A Year in review..

What did you do in 2008 that you have never done before?

Bought a Mac...I have to tell you that I was honestly nervous but it is the best decision I have ever made!

Did you keep your New Year's Resolutions and will you make more for 2009?  

Well, lets just say that most of my last year resolutions are this years with a few added. 

Did anyone close to you give birth?

My friend Wendy Bates gave birth to a baby boy on December 23 at 12am.

Did anyone close to you die in 2008?

I think that the deal toll in my family in 2006 and 2007 made up for not having anyone this year.  There was one man that did pass away that I was saddened by and that was 

President Hinckley.  I wouldn't say that we were "close" but I really enjoyed listening to his inspiration as a prophet and I will miss that!  A friend of mine lost her baby boy.  Angel Michael was only 3 months old when he passed away.  I had the pleasure of taking pictures of him about a week before he passed away.  

What countries did you visit this year?

Mexico on a cruise

What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?

Weight Loss.

What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

July 28th, the day my baby girl started Kindergarten.  It was a bitter sweet.  I was so sad to see her grow up but she was so happy to go.  I didn't really realize how much I missed having her home until these past few weeks that sh

e has been home.  It has been pure joy!

What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Keep my photography business going in an economy that is struggling.  I was really worried but I did very well.  Also, that I potty trained my son.  Didn't think it would ever happen.

What was your biggest struggle in 2008?

Missing my Daddy and Sister.  You'd think that time would heal my wounds but it just keeps getting worse.  The more milestones that my kids have the more I miss them both and wish they were here to see it.

Did you suffer any illness or injury in 2008?

I didn't have either but I did have 2 MRI's that amounted to nothing!  Just a big bill.  They still haven't found the cause of my heartbeat in my ear that I've had for 14 months or if the cyst in my brain is causing any problems.  Sometimes I wonder what doctors are really for?  I will need another MRI to see if there are any changes this year.

What was the best thing you bought this year?

My Mac.

Whose behavior merited celebration?

Melinda Adams...even through the grief of her daughter, Trinity, she seems to keep going and keeps her daughters memory alive by many acts of service.  She still morns the loss of her daughter as any Mother would and is totally honest about it.  I think this is amazing!  I love her honesty and strength.  She is an amazing Mother and person that I look up to. (This is a picture of Melinda giving gifts to a hospital this year at Christmas.)

Whose behavior disappointed you?

Why would I even begin to answer this question on here!

Where did most of your money go?

To bills...where else does it go?

What did you get really really excited

 about this year?

Chase being potty trained.  We are officially in underwear everyday as of November.  

What song will always remind you of 2008?

Jingle Bells, Gap Style.  I think I've listened to it about 76 times!!  =)

Compared to this time last year, are you: much happier, much nicer, or richer?

Well, I'm definitely not richer but I am always happy and I hope that I am nicer too.  That is something that I can always work on.  I need to be much nicer to those I love.

What were some of the most memorable trips you went on this year?

1. A cruise to Mexico

2. Disneyland with Grandma Hockey (Auntie Heather, Uncle Doug, Serenity, and Landen met us there)

3. Visiting Auntie DD in Pismo (playing with Joran and Keanu) 4 times!

4. A week in San Diego with Grandma Hockey

What do you wish you had done more of?

Service.

What do you wish you had done less of?

Eat.

Did you fall in love in 2008?

I am already in love!

What were your favorite TV programs in 2008?

I don't think that this blog is long enough to hold them all.  2008 is the official first full year that I have had DVR and it showed!  My favorite would have to be a tie between House, Fringe, American Idol, and The Hills.  Other shows that I love are: Mentalist, So you think you can Dance, The Bachelorette, The Office, Making the Band, and Secret Millionaire.  I know that I'm missing a ton but I just can't think of them right now. 

What were your best books you read this year?

Well, the only book that I read this year was the first 5 chapters of Twilight.

What was your greatest musical discovery this past year?

That Britney's (my niece) taste in music stinks!  Sorry Britney!

What did you want and get?

An Ipod.  I got a purple 16G Ipod Nano for Christmas from Danny.  Love it!  =)

What was the best movie you saw this year?

Hummm...let me guess, YES MAN!

What did you do on your birthday and how old did you turn?

I turned 31 this year and on my birthday I was in San Diego.  I actually got to see a great friend, Emily Fellmer, that I haven't seen in years.  Danny and I met her at a Chevy's and just hung out...it was awesome to see her.

What one thing would have made your year more satisfying?

More dates with my husband.  This year we have both made the goal to go out once a month.  Also, spending more time with family.  

