We're So GLAD When Daddy is Home!

I know we go to Disneyland so frequently over here that it probably seems pointless to actually document our experiences there once in a while. But it's not every day that Daddy gets a day off from work and can come with us. Thus, more pictures can be taken and we make more of a day of it versus our usual 1-2 hour jaunt over. So for Labor Day, we laboriously drove the 15 minutes to Disneyland and headed into the park for a little bit of family fun time. (WARNING: There are going to be a lot of pictures because I like them all - so run now or forever hold your peace).

Malia is so finicky about the characters at the park. Some days, she wants absolutely nothing to do with them. Other days, she wants to wait in a 20-minute line just to give them a hi-5. This day it was kind of off & on. Fortunately - we didn't have to wait in a line for her to "I wanna' hi-5" Chip. It was kind of a hit-&-run experience.

Pluto got all the action this time around. Maybe it's because she loves him. Maybe it's because his nose sticks out an extra 3 feet. Maybe it's because Mommy stood there with the camera shouting like a lunatic, "Kiss his nose! Kiss his nose!"

The one picture that I'm in. It was so muggy and warm that I was growing increasingly uncomfortably pregnant and pretty much avoided the camera after this point so that there would not be permanent proof of my miserable state.

Besides - David obviously poses much more entertaining...ly... than I do. Can we say possible predictions for the future? If Malia got anything from her Mommy, it's being a good offensive, er, I mean, DE-fensive driver...

We've reached a milestone! Malia was finally officially tall enough to go on her first roller coaster! She was so excited (I was probably more excited for her, but whatever). I just wish I could've gone with her. Darn "no expectant mothers" warning.

There were so many characters out this day. maybe because it was Labor Day so they anticipated large crowds. (It actually wasn't too bad... for Disneyland). But Malia had been asking "Where's Minnie Mouse?" ever since entering the park. We were fortunate enough to run into her within an hour. Malia is going to be Minnie for Halloween and has recently decided Minnie is her most favorite thing in the whole world because of it.

We went through Mickey & Minnie's homes for a little bit of AC, and this was the first time we actually decided to go see Mickey at the end because there was hardly a line. The family in front of us was ticking Mickey off. They were pushing and shoving and yelling... and even with that big ol' head, you could read in MM's body language that he was. not. coping. I'm always such a beaming proud mommy when Malia goes to see the characters because she is always polite and waits her turn and is slightly hesitant so they reach out to her and she runs to hug them. You can tell they just love her. Mickey stepped down to give her a big hug and didn't seem to want to let her go... probably out of fear of the next 100 possible hooligans he'd be encountering that day. Poor dude.
Malia wanted to "Go on the hodda coastah again!" so Daddy obliged. They got the front car this time which made it possible to get this cool picture. Dave was being such a good sport, acting like it was the best ride he'd ever been on.

But more exciting then that? Turns out you only have to be be 35" to ride the Matterhorn! So, yes. The wonderful parents we are, we sent Malia on a fast-winding, monster-riddled, dark, and scary mountain! David said she handled it really well. About 1/2 way through, she mentioned to him, "I'm done now. Ok, I'm done." But he said she never screamed or cried... just held on to his hands for dear life. She was such a trooper!
After we came home for Malia's nap, we then dropped her off at a friend's house who owed us a favor and David and I FINALLY got to see:

It was so good! He's my new favorite superhero based on this movie alone. Brilliantly done, this film. I'm a sucker for a good action movie that actually has phenomenal acting and a 1/2-way decent plot. So worth the $16 (thank heavens we went before 6 PM... or it would've cost more)!

The Trip

Highlights of our trip (good & bad):

*Poor David stayed up until 4 AM tying up loose ends for work during our stop in Apple Valley on the first night.

*Stopping at Jan's house for Malia's nap! It was so much fun catching up with a dear friend and talking about shows of the past and our ideals of the future of our perfmorming lives. We've missed her. And she accidentally taught Malia her first swear word. Plus, David got to take a nap, too... bless his heart.

