Night at the Museum

Go see this movie! I just saw it on the IMAX at the Irvine Spectrum and I thought it was fantastic! It certainly encourages you to go to museums like this one and to learn more about all that they display!

Fun Gifts

I received some fun things this Christmas, so I thought I put them out there with a great big, "Thank You".

In my stocking was this fun book from Tim: I Hate Other People's Kids. Before you recoil in horror, I'll bet some of the examples strike a chord. Here's a couple - "All of us, with or without children, have had that sinking feeling come over us when we see kids sitting in a movie theater, because we know there will be noise and popcorn thrown... And who hasn't gone shopping and turned down an aisle that looks like monkeys attacked it..."

Actually, considering I volunteer to work with kids at church at least twice a month, perhaps I shouldn't say I found this book funny. If you want the truth I find it very hard to believe that anyone could hate these angelic beings! I really do enjoy and love the kid's at Revolution... it's OTHER people's kids that drive me nuts!

My girls know me well and got me a Starbucks card and an It's a Grind card!!

My sister also lavished me with gift cards for Chipotle (my favorite) and the Corner Bakery (my other favorite).

My mom went overboard as usual and bought a calendar, a piece for my Precious Moments Nativity (somewhat ironically, it's a chicken), a beautiful, thick suede jacket, a cookbook, warm socks (I practice "safe socks" in bed so I don't shock Tim into the next room), a really cute snowman Christmas decoration for my walls, and other things I'm sure I'm forgetting. All I know is that I was surrounded by a large pile!

My dad gave me an 8x10 of our famous family portrait, and an 80gb removable, portable hard drive! This way we can transfer files much easier.

Jenny bought this beautiful purse from one of my favorite ebay sellers. I have wanted a purse like this since I first saw one in March!

My Grandmother got me a really nice sweater that I love! I wore it today as a matter of fact.

Along the way were other gift cards (love those), baked goods, ornaments, and assorted fun things that made me feel very special this year.

Thanks everyone. I love you all!

We SURVIVED!

That's how it feels!

This Christmas season has been a blur of business. It feels like we got to enjoy so little of the season and never had time to just sit and revel in the wonderful things that make up this whole season of Christmas.

Revolution's Christmas play, The Navity, really spoke to me in that its point was missing Jesus. Not only do I feel that I missed out on the joy, I know I missed out on the reason for all this nuttiness.

Next year will be different... I promise... really...

That being said, here are some highlights from yesterday. We spent the day at my parents. It was very nice not to be running around to a million different places. It was fun seeing Josh and Malia on her first Christmas and his second. Like all one-year-olds, the packaging was far more interesting than the gifts. He did end up playing with some of his toys, but it was all so overwhelming... I can relate!


Notice the shirt... Christmas present from Tim. He bought it at Disney Vault, which is an amazing place to buy really cool Disney stuff.

My dad started a great tradition several years ago. He buys a very special BIG gift for the girls and then sends them "clue" letters (I use the word "clue" in the loosest of terms.) If, after five letters, they are able to guess on Christmas day what their present is, he rewards them with $5. Both guessed correctly this year!!

Regan got a Wii!
Chandler got this beautiful bike with a cheeta print seat! So Chandler!

Christmas Decorations

I was taking pictures today of my Christmas decorations so that next year I will remember what I did and where everything goes.

So I thought I'd post the pictures here since I can! The last one is of the girls' tree in their room.

Also notice, the sink in our bathroom is in one piece and it actually works now!!!

Christmas Preparations

I'm... almost... done... (when do the stores open in the morning?)... Can we hold Christmas off for just a couple of days to give me more time?

Friends

I admit it. I am awful at being a friend. I think I have a goodly number of friends, and I always want more, but I am not good at it.

I don't call often, or email, or follow up when people contact me. I try my best to remember birthdays and important milestones of those around me, but I usually fail at this as well.

I don't have any really good excuses. Or maybe all I have are excuses, it's just that they are lame. "I don't have time... "(that one is getting REALLY old). "I don't want to bother them." " I don't know what to say after so long..." "Maybe they have forgotten all about me..."

This blog has been a great way to connect with people I don't normally connect with. I have it on good authority that my Aunt Oris in Fallbrook reads my blog. I haven't seen her since I was a little girl. How cool that she can peek into her great-niece's life! My niece in Alaska checks in here occasionally. Friends from my old church check here to see what's going on. My best friend from elementary school contacted me because of this blog. She lives in Texas (I think) and we are in the process of catching up.

