Olivas Family

Pictures, Pictures and more Pictures

2010-12-19T15:18:00.001-08:00

Wow, I can't believe I haven't blogged for over 8 months! Time really does seem to pass us by way to fast, sometimes you have to sit back and enjoy the ride. We took some photos of the girls last week at Saguaro Ranch Park. They have alot of old buildings there that I just love.

I really do have the sweetest girls, I love them so much!

Chelsea's First Date////The Prom!

2010-04-11T14:45:00.000-07:00

Chelsea just turned sweet sixteen on April 9th and has her first date to the prom this Saturday. The young man asked her in such a creative way. We found a martinelli bottle; tied with a pink ribbon, filled with pearls and a message inside on our front door step. It took us about 10 minutes to try and get the message out of the bottle, it was hilarious! She is excited and nervous at the same time because it is her first date. Wow, where has the time gone and when did I get old enough to have a daughter who is 16 ;)

The cute note he wrote.....

She put her answer in "parts" in each of the balloons......

NEW MOON

2009-11-20T14:21:00.000-08:00

I haven't read any of the Twilight books, but my daugthers have sucked me into the Twilight craze. The movie was good, I stayed up way past my bedtime and I felt like a teenager again. We had so much fun and are so grateful for the Clift family, who saved us a place in line. We only had to wait outside until 9:30pm and then they let us sit in the theater until 12:01. We had good seats and had a blast joking around until the movie started. We have already made a pack to do it all over again on July 30th...

Cherish and Chloe sleep deprived and sucking on lemon juice packets!

They were hilarious!

Cara helped Chelsea study for her vocab test today!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-13T15:48:00.000-08:00

I am so behind in my blogging, but life has been so crazy lately!! I completed my third primary program on Oct. 25th and then the week after the program I was released as the Primary President and was called to be the Relief Society President. I'm scared and excited at the same time for my new adventure! I know the Lord will continue to bless me and my family as I serve him. Chelsea just started soccer season and made the Varsity team. She is so excited because she is only a sophmore. She has her first game on Dec. 1st. Go Wolverines!!!!

Ariana in her devilish costume.

I wanna be a cowboy and you can be my cowgirl (sorry if you grew up in the 80's you would recognize that song) Savannah wanted to be a cowgirl this year. I told her to pretend she was blowing the smoke on her revolver, but she looks like she is going to kiss the gun instead ;)

Ciera LOVES Tinkerbell, so of course she just had to be tinkerbell for halloween. We sprayed her with pixie dust (spray glitter) and I am still trying to scrub it off my bathroom vanity (note to self spray glitter should only be used outside)

The good angel and her enemy!

In front of Grandpa's truck at the trunk or treat. Grandpa and Grandma always have the best trunk. I think my Dad adds more and more each year (he always goes to the 75% off sales after Halloween. He has gotten some great bargains!)

Ariana with one of her best friends Michelle.

Some of the crazy young women in our ward ;)

The young women did face painting at the carnival.

My sister-in-law and handsome little nephew. He loves cows and thinks any animal says moo!

My other handsome nephew Brendan the power ranger.

Ciera with my niece Rosie, the tinkerbell twins. We had a great time at the trunk or treat. My brother Sean was an awesome help at my booth that night. The primary ran the pumpkin bean bag toss. I was giving my brother major brownie points until he told the kids he would give them an extra prize if they hit me!!!! Little brothers, they never grow up ;)

Homecoming Week Cont'

2009-10-22T14:06:00.001-07:00

Well today was 80's day for homecoming. Can you believe that leg warmers have come back in style?? Wow, I should have saved all my crazy clothes! I tried to tease Chelsea's hair in true 80's style, but my she kept combing her hair back down! Those were the days!

She asked me how to pose 80's. It's all about the attitude! Everything was big in the 80's, our clothes, hair and attitudes!

Super Saturday

2009-10-21T17:18:00.001-07:00

This past Saturday was my Ward's Super Saturday. I was teaching a class, so I didn't sign up for anything, but brought a craft from home that I have been wanting to make. I haven't crafted in so long and it felt so good to do something creative again. I promised Amy I would post the measurements, so here they are. The sign is 29in. x 12 1/2in. The pumpkin is 22 1/2in. x 17 1/2in. Amy if you would like to come and trace it, that is totally fine with me ;) Good luck and happy crafting!

Homecoming Week

2009-10-21T17:08:00.000-07:00

Well it's homecoming week at Chelsea's High School. She didn't dress up last year, but she was a freshman and still self conscience about everything. She hasn't dressed up everyday this week, but Tuesday was Hippie day, so she rummaged through her things and came up with this get up! You gotta love High School, tomorrow is 80's day and I can't wait to tease her bangs sky high! She wants to go tonight and buy some leg warmers, I can't believe they have come back in style. I guess I should have saved all my crazy clothing!

Our Little Girl Scout

2009-09-16T08:07:00.001-07:00

Ariana just recently joined the girl scout troop at her school. Today was their first outing. They are headed to Sedona. They are going to work on some badges while they are there and of course go swimming in the creek. We are very proud of Ariana. Keep up the great work. Also if anyone loves girl scout cookies, Ariana will be selling them in a few months ;)

Happy Birthday Savannah and Ciera

2009-09-10T15:03:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that my twins are seven now!!!! Wow, where has the time gone. Their first year was certainly a blur, sleep was definitely a luxury then. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for these sweet girls. They have such a love for life. They are great friends (of course they have their moments), but I am so thankful they were sent to our family. For their seventh birthday they wanted to have a superhero party. I had no idea what we were going to do with this theme, but it turned out great and most of all no matter how much you "plan" kids will be kids and all they want to do is play!

Marissa, Ciera and Kylie

Ariana invited her friend Brooklyn to help with the games.

My nieces, Emalisa and Rosie.

Ciera and Kylie

Ciera, Presley and Ewa

We can fly!

(please excuse my ugly backyard, it's getting an overhaul this fall)

My babies, Savannah is older by 13 minutes

~Make a Wish~

Our poor little doggy, who puts up with us :)

Ariana's "NEW" Room

2009-08-17T11:34:00.000-07:00

Ariana recently inherited her own room. She has always wanted a purple room, but I wasn't up for painting the entire room. We decided on purple stripes. After all the taping and painting I think it would have just been easier to paint the entire room! She loves the stripes, so that is all that matters.

David bought me a cricut machine for my anniversary and Ari and I came up with this cute project for her room. I picked up some different sized frames at the thrift store and spray painted them white, we cut out purple vinyl letters for her name. I went to Hobby Lobby and found some glitter scrapbook paper and that lined the inside of the frame. The frames are each hung by some purple ribbon and we put some cute purple daisies on each side. She loves it and at night the glitter paper sparkles.

She has this big bed all to herself, but she is used to sleeping with someone else, so I often find her right on the edge.

I found this desk and chair at the thrift store and painted them white.

Demi Lovato Concert with David Archuleta

2009-07-10T12:50:00.000-07:00

We got tickets for the Demi Lovato concert at the Jobing.com Arena. The girls were really excited to go, but Chelsea was beyond excited when she found out that David Archuleta (from American Idol fame) was opening for Demi Lovato.

They made the cutest signs.

This is the band KSM that opened up before David Archuleta. They were really good and the girls got to meet them at the end of the concert.

David Archuleta, he really is a cutie pie and has an awesome voice.

Savannah and Ciera

Cherish

Ariana

Chelsea, looking totally in love with David Archuleta

We really enjoyed his performance.

We took the glow sticks that my Dad had bought the girls on the 4th of July.

Ms. Demi Lovato

The girls and their souvenirs!

The girls got to meet the band KSM. We were trying to figure out what their name stood for and Ariana said Kentucky Steamed Milk, oh Ari! I guess we should have asked them, when we met them :) We had a really good time and David is such a great Dad to endure yet another girl moment :)

4th of July Weekend in Pine, AZ

2009-07-06T14:31:00.000-07:00

This has been such a busy month for our family. We left on June 13th to go to California for a week and then, Chelsea, Cherish and I left for girls camp three days after we go back from California. Then we went back to Pine to visit my grandma for the fourth of July. We went to the Pine cemetary to put some patriotic flowers on my grandpa's grave. This trip was a little surreal because last year we went to Pine for the fourth of July, but my grandpa was still alive. We really miss him, but were grateful for the opportunity to spend the weekend with my grandma, uncle carl and aunt sue, uncle daryl and aunt amy. We had so much fun playing games and look forward to the Clement family reunion on July 17th. The night of the fourth we went into Payson to watch the fireworks. We were right next to the lake. I think next time we are going to sit a little further back because we were covered in ash from the fireworks! The fireworks were awesome and long. We had a 41 minute fireworks display. My brother Sean kept singing "It's the show that never ends!" The park was packed and it took us an hour to get out of the parking lot. Thanks goodness for the dvd player in the truck. We had a great time and enjoyed spending time with our family.

