Fischer

I should've taken a camera. You would think he moved away and came back after a really long time. After two months of "homeschooling," Fischer went back to Riverside Prep today. He asked me about a month ago if he could go back, but we had to wait for the principal to respond because they had three weeks of Spring Break. So yesterday, we found out the great news that Fischer could go back and he started today. It was a great reunion for him and a few friends within the first ten minutes of arriving on campus. All I could hear were screams of "Fischer!" from all the girls, and once we got in the office, he was ransacked by a few... almost knocked down by the smallest one! I didn't know he had his own fan club :-) It was cute to see his painted-on smile. He was so happy to be back, he even RAN to his first class, LOL. Too funny. I guess he can't say he doesn't like school!

Our 5th Baby

We had our ultrasound for baby #5 yesterday. She is so adorable already... I know, how can we tell right? She was playing peek-a-boo! :) She had her face to the "camera" the whole time and wouldn't give us any good profile pics, but it's definitely a girl. We have decided to name her Annie.

This is how we came up with it: we're always throwing around names and one day Barry said Anne... I said, how about "Annie", so it matches the other two girls ending in -ee sounds. He said, "yeah, maybe." We did this sort of thing ALL the time, so it wasn't any different this day.

A few days later I was reading a book and the girl's name was Annie. A few days after that I was reading the Ensign and there were two Annie's. Every time this happened, I knew that her name was supposed to be Annie. Then, we went to the temple and I did proxy work for a woman named Annie. That was when I knew for sure. We prayed at the temple and I continued receiving revelations about her name. So there was no doubt.

Somehow, I still thought I might have a boy! LOL I'm so silly! Yesterday's knowledge confirmed that the Lord is in charge and he told me all along I was having a girl.

So, little Annie, we know you were waiting for us and we are so excited to become your parents. It always seems that through adversity comes faith and strength, and we are blessed by this opportunity. We love you already and can't wait to meet you in September.

Disneyland

We broke down and bought season passes for Disneyland with our tax refund. Barry and I took the girls the first day, then I took all three kids the second time (a 2-day trip) while Barry was out of town. Here are some fun pictures. Our goal is to see all parts of both parks during the next 12 months so we can move on to a new venue next year. Fun, fun!

Dad's Marlin!

My parents just got back from Cabo San Lucas and sent this awesome picture. They sent one in the mail of the marlin standing upright from the tail to the tip of its nose, and it's about 2 feet taller than my dad (he's 6')!!

Way to go, Dad! That would be so cool to do sometime in my lifetime :)

President's List Honors

I don't mean to brag, but I'm so excited about this news that I have to share it. I earned President's List Honors at Kaplan University for the second term in a row! In order to earn this award, I have to get at least a 3.96 GPA. I've earned a 4.0 both terms. I thought I was going to get an A- in algebra, which would have brought my GPA down just a little (enough to drop me to Dean's List), but I was surprised to see the A+ today on my grades. My goal is to graduate Summa Cum Laude, which is the highest honor possible. If I can get an A in English and Algebra, I should do okay with the rest of the degree requirements. I don't have to take any more math, thank goodness!

Also, my previous goal was to major in Psychology, but I decided to change to Criminal Justice with an emphasis in Forensic Psychology. It's a more specialized field, and the degree courses seem really exciting to me. I will graduate at the same time and all my previous courses transfer to the new degree without losing any credits or having to do any more. I love being in college again, and this time to finish!!! What fantastic news to start my day :)

Fischer's 14th Birthday

Yes, it's true. Fischer turned 14 yesterday. He grows faster every year. It just never slows down! Unfortunately, we have no pictures because his camera broke and ours has been broken for quite a while. We used the video camera though :) Time to buy a new camera it seems.

We spent the day catering to him. I made waffles with syrup and whip cream for breakfast. We took the girls to my friend's house and took Fischer to lunch at the Roadhouse Grill, then to the movies to see Push. Then I made a cake and let him open his present from us. He got the XBOX 360 game "Sonic Unleashed," two books "The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and "Invisibility", and a music book for his guitar. I think he had a good day (he didn't have to do ANY chores all day!). His party will be on Saturday where he has invited three friends to come and play XBOX all day, eat pizza, cake and ice cream! Yea :)

Then, his first church dance is that night. MY SON IS GOING TO A DANCE!! I am so old. It's been funny reconnecting with old friends on Facebook lately, and they all say the same thing. They can't believe it's been 14 years since the little tike was born. Where does the time go? He's such a great young man. I must've done SOMETHING right.

Number 4 what?! :)

So my friend, Maria, tagged me, and this is what you do... You go to your photo files and pick the fourth file and the fourth photo, post it, then tell about it.

