The House, The Rehearsal, The Dinner, The Beach

This beach house was HUGE! I never even made it over to check out the other wing across the courtyard where my Uncle Kirk, his 3 boys (Jack, Andy and George), and my cousin Mick were staying. Ella and Addie loved that the outside walls were made of crushed seashells (Ariel shells according to Addie). I loved that my whole family was able to all stay together under one roof - such a treat. Cheryl arranged for us all to stay there and even made cute little signs showing us all where which rooms were ours. I must say she was the most thoughtful bride - instead of only worrying about herself on HER special day, she took time to do things like make little door hangers! She had arranged a little kid table with coloring books, crayons and princess PEZ dispensers at the reception and gave the girls a bag of Princess goodies for being flower girls - they came in handy on the drive home! I'll get to the wedding tomorrow, but I must say I am SO happy to have Cheryl in the family - we all love her already!
Back to the house :-), I kept finding new rooms and hallways that I didn't know were there. It was decked out in beach decor to the max and really made it feel like we were on vacation...and the view wasn't too bad either :-).

(side note...what is it with kids and Spongebob?! I don't let my girls watch it but on the rare occasion when they get to they think it is THE best thing ever...weird)
We arrived at the house from Orlando in the early afternoon and hung out and relaxed with everyone until it was time for the rehearsal. The location was gorgeous, but that evening was FREEZING. Luckily, the next night for the actual wedding was much warmer!

I didn't know at the time what they had planned for the white house for the actual wedding and loved it when I saw it the next night. Mike and I both loved all the Spanish moss hanging from the big trees!

Addie didn't do so well at being a flower girl during the rehearsal...I was very nervous about how it would all go during the real deal :-)! All she wanted to do this night was pick up leaves and put them in her basket.

After running through things so the violinist could get the timing down, we hurried back to the beach house where the dinner was being held. We mixed, mingled, met new people and ate tasty food.
my cousin Mick, Grandma, uncle Kirk, Mom and Mack

The 2 Dads...and a really cute baby :-)

It was only appropriate that we would end the night with a game of Scum - our family favorite :-).
Jack, Grandma, mom, Kayley, me, Mike and Andy

The next morning (wedding day!) I took the girls down to the water to get some wiggles out.

They were in heaven running around like the little crazies they are :-).

Christmas Cards

It's one of my favorite things about Christmas...sending and receiving Christmas cards!
If you want one from us and you aren't sure if we have your address, leave a comment with it (I'll delete it after I write it down).

FREE 8x10 Canvas

I saw this awesome deal on the blog Fabulessly Frugal. I just ordered one and the shipping is $14.95. If you are interested, I would make yours fast! No promo code needed, the deal is being offered right on the Canvas People website.

Our Trip to Disney World

Mike returned home from driving to and from CA Tuesday around 7pm. We waited for Kayley and Scott to arrive from Dallas (they had to work a full day, then drive the 4 hours here), loaded up and headed out to FL around 11pm. We kept the luggage out of the back of our car so we could keep the back seat folded down as a bed which was SO nice. We were able to take turns getting actual sleep all stretched out and the kids slept well in the car seats in the middle row. When morning arrived we were about half way there and stopped to stretch and load up some breakfast.

We finally got into St. Augustine around 3:30pm to drop Kayley and Scott off at the beach house where our family was staying and then we had to get right back in the car and drive 2 more hours to our hotel in Orlando. When we finally arrived we were ECSTATIC!!! We ate dinner, took baths and got in bed nice and early to be prepared for our big day at Disney.

Finally, we arrived!!! We took the ferry over to the park which was an exciting, but chilly, start to the day. And then rushed over to our first ride...Aladdin's Magic Carpets. (we used Ridemax again for this trip and I am a big believer that it is well worth the money, especially when you are trying to maximize your time in one day like we were)

After a morning of rides and catching a showing of Mickey's PhilharMagic (which was one of the surprise hits of our trip - Ella LOVED it), we picked up some lunch and went to Belle's Storytime (if you missed Mike's performance as the Beast, click here). Addie did not want anyone to touch her autograph book, except herself, and she colored dutifully away in it all afternoon. Ella, on the other hand kept a running tally of how many signatures she had collected.


