3 Men & A Little Lady: October 2008

Thursday, October 30, 2008

The Aunties are Here!!!

Nothing compares to having family here to visit us in California. All family members are loved by the boys, but a special place is held in their hearts for the aunties. The boys adore the aunties and love having them come because they get totally spoiled while they are here. We are lucky to have Aunt Carol and Aunt Catherine here for a whole week, plus an added bonus of having Gabi the GREAT (Catherine's boyfriend) here too. We have had a fabulous time together and I love all the help they provide with the kiddos.

Drew's 1st Field Trip

Drew went on his first field trip of the year to a local pumpkin patch. He has been asking since his first day of school to take the school bus, so he was super excited to find out that he would be taking the bus to the pumpkin patch.

I was lucky to get to go as a parent volunteer and to see his excitement as he rode the bus, went in a corn maze, rode on a hay rack ride, and picked a pumpkin. We both had a great time and can't wait for Halloween!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

ellen degeneres

Everyone watch Ellen tomorrow, Thur. October 23rd, and watch for me! Today I went to a taping of the Ellen show with my friend Crissa and her cousin Sandra. We had such a blast singing and dancing in the studio! I thought I might have a couple of minutes of fame after being chosen amongst 350 people to be interviewed by a crew member. I was escorted to a back trailer and asked if I felt comfortable going on stage to play a game. I of course showed them just how peppy I could be in a mock trial run of my name being called. I was told however to act surprised and not to touch Ellen too much! However, the crew member did say that games are not always played if there are too many other topics being discussed during the episode. I was so nervous during the whole show that my name would be called, but unfortunately Hayden, some magician, lil' guy, and two girls from a train wreck spent too much time talking, so no fun game for me. I do think that you will see me dancing in the crowd if you look closely though. I sat in the 4th row in the middle section, 2nd seat in on the right side. Crissa sat on the aisle seat and is wearing a blue jacket with a black shirt. I am right next to her wearing a purple shirt and a long necklace. (See outfits below) Ellen did dance right beside us, so watch closely!

I didn't win some cool trip, but did get to take home a Black Jack II phone and a season 2 DVD of Heroes. I had such a fun day and am going to try and get tickets for her Christmas show. I would love to have friends come with me so let me know if you are interested.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Annual Banning Luau

Aloha!
When we first moved to California one of the first ward activities that we attended was the Luau. We quickly realized what an amazing and talented ward family we moved into. The Luau is the highlight of the year in my opinion. Not only do we get to eat scrumptious food like chopped sui, pork, and pineapple upside down cake, but we are entertained with a great Luau. Some of our dearest friends are Samoan and put on and perform the big event. They spend months preparing dances and getting our skirts shipped from Samoa. I love watching the girls, aka Carrie & Nia, dance. They can shake their hips like none other. The boys favorite part was watching Mason and lil' Mese do the fire dance. And of course it wouldn't be a Luau without a "white girl" dance, so they teach us white girls a dance too so that we can join in on the fun. I love being able to be apart of the Luau and send out a huge thanks to the Ugapo & Patterson family for sharing your traditions and talents with us. We Love You!!!!

Here is a short clip of the "White Girl" dance, sorry its so dark.

My Big Moment!

Ian in the audience participation dance.

My good friend Darcy Patterson and myself.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Future Chef?

Ian loves to cook and will stop anything he is doing to help with dinner. Tonight as we were making spaghetti I told him, "Maybe when you grow up you will be a chef and work in a restaurant and make people amazing food." His eyes lit up and he replied, "Or I could work in McDonald's and make people their hamburgers!" I guess only time will tell.....

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Happy Birthday to.....

ME!!! I turned 28 on Friday, October 3rd and had the most fabulous day! In the morning, Kenny came home from seminary with roses and a supreme pizza for me for lunch. I usually buy pepperoni because that is all the men in my house will eat. I got to watch Orin for my friend, which was wonderful because he entertained Owen and Ian for most of the day. At lunch Kenny took me to Kohl's to pick out a new 7 piece luggage set for our trip to Hawaii!!! All three boys napped for almost 3 hours, that was a present all in itself! For dinner, Kenny took me out for all you can eat shrimp and then home to celebrate with friends. Mason made me the most sinful chocolate cake that I devoured and I spent the evening in the company of great friends. Thanks to all my family and friends for calling and for helping me celebrate.

I love all my girl friends!

My amazing husband! Thanks for making my day one to remember!

Stagecoach Days

Every year we celebrate "Stagecoach Days" in Banning. Banning used to be a stop for the stagecoach in the days of the wild west. Its a celebration filled with cowboy's and horses. The weekend is filled with western reenactments, a parade, carnival rides, and a rodeo. We love attending the parade with friends and dressing up in our best western attire!

