C & H

The other day Charlotte and her BFF Heidi were playing, and this was the scene, which is very typical:

So as I'm sitting tonight, thinking about what to blog, I thought it would be fun to post pictures of my favorite twirling 4-year-old girls. From the time they were born, Charlotte and Heidi have shared the same love for princesses, Dora, baby suits (aka bathing suits) and other extremely fashionable outfits, dancing, Candy Land, and catchup. And fortunately I am a big fan of Heidi's mommy, which makes it even easier to let these cute girls hang out as much as possible. If you were to ask Charlotte if she would prefer to go to Disneyland or Heidi's house, it would be a REALLY tough decision... Aren't these girls adorable?

Cheaper and more fun than therapy...

18 years ago this fall (I'm so old) I drove out to BYU with my mom and dad to start my freshman year of college. I arrived at Stover Hall in Helaman Halls and knew NO ONE! Needless to say, I was a bit nervous. But it took a total of about 2 days to find friends that I somehow instantly knew would be my BFFs. Kjirsten was my roommate and I will never forget her walking into our dorm room for the first time, and we just hugged and there was no question that we were paired together for a reason. And it didn't take long for us to find more amazing friends -- Kelly and Kari from Georgia, Liz and Becky from Utah, and Lindsay and Amy from Chicago. After our fantastic freshman year, we all moved into 2 apartments across the street at "The Riv", which was our beloved home for another 1-3 years.

Here are the 8 of us in our full, early-90s glory! Ok - my hair was large, but I swear the wind made my awesome spiral-permed hair look even bigger than it truly was. That's at least the story I'm telling myself...



This past weekend was the first time we have been able to get together with MOST of us since we started to go our separate ways after our sophomore year. We missed you, Kari and Linds! And although much time has passed and we have had so many significant life experiences, it was like we were just as close as we were back in our Provo days. I love these girls. They knew me before I was Drew's wife or Scott, Charlotte and Trevor's mommy (not that those are bad things...). I'm sure you can imagine our weekend was filled with talking, laughing, shopping, a little sleeping, more taking and laughing, eating, sightseeing, followed by a lot more talking.

So much has happened to us all over the years... Between the 8 of us, our experiences include marriage, 27 kids, careers, divorce, autism, illness, lay-offs, and even the death of a child. As much as we laughed during our days together, I mostly just was in awe of my amazing sisters and how strong they each are. And I would add that they all look fabulous! I came home with new ideas and a renewed motivation to be a better wife, mother, sister, and friend.

I can't wait to do it again next year! Right, girls???

And I must add a big thanks to Drew for being Super Dad while I was away... The kids clearly had a fabulous weekend and didn't miss me much. I think this was a WIN-WiIN-WIN!

Apt. 10: Kjirsten, Kelly and Stace

Kj, Amy and Kelly

Crashing a wedding at Pebble Beach

Super cool matching Target PJs

So spoiled

My birthday was a month ago, so this post is LONG overdue... We got back from Arizona, and waiting for me on my answering machine were about 13 messages from friends calling to wish me a happy birthday! And then I got on my computer and I couldn't believe all the email and Facebook messages from TONS of people also remembering my birthday. And if that wasn't enough to make me feel loved, my dear Friday lunch friends gave me a Cocoa Latte machine with super yummy hot chocolate!



Today was cold and rainy so it was the perfect time to break out the Cocoa Latte and enjoy candy cane hot chocolate... There was a tiny moment today when I wished it was snowing outside while I was inside enjoying my fabulous birthday gift. So THANK YOU to all my wonderful friends for making my birthday special!

Fun at the Notley farm

Our awesome friends Jen and Charles (who in the near future will be moving from the Bay up here - yea!) invited us to hang out for an afternoon at Charles' parents' home in Orangevale earlier in October. Drew and I both knew Jen and Charles back in our single days in Palo Alto. By the way, once they do move up here, all of you living close by HAVE to hear this girl sing...

Sorry - back to the point of the post! Scott, Charlotte and the cute Notley boys, Henry and James, went on a hay ride, picked pumpkins and watermelons, fed the goats, ate cookies and brought home tons of pomegranates and tomatoes. It was great to meet "Charlie's" parents and they were so kind to entertain us for the afternoon. We weren't that far from our house in suburbia, but it felt like we were way out in the country. Thanks, Notleys!