We caught one of the day time parades on our way over to the Country Bear Jamboree (one thing we could have skipped - no one loved it). I braid the girls' hair like this quite often and have never really had anyone comment on it to me, but I had more moms ask me about it at Disney World...I'm hoping I've started a new trend :-).

We waited in line for an hour to meet some princesses...it made me really sad that the Princess breakfast didn't work out (I waited too long to call and make the reservations and it was all booked), but since Addie wouldn't let anyone sign her book anyway, I felt better about it :-)

Even Preston enjoyed meeting the princesses...especially Cinderella...she was definitely his favorite :-)!

Proof that there is a princess for everyone though, Addie finally warmed up to Aurora, check out her little expression :-)!

Preston was able to go on pretty much every ride with us! He and I skipped the carousel because I was trying to get him to take a nap (unsuccessfully) and I was worried the tea cups may be a little much for him, but other than that he was right there with us trying to take it all in. He was a trooper as usual. With only 2 20 minute naps, he smiled away.

This is what Preston looked like the whole day...spit-up on his face and eyes open wide in amazement :-).

A nice man took some pictures of our whole family for us.


Next up on the agenda...the Dream Along with Mickey show.

Definitely a good one, although Ella wasn't thrilled when Malificent showed up :-).

We waited in line for a long time for Dumbo, but Ella really wanted to go on it. Time for a Dumbo fast pass Disney World! Then off to meet Ariel.

The one ride we didn't get to go on that I was bummed about was Buzz Lightyear. When we went with our fast passes earlier in the evening they had temporarily closed it for some reason so when we went back at nearly 8pm, the fast pass line was long and we were all pretty tired so we went to find spots for the Spectromagic parade instead. The girls were beat, but I knew they would love it if they could hang on and they barely made it...and promptly fell asleep on the way back to the car.

Mike got this shot and I really liked how it not only showed the decorations and castle but ALL the people too.

Everyone was thoroughly exhausted that night...except Preston. He was awake the whole parade, on the ferry ride back to the parking lot, on the walk to the car, on the drive to the hotel and then lay in bed laughing instead of going to sleep. The girls were OUT. That's what a day at the most magical place on earth can do to you.

Mike aka: The Beast

We had a wonderful trip to FL and we are all thoroughly exhausted. We tucked the kids in at 6:30pm, Mike and I went to bed at 8:30pm and we all slept soundly as long as possible. Preston was only up for an hour before going back down for a nap and he has been sleeping 2 hours now. I have just started going through our pictures and I couldn't wait to post Mike as the Beast.
I hope you all find it almost as entertaining as the girls and I do :-)!
(I was trying to switch back and forth between video and pictures, but I caught most of it. I'm sad I didn't get on video Mike's attempts at roaring which Belle proclaimed were not loud and scary enough - it was Ella' favorite part)

So, we picked up some lunch and arrived early for Belle's story time to get a seat front and center. Mike was put in charge of taking pictures while I fed Preston his bottle. The show began...


Belle called some children up to participate on stage and then she said,
"...and the Beast. I see him sitting right there in the striped shirt and red hat!"
I was dying and Ella couldn't believe it :-)!

One From the Road

We made it to St. Augustine this afternoon and are relaxing in the AMAZING beach house my family is all staying in for the time being (the people Cheryl nannies for own it) and I just had to share the highlights of the trip so far...

Disney World was amazing and exhausting, but the best part of the day was Mike being called up to the stage during Belle's story time to be the Beast! If you know Mike, you know he would rather not have :-), but Ella's face watching him up there was priceless! Don't worry I have pictures and video of it to post when we get home.

Today I had quite a poop incident with Addie in a public restroom. Ella was in the stall with us and as I tried to figure out how to proceed without causing more of a problem, Ella said to me, "It's hard to be a mom!" I agreed whole-heartedly and thought, it must be bad for a 5 year old to come to that conclusion :-)!