My Great-Grandma Fuller, she was such a tiny little woman, like my Mom.

My Great-Grandpa Fuller, who was 76 years old when my Grandma was born!
It's hard to read his headstone, but he was born in 1842 and died in 1932. He had already raised a family and was widowed and my great-grandmother had been married and had been widowed in her early 30's. He was 46 years older than her, but they married and had three children together. My grandma was the baby. I believe he died when she was five. He was a great man and there are some great stories about him in the Pine museum.

My Uncle Carl, Grandma and Mom at my Grandpa's grave.

Our family with my Grandma

I love the headstone that my Grandma picked out.

My parents and my Grandma.

Last year we took pictures of the girls on my grandparents property, so we followed the tradition and took some again this year. Here is the lovely Ciera.

The lovely Savannah

The lovely Ariana.

The lovely Cherish.

The lovely Chelsea.

The girls, twinky and my brother's dog Daisy didn't want to miss the photo opportunity and plopped right down next to the girls for the picture.

All ready for the fourth!

It is so hard to get my nephew to pose for the camera, so this is what I got!

My nephew Hayden, just wanted to walk up and down the lake.

My sweet grandma.

Our sweet little doggy, she was so freaked out by the crowd that in true chihuahua style she hid under the camping chair and shook. Then we added the fireworks and she was totally freaked out, poor thing.

My Aunt Sue kept hiding from the camera, but I snuck up on her and here she is giving me the look!

Waiting for the show. We had to get there three hours early to get a parking spot.

My brother trying to convince his son it was more fun to read than walk around the lake.

I kept trying to get a picture of my Aunt Sue, but there was always a glare around her. I told her she was a vampire and she sparkled like diamonds (if you watched the twilight movie you'd understand). The next morning she told me she dreamt of vampires all night because of me.

California or Bust.........

2009-07-06T13:27:00.000-07:00

We had our second annual Locksa family reunion. This year the entire Locksa family was able to attend. My Dad rented a house in Irvine, California. We are not a big "camping" family, so our reunions consist of beaches, beaches and more beaches :) The house he rented had a built in pool and jacuzzi. The girls went swimming every day! The water in the pool was pretty cold because the high in Irvine was never above 80, but my little fishes would just jump in. I was only brave enough to go in the jacuzzi. We had so much fun together. We went to Goofy's kitchen, Disneyland, the beach and of course we went shopping! It was great to have the whole family together, especially all 12 grandchildren!

My youngest nephew screamed when we put him in the pool, so he mostly stayed in the jacuzzi.

Goofy's Kitchen was a blast. Here are all 12 grandchildren.

The "teens" chatting before breakfast.

My niece Emalisa dressed up like her favorite character Sleeping Beauty in hopes that she might see her idol. Her dream came true and she met her idol, she was soooo excited!

Girls being girls!

Our family

My parents

I think Chip was telling secrets to Celeste and Ariana

Goofy and his biggest fan Cherish.

My nephew Hayden wasn't so sure about all these crazy characters.

Everyone dancing with Goofy.

Goofy, seriously attacking me!

Vanesa this ones for you!

Celeste, Goofy, and Ariana

Goofy, Savannah, Isabel, Ciera, Brendan and Cassy in the background.

Sleeping Beauty, Ciera and Savannah

Hayden wasn't so sure about all the characters, but he didn't mind Sleeping Beauty!

We also had the opportunity to eat at the restaurant in Disneyland that is in the Pirates of the Carribean ride. You seriously have to make a reservation 60 days in advance, just to get a seat! It was delicious, especially the "monte cristo sandwich. Thanks Tuggle family for the great recommendation! Here Chelsea is being, well, Chelsea!

First half of the family

and the second half

All Ariana wanted to do was visit her idol Minnie Mouse.

My nephew crashed back at the house. He looked so uncomfortable, so we straightened him out and he went right back to this position.

We had an awesome time at Newport Beach and of course had some people, who shall remain nameless (Chelsea and Kolena) that didn't put on their sunscreen and after four hours at the beach learned what extreme pain is!

We had such a blast together and have already started planning next year, San Diego here we come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Special Visitor

2009-06-05T15:59:00.001-07:00

Today we had the opportunity to babysit my nephew Hayden. We absolutely adore our handsome little man. He is just the sweetest thing ever. My parents have 12 grandchildren and the last two are the only boys, so you can imagine how spoiled they are. The girls had so much fun today chasing him around and letting him chase them around.

He loves all of his girl cousins, but Ariana is his favorite. Ariana is the baby lover in the family and is so good with little children. She will be the best babysitter once she is old enough. I literally have hardly done anything today to care for our little man. They wanted to play with him, watch him and feed him. The only thing they allowed me to do was change his stinky diaper, oh lucky me :)

Our dog Twinky tried to get in on the feeding frenzy! The girls were feeding Hayden string cheese and tore off little pieces for him. At one point I looked over and Hayden was feeding Twinky the string cheese!

They played hard all day and then Ariana sat down to read him a book and he fell fast asleep on Ariana. It was nice to have a little boy in the house for a change :)

Kindergarten Graduates!

2009-05-21T11:59:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how fast this school year has gone. Not only did my oldest survive her first year of High School, but my babies just graduated from Kindergarten! They have loved every minute of the school year. Ciera had Mr. Wray, who has taught at Alhambra Traditional for a gazillion years, he also taught Cherish and Ariana. What an awesome man. He just joined the LDS church about a year and a half ago and was just recently sealed to his wife Debbie. What an awesome man. I loved his slogan "You are #1 and you are special. Savannah had Mrs. Jones, who I had never had before, but heard such great things! Wow, she is an awesome teacher and Savannah loved every minute of her class. She is such a sweetheart and will be a lifetime friend. We found out she only lives about 2 miles from our house! The twins have thrived in Kindergarten and are great readers now. Savannah is even determined to read a Junie B. Jones chapter book! Time is truly flying by and I have learned to sit back and enjoy the ride because these moments are truly precious.

I was the homeroom mom for Ciera's class and they presented me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers for all my hard work. I enjoyed these parties so much, but it truly was hard work!

Ciera ready for graduation.

Savannah all ready for her diploma!

Ciera and her friend Kylie.

Mr Wray, Ciera and Kylie

Mrs. Jones and Savannah

Savannah and Mrs. Jones Aide, Mrs. Paty

Savannah, Brynlie and Ciera

Ciera and Mr. Wrays aide, Mrs. Opel

Honor Roll Award Night

2009-05-11T10:26:00.000-07:00

We are very proud of our girls for being on Honor Roll again this year. The twins were very disappointed that they don't do honor roll in Kindergarten, but they do start it in first grade. We look forward to many more trophies next year :) Congratulations Ariana and Cherish.

Cherish and Ariana

Ariana and her friend Sophia

David and his girls

Me and the girls

Ariana and her BFF Kia

Cherish and her friend Lorena ( one of the forever five)

Ariana's 3rd grade Field Trip

2009-05-11T10:08:00.000-07:00

This week I had the opportunity to help chaperone Ariana's 3rd grade field trip. We really enjoyed ourselves and had a great group of girls. It was super hot (107), I think Ariana and I had a little heat stroke, but it was nice spending time with my daughter and her friends. This is my third trip to the Wildlife Zoo in the past two months. I have the place memorized now if anyone needs a tour guide :)

Talia, Sophia, Jessica and Ariana

Ariana liked this picture because it was a Mommy turtle with her baby turtle.

The girls were really excited about the Swans because in their class right now they are reading "The Trumpet of the Swan".

These girls were so cute!

They enjoyed feeding the giraffe.

This is at the new aquarium, they children are allowed to pet the stingrays.

Happy to be inside the air conditioned aquarium!

Easter Weekend

2009-04-13T11:52:00.001-07:00

This Easter Weekend was alot of fun for our family. We got together with my Mom's side of the family for a picnic and easter egg hunt. The kids had a great time and we really enjoyed the cooler weather that day.

