Rugby Movie

The movie Forever Strong opened this weekend. Randy wrote a couple of music ques for this rugby movie. He wrote one of the most difficult that was for the championship game. It's a fugue, like in Rocky, where you play the same melody together with one delayed but in different keys. (I think that's what a fugue is) Anyway, Randy did great job. They added some guitar and percussion to it to help it fit the rest of the movie. Randy's part is great, and if you wait to the very end you can see his name in the credits.

They also let us be extras in the movie. Sean Astin (aka Sam from Lord of the Rings, Rudy) is there in the middle of the stands. We are supposed to be watching a rugby game, but of course we're not. We got to pretend we were cheering, intensely watching, and disappointed for our Highland rugby team. My head is in the lower left corner. There is another shot where I stand up and leave, and you can see my entire head! They moved Randy to the back of the bleachers so you might be able to see his legs. These scenes go by very fast, even I wasn't able to find myself the first time. We had to rewind and pause it to find me.

Katie's Wedding

We sure had a nice time at my cousin Katie and Cory's wedding on Saturday. Our children enjoyed seeing the LA temple, but most of all they liked seeing Katie in her beautiful wedding dress. All of our girls sure thought she was pretty. Nathan liked climbing the fun tree on the temple grounds, and Marianne and Julene spent their time playing tag, hiding, and playing in the dirt. We tried to get them cleaned up enough for a family picture. The picture at the top will probably be our Christmas card, so you get a sneak peak. Sorry about the people in the background. I should have framed it better, but we are just happy to have a family picture where everyone is smiling.

Janae enjoyed the entire experience. I bet she is starting to plan her own future wedding. (Oh, she is getting so big!) They had a dance at the reception and Janae wanted to dance with her Daddy. It was sure sweet to see them together. We sure had fun visiting with family.

Disneyland

I sure love Disneyland. It is such a special place because it caters to families. The employees (cast members) are for the most part friendly and helpful, and I think that kindness rubs off on the other guests. I like watching people go to Disneyland that don't have children with them. These people get a thrill out of a place that caters to children. We thought it was funny to see all these adults want to get their picture taken with the different characters. There was a middle aged couple, that stood in line to see Winnie the Pooh, that seemed more excited to see him than our Julene. She had been counting down the days when she could go see Pooh.

Disneyland is one of the places where my children can act like children and people smile instead of act annoyed that their mother isn't doing something to stop their behavior.

September is definitely a great time to go. The lines were short except for the two new rides, and the weather was still really nice. We are so glad that my mother was able to go with us. It would have been very tricky with me still nursing a baby and Randy's funky arm. I wouldn't recommend going with a nursing baby, but it was better than one that had to be fed baby food. I took Jared on the Jungle Cruise and Storybook land, which was great because we were still outside. But he didn't like Pirates, Winnie the Pooh, and other rides in the dark. I shouldn't have taken him on any of those, but we wanted to do a few rides with all of the family.

We definitely had to go to Splash Mountain early in the day for Nathan, so he wouldn't keep on us to go there. (Grandma got soaked because they wouldn't let Nathan sit in the front.) We also went to the new Princess experience which was very fun (except for Nathan). They teach you how to dance and curtsy like a princess, then some real Disney Princesses come out and dance with you around a May pole. Sleeping Beauty even held Julene's hand. Then they have a line where you can wait to get your picture taken with 3 rotating Disney Princesses. Belle was not there when we were in line, so Marianne decide she didn't want to wait anymore. That would have been a long line to wait in. Of course we love the parades and watching all the characters. But Janae, Marainne, and Nathan couldn't get enough of Space Mountain. This was such a fun trip for our family. I know my children will be begging to go back again soon. They will just have to wait a few years.

Beach

Last week we went to southern California for my cousin's wedding, and of course we had to go to the beach and Disneyland. (more on Disney later) I love the beach! We don't get to go often but when we do it is sure fun. Maybe it's because there is no pollen at the beach and there is plenty of salt water to clean out those sinuses. :)

This trip didn't leave us much time for the beach, but it was still worth it. We drove from St. George to California and spent the evening at Huntington Beach. Randy thought we were going straight to the hotel so didn't get specific directions to the beach. He figured we should just go west and we would eventually run into it. He kept saying look over the next hill, and we will see the beach. The 4th hill we came to we saw a Costco. Our children thought that was sort of funny to drive that far and just find a Costco. After a little frustration, we came to Huntington Beach which coincidentally was our destination. We got there about 5:00pm. The wind was blowing and it was a little cool, but we didn't care. Our children loved playing in the sand and jumping in the waves. Julene hadn't been there before and was very excited. We only stayed a few hours. When we were cold, we headed to the hotel to swim in the pool. (to get the sand off)

Just Baby and Me

With everyone else at school this week, there were a few hours when it was just Jared and me. It seems so strange to be at this stage, but everyone is where they are supposed to be. My buddy Jared is the sweetest baby. He is so easy going. If he can see you he's content and will give a quick smile. I love to kiss his cute, soft cheeks. My picture doesn't do him justice. I'll keep working at it. My buddy is also very big. He is in the 95% for height, 75% for weight and head size. I don't seem to mind him being so big because he is so cuddly and snugly.