We can't wait for the wedding tomorrow!

Some For the Road

As sad as I am to move that lovely picture out of the top spot, it must be done (can I just say that is exactly the type of picture I am most drawn to when I browse photographers blogs and I'm thrilled to have one featuring my own family!).
I'm tired, but it is just time for our adventure to begin. Mike returns from CA today only to turn around and head out for FL. I have been holding down the fort and trying to get everything cleaned and packed and ready to go at the same time, which isn't an easy task when you have 3 kiddos "entertaining themselves".
Sunday we skipped the first hour of church and then headed out. Not one good picture, but proof that we did make it :-).

We all needed to get out after a weekend at home so we went over to the West Oaks mall. We hung out at the Disney store and got really excited about Disney World, we said hi to Santa (Addie wasn't so sure at first but ended up telling him she wanted a cat), played on the playground and got some dinner. We went into the family restroom while there and they had a miniature of everything. Addie was so excited to use it all...too bad we can't install our own version at home!

All ready for school today (yes, it's the same oufit as church on Sunday, but she only had it on for 2 hours, right?). Doesn't Addie look like a sad little orphan? I let her pick out her own ensemble.

And Preston's favorite hang out place while down stairs...watching the trees and birds out the back window. I must say he is one adorable little guy :-)! And he's had a growth spurt, look how short the arms on his 6 month jammies are suddenly.


Enjoy the break from posting...I'll have pictures galore when we return!
I can't wait to see how everything turns out for Mack and Cheryl's wedding, and see them too of course!
(and in case you're wondering, yeeees, I am once again borrowing a dress from Mckell...what would I do without you Mckell :-)?!)

Our Picture Preview!!!

So, I just saw the pictures from our photoshoot with Janna and they are AMAZING!!!
She posted one of our pictures on her blog if you are curious :-).
Update...I just got one of my favorites! There were just so many great ones though. I just love the colors in this one.

See...Isn't she amazing?!?!? :-)

Dear Santa...

"Is it cold at the North Pole?"



Included on the wish lists this year: the new Tinkerbell movie, make-up, a Princess Fiona Barbie, Up, a real dog (hopefully a stuffed one will do the trick :-), Littlest Pet Shops, a stuffed cat, and of course, candy.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas :-)! Hooray!!!

Gold Star Girl

Friday morning came all too soon for me. I heard the kids around 7am and went out to see what was going on. My mom offered to get Ella off to school so I could sleep a little more, but I couldn't fall back asleep (I kept remembering things...like Ella needing a snack in her backpack, etc.) so I just got up and tried my best to wake up while my mom helped me. That afternoon was Ella's Thankful party at school and she really wanted us to come. I was feeling a little sick by the end, but it was fun to see her interacting with all her little friends from school (and I even managed to sleep a couple hours that afternoon thanks to a Dora DVD keeping Addie entertained downstairs while Preston napped).
Preston was entranced by the rain that morning.

As soon as we walked into her classroom, Ella ran up to show me that she was on the gold star! She was SOOO proud of herself and I'm glad I was there that day to see it and share in her excitement :-)! They are green the majority of the time and get moved down to yellow when misbehaving (and red if it's serious), but to get on the star they need to be caught doing something exceptionally nice or being especially well-behaved. (since they alternate days in different classrooms the teachers had to have something that could move with the class)

The kids decorated cookies to look like turkeys, had a couple games to play (and got prizes after) and had 2 crafts to work on as well. It was a lot of fun packed into 45 minutes. The toughest part for me was getting Addie situated and playing with something that she couldn't break or cause a disaster with (she was of course immediately drawn to the big bins full of seashells and buttons). She read for a little bit and then Miss Torres told her she could play with the bears and she was in heaven. She was mad that we had to leave before she had finished her little set up. Preston was tired, but happy that he could see everything that was going on and be a part of the action. Ella LOVES to show him off to her friends and make him smile :-).

