I'm looking healthy today

I was at church today and a well-intentioned friend said, "You look healthy today."

All I could think was, Have I been looking sick? I don't remember being sick. Was I unhealthy? Was I not wearing make-up the last time he saw me (a real possibility)?

I told him that I was getting more sleep these days and he said, "I can tell."

Here's to looking healthy!

Sierra Madre Fire

We decided to start off the fire season this year! Last Saturday Ameri and I were driving home from the O.C. and as we rounded the bend on the 210 I looked up and saw huge flames on the mountain. I told Ameri it looked like it was right over Sierra Madre. Our ward (congregation) includes Sierra Madre so we were a little worried. When we got home we turned on the news and, sure enough, it was Sierra Madre. The boyscouts were at a camp up there when it started and were some of the first to be evacuated. The next day we got to church and many families weren't there because they had either been evacuated or had stayed to hose their homes down. Luckily the fire was contained a few days later but it was nerve-racking while it lasted! I wasn't able to get any pictures of the flames, but our friends the Hicks' did: hicksfamilyadventures.blogspot.com Check them out - Jennifer got some good ones!

The Egg Hunt!

After Madeleine's blessing we traveled south to Steve and Vicki's house. We had a great time together. The kids loved that Grandma and Grandpa were there and they loved being able to play together. They even returned eggs to their proper place after they had fallen from each other's baskets!

Waiting anxiously at the gate!

And they're off!

Charley hunting

Grandma helps out

Josh on the move as Charley waits for Emily

Grandpa's turn to help out

Madeleine and Papa Allen

Madeleine's Blessing

Madeleine's blessing was on Easter Sunday. It was quite an eventful day! Charley had a little visit from the Easter Bunny, Ameri gave Madeleine a beautiful blessing, the talks in church were fabulous and my cousins (one of whom I hadn't seen in AGES) came to the blessing. It was a great day.

Charley and Madie before church

Our "special guests"! Many helped in the blessing, but these men made a special trip. Left to right: Greg Werner, Dad, Ameri, Ted Werner, Steven Hollingshead and Cody Cirac.

The Gang

Michelle, Grandma 'Nece and Lisa (my cousins)

"Bumbo" head

We bought Madeleine a "Bumbo" so she could sit with Charley and to make my life a little easier. Charley has since taken it over and has enjoyed using it as a hat/helmet. Here is one of my favorite shots.

Positive Affirmations

I've decided that beautiful people intimidate me. Maybe it's something that hangs over my head from high school - some old insecurity that I just never got rid of. It could also be that it just seems that I don't have much in common with beautiful people. I don't do my make-up like they do, I don't like to go shopping, I talk too much and laugh too loud, and there's always that awkward moment lingering in the background waiting to pounce on me when I open my mouth to speak.

Maybe my insecurities are my fault. Many of my "beautiful friends" are fabulous people. They're never rude to me and they would help me out if ever I needed it. They go about their daily lives in much the same fashion that I do, but people treat really beautiful people differently. Look at me! I'm doing it right now. I guess I'm just in awe of all of you beauties out there that just speak well, don't slouch at the dinner table (I do have table manners - my parents made sure of that!), laugh with little giggles instead of guffaws and make sure your kids look like they just walked out of a Baby Gap ad.

It's the Irma Bombeck vs. Martha Stewart battle. There are those of us that just have "it" and those of us that don't. I'm OK with that. I'm OK with being "nice to look at" instead of stunning. I'm OK with the fact that a little snort creeps out when I laugh sometimes. I'm OK with the fact that I don't do my make-up perfectly (or at all!) and that sometimes I say the wrong thing at just the right time! My kids are healthy and clean. My house is clean 60% of the time and I'm really good at balancing a check book! I've got a hard-working husband, faith in God and a family who loves me. Insecurities? What insecurities? I'm one lucky chick!

Poor, poor tired Ameri!

