Our life in pictures...

Cell phone pictures that is and until I find my dang camera it might be the ONLY kind of pictures your gonna get for a while. Is there anything in the world more frustrating than losing something??? (Ok a little dramatic but AHhhhhhhhhhh it makes me mad!)

{FAMILY FUN NIGHT}

What's better than a night at the lanes with the family? Just for the record I think I bowled my best game ever! Little C was hysterical to watch. She took the game quite seriously as evident by her post play comments like "Yes!" with arms raised high and "DANG!" and "oh man!". After each play she would fold her arms and watch the bowl intently as it rolled down the lane. Regardless of the outcome she required high fives from all. So funny.

{CAYMBREE PRESCHOOL PROGRAM}

Mrs. Burton Mrs. Rogers

{PHOTO SHOOT w/ COUSINS}
ahhhh...cuteness!

{MISS HALLEE'S 3rd GRADE MUSICAL}

Little Red Riding Hood. So cute. So creative.

{CAYMBREE ROSE'S SCALES AND TAILS FIELD TRIP}

How many people can say they actually rode a tortoise?

Ha Ha. Still laughing thinking about Hope yelling for me to grab the camera as I am driving down the road. Apparently, she discovered she could do a new trick. Fascinating isn't it? {DR. SEUSS DAY}

The girls were adamant about dressing up for Dr. Seuss Day. Unfortunately there wasn't a Dr. Seuss Hat left in town. So a quick trip to Hobby Lobby and a little creativity produced these babies... a little craft foam, a glue gun and tulle and wha-la...Dr. Seuss Hats!

{A little sauna action with the Sansom girlies}

Looks like my phone got hijacked again. So funny to discover these random pictures in the photo gallery. Makes you question who is taking the pictures doesn't it?

He he... wonder who/when this took place?

Life Lessons

First life lesson....DON'T LOSE YOUR FREAKING CAMERA!!!! Seriously people. So annoyed.

Anyway, enough about that. Last weekend turned out to be an interesting weekend for our Miss Hallee. Full of life lessons for all of us.

Hallee had her final dance recital of the year last Saturday. She had performed the routine at least seven times. She knew the routine inside and out. But minutes before they went on the floor they realized they were missing one of the girls on the team. Oh well. Show must go on. But then they realized this girl helps lift Hallee in all of her stunts. Oh crud. Her coach quickly tells her how to improvise. Let's just say it didn't go so well. Without the lifts the girls got confused and poor Hallee started to fall apart. With 15 seconds to go in the routine the tears started to well up in her eyes and she displayed defeat. My heart ached for her as she walked off the floor disappointed and embarrassed. LESSON 1: WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES. Try convincing your nine year old of that. In the middle of our pep talk her coach approached to tell us the missing girl had shown up and they were going to allow them to try it again if Hallee wanted to. LESSON 2: WE ALL FALL DOWN....IT'S UP TO YOU HOW/WHEN YOU GET BACK UP. I was nervous Hallee was going to say no. I was terrified she was going to end an amazing year on a horrible note. But her determination surprised me. She quickly wiped her tears and said yes. I was a nervous wreck. I've been there done that. Would her nerves get the best of her and she would forget the routine? Would she stumble and fall again? Should I protect her from further heartache and give her a way out? Holy crud I was sweating bullets as she walked back out on the floor. But she pulled it off flawlessly and walked off the floor smiling ear to ear. What an amazing accomplishment!

Later that afternoon her dance studio held their awards banquet. As the ceremony started you could hear and feel the buzz of anticipation, every girl secretly longing for their name to be called. They announced they would be handing out 9 specialty awards among the 200+ girls studio wide. Hallee looked at me with excitement. I started to panic. Hallee is my child that thrives off of positive reinforcement. However, on the flip side in the past she has been shattered by the lack of it. She over analyzes everything and takes it personal. For example, if I tell one of my girls they look cute or are they are a good friend all her little brain hears is that she must not be. (We're still working on that one). Anyway, I prayed she was not getting her hopes up. One by one they started reading off the awards. "Most improved, best technique, best showmanship, and then they came "hardest worker." Imagine our shock when they read her name. I'm not going to lie, I think I was more excited than Hallee. This was an AMAZING and remarkable award for Hallee (let's just say when it comes to chores or homework this is NOT the award she would be receiving). Sorry Hals but its true. LESSON 3: HARD WORK PAYS OFF!!

