It's True

Seven years:

then

now
We celebrated our anniversary today. Saw Julie and Julia, ate pizza and a great cake!

So happy, so true.

Many Happy Faces

I finally finished making this dress. It's a size 4 and a bit big but Gabriella was so excited to wear it.

BABY STEPS

Summer won't last much longer so in a last ditch effort Gabriella and I went to the Home Depot and here is our result

Nothing too amazing but if those plants survive they will grow and hopefully be easy to maintain. She was so cute stomping on the mulch and trying her best to help her mommy. She is such a joy to me.

2005 is done!

A while back we did an update to this website that unfortunately ruined all of the links to our pictures. I have been gnawing away at it today, and 2005 is up to date. We'll continue to work on it, though 2006 is going to take some time--a lot happened that year. :)

I know that blogging is somewhat self-serving (enjoy our opinions!), but I'm so thankful for this family journal. It really helps me to remember such wonderful times--I hope we continue this tradition for many years!

Steve

Roaring Twenties

I have this tendency to worry...or get depressed....or think about what ifs.
I remember one particular time about a year ago when I was feeling really down, I was sad about not using my degree, I felt lonely, I thought I just didn't fit it. It was a nice pity party. So Steve, being the great guy he is saw my fear and disappointment and made me a list with categories, leaving it up to me to fill out. I had forgotten all the amazing things I have done in my life so far. I made a list of old and new friends I had made, trips I've taken, concerts I've been to, Hawaii, people I've met, the Olympic Torch Run. I've coached YW basketball, interviewed an apostle and an Osmond, learned how to sew (sort of), learned how to deal with "not so nice" people in a working environment, gained new hobbies, learned more about who I really am, been sealed in the Temple to a loving spouse, graduated from college and experienced motherhood, and have felt true charity in my life. The unconditional love I have for my daughter is beyond anything I can describe.
I was having that depressed feeling again recently and needed to remind myself that getting older isn't really that bad. I'm still alive and I have the chance to keeping on truckin. Life continues on and my journey is far from over.


Overall I think I did pretty well for my twenties...next up, fabulous thirties.

Utah

Here are some pictures from our trip to Utah. The long drive with a 3 yr old went very well. Gabriella celebrated her "My Little Pony" birthday while we were visiting...complete with her very own "Pony" cake made by Steve's mom. It was the perfect "pony" party.



We went to SLC to hear Brian perform at the Tabernacle...amazing.




I took Gabriella to the Jordan River Temple to get some B-day photos...




Family pictures...



I even saw my roomies from College! The girls put up with me for a long time.


Wishing you all a great week!

Geek Heaven!

I just really liked this picture...

A Closet Otaku

Otaku is a Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly anime, manga, and video games. Now I can see the word being applied to many Twilight and Edward Cullen fans and maybe chocolate but anime…also known as Japanimation is in a league of its own.
There were over 44,000 people in attendance at this convention.
Per my husband’s request I brought my Kikyo costume all the way to LA, put it on and instantly felt embarrassed. At these conventions there is something called Cosplay. It is apparently very popular in Japan. Think of it as a Star Wars convention and everyone is dressed as a Jedi but here everyone is dressed as a favorite Anime or Manga (Japanese Comic Book) character. It’s like being at a Halloween Party. ***note: I was only in costume for about 2 hours, the rest of time I was in normal clothes

Walking down the streets of downtown LA I could feel the eyes of the “normal” people starring at me. Well, actually I couldn't see much of anything since I was wearing my sister’s large bug eyed sunglasses. With no prescription and polarized lenses obstructing half my face I began my Otaku journey, but along the way I unfortunately zinged some of the most important non-family members at the convention.