Tonight however, the news generated was not so good. My best friend from high school contacted me after reading my blog, with some sad news. He and his wife are splitting up. I am shocked and saddened beyond words. It's been a very long time since we've been in contact, but you just assume people stay the way you last saw them. You know, they freeze until you see them again. Apparently, life went on for them, and it didn't go so well. I don't know any details, but I hope to see him soon.

What an awful friend I am!

I just figured he forgot all about me and I didn't want to bother him. Maybe he would have liked to talk. Maybe I could have been a good listener. Maybe I could have been there for him in his time of need. Maybe I've been going about my life and not taking even a few moments to check in with those I call my friends.

Maybe that will be my New Year's Resolution. Maybe I'll resolve to be a better friend. Scratch that, I'll resolve to be a REAL friend.

4 x 4 weekend

This weekend was so busy with so many fun activities. (See my previous post!) But it was great hanging out with a lot of fun people.

We spent time this weekend with our two 4 x 4 groups. These groups of four couples meeting once a month for four months are overlapping because it took our last group until now to finish. Jenny hosted the event with breakfast at Gourmet Pie and then a scavenger hunt.

It was girls against the boys. We not only had to procure certain items (the cough drop and the Christmas cookie were the hardest) but we had to fill in blanks in Christmas carols and take photos in front of certain things.

Funniest story was that of John Newman asking a woman's help with the Christmas carol challenge. From a rolled down window of the car, he asked the unsuspecting victim, "Do you know 'All I Want for Christmas is You'?" Apparently this pseudo pick-up line didn't work so well as she immediately rolled up her window.

We then joined our new 4 x 4 group on Sunday night for dinner and a boat cruise around Naples in Robert Gull's aunt's enclosed, heated boat. It was so cool listening to Christmas carols and seeing all the beautiful multi-million dollar homes all decked out for Christmas. We decided we all wanted to go in on one particular home for sale on the point of Treasure Island (price tag $9 million but cheap compared to its original asking price of $13 million). But after doing the math, we decided that even if the four couples all went in together AND put our children to work, we still couldn't afford it!

I have included some photos here from our first 4 x 4's scavenger hunt. No photos unfortunately from the second group, since I don't have any... yet.

Too busy

It's a familiar refrain, but it is starting to get to me. As I check my commitment level, I think I'm O.K. there. It's the fun events. And I don't want to miss a single one. I'm feeling so overwhelmed, I am quickly becoming paralyzed by the desire to do everything at once, so I actually want to do nothing.

But I can't do nothing and I can't do everything. I can do one step at a time. I feel awful everytime I get a phone call I can't return or an invitation I have to say no to. I so want to enjoy my time on earth and not feel like I'm being dragged through my life holding on by my fingernails.

Where to start? I have no idea. Do I not hang out with friends? Do I not see my family? Do I not do fun holiday activities? Do I stop homeschooling? Do I stop caring about the quality of our homeschool day? Do I not keep my kids involved in activities that they love? Do I not volunteer so much time for church stuff? Do I give up every house project and leave them unfinished? Should I leave our bathroom sink in pieces like it is as I type? or should I see about getting it repaired? See the problem? I don't want to give up a single thing.

So... last night I had a breakdown. It occurred when we were installing our new dishwasher (love the dishwasher!!!!). After two trips to Home Depot we thought we had it all figured out. Loaded the dishers, pushed the start button... no water. We figured out quickly that we had forgotten to turn on the water valve. After we turned that on... still no water. That's when I fell into hopelessness.

I think God must have taken pity on me, because when Tim tried it again, IT WORKED!!!

Thanks God. He says He will not give us more than we could handle. The water thing... more than I could handle.

Now I need an exta large portion of peace... and sleep.

New version of photo

O.K. My dad can't stand it. I put up the raw, unretouched, uncropped, uncolor-corrected version of my favorite family pics. I guess I was in such a hurry to get it up on my blog. So he sent me new, better ones. I love them a lot! Here they are:

Family Photos

On Sunday, my dad took our family photos. Although he spends every free moment on his photography business and I work with him on most shoots, we have never scheduled a time for family portraits. He's been bugging me for awhile, so we got ourselves all spruced up and headed down to Seal Beach.



I really love them, even though I hate about 99% of the photos of me. (See previous blog.)

Funny Picture of Me

The other day, we celebrated my mom's birthday (more to come on that later). And as usual, my dad was shooting photos. I had just eaten a Tootsie Roll Pop when he started shooting. I knew I had Tootsie Roll in my teeth, so I told him to hold on. He shot anyway.

The only reason I bring any of this up or expose this photo to any publicity is because it's already out there. My dad emailed it to me and Chandler. Chandler emailed it to the Bambricks and Rick wanted to post it on his blog!

