CALIFORNIA... HERE WE COME

Dan and I have been wanting to take Reagan to Disneyland ever since she became addicted to Mickey Mouse. I believe her love for Mickey came right after we took the kids to Disney World last year. We thought Reagan would love it; however she was a little overwhelmed by it all. We knew this year would be a different story and we wanted to take her before her love of Mickey went away. We have always been Disney fans; however we have never had a child into Mickey Mouse like Reagan is. Everything is about Mickey - Mickey computer, trains, coloring and painting books, stories, stuffed animals, puzzles, fruit snacks, etc.

With money being a little tight, but stress being at a level of its time to get a way, we decided to take a road trip this year and use our time share in Anaheim. We invited Grammie and Papa to join us and we started planning. We also did a day of service to earn free tickets to Disneyland. Our family made and tied 18 fleece blankets and donated them to Circle of Love. It was a fun project with a great reward at the end. As we continued to plan the only thing we were missing out on this trip was the beach - California beaches in April are not so good, so we started looking 3-4 day cruises. We were able to score some really good rates and decided to make the most of our trip (and get the best of both worlds) by using part of our time going on a cruise.

We broke up the trip by stopping in Vegas each way, we were also able to use our timeshare there as well and the resort was beautiful! The first day we took the kids down the strip and walked them to death. They were so tired by the end of the night, but we wanted them to see all the amazing hotels. We stopped in at M&M World and the Coke store. We took them to see the Volcano show at the Mirage. We saw several street performers and got a big kick out of them as statues. We went to the Tournament of Kings show at the Excalibur for dinner and the entertainment. Although Madi's allergies got very severe, I believe we all enjoyed the show. The food on the other hand left something to be desired. The fighting scenes were fantastic and Reagan loved the horses.

The next morning we continued on to California, we spent two days at Disneyland and California Adventure. Our first stop was Toon Town to see Mickey and Gang. We had never spent time here before and I thought it was super cute. Reagan was in heaven and was so excited to meet Minnie and Mickey. She was jumping up and down with her hands over her mouth to try and contain her joy! (I loved every minute of it!) She wanted to meet everyone (but there just wasn't enough time in Toon Town) We toured through the houses and then went on to bigger places for the older kids. Indiana Jones is still my favorite ride, although Splash Mountain is a close second. I love that Madison and Jaxson will go on anything, they have a love of adventure. Having my parents along for the ride is nice to because we can take turns going on the rides with the kids. Reagan was a great sport, whatever ride she was tall enough to go on, she did and never cried. Space Mountain is at the top of both Jaxson and Madi's list of favorites. The first day was almost a complete success until it got a little chilly and Madi needed a jacket. We started looking for a hoodie in the shops on Main Street when Reagan decided to have a good time shopping as well. She was trying on sunglasses and showing everyone, her favorites were a pair of rainbow star sun glasses. At the same time Jaxson started to get a migraine so it was time to get going. As we left the park we realized Reagan did not have her glasses on. My mom and I ran back to the store where she was trying on glasses, but had no luck. (First day in the park and her brand new glasses were gone.)

The following morning we went to Goofy's kitchen for breakfast, this is a favorite of ours because so many characters come out to play. The menu is also very silly with peanut butter and jelly pizza, mickey mouse waffles and pancakes, lot's of Goofy style treats and more. We met Pluto, Goofy, Princess jasmine, Bleu, Chip and Dale and Cinderella. Reagan didn't care much about meeting the Princesses, however was very happy about her encounter with Goofy and Pluto. (I know that will all change soon.)

