Victoria's Birthday Dinner

As is tradition for the Fairall's - we had Victoria's birthday dinner. We had to wait until Sunday night because of every one's schedules...but it was well worth the wait. She decided on Stromboli for dinner - it is fabulous! Imagine meats, cheeses and sauteed onions, peppers & mushrooms wrapped lovingly in bread dough and baked to perfection in the oven. Thinking about it is making me salivate! Anyway - back to the dinner. We invited Uncle David, Aunt Catherine and Aunt Holly to join us.

After we ate, Victoria opened a few presents. Here she is with the BEST one ever! (Not just because it was from Chris & I...seriously!) It was a cute letter telling her that she was finally going to start taking gymnastics - what she had been hoping for for such a long time. (So..it was seriously on her mind for about 1 month.)

At one point, I looked over at David and there he was...just sitting on the step...minding his own business...and wearing, what we love to call: Chris's hooker boots. AKA: Motor Cycle Boots.

Once he knew we were onto his "oddness" he gave us quite a show! He pretended to be riding a bike...got up and started to dance...

...put on the helmet....and just WOWED us!!! Dinner AND a show? What a great night.

The only thing to top off these pictures would have been a video, but alas...we didn't get one!

Oh - by the way...

HE'S SINGLE LADIES!!!

Motor School 2009

Oh the joys of attending Motor School - once again! I'll give Chris this...he is one dedicated fellow! From May 19-31st he belonged to the motor squad. Seriously - his life was entirely theirs. Granted, he came home at night, but they had worn him out so much that he pretty much passed out each night by 9. So-as is tradition- the girls and I headed south to Cedar.

We got back the day he had his big obstacle course test. Many cones + motorcycle + driver= a truly stressed out situation! He did great. It did take 2 tries (they are allowed 3 tries) but he did amazing on the one he passed.

Victoria - bless the poor dear! She tried so hard to video the event, but she was soooo wobbly! We were getting seasickness watching the video over again...so needless to say...we will not have footage to share with all of you.

Even the instructors were impressed with his time. Yeah, I would love to share that with you...but I have no idea what that time was since they do not disclose that information! (FYI: HE rocked that course....and yes, that is sexy to me!)

Here is the remaining class members after week 1.

Another tradition they have is a dinner the last night of school at the Timbermine Restaurant in Ogden. The little wivies (spouses) wait there and watch as they all ride in on their white stallions.

Right after this smiley picture...he had to practice the brake and escape move since someone dropped their bike! Nice huh? It caused a little pileup. I do have pictures...but I do not want to embarrass the causer - they should have this mastered at this point in the game!

I love this picture.

Cute guy + very nice smile + smokin' hot uniform complete with gear=yummy!

Look how happy we can be. When we can have some time with each other. Babysitters are truly wonderful people!

Now we wait and see if he gets called to join the elite group of motors...again. (Like I said - he is a determined guy.)

Happy Birthday Victoria!!

Well...our oldest turned 9! I can hardly believe that we HAVE a 9 year old! In only 7 years she will be able to drive and (gasp) date. Keep breathing Nicole...you do have six years...but man, do they go by fast. As per tradition, we take out baby books. We look through them and remember the fun stories. I can see how much she has changed and grown into the beautiful young girl she is! I wanted to share with a few of those glimpses with you.

All ready to come home for the first time.
She has ALWAYS had spunk!

And attitude - all her own!

Victoria has always loved having her pictures taken. It's a good thing too since I practically have one permanently attached.

Oh, how we miss those cute curls. Once we cut her hair, the ringlets at the bottom never came back. Hopefully they will sometime!

This is her Kindergarten picture. Our first one in school. I had a hard time when she started, but she had no problems whatsoever!

Kindergarten program at the end of the year. (I have also noticed that her hair grows really fast.)

Funny faces!
Chris loves doing this to the girls hair. They like it too!

Pensive girl - she can be serious.

The day she was baptized.

Just this last year with her friend. She is such a caring girl and wants to be everyone's friend.

This was taken a couple weeks ago.

Victoria has been such a blessing in our family. She takes the family role of "big sister" well...sometimes a little too well. At times she needs to reminded that her role isn't "mother." She is totally boy crazy! If I was to ask her who she likes...the list would definitely be over 10 names. She loves to ride her bike and play with her friends.

