The Cutest Niece Ever!

This is my niece, Emily. How adorable is she?

I'm a little freaked out....

Several months ago, in the middle of the day, Haley put her raincoat on. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, but she would NOT under any circumstance take it off because she said it was going to rain. So all day long, she walked around in her raincoat (and shorts...it was summer) getting strange looks from everyone. To me, it wasn't a battle worth fighting, so I let her imagination roam...or so I thought. It wasn't her imagination, because that night there was a huge thunderstorm. That kinda freaked us out...

Since then, that has happened twice.

Last night, as we were cleaning up dishes from dinner, and Haley and Lexi were playing a game, Haley looked up at me and said, "Mom, it is going to rain tonight." So, I looked at Curtis and said "Have you heard the forecast? Because they said it was going to rain tomorrow...not tonight." But Haley said, "No mom, it is going to rain tonight." Then she hopped up, put her raincoat on and got out her umbrella, ready for the rain.

Side story...we have a slight problem with our garage in that when it rains, it leaks and somewhat floods the garage. Not good...especially when you still have boxes that haven't been unpacked from the move. So, since Haley has been 3 for 3 on this one, we cleaned out the WHOLE garage last night...nothing on the floor.

Imagine my surprise when I woke up at 3am to a huge rain shower?????? I was SO glad we cleaned out the garage!! But now there is officially something a bit freakish about my daughter. Seriously, how can this be?????

When Haley woke up this morning, I said, "Haley, did you know it rained?" and she said, "Yes, and there was lightning too...did you see that?" "No, I didn't..." (but I don't doubt her) "Haley" I ask, "How did you know it would rain? " She replied, "God told me it was going to rain mom."

Enough said.

What I do..

I have friends who don't quite understand what it is Curtis and I do, so here are some pics from a couple months ago during rehearsal for our weekend service. These are pics of Curtis and I singing together. We don't get to sing together every weekend, but it's nice when we do...although, in this picture he is making fun of me for the little dance I was doing...ah yes, the perks of working with your spouse.

Rice Christmas Treats

So Haley decided today that we needed to set up the Christmas Tree because it is almost Christmas. So we started the process tonight. Curtis has the tradition of turning on a Christmas Movie while we are setting up the tree, so we watched my fave - Miracle on 34th Street. The girls were so cute...they snuggled together on the bean bag and started watching it, so I had to grab a picture of it.

After we set the tree up, we made Rice Crispy Treats (my new tradition), and Haley kept calling them 'Rice Christmas Treats.' We were going to take some to Grandma's house tomorrow, but someone whose name rhymes with shmurtis shempleton ate half the tray already...but I can't blame him, they were pretty tasty!

Feeling Loved

I am new to writing stuff...but I wrote a song that we did in church this past weekend, and a girl from our vocal team sent me flowers today to thank me for writing it and allowing her to sing it. I had no idea something I wrote would ever mean something to anyone...I was honored.

Date Night Fun

My Aunt Judi is in town and volunteered to watch the kids for me. AFter having Curtis out of town for a week, this was AMAZING timing...so I took her up on it without a second thought. I booked a hotel on priceline and we escaped in the early afternoon to go up to the Disney Resort Area. We checked into the hotel, and into our killer room for $45. It was amazing...then we took the shuttle over to Disney and pretended to be tourists. It was all well and good until we noticed there were "pageant girls" on our bus. So of course, we had to start listening to their conversations. You must understand, beauty pageants for young girls (Not Jon-Benet young - that is even more weird) freak me out...that's so not me, but I'm about as un-girly as they come. I just don't understand this culture. And so we listened...and still walked away confused. Did I mention the reason we could tell they were pageant girls is that they were wearing tieras and had sashes on? at DISNEYLAND????!!!!????

I digress...we got off the bus, and went to the AMC theaters to catch 'Fred Clause'...which was hilarious. Vince Vaughn to me is the most hilarious guy in the world and he did not disappoint. The cast was also stellar - Paul Giamatti, Kathy Bates, and my fave - Kevin Spacey. I will say, that I shed a few tears...but I am very sentimental with anything Christmas and anything with kids...so it did pull on the heartstrings. Who new a Vince V. film could do that? Overall, it was a fun Christmas film that I wouldn't mind owning and watching again next Christmas. AFter the movie we ate dinner at Tortilla Jos and then headed over to the parks. It really wasn't crowded for a holiday week, and we rode everything we wanted to ride - even the new NEMO ride which I give 2 thumbs up...so fun. We headed back to the hotel and I will leave the rest of those details out. But get this - with the shades down, and no kids to tap us on the shoulder and say "Good Morning" we didn't wake up until 9:30. That was AMAZING! When we checked out we decided to get some breakfast, so we pretended like we were elderly, and headed over to COCO's. Only to discover MORE PAGEANT girls...it's like they were cloning themselves...girls with painted faces and tieras everywhere. AAGH!!!!!

With date night/day coming to an end, I had to go pick up Haley at her swim class only to discover her on the floor screaming with 5 adults around her and blood everywhere...poor thing had hit her mouth on the side of the pool and busted her lip open... she was okay, but it was a sudden jolt back to reality....

GUESS WHO'S BACK?