How would you describe your personal fashion statement this year? Four words....New York and Company

What kept you sane this year?

A cruise with Danny, Brenda, and Jason. It was the first time since Danny and I had kids that we both went away without them.  It was well needed but we missed our kidos SO much!  

What celebrity did you fancy the most?

Is this even a question?  Jim Carrey!

Who did you miss this past year?

I miss my Daddy and my sister the most but other than that I would have to say my Mom, Tracy Furness and Heather Brandow.  My mom comes down to visit often but of course I would love to see her more!  Tracy moved to Utah a few years ago but I have thought about her quite a bit this year and would love to go visit her sometime in 2009.  It is time!  Heather lives in Fresno which isn't that far away but with our kids getting older we just don't seem to find the time to see each other as often as we used to.  I miss that!

Who were the best new people you met this year?

Kaylene and Riiana from gymnastics.  Kaylene wasn't a new person I met this year but our friendship did grow much more this year.  I am so sad to see her move to Ripon.  =(   Riiana and I have a great social hour on Thursdays.  =)

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned this year.

I need to keep my mouth shut.

Gingerbread Train...

Instead of making a Gingerbread house this year we made a Gingerbread train. It was a lot of fun but I think the kids had more fun destroying it!  =)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

On Christmas Eve we went to Papa Tractor and Grandma Cookie's house.  We had a yummy dinner which consisted of my favorite au gratin potatoes, made by Grandma Cookie.  I look forward to them every year!  =)

Then we had somewhat of a program to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.   

Then we busted into the gifts.   It was a good evening.

Then we drove to Bakersfield on Christmas Day to celebrate Christmas with my family.  The food was excellent but my brother and sister-in-law didn't make it because they were having sewage problems.  That was a total bummer.

Here is a picture of Isabella and Chase at Grandma Cookie's and Grandma Hockey house.

Here comes Santa Claus

When we were at gymnastics Santa came by for a visit.  Isabella went straight up to him and sat on his lap.  She told Santa that she wanted a bell.  I think that came from The Polar Express. =)  

Then it was Chase's turn.  He yelled to Santa from a distance that he wanted Geo Trax.  He walked up a little closer to get his candy cane and then I asked him to just turn around so that I could get a picture.  He wasn't very happy about it as you can see but I got my picture!  =)

I should have know that this was the start of a bad thing because on Christmas Eve we talked a lot about Santa bringing gifts.  Chase wasn't very happy with the idea of Santa coming into our house but I didn't realize that it was going to be as big of a problem as it turned out to be .  That night he woke up 3 times crying and finally ended up in our bedroom because he was having nightmares of Santa coming into our house.  It was a long night for Chase, Mommy, and Daddy.  We were exhausted on Christmas Day.   Next year we'll just have him sleep with us for the start.

Polor Express..

On the Wednesday before her last day of school, Isabella had Polar Express Day.  They were able to wear their PJ's to school that day and when we arrived the teachers were shouting ALL ABORD in the hallways and tooting a whistle.  Then Mrs. Tiede passed out Polar Express Boarding Passes to the kids and even punched holes in them. 

Then they went into the classroom where the desks were rearranged as a train and the Polar Express music CD was playing.  They worked on a train book and were making a graph as to wether they wanted marshmallows or not in their hot chocolate.  I left at this point but I'm sure the rest of the day was as well planned as the morning was.  I know that they went into University Hall and watched The Polar Express projected on the wall.

It was such a cute day!  Isabella loved it!  =)

A big rewind

I've been looking at pictures a lot today and realized that I missed Isabella's feast at school.  The pictures are so cute with all the kids in either their pilgrim or indian attire.  I just had to do a big rewind back to Thanksgiving and share these!

Oh Christmas tree...

This year we all decorated the Christmas tree.  Normally I do it all by myself.  It was so nice for it to be a family event this year.  I think that my Christmas tree is my favorite Christmas decoration because every ornament on our tree has meaning behind it.  It reminds me of a lot of people and I love enjoying reliving all those moments again!  When we were decorating the tree there were a lot of ornaments on one branch and I was going to change it but felt that it was a true representation of us and that I didn't want to change it.  So, if it looks a little off that is why.  Here are a few pictures from that evening.  

Crazy Hair Day

On December 11th Gym Stars had crazy hair day.  The kidos were so excited to have crazy hair and had a ton of fun while I was doing it.  Chase had green hair and Isabella had purple hair.  

On our way to gymnastics, Isabella got nervous about going into gymnastics with crazy hair.  The entire drive to gymnastics she talked about how nervous she was. 