This is my mom and my grandma. Isn't she the cutest thing!

My Dad helped my littlest nephew Hayden with his egg hunting skills.

The egg hunt was on!

Ariana found quite a few eggs

Savannah and her basket full of eggs

Ciera found some eggs with some bling inside ;)

My nephew Brendan

Chelsea enjoying the game

Cherish and my brother Brian

My brother Sean doing what he does best, torturing Chelsea!

My sister-in-law Kolena and my little man Hayden.

My niece Rosie

Hayden ready to share treats with Ariana :)

My cousin Dwayne brought this really cool game the "BIG KIDS" really enjoyed it. My Dad went to Big 5 after the picnic and bought a set :)

SIX THINGS YOU MAY OR MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT ME!

2009-04-10T11:49:00.001-07:00

So I was tagged by two of my lovely friends, Brooke and Debra, to list six things you may or may not know about me, so here goes nothing!

1. DREAM JOB: I totally loved Brooke's answer of one day being an SNL host, which she would be fabulous at because she is one of the funniest people I know and Debra's answer of a zoo keeper just cracked me up, but she does live with Curtis (jk Curtis). I think my dream job would be to run my own antique store, where daily I could discover some new treasure that always has a story to tell. I would also love to take something that someone might consider trash and transform it into something fabulous. I love the show on HGTV called Decorating Cents and towards the end of the show they do trash to treasure, where they take dumpster diving to another extreme. I love to look around on bulk trash pick up days and find something that is considered trash and to turn it into something amazing! Yes, my name is Charlene and I am a garbage picker :)

2. DREAM DAY: My dream day would be a massage in the morning, a pedicure after a fabulous lunch and 5 children who are perfect in every way ;)

3. IN THE PRE-EXISTENCE I KNEW: Definitely my husband...I always dated guys with light hair, but I always had a re-occuring dream when I was growing up about my wedding day. I was always standing next to my husband, but his face was always blank, but he had beautiful dark hair, I finally married my handsome dark headed husband in 1993. I think Heavenly

Father was trying to tell me something!

4. I ALWAYS HAVE ON HAND: ICE CREAM!!!!!!!!!!! My sister-in-law made the comment once that ice cream is a staple in my house ;)

5. BIGGEST PET PEEVE: I have so many.........I think one of my biggest is people, who drive under the speed limit and I always seem to get behind them, when I'm in a hurry! Or the people who slow down, when you are already going the speed limit, for the photo radar cameras, so annoying!

6. I'VE NEVER BEEN TO: Hawaii! Many years ago, when we were young, David and I decided that for our 15th wedding anniversary we would go to Hawaii. Well our anniversary came and it was either braces for Chelsea or Hawaii, guess which one won ;) I would also love to go to Ireland, the country side there is so beautiful.

Well there you have it. I tag anyone else who reads my blog and would like to try this out :)

Sixteen Years and Counting........

2009-04-09T11:40:00.000-07:00

Sixteen years ago today I married the love of my life. Happy Anniversary Babe, Love you!!!

Fifteen Years Ago Today

2009-04-09T11:11:00.000-07:00

Fifteen years ago today I became a mother for the very first time. Chelsea Marie Olivas was born at 5:05pm weighing in at 5 lbs 6 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. She was such a tiny little baby, she was actually three weeks early because I had toxemia and my blood pressure was getting too high, so the doctor decided to induce labor. It just so happens that he decided to do it on my first anniversay. Let's just say giving birth wasn't exactly how I had pictured celebrating my first anniversary. We were so blessed on that day to receive such a special little girl from our Father in Heaven. She has been a great joy in our home and we are so very proud of the beautiful young woman she has become. Happy Birthday Chelsea! We love you very much!

I was pregnant with Cherish in this picture, Chelsea was so excited that she was going to be a big sister.

Chelsea and her first love Winnie the Pooh! (jk)

Chelsea has a great love for soccer. She played on her first team the "Scorpions" with her friend Melissa Lowry. Melissa's dad Richard Lowry was her coach. She played this year on the Junior Varsity team for Tolleson High School and loved every minute of it, besides the injuries she suffered. She looks forward to playing again this next school year.

Happy Birthday to a wonderful daughter, who is beautiful on the inside and out...

Families are Forever

2009-04-09T10:58:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was the one year mark of my mother-in-laws passing. It has been a year full of many emotional ups and downs, but in honor of such a wonderful mother we decided to celebrate the way she would want us to. She loved her family and the gospel more than anything in this world. We got together as a family and had dinner and looked through so many wonderful photos, which celebrated her life. It was such a great evening and we enjoyed having all the family over, including her two great-grandchildren. My only regret is that I forgot to pull out my camera and take pictures! We are grateful for such a wonderful mother, until we meet again!

This is a picture of my mother-in-law when she was young. My daughter Ariana looks alot like her.

This is a picture of David and his Mom on our wedding day.

My Little Pioneer Girl is Home

2009-03-21T16:33:00.001-07:00

Today we headed out early this morning to go to Heber, AZ to pick Chelsea up from the Stake Pioneer Trek. What a wonderful experience for Chelsea. She had many stories and experiences to share. I am so grateful that she made the decision to go. I had a lot of reservations as a mother and quite honestly I haven't slept well since she has been gone ( I worry way too much), I left the decision up to her and she wanted to go. She was very nervous, but David and Chelsea said a prayer the morning she left and I know our Heavenly Father was watching over her. I am so grateful for such a valiant daughter, who is such a strong young woman. I have been so emotional today, but I learned a great lesson in faith this week.

The "troops" waiting for the pioneers.

Orlo and Sheila Knight, who are from our ward, they were one of the Ma's and Pa's. What an awesome couple. Sheila come over and gave me a big hug, we were both so emotional!

Chelsea is in the middle helping to pull their handcart. This was her family.

Rachel Clark and her family

We were all so excited to see each other!

I cried so hard as I watched my daughter come in pulling her handcart. She looked like a true pioneer. I couldn't have been more proud as a mother. She was sunburned and dirty, even her eyelashes were dusty!!

There was a lot of youth from the stake that attended the trek. It truly was an awesome experience and I am so grateful that we had the opportunity as a family to go up and greet our pioneers as they came home just as our ancestors greeted each other after their long journey.

Chelsea and her friend Celina

Pioneer Chelsea sang as she walked and walked.....

2009-03-18T11:45:00.001-07:00

Chelsea just left early this morning for the pioneer trek in our Stake. I don't know who is more nervous, Chelsea or her mother? Anyways I know it will be a good experience for her and I hope she won't freeze her bunns off! Doesn't she make the cutest little pioneer girl? I'm sure every pioneer girl had black converse to go with their stylish apron and bonnet :)

Adventures at the Wildlife Zoo

2009-03-18T11:12:00.000-07:00

It's spring break for our kiddos this week and David also has the week off from work, so we decided to take the kids to the Wildlife Zoo. We also went with my parents and my brother Sean's family. They have added many extra features at the Wildlife Zoo and there is so much to do and see. The kids really enjoyed themselves and the weather was beautiful.

This is a baby spider monkey. It was the most playful and entertaining little thing.

I will never understand how they can sleep standing up on only one leg!

My brother Sean and my nephew Brendan

This is what a teenager does at the zoo !!!!

David feeding the giraffe

This little mommy monkey was the cutest thing. She just had this baby about three weeks ago. She was nursing the baby in the middle of the cage and we were all trying to get a glimpse of her sweet little baby and all of a sudden she walked over and proudly showed off her little one. It was the cutest thing. She is definitely a proud momma. My niece Rosie pointed out that the baby monkey has human ears :)

Ciera and my niece Rosie having a conversation, while watching the meerkats

My Mom and the Twins

Ariana was pulled in the wagon alot, she is still nursing a bad knee injury from her field day at school.

Cherish enjoying some of the wildlife

My Dad taunting the ostrich, she doesn't look too happy

The girls got to feed and pet the Lamas

The Lamas loved the dry leaves

The white tiger is beautiful

Happy Birthday to a Wonderful Mother

2009-03-02T10:53:00.000-08:00

Last week was my mother-in-laws birthday. We decided as a family to hold celebrations for her in Arizona, Utah, Texas and Michigan. My sister-in-law Julie made sopas and I made a pineapple upside down cake, which was one of her favorites. It was nice to sit together and remember a wonderful mother, and grandmother. We are grateful for her shining example and for the wonderful legacy she left.