Nathan's Awards

Nathan received his Bobcat last week at Pack Meeting. He really is enjoying Cub Scouts right now and is excited to pass the requirements off. I don't know if the excitement will continue to last, but for right now it is just perfect for him. He likes setting goals of when he will do each requirement. It is satisfying to see his maturity. He also received a citizenship metal in his class yesterday. For ribbon week each class picks a person that shows good citizenship each day, and he was picked yesterday. We are so pleased that he has shown kindness to those in his class to be considered for the award.

Crazy Hair Day

Our School is having ribbon week with each day there is a designation of what to wear. Monday was green day and everyone had a green shirt, so everything worked out great. Yesterday was crazy hair day. Janae wanted loose hair that ends up on top of your head then sticking straight out. I didn't know how to do that so this is the best I could do.

It almost looks like a prom up do from the 90's, remember. Well it's crazy for her. We had some purple hair spray paint and tried it on Nathan, but it doesn't show up to well in red hair. So he went and washed it out in the tub and declared, (I'm not having crazy hair!) Which I replied was fine, you don't have to.

Marianne just wanted ponies all over and the purple paint showed up a little bit in her hair. Then Julene didn't want to feel left out and decided she wanted crazy hair too. So she went to preschool with crazy hair.

Later, when Marianne was getting ready for a soccer game, Daddy was helping her take out all her ponies. (I was with Nathan at clogging.) He got a few tangles and had to use the scissors to get them out. I was a little worried but I think it wasn't very much hair.

Today was red day and we had a harder time finding red shirts. I just don't buy red for my red headed children, which also means I don't pass them down to those who don't have read hair. Janae found a long sleeve shirt. It worked out okay because it is raining today. She didn't want her class to lose the special ribbon for having the most people participate. Nathan and Marianne just wore a shirt that has red on it. Tomorrow is Crazy Hat Day. They can just pick a hat we have. Friday is purple day. That's great for the girls, but like Nathan has or is going to wear a purple shirt. We'll probably look hard and find something with purple on it like we did for red day.

They always like this fun week of school, but sometimes it can cause extra trauma.

Daddy's Boy!

Daddy can hold Jared now! Randy's doctor said that he could now hold things that were 10lbs, well. . . what about the baby? The doctor said it was okay if he primarily used his left arm. We're very pleased Randy's right arm is healing so well. (Randy broke his right elbow in June and has had two surgeries a plate and 8 screws to help repair it. He still goes to physical therapy 3 times a week to see if he can get his full range of motion back.)

We have been so blessed with an easy baby that wasn't colicky or demands to be held all the time. Jared is easily comforted, and he doesn't always need to be picked up to be soothed. He smiles so readily and will even giggle now. The children still sometimes fight over whose turn it is to hold him or play with him. What a delight to have in our family!

Soccer!

We have had a fun fall soccer season. This is our first year with three players, and it hasn't felt too crazy. We decided Randy could only coach one team this year, and that has made a huge difference. He stuck with Janae's team this time. They are sure a lot of fun. Janae likes playing forward and scored a goal in her first game. Nathan also prefers forward and usually scores every game. (He has the most experience.) Marianne likes to have fun on her team. She stays pretty focused and gets some great kicks if she isn't distracted by her friend Claire.

1st Day of Preschool

Julene started our neighborhood co-op preschool today. It got to be at our house first, because I have had experience with the first week before. It makes it easier when you can use stuff you have done in the past. Julene was a little disappointed that she didn't get to "go" to preschool. Everyone else went away to school, so why not her. But once we got out all the supplies and her friends came she didn't mind anymore. This is going to be a great year! There are 5 girls and one boy. I felt bad for the boy because he would love to have a little friend, but this is how it worked out. Julene really liked painting today. We even painted again with Marianne when she came home from Kindergarten. I need to do more activities like that with my children because they enjoy it so much, and when I think about it so do I. I really had fun today focusing on these cute little children singing songs, reading books, and really interacting with them without any other distractions or priorities. They are just all so cute and excited to be together!

Nathan's Baptism

We are so happy Nathan decided to be baptized a member of our church. He has been so excited and looking forward to it for a long time. He also got a lot of support from his family. All his sisters were almost as excited as he was. We had his grandparents and great-grandparents there as well as some aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was so nice of everyone to travel to come see Nathan at this very special time.

We put together a slide show of Nathan's life so far. It was a lot of fun to do. We put it to the music of "Superman" (He was Superman 2 years in a row for Halloween.) He had so many funny and crazy pictures. He is our fun and enthusiastic boy. It's never boring with Nathan around. He likes to be doing, and have everyone involved. Every day is special when Nathan is there. He is a big tease, and we know he does it because he loves us.

Congratulations Nathan!