I was looking through our pictures and I noticed that all of the pictures of Ameri past, say October, show him as very tired boy! He's been working so hard and getting so little sleep that his eyes are red, his cheeks are hollow and he looks like he's going to fall over any minute. He gets skinnier and skinnier and I gain all the weight he loses. What was that nursery rhyme - "Jack Sprat could eat no fat . . ." :)

Here we are at Madeleine's first Laker game. My client Elliot (thanks Elliot!) gave us his season tickets for the night as a gift and we invited my cousin Karen's husband Bernie and their son Caden. At the end of the game a man says to me, "Wow! Your daughter is really little. She's cute. How old is she?"
I told him that she was 6 weeks old and we had a nice conversation. About half way through the conversation I realize that I'm talking to the actor Bill Paxton (Apollo 13)! Crazy. I'd met actors as the gym where I work, but they're either T.V. stars or do small parts in movies. I'd never met one of the "big time" actors. Welcome to L.A.! I was too shy to ask him to take a picture with Madeleine, but I'm sure he would have obliged. He was with his family and he was very nice. Wouldn't that have been a fun picture for Madeleine?

Ameri and his girls. Charley looks more tired than he does in the second one! I think Ameri was trying to open his eyes wider to look awake!

Peek-a-boo

I walked into the room to check on the girls and this is what I found. Charley was having great fun under the swing as Madeleine slept. Her bears were great hide-out partners as well!

Blog book anyone?

When in doubt, post your thoughts on a blog for your friends to read! As soon as I posted that I would love to have my blog in book form, my friend Megan (her blog can be entered via "The Hall Family" to the right) emails me and tells me that there is indeed a website to TURN YOUR BLOG INTO A BOOK!! There is totally someone out there who understands those of us who need tangible evidence of the time we spend sending our lives out into cyberspace. Pathetically, I want to hold a book in my hands to feel validated. Those of you who want to share my validation go to http://www.blurb.com/create/book/blogbook. I've also put it with my other links. Thanks Megan!

My journal keeping

I was cleaning up today and trying to organize the last of the boxes from our move. I found two of my old journals and I realized what a bad journal keeper I am. I, at one point in my life, was actually OK at it. Now that I have kids I don't do well at all - which is probably the time when I should be doing it. You know, saving memories for them and all . . .

I have discovered that my downfall is the fact that I always want to catch up. It's tattooed on my soul. That's just the way I am! It's not going to change because I don't want it to and I'm stubborn like that. So I write little notes in my planner about funny things the girls say or about their first step, laugh, etc. To my credit, at least those little notes do end up in their baby books.

Today's journals are blogs. Unfortunately, I can't download my whole blog and put it on the shelf. I have always been the type to like a "hard-copy"! I'm just proud of myself for actually putting pics together and keeping a random note now and then. My children may not have the written legacy or "scrapbooked" memories (I'm so very bad at scrapbooking!) that some mother's have for their children, but I try. The pictures on my blog will always be from a few months ago and my thoughts are all written along side my client's appointments.

One day I'll gather all of my old planners (yes, I keep them just in case) and put those funny instances down on hard-copy. Or I'll get a PDA and be able to keep my calendar separate from my thoughts. Of course that would put me behind because I would feel I would have to download those thoughts and print them out so that they would be on hard-copy. Do you see my dilemma? That is why I like the system I have. Maybe one day I'll get motivated to be super memory lady. Until then I am going to keep myself behind by always trying to catch up.

The Olpins come to town

My sister Julie and her family came to town to visit Disneyland and see the sights. Charley was beside herself with joy and Madeleine couldn't keep her eyes off of Aunt Julie! Charley, A.J. and Xander had a great time jumping off of Grandma's couch onto Uncle Rod (he's the mountain)! Go check out Julie's blog for primo shots of them jumping!!

Charley's soundtrack

So Charley has her own soundtrack to life. Much of it comes from random Disney and primary songs, but most of it comes from her pretty little head.
We went down to Caltech today to have a picnic (it's a beautiful campus) and to look at the frogs and the turtles there. Charley will break out in song whenever she feels like it and frequently shouts, "Hello!" to people as she sings. So as we were walking back to the car she is singing about everything she is doing. This is pretty normal so I wasn't paying too much attention. Today however, she realized how much she loves trees. So, naturally, as we walked slowly along she started climbing on and singing about EVERY tree we walked by. There are a lot of trees at Caltech. Anyway, she's singing, "I'm walking over the roots, I'm walking around the tree, I found some rocks, I'm throwing rocks on the ground" etc.
I'm glad I started paying attention to what she was saying because she didn't miss a beat when she stumbled on one of the roots and sang, "I fell down. I hurt myself. I'm rubbing my knee. I'm squeezing my knee. My knee is starting to feel better. I found another rock . . ."
I silently laughed to myself because I didn't want her to stop. It was so dang cute I wish you could have heard it! We walked the rest of the way back to the car with a soundtrack only Charley could compose.