Calling All Girls Camp Experts

2009-02-20T09:00:00.000-08:00

Well, I have been called as the 3rd Year Certification Leader at camp. I have only been to girls camp as a leader once and that was as a cabin mom. I NEED ADVICE! I have received some wonderful training, but could use some help coming up with some creative ideas for teaching the girls certification. The YCL's will teach the different areas, but I really want to make it fun for the girls. Any advice, comments, words of encouragement will be gladly accepted :)

Cherish turns 12!!!

2009-02-09T09:14:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it has been twelve years since I gave birth to my second daughter Cherish Elizabeth Olivas. She was born on February 7, 1997. She weighed in at 9lbs 8oz and was 21 inches long. Wow, what a difference it was having Cherish because Chelsea weighed only 5lbs 6oz. Cherish was born with the chubbiest cheeks I had ever seen. She was such a doll and the nurses couldn't get enough of her (or should I say her cheeks!) Cherish is a wonderful daughter, who has many talents. We are so grateful for her in our family.

Cherish at Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma's property in Pine, AZ fourth of July weekend

Cherish started her own business this past year. It is called Cheri's Treats, Triple C Inc. They make custom cakes and cupcakes. She is such an entrepenuer.

Cherish loves her dog Twinky. She had begged for a dog for over 2 years, she even saved all her money to buy dog toys and a dog tag, which read "Twinky". We found the best dog ever a year and a half ago. They truly love each other.

Cherish on the beach in 2008

Cherish loves Goofy. Her Grandpa surprised us all with Breakfast at Goofy's kitchen this past year on our family trip to Disneyland.

Happy Birthday Cherish, we love you very much and are so grateful for the beautiful and talented daughter that you are.......

Welcome to High School Sports

2009-01-09T09:05:00.000-08:00

Chelsea is playing JV soccer right now for Tolleson High School. She just had her 7th game yesterday. I love watching my kids play sports, but had a serious dose of reality last night. Chelsea is a pretty aggressive player and last night she collided with one of the players on the other team. She did a flip in the air and landed on her right shoulder and head. I think my heart stopped for several seconds as I watched my first born lay there on the field without moving. I quickly made my way down near the field to see if she was ok. She eventually was able to get up and walk with assistance. The athletic trainer iced her knee and her shoulder and my Mom and I helped her get into the van. Wow, was she in pain! We got her home and after alot of ibuprohen (sp?) and a nice hot bath she was feeling much better. She also appreciated all the loving tender care from her Grandpa and Grandma. Anyone who knows my Dad knows that he will do anything to make sure you have what you need and that your boo boo is all better. Thanks Grandpa! I don't think I had mentally prepared myself for the possibility that she might get injured playing High School sports! In the words of my sister-in-law Julie, "Welcome to High School Sports."

The Wedding of Tait and Laura (aka Pinky)

2008-12-29T18:30:00.000-08:00

David's sister Laura (we all call her Pinky) got married the day after Christmas. We had relatives from all over come into town. What a beautiful bride she made. She was definitely glowing. Tait looked ok I guess!!! JK my hermano blanco!!!! The sealing was beautiful and the reception was wild! I was so busy with all of the wedding details I didn't get to take too many pictures, but I will have to get a copy from my sister-in-law who is the family photographer.

The beatiful bride and groom

He decided to pick her up and quickly decided it was time to put her down!

The bride with her Daddy!

Chelsea and her favorite Tia Martha

Savannah with her favorite cousin and twin Vanesa.

Chelsea and Cherish freezing outside!

David's sister Ivonne and their cousin David

Our nephew Omar and our cousin Eric

David and his oldest brother Chuy

Wolverines 3.........Falcons 0..............

2008-12-04T12:24:00.000-08:00

Chelsea is on the junior varsity soccer team at Tolleson. They have had two games so far, but of course I forget my camera for her very first game. I did take it to her second game. They had a pretty exciting game, I love watching her play soccer. Soccer can get pretty physical and my little girl is tough. She slammed into this other player pretty hard and I thought to myself, "that's my baby" (I am not one for violence, but love it when my daughter plays aggressive!)
After the game we were talking about the game and Chelsea made a comment about the big hit!! She told me "Mom, I hit the girl hard and it hurt, but I didn't say anything, the other girl let out a umph!!!! Awesome, I love my tough little girl...

Final score Tolleson 3 Falcons 0........Way to go Wolverines!!!!!

Family Pictures

2008-11-29T18:12:00.000-08:00

Today we had our family pictures taken. It took me two hours to curl 5 heads of hair! What would it be like to have boys? We headed off to the Mesa Temple. I think everyone else had the same idea today, but there were a lot of weddings. The girls did a great job and were patient with their obsessive compulsive mom, who has to have everything just right, Dr. Phil please help me!!!! We ended the evening at Serranos Mexican Food, yum!!

Chelsea

Cherish

Ariana
Savannah

Ciera

Charlie never knew he had so many angels!!!

After a long day!

Gotta love our girls :)

An American Girl Mystery Party

2008-11-22T19:26:00.001-08:00

Ariana's birthday is officially on November 28th, but we usually celebrate her birthday a week early because of the Thanksgiving holiday. Ari is a fan of all the American Girl books (she loves the dolls too), so this year we had An American Girl Mystery Party. We had scripts and invitations that assigned each girl a character. I loved each of the outfits that the girls came in. Some were orphans, maids, etc.... The girls had so much fun acting out their parts. It was quite funny watching them all. They all had a great time and were able to solve Samantha's mystery :)

The best part of a birthday is the presents!!!!!

What a great bunch of girls ( who turned out to be little night owls, I'm exhausted!) Happy Birthday Ariana we love you!!!!!

Once again!!!!

2008-11-07T12:02:00.000-08:00

I'm a lucky woman. Once again poof my father-in-law has made me yet another piece of furniture. I love this chest. It is a perfect storage piece for the blankets that my kids love to drag out this time of the year. He is leaving in a week and I'm so sad. I think we make a good team. He builds, I paint. Maybe someday we can have a business together :)

A Girl and her Little Doggy

2008-11-06T12:57:00.000-08:00

Cherish stayed home sick today with a stomach bug (I hate flu season). I've been running around cleaning and I came across this and had to get my camera. Twinky is Cherish's dog and I think this picture says it all. They truly love each other.

My Dream Come True!

2008-11-05T13:26:00.000-08:00

A couple of years ago I saw this wooden trash can in the Country Sampler magazine. I have been wanting one forever!!!!!! My ever so handy Father-in-law just made this one for me. I showed him the picture in the magazine and poof eight hours of labor and here is the finished product. I love it!!!!!!

Go Lady Eagles!!!!!!

2008-11-01T13:33:00.001-07:00

Cherish made the 7th grade volleyball team this year (she's only a 6th grader) today was their volleyball tournament at Alhambra High School. They took third place in the tournament. If you look close in the picture you can still see her leftover eyeliner from her pirate costume. She showered and scrubbed, but we all now how hard it is to get black eyeliner off :)

The girls and Coach Smith. He is an awesome coach!

Cherish in action!!!!!

Cherish and her posse!!!!

Awesome job Lady Eagles!!!!

Trunk or Treat cont'

2008-11-01T13:12:00.001-07:00

I couldn't figure out how to add this to the end of my last post, so sorry it's a little out of order.

Here we have the lovely Ariana and her BFF Kia.
Me and my zombie cheerleader.

My husband in an eclectic costume (I have no idea what he was)

My former princesses.......

Trunk or Treat

2008-11-01T12:24:00.000-07:00

Last night we attended our Ward's Trunk or Treat. The girls were so excited and we had a lot of fun. There were hot dogs, popcorn, cotton candy and fun carnival games. We really had some awesome "trunks" this year and Bro. Johnson had a miniature photo studio in his area (thanks for all the pictures :) We had a blast and enjoyed everyones company. A big thanks to the Jones Family for all their hard work. It was a great success!

Our lovely Sleeping Beauty, Ciera.

The lovely Cinderella, Savannah.

The lovely Ariana cheering for the Land of the Free!

The days of princesses and cheerleaders are no more for my two older children. Cherish was the mighty pirate.

Whatever happened to my little princess????? She is now a Zombie Cheerleader......

My lovely daughters!!!!!

My brother Sean and his family!

Princess Ariel, Aurora, and Cinderella!

