For Anna...

When Anna was visiting we went to the Venetian for dinner. Afterward, she asked a very cute gentleman to dance. I'm pretty sure she made his day (or his year)! Here are 30(ish) seconds of their very cute dance...

Did you know...

That if your sad little fingernail falls off, and you put it in a bag under your pillow, that the 'nail fairy' will come visit you & bring you a dollar?

I didn't either until tonight...

Those four quarters were earned by blood, sweat and tears.

(You can thank me for sparing you a photo of the fingernail :)

Pass it along...

I was truly blessed with the opportunity to attend the Young Women General Broadcast tonight.

I felt like I had to pass the word along to those of you who currently don't have a daughter in Young Women, or aren't currently serving in Young Women, that it would be WELL worth your time to watch/listen to this meeting when you get the chance.

The entire meeting was really neat, but President Uchtdorf's talk was one of BEST talks I've ever heard. Ever. Who knows, you might not feel it the same as I did, but as the mother of two little girls, I was really touched by his words and the power with which he said them.



I promise you, as soon as his talk is available on the Church website, the Norris Family will be watching it for FHE.

End of Track Break Vacation...

Truthfully, I'm not sure how many photos one blog post can hold. This post is probably approaching that max. It may feel a little like Grandpa Fletcher pulling out all of his slides at Thanksgiving and giving you the opportunity to look at pictures that mean a lot to him but not quite as much to you. That's why there are two beautiful things about a blog: 1) it's mine and I can put on it whatever I want 2) you don't have to look at ALL the pictures and I'll never know. (Can't walk away during Grandpa's slide show or he's bound to notice :)

With that said, if you want...please come and enjoy 3 of the most enjoyable days the Norris family has had in a LONG time (maybe ever). Two little sweet girls age 9 and 7 are quite enjoyable to take on a trip if I do say so myself.

Day 1 began at 'The Grove' in Los Angeles with the much anticipated trip to the American Girl store. I'm not sure who was more excited, them or me. And I must note that Dan was a very good sport during all the hours we were there! (Kamie...if you read this, I tried to find you a postcard but they don't have any. Bummer! But we got you the closest thing they had to one and we'll be mailing it soon.)

Kallie & Syd and their dolls exploring the 'historical doll' section...

Kit Kitteridge Tree House...look at that price (gasp). I'm pretty sure we could have spent thousands at this store if we told the girls (and me) they could have anything they wanted.

Felicity...

I know someone who would buy one of this "doggie umbrellas" if they really sold one...I took this picture just for her :)

Patio tea party lunch...

Seriously...does it get any better than this?

Dessert...

Worth every penny...

The dining room. I really want to decorate one of my girl's bedrooms like this one day!

After lunch we took a free trolley ride...view of the AG patio from above.

While we were waiting to get on the trolley we saw a bunch of paparazzi following some guys around. One of the celebs was Joe Jonas (scream) and two other guys that Kallie and Syd knew off Radio Disney but I had no clue.

After LA we drove to Carlsbad and couldn't get over the rows and rows of strawberry plants. Beautiful!!!

Of course we stopped at one of the roadside stands and partook...

Then we headed down to the beach really quick to catch the sunset...

Cheesy I know...I couldn't help myself :)

Carlsbad has the most beautiful fields of flowers, they seem more beautiful than ever because Vegas has NO flowers (except on the temple grounds).

Day 2...Legoland. Yes, these girls are just as wimpy as ever and would much prefer these little kiddo rides over the roller coasters. And once again, Dan was a good sport!

And because I know you were wondering...the finger got MUCH uglier with each day that passed.

These Lego Monuments are AMAZING!

Felt just like home...

Sea Life Aquarium (part of Legoland).

K&D on the Fairytale Boat Ride over and over (you guessed it, he was a good sport).

Day 3 we spent with my Uncle Greg and his family in Aliso Viejo. Thank you SO MUCH Greg & Elaine for being so kind to let us stay with you, we really appreciate your kindness & hospitality. And a big thanks to Cheryl and Kirk for coming down for the night, it was so fun to see you! Elaine took us to a perfectly lovely beach by the Montage Hotel (sp?).

My cousin Samantha doing what kids do best...

Kallie and Isaac played together really well. They worked on their sand castle for a long time!

I couldn't get enough of this pretty little baby Lily. I would have brought her home with me if I'd thought I could have gotten away with it. (sorry I always have to forget to resize at least one)

Checking out all the sea life in the tide pools.

Syd was loving this hermit crab...is that a crab body part that accidentally got torn off? Who knows!

This isn't Sea World people...this is for real!

I love this one- Greg and Samantha.

They had to start over on their castle because we had to re-locate to a different spot on the beach because the tide was coming in.

And one last parting shot of cute little Sydney Rae.

