The big FOUR-O

Since I worked the night before my big day, I slept most of my birthday.  I haven't been looking forward to this birthday but decided it was coming whether I wanted it to or not so I might as well embrace my fabulous fourties!  When I woke up I was pleasantly surprised to see my house all decorated.  Brianna and Cord had spent their day getting ready to party (Mason is at scout camp and Chelsea working 8-5 as a receptionist at Mike's law office).  I was touched that even though it was 100 degrees outside, Brianna and Cord walked down to the grocery store to get a cake mix, this rose, and balloon then walked back and decorated the house in streamers.  They made me some fabulous art and this great sign.  After I woke up and opened the bedroom door, I was attacked by these streamers.

Here's the great cake that Brianna baked for me.  She put 16 candles on it because we just didn't have 40 candles.  

The one thing I wanted to do to celebrate was go see the movie Brave with all the family.  We are missing Mason though.  :(  The movie was great.  I hope the kids don't ever find a witch and turn me into a bear though. 

Cord gets the most out of our birthday celebrations.  He likes to help blow out the candles.  Often he has to do it several times. 

I was then showered with gifts.  These signs were from my parents.

Chelsea was also very thoughtful.  She gave me a beautiful card and a cupcake charm to represent her on my pandora bracelet. 

 The best gift of all was that Mike restored my satellite radio in my car.  He said "now you can listen to Radio Disney again"  He knows me so well. :)  I love the satellite radio because I can see the name of the songs as well as who is singing it and there are so many stations I can get when I travel.  Mike is always thoughtful when it comes to giving gifts.  He really listens and takes mental notes throughout the year.  I wish I was as good at that as he was.  I teased him that the main reason he got this for me was so that he didn't have to wrap anything.  He didn't deny it. 

YW camp

Girls camp this year was..... TOUGH!  Actually, it was ward camp and they were at a "resort" in Zion.  They had a great time.  This was the first year that Brianna was at girls camp without her sister.  She told me she was a little sad and said "Believe it or not mom, we get along at camp".  At camp the girls got to ride horses, climb walls, and zip line.  We also heard about an awesome TP job that the Miamaids did to the leader's cabin.  I believe there was tale of a wall of TP built between the 2 posts along with several camping chairs.  Not sure if anyone got a picture of their masterpiece though.  The girls all came back exhausted but with smiles on their faces. 

The highlight of the camp was hiking through the narrows.  The girls said it was the hardest but most exciting thing that they accomplished.  Brianna is all ready to get wet!!

Friendly visit

I was surprised to get a visit from a great friend tonight.  Angela was spending the night in Vegas to catch an early flight in the morning.  I was so glad she called me.  We snuck away to get a treat and catch up.  It was great therapy!

Graduation

The end of the year brings on graduation ceremonies..... not for Chelsea, but for most of her friends.  A lot of her friends are seniors so it's a little exciting, and a little sad to see them moving on.  Chelsea is excited to be a Senior now but next year will be interesting with all her friends in college.  She went to their graduation ceremonies to wish them well. 

Chelsea, Danielle & Lauren Moxley at her Senior Presentation

 Ashley & Chelsea

Chelsea & Heather

Chelsea and Lauren Grondel

 

Chelsea & Jake.  He'll be off to college in Washington in the fall. 

Fun with cousins

It all started when Aunt Susie called to see when Mason could come up to St. George and see Riker.  I offered up the weekend after school got out.  She asked if he could stay for a week? What? Are you crazy woman?  OK, if you can tolerate him that long it's ok.  Then she asked..... "Can I have Cord too?"  Then I knew she had lost her marbles.  She assured me that she was totally in her right mind and knew what she was asking.  Both boys were totally excited to go.  Their time happened to overlap the weekend that Mike, Brianna, and I were going to be in San Diego which left Chelsea here by herself.  I know they were having a lot of fun together even though my house seemed really (eerily) quiet.  I found myself really missing them.  Brianna even meantioned it once too.  It was nice that they got to take a break from each other and play with other cousins as well.  I'm sure Cord spent a lot of time on the tramp, playing with their new chickens, or trying to convince other family members to play with him.  Mason and Riker did whatever they could to fry their brain on electronics but also played legos and found fun things to do outside.  A couple times during the week they were able to connect with cousins on the Alldredge side which was a good idea for everyone including those who might have needed a break.  We are grateful to Susie and Dave for keeping and loving our monsters for a whole week.  Mike's parents brought them back for us so we got to have a nice visit with them as well.  Cord is already asking when he can go back!.

I'm sure Cord loved chasing the chickens and giving them "love" 

Bonding with the girls

The boys are gone all week having fun in St. George with cousins so we decided to do something fun with the girls that we couldn't do with the boys.  As the parents, we decided to go bowling.  The girls vetoed that decision and proposed that we go ride the New York roller coaster.  I was surprised that Chelsea even agreed to go because she doesn't go on any coasters when we are on vacation.  I guess it was THAT much better than bowling because she agreed.  We got to ride it twice because we are "locals".  The first time we got off, Chelsea's hands were cold and she was pale, but she had a huge smile on her face so we went again.  It was a great bonding night with the girls!

Weekend in California

Mike's law company has a mandatory retreat every summer.  This year it was held in San Deigo at The Grand Del Mar.  It's the nicest hotel I've ever seen.  We took Brianna down with us so she could spend time with Kennedy because we were so close to them.  While Mike gets to go to a few boring meetings, the girls and I got to play and enjoy the area.  The boys were in St. George for a week with cousins and Chelsea had to stay home to take the ACT test. 

Friday morning, Mike went for a 40 mile ride along the beach.  It's been over 20 years since he's been able to do that in San Diego (since his mission).  He was the only one that got to get close to the ocean on this vacation. 

 

While Mike went on his bike ride Friday, I took the Brianna and Kennedy shopping in downtown Encinitias and hit their favorite vintage shops.  We also had lunch together at Brianna's favorite hamburger joint down there, Angelo's. 

After shopping, I took the girls over to the Hotel to let them check it out.  They loved hanging out and Brianna kept saying "I'm pretending that I'm rich".  It's nice to play pretend sometimes, I agree. 

The girls hanging out by the pool.  But we never found time to get in. 

This pavilion was where we got to have breakfast saturday morning while enjoying the nice California weather. On the lawn where they are setting up chairs is where they held the mandatory boche ball tournament.  I got out in the first round.  Mike, however, went all the way to the finals.  Because the hotel was rushing us to finish so they could set up for this wedding, he was robbed of the win.  Guess he'll have to try again next year. 

On Saturday after the tournament, we picked up the girls and headed up to Julian.  Mike had remembered some awesome bread from when he lived in San Deigo.  It was made at this bakery.  Dudleys was on the way up to Julian and has been rated one of the best bakery's in the nation.  We had to stop.  We also picked up lots of different kinds of breads to try.  Our favorite was the Hawaiian sweet bread. 

Saturday night, Kennedy had plans so Brianna got to hang out in our room and watch a movie.  Meanwhile, Mike and I got to go to the fancy dinner.  I took a couple pictures to send her to make her jealous.  The desserts are always fantastic. 

On Sunday, before we headed home, we stopped at the Mormon Battalion Visitor Center because Mike had not been there since his mission and it had changed so much.  We also took time to explore some of the old homes around the area.  In all the times we had been there, I hadn't noticed these homes.  I love old architecture.

Other pics I found on-line of the awesome hotel.