Anybody miss me? Anyone? Anyone?

I have missed you! Time for an update! This is what we have been up to.

Curtis:

Working lots and lots.
Always online looking for our next vacation.
Watching the Jazz.
Going to our all time favorite store Costco.
Playing lots of basketball.

Deacon:

Doing puzzles, his aunt Kira one gave him one is California and ever since then he has gotten really good at them.
Asking Santa for a puppy pillow pet.
Going to preschool and learning a lot.
Pretending to be a teenage mutant ninja turtle.
Singing songs he has learned.
Getting excited for Christmas.

Sophia:

Working a lot at Shabby Apple do you like them? You want to do a giveaway on your blog? I can help you arrange that!
Loving the Christmas season.
Endlessly decorating for Christmas.
Seeing lots of friends.
Singing the theme song to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles each night to Deacon.
Keeping busy with my Young Women.
Counting my blessings.

Dani Vacca

One of my favorite things about the years I spent working at MAC was all the different people I met. So many of them have become dear friends. I loved when I was a manager interviewing and hiring people. You go to see people at their very best, their most excited and enthusiastic.

I can remember hiring Dani with Kallin, he was the manager and I was his assistant. She was so young and had the biggest smile. We both thought she would be a great fit.

She was really fun to get to know and had one of the most zany hilarious personalities I have ever known. I will always remember she had the most hilarious dance moves. I still have a note card from a training I helped facilitate on which she wrote that I was an amazing manager and someone she wanted to learn from. I did her makeup the very first day she worked at MAC and showed her the ropes, taught her the MAC way. I will always remember now how pretty she looked and how she gave me a hug when I was done. She said she had never had her makeup done so well. She was young and so excited about her life.

This past weekend Dani was killed in a car accident by a drunk driver. Young and beautiful and lots of life left to live.

I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for the opportunities I have had to know so many diverse wonderful people. I am learning to take pieces from each of these people and make myself better. I am also reminded that this life on earth is precious and we should treat everyone around us with as much love and compassion as we can.

I am taking comfort in these words:

For the joy of human love
brother sister parent child
Friends on earth and friends above
For all gentle thoughts and mild
Lord of all to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise

Did you think I forgot to be thankful?

I really did not. I am so thankful for so many things. And what about this oh so snowy Thanksgiving? I am thankful for that, I loved having my family home with my last night in my cozy little house with a cozy fire in the fireplace.
This year brought so much to be thankful for. Some things unexpected. The things for which I am most thankful this year include:

My lovely family, all included but more than anything Curtis and Deacon who make up my days and fill my heart.
Seeing my sister in Scotland and seeing more of Gods beautiful earth, it gave me a great thanks for the world I live in.
Going back to where Curtis served his mission and feeling first hand how much the people loved him and what a good man he is.
Living in the neighborhood I live in, where on a really bad day I cried to three different girls in my ward (on accident really) but all three thought nothing of it and just gave me a hug. Where on Sunday someone knew I was sick and I looked out my window to see my walks getting shoveled.
The weekly email that comes from my Dad, it is always a bright spot in my week, if we could just edit out the weekly paragraph about golf we would be golden.
For food and health and for my body.
Friendships that I simply could not do without. Knowing that when I need someone I have so many people to ask for help.
Prayers being answered.
Being able to give of my time and talents has brought me so much joy.
Laughing each day, I am surrounded by people who make me laugh and smile.
Thankful to be who I am where I am even if it is challenging at times, I am thankful.

A story about a Stone

Let me tell you about the busiest week ever. This week was set up to be a busy one, lots of good stuff but very busy. Lots of things happening that had taken months of planning. So when I woke up Sunday night at 3:00 am with a pretty bad pain in my right side I was stressed out. After taking a pain pill and laying on a heating pad I was able to fall asleep. The next morning I went to the intstacare so I could get checked out, the doctor determined it was most likely a kidney infection and maybe a kidney stone. He put me on a antibiotic and sent me on my way. Monday and Tuesday I tried to take it easy.

Wednesday was a big day. The Lower Lights were coming to do a fireside for our youth and I was in charge. I felt much much better on Wed. I was sure I was over the worst part. The fireside was amazing, better than I could have hoped for and I was so thankful to feel well on that day.

Thursday was pretty much the same a little tired a little weak but felt like it was nothing a good night of sleep could not cure.

Friday I had a big thing at work I needed to help at from 1-6 and then I needed to come home and do one million things to prepare for the Christmas boutique fundraiser I was having at my house the next day with my friends. I had put off almost all baking and setting up until that night since I felt so crappy.

Well about one hour into my work event I started feeling weird. Not quite right, painful stomach. I started to get anxious and nervous. I got out of there as quick as I could and called Curtis to explain my lower abdomen pain. When I walked in the house he had a big glass of water and two pain pills waiting, I was so relieved. I was sure they would kick in quickly. They did not. no relief whatsoever. After an hour of horrible pain I told Curt we had to go the hospital. I felt so dramatic, I could hear myself crying and whining and saying how much pain I was in but I could not stop myself! It was hands down the worst pain I have ever been in. Much worse than labor pains for me because there is no relief no break between contractions.