After breakfast we ventured over to California Adventure and went straight for The Tower of Terror! By far this is the best ride in any theme park, I laugh every time we go on it because it freaks me out. Madison and Dan love it as well, not so much for Jaxson, but I'm sure that will change with time as well. We went to Playhouse Disney Live on Stage for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. We spent time at the California Screamer (one of Madi's all time favorites and Jaxson's too). Then we get to experience the new Toy Story 4D arcade ride. We waited in line for this ride longer than anything else on our trip, but it was worth the wait! Had the line not been so long we would have done it 3 or 4 times. What a ball it was shooting all the screens and competing with the person next to you! Reagan loved California Adventure and really got into riding all the rides. They had an area with smaller rides and she just wanted to keep riding like the big kids, it was fantastic to see her have so much fun. Several of us went on the big water ride and Jaxson got completely drenched - we laughed so hard because it was him and not us. We spent every last minute at the parks and enjoyed the fireworks because we missed them the evening before due to the headache.

The following morning it was time to get on the cruise ship, so we drove to the port and started our second vacation! This was our first time going with Carnival - they are the only line that now does Baja Mexico cruises. We were lucky enough that this cruise was taking us to Cabo San Lucas, a beautiful destination none of us had ever been to, so we were all excited about our upcoming travels.

Reagan's birthday was on our first full day on the ship, we knew we needed to do something big (even though we took here to Disneyland for her birthday) So I pre-purchased party hats and we had a birthday celebration at dinner. We gave her a few small presents and our waiter brought her a piece of cake with a candle on it. This made her day because she had requested party hats for her birthday and a birthday is not complete without cake. (She had been talking about cake for weeks.)

Cabo was breathtaking as we pulled up to the island. The huge disappointment was we had to be ferried off the boat and the wait on the ship to get off was over an hour. When we did finally arrive on the island, we took a water taxi over to land's End and Lovers Beach. What we didn't know was that the waves were very rough coming into the beach so there were people on the beach trying to escort you off and expected tips in return. One of the guys fell over with Reagan in the water and it scared her silly. (he still wanted a tip) She would not touch the water the rest of the day. I still can't decide if that was a good or bad thing because it didn't have to worry about her running off. Jaxson and Dan attempted to snorkel; however the waves were too strong to get past. We decided this was not the best beach for us and had the water taxi take us over to the public beach instead. On the way we saw Sea Lions. We go to feed the fish as they came jumping out of the water, it was a riot. The public beach was nice, we sat out on some hotel chairs and enjoyed the warmth of the sunshine. Madi and Jaxson had a fabulous time playing in the water and on the beach. I loved being able to read, drink a pina-colada and just relax.

The following day on the ship it was overcast, it was a bummer to have our last day on the ship be cold. We braved it for a while to watch the ice sculptors and have lunch but after that we headed inside for some other activities. We did build-a-bears with the kids and went on a family scavenger hunt around the ship. We had tea and desserts at 3:00 We stopped in for chocolate covered strawberries and played Bingo. We enjoyed Karaoke that evening and a performance by Fun Force; a break dancing duo from Brooklyn. They are extremely talented and Jaxson was in awe. He even participated in the show by showing everyone what the wave was. Madi thoroughly enjoyed her freedom on the ship; she got to hand out in Circle-C, which was for the 12-14 year olds. She came and went, sometimes came in after us. She met a few girls on the boat and loved hanging out with them without her parents.

Dans favorite part of the cruise was going to dinner and having Carnival's special warm, chocolate, molten cake with ice cream for dessert. He and Jaxson looked forward to it every night. I think we all ordered it everyday with another dessert of course. What is a cruise if you can't order and try everything!

Our waiters were awesome. Silvia and Ivica were extremely nice, accommodating and took care of our family for breakfast and dinner each day.

The next morning we were off to Vegas again - we spent the day swimming at the pool. The resort even had a lazy river. We couldn't have asked for better weather (80 degrees) It made us not want to go home. We wanted to hang out for days and just soak up the sun, especially because we got gypped on the last day of the cruise with the weather. That evening we took the family to Serendipity 3 for dinner. It is located on the strip and Caesar's Place. The joint was fun and had great food. We shared a frozen hot chocolate and then headed over to the Bellagio for the water show. We watched it a few times because it is amazing!