*Malia was really good about being stuck in the car. Watching "A Bug's Life" about 4 times probably helped. Also, me climbing into the backseat to give her my undivided attention didn't hurt either. Oh, and constant snacks... a God-send.

*Locking our keys in the car at a Cedar City gas station. Funny story... kind of. Depending on which of us you ask. I'll share it some time.

*Tina's dog tried to violate Malia. It was traumatizing at the time, but funny, now that we look back on it. Malia probably couldn't have cared less.

*Cafe' RIO!!!!! I had a list of places I was hoping to eat at while in Utah. This was the only one I had a chance for... but also the most important. YUM! And I only needed a TUMS for about 2 hours or so. (*grumble* pregnancy heartburn *grumble*)

*Observation: Utah gives me really chapped lips and my nose was always full of boogers. I didn't remember noticing that while I lived there... but it was driving me crazy during this trip! I borrowed chapstick from so many people. Who knows what kind of and how many diseases have now been spread.

*David gave Malia Hawaiian Punch in an open cup while she was wearing white pants... did he really think that would work? Really? Speaking of which, why did I not take any pictures the whole time I was there?!!

*David got some NASTY blisters on his back from his grandparents hot tub. They look painful. Like, open-wound-burn-blister painful. Not quite sure what to do for them...

*The wedding, of course. So awesome to be in the SLC temple with all of my siblings, their spouses, and my parents. When I got married, Tina couldn't attend because she was too young. No one was missing this time. AWE-some. And my Uncle Kent did the sealing... he has sealed all 3 of us girls, now. Very cool. He always says the most awesome things.

*Malia, the friendliest, sweetest, most outgoing & social child you could ever meet pretty much lost any semblance of herself for the entirety of the wedding day (which means I sorta', kinda' did, too). It had been 4 days since she'd even pooped, she hadn't been sleeping well, I forgot to pack her a lunch for the time we were at the temple so she ate 2 hours late, and then I had to discipline her for biting her cousin. My child has NEVER been a biter. I think she's crying in every. single. picture. Poor thing. It was not her best day.

*Cindy's hair wasn't 1/2 bad considering I just looked at some pictures on the internet and hoped for the best. I'm no professional, but I think she looked gorgeous... and I think I lost part of my fingernail in her hair. They're not fake or anything... it just cracked and then broke off. (Shhhhhhhhh - don't tell).

*I think I looked silly in my dress at the reception. I love the dress... but when I put it on that morning, I looked like I was concealing a squashed cantaloupe. I mean, who CHOOSES to wear a form-fitting get-up when almost 5 months preggers? Yes, folks. Me.

*Family, family, family. Usually I get sick of too much of them at one time. But it's been too long, so I definitely loved it. And they gushed over Malia, which I approve of, cause she rules.

*Malia pooped a TON on Sunday! (maybe quite literally a ton). HALLELUJAH! We finally had our little angel back after 3 days because of it.
P.S. Prune juice might make your poop turn green. Just sayin'.

*Playing Phase 10 with David's grandparents the last night until way too late. YIKES! But that cheesecake was soooooooo good!

*The majority of any drama occurring over the 4-day chaos was not caused by me! Quite possibly a family first. I'm all growed up.

*The girl at McDonald's in Beaver, UT saying, "You're talking to me like I'm slow or something!" at the drive-thru. We left and decided to go to Wendy's. I think I'll make a call and get her fired, maybe...

*Trying to get Malia to fall asleep in the car as we finished the last stretch of our drive home late last night. The kid was yawning and rubbing her eyes, she was in her PJs, in the dark, snuggling her blankie, but she just kept looking at me with wide eyes and a silly grin. THIS is why I will not share a bed with my children after they are 4 months old. GO TO BED, KID!

Overall - it was a success.... I'm exhausted... but that means it was a success, right?

