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Vacations always fly by way too fast! It's late right now, but there's a loud party going on next door and I'm not sleeping, so I thought, why not update my blog? Today was great. We got up and bummed around a bit until it was time to head out. Some of us went shopping in Laguna Beach. It was a really cute shopping area that had lots of really expensive shops. Needless to say I didn't buy anything! But I was able to go and look at an art gallery while I waited for others to finish at one of the stores. It was a gallery of vintage poster prints, I've always thought they were just cheap posters that people bought to fill up their walls, but now I know differently! I was amazed by how expensive some of them were! (upwards of $10,000) I did find one that I fell in love with. I think I like it because it's something I could actually see in my home. The colors aren't too outlandish. (It's more neutral looking in real life) And the way they had it matted and framed was just beautiful. This is also something I didn't buy. (It was more than $3,000) But it's nice to learn about this kind of stuff.

After shopping we came back to the house on the beach and sent

someone out for In-n-out burger. Yum, yum, yum! If you haven't tried this place, it's a must! They have the freshest ingredients ever and their shakes are to die for. I don't really care for their fries though. Anyways, we spent the day between the beach, taking a nap, eating good food and playing games. It's so great to not have any schedules/deadlines to meet! In the evening after dinner (delicious bbq'd steak and potatoes) Bryan, Daniel and I went out to the beach again to watch the sunset. You seriously can never get enough of this sunset. I'm pretty sure that Catalina Island is right where the sun sets, so it disappears really quickly. Daniel started to chase the waves and before he realized it had run knee deep into the ocean with his pants on. I think it scared him enough that I don't have to worry too much about him doing it again!

Another day, another sunset. It is so great out here at the beach. I wish I could live here forever. I told Bryan that I'd be okay if he wanted to buy a vacation house out here. (lol, yeah right!) Daniel had an absolute blast! He ran and ran and ran. Then when it was time for a nap he was OUT.
When I went to put my suit it was missing!!! So I had to make a "quick" trip to Costco. (we only got lost once...) It made me feel like I was at home, it's amazing how every Costco is the same. Around dinner time Bryan and I went on a walk down the beach a took in another amazing sunset.

For dinner we had the most delicious fish tacos and then we ran to the tv to watch "The Office." We love the office. It was another funny one tonight. Just wish I could watch them every day.

Greetings from New Port Beach, CA! We are officially on vacation! We left this morning and got here in time to enjoy the water before it got too late. Daniel loved the plane ride and did really well for a two year old. He loved the TV that he got to watch and was ecstatic about the pop they brought around.

When we got to the beach he and DH went straight to the ocean to splash around. The water was freezing at first, but felt really good after.

The house we're staying in is right on the beach and is beautiful! We took a walk along the beach and saw the most gorgeous sunset.

Whew! What a weekend! It was my parent's 40th anniversary yesterday, so we threw them a surprise party on saturday. It was a total success. Can you tell my mom was surprised? It was great, a lot of friends from the "old" days were there, it was crazy to see them. Of course Mom cried, and Dad acted like he knew all along, but I think they were very happy with it all. Bryan and I have finally decided where we're going to move at the end of the summer..... we're going to Columbus! Bryan liked it the best from the very beginning, and the city is more family friendly. So we're excited and I'm just happy to be able to start planning our life! I'm off to DI to start gutting our house.

A good (ish) day. I love being a mom! Little boys are the best. I especially love unexpected kisses and running start hugs. I also love the little surprises they give you every once in a while, like yesterday when he decided he wanted to start putting on his own pants! And today I was trying to get him to count to 10 INCLUDING seven and he turned to me and very clearly said "sehvvvven", and then proceeded to count to 20!!!! Sometimes I wonder where in the heck this little boy came from! He's also started to eat much more carefully, so it doesn't look like my kitchen exploded 3 times a day! I am one happy mommy. On a bad note, our brand new tv broke last night. Yes, broke!!! It just plain stopped working. So Bryan took it in today and exchanged it for a different tv that isn't working either. Hmmmm, we're having a bit of bad luck in that dept. and Daniel is getting a little bit desperate for his "Elmo." I wonder where he gets his turn for the dramatic??? Anyways, I also wanted to let you all know that I enabled comments without them having to go through me first, so if you'd like to chat back you have free reign!

Had a totally awesome kick-butt voice lesson today. It felt so good to really work my voice. I just need to keep practicing now!!! (story of my life!) DH and I are STILL deliberating on where we're going to move. The time to move just keeps creeping closer and closer and we still have no clue! (It's not entirely our fault, we still have yet to receive our financial information) We are also trying to decide if we should try to buy a small house or rent during med school. Renting is just soooo much more expensive! But buying a house has so many "hidden costs" we just don't know what to do. Any ideas??