The next day it was time to head out and home, but not before we swam again and played some shuffle board! The kids were fantastic on the road time. I was a little worried about them being in the car for that long but they did great. I was fully prepared with movies, games, treats, pipe cleaners, bend-a-roos and pre-made vacation books with several activities for them to do. (I probably went a little overboard, but I would rather be safe than sorry)

The best thing about the trip was I didn't have to go back to work the next day. I actually had time to do the mountain of laundry we had and get things put away the following day!

EASTER EGG EXCELLENCE

It's that time again where we all go crazy for Easter and the annual English Easter Egg Hunt! I have to admit that I started buying things for the hunt in January. (Crazy I know, but I enjoy it so much) We were lucky enough to have Jared and Erin come into town again for Easter this year so the entire family was there to celebrate. Although there were threats of rain, the weather held out and we were able to have the hunt go off without a hitch. We hid the golden egg again this year, which contained the grand prize of $5.00. Brendan found it! The kids all came into the house with grocery bags full of stuff, anything from cereal boxes, to pudding, to gummy carrots, toys and tons of candy.

We dyed Easter eggs later that afternoon at our home and Lydia came over to help decorate. We foiled some of the eggs and they were beautiful and vibrant in color.

Eater happened to fall on conference weekend this year so we were able to listen to the prophet and enjoy Easter candy at the same time. The Eater bunny did a fantastic job hiding the baskets this year, if he hadn't given Dan and I some clues, I don't think the kids would have ever found them. Madison's basket was hidden in her room in her closet and Jaxson's basket was hidden in the office in the filing cabinet. My favorite part of the morning was watching Reagan line up all her M&M's by color in a big long train. When she ran out, she took Madison's and Jaxson's too and began lining them up as well. She is a crack up! We enjoyed listening to conference, especially to President Uchtdorf talk entitled "You Are My Hands" The kids really picked up on this talk about serving others. He related a beautiful story about two brothers and their willingness to serve each other. The brothers owned a field and shared everything equally; however one of the brothers felt his other brother should have more because he had a bigger family to take care of, so he secretly added more of the harvest to his pile in the middle of the night. The other brother, felt his brother should have more because he didn't have a family to take care of him, so he secretly added more of the harvest to his pile during the same evening. The next morning both brothers were surprised that the piles looked even, so the the following night they repeated their actions, only to find the other brother doing the same thing. They both embraced and were overcome with the love and gratitude for one another.

I am so grateful for this Easter season and for the atoning sacrifice of our Savior. I love being able to have family home evening during this time of the year and centering it upon Christ. It has become a tradition to have the same lesson each year at Easter with 12 eggs that represent something from the Savior. Each egg holds something important leading up to Jesus Christ being crucified. Items such as a thorn, or red cloth, 3 dimes that represent the price the Savior was sold for. The last egg is always empty because it represents Christ being resurrected. It is a beautiful reminder of what our Savior did for each of us. We love ending the evening with a special treat - resurrection rolls (these delicious rolls contain crescent rolls, marshmallows and cinnamon sugar) YUMMY!

JAXSON'S BAPTISM

Jaxson has been looking forward to his baptism day for a long time, he was extremely excited about this opportunity to become a member of the church and receive the Holy Ghost.

On Jaxson's actual birthday we had the privilege of meeting with the Bishop for Jaxson's baptism interview. We were actually in his office when Jaxson turned 8 years old. Jaxson thought that was awesome and we paused and sang Happy Birthday to him.

