Utah Trip continued part 3

Day 5 - Tuesday

We spent another day at the hotel which the kids loved. We played games, watched TV, and I took a walk with Victoria to the local park.

It's snowing!!!!! So much fun!!!!!!

Allan helped Lizzie and Benjamin color & work on puzzles.

Elizabeth reading the Bible from the lodge.

Day 6 - Wednesday

Since we brought all of our snow boots, coats, and gloves we needed to get some use out of them. There wasn't much snow left in Park City, so we drove about 5 miles up the mountain. We found a closed ski resort and we asked an adjacent art gallery if it was okay if we played in the snow there. It was quite an adventure getting all of our gear on (snow pants, boots, gloves, hats and jackets). We were able to borrow four sleds from the lodge we stayed at and my brother loaned us three snow ball makers. This was Elizabeth's first time in the snow. She loved helping her big brother build a snow fort and making snow balls. Victoria and Nicholas got tired of sledding and decided to build their own forts. They tried recruiting the other family members to their side. Benjamin loved sledding! I think Allan and I sledded the most because it was tough for the kids to climb back up the hill. We saw about 6 dogs taking a walk with their owner with no leash. Wow! Imagine all that space to just roam! Our favorite part of our snow day was our snowball fight. We had a few casualities with hard snow hitting a few faces, but thankfully we didn't need to make any hospital visits. To get down the hill, we rode down on the sleds. Lizzie hadn't braved the sleds yet. At the end of our sled run, she exclaimed, "Let's do it again mommy!" But it was time to go back to the lodge, get warm, and drink some hot cocoa.

Allan thought it was quite funny that my foot got
stuck in a deep hole in the snow.

Nicholas and Lizzie working on their snowfort and snowballs
for our snowball fight.

Day 7 - Thursday

No more sitting around the lodge, it was time to visit the sites around Salt Lake City. We bought a two day connect pass that we could use at up to 13 locations/attractions. Our first stop was The Lion House Pantry Restaurant which is the historic home of Brigham Young and is located in Temple Square. We walked 3/4 mile to The Lenardo, a really cook sci+tech+art museum as well.

These are some of the beautiful flowers at Temple Square.

Nicholas trying to write his name using a mirror at the Leonardo.

Victoria & Benjamin getting creative with paper.

Trying out how it feels to walk with prosthetics.

Does this picture look like me? Ha! Art is not my best subject

Nicholas trying to walk down stairs. He
feels like he is walking on stilts.

Day 8 - Friday

Needing to get the most out of our passes, we started early at the Discovery Gateway which is an interactive discovery center for younger children (8 and under). Across the street, we headed to the food court for our lunch. After we devoured chinese and pizza we headed for the Clark Planetarium. We could have watched a film in the dome or IMAX theaters but opted out since we figured the littles would get bored viewing those films. Instead, we moonwalked through the space exhibits touching moon rocks and exploring other planets. Oh no! Our day was not over yet. Another recommended activity was Thanksgiving Point which we were able to visit their Museum of Ancient Life and their 55 acre gardens during their tulip festival. The museum has an amazing discovery room with hands on science. After leaving the discovery room, you begin your adventure back in time for a super-sized, hands-on prehistoric experinece. The museum is one of the world's largest dinosaur museums. All of the kids enjoyed the sand table and dusting sand off the dinosaur fossils. We probably should have gone home, but we wanted to visit the gardens down the road from the museum. We walked and walked and walked through thousands and thousands of tulips. The garden was very impressive! We didn't even make it to the children's garden. Oops! Sorry kids!

Victoria and Nicholas building together.

One picture of Lizzie that she is actually
willing to look at the camera and smile

We are about to enter one of the largest dinosaur
museums in the world.

The kids loved digging for fossils at the dinosaur museum.

This gives you a glimpse of the acres of gardens we walked
through. There were waterfalls, fountains, and large statues.

Nicholas and Lizzie resting by the rows of tulips.

Day 9 - Saturday

Let's hit the road Jack! We were back on the road heading for Las Vegas. The blazing sun lit the sky which was a vast difference compared to the foggy, snowy trip we ventured into entering into Utah. Las Vegas greeted us with high temperatures in the 90s. All the kids were told no electronics, so they played games, played ball in the house, and ran around with nerf guns. It was fun to see all of them playing together ranging from age 3 to age 14.

Ben, Nick, and cousin Diana playing go fish.