So, I'm just trying to put a damper on Rick's enthusiasm to embarrass me! Take your best shot with a caption. Rick has one already, perhaps he'll post it here.

Digital Scrapbooking

One of my favorite hobbies is scrapbooking. I know it sounds cliched, but for me it is a perfect way to combine my love of family, photography and design.

Lately, I've been getting into digital scrapbooking. I have been making the backgrounds and embellishments myself in Photoshop and Illustrator. I have been somewhat limited by my skills.

Not too long ago, I ran across an article describing other digital scrapbookers and their websites. It was a whole new world! There are some extremely women creating some extremely creative designs. For a few dollars, you can get their backgrounds and embellishements and combine them with your own photos in Photoshop for some amazing pages.

Because of a recent comment on my blog, I decided to post one of my favorite all-digital pages.

Very fun stuff.

My Dad's 60th Surprise Party

Last Friday, my mom surprised my dad with a surprise party for his 60th birthday. The biggest surprise was that it's not for another month!

My part in the whole thing was very small. I made the invitation and I got to receive the RSVP's. I wish I had saved my answering machine messages. Person after person called to say they were so excited about coming. They went on and on about how much they loved and respected my dad. Those that couldn't make it expressed sincere regrets and told me they really wanted to be a part of this event.

Over one hundred and fifty people came to celebrate the life of a man I am so proud to call my dad. They all know him in one way or another, but I know the whole man. I have put off writing this blog because I really wanted to take the time to do it right. I wanted to be able to express in just the right words how much he means to me.

Even after a week, I still can't do it.

Words are not enough to say all that I feel for him. Growing up, he was the best dad I could ever ask for. He was so patient and wise. He was a rock. Sometimes, I think kids are in for a shock when they first see their parents as adults and peers. Not me. He is the same consistent, wise, caring, and generous man I grew up with. The benefit to seeing him now as an adult is that I get to hear the stories that just went on behind the scenes when I was a kid. Rather than having my bubble burst in finding out he's human like the rest of us, I still feel the awe and respect I did as a kid.

I think the highest compliment I could pay him would be to say that he did exactly what God put him on this earth to do - he modeled God to me, so that I could better understand who He is. Now, when I struggle in learning to trust God in whatever situation I find myself, I can picture Him just like my dad. I KNOW I can trust my dad in any circumstance and I believe God has given me the gift of my father so that I can see how God feels about me.

Thanks dad. Thanks for being such an amazing father. I love you.

I still don't feel this post adequately expresses how I feel, but like my old man used to say, "Good enough for who it's for."

Fine print: Photos by Paul Wang a friend and mentor of my dad's. Thank goodness he was there with his ten pound camera. We were trying to find out how to get my dad to take the pictures, but somehow we couldn't work out the "pictures of him surprising himself" part. Thanks Paul.

The Skipper Stand Up Show

Tonight, Tim surprised me with a night out he's been planning for weeks. It was a big mystery and all I knew was that we were going with Darrenn and Jenny.

We started off at the Spaghetti Factory (Darrenn's choice and a very good pick) and then proceeded off, who knows where.

We pulled up to a small theater called Mavericks Theater. I was trying to judge by the crowd waiting to get in what kind of show we were in for. Tim knows I hate musicals, so I didn't think that would be it. I didn't think it would be a concert, since the four of us do not agree on music. Finally we guessed it was a comedy event and had something to with Disney.

It wasn't until we arrived inside that we were told it was a group of former and present Jungle Boat operators doing stand up comedy! Tim had found out about it by reading a MousePlanet.com article. The main MC was a professor from Vanguard of all places with a doctoral degree in history and talent for making people laugh. He was a former skipper who worked for the mouse in his spare time. There were nine skippers in all. Most were very funny and their acts flew by. A couple were somewhat painful and they seemed to be up on stage for an eternity.

The funniest parts were those that related directly to their Disney experiences. They interspersed video into their acts with one clip showing a skipper, dressed as Indiana Jones, breaking into the Aladin Show next door and stealing the magic lamp while yelling, "This belongs in a museum." Another funny video gave a tour of California Adventure on it's first day of opening, pointing out failures such as the Superstar Limo saying, "That should be around for at least a year and a month." One former skipper discussed the stereotypes he found reinforced while working for Disney. He came to believe that desperately waving both hands in front of a Chinese driver on Autopia must mean, "Speed up and run me over" in his native language. And he proudly identified with the white redneck who wondered if the water on the Jungle Cruise was real. Myths such as Walt Disney's frozen head was buried under Sleeping Beauty's Castle were dispelled. Apparently his whole frozen body is part of the Indiana Jones ride, and it looks suspiciously like the frozen Han Solo from Star Wars.