I could barely contain myself. All I wanted to do was jump up and down and do a back flip or two! And that's when I caught the eye and then eyes of her teammates. They tried to look excited but struggled to hide their own disappointment. And that's when something extraordinary happened. As Hallee came back to her seat one of her teammates jumped up and hugged her. She told her how happy she was for her and how much she deserved that award. SHE IS NINE! Tears welled up in my eyes as I watched this sincere act of love, compassion and friendship. Hallee's 2 1/2 foot tall trophy seemed to pale in comparison. LESSON 4: THERE ARE GREATER ACCOMPLISHMENTS THAN TROPHY'S AND AWARDS. Hallee and I were both so touched by this sweet little girl and shed a few tears on the car drive home.

I am so grateful for the lessons we learned. Proud and excited for my miss Hallee. And amazed and humbled that one nine year old girl could put it all in perspective for me.

On the Road again...

35 HOURS. That's how many hours I have spent in a car in the past 14 days. The girls and I were home from California for four days before we loaded up the car and headed to Las Vegas for Hallee's last dance competition.

We were lucky enough to have my sister Adree and her oldest daughter come along for some fun in the sun. 95 degree sun that is! We spent plenty of time by the pool soaking up as much sun as possible before we returned home to 40 degree RAINY weather!

(After watching hours of dancers pulling facials Caymbree struck this pose and asked me to take a picture. Could she be any more cute?

We stayed in an amazing condo resort that Troy found online. Only minutes away from the strip but you felt like it was miles away. It had beautiful grounds complete with waterfalls and ponds.

And let's not forget the full size jacuzzi in the middle of our bedroom. Sweetness!! We couldn't be in Vegas without a stop at the M&M factory! Caymbree was in heaven. We got one bag for all of us to share but Caymbree kept them under close guard and we were lucky to get any!

A chocolate lovers dream...

Oh and BTW - Hallee's team took first once again!! Such an amazing season for the entire studio! Congrats Hallee. You rocked it!

California Memories

Wow after reading that last post you might get the impression I'm not a fan of Disneyland. But let me set the record straight...I LOVE DISNEYLAND! I still think it is magical and LOVED sharing the magic with my family. Such an amazing vacation with so many fun memories. SO without further ado some of our memories of California Vacation 2011.

1) Hope walking up to two little CHINESE boys at the beach and saying "Hola." Then turning around saying "I've waited my whole life to say that." I am STILL laughing about it today.

2) Caymbree chasing the seagulls. Convinced if she tried hard enough she would eventually catch one.

3) Trininty being truly terrified of potential sharks in the water or a tsunami. NOTE TO PARENTS... Don't let your kids watch "Soul Surfer" a week before you vacation to the ocean :)

4) Hope asking "Mom, how do you say "ah hem" (think clearning your throat) in Spanish?"

5) Hope yelling at the top of her lungs, "I don't wanna die alone!" in the middle of the Thunder Mountain ride.

6) Chewbaca. That's all I'm gonna say about that one :)

7) The stares , smiles and under breath comments when an crusade of 7 little girls came cruising through. Sometimes we claimed them. Sometimes not so much.

8) Quickly coming the the realization that the princesses are starting to lose a little of their magic in the eyes of my nine year old. She's getting too old. :(

9) Lots and lots of laughing

10) Corn dogs at Disneyland! Yummy! No wonder Steve and Troy disappeared during the Pixie Hollow line!

11) Finally got to taste a Sprinkles cupcake. Good but a little overrated.

12) Not the best memory but a memory nonetheless. Poor Sansoms getting the back seats stolen out of their brand new (like 4 days old) SUV while we were at Disneyland. Came back to a broken window and missing seats. Spent the next hour (at 11pm at night) filling out police reports and cleaning up glass.

13) Balboa Island.

And now for your viewing pleasure... the last of the California pictures taken at the Newport Beach temple on Easter Day.

Disneyland 2011

Hello Disneyland! We've missed you....So fast thrill rides really aren't my thing. I'll go on them. But I don't always love them. Oh ya... and there is one I REFUSE to go on...TOWER OF TERROR. More like PUKE IN MY HAIR!!! First, I hate elevators. Second, I hate small spaces. Third I hate that feeling of my stomach dropping. So me and Tower of terror...NOT GONNA HAPPEN.

A little nervous before Scream'n California...

We've got plenty of that attitude around our house Vidia!

The one "fast" ride Caymbree was tall enough to go on was Matterhorn. I thought she would freak out once it started but she actually did pretty good. Although she had NO desire to go on it again.

Princess make-overs. Worth every penny! (Can you hear the sarcasm in my voice?)

Steve spent the whole trip trying to convince Troy that we should have another child. Pretty sure it didn't work. Dang.

Cute Daddy's taking their girls on the dumbo ride. Pretty sure it was one of the longest lines of the day.

The tea cups....better known as BARF-O-RAMA!

Stay tuned for more to come. Like our TOP TEN MEMORIES of CA 2011.