Day 10 - Sunday

Benjamin begged to stay and live with his cousins for a little longer. It was time to go home to our sunny state of California. I couldn't wait to sleep in my own bed because it is so comfortable. Of course we hit traffic, but the kids for the most part behaved well. As we drove up to our little house, I asked Lizzie, "Where are we?" and she said, "home sweet home."

I rubbed my rubby slippers together and six hours later we were home
because "There's No Place Like Home"!

Utah Trip continued

Day 3 - Sunday

It's raining & snowing here in Park City, UT so we decided to stay in and relax for the day. When we have an entire week of vacation we usually try to throw a couple of "do nothing" days in. We are staying in the Sweetwater Lift Lodge in a three bedroom, two bath, kitchen and living room lodge. We've learned from past experience that it is best for us to find a resort or hotel that has more than one bedroom. Allan took the litttles (Lizzie & Ben) to the park down the street once the rain stopped. He also stocked up on groceries, so we can cook when we are "home".



Benjamin and Lizzie played on the fun playground at the
local park. There is still some snow on the ground.



The kids enjoyed staying in the pjs most of the day and
watching tv, reading books, and playing games.

Day 4 - Monday

One of Benjamin's classmates' moms gave me a list of some fun places to visit in Utah. The first place we ventured to was Kennecott Copper Mine & Museum. We only had to pay $5 for vehicle entry. You don't actually enter the mine, but look down at the mine from above. They have a really nice museum about the history of copper, Kennecott mine, & Bingham Canyon where the mine is. It was a fun and an inexpensive outing! The kids were starving so as they ate and whined in the car I went inside the gift shop to buy a few souvenirs. I purchased a copper bell to ring at school, a copper snowflake shaped Christmas ornament, and a black with copper etching spoon rest/holder. We try to buy an ornament at most places we visit. It is fun to look at our Christmas tree during December remembering the fun places we've visited as a family.

This is the copper mine that has over 500 miles of roadway
going into it.



Lizzie and Benjamin observed the mine through the telescope. 


After our outing to the mine we went to Hollywood Connection, an indoor activity zone. We played minature golf, rode on rides, played laser tag, and played arcade games. They even had a skating rink which we passed on out of exhaustion and the littles are just learning to roller skate. We registered on Groupon for the city Salt Lake City, so we've been receiving emails about groupons in that location. This one was a sweet deal for our family at only $39 for everything we did there! Now I have to be honest because everyone is smiling in these pictures, but vacations aren't always perfect and we are human in our mistakes. When we started playing golf Victoria started crying and I was having a hard time finding out what was wrong. She just wanted to go home. Then her attitude rubbed off on Nicholas and he became super whiny. Come on kids were on vacation! We're supposed to be having fun! Okay, I didn't say that, but I wanted to. Well it turned out that Victoria had a headache and stomachache and Nicholas was just hot. They started having fun eventually, but I just like to be honest that kids are kids and we all get tired, whiny, and fussy and unfortunately it can be contagious. We used our gift card to Olive Garden (thanks Kevin & Violet) and the kids were super excited about going out to eat. It ended being a really fun day!


Fun for the little ones



We didn't even need to put coins in for Lizzie.
She was happen just pretending to drive.

The fierce duo - Ben & Allan aka mini-Allan & Aldog

Oh yea, watch out for Katie & Nick!
They will sneak up behind you!

Time for Vacation

Wow, it has been over a month since I've posted on my blog page! I barely have time to post or time to myself because I am constantly interrupted by a child who needs help with something. I'll keep posting as I can for anyone who happens to read my posts and especially for my kiddos who also enjoying reading some of the things I write.

Vacation Day 1
The kids were very excited for our first destination. We drove on Friday to Las Vegas, NV and arrived 4.5 hours later, a record time for us, to visit my brother and his family. The kids hung out with their cousins and Allan and I got to chat with my brother and our sister-in-law. We were thankful for managing to avoid the rain during our drive.

Allan giving a thumbs up to a much needed vacation.

Benjamin loving his time with his cousin Dean playing on Dean's XBOX.

Hanging out with Diana before her softball game.

My nephew Trevor relaxing on the sofa.