God Bless It

I've always been a huge sap for the good ole U.S. of A. I'm not really the type, even, to be too critical of our government or the laws and regulations that exist here, simply because I know in my gut that, while things here are imperfect, there ain't no way the grass is greener. While I acknowledge that humanity as a whole seems to make some pretty lame decisions, overall, I would never trade living here for elsewhere. When I lived in Japan for a year, it was the little things that made me truly realize that, as cliche' as it may sound, I am darn proud to be an American. I will never be ungrateful for that gift. As rough as it gets here - as corrupt as some parts of it can be... and this is generally more in the opinion of others as opposed to myself - I will never take for granted the blessing of living in a country where we actually have a say and we truly can be who we choose to be. If I wanted to, I could hop in my car for $4.52 a gallon and drive down the street for a greasy donut wearing my CTR ring while showing some scandalous female ankle and pregnant with my 2nd child... and no one could stop me. There are billions of people on this earth who can't even fathom that kind of freedom.

And I never want anyone who ever had to die in order for me to have what I have to not be able to look me in the eye out of fear of going unappreciated. God bless our troops... now, in the past, and in the future.

I pray I never take it for granted.

Ok, now off of my soapbox, cause now it's PICTURE TIME!!!

In the morning (after a slow start because Dave was relishing in his day off), we decided to head down to Huntington Beach to kick-off the festivities. We got there literally as the last 1/2 of the parade was doing it's thing, which made me so very happy (I love parades!). Malia is a lot like her mommy and couldn't get enough of anything that passed by with a lot of noise.

This is her excited face.


An adorable shot of Lili & Daddy that I snuck in while checking on our illegally parked car
(which was parked in a temporary Parade No Parking Zone - heh)


Malia enjoying the water... please acknowledge that I am 16 weeks pregnant... so no fat jokes; because along with the tummy comes a lot of hormones, and I don't wanna' hear it.


We headed home for Malia (& Daddy) to have a nap, and then drove up the freeway to see the Andersons! They'd invited us over for a last minute BBQ and I was elated to hang with our old friends. I think we've spent a few 4ths with them, actually. PLUS - I ate a whole steak... meat's been difficult for me lately (courtesy Tim's new grilling skillz). Malia developed a quick and infatuated crush on Weston.

And last, but certainly never least.... FIREWORKS!!!

6 years!!!!

Well - our 6th wedding anniversary fell on Father's Day this year... so I kind of wanted to let the majority of the day ride out before talking about it, so that David could enjoy "his" day.

On June 15th, 2002, David and I were sealed for time & all eternity in the San Diego LDS temple by my Uncle Kent with family in attendance. It was a beautiful, clear day. And it was the most important day of my life.... yes, even more important then the birth of my current (and future) children. More important because, without that day, my time with my children would be only mortal and brief anyway. But because of that day, my children are mine (well - ok, technically they're God's... but I get to borrow them) for time & all eternity. And David is truly mine for time & all eternity.

We met outside of the 8th floor elevator at Kaigandori House in Osaka, Japan, where we would both be living for the entire year. We became fast friends. BEST friends, to be completely accurate. We shared secrets and philosophies with each other. He gave me a blessing as my new home teacher before he even knew my last name. I broke down in his apartment about my low self-esteem, and the poor guy hadn't even been around me long enough to understand I was just a basket-case by nature. We discussed the gospel as well as both of our current romantic relationships (I had a missionary and he'd left a girlfriend back at the Y). Despite predictions from all of our fellow performers, we denied it would ever become anything more. It was very "When Harry Met Sally." But after his relationship fell victim to the pitfalls of long-distance, the following week became a whirlwind of unexpected emotions, awkward moments of tension, and a first kiss. We thought we'd keep it a secret in order to avoid "I-told-you-so's," however, the obvious rash left on my sensitive skin from an Italian boy's 5 o'clock shadow made that nearly impossible.

After over a year of dating, making David change his major, and me debating if I could wait 5 more years before marrying him so that I could pursue my Broadway dreams, we did it. And I haven't regretted it since.

Here's to 6+infinity more years!