Today was an ideal Sunday. We went to church, then to my in-laws for dinner. It was sooo good! (as always, my mother in law is a great cook) Then we went for a walk as a family and played games when we got back. Now we're watching Cinderella Man on our new tv. (Our old one died) Daniel had a blast at the park (on our walk), but got mad when the slides kept on shocking him. (why do they make slides that shock you?!?)We also had our first bbq of the season. Yumm, cheeseburgers off the grill! I'm so excited for summer and to let Daniel run off his wiggles outside! I've been practicing photography more. It's so much fun! I took some pics of my sister in law and her family. I just love their baby! He is so cute!

Easter was great. On Saturday my in-laws took us (Daniel and I, DH had to work) to a friends place to have a train ride through their grounds. Daniel loved it! It was the cutest thing, it had switches that would move it to different tracks and it ran through a bunch of different yards. It was great. Before we left we hopped onto a golf cart to look at a different part of their property and Daniel rode on Grandpa's lap to help drive it. He took it very seriously and really thought he was driving! It was so cute.

On Sunday we had a great church service, then later that evening we went to Bryan's Paternal Grandparents house to have dinner with extended family. Daniel loves to play with the other little boys, and as always, to play with all of the cars they have there. He was pretty excited to hold a baby for the picture.

We're still trying to figure out where we're going to move. We're expecting some more information that will help us make a decision, but I'm getting a little bit antsy to start making plans! (we're moving in 3 months-ish) Wow, just saw a promo for a movie with Jessica Biel and Nicholas Cage, ummm, yuk, little bit of an age gap, dontcha think?? I got two phone calls from some of my dearest friends today, they're both coming to Utah to visit this spring! I'm sooo excited!! Yeah for Anna and Kara!

Whew! What a week! It was great, but I'm sooo tired and my house is a wreck! On Monday we went to see Shannon's wedding dress at her fitting and it is gorgeous! It's just perfect for her. Then Dani and I went to DI to find part of a game for Shannon's Bridal Shower. I found tons of cute stuff for Daniel, which is great, because he's growing soooo fast! (he's wearing 4T stuff now and is 2 yrs old. Don't know how I'm going to keep up with him!) Then on Tuesday we took all of the kids to the zoo. It was a blast. Daniel was so excited he didn't know what to do with himself.

Aren't little boys cute??
These are just some cute pics I took of my niece and nephews while we were taking a break at the zoo:


On Wednesday we recouped from the zoo and put on Shannon's Bridal shower that was a great success. It was so much fun to see family and to meet Erik's family as well. They seem really fun. My sisters and I all showed up wearing black and white, it was pretty funny, totally not planned. Have you ever seen five sisters who look less alike?

On Thursday we did a little bit of retail therapy to soothe our nerves. (lol) And then made our way down to my brother's in Springville. The kids had a blast. We are all so excited to be together again in June for the wedding, and even more excited that we will have ALL of the cousins there! Today we're heading to some estate in town that is all done up for Easter so that Daniel can ride their train across their grounds. I'm excited to see the look on Daniel's face. I'll be back later with more. Have a happy and wonderful Easter!

I'm back!!! I'm so happy to report that my computer is alive and well again! I never knew how dependant I am on it. It's crazy. I found myself wandering aimlessly around the house, wishing I could check this or that on the Internet. (Isn't that how it always is, you think of all of these things you need to look up on the Internet when you have no access?) Life here has been hectic, but that's what keeps it interesting. The surprise party I helped plan was awesome. It was for my Mother in law's 48th bday. (Isn't she so young to be a grandmother?) She was very surprised and a ton of people showed up. We had put together a video of her family saying what they loved about her and a slide show of when she was young. It was great. And the food was divine! I've been singing more lately, trying to get myself to the point where I can sing at the Met auditions in early part of '08. My new teacher is having me study a bunch of Mezzo pieces. I'm not sure I'm loving the Mezzo thing just yet, we'll have to see. But I am loving just getting to sing again. I've missed it. We just found out that one of the school's we're probably going to starts in mid July, so we will probably end up having to move a month earlier than planned. Yikes. We still have no clue where we'll be living and I have a ton of stuff I have to sell/get rid of. Craig's List here I come! I've been meaning to do it forever, just always conveniently find other stuff to distract me! My sister's are in town and it's so fun. It's always an adventure when us five sisters get together. Tonight we had dinner at my parents house, one of my brother's, Steve was also there with his family. There were 21 of us and boy was it a full house! The kids all went outside to fly kites and DS had so much fun chasing after them all. He was sooooo tired when we got home that he literally collapsed into bed. Of course his injury probably added to his exhaustion. He had a collision with a cousin, they were both running at full speed and didn't see each other. DS got a HUGE goose bump on his head. Poor kid.

Can you say "Ouch!?." Of course he was off and running a little while later. Boys!

Just a pic of my cute little niece Zoe!