme this year. Nic told me if I put it together he would do it! He nearly backed out a couple days before... but he was a sport! It was sure fun! We had a lion costume to borrow for Bry, so the theme all stemmed from there. Hannah loved being Dorothy (even though she's never seen the movie). She even wanted us to call her Dorothy instead of Hannah.

We didn't have a ward trunk or treat this year, which was actually kind of nice. Last year seemed so crazy. We were invited to dinner by both my sister Ashley and Nic's sister, Alecia, and declined both. (Thanks anyway guys!) We wanted to get an early start, go trick or treating a little bit in our neighborhood for the first time, see the grandparents, and then get to bed early (so 9am church would be successful the next day.)
So on Halloween we were dressed up by 2 pm! We went down to Main Street here in SF and trick or treated to some businesses, then stopped in to Granny's, headed to Orem to see my mom and dad, on the way back picked up a jack-o-lantern pizza from Papa Murphy's, stopped in at Clyde and Marj's, then at home, Nic took a quick shower, Bry got out of his costume that was a little too small (his poor little knees couldn't quite straighten out). Then while Nic cooked the pizza, Hannah and I went to just a handful of homes in our neighborhood and trick or treated. Then back at home Alecia and Drew stopped in, we ate pizza and Hannah had a wonderful time giving treats to the trick'r treaters. The kids were in bed by 7:45 and it was a happy, successful Halloween!