Woosh!

Well "woosh" is for two reasons. One is that this month just flew by and it is now going to be January and I am finally updating my blog! (Some blog reading friends of mine have asked me to update!) The second reason is this photo of Sammie bungee jumping high in the air!

My parents were in town my birthday weekend and we were supposed to go to Knott's but it was super crowded so instead we went to Tom's farms in Corona. It is a great place to have a family day. There are kiddie rides, ponies, a petting zoo, train, food places and bungee jumping!!! All the kids doing it were like 7-8 years old and then went 3 year old Sammie flying high into the air while I held my breath praying!! It was soooooo scary but she LOVED it! The kid is fearless which is good but scary for me!!
We celebrated my "21st" birthday (wishful thinking) at Disneyland which was fun! The weather wasn't great and it even rained for a bit but it wasn't crowded at the park and we got on so many rides again and again. We watched the Christmas parade and the fireworks over the castle. I love to see the holiday decorations.

We celebrated Xmas eve at Brad's parents' house. We ate dinner and exchanged gifts. This year we took turns opening presents for the first time! I have been asking for years that we do that because I never get to see what anyone gets. It took a long time but it was fun! I hope this will be a new tradition! This is the first year that Sammie "got" the idea of Santa, etc. She talked all about it and said she wanted a pony. We told her Santa doesn't deliver live animals because it is too tough for the reindeer. She had her own ideas of what to leave out for him and it was not the traditional "milk and cookies" but an apple. It was all her idea to leave something for him anyway. It was very cute. So I guess that will be our treat for Santa. A nice healthy apple. ( He cut it in slices and ate it)
She tiptoed downstairs on xmas morning, then came and woke us up to tell us that Santa came. Sammie and I had matching jammies this year which was fun. We opened presents and spent the day playing with new toys, etc. I took her to see the Disney Princess Wishes show on ice. Brad didn't want to go to such a "girlie" show. It was a great show actually and he probably would have enjoyed it! We had a nice time. It was very "Disney" with lots of fancy costumes, famous songs and fireworks at the end!!
The next morning Sammie and I went to Vegas to visit my parents. The drive was miserable! It took us 7 hours and it usually takes 4. There were an expected 300,000 people heading to Vegas for New Year's. We had a nice time. It was nice to see my parents. They really miss Sammie and she just adores my mom. The weather was very cold and windy so we stayed indoors mostly. We drove back yesterday so I could be home for a party at The Red Bee. It was nice to have dinner and play some games with the "bee gang".
I am off work for another week which I need to catch up on things at home! I have so much to do!
So, I wish you all a Happy, Healthy New Year!
Here are a few of my goals:
1. Stop spending so much money
2. Lose weight and exercise more ( more than twice a year LOL)
3. Organize my house
4. Lots of scrapbooking and MUCH less scrappy shopping! (this is HUGE for me)
5. More blogging than 2 times a month!
6. To follow my advice in my last post and NJY TDAY~

There is that enough?? I hope I can accomplish even one of those!! I figure if I write them on my blog, everyone will know and I will be more accountable! What are your goals??

NJY TDAY

So I don't usually post 2 days in a row but I thought I would share a little random good thought. Can you figure out the title? I saw it today on a license plate. It says "Enjoy Today". I thought it was a good little piece of advice. It made me think. Especially this time of the year when everyone is so busy. I am always thinking of tomorrow or what I have to accomplish next and find myself so busy all the time. This made me stop and appreciate today and realize that tomorrow is another day to do more stuff but today is where I should be and just go with it! So on that note, instead of doing the daily tasks, chores, etc. I am going to go do something creative that I enjoy and that is scrapbooking! So my challenge to you is to "enjoy" and do something today that makes you happy!

December Already!

December always comes so quickly for us. We have many celebrations this month so we are always so busy! We started the month with a holiday party for Sammie at the Craniofacial unit at CHOC. I forget that she had a cleft lip but when I see all the other families in various stages of the surgery process I vividly remember what it was like to go through it all. I am so grateful that Sammie's lip was so minor and that we are most likely done with surgery. I am glad to be able to talk to other families and give them support as they go through it themselves. It is always a great party. They serve food/refreshments and have entertainment. They have therapy dogs dressed up to visit the kids and then Santa comes and brings a nice present for each child.

We go to Knott's Berry Farm every year. Brad gets in free as part of Law Enforcement. When Sammie heard me say "We are going to Knott's Berry Farm" she immediately said "Farm?" Are there horseys there?? There is a horse drawn stagecoach but when we got to it, it was already closed for the day. She did see the horses running by a few times and was very excited. She had a great time on the rides at Camp Snoopy but loved the "big people" log ride the most. We picked a great day to go and it wasn't crowded at all. We were able to stay on some rides again and again without getting back in line. (the log ride was one of them) Some rides Sammie went on completely by herself. I can't think of a time at an amusement park when NO ONE ELSE was on a ride! That was cool!

Tonight was the 6th night of Hanukkah. Sammie enjoys lighting the candles with me and saying the prayers. Or as she calls them, "the pears". The prayers are in Hebrew (I have a phonetic cheat sheet) and she tries to repeat some of the words. It is cute! She especially likes opening presents. The first night she got a Snow White Dress. Some of her other gifts were, PJ's, a Dora (cowgirl) movie, and a My Little Pony playset.

My parents are coming in town this weekend. Their anniversary is Dec. 17th and my birthday is the 18th so we usually celebrate together when we can. I think we are going to go back to Knott's for the day and eat at the Chicken Dinner restaurant.

We will celebrate Christmas with Brad's family on Christmas Eve. I am taking Sammie to see the Disney Princess on Ice show on Dec. 25th. She will love it! She likes the Disney princesses right now. (Ariel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and especially "Belt". ( Belle)

I guess that's all the updates for now. Just trying to keep up with shopping, wrapping, cards, etc. Happy Holidays to you!