june

 I was doing so well until I was waiting to get something from Mark's computer.  Three months later, it still hasn't happened and I think I will move on as best I can. He had Sarah performing at her spring/end of school performance.  She did really well.
When mom came down and left all of the cloths, Alex and Annadele had a blast going through all of their new things.

The picture with Annadele sitting on the bench, is when Jessica and her cousin dressed her up.  They thought she was so cute, and I thought it was great they wanted to

play with her.  She was a life size doll to them, but she couldn't wait to see them again if only for a few minutes.

So my big day finally came in June.  Mark and I were sealed together.  It was so nice to have family and friends come share our special day.  But Kimi came a couple of days before, and we had a night out on the town.  She has only been to Vegas once before, and too tired to really see much.  We still didn't have time for everything, but she got to see a lot more than just the M & M factory.  We started out at Bellagio.  I always love the atrium, and the fountains.  Then we saw some of the mall at Caesar's, and the volcano at the Mirage.  We walked over to the Venetian to see some of the painting on the wall and the gondola rides.  They had something like a carnival going on with violist, and dancers, and clowns.  After walking all of that way we were going to meet Mark for ice cream at Ghiardeli's.  But they are doing construction right where it was, so we had to go to plan B.  We went to Love it Custard.  Kind of a scary part of town, but the custard is so good.


The day of our sealing, we had to be to the temple by 6:45 am.  That meant we needed to leave by 6:15 am, which means I had to be up at 5:00am.  I was so nervous.  I don't know why, but it was just like getting married all over again, but better.  I don't think Mark or I slept much that night, we were already awake when the alarm went off.  I read the paper work the day before, and realized we were supposed to have escorts.  So I asked mom and Michael if they wouldn't be our escorts to the temple.  They said yes which meant they had to go to the temple with us.  As soon as we were walking towards the temple, I could feel the spirit so strong.  I was already getting tears in my eyes and we hadn't even gone through the doors yet.  I knew then it was going to be a spirit filled day.   I don't remember a lot of the details.  I know I got to use the brides room, and it was sad to tell them my girls weren't going to be there.  But it is okay.  They are already taken care of.   It was fun to walk into the sealing room and see all of these faces we know and love be there to support us.  I am so grateful to those who could come.  I know we were given some great advice, and I cried a lot.  But I don't really remember what was said.  But I do remember the feeling of being extremely happy, and at peace.  I feel like there were spirits on the other side cheering us on.
We had a little get together afterwards, a little brunch.  It was fun to see Uncle Bob and Glenna Gay.  The sad news was to find out that Aunt Glenna is having heart flutters.  It was fun to see Katie and Steve, and their three boys.  I am so grateful to Mark's parents for putting it together for us while we were at the temple.  And it provided snack food for the entire weekend. 

The end of June we flew to Toronto, Canada for Lenard, Mark's cousin wedding.  I have never been to Canada, and most of the family who lives there I have never met.  I was a little nervous and excited.  We got to the church at least an hour before the ceremony.  It gave us an opportunity to walk around the church, and get a bench near the middle.  I was glad I had my diaper bag with snacks, and books.  It was a long time to wait and right during lunch time for my toddlers. It was a nice ceremony.  They even did something to represent the Filipino culture.  They drape a shawl over both of their heads and pin it to their shoulders.  It was nice
to see something from Marks background.  The only thing I didn't like were all of the people whispering, and texting on their cell phones while it was happening.  It was mainly the younger generation, but I thought it was inappropriate to be doing in the church, during the wedding.  The reception was later that night.  We were able to get  lunch and a nap in before we went to the reception area.  It was a great reception. They had gone all out.  The only thing I didn't like is that everything was drawn out.  They did appetizers, and a picture show.  Then the main dish, and a toast by someone.  The one really cool thing is that they had this violinist come play.  He was amazing.  He played so hard the bow was falling apart, but he gave Lenard and Niki the bow after he was done.  It started at 7pm and they barely had dessert at 11pm.  My kids were so tired by then, and I was a little disappointed because I wanted to dance some more but say la vi.

The next day we wanted to see a little of Toronto. We saw a little of their China town.  Mark ordered some really yummy dumplings.  Then we went down to the lake and saw some of the boats.  They were doing some kind of street fair.  The girls were able to get their faces painted for free.  It was fun to see all of the different designs the artist were creating.  We even ran into a cart giving away free ice cream sandwiches.  How cool is that.  It was a great time. 