Overall, it was a great night, with a lot of laughs both in and out of the comedy club. What a treat to have my husband plan a very fun evening (childcare and all)!

Homeschool Day at the Aquarium

On the way to the Aquarium today, Chandler asked me how many kids are homeschooled. I told her it was about 3,000,000, which she thought was a very large number. When we arrived, she told me she thought they were all there!

It was that crowded.

What did I expect for $6 admission? Oh well, it was fun hanging out with other homeschool families and seeing the delight on the kids faces as we experienced some fascinating animals. My favorite one was a seahorse that looks like a plant. I think God has such an awesome sense of humor as well as an amazing ability to create what seems impossible!

Days like today, make me glad we homeschool. Even with the crowds, I was so glad to be there and experience so much alongside of my kids.

Wanna know how to vote?

If you have questions about the propositions or judges, Dennis Prager recommended this site on his radio program today, so I share it with you: http://www.robynnordell.com/onestop.aspx

This is from a decidedly Republican/conservative viewpoint. If you are a Democrat/liberal, it will tell you how NOT to vote, I guess!

Mouse Adventure

O.K., so we didn't win... again. I'm getting tired of not winning. We always do well, but never win.

I was quite nervous this time. It was an Amazing Race style scavenger hunt put on by MousePlanet.com, and the last time they did this, we fell too far behind and didn't finish. That's the only time we did not at least complete every quest. This time, it was another Amazing Race type event, with at least 10 miles of walking over 7 hours!!

We started off strong. The first quest was to identify numbers from the Main street area. These were fairly easily found (i.e. how many cannons are there?) The numbers were recorded and added up. The correct answer got us our next quest. This allowed us to choose, "Train or Twain?" We chose train and had to answer two more number questions while on the train, then plug all the numbers into a very cool grid of letters connecting them with lines. We were to cut along each line and we either got our next clue or a lot of confetti. Fortunately, we got our next clue, and proceeded to Buzz Lightyear. Tim had to compete against another team for the most points while the rest of us answered question mostly around TomorrowLand. The answers eventually led us to a locker and a compass that led us to the Tiki Room. (Fritz is the last bird to speak, by the way, if you ever need that information for a similar trivia quiz.)

The day continued pretty well until we got to a very maddening quest. We were to use the compass to find different locations around California Adventure and then answer questions about things found in that location. If the compass actually pointed north, it might have been easier. The answer to each question gave one digit of a phone number. When we just could NOT get the last number, we decided to guess. With the two quarters included with the quest, we began calling. Fortunately, the quarters were returned if there was no answer. The 8th try gave us a recorded message about our next step - the ferris wheel.

Jenny is deathly afraid of heights, but she cowgirled up and jumped on (eyes closed the whole time). From that height, we found the order of the "mountain" rides at Disneyland and also spotted 3 umbrellas with a number on each. That became important to figuring out the next clue - unscramble shonrcesp. (You try it!!) It looked like "princess" to me and apparently I was right! That led to the final quest, which unfortunately, we were not able to finish as we ran out of time. Too bad, because it was very easy questions like what is the north-most statue surrounding Walt and Mickey or how many items on the Hungry Bear menu.

Oh well... We're probably out for the spring unless Jenny wants to buck up at nine months pregnant. We could wheel her around I guess... maybe get her one of those cool Segways! We'll see.

Halloween Preview

Today, Chandler and Regan went to a Halloween event at Life Center with my parents. They brought their friend Ashley Bambrick along as well.

Here are some preview pics of what they will be wearing come Tuesday, except for Ashley. She borrowed Chandler's costume from last year.

I think they look fantastic.

Also pictured is my mom, Sharon Peeters and a family friend, Bonnie Flores.

Revolution - a man's church

I am always a little leery when women become the primary participant in religion. I know that nationwide, women are far more likely to attend church, volunteer, and be involved in religious things. It's going to sound a little sexist of me, but I don't believe this is the way it supposed to be. I believe men should be the ones leading the charge and their families into a relationship with God.

That said, I am particularly sensitive when there is an open call in a church service for any kind of participation and it appears only women are answering.

This morning was definitely different. We wrote poems to God that formed the acrostic ADORE. There was an invitation to read your poem and at first only women were reading. I was silently praying, "Please men, someone, stand up and show us what a man of God looks like." After three women read, up went the men! I was so excited to see man after man, unashamed to acknowledge his love for God, read poem after poem. Of all the poems read, most were from men.