On Saturday, March 27th 2010, Jaxson was baptized and confirmed a member of the church by his father. Below is a transcript of his blessing:

Jaxson Daniel Galli, by the authority of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood which we hold we confirm you a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and say unto you receive the Holy Ghost. Jaxson at this time we pronounce upon you a blessing, a blessing that will help guide you through the coming years. A blessing that will help you live your life. Jaxson, we bless you with the knowledge that you are a child of our Heavenly Father. That you are a member of His true church. Jaxson you have been blessed with the gift of the Holy Ghost, and through your righteousness as you go about your days you will have His constant companionship to help you to know the difference between right and wrong. To help you to make choices with your friends, with your school, and with your family, and in your daily life. Jaxson, we encourage you to use this power. Jaxson you have also been blessed with an open heart and an open mind. You have a knowledge of the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jaxson, you can be an example to all those around you. You are blessed with a great personality that you can use to enrich and enliven the lives of all those who you'll come in contact with. Jaxson I bless you with the ability to know that the choice you made today is the right one. These blessings and all those other blessings that our Heavenly Father sees fit for you this day we leave upon you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Jaxson wrote down some of his own feelings the day of his baptism. Below is what he wrote:

On my baptism day I felt great. I'm glad my family was there to support me. I am glad my Dad got to baptize me. When I was in the water I was excited and the water felt warm. I felt really good after i got the Holy Ghost. I felt really clean. Scott and Papa were the witnesses and when it was over we all went to my house for a party. My Nana gave me a special towel for my baptism and my Mom and Dad gave me a set of scriptures. When I received the Holy Ghost this is who stood in the circle; Dad, Papa, Scott, Chip, Brad Jones, Bishop Pike and Richard. It was a great day.


We are so proud of Jaxson and for the decision he made to get baptized. Even his little sister wants to be just like him. On the day of his baptism, she kept saying she was going to get baptized too. We kept telling her that when she was eight years old she could be baptized just like Jaxson. Her response was I am eight years old! When Jaxson was finished getting baptized, Reagan said "Ok, now it's my turn." Jaxson is a remarkable young man and I am so lucky to me his mother!

JAXSON 8TH BIRTHDAY

For Jaxson's 8th Birthday we put in an Olympics party! With less than a week to go before the party we had a lot of preparation to do - however we had a great time getting ready for the event. It became a family affair trying to get ready for the party. We had an obstacle course to make, cupcakes, party favors and several of items to finish up.

The first thing everyone did when they arrived at the party was make there own country flag and country name. The kids were all very creative. We listened to the Olympic theme songs and assigned everyone a competitive number for the games. The first event was the obstacle course. The kids had a series of things they had to do to complete the course, including; balance beam, hurdles, jump rope and more. The next event was the tug-o-war, followed by the discus throw and the long jump. We had a 50 yard dash and a 200 yard relay, in addition to a trampoline contest.

During the trampoline event, Reagan woke up from her nap and was standing in her bedroom window naked. I went up to help her and notice she had pooped out of her diaper and there was a log of poop on her bed, in addition to poop being all over her legs, blinds and chair. Madi was super sweet to help out and rinse her off in the bathtub so I could clean up her room and get back to the party. (This was something I was not prepared for or expecting during the party, but we got through it.)

After all of the games, we had torch cupcake cones. I baked cupcakes in an ice cream cone and put ice cream on the top, along with yellow colored cool whip and yellow and orange sprinkles.

All the kids left the party with Olympic themed water bottles and gold medals.

Jaxson loved this party because he loves anything to do with sports! Knowing this Dan and I gave him the following for his birthday, baseball and street hockey gear.

FULL TIME MOMMY

It's official, I am a full-time mom!

I have waited for this day for a long time. My heart is so full today because I get the privilege of being able to stay home with my kids and to become a better mom to them. I know there are going to be several days where I wish it was the other way around; however i have worked most of their lives, so I am going to try and enjoy it. I know this job doesn't come with much praise, but I know in the end it will have much reward.

Now I have to figure out how to be a mom and get a good routine going! There is so much I want to do in improve myself as a person and a mother - I just hope I can find the time to do it all.

I guess over the next couple months time will tell!

I love you Madi, Jaxson and Reagan and I am so blessed to be your mother.