Monday we took a drive to see Niagara falls.  It was a beautiful day.  It was a little chilly, but it was so gorgeous.  I can't believe all of the water that goes over the falls.  It was so pretty.  I am glad my girls got to see it.  Then we drove into town.  They have dinosaurs as part of a mini golf.  They had an arcade we went into, and played some games.  We got ice cream.  It was a fun day. 
We flew back to Vegas on Tuesday, but I think we all had a good time. 

California Dreamin

It started out a little rocky going to California. Alex had been sick to begin with, but on the way she threw up twice and had diarea.  Poor little thing, but she actually slept most of the way going and was pretty cheerful in spite of being sick.   We were so excited to be with the Sharp's.  Rusty was a little nervous of us all, but he did okay.  Friday morning we went to the park that is close to Amy and Mike.  The girls had fun playing on the slides, and having a little picnic.  It did get a little windy, but I thought it was perfect park weather. 

 That night Mike watch all of the kids so Mom, Melodee, and I could see Amy in "The Music Man".  It was so  much fun.  I haven't had a night out with the girls in a long time.  The play was so good.  Amy was terrific.  I was impressed with all of the costumes, and the sets.  Everything was so well done.  It was like a professional production.  Amy did a great job as Marian.  She is so talented.  It was nice to see her using her talents in such an expressive way.   Mom was making hooting noises as we cheered her on.  But Amy said the night we went was the best audience.  Yeah for us.

 

Saturday morning we went to Morgan's Farm.  We ate some yummy blueberry pancakes.  They had a wagon and buckets for you to go out and pick some fresh fruit.  We picked strawberries and blueberries.  They were so yummy.  Got a love fresh fruit.

 They had beautiful flowers and a little maze to go through.  They had a big trampoline that was fun to jump on.  There was even a little petting zoo.  Although most of the animals you couldn't get too.  But the kids had a great time seeing chickens, goats, ducks, peacocks, turkeys, and I can't remember what else.  It was a fun time had by all.

  

Emma and Annadele had a great time playing with each other.  They had fun dressing up, and pretending to be princesses.  The majority of the trip this is how we found Melodee, fast a sleep on the couch or bed.  She was having a hard time adjusting to the time change after coming home from China.  But when she was a wake it was fun to hear of different little things she would remember about Matt's wedding, and her visit.  

 It was so hot on Monday that Amy blew up the little pool for the kids to play in.  Emma and Annadele thought it was the next best thing to ice cream.  They loved having Grandma Ann spray them with the hose.  Alex and Vivian, however, didn't enjoy it at all.  When Amy put Vivian's foot in, she immediately started crying with protest.  Alex wasn't much better.  She was happy to just sit on mom's lap and watch her big sister and cousin.  The water was too cold for her. 

,

 Tuesday before we got on the road, we went to the river walk park.  I don't know the real name, but that is what we called it.  The kids liked the swings and slides.  My kids thought it was great to see squirrels running around.  It was fun to see Annadele and Emma running hand in hand checking out the water and pretending there are alligators in there.

We got back to Las Vegas with out incident.  That night Mark had arranged for me to see the bishop.  We talked about the girls being sealed to us.  He read from the church hand book about that issue.  From what I understand, the girls are sealed to me.  I don't think they have to come to the sealing because of this.  The most important part is for Mark and I to be sealed to one another.  So June 9th is a go.  We are moving forward with our plans.  

Do you want the good news or the bad news?

So I called the temple to schedule our sealing.  They only had 3 time slots left for June 9th, 8am, 6pm, or 7pm.  Kimi is trying to come, but needs to leave that evening so she can be home for a farewell of some good friends.  So I chose 8AM.  Little did I know that I need to be at the temple at 6:45AM!  I am barely opening my eyes at 6:30, and you all know I am not a morning person.  But I hope I will be excited, and it will counter out any orneriness I might have.  When the lady sent me the e-mail with the information, I found out Sarah could be there.  I didn't even think that was possible.  I am so excited she can be apart of this special day. We had stake conference this weekend, and Mark even ran into her bishop.  He was able to tell the bishop that we need to get Sarah in for an interview so she can come to the ceremony.  What timing is that.
Now for the kicker.  Apparently because I never canceled my sealing with Brandon (which I was always counseled not to do unless I was being sealed again), Annadele and Alexandra were born under the covenant to me and Brandon.  Whatcha you talkin' about Willis?  I am still a little dumb founded over this.  I have such mixed emotions.  Yeah! my girls are sealed to me, but with my ex not good.  So apparently, we need another letter from the first presidency to get a cancellation for them.  It all sounds crazy to me.  And of course our bishop chose this week to go out of town.  It has taken so long to get to this point.  Now I don't know if we will be able to be sealed on June 9th.  Please say prayers for us.  It just seems there are always obstacles in the way. 