Our little doggy was so nervous with all the people, or maybe it was from looking at Chelsea :)

Halloween Fun

2008-10-30T07:40:00.000-07:00

My ever so handy Father-in-law cut out this bean bag toss pumpkin for our Trunk or Treat. He even made a stand in the back for me. I think it turned out really cute and I hope it will be a hit tomorrow night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pirate chest, jewelry box, you name it!

2008-10-17T09:45:00.000-07:00

My Father-in-law is staying with us for a couple of months. He is retired and enjoys woodworking. He made these "treasure chests". He is an excellent craftsman. You can use these as gifts, jewelry boxes, photo boxes, and for the pirate lover in all of you an awesome treasure chest. The are made of pine and have been stained in either a honey pine or dark walnut stain. The knob on the front is inter-changeable. The length is 11 inches x 8 inches x 7.5 inches. If you are interested in purchasing one, he is selling them for $15 each. You can contact me on my blog or by e-mail olivasclan@cox.net.

How We Met

2008-10-03T09:41:00.000-07:00

I have really enjoyed the flashback Fridays on some of my friends blogs and thought that I would join in. My scanner is acting up, so no pictures today. (We didn't have digital cameras back in the old days). The young adults used to play volleyball every Wednesday night at the stake center. I had been attending for a while with my friends because we absolutely love volleyball. I became friends with a girl named Martha and we had so much fun with her. She talked about her brother, who was coming home from his mission. We saw him a few weeks later. I thought he was cute, but he was a very aggressive volleyball player and would spike the ball really hard, sometimes just missing us, I thought to myself ,"What a jerk". Well he started playing more and more on my team and I thought, well he seems like a real nice guy, but we had found out that David was moving to Michigan with his family (we had only been dating three weeks and he decided to stay here and live with his brothers family, his parents weren't very happy, but accepted his decision). Anyways David and his best friend started coming with us to movie nights and we would see them at the dance. We used to have a running joke because David and his best friend Angel would stand by this one bush at the ASU institute and would just "observe". Well one day while on my lunch break from work I got into a car accident, I totally rear-ended this girl. I was so sore and had whiplash, that night was the dance and my friends convinced me to take six advil and come with them. I was really out of it. I was sitting there at the dance just vegging when this dominican baseball player came up and was totally hitting on me. This guy would not leave me alone and kept begging for my phone number. I kept telling him no, but he was very persistant. David being the gentlemen that he is and also having served a mission in the Dominican Republic came to my rescue. He was my knight in shining armor! We danced and talked the rest of the night. He told his sister later that he wanted to ask me out and she got mad because her other brother had married one of her friends. He went ahead and asked me out and we of course went to dinner and the movies (his favorite thing to do). We hit it off and I found out that this big intimidating guy was the biggest teddy bear. David's sister wasn't very happy at first. She said she was now going to recruit ugly friends! She warmed up to the idea and still loves me, I think :) My best friend started dating his best friend and we have all been married now for 15 years. We each have five children as well. My best friend is also my cousin, so David and his best friend are now somewhat related :) My cousin and I used to joke that we needed to marry guys that got along, so that we could always do stuff together. I guess we accomplished that :)

Saturday Night with the D-Backs!

2008-09-15T16:53:00.000-07:00

Saturday night we had the opportunity to go to the Diamondbacks game as a family (courtesy of David's work). We were able to sit in section 139, which is down near left field. The girls had fun for the first inning, but soon realized how boring baseball games can be (sorry the girls and I are not die-hard fans). The game was tied in the 9th inning, so we went into a tenth inning. By this time we had been there for over four hours.

Cherish went in the "ancient" colors of purple and black.

At the end of the game we were treated to a concert by Jessica Simpson. She really does have a beautiful voice, but the sound system was horrible, so the girls were ready to go after a few songs. We also had to pick up Chelsea, who opted to go to the youth dance instead of the game.

What happened yesterday?????

2008-09-10T14:52:00.000-07:00

Wow, talk about a winter storm coming out of no where, but we had a massive hail storm over here yesterday. My camera batteries were dead, so I didn't get to document all the ice in my backyard. We had to go into rescue mode and rescue our poor defenseless kitty. She was soaked and scared. I think it has been quite some time since we had a hail storm like that!

Happy Birthday Savannah and Ciera!

2008-09-08T10:43:00.000-07:00

On September 4th my babies turned six! I can't believe it. It seems like yesterday I was trying to figure out how to care for two babies at once and three other girls as well. I have to say the first year is pretty blurry from all the sleepless nights (Ciera had colic and would cry from 6pm into the night, luckily that lasted only three months!) I am so thankful for my twins and I am so proud of them. They decided for their sixth birthday they wanted to have a sleepover, just like their older sisters. We invited all their girl cousins and their friend Erin over.
They couldn't wait to open all their presents.

They had so much fun, the girls all were well behaved, but I was definitely ready for a nap :)

Pedicures, Birthday Parties and Haircuts!

2008-09-02T16:39:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-laws all came into town this past weekend. We all went together Friday and got pedicures, then back home for some birthday fun.
This is my sister-in-law Martha, she is just 18 months younger than David. I have been told she is the culprit for many scars in the back of his head. It was her birthday just this last week, so we celebrated. She likes Hannah Montana, so she got some little hannah purses with money in them. She loved it!

The twins Julie and Norma had their birthday a week prior to hers, so of course they were included in the festivities.

Norma is the photographer in the family, so she received a really nice Nikon digital camera.

These girls are so much fun, I love them so much! They are truly my sisters. My sister-in-law Ivonne gave me a new trendy haircut, I love it!

A Perfect Day!

2008-09-02T15:46:00.000-07:00

I have two sister-in-laws who are getting married. Laura ( aka Pinky ) and Julie. Most of my sister-in-laws live in Michigan and Utah. They all came down this weekend to go wedding dress shopping for Julie. Julie wants her bridal shower to be an old fashion tea party, so her twin sister Norma, who is her maid of honor, decided to surprise her with flower hats and pearls to "dress up" for our day out. We had a lot of people who stared, but most people loved the whole theme. We even had a handsome cop stop and ask us if he needed a hat to join the party. My sister-in-law Martha told him it was our get away outfits. We are now known as the flower hat bandits! We really had a good time and enjoyed being a little silly.

We went to the bridal shop I do I do. Unfortunately they have a privacy agreement with their designers, so you are not allowed to take any pictures of any dresses, unless you are buying that dress. Julie tried on many dresses ,but this is the one that made her cry!

Of course she had to wear her flower hat for one of the pictures!

We laughed at this picture because she doesn't want a veil. She wants flowers in her hair, and there you go!

This dress looks so beautiful on her, these pictures just don't do justice to this dress. They are going to make alterations to make it temple ready.

Isn't she beautiful!

We told Pinky that the flowers on her hat looked like two eyes on top of her head :)

Many of you know that my mother-in-law passed away in April. Norma asked Julie what she wanted most on this special day and she said her Mom. My sister-in-laws Norma and Martha made these beautiful pins with pictures of my mother-in-law. Each of our pins had a different picture, so at dinner we talked about the history of each picture. We love you Mom!

We ended our adventure at Benihana's, which I had never been too. It was delicious.

This was our chef, he said, "Welcome to Benihana's fine japanese cuisine I am your chef Jose." We all got a laugh out of that one!

My girls were all jealous that we had such cool hats, so my sister-in-laws had a great idea. We went to the dollar store and bought hats and flowers, then we went to Walgreens to buy 3 porcelain tea sets, so we could have a tea party. This is my sister-in-law Gaby playing in the aisles.

We had strawberry lemonade "tea" with crackers, cheese and popcorn. We tried talking in english accents and held our pinky's high. Poor David was forced to endure yet another girl moment. He was a very good sport and sported his goofy hat from Disneyland!

Girls Just Want to Have Fun!

2008-08-19T18:40:00.000-07:00

The girls had me take these pictures of them acting silly about a week ago. They told me to post them on the blog. I totally forgot, but was quickly reminded today. They are good to each other, but can definitely get a little crazy sometimes :)
I think we should enter Ariana into the heavy weight lifting competition in the Olympics!

Sisters Forever :)

A Wonderful Man

2008-08-18T20:10:00.000-07:00

My grandfather passed away today. I thank my Father in Heaven everyday for the opportunity to have had this wonderful man as my grandfather. He is a true example of a righteous servant of our Father in Heaven. He will truly be missed. I am so grateful for his love and will cherish our memories together forever. Until we meet again Grandpa.

