DISNEYLAND!

Well here it is! The photos you have all been patiently waiting for!

DISNEYLAND!

The trip was a BLAST and we will definitely be going again in a few years. My favorite moment of the trip was on our first night. We went into the park on the first night to watch Fantasmic. We were only in the park for the show and then went back to the hotel. On our way out (at 10:00 at night) Amalyssa saw a balloon she really wanted. We told her we would get it for her when we came back tomorrow.

"But dad... what if they run out before tomorrow!??"
"Do you want to know the magic of Disneyland?"
"YEAH!"
"They NEVER run out of stuff to sell us!"


And here is a sneek peek of what I did to my hair today!!!



Nope... not showing you pictures of it until I get it colored next Tuesday!!!
But just for reference... I have the MOST AMAZING hair dresser if any of you are looking for a good one! ;)

Here is a bite.

The conundrum of Blogging-

When you have things to blog about... you have no time to blog.

When you have time to blog..... you have nothing to blog about!!



So I know you are all waiting for Disneyland pictures to show up here. I am waiting too! I keep checking but they haven't uploaded themselves yet!

Truth is there just hasn't been enough of me to go around this week.... so the blogging suffers. I will get the pictures up eventually... I hope. :) Maybe tomorrow Scott will bless me with a few kid free hours to blog.

Until then here is a little piece for your enjoyment.
This was the night we got into Anaheim. We went into the park to see Fantasmic. It is one thing I remember from when I went to Disneyland before, and I really wanted to see it again. This is Braden's reaction to his first glimpse of the magic of Disneyland. This is my favorite video. Sorry for the end part though. Trying to find Amalyssa in the dark didn't go so well.

A day of change

Well.... it finally came.... I knew that it would. I am not sure I was completely ready for it... but then I suppose I never really would be.

Scott and I made a deal 5 1/2 years ago when we found out we were having a beautiful baby girl. Scott said he wanted his daughters to have long hair. Jokingly he said he didn't want to let them cut it until their 16th birthday. I told him we could grow our daughters hair long until they were old enough to ASK for it to be cut. Well.... that time has come.

With Amalyssa going to school every day I have been more adamant that it be brushed and look nice for school. Usually this requires pulling it back in some fashion. She doesn't have much patience for this kind of thing. She doesn't like getting her hair done. Brushing is fine... but only once.. MAYBE twice a day. I have told her that part of having long hair is taking care of it. For a while she decided long hair was worth the effort. This past month though she has changed her mind. She has been asking to cut her hair short. I made sure she MEANT it before we ran for a pair of scissors. I wanted her to KNOW what decision she was making.

Tonight we went over to Scott's dear cousin Amanda to have it cut. Amanda is an amazing hair dresser... I love you Amanda!!!!

My little girl is growing up... I haven't shed a tear...yet... (trust me there are waterfalls of tears in my heart).

"So STOP rambling and show us some PICTURES already!!!!"

Ok- now I get to ramble again - My blog.. my ramble!! LOL
I LOVE the hair cut!! Really I do. I think it is ADORABLE on her. To me she looks happier... bubblier... stronger. I am proud of her for really making this choice on her own. I thought I was totally ready to shed her long locks. It was ME who had to do it, brush it, and be embarrassed when it was snarly. So why am I crying inside now that it is gone? I think it is bitter sweet tears. I am happy she is so strong and independent. I am excited to see her growing up. But... I am seeing my little girl grow up..... become her own person... not need her mommy so much anymore (which in MANY ways is a joyous thing!). I am really surprised at how hard this is really hitting me.

Thanks Amanda for the wonderful job you did!
You are so sweet and awesome!!!

Before we cut her hair Amanda helped me do some quick research into hair donation. I have heard of it before but never looked into it much. Basicaly you cut off your long hair in a pony tail and then they can use the hair to make a wig. The wigs are given to children who loose their hair due to illness or medical treatment. We found a place that would take the length of hair that we could get off Amalyssa without going shorter than we wanted to. Amalyssa was thrilled with the idea. We showed her some before and after pictures on the site of girls who have gotten wigs from donated hair. She thought it was a great idea and is so excited to send her pony tail into them. I think that is a good part of the reason I am so emotional. My little girl cares... she wants to make a difference to someone out there... and I know that it WILL make a difference to someone. Have I said I am proud of her? I am.


Ok... enough SOBBING from me before I really do leak water from my eyes instead of just my heart. To lighten the mood really quick here is a cute story. I went to check on her after she had gone to bed. She called me into the room and said (in all seriousness) "Mom.... tonight is my first night with short hair. I keep having bad thoughts that someone is going to come and chop it all off." hehe... she is too cute... dosen't she know we already DID chop it all off!??

Here is a final parting shot for you of her long hair. Dad loved her long hair, so this morning she let me take 45 min to curl her hair and take pictures. As I made this page for her to put in her memory book it really hit me that beauty is not on the outside... but truly on the inside. She is the same Amalyssa that she was before the hair got chopped (somehow I think I expected the bad parts of her attitute to leave with the hair... it didn't). She is still, and always will be a daughter of God... my daughter here on earth... and beautiful in every way.

I LOVE YOU AMALYSSA!

Re-Introductions!

Re-introducing

Sadie and Jewel

We finally changed their names! We decided we just couldn't live with the names Irene and Ivette (yes the name was really spelled that way... weird.. I know)

Sadie got her name first. Scott really wanted to call her Spaz... but I just couldn't agree with that one. We came upon Sadie and both thought that it fit her well.

