At every touch-down Remy has to give five's to everyone around us.
Cassandra and Rems
Jana is the so SAD cougar fan - We only let her sit by us because we love her.
Truth be told Brian and I both graduated from WSU which means we actually bleed purple. However after holding season tickets for six years now we are die hard UTES!!!
I am spending the week in Wisconsin for level III career development training. I have a love-hate relationship with these weeks. I get back here and I miss my hubby and kids like crazy! I get the mommy guilties about working, but then I am reminded of the wonderful company I work for, and the company culture that has supported me and my family through some very rough times. This company invests in the education of their people, and it's not training to better understand my career, but to better understand the careers and business of my dentists. The company is run by phenomenal people from the CEO, President, Managers, Trainers, Service Technicians, you name it they are GOOD PEOPLE that I am Grateful For!
Tim Sullivan, President (? not sure) Stan Bergman, CEO
This is the 'kids' table at my mom's Christmas Party. Yes, she is amazing. I was raised by the Perfectionist/Idealist that married the Grinch. This made Christmas interesting and stressful. I have many good childhood Christmas memories but I also have some stressful ones. A few years ago I admitted to myself I was running around pretending to like this holiday when in reality I'm not sure I do. In order to fix this I've tried: starting new traditions, doing more Christmas 'things' more sub for Santa, more focus on giving, going to the cabin for a 'quiet' Christmas, listening to more Christmas music. Some of these things were good but many of them felt like more 'work'. I do love Christmas music but the minute it comes on the radio I feel instant stress. I don't want to feel this way, I want to feel the magic and the love and NOT the STRESS. This is where you wise men/ women come in to play...What do you do to feel the magic?
During one of Remington's many stays Primary Childrens Hospital there were paper leaves posted in the stairwell. People passing by could write on a leaf and the volunteers would tape them to the wall. One leaf said, "I am grateful God has given me a life far richer than I would have chosen for myself."...... I don't think this means material riches AND if we did have a choice... Would we choose the hard things? Call me wimpy but I doubt I stood in Heaven and said Give me ALL of the really tough stuff. I think this leaf author was grateful for the hard things, the hard things that make us grow and develop character, the things that maybe we wouldn't choose on our own.
The main table
These are my disasters! They are supposed to be cute LITTLE heart cookies. Thinking I could cut corners and save time I bought the Pillsbury ready made doe to roll out into cute little hearts frosted with pale blue icing..Thanks for nothing 'doe-boy'
This was a big day for Cambridge. We talk about families being together forever; in order for that to happen everyone has to do their part. I am so grateful Cambridge made his first step in our family being together forever. I am also grateful Brian holds the priesthood to perform this ordinance. The side note would be; all morning long as we ran around getting ready Cambridge was singing, "I like big butts I can not lie..hmm hmm hmm hmm " I think he was a bit keyed up about the day. I kept asking him to sing I am a child of God, or any primary song he could think of, but Big Buts won out. Thanks Shrek (Donkey sings it in Shrek 2)
We a had a special suprise visitor. My dad drove all the way from Portland to be here just for Cambridge's baptism.
The Adult Table
The kids party favors
Left to Right: Jayden, Jayla Jonah, Zoe, Adam, Cam, Rem, Ashley, Becca, JP, Julia Rachel
Harvey Two-face
Troy Polamalau minus the long hair.
Princess Sleeping Beauty
I dressed as Sara Palin to go Trick or Treating to my offices. For posterity's sake and anyone who lives in a closet she is currently running for VP on the Republican Ticket. She is a hockey mom of 4 children, one of whom is Downs, is currently Governor of Alaska and hunts moose and bear. I was worried I couldn't pull of the imitation, but according to my offices: "Oh my gosh you do look like her". I handed out home-made hockey pucks with flags on them. (AKA hostess ding dongs.)
This is 'Harvey two-face' from Batman (just in case you're not current on your super-heroes and villains). Cambridge wanted to be this for Halloween. Swell, they don't sell two-face at Walmart or the other Halloween stores, nor can you find his costume online. I can sew a straight line, when it comes to following a pattern that's a whole different story. The last time I followed patterns I was in Mrs. Kingsley's 8th grade sewing class. The only reason I survived that class is my friend Kath sat next to me and she is brilliant with patterns...seriously you should see her kids Halloween costumes. Brian my ever loving hubby believes I can buy a pattern and just whip this sucker out....hmmm no. I honestly can't follow a pattern. I did try again in high school to make a pair of shorts for Allan Ward for a couples dance....disaster....it took Allan a few weeks to talk to me again.) It attempts to avoid the pattern I hit several DI stores hoping to take apart two suit coats and sew them together. Its $80 for a suit coat at the DI (no way) I did find a white polyester suit jacket for $20! Yes! Bought it, came home and ripped it in half, believing I will just die the other half black and sew it back together....not so much...It turned out a lovely shade of dark purplish gray. With dragging feet I finally headed to the fabric store to buy pattern and material. Have you ever looked for a kids suit jacket pattern....not to be found..I bought an adult one, thinking I'd go with the smallest size. Bought material; only to bring it home and realize the white material didn't match the pants I had already made. (the pants came from an xsmall pair of white and black scrubs taken apart and sew back together). Today thinking relief had hit I drove to my friend Renae's house because she called to tell me she had an old lab coat that I could have and maybe it would take the die. I got the coat home only to have Cam tell me it didn't look like the picture....ok...starting over. I grabbed his old suit jacket, cut it in half, completely took the one side apart and used the pieces as my pattern....voila I am amazing! It worked, I have a black and white kid size suit jacket....I'll post a picture when he puts it on tomorrow. Thank Heavens Halloween is only once a year.
Sometimes I think I run around so fast I don't pay attention to the fact that EVERYTHING is sinking into Zoe's 2yr old mind. Zoe is the one holding the basket gazing at her new Aunt Jana. (The beautiful bride is Jana Fuehrer Roylance that married my little bro Mark in April). Zoe was the party princess that tight and held onto her flower basket so tight the next day she had blisters on her hand.