My Grandpa

2008-08-17T21:51:00.000-07:00

I know I have talked to some of you already, but I thought I would just post an update on my Grandpa. As you know my Grandpa had a massive stroke the end of July. He was in the Mayo Clinic and then was moved to a care facility. During this time he has progressively gotten worse. He was moved into hospice on Saturday. He is now at peace and the nurses are keeping him comfortable. He is such a wonderful man and I can honestly say I never saw him mad. He always had something good to say about someone else. He truly lives a Christ like life. We have been by his bedside continually and this afternoon my children, my four nieces and some of my other cousins and I had the opportunity to sit by his bedside and sing primary song after primary song. We were all in tears, including my grandfather. We have had some good discussions and I know that he is at peace and knows that he has a Father in Heaven who loves him very much. I am so grateful for the plan of salvation and I know that this is not a goodbye, but a see you later. This is not easy in no way, but I am grateful for the gospel and the knowledge that we have that gives us peace and comfort.

I've Been Tagged!

2008-08-13T13:16:00.000-07:00

So I have been tagged by Amy O'Neill

TAG: Things as they really are

The object of this tag is to show people the way you really live. Here are the rules: Take pictures of the following things below just as they are right now without stopping to clean or straighten. Of course I cheated somewhat, that's the OCD in me :)

"My Favorite Room"

I would have to say it would be my living room because it is the most quiet in the house (no tv). It is also a nice gathering place when we have family or friends over.

"One of your favorite places to be"

I would have to say my computer. Either I'm reading blogs, checking my email or doing my calling. It is certainly more fun than the laundry!

"The Kitchen Sink"

It will be nice and full once the kids get home from school!

"Picture of myself"

This one is scary. I obviously didn't cheat on this one. I have been under a lot of stress lately because of my grandpa, so I am very tired, either that or I am starting to look way to old!

" What are the kids doing right now"
They are all in school, whohoo!

"The Family Room"

You gotta love my little doggy just chillin on the couch on top of a pillow and blanket It's kind of hard to see her because she blends in with the couch. What a diva!

"My Bedroom"

I always have laundry on my bed. I should have taken a picture of our never ending laundry pile! Scary!

"The toilet"

Or as David likes to call it his "throne" (sp?)

"My Closet"

I had to take a few shots of this one it is U shaped. This is part of my side.

David's side

David says I have an obsession with purses. What do you think?

"My Laundry Room"
My laundry room is actually in a closet upstairs. It's nice to have it upstairs, but I would certainly love a bigger room. Laundry always seems to be piled up in the hallway.

"My Favorite Shoes"

I can't live without my flip flops!

Now I tag anyone else who hasn't been tagged!

Back to School!!!!

2008-08-11T17:32:00.001-07:00

Well the girls headed back to school today. It was the very first day for the twins. They were so excited! Hopefully that will last forever :-)
I told Savannah and Ciera to put their arms around each other and they wouldn't :) They were trying to act older and that just wasn't cool anymore Mom! They grow up too fast!

Savannah's teacher let us come in and take a quick picture. I didn't get one of Ciera because they were in their class and ready to work, sorry Sis.

We'll it's official I feel OLD!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-08-05T08:59:00.000-07:00

My baby started high school yesterday! Wow, where has the time gone. I didn't take any pictures, which I am sure she would have been totally embarassed by :) She has definitely entered into a different world. Her first comment to me when I picked her up was, "Wow people really dress weird!" I told her welcome to high school. She is adjusting to early morning seminary, but has the later class at 7:00am. Next week my twins start Kindergarten! I will be alone during the day without kids, what is that! I'm really not sure what I am going to do with myself!

My Grandfather

2008-07-29T21:11:00.000-07:00

This morning my Grandpa had a stroke. He is 89 years old and has always had really good health. I went and saw him today at the Mayo Clinic. He is in ICU right now and is paralyzed on his left side. He is alert and does try to talk to us. It is hard to understand him, but he is doing fairly well for what he has been through. If you could remember him in your prayers, I would greatly appreciate it. He is one of the most sweet and loving men that I know. The nurse was putting a feeding tube down his throat and I was just outside his room waiting. I could hear the nurse telling him I am so sorry, please don't hate me. The nurse came out and told me what a sweet man he was and that he told her that he could never hate her. I love this man!!! He is a strength and light in our life and has always been a great example to me and my family. He truly lives a christ like life.

Clement Family Reunion

2008-07-28T13:48:00.000-07:00

How many men does it take to put up a tent??????

This past weekend we had the opportunity to go just outside of Flagstaff for our annual family reunion on my Mom's side of the family. My mom is one of 11 children. There are 64 granchildren (I thought there were 62, but I guess I lost count) and 110 great grandchildren, with more on the way. Talk about a fertile family :). We have had an annual reunion since I was little. We used to do it with my Grandpa's entire family, but the family became too big to fill just one campground, so we only do my mom's immediate family now. We always enjoy ourselves, but this year it rained alot, so we didn't get to visit as much as we would have liked, but we still enjoyed seeing all of our family that we don't get to see as often as we would like. My cousin Barbara has been my best friend since we were little. We have always been like sisters and said we needed to marry guys that got along. To make a long story short, she married David's best friend! We always enjoy our time with them. She is the one that taught me to drive a stick shift when we were teenagers. We still laugh about the night it took me 30 minutes to get out of her drive way and how I left her transmission in the middle of the road. It didn't help that my cousin Steve was in the backseat laughing his head off. Well at this years reunion they brought their 4 wheel joyner up and she took me for a ride. On the way back she had me drive, it is a stick shift and I am a little rusty, but anyways I had a little trouble at first and we laughed so hard all the way back. It brought back alot of great memories.
Cherish has been taking a summer computer class that our school offered this year, so she got to borrow the video camera to record all of the excitement.

My girls doing what they do best, laying around.

They played so hard that poor Savannah fell asleep in the RV.

Ariana was bored at first, but re-connected with her cousin Nicole and they were constantly by each others side.

Our poor little doggy got so tired, I think she enjoyed the outdoors, but definitely missed her life of luxury!

This is my brother's dog Daisy. They have had her now for over six years, she is the best kids dog. She loves the outdoors. The girls love to walk her, or should I say Daisy loves to walk them!

My nephew Hayden has got to be one of the happiest babies I have ever met. He is the mini me version of my brother Brian. I always tell my sister-in-law that Hayden brings back so many memories of my little brother Brian because I was almost twelve when he was born and I carried him everywhere and my Mom called me his second mother. There is a running joke in the family because when Brian was four I was sixteen with a job and he would always convince me to take him to the store, or to McDonalds and he would always say, "Charlene I never had one of those before,' and of course I would buy it for him. I told my sister-in-law that in following tradition I have to buy Hayden his first happy meal.

We always end our adventure at the Cracker Barrel in Flagstaff.

Backyard Fun

2008-07-21T13:43:00.000-07:00

A BIG thankyou to Jamie Bangerter for the great backyard fun idea. My girls had a blast today with our little slip and slide. Please excuse my ugly backyard that is a work in progress :(

Meet Elder Diaz and his Companion

2008-07-21T08:15:00.000-07:00

We have two nephews who are currently serving missions in Arizona. They are twins, Eduardo is serving in the Phoenix, Arizona Mission and Andres is serving in the Mesa, Arizona Mission. Eduardo got permission from his mission president to come over for dinner to our house with his companion. What a wonderful experience. We had some of our nieces and nephews over as well as David's brother Jorge, who are all less active. Elder Diaz and his companion gave a wonderful message and Elder Diaz challenged them to come to church. The next day they all came to our Ward. Thanks Elder Diaz for being such an awesome missionary!

Elder Diaz got to meet the newest edition. My niece Yesenia just had her baby last week.

Mommy and Vincent

Vincent with his "big"Uncle Zach!

Cupcakes Anyone???????

2008-07-20T22:40:00.000-07:00

Cherish loves to cook. My sister-in-law let Cherish borrow some cake decorating supplies. She is always thinking about her future and wants to have her own business. We had a surprise party for our nephew Zach, who is a senior this year at Tolleson. He plays on the football team and had lettered in Varsity already. The family all pitched in and purchased a letterman jacket for him. (This is something he secretly wanted and was soooo surprised when we gave it to him :) Cherish customed designed these cupcakes for Zach. I think she did a great job. She made over 40 cupcakes. Way to go Cherish! It was so funny because Zach didn't know we were getting him a jacket and when he first got to our house he saw the cupcakes. We thought this might give him a clue, but he later said he just thought that we were excited about Chelsea going to Tolleson and that this family had Tolleson spirit!!!!