To the Bestest Daddy in the World

(The above video has music so be sure to turn off the main music at the right)

I couldn't ask for a better person to be the example and strength you are for our children. You work so incredibly hard to provide us with the necessary temporal means needed to survive in this mortal life which gives us the incredibly under-rated blessing of me being able to stay home with our children. Their success in pursuing eternal life is that much more possible because I have you to share the challenge with. And I'm excited to continue the task with you for baby #2. I know the Lord is at peace with sending us His children because of you and His trust in you.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Ode to Davey

I was noticing that the majority of this blog contains 2 topics: Malia's Milestones & My Rantings. David doesn't post on the blog (despite my best efforts to encourage him to do otherwise) and so, if you only knew our family through our blog, you might assume he didn't even exist.


Thus, the reason for this next post. Some of this will be old news to many of you. But a small handful of you might find it both enlightening and entertaining. I am mostly doing it to embarrass the heck out of my husband (as if I don't already do that on a daily basis... HA!) And because he needs the occasional affirmation of how awesome and appreciated he truly is.

When David and I met, we were on the other side of the world and we were both spoken for. That was the beauty of it. There was absolutely nothing that spoke of a possible romance between the two of us. We had both just been cast as performers at the then newly-opened Universal Studios Theme Park in Osaka, Japan. He had left a girlfriend behind back at BYU in Provo, and I had a missionary in Brazil. Our first impressions of each other were... less then spectacular. I had already been at the new place for a day, and he had just flown in that morning. I had been informed of "another Mormon" and was very excited to meet him. To be honest? I was hoping for a temporary fling while my missionary was gone. However, when David and I met for the 1st time just outside the elevator of the 8th floor, where we both would be living for the next year, we wrote each other off almost immediately. I saw him as shy, boring, and incredibly behind on the fashion times. (mind you, he was still somewhat fresh from the mission field). He saw me as loud, intimidating, and somewhat obnoxious... which, I suppose, isn't too far from the truth. However, in spite of, or maybe because of these reservations, we became fast platonic friends. He was even called to be my home teacher, which was convenient since we lived 3 doors away.

To cut to the chase: After 4 months of pure best-friendship, David and I started dating (he and the other girl had mutually parted by this time). Our relationship had it's ups & downs. But, for the most part, it was the easiest, healthiest relationship I'd ever had.

But the purpose of this was not to tell you how we met (I know, "Could've fooled me!")

The purpose is to shout to the world how grateful I am for the sacrifices he's made for Malia & I. If you are a regular reader of this blog, then you are more then aware that I chose Mommyhood over what may've been a potentially successful career on the stage. Well, when David & I were dating, he had goals to be a successful film actor. I told him that until he changed his plans, we could not discuss getting married. (hey - I was looking out for my future offspring, ok?!)

The long & the short of it? David currently has a Physics Masters Degree with an emphasis in Acoustics and a BA in Japanese and he works for a scientific research company as an Engineer so that he can put bread on the table and so that I can stay home with Malia.

BO-RING!

And he does it because he is an incredible human being. He is selfless, thoughtful, generous, righteous, all those other things I find myself lacking in.... the "Yin to my Yang," so-to-speak.

This is for him.

David, I love you, admire you, and am grateful, every day, to God,

for the gift of you.

You are my greatest blessing....

aside from the ones we've created together.

So much has happened...

I have so many things to do right now.

But I don't want to do them.

Then I remembered I started a blog, and figured it was the perfect excuse! Besides, the holiday season has come & passed and we never sent out any sort of card, picture, newsletter, etc. because we were just in over our heads with life. "So much has happened." (that's the title of this blog, you see... I'm so clever....). Heh.

So, it all began with buying a house. WE DID IT! AND it's in Orange County, of all places! How did we manage that, you ask? We don't know, and we may not manage it well. But life is all about challenges, and we've definitely taken one on, especially since I stay at home with Malia and no second income (which is nearly unheard of in SoCal). It's actually a townhouse, which suits us fine. It has 4 bedrooms, which made us very happy, because now we can stay here for a while and donate kidneys to pay our mortgage, while our family (hopefully) expands. One of the greatest benefits of our new place is that it has shortened David's commute immensely. He used to drive 8 miles down Beach Blvd. which could take upwards of an hour one-way during traffic. Now, we live just over a mile away, and it's so nice that he can come right home.