Vacation Day 2
We hung out more with our family in Las Vegas, said our goodbyes, and then loaded our stuff back into the van. We traveled through three states: started in Las Vegas, drove through Arizona for about 20 miles and then entered our destination state of Utah. Upon entering Utah is when our adventure began. First we were in awe of the towering, majestic mountains, green fields, and grazing farm animals. We knew that the forecast was rain and snow, but being Californians we didn't know what to expect. First we encountered some rain, which quickly turned into white snow flurries. We were on a main highway and Allan stayed in the lanes with more cars because the snow was more melted or wet. To our surprise, about 10 cars in front of us all the cars came to a quick stop, so we did the same. I started praying that the other cars behind us would do the same thing. A truck with a horse trailer drove off the road to our left to avoid hitting a vehicle in front of him and another smaller car did the same. We sat and sat and sat. Fear entered my mind not knowing exactly what happened ahead of us. Snow quickly began covering in the black highway around us. We left our engine on with our windshield wipers wiping away the snow. A few people climbed out of their vehicles and stomped through the snow to see what transpired ahead of us. Allan rolled down the window as one of the men with snow covering his eyebrows came back with news that there was a 15 car accident involving semitrucks,  motorhomes and regular cars. Thank you Lord for not letting us be one of those cars and please protect those who were injured! I think we were stuck there for about an hour. Sweet, chewy candy, silly conversations eating powdery snow and peeing in cups kept my family occupied for that time. We were so relieved when one lane of traffic opened up and vehicles began moving slowly to escape the traffic and view the unfortunate destruction of vehicles ahead. We headed straight to the nearest fast food establishment to eat a very late lunch.

The beautiful scenery that surrounded us! Can you imagine
being alive when the first Americans traveled over the rockies?

This is what we were driving toward on our drive into
Arizona & Utah.

It's snowing! It's snowing! This is just minutes into
our sudden traffic stop.

These are just some of the vehciles on the right that
were part of the traffic accident.

This car was badly mangled and it looks like the owner is
from Canada.

It continued to snow as we left the restaurant, but as we drove into a new valley, it stopped. Fog and dark gray clouds loomed ahead. As we entered the fog that engulfed our car, it began to rain and then hail. We saw flickers of lightning in the distance. As we drove through the quaint town of Provo an end to our long day of traveling was in sight. We hit our final destination of another charming town, Park City, Utah. Time to unpack, eat dinner and RELAX!

Time to stay warm & cozy and enjoy time with family

Elizabeth's 3rd Birthday (from January)

Okay, so I'm a little late in posting about Lizzie's 3rd birthday which happened in January. We don't have big birthdays every year for our kids, but we always have fun celebrating together. I let my kids pick out their cake each year unless I'm making it for them. This year Lizzie wanted a Diego cake. She said no to decorations with rainbows, suns, flowers, Hello Kitty, and other more girly decorations.  On the fourth store we finally found a cake she wanted. It is the one pictured below that was decorated with chocolate frosting and trucks. We added the Dora & Diego figures. The cake was perfect for Lizzie! Instead of saying "Happy Birthday" she says "Happy Dirtday", so that is what we had them write on there. Grandma Cynthia & Grandpa Shawn came over to help us celebrate. Lizzie enjoyed all her toys that she received like furniture for her dollhouse, puzzles, and Mrs. Potato Head.

Almost four years ago, we were surprised to find out that I was pregnant with our fourth child. She was due on January 3rd but didn't arrive until January 13th. She has blessed our lives in so many ways. She is sweet, silly, sassy, smart and sensitive! Victoria loves having a little sister! Nicholas loves playing with her and playing tricks on her. Benjamin enjoys having a sibling closer in age to him that can finally play with him. Allan and I love listening to her talk and hearing the funny things she says. We look forward to seeing what God has in store for our little sweetheart!

Our Birthday Girl

This girl is so super silly!

She is used to playing rough with the boys.

Lizzie lets her older brother tie her up.

Who can resist jumping in the puddles while it's raining?

Tears from Loss

This year I've had two big losses in my life. One loss is my Grandma Dixie who passed away in November. Although, I can't say we were really close, she did have an impact on my life. When I was about four years old, my mom stopped attending church because of her phobia about hearing about the end of the world. My dad would still take my brother and I to church every Sunday. It became increasingly more difficult for us to go when our mom stayed at home. Since my dad and grandfather sang in the choir and had to rehearse early, my Grandma Dixie would pick us up for church. As we sat in grandma's car, we knew to hold on tight because grandma had a lead foot. My grandma was always kind and would try not to say anything about my mom not attending. She loved us and loved my mom and dad. She was secretary of Rogers Middle School in Long Beach. When she went out of the office, she would say, "If anyone calls take a message, but if my daughter in law Cynthia calls, come and get me." She knew she needed to be there for my mom. Although, we didn't always understand what my mom was going through, I love how my Grandma loved her anyways. Isn't that reflecting God's love? I think so. I always saw her serving whether it was stuffing church bulletins, bringing someone a meal or helping in a ministry. I will miss her!