All the poems were moving and touching and I appreciated each one. The women, as well as the men, did an awesome job of adoring God. The best part for me came when we were asked to place our poems on a large cross in the center of the room. The first six people to rush up were men. How cool is that!!

Way to go men and women of Revolution! It is awe-inspiring to see so many love and serve God openly, without hesitation.

Since it's short, but certainly not the best I heard today, I'll share mine here:

Always faithful
Desiring relationship
Ongoing friendship
Relates to me and my experiences
Eternal love

Welcome Malia

We went to the hospital tonight to welcome little Malia Faith Velarde to the family. She's so cute and tiny. You forget how small they can be. Chandler and Regan were so excited that we were able to sneak them into the hospital. They've been anxiously counting down the days!

So I know it's been a while...

I know I haven't blogged anything for a while.

I have used the excuse that I didn't have anything to say, but that's not really true. The truth is, I've been in front of my computer so much lately, that sitting down to blog didn't sound fun. Well, I've been in front of my computer ALL DAY today, but I had a few minutes and enough people bugging me, that I thought I'd jump in again.

Since my last blog:

I have met Caleb Marchessault, and by now so has everyone else.

I celebrated my sister Lori's baby shower for her newest addition-to-be, Malia. (Still no word yet on her arrival.)

I had a fantastic meal at Claim Jumper with a lot of cool women to wish Jenny Platt a happy birthday.

I met with David Trotter to talk about upcoming events that need graphic representation. (I'm just finishing a cool self-promotional piece using families that attend Revolution. I think it looks very interesting and different from anything Revolution has done in the past. But that's O.K. We're different than we have been in the past.)

I attended a Kid's Training put on by Jenny Platt. All the Blast Off leaders did songs with hand motions and there weren't even any kids in the building.

I went to Riley's Farm with the Bambricks and saw a really cool reenactment of Revolutionary times in the freezing cold. (It was in the 40's and we weren't prepared.)



I did 3 photo shoots with my dad. Favorite pic here:



(Says Dave Peeters Photo because I downloaded the low res off his website.)

Tonight I'm going to a Mom's Night Out at Dawn Bambricks house.

So there it is. Everything I would have blogged about if I had had the time and energy. I plan to get back into it and do a much better job than this.

LOST is back!!

Tonight, we joined the Bambricks for a "Welcome back LOST" party. Of course, at the mention of the word "party" Rick went into full gear. He planned an amazing Lost-themed menu that was so cool.

First we had Jin's sushi served with tropical fruit.
He followed it with Sun's fresh greens salad and green beans.
We had Charlie's poppy seed muffins.
Hurley's fried chicken was the main course.
And last, but not least, was Claire's peanut butter cookies!

What an awesome evening! What great planning! What amazing presentation! This guy has way too much time on his hands.

Free TV to a good home

We have a 27" television that is only a few years old, and it needs a new home. We received a 33" set from my parents and now our very nice, in-good-shape TV is available to anyone who needs it.

Let me know!!!

Chandler the Photographer

Apparently the photography genes run deep in our family. Here are some pictures Chandler took. They are amazing, if I do say so myself.

More Hawaii News

The girls are having a terrific time in Hawaii. This afternoon, they went parasailing! How cool is that! I'm very jealous and I do miss them. Fortunately, email and cell phones are keeping us in constant contact. It's great to get the photos. Almost makes me feel like I'm there... almost.

Diet Update II

I got on the scale today, like a do everyday, and all of a sudden, I'm down 4 more pounds!! So I'm up to a total of 6lbs and 10 for the year. At least I'm going in the right direction.

Off to Hawaii

Unfortunately, I'm not the one off to Hawaii. Chandler and Regan got a very special surprise from their Papa when he announced a couple of weeks ago that he was taking them to Maui. He got a wonderful deal some time back and had kept it a secret until recently.

So, I am missing them, but I already have photos so I can see what a good time they're having!!

Regan and the Bear

Regan turned 10 last Thursday!! Incredible! Double-digits! This milestone gave me the push to do something I've wanted to do for a long time.

Ever since she and Chandler were born, I've been taking their picture with a large stuffed bear on their birthdays. I've been wanting to compile them in one place to see the progression, and here it is for Regan.

The first picture is her at 1 month. After that, she is one, then two, then three. Unfortunately, I either didn't take the photo for her seventh and ninthbirthdays, or I can't find them. Either way, my heart is breaking that I don't have those years to include.

Here is the year over year progression. Wasn't she a doll?!