Ella and Miss Torres (who teaches her on her Spanish day)

New Moon Fun

So, last fall I became slightly obsessed with the Twilight series...
ok, ok, I definitely needed some counseling, but at least I can admit it right?!
I hadn't really wanted to read the books and when I finally gave in (reading all 4 in 3 days time) I LOVED them. I then read them again and then read Twilight one more time while I waited for the movie to come out. I was understandably majorly disappointed with the movie...SO many things were wrong. We did have quite a girls' night though and we were all excited about New Moon this year.
I could tell from the trailers that they had put more money and effort into this one and I loved almost everything about it (except can they get Edward to hit the gym PLEASE before they make movie #3...seriously dude, you know you have to take your shirt off and you are supposed to be a vampire comparable to marble...not sickly, withered, and hairy...so get to work!). I still have obsessive issues with Twilight...I can't read the books, listen to the soundtrack or watch the movie without partly going back into my "I just want to run away and be a vampire" funk, so it had been over a year since I read them and I think that helped me not be too overly critical of the movie this time around.
I do think that overall this movie followed the book much better, the acting (especially at the beginning of the movie) was much better, the special effects were much better, and the cinematography was much better. I loved the colors in the scenes in Italy, I thought Aro was perfection - just what I imagined, Jacob was awesome, the wolf scenes were amazing, and Bella managed to not start irritating me until about half way through.
It was a fun, but exhausting night. I got home at 4am (because the true fans hit Denny's afterwards for more discussion) and I am just not cut out for all-nighters anymore! Mike left that day for California so my mom came to my rescue and spent the night at my house and helped me in the morning as I tried my best to wake up. I would have been heart-broken if I'd had to miss the show after all the anticipation, so thanks mom!!! (she and Hope also babysat for 5 hours yesterday while I went to work...I owe you guys!)

Most of our group met up at Mckell's last night. As I walked up to the front door I found this sign...

First photo-op of the evening :-). I really felt like I was going into this movie as a more mature fan, and apparently so did everyone else. No shirt-making, no driving in fast cars, just heading over to the theater.
Mckell, Allie, Leighanna, April, me and Emily (boo to Leighanna and April for having private blogs :-)

After the craziness we endured at Cinemark last year, Emily had the brilliant idea to head to the Alamo Drafthouse for the movie this year. It is a theater that serves food and drinks, and because of the drinks has an age requirement. This meant far less crowds, fewer teeny-boppers gushing over Edward and Jacob during the movie and a less-claustrophobic theater atmosphere because every row of seats had a table in front of it for your food.

It was almost a perfect scenario, except somehow I ended up sitting on the end of the line next to a 50-something year old woman who yelled out inappropriate things to Jacob during various parts of the movie, which was wrong on so many levels.
We ordered food and chatted while waiting for the movie to start. I ran into Ella's preschool teacher from last year too, it's so funny to see just how many people love these books.
Shannon and Cathy met up with us later at the theater.

I was very disappointed that half our group didn't stick it out and go to Denny's after the movie this year. I figured, I'm already going to feel like crap in the morning, so why not live it up :-).
Allie, Emily, April and I had a great time and since there wasn't as much to complain about this year,
we actually mostly just had fun girl talk instead.

Who's ready for Eclipse?!?!

Getting On With It

I'm still recovering from going to the midnight showing of New Moon Thursday night...but I am excited to blog about it.

So, let's get on with the week leading up to the big night.
Mike trimmed some of our trees and the girls have spent hours playing in the downed branches.

We still have one more big one behind the garage and they love to use it as a fort.

Sometimes by the end of day things feel like they are falling apart.

The kids are getting grumpy and tired, my patience is wearing thin, and it's all I can do to get through getting everyone bathed and in their jammies. Once we survive it though I love to read the girls their bedtime stories and let the calmness return. I'm glad Mike got this picture of the nice part of our night. I just hope that this is what the girls remember when they get older...and not the tense, and sometimes traumatic, hour it takes to get there.

Thursday was an exciting day for me...New Moon that night of course, but it was also our first day to head back to a gym. I signed up for 24 hours fitness and I am SO excited to have a place to workout again!!! Addie and Preston both did great on our first morning there.

And some VERY messy kiddos.