When we've done more renovating, I'll be sure to post some Before-&-Afters. For now, that's going to have to wait, because the previous owners had such extreme taste in colors I'm almost embarassed to show anyone until it's been completely remedied. (I swear to you, the living room was orange and lime-green.... no lie)! This project/endeavor we call "homeownership" pretty much consumes our lives, and while it's exhausting and overwhelming, it's also a very awesome feeling. I admit... we're a little proud. What of it.

Malia turned TWO! We can't believe it. She is such an amazing human being. The child is gorgeous and smart and full of personality. We're in big trouble when she gets older. Hopefully, because she has also inherited her mother's volume, that will provide some sort of protective deterrent to any suitors. We'll see.

Here's some fun pictures from her birthday party. We went to the Rainforest Cafe' and then to Build-A-Bear because she got a gift card from our friends, the Suns.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MALIA! YOU RULE!

All Hallow's Eve

It is so much more fun to celebrate holidays when your kids are getting old enough to find excitement in them. It was a little bit difficult when all was said and done, to keep Malia from begging for candy for about 3 days after her first trick-or-treat experience, but she forgot soon enough (thank heavens). Over the last month she has become enamoured with pumpkins and would scream, "wunkin!" every time we passed by anything that even sort of resembled one. And, I'm not sure exactly where she had picked it up, but whenever she saw a skeleton, or a skull and crossbones (which are everywhere nowadays with the new pirate fad), she would point and say, "Mean guy. Raaaawr." It was hilarious.

We went to a Pumpkin Patch for Family Home Evening a few weeks ago. It shocked me how overcome with joy it made me when I was walking around, holding the hands of my husband and child. It was a quiet and simple peace and I was so happy that I am in the situation I am right now. It really made it evident that being with family is a gift from God. I was a little overwhelmed, and almost embarassed by the strength of the emotion as I walked around this ridiculous little mini-amusement park. Watching your child laugh and get excited at everything she sees, and seeing her father sweep her up, causing her to squeal with joy, is so rewarding. It makes all the sacrifices more then worth it.

It took some severe begging and pleading, but David agreed to dress up as a family for Halloween. I was so excited! However, I had to be willing to let David forgo the tights/leggings... maybe next time. We were so cute as Peter Pan, Wendy, and Tinkerbell! I know that Halloween is supposed to be about gruesome and scary things, but I don't care. We were a part of a very small group of adults who actually dressed up at the ward party. I'm sorry, but in my opinion, you are never too cool to dress up!

Party poopers.

Memorial Day

So, this year, as I was talking to David about how we should spend his day off from work, I expressed an interest in doing something in respect to the actual meaning of the day, as opposed to BBQs and a trip to the beach. I thought maybe we could go to a Forest Lawn or possibly find some sort of a memorial for veterans, seeing as how La Mirada is a community especially proud of its veterans. The Sunday night before, as we were discussing it, I could sense he was less then enthusiastic about doing anything.... i.e. I see holidays as a time to go out and do things until we wear ourselves out silly; he sees them as the opposite (wearing ourselves out by doing absolutely nothing). This is an unattainable compromise that we've struggled with for our almost 5 years of marriage. I finally ran across a webpage advertising the Garden Grove Strawberry Festival. It obviously had absolutely nothing to do with "memorializing" anybody, persay.... but the strawberry seemed like a pretty yummy 2nd choice.

Malia with Daddy on the Animal Train

Malia loves Carousels! Although this one made Mommy nervous, because, from my perspective, it seemed to be circulating at an alarmingly fast pace.... too fast for a carnival ride that looked as if it could crumble if the wind blew.

Malia has a problem understanding that taking a bite doesn't mean you will lose the rest of it... hence the mouthful of strawberry.

We had a bowl FULL of strawberries which were topped by whipped cream.... have you ever been full from strawberries? It's not as wonderful as you might anticipate. When we got home, both Malia and Daddy took wonderful naps, so I'd say it was a fairly successful day. Although, admittedly, I still felt less then appeased and somewhat guilty for not celebrating the holiday for its true purpose. So, in the words of a great teacher and orator, Joseph Campbell:

"A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself."

In Memoriam...