One of the awesome things about my job is all the cool musicians i get to work with...one of my faves is Dave Yaden. He's been on tour for 3 months with Josh Kelly...and I've missed him so much!!!! He was back at church with us this weekend killin' it on the keys as usual. He's leaving again for another world tour, but at least I got a little Yaden fix & a fun pic. Check out his music at www.daveyaden.com You won't be dissapointed.

The other pic is of Chris Cox and a couple of guys in his band....I can't explain what is going on with Chris. He confuses us all.

Haley & Megan

We have such good friends, Jon & Gina Michell. We met them a little over a year ago, and our friendship has really grown since we moved to HB. They have two adorable kids, Megan & Dylan. Megan & Haley are such good friends and they have so much fun together...here is a picture of them together on a recent outing to Chuck E Cheese. Can you imagine what they are going to look like in 10 years!!!! YIKES!

This is CHAZ

This is Chaz...my friend who does my hair...don't be frightened by his appearance...he's actually a nice guy.

ZOO Fun!

Curtis has been in Orlando all week at a Lighting Design Conference...so I kept busy all week with the girls, which made time go by so quickly! On Tuesday, we met my friend Kathy (from San Clemente) and her three kids, Gwyn, Jill, and Troy at the Ghetto Zoo...aka Santa Ana Zoo. We actually ended up really enjoying ourselves, and bought a season pass so we can go once a month. The girls had a great time. There are not a whole lot of animals to look at, but there is a petting zoo that I had to drag Lexi away from and a train that we all enjoyed! Of course, you can't go to the zoo without having ice cream, so that was our treat before we went home. Looking forward to next month Kathy! :o)

Suggestion for CounterTerrorism Unit

Forget physical torture...if you want to get people to talk, let me record Lexi's scream for you, and just play it over and over...they will tell you what you want to know.

I'm an AUNT!

These are some pictures of the last week's big event!!! My sister gave birth to her first baby...she was 4 days late, but after a massage and a day at Disneyland, Jen's water broke. I'm only slightly dissapointed that it didn't happen at Disney, as I've heard that if you deliver your baby at Disneyland you would get season passes for life. So I'm thinking if your water breaks at Disney, you should at least get free Churros for life...just a thought.

Emily is a beautiful little girl...and as Haley says, "we can't WAIT to have a slumber party with her." Looking forward to hearing the pitter-patter of more little feet in my house (as long as they aren't feet that I am soley responsible for!)

Missing no more...

My camera battery magically appeared in Lexi's diaper bag today. I have no idea how it got there...but at least Lexi didn't swallow it. Stay tuned for more pics...

Introducing Halloween to the Danes

My friend Sigrid (whom I met when I lived in Norway) came to visit for a few weeks with her boyfriend Soren. One night we went out for Mexican Food and there was a pumpkin patch nearby, so we stopped for a visit. Sigrid thought it was such an "American" thing to do. (Especially since they don't have pumpkins in Scandanavia.)

We had a lot of fun walking through the patch and playing games...though I couldn't bear to buy a pumpkin for $15 when I could get the same one at Albertson's for $5. I'm such a cheapskate...

Cozy smells

I just walked outside to take the trash out and was overwhelmed by the smell of Fabric Softener coming out of our vents. Our laundry machines are in the garage, and when you are on the patio, the scent escapes from the garage. That is such a cozy smell for me...I guess it reminds me of being a kid & mom doing my laundry.

Other cozy smells:
Starbucks Coffee Shops
Roast in the Oven
Clean Sheets
My Grandma's house
Freshly baked cookies
The ice cream store at Disneyland
My girls after a bath (using Grins & Giggles)
Cinnamon Sticks
Pinecones
Pumpkin Pie

What are your cozy smells?

Halloween Fun!

We went to our friend's house so the kids could trick or treat together...I didn't really have a costume, but I improvised as a hungover Brit-Brit while Curtis portrayed my X-Husband KFed... As you can see, Haley took quite well to Halloween but Lexi wasn't such a fan. Once she realized candy was involved, she became more interested, and went to houses on her own saying (in her words) "Schick Sheet" aka Trick or Treat.

Mom & Dad Templeton

Since most of my posts will be about our children, I thought you'd like to see where it all began...of course, when it began we didn't have brown hair. I guess along with blogging & joining facebook, we are trying to regain our youth.

The Tomato Seed That Started it All...

I have thought about blogging for quite awhile, but for various reasons haven't done it...today, that changed. Why? Because as I was snuggling with Haley today, she pointed to the zit on my chin and said "Mom, the bump on your face looks like a tomato seed...you know? This bump (as she is poking my face)... Yep, a tomato seed, that's what it is." That was it for me...the thoughts of my children should be shared with the world....Maybe that will help me remember their thoughts as time goes on. Now, since I have read a blog or two, I thought it would be nice to take a picture of said Tomato Seed, however, when I went to get my camera, I noticed the battery was missing. Yes, my digital camera is sitting naked on the kitchen table with it's battery missing. I called Curtis in Orlando to see if he took it, but alas...he did not. So somehow my 3yr. old is more brilliant with cameras than I, since I often struggle with how to get the battery out. So there are no pictures of my zit. I know you are disappointed. Perhaps I can take a picture when the battery is retreived...assuming my 1 yr. old didn't swallow it.