Shocker!

Ok, so I know it's a shocker to all of you that I am FINALLY posting! Sorry, but I got behind, then it seemed too overwhelming to post all that has been going on. I am only going to post our most recent happenings so it isn't so overwhelming : )

Spring break was last week and we decided to take a family vacation. Matt gave me tickets to Wicked in Portland Oregon for Christmas and we were just going to have a weekend getaway to go see it. By the time we had decided to make a vacation out of it, Wicked was sold out and we couldn't take Rachael with us. We left on Friday and saw Wicked on Saturday with Matt's parents. My mom flew out with Rachael on Sunday and met us in Oregon. While in Portland we went to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. We got to see the Da Vinci exhibit there. It was very fascinating. We then drove down the Oregon coast which was absolutely beautiful! I have never been there and now I wonder why it has taken me so long to get there. We stopped at every lighthouse we could get to and took lots of pictures there. I'll post some of those pictures later. We also drove through the redwood forest and stopped to look at some of the trees there. Ok, so I have heard the redwood trees are big, but I had NO IDEA how huge they were! They were beautiful, and I was so amazed. I know this world didn't just "happen." It was created for us and seeing these things has made me appreciate it even more. We kept driving down the coast and ended up in San Francisco. I liked Wicked so much that we got tickets to see it again in San Francisco at the Orpheum Theatre. This time my mom and Rachael got to see it with us. I could see it over and over and over again! It is SO GOOD!!

The next day we went to see Alcatraz. We didn't spend much time there because mom was getting nervous in there. We then made the trek from San Francisco to Reno and stayed a night there, then we drove home the next day. It was so much fun spending time with my family, and it was a nice break. Now we only have 6 more weeks of school...yea!

Last, but not least, Matt and I celebrated our 11th anniversary on the 11th. It was the day after we got back from vacation and Matt surprised me the next morning with 2 dozen roses and a bracelet. He is so thoughtful and never forgets special events in my life. I want him to know I am grateful for him and I appreciate how good he is to me. I am so happy we have eternity together : )

I'm Busy, Are You?

I think I know the anser to that question is an overwhelming...YES! - it is a busy time of year! As I was going from one party to the next last night I thought of how fortunate I am have have good friends and family that I can feel comfortable around, and have a good time with. Even though it's busy I have tried to keep ahead of the game so I can focus on our Savior and why we celebrate Christmas. Here are some of the things we have been up to...Parties, parties, parties, family pictures (as you can see) for the Christmas cards, dancing at more than one event, letters from santa, and much, much more! I feel very fortunate to be blessed with a wonderful family, good friends, a nice home, food, and clothing, and so much more than I could ever ask for. I am so grateful for our Savior and for his sacrifice for us. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and I promise I will try to do a better job at updating my blog!

WOW!

Rachael entered a story for the Reflections contest and I thought it was really cute, so I wanted to share it with you. She wrote a story about her cousin Lucy. The theme was "Wow," so this is what she came up with (this is her own work with no help from anyone, and grammar and spelling are also original work):

"Hi I have a cousin that has a huge imagination and every time she uses it I say wow! Here is my story...My cousin is so funny with her imagination, and nobody can go wrong with her. She is a 3 year old little girl and her name is Lucy. When she comes to my house she always goes upstairs and plays in the play room. In the play room there are baby dolls and a kitchen set. Lucy cant ever go wrong with that. It is her favorite. Her favorite thing about life is parties, especially if it is a birthday. She will get happy on birthday parties but she is not so thrilled when the person opens a present and it is not for her!!! When Lucy gets her imagination kicked in the first thing it does is play house! She always wants to be a mom with a rich husband and two babies. The babies are usually me and her sister Ellie. I know that Lucy is not always happy, sometimes she can get mad and angry. When she is mad and angry she screams and will hit and kick to get you away from her. When she wakes up from naps she usually is fussy but sometimes she is happy. Whether she is mad, angry, cranky, or happy I still love her!"

Rachael also has a great imagination, and is always writing stories. She loves creative writing and is constantly working on new stories. She doesn't get this from me because I am not very articulate. She is definitely a young author! Great work Rachael, keep it up!

Halloween

Here is a picture of Rachael and her friends MaeLin, BrookLin, and Jaxon as they were headed out for trick-or-treating. Shad took the kids out and let them sit in the back of the van with the back door wide open. They thought that was the coolest thing ever! Matt and I stayed home and handed out candy to the little ghosts and goblins. He had the fog machine out on the porch which made it extra scary! Thanks to the Sorenson clan for taking care of Rachael - she doesn't like to go trick-or-treating alone...or with only mom and dad - It's always more fun with other kids.

I have also added some pictures of the pumpkins Rachael and I carved. We had a great time, and Matt loved eating roasted pumpkin seeds when we were finished.

Haunted Canyon Train Ride

Since we were out of school for two days, we decided to take Rachael to do something fun. We ended up going on the Haunted Canyon train ride on the Heber Valley Railroad. Matt's parents, sister Tosha, and brother Terral and his girlfriend Chelsea all came with us. I had been in bed with the flu all day, but didn't want to miss out on the fun, so I decided to go - I probably shouldn't have because I felt miserable! That's why you don't see any pictures of me...you would think I was one of the cast on the train! Anyway, it was a lot of fun, and Rachael had a great time. She especially liked that she got to wear her vampire costume. She is usually fine around scary things, but when the guys with the crazy hair and make-up got right in her face she started crying. She got over it quickly and is still up for watching Poltergeist with dad any time.