When we got to the instacare they were able to get me in really quickly and get a blood and urine sample to quickly determine that I for sure had a kidney infection and most likely from how crazy I was being a kidney stone as well. Then finally I was able to get a shot to relieve the pain, thank the heavens above. It took about twenty minutes for it to kick in and got better and better from there. I went into the bathroom after the pain shot and laughed out loud at my appearance, red sweat pants gray t-shirt flip flops mascara run down my face from my tears and my hair half in a ponytail half down. I looked like a true blue crazy person. They probably were scared of me.

After the instacare we went to IMC and got a scan where they indeed found a 5 millimeter kidney stone. If if were any bigger than that they would most likely have had to do surgery. I was thankful it was not any bigger. I was also thankful that the doctor said it was pretty much out of the super painful zone.

The next day my girlfriends all came and helped make our fundraiser great. They were so awesome to stay all day with me and let me take my pain pills and be sort of out of it. Amazingly Heather just happened to have all the ingredients for the red velvet cookies I was supposed to make so she made them for me. The Fundraiser was a huge success and I was thankful.

Last night and today I just feel tired weak and out of it. I am thankful that I get to stay home and enjoy the pretty snow and get better from inside my house. I am very impressed if anyone read this whole story! I want to remember all the details because it was the craziest week ever. And I think the description of me at the doctors is certainly worth remembering.

I love a cute little town

I really love quaint unique places. San Juan Capistrano is just that. Little houses turned shops cute restaurants and even a petting zoo. We had a great time there.



Kira truly almost smuggled this thing home in her purse.
This about sums up my life.
Deacon and a goat about his size.
Curt picked a guinea pig to match his outfit.
Deacon was in heaven petting all the animals.
Kira kept showing up with new crazy creatures.
Me and a couple goats.
Deacon would just demand which one he wanted to hold.


All in all a great little town and a great time.

This that and Las Vegas

Curt eating Kira's jello popcorn balls from their childhood.
I will know if my Dad actually reads my blog when he see where we ate in Las Vegas.

This foot massager is the absolute best thing in Kira's house, I have had with drawls.
Kira proudly displays her popcorn balls.
I made vanilla raspberry cupcakes with raspberry cream cheese white chocolate frosting, whew!
Love this ensemble.
A great little creperie we ate at.
Deacon enjoyed a spaghetti dinner in Las Vegas. I swear Deacons favorite part was staying in a hotel with us in Las Vegas on our way down. When we got our room I told Curt "oh this is not too bad" so the rest of the night Deacon kept saying "its not too bad mom! its not too bad!"

Each meal we went out for we brought tons of entertainment with us! Deacon was pretty good for the most part.
Proof we went to Las Vegas. One night in California we went out to my Aunt Tina and uncle Jim's house and saw my cousins Pip Calvin and their families. It was so great to see them as we pulled away I told Curt "we did not take one picture!" bummer, I was really glad to see them.
We had a great time staying at Kira's house, she is a awesome host. Deacon was perfect in the car, no tears or fits for the whole twenty hours or so we drove. So glad we went. Lets make it a annual trip!

Beach bums and Beach babes

While in California it was 90 degrees in November, so we headed to the beach. We all loved it. We went to Corona Del Mar and it was one of my favorite beaches I have been to, when talking to my mom I guess I have been there a bunch of times before but it felt new and exciting to me! Nobody was prepared with a full on swimsuit besides Deacon, he sure took advantage of that! He loved the ocean.
Totally fearless, ran right in and got his whole body and head totally wet.
Loving the waves.
Curtis and Deacon in the distance, a beautiful beach.
The family posing for a picture.
The cave where we had our little picnic. I saw far to many crabs in that cave for my liking. Can you tell Deacon loved the beach?
Kira and Deacon running from the waves, love this picture.
Another family shot, what a perfect beach day.

Disneyland, ya we went there.

We had a good old time at Disneyland. We waited to go on our last day in California and it was awesome. Everyone loved it and Deacon was in complete awe. Please enjoy the photos and my commentary. A classic tea cup photo opp. Did not even go on that ride.
Goofy was the only character we got a photo with I ran right after him and demanded a picture.
This is us before heading into the park, Deacon was about to get his mind blown.
This is on pirates of the Caribbean, I thought he was cuddled close to me because he was scared then I looked down and he was dead asleep. Pretty cute.
When something goes wrong on a ride and they have to turn the lights on everything looks slightly less magical.
This has got to be my favorite picture of the day.
Getting ready to ride the world famous Dumbo, have not ridden it in probably twenty years.
Kira was mesmerized by these dwarf's from Snow White.
Looking good on the Buzz Lightyear ride.
Curt's brother Mark was in town for work and came and met up with us. Cant do Disneyland without a Turkey leg!
Deacon loved this rocket ride.
One of the last photos of the day, I am sure none of us can feel our feet at that point. It was a blast and the best part was seeing it all from Deacons point of view. Loved it!