Is there a good trick for eating pomegranates that I don't know about? I'm guessing the girls wouldn't like them as much if they didn't get to get all messy eating them though.

Great-Grandpa Freeman

Louisiana trip, 2006 - my favorite picture I have of him...
his hat, his suspenders, his wave, his hand holding with Grandma.

Mike's dear grandpa, Thomas Leslie Freeman, passed away this week.
I want to be sure that our children are able to know a little bit more about the kind, loving and wonderful man their Great-Grandpa Freeman was during his life on earth.
(and it is written to them, so Dad=Mike, etc).
Since I only knew him and grew to love him over the past 7 years, I gathered up some of my favorite things that others have said about him, along with our pictures.

I remember meeting Grandpa for the first time and thinking he was just the cutest little man I ever saw - just what you would imagine a sweet grandpa to look like if you could design your own. I remember his cute hats. I remember finding out that he loved Pepsi and immediately knowing I fit in with this Freeman family :-); I'd been raised among Pepsi drinkers. I loved his voice and I especially loved watching him and Grandma Freeman together. I am thankful that he was able to meet each of you children and I'm especially thankful for the chance that Dad, Ella and I had to travel with him, Grandma, Meema, Papa and Chloe to Louisiana. To be shown around the state they grew to love on their missions and to get to have that time to get to know them better. I am glad that Dad will be able to travel to CA to be at his funeral and join in with the many, many children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren that loved him as they celebrate the life of such a remarkable man.

Some of Dad's thoughts:
Grandpa was the first person I've know intimately that has ever passed away. I feel reminiscent, nostalgic; I don't feel sad. I loved staying at his house in the mountains of Oakhurst and catching fish, ducks, frogs and snakes with my cousins. I loved Grandpa's pancakes in the morning. I loved that he stopped the ice-cream man. I loved going to New Orleans and visiting the people he served on his mission. I love that he always had Pepsi. I love that he came with us to the first A's game ever in Houston. I love that I have not one bad memory of Grandpa. Honestly. Grandpa was a great man.

4 generations of Freemans

I loved this picture when Papa posted it on his blog over the summer...Great-Grandpa walking away with his Pepsi in hand :-).

Meema gave a little of history with her memories of him:
"Tom and Lois fell in love over 61 years ago. She wouldn't marry him unless he was a member of her faith, so he decided to investigate it. Soon after, he was baptized a member of the LDS church and they married in the Temple. Together, they built a very happy life. Materially, they were comfortable, but if a man's wealth is measured in friends, loved ones and laughter, they were rich as kings.
Tom had the one thing I admire more than anything else in a person, true integrity. A man of his word, he did whatever he committed to do. He was an exemplary family patriarch over 5 children, 16 grandchildren, and 17 great grandchildren. He and Lois were exceptional parents, who produced an exceptional family; and each one of us dearly loves them.
Some of my favorite things about him are:
His laughter
His faith
He honored is wife and taught his sons how to treat their wives.
His love for his country and service in the US Air Force in WWII
He honored his priesthood.
He and Lois served 2 missions for the LDS Church, both in Louisiana
He and Lois were always there for the important events in our life.
He would invite us over and cook his special pancakes
Tom was rarely seen without a Pepsi in hand. Whenever he visited us, he would enlist the help of anyone who could drive to take him down to Tigermart for a Pepsi. From his hospital bed, he sent out for Pepsi. I just can't help but picture him in Heaven, holding a Pepsi."

A friend of the family, sent this note to Dad's cousin in CA:
"I am so sorry to hear of your grandfather's passing. He was and is a great patriarch and example for your family and a faithful member of the Church who truly endured to the end. He was one of the best missionaries in the Fresno Stake.
My dad and I had the opportunity to visit him last Saturday. It was such a sweet experience for me to see my dad holding his hand as he talked with him. Tom was alert and both Tom and my dad were able to express their love for each other. I will never forget the experience."