DANCING IN THE RAIN

Dan and I attended the adult session of Stake Conference over the past weekend and I learned something that I will never forget. The message that one of the speakers gave has had a strong impact on me and I hope to continue referring to this message throughout my life when things seem hard and when difficult times seem to never end.

I don't remember the speakers name, all I remember is that he spoke about getting very sick last fall, so much that he was completely paralyzed from the neck down as a virus spread throughout his body. He being a young father, had to 100% rely on the people he loved including his immediate family and his ward family to help get him through this trying time. He had several young children at home which made it difficult for his wife. As he lay in his hospital bed not being able to move, he experienced deep sadness and at the same time deep love for the people servicing his family. He couldn't not believe the charity and kindness that he received during this time in an effort to keep is family going both emotionally and financially.

He did recover and is continuing to recover from his illness. What he said was this simple:

"LIFE IS NOT ABOUT WAITING FOR THE STORM TO PASS, IT'S ABOUT LEARNING TO DANCE IN THE RAIN!"

When I feel sad or discouraged, I will always remember this message and what it means to me. Life is about living it and not waiting for everything to be perfect, because it will never be perfect. There will always be something that will challenge us or discourage us. It's about learning to be happy in these moments anyway and knowing what things around you that are good!

Too many times I find myself complaining and this small quote has given me new insight on how to handle my trials.

JASON MRAZ

We love Jason Mraz at our house! Our favorite song is I'M YOURS!

One day while in the kitchen, I started singing the lyrics to this first-rate song and Reagan decided to help me out (with her own version) As I sang:

Open up your mind and see like me, open up your plans and your free...

Reagan joined in with: Open up your pants and you'll find love, love, love

I automatically looked at Dan and he immediately said I didn't not teach her that! The correct lyrics to the song are:

Look into your heart and you'll find love, love, love

Dan and I were laughing so hard, little did she know what that actually meant. I tried to teach her the correct lyrics and she kept telling me, "No mom, it's open up your pants." I couldn't get her to agree with me, so we left it at that and laughed for weeks about this little incident.

YOU NEED TO PUNISH ME!

Funny Story...

I left work early on a Friday afternoon so Dan and I could take the kids to see a movie. We were planning on seeing the Tooth Fairy, with Dwayne the "Rock" Johnson. Jaxson was especially looking forward to this. I left work later than I wanted to, as always and called Dan to tell him I was on my way home and to get the kids ready. Well instead of getting the kids ready they were off playing with friends and we had to go round them up.

We weren't sure where Jaxson was playing; however the next door neighbors told us he was at Dylan's house. When we went there, nobody answered. Dan even called out to the back yard to make sure they weren't playing outside and didn't hear the doorbell ring. He received no response, so we left and began our search for Jaxson. We started calling other neighbors and driving and around, nobody had seen him and he was no where to be found. We dropped Reagan off at my parents house anyway and continued to look for Jaxson. About 20 minutes later we went back over to Dylan's house and he had been there the entire time. They just didn't answer when Dan called out to them. Dan told Jaxson to go home and told him he was in trouble.

By this time we had already missed the movie (which we had purchased tickets for), so we went to pick Reagan back up and take her home. My parents were kind enough to offer to babysit her later so we could still catch the show, but we weren't sure if rewarding Jaxson at this point was a good idea. Jaxson then called us while we were picking up Reagan from his friend Jacob's house, asking if he could go to Karter's. Dan replied by saying "What are you doing at Jacob's? You are supposed to be home. You are in trouble for not letting us know where you were." We went back to the theater and explained our situation with our son and they were kind enough to give us a credit for our tickets.

As we arrived back home, Jaxson was in his bed sleeping (because he knew he was in trouble). At that time Dan and I had decided to go to the later show, because we didn't want to sit home on a Friday night and do nothing, so I went upstairs to talk with Jaxson about what had happened over the last hour and a half.