I was so nervous to find what the picture would be and was very relieved to find this one was without me in it! WHEW :)

So this is Gracie running at CSU Stanislaus (in Turlock) with my niece, Hailey, in the background. We were there for my my sister-in-law's graduation. It was a great weekend full of fun activities from the graduation to the party, then my other neice's 1st birthday the next day.

I tag Amber, Amanda, Loma, and Melissa!

New addition

So here's the story... Our good friends needed to find a good home for their puppy. We were looking for another dog to join our family, but were looking for a small dog and preferably male... so we told them no at first because she's a female and a Border Collie (medium dog). We studied up a bit on Border Collie's and were a little nervous about her energy, but figure with all the exercise she needs, it will get us out of the house more, so we decided to go see her today. We stayed for a while and I fell in love with her. She's really smart and obedient (as we were told by the salesman, Mr. Von Loveland) :) We brought her home and she fits right in. Abby, our other puppy, loves her, and of course the girls love her too.

Her name is Cali. That's what the Loveland's named her and we haven't come up with anything else that sticks, so that is her name :) I feel so bad for them, but know they will still get to see her at our house. Thanks for trusting us with your puppy Lovelands!

Today was a blast! We went to Hesperia Lake to take the kids to feed the ducks and play on the swings. It cost $1.29 for a cheap loaf of bread and it was sooo fun! I love days like this. We are trying to do at least one fun thing every weekend lately. We ride our bikes or go on road trips, or like today, we go to the park. I love my family! Gracie has a nice clown smile from some Thrifty ice cream we got before the park :)




Fischer was cracking me up jumping off the swing, then I got this shot and we just laughed! Now we just have to wait for him to do something like that off a skateboard, NOOO! :)

Little Chloe is soooo funny. She loves her swing at home and just loved it at the park too. She got mad at me when I took her out. Silly girl.

We're so proud of you Fischer!

My sweet boy has earned Honor Roll at school once again. He continues to amaze me with his hard work at school, and his high achievement with his grades. His school had an Honor Roll Assembly last week and I took the girls to go and support him. When we left he said, "You didn't have to come; it's not really that big of a deal." I said, "Yes it is! You are a great student and you should be recognized for your hard work." I took him to Starbucks afterwards for his favorite treat, Strawberries & Creme. Thanks for the picture Loma! :)

Back on the blog

After a little break, I've recreated our family blog. I forgot how much time it takes to get things going!


Christmas was a great time for our family. It's Barry's favorite time of year. He loves to decorate every part of the house (inside and out), and it always looks so great! Of course, we all help, but he's meticulous about the design and where things go. I love watching him light up this time of year. You should seriously see his plans for the future... he keeps a journal. OH!! He handcarved a 6 ft. snowman, 5 gingerbread people, an angel (too bad you can't see them too well in this picture) and the Mickey wreath below. He's so talented! The other great thing about this year was that we got about 2 ft of snow in VICTORVILLE! That never happens. It was awesome.

We got to see my family the weekend before Christmas...

My sister and brother with our four girls (they got matching dresses for Christmas). Back row: Sara, me, Adam. Front row: Brooke (18 mos), Gracie (almost 3), Chloe (12 mos), Hailey (3).

Side note: Hailey just got a new sister on January 14th! Welcome little Emily Faith! She's so beautiful! (I don't have pictures yet)...

Chloe with Santa at Mom & Dad's house -- Funny story: Gracie wouldn't go anywhere near him, but sat back and watched. Once Santa left she said, "Where's Papa?" I said very quickly, "Oh, he went to the bathroom." She has said several times, "Papa is Santa", and "Santa went to the bathroom." Of course, that's not possible, but where does she get this stuff?

Once we got back to town, festivities continued. I made a yummy Turkey and took it to our friends' house for dinner on Christmas Eve (dinner was soooo good)! Christmas morning we had breakfast and opened presents (I got a violin!!!), then Barry's parents came over that afternoon to exchange gifts, and I made a ham dinner. (Sorry, no pictures) :(

New Year's Eve was uneventful; we actually went to bed at 10:30pm! We must be getting old :) Then on January 2nd, we got some good news we were waiting for... yea! we're pregnant again. After the miscarriage in October, we decided to try again and were blessed with another pregnancy. I hope everything goes okay this time. I'm 7 1/2 weeks along and praying for a healthy baby. My first appointment is on February 5th and I am so nervous about hearing the heartbeat for the first time. It's so hard to be relaxed until you know for sure after you've had miscarriages in the past. I know some of my friends can relate. Nonetheless, we are very excited and hopeful. If it's a girl, we already know what her name will be (divine revelation x 4... long story). But, of course we are hoping for at least one more boy somewhere in the mix!