Our beautiful model!

A great moment, he was totally surprised and said it was his best birthday ever!

Go Wolverines!!!!!!!

Our Ballerina

2008-07-12T16:51:00.001-07:00

Ariana has been wanting to take ballet now for a couple of years. We just joined the YMCA this summer and they were offering ballet classes. The classes are really reasonable, so we signed her up. Today was her first class and she was excited to say the least.
This is before the class started. The parents have to wait outside the room and look through a glass window, so I apologize for the next few shots that were taken through a glass window ;)

She really enjoyed the class and is going to start practicing her graceful moves.

Happy Fourth of July!

2008-07-06T16:17:00.001-07:00

We went to my grandparents place in Pine, AZ for Friday and Saturday. My grandmother was raised in Pine and this is the property that she lived on. It is right off the main highway. The house she grew up in is no longer there, but they put a 3 bedroom manufactured home on their four acres and they use it as a summer home. There is also a little cabin that was built for my Great-Grandmother, who used to live there. My Grandpa is 89 and my Grandma is 84, they continue to grow a big garden on their property. I think that is what keeps them so healthy and young. They stay in Pine from May to October (they have a home in Phoenix), but do come down to the "valley" often for baby blessings, baptisms, etc... I am one of the older grandchildren, number 7 to be exact, but there are 62 grandchildren and great-grandchildren continue to climb. I forgot to ask my grandma how many there are now, but I believe it is in the 100's. My grandma was so cute this weekend because she was telling me different stories, but was having trouble remembering all of the great-grandchildren's names, she said "I can't remember them all", I told her she was doing great because I mix up my own childrens names :) We really enjoyed ourselves and my grandparents enjoyed the kids so much. They didn't go with us to the fireworks in Payson because my grandma has trouble getting around because of a bad hip, but they waited up for us and enjoyed the stories about our adventures.
This old workshed is original to the property and use to be right behind the old house. They use it now for food storage. They don't build structures to last now like they used to!

My grandparents have some old apple trees on the property, so I decided to take some photo's of the girls. Ariana's picture was taken at the park because she was too afraid to sit on the limb of the apple tree.

The honey man has a stand right next to my grandparents property. This honey is the best. I highly recommend the whipped honey. It comes in different flavors and is delicious on toast or pancakes.

We waited about 3 hours for the fireworks. It is packed in this park in Payson, so you have to come early in order to get a parking space.

It rained off and on while we waited, so my brother Sean pulled out his rain cover for his tent and we put it over us to keep dry. I'm sure people thought we were crazy, but we got a good laugh out of it!

It was beautiful at the park and we enjoyed watching the fireworks right over the lake.

OUR LITTLE MAN

2008-06-30T19:33:00.000-07:00

We have been babysittying my little nephew, while my sister-in-law has been at work. The girls absolutely love their "little man". In my family there are 10 granddaughters and only 2 grandsons. Brendan is 2 and Hayden is 5 months. These boys are definitely spoiled and mothered to death! Hayden is a really good baby and we have thoroughly enjoyed watching him. We are going to go through baby withdraws when his Grandma (his regular babysitter) gets back from her vacation.

A Day at the Beach

2008-06-01T09:56:00.000-07:00

We went back to Newport Beach on Friday. It was much warmer and the girls had a blast playing in the water and the sand.
Chelsea had gone to the pool earlier in the day and already had a burn. She was determined to get a tan she says to look more mexican!

My nephew Brendan loved the water. I caught this action shot of him almost losing his balance in the water.

My brothers and my daughters were determined to build a wall of sand that could withstand the waves. By the time we left it was no more!

Savannah building her sand castle

One naked baby on the beach! It was pretty windy that day, so my nephew Hayden spent most of his time under the beach umbrella.

David and Savannah building a fort around the sand castle.

Ariana and Savannah's creation. Ari was upset that the water kept soaking into the sand around their castle, this was the best we could do!

They had so much fun, but were full of sand!

Disneyland or Bust!!!!

2008-06-01T09:34:00.001-07:00

We had the opportunity this last week to go to Disneyland and California Adventure for three fun filled days. We went with my parents and my two brothers and their families. My Dad rented a five bedroom house in Irvine, CA. There was plenty of room and it was a really nice place. I don't think we wanted to leave!!! We really enjoyed ourselves, but we were definitely exhausted by the end of the week!
Ari and Brian on the teacups

Ari is a major minnie mouse fan, she just had to get minnie ears!

In jail in toon town

Minnie and the girls

Meeting Mickey Mouse at his house

The best grandparents ever! They were the official babysitters.

Savannah driving her Dad on the Autotopia.

Fun with Rosie and Brendan at California Adventure

Mickey and Minnie on vacation at California Adventure

On the jungle cruise ride

Me and my baby brother Brian

The girls with one of their favorite princesses Ariel

Breakfast with Goofy and Friends

2008-06-01T09:24:00.000-07:00

My Dad surprised all of the grandchildren with a special breakfast with Goofy and Friends at the Disneyland hotel. Goofy is Cherish's favorite character, she was sooo excited! The breakfast was awesome, I highly recommend the creme brulee french toast it was delicious. The girls got to see alot of characters, got their autographs and were able to take pictures with them. Thanks Grandpa and Grandma for an awesome experience.

Newport Beach California

2008-06-01T08:52:00.000-07:00

Ariana and her favorite little man, her cousin Hayden.

This was our second day in California. We went down to Newport Beach and we walked along the pier. It was still pretty cold that day, but the girls enjoyed putting their feet in the ice cold water. Ciera was shoaked, so we had to go back to the house and change her clothes.

An Official 8th Grade Graduate

2008-05-22T08:50:00.000-07:00

Chelsea's kindergarten picture. She is in the front row, third one in from the left.

Our beautiful graduate!

Chelsea receiving her diploma. Mrs. Batycki is on the left with Dr. Lopeman on the right.

Chelsea and her best friend Jordi wrote a poem together, which talked about their 9 years at Alhambra Traditional School. They were asked to recite it at the graduation.

I love these teachers! Left to right, Mrs. Batycki, Mrs. Smith, Mr. Smith, Chelsea and Ms. Spangler. Mr. Smith was Chelsea's volleyball and basketball coach. His wife was Chelsea's homeroom teacher as well as her Literature teacher. What an awesome couple they are truly awesome teachers. Chelsea is really going to miss them.

Chelsea and her 2nd grade teacher Mrs. Zoffka, she attends all of her former students graduations. She was an awesome teacher!!!!

Me and my baby, who's all grown up.....

Chelsea with her Tia Julie

Chelsea with her Aunt Darlene

Chelsea with her Aunt Cassy!

Ariana the Brave!

2008-05-18T21:41:00.000-07:00

Well, Ariana finally did it.....She pierced her ears. Her Tia Julie talked her into doing it. She was very brave and didn't even cry. She held Julie's hand and braved the dreaded ear gun. We have been trying to convince her to pierce her ears for 4 years now!

Obrigada Brasil!!!!!!!!

2008-05-13T23:17:00.000-07:00

Julie bought me this beautiful table cloth from Brazil. I love it!

Anyone who knows our niece Vanesa this one's for you!!!!!!
Savannah needs to work on her lip action!!!!

My sister-in-law Julie just returned from Brazil! Engaged!! We are soooo excited for her. Her fiancee sent some things for the girls, which they are proudly showing off!

Chelsea's 8th Grade Promotion Dance

2008-05-08T12:42:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to chaperone Chelsea's 8th grade promotion dance. The dance committee really went all out for these kids. They had a nice catered meal with chicken alfredo, garlic bread, salad and dessert. The 7th & 8th graders are invited to the dance, but the last hour is just for the 8th graders. They had a chocolate fountain with strawberries, bananas and marshallows. They also had picture books for the kids with the class picture and individual pictures that have been taken throughout the year. They also had an address book in the back for the kids to exchange their info. It was really nice and I enjoyed myself. It was funny to watch them get all emotional, but most of these kids have been together since Kindergarten.

Chelsea and her Best Friend Forever Jordi!

These kids were so fun to watch. They really had a good time!