Congrats you've made it to THE END of the Norris Family Heavenly California Trip of March '10. Thanks for looking at all 44 pictures (ha!) and yes there were MANY I didn't post. I don't want to forget a thing that's all...

Rules are meant to be followed...

I think we are all aware of the church's stand on bringing other (smaller) children to activities such as scouts and mutual. We are definitely encouraged NOT to for several reasons. This just might be one of those reasons...

Dan had to work late last night, he thought he might make it home in time to keep the girls while I went to YW, but it didn't happen. No worries. My girls love to play "Primary" so I got them some chalk and eraser from the library and put them in a room to play while I hung out with the Beehives for a while. Right in the middle Kallie opened the door and said, "Mom, Syd needs you."

Apparently Syd's finger got in the way of the door as it was shutting. Let's just say I could see the BOTTOM edge of her fingernail, the part that's usually nicely tucked under the skin. Luckily one of the Mia Maid advisers is a nurse who told us it wasn't broken (phew). She said what it needed what a good cleaning and some Dermabond (skin glue). So we loaded a very pale Sydney (who may have been a little in shock) into the car and took her to a member of the bishopric, who works at the hospital, who had some Dermabond handy. He saved the day for sure!!!

In Kallie's prayer last night she said, "Heavenly Father, we're thankful that Syd's finger didn't get chopped all the way off." See, there is always something to be thankful for :)

The next thing Kallie asked was, "Are we still going to California?" Oh yes...we are. One little smashed pinky isn't going to keep us from vacation.

So the moral of the story...heed the church's counsel and don't take your younger children to mutual activities with you.

(PS...her fingernail was already painted that color so at least it will hide any damage until that nail falls off completely.)

Happy Day!

March 5th was my sweet little Sydney's 7th birthday. I'm having heart attacks that soon I'm going to have a 10 year old and a 7 year old...feeling just a tad bit old right about now.

Here's the Happy Birthday Sign Kallie made all by herself. I loved it! Please notice the SYD part, each letter is something that starts with that letter. S-snake Y-yoyo D-donut. We still have this up because Kallie worked too hard to just rip it down at the end of the day.

Tradition...breakfast in bed. Syd isn't really an egg kinda girl so she got cinnamon rolls, fruit & bacon.

Isn't this picture the greatest...total bed head. I think she looks adorable, I just need to remember to take her earrings out at night.

We let Syd open one present before we left for work. Kallie convinced her that she should open the one from her. Kallie gave Syd some new earrings and a "Liv" doll...what are those anyway? Wig hair and creepy eyes, but Syd loved it.

This year Syd opted NOT to have a party but to get a pedicure and fingernail painting instead. It was too expensive for all 3 of us so just Kallie and Syd got pampered this year. It was so fun! I had tons of fun watching (and laughing) at them. They were acting just like teenagers...yikes!

Perusing a magazine (I made her choose one other than Cosmopolitan).

I haven't laughed this hard in a long time. When the nail lady was using the pumice stone on Syd's feet she was giggling her head off because it tickled so bad. She was trying to hide her face behind the magazine but then she couldn't control it any longer and she'd bust up out loud again. I was crying from laughing and the lady doing her feet thought it was beyond hilarious. Wish you all could have been there!

The finished product. For the record...they picked out their matching outfits not me, but I'll admit that I did find a teal shirt and black pants so I could match too. Why didn't I have someone take a picture of the 3 of us???

I'm so mad at myself...I failed to get a picture of the birthday dinner at Olive Garden with Corky and Byrleen. We had a great dinner and I was really glad she picked Olive Garden and not McD's. Bummer...next year I'll remember the photo.

This picture is for Grandma Patti, we loved the American Girl Gift Certificate she made. (FYI- we're heading to California on Wednesday to end track break on a great note. We're having lunch at the American Girl Store, Legoland & the beach).

Syd and Kallie both got lots of this ($) to use at the AG store. I might even make them buy me a souvenir.

Syd picked the cupcakes and the candles...

Happy Birthday little one...

And to top off a fun weekend...we got to see one of our greatest friends who happened to be spending a girls weekend in Vegas. I love this girl. I love that she makes me laugh non-stop. I love that she danced with an cute old man in the middle of the Venetian, I love that she tried on a $2,000 pair of shoes (really), I love that she bought a shirt that said "70% off clearance sale" that was on a store mannequin, and I love that she stopped at the Vegas sign with me (Dan never will). The ones of us together didn't turn out so well...but some stranger is supposed to be emailing us a copy of one he took with his big camera.

Dear Anna- I'm sorry that this room was a pigsty when you stayed with us. I'm truly sorry that I ran out of time between work and party stuff to get it cleaned for you. I took a picture of what it looks like right now in hopes that the bad memory of the way you saw it might be erased forever. Please come again...I'll make it up to you I promise!

Silver and gold baby...some are silver and others are GOLD!