Something good that happened this week.  Alexandra gave us an honest to goodness kiss on the cheek.  She only did it once, but it was so great.  She usually just leans in her head so you can kiss her, and that is how she gives love.  So to have her actually have her kiss us was a special treat. 
Other than that my kids have been home all week just trying to get over colds and sicknesses.  Annadele woke up Saturday morning with diarea.  Leaked it all over the carpet in our room, in the hall til she was in the bathroom and we could change her.  Gotta love being a parent.  But I still love it.  And I have been cleaning like crazy.  Just trying to spring clean and get organized.  That and mom is coming to visit.  Not that she would care, but it is an extra incentive.

It is finally happening!!!

I have really good news.  We got our letters of clearance and cancellation.  I am so excited.  I never dreamed it would be this fast.  I was even contemplating trying to have our sealing earlier, but I think it will be best if we just keep June 9th as the date.  How cool will this be that I get to be sealed on the same day we were married.  At least I don't have to try to remember two different dates. 
We have been having some crazy weather here.  Last Saturday we were supposed to go to a birthday party for a boy in our ward Brenner.  It got moved to this Saturday because it ended up being cold and rainy in the 60's.  Well this Saturday we had total opposite weather.  It was sunny and 95 degrees.  This is too much of a jump for my body to handle.  I think too much for my girls too because they both have colds now.  We had a good time at the party but I tried to stay in the shade as much as possible.
Back at Christmas time, I was asked if I wouldn't join the ward choir.  They are always looking for people to come sing, and support them.  Of course I said I would, so Mark stays home with the girls so I can go.  Our Stake President has decided this year that he doesn't want any rest hymns in our sacrament programs.  He wants the wards to have musical numbers from the ward to perform.  So the choir is performing about once a month to help with this.  We have also had all of the different programs like primary, young women's,  young men's, all of the men, and soloist.  We have even had some amazing instrument pieces.   I think our ward music director is getting desperate because she has asked me to sing a solo.  She twisted my arm, but I said yes.  I tried to tell her I have a choir voice not a soloist voice.  But she prevailed.  I told her I don't have music so to pick a song for me.  So we will see.  I don't even know when they want me to do this.  I hope it is not too soon because I will need to practice it to death.  I know I will be nervous.  Being in front of people is not my cup of tea, but we are not supposed to hide our talents under a bushel.  I hope I am not sorry I said yes.
I have these knots in my shoulder blades, and on my left side it was throbbing.  So much so that it woke me up in the middle of the night on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Mark tried to message me, and it helped a little.  He was a real sweet heart and got me an appointment with the message school that is close to our house.  Oh how I wished I lived in Utah so I could call Manda.  The session was good, but when she was working on my shoulders, I was clamping my teeth because it hurt so bad.  It was a good hurt but it still hurt.  When she realized she was hurting me she backed off her pressure.  I just wanted her to get at those knots.  I can't remember the last time I had a message.  It was so good.  I think more than once a year is in order. 

Art and Easter

I keep thinking we haven't done any thing or there is nothing new going on, but then I remember little things that have happened. A couple of weeks ago Sarah's school had an art night. It said to dress to impress. The girls thought it was fun to get all dressed up in their Sunday clothes. They had the students art displayed up and down all of the halls. Sarah had a special place since one of her art pieces was chosen as artist of the month. They had students serving hors d'oeuvre. One thing that I thought was cute, they had students dressed up as characters from history. They had pretend buttons to push, and then they would tell you a little bit about their character. It was supposed to be like a museum. Like Night at the museum. I think the art was being used as a fund raiser for the school. But we never found out what they wanted for it. I guess we are to cheap, or to poor, or maybe a little of both. They even had live music going on in different parts of the school. One of Sarah's friend was playing the harp. We had a good time.









