Merry Christmas

We did a fun zip line. The kids thought it was great.

Fun in Maui

Aloha! We've arrived in Maui and we are having an amazing time.
We went on an awesome hike. Everything was so beautiful. Our favorite were all of the banyon trees.
This was the view from the top.
14 grandkids and 2 grandparents at the Luau.
What could be better than a virgin lava flow at a luau?
Tanner sporting the snorkel gear.

I'm Dreaming of a White (Sand) Christmas...

Suntan lotion = Stocking Stuffers? We're off to Maui for a dreamy Christmas vacation. We are going to be there with 26 Call family members and we are so excited. I have successfully packed all of Christmas in one small suitcase including the stockings. Mele Kalikimaka!
Sunday we had a mini Christmas with my family because we weren't going to be together for the holidays. My siblings and I went in on an i-pod and docking station for my parents. Who needs presents when you've got all of these cans?Cade flying his new remote control helicopter.
Total pre-Christmas choas. Oh what fun!
Weston excited about his new baseball mitt.
Tanner just excited to have a gift and to be the first to get to open his present. You know the good old youngest to oldest thing.

Thanksgiving Week

The week started out with a great day at the beach. Nothing beats going to the beach in November. My crazy kids even swam in the ocean.
Pre-Thanksgiving dinner family soccer game. We had so much fun playing in the mud.
Matt, Tim and Marisa doing the first round of post Thanksgiving dinner dishes.
Tanner with his new best friend Mike. Who loves Mike more, Sara or Tanner?
Breakfast at Ruby's on the Huntington Pier.
Tanner being disciplined by Scott.
A crazy family baseball game.

A busy fall season

We have survived a very busy fall. I always knew that someday all four kids would be playing sports at the same time and this was the first season that we actually lived through it. We saw a lot of fun soccer games and with Cade playing his first season on Pop Warner football we have spent a ton of time in the car. With going back to school, the election, and sports we have kept ourselves busy but we've had fun too.
Cade as a box of Wheaties.
Look at those muscles on the "Hulk."
Tanner as a very tough SWAT officer.
The cutest bee I've ever seen.
Haylie on her way to school as a "cave girl."
I dressed up as Pippy Longstocking for the Youth Dance.
This is us anxiously awaiting High School Musical 3. The whole family went and we had fun watching them sing and dance.

I love this

Can't wait for Nov. 4th

This picture is so inspiring. Over 75 people came out to hold signs and be apart of the "Yes on Prop 8" sign waving. It's a thrill to be apart of this experience.
Matt on his morning sign waving shift. It is fun to hear the cars honk in support of Prop 8. So many people have worked so hard and I can't wait for the election on the 4th.

The Birthday Girl on her Bongo Board

When I was a little girl one of my favorite things to do at my Grandma's house was to Bongo Board. This year my siblings and I decided to get my mom a Bongo Board for her birthday. There's nothing like trying to recreate those childhood memories! Happy Birthday Mom. We love you and we feel extremely blessed to have such a wonderful mom and grandma in our lives. Haylie and Marisa enjoying the bongo board.

Open Minded

I was recently knocking on doors for the Yes on Prop 8 campaign in California and the answer I got from one lady was that she is "open minded." I left her door realizing that she was saying that I was not open minded and this was not meant as a positive thing. I have thought a lot about this simple statement. And in this case, I know what I believe and I know in my heart what is right. I will not be swayed with my environment and by what pop culture decides is right. I have a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and I bleieve that marriage has been ordained of God and is between a man and a women. The family is the fundamental unit of society it has been since Adam and Eve. I love all peole and celebrate that we all have differences but this does not change how I feel about traditional marriage. So in the end I learned something important from that lady at the door and that is that my beliefs are set and in this case I'm not open minded but instead steadfast and immovable.

Vacation in Paradise

The Atlantis in the Bahamas was our home for a week. We had a blast there with my parents, siblings, spouses, and no one under the age of 21 was allowed. Or in other words we got to spend a week without the kids and it was a heavenly getaway.

When was the last time you got to ride in the back of a pick-up truck? It's totally illegal in California but apparently it doesn't matter in the Bahamas. We drove like this to pick up the scooters that we rented for a day. Riding scooters around the island was one of my favorite things that we were able to do. They drive on the left hand side of the road which made everyone a bit nervous. While riding scooters we got caught in a huge rain storm. It was so fun to just be standing outside getting totally soaked. We stopped in front a local church and they took us in and let us wait out the storm on their patio. The people there were so friendly and they went out of their way to be helpful and give directions to lost tourists. We ate at some amazing restaurants. And since there were no kids with us it didn't matter that our reservations weren't until 9pm.

Me, my sisters and my mom.We spent our time snorkeling, swimming with dolphins, going down some fun water slides at the Atlantis but most of our time during the day was spent at the mile long lazy river. It couldn't have been a more perfect week.
These are some of the beautiful flowers.

We all left with a conch shell and huge starfish. It was fun buying things from the locals. So long paradise and welcome back to real life. We got home late Saturday night and so I didn't check my email until 7am on Sunday. While checking my email I was thrown back into reality quickly...I was needed at the church at 8am for song practice, Haylie was to give a talk in Primary that day, Tanner the scripture and prayer, and then I was supposed to go to a special meeting at 12:30 after church. Suddenly the Bahamas were just a memory.

8-8-08 is Weston's big day!

Happy Birthday to our big 6 year old. Weston does have a super cool birth date especially this year being 2008. What was also amazing was that he weighed 8 pounds 8 ounces and was born on 8-8. This is one of my favorite pictures of Weston because it reminds me of how funny he is. One of the best things about Weston is his contagious laugh. Anyone who has heard it knows what I'm talking about. You can't help but smile and laugh along with him. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful boy in our life.

Summer Time = Family Time

Our first month of summer has been so much fun. We have been with our family non-stop and we have loved every minute of it. We are so grateful that we have such wonderful families. My sisters drove with their children from Chicago and Denver and we had a blast being together again. The first week of summer I spent at Girl's Camp and I had a blast. Thanks to all of the relatives that helped watch my kids while I was gone.
We spent a week at the beach with our extended family. This year was our 14th year at Newport and there were 62 of us and each year it just gets better.
They are so well behaved when they are buried!
Haylie celebrated her 11th birthday at the beach this year. Happy Birthday Haylie. We love you!
Haylie's birthday breakfast friends.
My super cool Grandma with her super cool glasses. I'm lucky to have such an awesome Grandma. She is the one responsible for all of this fun.
Haylie & Cade ran in the 4th of July 1K race.
4th of July family BBQ with the cousins.
All 12 of the Wayne Hart Grandchildren at the beach for family pictures. Remarkably they all did very well.
Sara & Kari are twins at family pictures.
Nothing is better than summer. Especially when you get to sleep over at Grandma's, eat popsicles, run through the sprinklers, and play with your cousins.
Haylie and I went to see Wicked in Hollywood for her birthday. Here she is standing in front of Michael Jackson's star on Hollywood Boulevard. I'm not a fan but no one is more famous than Michael Jackson. The funny thing is that Haylie didn't even know who Michael Jackson was.
The show was so amazing. The performances were incredible.