She loves being outside - so my girl! Riding motorcycles with Dad is the BEST! She is a sensitive and caring girl and a good example to her sister - when she isn't trying to be sneaky and mischievous. I guess it just makes her more well-rounded? Pre-teen attitude has just started to rear it's ugly head. If it doesn't get any worse than that, it would be awesome! (I can hope, right?)

Happy Birthday Sweetie! We are so lucky to have you!!

Blup..Blupp...

The wheels on the bus go...blup, blupp, bluppp. Well, they do when you go to the aquarium on a field trip! I was very lucky to go with Victoria's class on a field trip to the aquarium. You see, it was on her birthday! She had never been there before and she was very excited. We started out on the school bus...what is it with the desire to sit in the very back?

Once there we had about an hour and a half to check it all out. (You really only need about 45 minutes to get through the whole place.) I had a lovely group which included 2 boys. Have I ever told you how grateful I am to have girls??? Anyway, we saw very interesting fishy & crustacean-y things.

This lobster was over 14 pounds! Can you believe that buttery-goodness feast?

They had a few different types of jelly fish there. Then there was the Elusive Fishy Eel ARM!!!
We were very fortunate to be able to see this one. It is very shy and rarely likes to come out of it's hiding place deep within the crevices of the coral rock.

The highlight of the aquarium was the pool where you could pet sting rays & other fish. It was actually the best part & I am grateful for it. Otherwise, the kids would have been really out of control with nothing to do!

(Victoria is the one in the white shirt, practically in up to her shoulder, on the right hand side.)

Our fun little group!

Weekend Trip

Well...it's Motor School time for Chris - so the GIRLS all headed down to Cedar City!

The ride down seemed to take FOREVER. There were about 5 of these trucks carrying major WIDE LOADS. Traffic kept getting really slow & backed up.

The girls are such great travelers! Christianna really wasn't sleeping in this one & I can hardly believe how prominent the bruises are on her shins! She injures herself about as much as I trip over my own feet. Guess the apple didn't fall far from that tree, huh?

It took me about 7 tries to get this one of Victoria. Don't worry everyone. I was safe as I took pictures, while cruising down the highway at 75 miles per hour. It's really a wonder that I even got 2 good enough to post. I had about 5 pictures of Victoria's legs until I could figure out the angle I needed without looking behind me.

We enjoyed the time with Grandma & Grandpa. On Sunday, we had a lovely washer fire and made S'mores. (The fire was built in an old washing machine drum! I thought it was funny, but it was actually great. The wind was insane and it really helped it to stay contained.) We invited their neighbors to join us as our girls had been at their house playing with their kids on the zip line.

(These two actually looked like little homeless girls. Awwww.... The breeze was really chilly.)

This sweet picture was taken a little before she threw up! I just don't get it! My kids can not hold their sugar. Last night, Victoria woke up at 1:00 am throwing up, ralphing, retching, barking at the carpet, and heaving (Mom, I didn't use "puking" because you don't like it)...I was up with her until about 1:45 AM. Luckily Christianna just got it all out of her system before bed and slept through the night without incident. (The same thing happened the last time we went to their house. Will these spoiling grandparents ever learn???)

So even though there was lost sleep, as well as meals and treats....it was a fun trip to the Grandparent's house!

Weirdness at PTA Conference 2009

I mentioned in Chris's birthday post that we went to the PTA Conference in Provo. Well, the classes were great! I went to the more "artsy fartsy" classes that were geared towards Reflections & Individual Development and Chris attended the ones centered on police & safety issues.

But I am going to share a couple...let's just say, "interesting" things I saw.

First up: the toilet at the hotel. It was all wrapped up & sanitized...just for us!!

See! It said it right on the wrapper!

Then the best weirdness EVER:

This entire truck was sprayed with bed liner!

You can really tell with the close-up. So, would you do this to your vehicle???

And there you have it!

It's all about...

CHRIS!!!

All right - Chris was a very lucky guy this year - he had 2 birthday celebrations. Well, to be honest, the one was kinda forced and even though he said not to...he secretly liked it! Confused? I'll explain!