Another great loss this year was my dearest and closest friend, April and her family who moved on the other side of the United States to Massachusetts/Rhode Island area. We will still remain great friends and plan to find a way to visit each other, but I was very sad when I found out that they were moving. About a year ago, she called me and invited me to lunch. As we ate our lunch, I braced myself for what she was going to share with me. She already had twins boys. Was she pregnant? Did I do something to hurt her feelings. I had no idea. Let me back up 32 years ago. We met when we were five years old in the Kindergarten sandbox as our moms were signing us up for Kindergarten. Although, April was held back in Kindergarten and went to another elementary & jr. high school we remained close friends. Our moms took us shopping together. We were in the YMCA's Indian Maidens program together. We hung out a lot. Since we were at separate schools until high school we had a different group of friends. After college, she moved to Nevada and we began writing each other. When she moved back to California, we were able to hang out again. But what really astonished me was her transformation. She has always been a sweet and kind hearted person. But now she was a sweet and kind hearted person with Christ in her life. I remember her asking me about my family's church when she moved back to CA. April and her husband started attending our church and then God did the rest. The transformation that took place was that she learned to trust in God and let Him decide what direction to go or which path to take. So fast forward back to us eating at the Elephant Bar where she is telling her best friend that she is leaving/moving. She shared with me that afternoon that she had prayed and God placed it on her heart for her family to move to the East Coast to be close to her husband's family. She was scared, had never lived in the snow and didn't know the plans that God had for her. I cried that night and have continued to cry this past year. She is a dear friend that accepts me for ALL of my mistakes. I can't wait to visit April, Ken, and their adorable twin boys. I know right now life has been challenging for them, but I am amazed at how faithful my friend has been in relying on Christ.

One of my favorite bible verses:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.      Proverbs 3:5-6

Our Little House

We got back this week from visiting Allan's sister's family in Arizona. We really enjoyed our time with them. They have a large home which we love because there is so much space to just hang out even with our family of six temporarily occupying it. Victoria can find quiet places to read without much interruption. Benjamin and Nicholas have plenty of room to play and wrestle with their cousin or uncle. Lizzie loves roaming up and down the stairs looking for the dog, two cats, and her siblings. Allan and I love spending time with his sister's family. They are great hosting us and just letting us relax while we are there. After visiting there, I remembered dreaming of a really large home. Before kids artwork cluttered our refrigerator, we used to put goals on our refrigerator of things we wanted. One of my dreams was to be a stay at home mom and the other was to own our own home. Not just any house, but a 7500 square foot home with all the amentities. I also dreamed of a housekeeper to keep that place clean. We did end up buying our own home right before our first born starting walking, but the square footage was quite smaller than the 7500 I once dreamt of. It is not wrong to dream or to have goals, but my dream was based on what I thought I needed to make me happy. Now that I'm a little older and I hope wiser, I've learned that it is not stuff that makes you truly happy. I have struggled with my desire to have more than I have..... a bigger home, more stuff, more clothes, more toys, etc. But God continues to humble me and to lay on my heart to be satisfied with what I have. One verse that I always refer to when I'm "wanting" something and not "needing" another something is...

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal."     Matthew 6:19-20

Allan and I would love to buy a bigger home for our party of six who occupy a 3 bedroom 1 bathroom. The bathroom gets quite stuffy when all of us are trying to get ready at once. If you don't want someone to walk in on you, you'd better lock the door, but someone will usually find the key to unlock it or pound on it until it is opened.  I've learned to love our little house because we are able to grow closer together in it. I can hear what the kids are doing at all times and you know when it's quiet someone is up to something. I can see from the kitchen into the dining room, living room, the boys room and the backyard. I can smell if something is burning or if someone has gotten playdoh out of the cabinet. I can hear whispers, giggles, stomping feet, wrestling bodies, laughter from games won, and tears from hurt body parts. I am able to find each child quickly and gather them for dinner with a call "It's time to eat! Wash your hands!" We see each other every day. We pass each other in the hallway. We occupy the bathroom together. The kids share bedrooms. We eat together at the dining room table. We talk. We help each other with chores. We talk. We watch movies together. We talk. We laugh. We hug. We love. Love grows here in our little house.

Here's the lyrics to the country song "Little Houses" sung by Doug Stone which reminds me of my family.

A little white house, in the heart of town,
On a little sad street, just a little run down,
Became a home, for Bill and Sue,
Two newlyweds, who did the best that they could do.
And when they brush each other, passin' in the hall,
Sue would smile and say: "This place is pretty small.