Great Aunt Jennifer wrote to Meema:
"Tom gave you a gift. He married a good woman, Lois, and raised a wonderful, righteous son that you would fall in love with and who treats you like a queen. That son has been a wonderful husband and father in your own family, and is the best brother-in-law I could ask for. Steve is the man he is, in many ways because of the man Tom taught him to be. What a wonderful gift Tom has given you, and all of us!"

Aunt Chrissy wrote of the wonderful legacy he is leaving behind:
"I am so proud of my heritage... my Grandma picked a good man.
Here's how I know:
...I know that each and every uncle, aunt, cousin, niece, nephew, brother, and sister
I have loves me, thinks of me, prays for me, and supports me.
I could not ask for a better family.
And I would not have any of it if it weren't for my Grandpa Freeman.
I love you Grandpa. Thank you for everything you gave us.
I will miss you terribly."

Dad's cousin Michele wrote beautifully about the time she was able to spend with him in the hospital. I think it is the perfect conclusion:
"I imagine he was telling me that he loved me and that he was proud of me (hopefully) and maybe giving me some advice to carry with me. Or maybe he was just asking for a kiss:) I could see in his eyes that he knew the message was lost. I promised to come back tomorrow and then kissed his forehead.
His spirit is not broken, just his body.
Stephanie pointed out that the feeling in his room is a very peaceful one. You know you are in the presence of a great man and the spirit is very strong where he is. There are many here who do not want to see him go, and many there who are anxiously awaiting his arrival.
So very loved is my Grandpa."

Feeling Stripey and Snappy

Ella has wanted to learn how to snap for quite awhile. Periodically she would ask me to show her how and we would practice a little bit, but she didn't seem to be making any progress. Last week she came to me ecstatic to show me that she could snap now!!! She is so proud of herself and I catch her snapping as she reads books or watches TV. Today she told out of the blue, "Mom, did you know Grandad couldn't snap when he was 5?!" I asked her if he told her that and she said, "Yeah, at my soccer game." That was over a week ago so it definitely made her feel good :-).

One of my favorite things about fall and winter are fun stripey tights for the girls :-). I tried to include Preston in the striped fun too though!

I was helping at Ella's school and tried to sneak a picture of her really quick :-). It was fun to be able to hear her practicing her Spanish pronunciations with one of the Spanish speaking moms in the hall (I was working on English sight words with some other kids).

The girls and I were having some fun last night before bed.
First, I captured Ella's laugh on video, per Christina's request. (I was pretending to crash into the dresser, hence the other weird noises)

It is super dark when we tuck them in now with the time change and we were laying on the floor looking at their glow in the dark stars and Ella wanted a picture. We took picture after picture trying to get all our faces in the shot and it was quite a challenge...the first picture is with no flash, it was black in there, I couldn't tell where the camera was pointing or where Addie was.

San Antone

It is SO nice having our parents both so close to us! It makes quick weekend trips possible, although we wish we could have stayed longer with Mike's family this time. The weekend was over before we knew it! Ella was shocked when I told her it was time to go and today Addie told me over and over again "I want to go to Papa's house!" and then burst into tears when I told her we wouldn't be going back for awhile. We are definitely looking forward to our Christmas visit!
First up are some pictures Meema took when she, Papa and Chloe took all the little kiddos on a train ride and a walk through the Tea Gardens downtown. Ella and Addie both told me about all the fish they saw.

And...
Earlier that morning Chloe did both the girls' hair.

Mike and I went out to brunch while they were on their little adventure. Once you have kids there is nothing like a quiet meal without feeding children or trying to keep them busy...it is heavenly...and almost boring :-).


Ella worked hard to prove that she was ready for a dog anytime I was...

and we ate lots of YUMMY meals-that I didn't prepare-one of my favorite part of our visits :-)!
Preston definitely enjoyed having some new places to explore.

Sometimes I forget that he is still so small because he is so dang strong and active. (The other night Mike was holding him while I got the girls in bed. Preston started swinging his little fist into Mike's chest and Mike told me Preston was actually "inflicting pain.")
I mean, look at this little guy!

But then I see someone holding him or I look at him asleep in his crib and I remember, "Oh yeah, he really still is just my little baby!"