First sleepover!

One evening we were together with the Heninger clan, and Scott invited Jacob, Jonah and Rebekah over for a sleepover. Of course this was completely his own idea and we had never discussed it. Then during the following week he typed out an official invitation (unfortunately I don't have a copy of it) and mailed it off. I believe the invite said somthing about coming over at 5:30 on Friday and playing lots of Boom Blox (a Wii game). Now in the back of my mind I'm thinking, "Are 10 and 8-year-old boys really going to want to have a slumber party with a 5-year-old?" But I talked with Laurie and she said they would LOVE it. Really? When the boys are together and are allowed to play Wii, they seem to have an absolute blast, so I figured it was worth a shot...

We picked up the Jacob, Jonah and Rebekah and went through the In-and-Out drive thru for dinner. Then after eating, the boys were just giddy playing Wii and Rebekah and Charlotte were completely entertained coloring and playing with Trevor. Then after some pumpkin pie, they all put pajamas on, got ready for bed, and went to sleep in Scott and Charlotte's room. It was a piece of cake! Maybe we should have the Heninger clan over more often! How about this Friday night?





I'm not quite sure how Charlotte ended up in the hall...

Babysuits

Charlotte and her BFF Heidi LOVE to wear their "babysuits", regardless of what the weather outside may be. Why did I bother to buy so many cute Gymboree outfits for this summer when all Charlotte wants to wear are a couple of cheap swimming suits from Target? But don't let this love of swimming attire fool you into thinking this girl likes the water... Stay tuned for next week's posts which I am 99.9% sure will be about the drama surrounding Charlotte's swimming lessons. If she gets in the water, it will be a HUGE victory. But at least she looks cute:

With friends like mine...

While I was in the hospital, my mom left on a long 3+ week vacation to Utah for a wedding, Colorado for granddaughter Laney's blessing, and New Hampshire to help Cindy move into a new house and prepare for grandson #3 arriving any day. She said she wasn't worried about leaving me to recover at home with the new baby and Scott and Charlotte because she knows my friends. She had no doubt that they would be there to help with ANYTHING I could possibly need. And she was SO right...

I have the most amazing friends. And this picture illustrates just ONE example of that:

Wednesday this week was a challenging day as I woke up with mastitis. Not fun. But about 8:45pm, there was a knock on the door, and there was Laurie C., bringing me what must have been a triple-scoop of Coppa Mista gelato, the most amazing food ever created on this earth. I didn't have to ask her to go get it for me... She knew I needed it - right then.

But that is just one of MANY examples of my special friends here. I love that they go above and beyond just saying, "Call me if you need me." Instead they say, "I'll be at your house at 5 with dinner" or "I'll pick up Scott after preschool and bring him back later in the afternoon" or "Bring Charlotte by on your way to the doctor, and then go to Target afterwards by yourself." I don't even have an opportunity to say "No". This gift to sense a need and fill it is a trait I wish I had, as I am more of the "Just let me know if you need anything" type of person.

So thanks SO much to all my incredible friends here in Roseville... And I know that had I been in a similar situation back in my BYU or Stanford days, that my dear friends who lived by me then would have responded just the same way. I have always been blessed to be surrounded by amazing women who I love and who love me like sisters.

Not quite Mary Lou Retton...

Starting a couple months ago, Scott and Charlotte began attending gymnastics class at The Little Gym. I guess it isn't so much gymnastics class as it is basic coordination and following instructions class. They both love it! Charlotte's class starts by singing a song while shaking bells. Then it ends with bubbles and stamps on hands, feet, and tummy. Those are her absolute favorite parts. So I hear quite often during the week, "Let's go to class and do stamps and bells and bubbles!" Charlotte gets a C+ for following instructions, but she is very good at swinging from the bars.

Stamps!!! By the way, that is a cow on her shirt... Just ask her.

Scott's class is especially fun, because all his friends (Rebekah, Zach, Ryan and Molly) are there, too. When Scott actually listens to the instructor and is not preoccupied with being silly with Zach, he does a pretty good job!

Last week was his very favorite because they did whale rides:

You turn your back for ONE second...

I learned a hard lesson recently. It is very, very important that if you are going to allow you children to go to other people's homes that you know those people extremely well. Look what can happen if you are not careful: