Trail Run & Lake Mead

My friend Rachelle and I traveled to Flagstaff last night so we could run a 10k trail run with Diane. I was kind of nervous because I never run on trails, because the elevation is 7000 feet, and the trail is very rocky and I'm not very coordinated. But I am happy to say that it was a great run and we had a super time! It was such a nice change of scenery to be running in the Flagstaff trees and to actually feel great while doing it. I admit, sometimes when running it's tempting to lay down in a ball and start crying. I'm happy to say that for today's 6 miles I felt great! Thanks for inviting us Diane! And to make the day even better, we went to lunch and a movie to celebrate Rachelle's b-day tomorrow. FUN DAY!

Last week we took the girls to Lake Mead to feed the fish. These are some seriously huge, aggressive fish and I thought you needed to see them in action to appreciate the sound effects that go along with them :).

Shout Hooray...Birthday!

The first week of May is one big party around our house! Kallie's bday is on the 3rd and Dan's is close behind on the 6th. Do any of you remember Kallie still being in the hospital on Dan's bday back in 2000? Time flies!

I'm starting with Dan (even though his bday is 2nd) because I have 2 pictures of his celebration and...well...a few more than that for Kallie :).

Dan and I deserted the office right in the middle of the day to go see one of the last showings of Avatar in 3D in the Las Vegas Valley. We had a great time! We need to schedule more "meetings" like that...staff development right?!?

Dan (cracking me up) blowing out the candles on his Eclair Cake. For his bday we got him new pajama bottoms (we're tired of looking at the hole in the bum of his other pjs) and some fancy Egyptian Cotton pillowcases. In case you didn't know, Dan is pillowcase crazy. He changes his (and mine) about every other day. Then he complains because we never have enough. I only bought 4 so I'm sure this won't eliminate the complaints all together but it will buy me a few extra days at least :). Happy 36th babe!

I cut my morning run short just to make this little girl breakfast in bed (of course)!

She picked IHOP for her bday dinner. Somehow I forgot to get a photo of the new bike she picked out, she's ridden it to school every day since.

Today (Saturday) we held her party with her friends. She chose to have a "Craft Project Extravaganza". Everything (except one project) was straight out of a Family Fun craft book my parents gave Kallie a few years ago. Even this sunshine cake was featured in the book. Kallie had so much fun frosting it!

Finished product (with a little help from mom)...

Still waiting for a few guests to arrive, but if you can believe it, she had 100% attendance. Fourteen kids in all! Very fun! The first "project" we started with was painting flower pots, which they later planted seeds in. We'll see if Kallie & Syd's actually sprout...I did buy the seeds at Walmart after all :).

Next up they were decorating notebook journals that I found HERE . I found that blog through Amanda...I think?!? I thought this picture might cause a few of you anxiety, look at that messy table! But did you notice I have my BIG table home again...we love having her back!!!

Next we made bead/macaroni jewelry. Kallie invited three boys to her party, two from her school class and our friend Ethan. I must say I was very impressed by the two cute boys she invited from school. Very positive and polite...keep up the good taste Kallie. They even made necklaces without a word of complaint!

Last project...Bean Scenes.

Courtney H. making an owl.

Kallie making a scene that says "The Big 10".

Making a wish...

Present time...shall we say that Zhu Zhu Pets were on her list and she got a few. Don't you love her 'birthday hat'?

This party was smooth sailing if I do say so myself. Ten year olds are fun to entertain! No crazy running around screaming...they were all so cooperative and pleasant. We had a great week...but I admit I'm glad it's over. Onto the next thing (Activity Days).

One Thing...

Just a little explanation. A couple of weeks I listened to a CD recording of Stephen Covey's 'First Things First'. It was a one disc abbreviated version (perfect for my easily distracted brain). I was surprised by how much I enjoyed his take on life and how to fit the most important things into it.

Something he suggested was to make a list of our various roles (mother, employee, daughter etc...) and list just ONE THING that we could do to significantly improve our performance in that role. Hmmm...where to begin. I will share with you just one (to explain my long blog absence). I decided that to become a better employee, the ONE THING I could do was to stop checking blogs at work. You must understand that I'm alone in this quiet (too quite=stressful) office and I find myself getting lonely and occasionally worried. Let's face it, sometimes it's much more fun to read about all the great things that other people are up to rather than filing chart notes and calling on EOBs. So my friends, my blog checking must be done at home and as a result may not happen on a very regular basis. But I'm pretty sure I can find some time once a week or so (even at 12:15am on Sunday morning while the rest of my family sleeps). But Stephen Covey and I are convinced it will help me become a much better employee!

Enough explaining...onto some past photos that have long ago been lost and forgotten in my camera.

Somehow in the 44 pictures I posted from our Cali trip I forgot this one. A horrible picture of the house that Dan and I are going to buy that's right on the beach in Carlsbad (a girl can dream). I took it out the window while we were driving but I'm pretty sure you get the idea. You'd come visit me more if I lived here wouldn't you? Tell the truth :)

I missed posting a very fun weekend when Amy and family came to visit us. You all know I'm not a huge fan of the Strip, but I am a fan of the Bellagio foyer. They change it with the seasons/holidays and it is truly amazing. It is very hard to grasp how cool it is in pictures. This was their Spring Garden Display.

My girls kept trying to catch the dancing water as it came by. I kept saying "don't touch the water...they don't want you splashing water everywhere." Then I looked back and saw Amy. I need to be more like her! Why was I reprimanding instead of helping?

They brought in pots and pots and pots of flowers...beautiful!

I'm pretty sure my parents need one of these in their backyard!

More catch-up...we traveled to Flagstaff for Easter/Conference Weekend. It was such a great trip and I can't even begin to describe how happy I am that Diane and family are just over 3 hours away from us. This picture is at Diane's friend Elizabeth's house. I'm mostly posting it because I'm in love with her homemade pillows. These homemade pillows were sitting on her homemade COUCH (we're talking hammer, wood, saws etc.)! That was sitting in front of her homemade DINING ROOM TABLE. That was down the hall from their bathroom complete with a made from scratch VANITY. The list could go on and on...yes I was a little jealous.

Easter morning dying eggs. Can't skip this of course.

I love this picture. Two heads together watching their eggs magically turn colors. Two is almost always better than one!

Diane is such a great hostess. She invited their neighbors over for the Easter feast as well. My girls thought they were so special because Diane let them help decorate the holiday table. If only I had gotten a picture of the food...it was even more beautiful than the table.

Do you think this will really help me be a better employee? Probably...but I don't have to like it.

Don Aslett Giveaway!

I'm posting a link to my great friend Amy's blog because she is having a 'Don Aslett Cleaning Supply Giveaway'. And anyone who knows my mother, knows that I grew up using Don Aslett supplies. And anyone who has seen my mother's house (which she cleans with Don Aslett supplies) will want to win some for yourself so your house can look like my mom's :)....I wish. Unfortunately, Don hasn't invented supplies that actually do the work for you, I do hope they're working on that though.

Anyway...check it out: yourlifeuncommon.blogspot.com

Kallie's Book Club

I know I'm a little bit lame with following through on things. It's sad but true. And Kallie's book club on her blog is no exception. Quite a few of you read and commented about her first book, "Ramona the Brave". Thank you! I was going to mail a prize to the winner (Amber) but because of the problem I have with follow through (as previously mentioned) that never happened and the book club never progressed. I'm feeling a little bit guilty and sad about that because it is such a fun idea. Well...here I am recommitting to Kallie's book club. I will mail Amber a prize and we will now move on to our next book of choice chosen by Spencer:


Fablehaven: Book 1

Same rules apply (see Kallie's blog HERE) if you've already read the book you must read it again. The first person to read the book will get a prize (for real) and everyone who reads it and leaves a comment is entered into a drawing for a prize. Now I'm not saying these prizes are going to be fabulous but it's always fun to get something in the mail.

Soooooo...go to Kallie's blog and join in the fun!!!

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...