Everyone loved their hair and talked about it so they were excited about it at that point.

When we got home Chase told me that he didn't want his crazy hair anymore!  =)

Two hours of relaxation...

For my birthday in October of 2007 I got an hour and a half massage from my great friend Catherine Tate for California Skin and Laser Spa.  I didn't use it until December 6th of 2008.  =)   

It was so amazing.  She actually massaged me for 2 hours instead of an hour and a half and it didn't cost me a penny more.  This was seriously the best massage I've ever had!  So, if you live in Stockton and you are looking for a great massage call them!

Sicko Sushi!

On December 5th I tried Sushi for the first time at Mikuni's in Elk Grove.  It is TOTALLY Disgusting!!!  First of all I hate fish and Danny, Brenda, and Jason tried to tell me that it didn't taste like fish.  I must be a fool for believing that a dish made out of fish didn't taste like fish but I believed them.   Just for the record, fish is all I could taste!   The teriyaki beef was excellent!

Then we went on a search for a movie theatre in Elk Grove.  We found one bought ticket decided to go to another theatre.  We returned our tickets and finally found the other theatre and saw the 007 movie.  It was really good.

We had a great night out with friends!  Happy Birthday Jason! 

Our Christmas Card..

I just had to share my Christmas Card with everyone.  I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!  

Isabella's 5 year old pictures...

It is about a month late but I decided to do Isabella's 5 year old pictures.  I took my kids to Old Town Sacramento for our Christmas card pictures so I took advantage of that and did Isabella's pictures.  There are so many that I love but I'll keep it to a minimum.  There was a way cute one of Chase that I had to add in too.  =)

Flash Back...

I have so many things to update on my blog that I probably won't get to everything but I had to show you pictures from Isabella's birthday in November.  We had it at the Children's Museum of Stockton.  It was so much fun.  I would recommend them to anyone.  =)

Thanksgiving...

at the Brandow's.  It is so cute when all the cousin's get together.  Here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving.  They aren't great but I had to share them.  Also, a family picture from Thanksgiving.  I had to post them before Christmas.  Can you believe that Christmas is in 9 days.  Wow, how the year has flown by!

Laugh of the day...

Brenda and I went and got a pedicure a couple weeks ago and this sign was hanging in there.  I had to share so that everyone could get a good laugh! 

Happy Monday!!  =)

Today is one of those days...

that I am so thankful and blessed to have my children.  I just can't imagine my world without them nor do I like to.  I woke up this morning having a bad dream that something horrible happened to Chase.  It felt so real that I cried on Danny after I woke up.  I then went into Chase's room and he noticed me and I was so glad because all I wanted to do was hug him.  I just sat there at the end of his bed and hugged and hugged and hugged him.  It was a great moment.  He was a little groggy from just waking up and just sat there in my arms.  Usually he wiggles and it is hard to truly enjoy it.  Not this morning!  I am just thankful that it was a dream and that I was able to wake up from it.

I have two dear friends who have lost a child and I thought about them a lot today.  My heart ached so much when I thought Chase was gone and it was just a dream.  I can't imagine it not being a dream.  I felt sick to my stomach like I was going to throw up.  I now got a glimpse of what they feel everyday except they aren't lucky enough to wake up from their bad dream.  I just want both of them to know that I am so sorry that they are going through the things that they are going through.  If they ever need to talk, I'm here! 

A birthday gift....

One of Isabella's birthday gifts this year was a donation for a book in the school library.  Right after Isabella's birthday she was able to go into the library and pick out a book.  They then put her information and picture in the book stated that she donated it.

The best part of this story is the book that she picked out. Isabella's Aunt DeeDee had a hamster named Buzz.  Isabella loved that hamster.  He actually was so cute and so sweet.  Well, on Isabella's birthday buzz died.  Isabella was so sad.  A few days later she got to pick her birthday book and this is the book she came home with.  She told me that it was for Buzz.  I thought that was so awesome!

Isabella's field trip to a play...

For Isabella's second field trip she went to a play to see, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat on November 21st.  It was so cute!  

For this field trip they were only able to take 3 parent helpers.   They did a random lottery drawing to choose the parents and I didn't get chosen.  =(   Then, the day before the play, I got a call from Mrs. Tiede that a parent got sick and wasn't able to go and she asked if I'd like to go.  Of course!  I was so excited.  I have to give a big thanks to Grandma Cookie for watching Chase for me so that I could go.  None of my friends could watch him because they all had plans since it was so last minute.