Jordi, William and Chelsea at the 8th grade dance. These kids have been together at the school since Kindergarten.....

Honor Roll Awards Night

2008-04-25T11:14:00.000-07:00

At Alhambra Traditional School they have an honor awards night for those kids who have been on honor roll and have a certain grade point average. They have ATS Honor Roll and Principal's Honor Roll. I am very proud of my girls. Chelsea and Ariana had Principal's Honor Roll and Cherish had ATS Honor Roll. They have all worked very hard this year especially Chelsea, who will be entering High School this August. Way to go girls!

Relax and Unwind

2008-04-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

After a very emotional week it was nice to relax, unwind and enjoy being with your family...

The BIG Catch!

2008-04-19T11:01:00.000-07:00

Our nephew Zach found this dead fish on the beach, so they decided to pose with it. Notice Omar didn't have a fish, so Sam is his trophy!

2008-04-19T10:55:00.000-07:00

Chelsea and Omar. Chelsea had such a blast with all her 'teenage" cousins.

A Night At the Beach

2008-04-19T10:45:00.000-07:00

This was our last night in Michigan. David's family lives only five minutes from Lake Michigan. We decided to go see the sunset and feed the seagulls. We had a blast with the kids, but it was FREEZING!!!!!!!!

De'Ja Vu......Rider beware!!!!!

2008-04-19T10:35:00.000-07:00

This is a ride called the de'ja vu. This ride scared me to death. Basically you are hanging from the top of the rails as it whips you around, upside down and then straight up in the air, but then "de'ja vu" it takes you back the way you came and you are hanging several stories up just dangling feet and all from your harness. I was definitely crying and screaming at the same time. I can say I did the ride, but I have now retired from riding the de'ja vu!

Chelsea and her Posse!!!

2008-04-19T10:24:00.000-07:00

They really are good girls. Chelsea and her best friend Jordi have been friends since Kindergarten!

Batman Forever

2008-04-19T10:18:00.000-07:00

David loves superhero movies, but one of his favorite is Batman. He had to buy a batman shirt and just had to pose with Batman and Robin! He is such a kid at heart!

Chelsea's 8th Grade Magic Mountain Trip

2008-04-19T10:10:00.000-07:00

I am behind on my blogging, so I am playing catch up. A couple of weeks ago David and I had the opportunity to chaperone Chelsea's 8th grade trip to Magic Mountain. We quickly found out how old we are getting when the rides kicked us in the rear! We really enjoyed ourselves and some special time with our daughter and friends.

2008-04-18T21:28:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to take the time to say Happy Belated Birthday to Chelsea. Her Grandmother passed away the day before her birthday, so her birthday party was put on hold. Chelsea turned 14 on April 9th, which is also our anniversary. David and I have been married for 15 years now. We are so proud of Chelsea and her accomplishments. She continually makes us proud for the young woman she has become. Happy Birthday Chels we love you!!!!!!

2008-04-17T10:25:00.000-07:00

I forgot to Tag my family and friends..I tag Brian and Kolena, The Browns and the Boones. (Amy O., Amy B. and Kandice I won't bother you since you have already been tagged)

TAG......I'M IT!!!!!!!

2008-04-17T10:07:00.000-07:00

Rules of this Tag:1. Answer the questions about the list of friends and/or family on your blog.
2. If you don’t have the # of names that the question asks, answer the question about the next name that you have not had a question for on your list.
3. Tag your friends/ family.

When did you first meet the 1st person on your list? The 1st person on my list is Amy B. I met Amy when our husbands played softball together in a city league.

What do you like about the third person on your list's blog? The third person on my list is Kara Boone. I met Kara for the first time when she moved into the ward. I was in the Relief Society presidency and had the privilege of making a new member visit to her. She is so sweet and I always enjoyed the sharing times she gave when she was in primary.

What do you like best about the 5th and 6th people on your list? Amy O. is a beautiful person on the inside and out. She is very reliable and always a sweetheart. Kandice A. is one of my best friends. She is a great listener and I enjoy her company. She is also my right arm in primary!

How long have you known the 8th person on your list? I have known my brother Brian all his life. I'm grateful for such a sweet little brother, who is always there to help me, especially with my computer. I am grateful for his wonderful wife, who I call my friend as well as my sister. I am also blessed to have a beautiful nephew to spoil with many happy meals. (Growing up Brian always suckered me into buying him one!!)

What impresses you about the 11th and 22nd people on your list? The Browns impress me with their great strength, especially all that they went through with their little guy. Chelsea loves to babysit him.

What is a memory you have with the 23rd person on your list? I think I have already talked about everyone on my list.

Say something nice about the 27th person on your list. Since I have already talked about each person, I will just say I admire each and everyone on my list and I am so grateful for wonderful friends and family that make life grand :)

A Beloved Wife, Mother and Grandmother

2008-04-17T09:39:00.000-07:00

On April 8th my mother-in-law passed away. It was very sudden and unexpected. She had not been feeling well about a month prior. She had just stayed with us for almost a week and then went down to Mexico to visit family. My father-in-law called my sister-in-laws and told them something was wrong, so they quickly flew her back to Michigan to see her doctor. On Saturday April 5th they called to say that they had found a brain tumor. They did emergency surgery Sunday and early Tuesday morning. Tuesday evening she passed away and returned home to our Heavenly Father. The doctors said she had what they call a butterfly tumor, which is one of the most rapid growing tumors. David was able to make it in time to say his final goodbye. The girls and I flew into Michigan on Thursday the 10th. The funeral was beautiful and you felt so spiritually uplifted. She was the strength of the family and her testimony of the gospel was unshakeable. Our mother was a pillar of strength. She had tremendous faith, which held strong through her conversion to any trial she faced. In the words of my brother-in-law Jorge, she was our firm foundation. She will be sorely missed, but we know our Heavenly Father needed her at this time to continue with her mission.

Easter Weekend

2008-03-25T14:52:00.000-07:00

Easter weekend was full of many activities for our family. Saturday we went to a park up north for my Mom's family. We had a blast and the girls got to participate in an easter egg hunt with many of their cousins. That night we had the opportunity to go to the Phoenix Coyotes game as a family (courtesy of David's work). The girls had a blast and soon realized that it is freezing at a hockeye game. Cherish was so cute and made her own coyote banner, which she proudly displayed many times during the game. We saw an awesome fight (I am not one for violence, but it was pretty exciting!) Cherish said the fight was awesome! Of course the coyote player knocked the other guy to the ground and the crowd went wild. Easter morning the Easter Bunny came and brought the younger girls all kinds of Hannah Montana stuff, which they love so much. The older girls are now my assistants, but of course they have to have a basket. I have seen so many beautiful pictures of friends and family with their kids all dressed up for Easter Sunday. I have been so good in the past at dressing up my girls to match, but with a teenager and pre-teen it is impossible. The girls had another egg hunt at my parents house Sunday and Papa had a special money egg for each of the grandkids. He put $10 in coins in each one. Savannah and Ciera think they are rich!

The Easter Pageant

2008-03-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

Well I have struggled with my computer and have given up for the time being, so no pictures today (I will have to get some friendly advice from my brother), but we took the girls to the Easter Pageant on Tuesday night. There were lots of people there, but we took our blankets and had ourselves a little picnic. The girls enjoyed themselves, but Ariana complained that she couldn't see the peoples faces! The girls asked lots of questions, but here are some of my favorite quotes: Savannah - "Are they really nailing that guy to the cross?" Ariana - "Do they have a gift shop here?" "Are you sure there is no gift shop here?" Savannah - "I think they would sell a bobblehead Jesus there!" Savannah - "Hey I learned about this in Primary." "Hey I know this song." Needless to say my children continue to crack me up. We really enjoyed ourselves and look forward to going again next year.

2008-03-13T22:00:00.000-07:00

This was my Dad's 60th birthday celebration. Pictured from left to right is my brother Sean, me, my Dad, my Mom, my sister Darlene and my baby brother Brian. We had such a blast. We saw so many old friends, it was definitely a trip down memory lane.

Our sweet twinky

2008-03-13T21:51:00.000-07:00

This is Twinky our little rescue dog. Cherish has been begging for a dog for two years now. She finally convinced me to let her get a dog. This sweet little dog has been such a sweetheart. She was a stray when animal control found her, but she is now a little princess living in the lap of luxury. With five girls who spoil her rotten, she has it made.