But you know, love grows best in little houses,
With fewer walls to separate,
Where you eat and sleep so close together.
You can't help but communicate,
Oh, and if we had more room between us, think of all we'd miss.
Love grows best, in houses just like this.

Before too long, Sue and Bill,
Were makin' plans, for Jack and Jill.
Oh, happy day, when the news came in
But what to do, when they found out Sue was having twins.
When they could not pass each other in the hall,
Well, Sue would smile and say: "This place is really, really small.

But you know, love grows best in little houses,
With fewer walls to separate,
Where you eat and sleep so close together.
You can't help but communicate,
Oh, and if we had more room between us, think of all we'd miss.
Love grows best, in houses just like this.

That little white frame house still keeps them warm,
Though it's been thirty-two years, since the kids were born,
And when they look back now, they hold each other tight,
And whisper in each other's ears: "You know you were right.

Because love grows best in little houses,
With fewer walls to separate,
Where you eat and sleep so close together.
You can't help but communicate,
Oh, and if we had more room between us, think of all we'd miss.
Love grows best, in houses just like this.

A Dream Home

My Little House

Family Traditions

A few weeks ago, I was sitting & eating lunch with some homeschooling moms and their kids. One of the moms asked me if we had any family Christmas traditions. I couldn't think of any at the time, but realized later we have lots. Some traditions we have tried to do every year and other traditions we do every other year or every few years. Here are some of our family traditions:

1. Decorating a gingerbread house (not building one - been there done that and I won't do that again)
2. Making, baking and decorating sugar cookies (We do this for most holidays since it is easy enough for all   kids to participate in)
3. Make a cake and sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus  (It is his birthday afterall. My kids asked what Jesus' favorite color was and what his favorite kind of cake would be. I told them I'm sure he'll like any flavor and color cake we make.)
4. Make treats for friends, neighbors, teachers, and family to give as gifts (We've made cookies in a jar, pretzels dipped in chocolate, cookies, brownies, etc)
5. Drive around and look at Christmas lights (We get bundled up in our car with coats & blankets and have hot cocoa to drink as we drive around in local neighborhoods or walk through Naples in Long Beach).
6. Go see or perform in Christmas performances (The last two years, Victoria has been in Christmas Joy, so we've gotten to see her perform at our church).
7. Decorate the Christmas tree together while listening to Christmas music even with toddlers (There is sometimes broken ornaments and I often have to rearrange ornaments, but the kids LOVE decorating.)
8. Make an Advent wreath (This year was our first time doing that with our church. We decorated a green wreath with ornaments, pinecones, and ribbon. We placed candles into the candle holders which were attached to the wreath and lit one for the first week. We sang songs together and meditated on scripture.)
9. Watch Christmas movies together (old ones and new ones too- Still my favorite is "It's a Wonderful Life")
10. Read books together about Christmas (I like "The Crippled Lamb" by Max Lucado)
11. Have the kids help put up the Nativity scene decorations (One year they put on a play at home about the birth of Christ. Victoria was Mary and Nicholas was Joseph. I think Ben, Allan and I were wise men and Lizzie played baby Jesus if she cooperated.)
12. Buy gifts for family or friends that have a missional purpose (Our church has been doing a missional marketplace the last 2 or 3 years. They have all kinds of gifts that you can buy and the profit goes to specific missionaries around the world. We bought coffee and homemade jam this year. And we bought and wrapped a toy for a foster child. I was able to explain the needs of other people in the U.S. and other countries to my children)


These are some traditions for Christmas that our family will continue to do. I want to find more ideas that I can do with my family where we can really focus on the true meaning of Christmas - the birth of Christ. I have in the past gotten sucked into the gift giving event that Christmas has become and I don't want that for myself or my family. Yes, we buy gifts for my kids and yes Santa comes to visit. But my fondest memories of Christmas are not of the toys that I received, but the time I've spent with my family and friends celebrating Jesus' birth. Email, comment or facebook me if you have any fun Christmas traditions.

Benjamin, Victoria and Audrey (Victoria's friend)
decorated this gingerbread house. We had to place
the houses up high away from little fingers.

Nicholas rolling out the dough for sugar cookies.

Benjamin loved picking out fun Christmas
cookie shapes.

As you can see, Victoria's cookie making station is very
clean. She was such a great big sister helping the little
ones roll and cut out their cookie shapes.

Here Lizzie is decorating her cookies with frosting and sprinkles.
If you look closely, you'll see a mountain of sprinkles.

Victoria and her friends from the Christmas Joy performance.

Our first Advent wreath in antipation of Christmas,
the birth of Christ.