Sarah had spring break this last week. I had forgotten that she would be with us during the day. I didn't really plan anything. But we did go to In-N-Out for lunch on Wednesday. While we were there Alex had to wave and say hi to everyone, and Annadele said "Hi boys whatcha doin?" to a group of men having lunch there. Thank heaven they didn't hear her, but I thought I am in trouble if she is flirting already. We spent Thursday on the hunt for a dress for Sarah. Adele had bought the girls some Easter dresses, and Sarah's was a size too small. She could fit into it, but the problem is that I need it to fit her in June when we go to Canada for Mark's cousins wedding. She is growing so fast that I know I needed to try and fix it. We ended up going to two different Burlington Coat Factory's. The first store was a mess. We couldn't find the right sizes, or colors. I had brought all of the girls dresses in case I needed to trade them all out. The first store didn't have the right color. We ended up switching it to yellow, but at least it was the right size. Then we went to another store, and I couldn't find any dresses of the style we were looking for. I was about ready to change all of the girls dresses to a completely different dress. Just as we are leaving, I found the right dress in the right size and color. Hallelujah!! The only problem is that it was lunch time, and I had three hungry, tired girls. So I splurged again and we ate lunch at Pei Wei. But then the little ones were able to come home and take a nap. As did mommy, and I think Sarah read and watched TV. Then we colored Easter eggs that night at a family. It was the first time for Annadele and Alex. Annadele had fun with it, and I don't think Alex cared one way or another.
Friday, Mark decided to take Sarah with him for some daddy daughter time. The girls and I had been invited to Katherine Mellot's, a lady in our ward, house to color eggs with her and a few moms. It was a little crazy with all of the toddlers, but it was fun. The funny thing was watching Brenner try to eat the die. He kept wanting to put the spoon in his mouth, or try to drink from the cup.

Saturday, we went to an Easter Egg hunt that a church was doing at the school that is just down from our house. Although when we got there, there was no hunting for eggs. They had a face painting, and someone making balloon figures. They had a relay race going on for the older kids. There was a lot of people, and the lines were really long. We didn't stay to long. But we did try to get their picture taken with a bunny. Just like Santa, they were scared of the Easter Bunny, but at least we got Alex to say cheese. We left with Annadele wanting to get her face painted. I had remembered that Ethel M was having something at the cactus garden, so we decided to check it out. It was heaven sent. We got there at 11:40, and the event didn't start til 12 noon. So we took a tour, walking down their hall, and got a free sample of chocolate, and walked around the garden. I even saw a lizard run away. The good news is that they had some one making balloon figures, and face painting for free. And because we were there early, we didn't have to wait in line. The girls thought it was great, and so did mom and dad.

Easter morning was a bit of a rush. We have church at 9:00AM. I was in charge of the nursery snack, so I was cutting up strawberries and cheese. When Annadele woke up, we showed the kids their Easter baskets. It had a couple of trinkets, and candy I had bought the year before, but never gave them, and some puzzles I bought at Christmas time. I thought I had to be to church early because the choir was performing even though it was fast Sunday for us. We ended up only getting there 10 min. early. We had a nice day. The girls looked cute in their dresses. We had steak for dinner with some rice, and I made deviled eggs for my self. Oh I forgot to hide the eggs, but with Sarah not here, Annadele and Alex don't even know that I didn't do it. I am so grateful for my Savior, and his sacrifice. I am so grateful for my family. I can't wait for the day when we can be sealed together. I am so grateful for scriptures. I love the stories and the strength of our prophets of old. I enjoyed listening to conference. Unfortunately, I got sick Sunday and slept through most of it, but I have been trying to listen to a talk a day. I am so grateful for a living prophet and apostles. I feel so blessed to be a part of his church today.

Moving forward

We listen to this kids nursery songs in the car all of the time. So much so, that Annadele knows many of the songs by heart. I think she is adorable singing Daisy Daisy. What surprised me is that when she sings this in the car she for some unknown reason she will usually say "a bicycle built for Wally". I don't know why but when I recorded her she actually said two, and now corrects her dad when he says Wally.
We finally had our interview with the Stake President regarding my cancellation and Mark's clearance. It seemed to go really well. He asked if we supported each other, and loved each other. He even asked me if Mark was abusive, but I guess in this day in age he has to ask. He said the last one he did took 40 days. So if we don't hear from him, or receive our own letters in the mail, we are supposed to follow up mid May. If all goes well, we are tentatively planning to do it on our anniversary which is June 9Th. How cool would that be to be able to get sealed on our wedding day in the Las Vegas temple. It is even a Saturday. All I can say is it is in the Lords hands, but I really, really hope it can happen. If we are denied, then we have to wait another year before we can apply again. I am praying we don't have to wait, but again it is in the Lord's hands. I have to trust that he is in control.
Other than that we had a uneventful week, or at least I don't remember much going on.
Sarah was trying to use the blanket as a turban. She said she doesn't know how the Arabs do it. But I suspect they don't use a thick blanket. Alex is crying. She was crying on and off all night driving her mother crazy. I don't know what Mark is trying to do. We will leave it at that. I love my funny family.