I woke him up and asked him if he knew why he was in trouble? He stated it was because he didn't tell us where he was going. I agreed and also explained to him that the reason it is a problem is because I love him and I worry about him. I told him it is about being safe! Not knowing where he is is scary and he always needs to let us know where he is going.

I gave him a hug and told him I forgave him. I then asked him if he wanted to go to the movie and he told me "No, because I needed to punish him." I responded with "What if I am done punishing you?" he stated that he shouldn't go to the movie because he got in trouble.

He honestly was not going to go to the movie because he thought he shouldn't due to his actions. It was so cute that I had to try not to laugh out loud. What a sweet boy to know when he had done something wrong and needed to face the consequences of his actions. At that point I really wanted to take him to the movie. We talked some more about safety and forgiveness then after some convincing he decided to join us for the movie.

JOESPH SMITH

On Martin Luther King Day we decided to take Madi and Jaxson to Temple Square for the day. I thought they would like the movie playing in the Joesph Smith Memorial Building about the life of the prophet Joesph Smith.

We started out our day by delighting ourselves with lunch at the Lion House. The kids had never been there and they have delicious rolls, not to mention everything else. As we ate lunch we talked about Brigham Young and how the house we were eating in was his home. We ate far too much - pie, rolls, etc. and then off to the Joesph Smith Memorial Building we went.

The kids learned quite a bit about Joesph's life and what he was able to accomplish here on this earth. The message was quite powerful! I will forever be amazed at what he endured and the faith of this man. I truly believe he was preordained to bring to pass the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I don't believe many people would have had the strength and tenacity of this man to keep going the way he did. In spite of all he suffered he never denounced the truth of what he had seen and been taught. He gave up his life for us so that we could have the gospel in our lives. I am indeed grateful for the prophet Joesph Smith! I just hope my children got a glimpse of what a remarkable man he was!

After the movie we headed over to the visitor center at temple square and learned more about the pioneers and the construction of the Salt Lake temple. We spoke to the sister missionaries for a while and wandered through all the exhibits in the visitor center.

It was an excellent way to spend the holiday. I can only hope that I am teaching the right way to live and what matters most in this life. I am grateful for my family and the blessings it brings me!

HOOPS and MORE HOOPS

Madi and Jaxson both enjoyed playing basketball this winter. It made our Saturday's a little crazy having two games each day, especially because they were never close together. Madi usually played at 8:00 or 9:00 in the morning and then Jaxson would play in the early afternoon. (Nothing is ever convenient)
Madi got to played with a couple of friends from school (Adalyn and Jessica). This was her first time playing and she really liked it. It was a workout for her that she wasn't used to, running up and down the court. The girls were interesting to watch because most of them didn't have much experience and nobody wanted to touch the ball. As soon as the ball landed in their hands, they were automatically looking for someone to throw the ball to. I'm glad Madi enjoyed playing the game instead of focusing on the win, plus it was nice to get some physical activity in!


Jaxson's games on the other hand were entirely different. It is amazing to me how competitive the boys become at such an early age. It is all about winning to them (although we try to teach him otherwise) I do love the confidence Jaxson possesses, it used to bother me until someone told me that it will go away quicker than it should, let him enjoy the fact that he believes he is superior at everything!

Sports with Jaxson is always entertaining because he is so in to it. The boys on his team are all fighting for the ball and when given the opportunity, it isn't about teamwork, its about being a ball hog. Jaxson is actually a talented player for his age. With Jaxson being my only boy, I am going to enjoy watching his as long as I can. (I know there are still a lot of years left in him, so maybe I won't always feel this way; but I'm glad I do now.)
Jaxson also gets to play with several friends in the neighborhood and friends from his baseball earlier in the year. Even his coaches are his baseball coaches. I believe it gives the kids a good sense of sportsmanship and teamwork, even if they all want to ball. It is excellent associating with the same kids with every sport.