Sadie's personality is really fun. She is TOTALLY lovey! When she wants loves the motor comes on and she is in your face! No really... she is IN YOUR FACE! She really likes faces for some reason. She will climb right up by your head and curl up purring in your ear. She is also our adventure cat. Sadie likes to run and play and try to sneak outside when you aren't looking. (nope, they are not allowed outside.... but Sadie doesn't agree with that rule). Sadie is very much the dominant cat. She gets her way while Jewel hangs back and patiently waits her turn. Sadie has been known to hiss and growl if she thinks you are too close to her food or her toy.... a bit on the greedy side really. The last trait that I think is 'fun' about Sadie is that she loves to climb.... but not just anything... PEOPLE! Mostly me... actually. If I am cooking on the counter she will try to claw her way up my jeans to see what I am doing. She has come up my back several times while we are sitting at the dinner table. Usually I see it coming and can stop her... but sometimes she comes out of nowhere and surprises my tender flesh with her claws. Though she can be a real pill sometimes she is a fun cat to have and we love her quirks.

Jewel was a bit more difficult to name... ok... A LOT more difficult to name. She was 'my' cat. The cat that I fell in love with. I LOVE LOVE LOVE her markings! Her cute ears.. her white tiped tail, and the patches of tan on her back. She is my beauty queen. I wanted to find the perfect name for her. I searched the internet hours a day for an entire week! (yes really... lame... I know). It was so wierd... I felt like I knew her name... like there was one perfect name out there just waiting. It was kindof like if you have forgoten someones name and you are trying to remember it. It is there... on the tip of your toung.... you KNOW that if you heard it you would remember... but you just CAN'T remember! UGH... it bugged me ALL week... probably will bug me for the rest of my life... because I never 'remembered' the perfect name. Finally on Saturday... one whole week after bringing her home, she got her name. Amalyssa decided she should be names Jewels. Amalyssa had MANY names for both the cats... but they changed every few minutes and mom and dad didn't care for most of them (fluffy and princess particularly). Well Amalyssa called her Jewel all day... and by the night I was calling her Jules. So it stuck... and that is her name. Jewel with a nick name Jules. (p.s. my scrapbook page only has a fraction of the names I tried on this poor kitty....)

Jules is a quiet cat who likes to sleep in hidden corners. She really stands back and lets Sadie take center stage. I love that about her though. There is something so mature and sweet about the way she does it. Not shy or afraid of people really... just very content to be herself. She can get lovey sometimes but not nearly as much as Sadie. She is my regal queen. My sweet beauty queen. (can you tell I really love this cat!)

New family members!

No Scott and I are not announcing another baby. Just want to clear that right up!! What we do have is two new FURRY family members!!

Introducing Yevette and Irene!!!
(names may be subject to change)
Can you tell the were thrilled to be getting their picture taken?

This is Irene... the girl who started it all. Here we have the beginning of our story.




Mom, dad, myself, and the kids where headed out for a short shopping trip. The original destination was Khols. I didn't think the kids or dad would be too thrilled to stand around and look at womens blouses so when we pulled up and I saw the PetSmart I had a fantastic idea!

I sent dad off with the kids to look at the pets while mom and I did the real fun Shopping!! (Khols jewelry ROCKS!) LOL. After we were done shopping we went over to PetSmart to collect the others. Well... I made one fatal mistake in my planning..... and NO.. it WASN'T sending the kids to the pet store (we go there all the time to LOOK, but they know we don't bring anything home) My fatal mistake was in walking a little to slowly past the cat adoption cages.... OOPS!

I was looking at all the cats and thinking "see... I don't need a cat... I am not falling in love with any of them... they are cute... but not that........................... AW LOOK AT THAT ONE!!!!!!!"

I had laid eyes on Irene. I LOVED her coloring... I loved her cuddly personality... I was hooked.

Scott and I have talked about the cat thing before and I KNEW Scott was not really wanting a cat at this point in time... but I had to ASK! So I called him up.. he said no (nicely) and we left to go meet him for our pre-planned lunch. (He hadn't TOTALLY shut me down at this point... but I knew his answer was no and he was sticking to it).

After a nice lunch mom, dad, and the kids went to go to Ikea. I needed to get home an get ready for my house warming party. On the way home Scott and I really had a chance to discuss the 'cat topic'. Scott agreed to stop at the pet shop to see the cat I liked (mostly I think because I was pretty sure she was gone by this point). We went in and there she was cuddled up with her sister. I pulled her out... we looked at her... talked a little more... then came the moment of truth.. I said "Well... we have to get to the house for the party so are we going to buy her or leave her here?"

I was completely prepared for his answer... it was written all over his face.... 'no dear... we cant take her home.. I know she is cute but I am just not ready for a cat' OR SO I THOUGHT HE WOULD SAY!

Instead he says... "Well... I think we should take them both home."

WHAT!?????

I was COMPLETELY unprepared for THAT answer!!!!! So here is Yevette, our other baby.


Long story shorter..... It took 2 hours to adopt these cuties (WHO KNEW!??) And we BARELY made it home in time for our own house warming party! LOL (we kept the cats in a room by themselves during the party so as not to traumatize the poor cuties.)

We surprised the kids and they are thrilled! The have been really good so far with the kitties. The cats were already named but we are thinking we might change them.... it is kind of a tongue twister when you are trying to say both their names. We will wait a few days and see if the names stay or change.