This year his 33rd birthday was the same day as PTA conference. I talked him into taking off work and coming down with us to Provo for it. After all the classes on Thursday, we headed off for dinner at The Outback Steakhouse. Yummers!

Now, he was eyeing me all night! He knew that I was going to try something. He kept warning me: "Don't do it. Don't even THINK about doing it." Luckily, I had to get my "evil minions" (aka: my friends Jessica & Susie) to talk with the staff to see what fun they do for birthdays. This is what he said he didn't want...he, he. In the end, I prevailed & our whole group was able to sing "Happy Birthday" to him! For surviving his major embarrassment, he got a yummy fudge covered sundae...and it was HUGE!

We then had a birthday dinner at home with the girls on Sunday. They each made him special daughter gifts. And after a lot of glitter on my office floor....we had these for Dad:

Now....I would like to share a few things about Chris. Things that I just love about him!

1. He is actually a pretty funny guy! Not too serious all the time...

2. His eyes crinkle when he really laughs hard or just has a genuine smile.

3. Even though he is slow to admit it, he has embraced his destiny: A life with all girls! (Come on, he even got a female dog!)

4. All the things that I would like to share...but would be deemed "inappropriate"...all fall under this one. I will only say this, "Hubba Hubba!"

5. When he gets inspired to cook a new dish. Bring on the Moo Shoo Pork!!!

6. He is a great father and husband and I love him so very much.

Happy Birthday Sweetie!!!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

We made all the calls...we forgot to send out the cards...but all in all - it was a pretty good day!

But before I tell you about me...I want to give a shout out to my MOM. She has been through some crazy things with me & my siblings and she has been great. I didn't find this out until recently, but growing up, our place was THE PLACE to be. My friends found our home to be a refuge from their lives and I know it is because of my mom and the spirit she brought into our home. I hope and pray that I can can continue that tradition in my home. So...I wanted to give the Top Ten List of why "My Mom is the greatest because:"

10. I no longer have a desire to pass on the Tuna Casseroles to my girls. (It was kinda a staple growing up.)

9. She taught me that patience is a virtue.

8. She made me learn how to sew. Really - I despised it!

7. No matter what I did - I was welcome to come back home.

6. She taught me the importance of quality time, not necessarily quantity.

5. She taught forgiveness through example.

4. She attended my every sporting or band concert event possible. Even though, more often than not, we looked like pumpkins in our orange & black school colors.

3. That brings me to unconditional love...she made sure we knew that we were important to her.

2. She loves my Dad and we are an eternal family.

1. She taught me that at the end of the parental rainbow...there are grandchildren.

Ok - this one is the cherry on the top:

Without her part and curious nature, I would not be blessed to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, have a wonderful husband (whom I met at said church) and two beautiful daughters who are sealed to me for eternity!

Happy Mother's Day!!

So, back to me....I know - that is a lame intro. But...my Mother's Day was great! I was able to get up and get ready for the day...just myself! I didn't have to get the girls together. (Which is a normal thing anyway..it just felt better today!) I didn't even have to help Chris pick out a tie to wear! He, he. Christianna made her bed & I even had time to paint my toe & finger nails. After church, I came home, ate lunch & relaxed. Hmmm...it is weird typing that one: "I relaxed."

I curled up in the guest bed with my latest book, The Host. I was able to read uninterrupted! I even dozed off a little and woke up to the sound of the phone ringing. Jennie called to wish me a Happy Mother's Day and then, I smelled IT.

Dinner was ready and it smelled & looked fantastic! I just had to take a picture. (You know, so when I am so frustrated sometime down the road, I can look back and say "Huh, he CAN be a really great guy sometimes!")

How this fabulous dinner came about was kinda funny...I was personally tired of the regular spaghetti dinner for my special occasions, so we took a trip to Sam's club. We ended up deciding on the Chicken cordon bleu, fresh grilled asparagus & mashed taters..which were leftovers from a previous dinner. But I didn't care! I didn't have to do the reheating!

Chris had given me fresh flowers on Saturday and the girls gave me their cute gifts that they made in school and I loved it! But the best part was that we had a really great day! There was hardly any arguing - I actually can't remember any. Now if that isn't the most wonderful gift to a mom, I don't know what is!