My apologies to Vic Mignogna, (an American Voice Actor), getting up early, standing in line took its toll and instead of just smiling and saying something like, “I really enjoy your work, thanks so much,” I made a stupid comment to which he replied, “No, I really enjoy what I do.” And there is that poor boy who asked for my picture as Kikyo…to which I replied, “well, as long as I can’t see myself….yadda yadda.” I think I was just so nervous about the experience that I wanted to be that one normal person there at the convention, but instead I realized that everyone there was normal. Each of us has our own normal and to that I wish I would have embraced my inner 18 year old self. Eighteen years old, that I what a guy on the bus told me, I looked 18! He obviously didn’t see my wedding ring. I had hoped to direct him towards my sisters but by the time the bus ride was over he seemed very surprised when I told him my age and the fact I was married with a 2 yr old at home. I got a picture with him and the huge wooden sword he carved by hand. Some of these Otaku are hard-core.
After a few hours I began to feel more relaxed and then I saw men and women dressed as Pikachu. I was immediately brought back to the realization that I was in another world. There are a few shows besides Pokémon I am familiar with. The ones I have seen or own are clean, well written and funny. So in that sense I suppose I am Otaku but only to a select few. By the end of trip I still wanted to learn more about the culture and experience of it all. There were panels hosted by the video distributing companies, workshops, guest speakers and even voice acting experts. It was very much like going to Disneyland and I even saw a Disney Princess.
So in a nutshell…did I have fun? Yes
Was it strange? Yes, but only for a little while
Will I go back? Don’t know, depends on what is going on
What I do know…I am 100% glad I went and got to share this experience with my two sisters, we laughed, giggled, only had a few spats, and thanks to a room-service mix up we three got to share a large pitcher of Hot Chocolate for FREE.


More highlights: late night Karaoke
Dancing
Tasting my first authentic Sticky-bun
Taking a taxi for the first time
Seeing “Little Tokyo”
Eating at Mr. Ramen: very authentic only chopsticks allowed
Seeing all the Michael Jackson posters
Signing the Michael Jackson wall at the Staples Center
Staying at the Westin Bonaventure downtown: (all except the front desk guy that caused much unnecessary drama) that hotel is massive.
Subway: it was the cheapest place to get dinner
Seeing Lauren being interviewed for a webcast
Erin winning multiple freebies…thanks for sharing, Gabriella loves that plushie.
My 6:30 am flight back home
Buying my first collectable animation cel
Winning free stuff


UPDATE:
I emailed Vic...cause I was feeling bad and guilty so I apologized and he totally emailed me back! What a nice guy!!!

Princess Pictures

What do they say a picture is worth?

Here is my favorite shot from yesterday...
Enjoy!

The Family Picture Dilemma

Meredith posted about our adventure at Red Rocks a couple of days ago, but that was only part of the story. While we were there, we were trying to get a good family picture. Unfortunately, with the craziness of a 2 year old, we rarely got a picture of all 3 of us smiling. In fact, when I took her rocks away in one picture, the scene deteriorated pretty rapidly. So here are the candidates:

Picture 1



(Here is picture #1 cropped, this is more how I could see it framed...posted by meredith)

Picture 2

Picture 3

Picture 4

So help us out, and vote for the picture you like best. We're going to make an order from our favorite online printing company (mpix.com), since their colors and paper make the small extra cost worth it. The poll is on the right hand side of the page, if you didn't already see it.

Thanks!
Steve

Looks like I made it

Yep I made it...it is official I am a grown-up!
ummmm...yeah right....
It was a spectacular birthday thanks to Steve, my sweetheart. He really did so much and he took the day off from work to be with me. He got up early, cleaned the kitchen, did the dishes and made my favorite breakfast...biscuits and gravy. Then we were off to a photo-shoot at Red Rocks, then shopping, then to Red Robin for my FREE b-day burger, then more shopping and back home. Then a wonderful b-day cake. It was so neat to get so many phone calls wishing me well on what I thought would be a hard day...but the only thing hard was walking up all those steps at Red Rocks. Steve has spoiled me rotten and I am just full of gratitude. I can't wait to return the favor in a few weeks when it's his turn.

All those times I can't tell what Gabriella is doing under the table...here it is





more fun pics to come!

Dreamsicle