They say the cutest things.....

Mya, my little girl, said in her prayers last night, "Please help us to be strong and healthy like the Hulk!"

Owen almost ran straight into a woman as we entered a dark parking garage. As I told him to watch out, he quickly yelled, "Well she's all black!" Coincidentally she was African American! She was wearing a black dress, which is what he was referring too!

Owen told me today, "You are the best mom I ever had! I love you all the way up to Jesus!" He also loves kissing and told Kenny, "I just want to stay home from school and kiss mom all day!"

Drew lost a tooth at school when he bit into his apple. He felt the tooth inside his mouth as he was chewing and when I asked him about it, he said, "I didn't realize it was mine and I wondered if it was one of the workers!"

While at church, a teacher asked the kids what happened to Jesus right after he was baptized and brought up from the water. Ian enthusiastically raised his hand and said, "He asked for a towel!"

After a long struggle with my boys, to get them inside, bathed, and into bed, I yelled, "I am done, go to sleep!" Owen looked up at me and said, "Mommy I'm sorry you're sad, but the problem is that you don't beat up Drew and Ian. Just beat them up and I will be on your team!"

We are not a family who eats beans, so when Drew went to a friends house to play and eat dinner, he was hesitant to eat the burrito that had refried beans in it. When I picked him up he said to me, "Mom she put mud inside the burrito!"

Aunt Connie pleaded with Owen to shoot his daddy with the gun instead of her and his response, "No, he's the best daddy i've ever had!"

I begged the boys to quit fighting and Drew looked at me and said, "Its not Mothers Day anymore mom!"

Owen got kicked in his "man hood" and said, "Oh, I hurt my Tenders!"

Drew asked this morning, "Mom in 2011 can we get a cat?"

Everytime I feed Mya prunes, Owen comes up to me and says, "Me like chocolate mom!" I give him a bite and his face turns to total disgust.

Owen ran up to me after wrestling the dogs and said, "Me see Cassie's boobies!"

While I was nursing Mya, Drew walked in and said, "Is she done drinking from your boob?" I replied, "No and it is called a breast, thats the proper way to say it." He looked at me puzzled and said, "No thats the Spanish word for it."

Kenny opened the fridge and said, "Something in here stinks." Ian looked at him and said, "Dad, sometimes I toot over there!"

Last night as the boys were saying good night to Mya, Drew looked up at me and said, "Mom, Mya has a boy haircut!"

Drew was reminding me about how when we saw macaws in Hawaii, that one of the macaws was chewing on a woman's hair. He said, about the macaw, "Thats not very nice, it's not choosing the right."

My favorite word Drew and Ian used to say when they were toddlers was, Laddie- for water. I thought it was such a cute word. Owen comes to the fridge and points his little finger and says, "Wa-Wa" for water. So cute!

Last night Kenny went in on a call to deliver a goat and Ian came into our bed. He climbed in and snuggled up beside me, he usually snuggles into Kenny. I asked him why he was snuggling with me and he said, "I can snuggle you because daddy isn't here mom!" He is such a daddy's boy.

Ian is such a daddy's boy. The other night Kenny had to go to the clinic and Ian was sobbing for him for a good twenty minutes because he wanted to go too. When I asked him why he was so upset he replied, "I just want my daddy, he is my favorite boy!"

Birthday parties celebrated in California are usually BIG! There is always a huge jumper, pinata, food for the whole family, and tons of presents. Well we went to a party last night and the boys spent 2 hrs. jumping in a big jumper. On our way home we saw another party going on that had an even bigger jumper with a slide attached. Ian asked, "Can we go to that party too?" I replied, "We don't even know who those people are. " His response, "Well lets just go ask them their names."

As we prepared to go to the Glenwood Springs pool in Colorado with Kenny's four sisters Drew impatiently said, "Come on girls, you're taking too long!" Kenny told him, "Get used to it, this is what men do, wait for girls to get ready."

Much to my dismay I found black ink all over our white sheets on our bed. I of course went straight to Ian and asked very sternly, "Did you write on my sheets with a pen?" With an innocent look he replied, "I was just trying to write my name."

Drew was watching me as I divided my hair into sections with clips to straighten it. He looked up at me and said, "Wow, you look beautiful!" Then when I was completely done with my hair he said, "You're a cute little mommy!"

Ian was dipping his finger in Kenny's contact solution and then touching his eye. I asked him what he was doing and he replied, "Just putting my eyes in mom!"