Hotel CaliFarnsworth

Update

2010-09-19T16:49:00.000-07:00

This is a picture Doug took while mountain biking with his friends on September 7th. Pretty cool huh? I thought so. The other day we went to Buffalo Inn to eat some buffalo burgers with Matt and Ryan Bentley. I had never been there before even though it is a historic stop along famous route 66. I enjoyed the guitarist there and really liked my buffalo burger. If you haven't been there yet either you should go!

We have been keeping plenty busy. With school, church, scouts (cub and brownies), soccer, and me working we have been swamped. I am happy to report that we are getting into the swing of things though and life isn't as overwhelming as it was for me a couple weeks ago. Preston is playing soccer and is on the Stingers team. They had their first game on Saturday and tied. I have a feeling they are going to be a great team! Chloe is busy with Brownie Scouts. She loves it! I am one of her two Brownie leaders. I enjoy planning and doing the fun activities with the girls. We have 14 girls in our troop so we are busy. So far we have toured Jamba Juice, had a salon party, tie dyed socks, made rainbow clouds, and made friendship bracelets. This Friday is our Investiture Ceremony. Derek is also playing soccer. He is on the Minions team and I am his Coach. Doug is a coach for Preston's team too. JohnPaul Jones is my Assistant Coach and he has been the best thing since sliced bread! Derek's team had their first game on Saturday too and we lost. Bummer in the summer. We are a good team though and I have confidence that will rule the field soon enough.

Us Farnsworth's are looking forward to Halloween already. Doug has agreed to dress up this year! Douglas is going to be a VAMPIRE (not from twilight though)!

Preston is going to be THE MAD HATTER (yep, the Johnny Depp version)!

Chloe is going to be a VAMPIRE (not from twilight either though)!

Derek is going to be YOSHI!

And since the preschool staff is dressing up in a Toy Story 3 theme, I will be BARBIE!

I am excited for Halloween and for all things fall!

Canoes!

2010-09-06T16:19:00.000-07:00

Every year we go to Jenks Lake near big Bear for Labor Day with the Murrish's. We love it. We spend the day picnicking, visiting, and most importantly canoing.

Chloe and I on our first trip around the lake.

Preston and his buddy had a blast on the lake. **Just a note, Preston stayed in the canoe the 4 hours we were on the lake. I do not he think he ever came out. he loved giving himself as well as others rides around the lake.

Last year Derek was a little afraid of the rocking canoes and never really enjoyed his time in them. This year he was all smiles on his first trip.

Chloe had fun playing with Gracie and going on a walk on the other side of the lake too .

The next time Derek went out in a canoe he was so comfortable that he wanted to help row! I love it! I am so glad that he loves canoing too. I love these sweet adorable shots of Father and Son on the lake. Enjoy!

I enjoyed going around the lake with Preston. I loved that he would row out to a marshy section and stop and look at the fish for several minutes. The water was so clear that in some places you could see clear to the bottom. Preston was also nice and courteous to the fishermen. He chatted with a few of them and wished them the best of luck in their fishing. Preston also noticed a couple of little boys that were watching the canoes in awe. He kindly asked them if they would like a ride and got both his parents and the other boys' dad to agree to it.

I will leave you with my favorite picture from the whole day. Chloe and Derek had so much fun playing and laughing and swimming together while everyone else was in the canoes. Doug took the best picture of the two of them. These two really are such cute friends.

Doug turns another year older

2010-08-29T16:11:00.000-07:00

Chloe is very excited that she and Doug have the same number in their ages! Yay for 7 and 37! Doug is 37 years old and is still so good looking! Man oh man! I am one lucky woman. I love that he still rides bikes, takes the kids on fun hikes and all things active, and still enjoys hanging out with his wife! We ate some delicious homemade red velvet cake and had a fun family get together. Doug wanted a new riding outfit for his birthday. Even though I am not a fan of the spandex, Douglas has upgraded to be a spandex wearing rider now. I must say he looks good in them too. Happy Birthday Douglas! We all love you!

First Day of School

2010-08-23T15:51:00.000-07:00

Back to school and a regular schedule! YAY!!! This is cause to celebrate! This year I am working at their school as a Preschool Aide part time. I am super excited.

Derek is in 1st grade now and has Mrs. Coyle. He is excited to be in the same class as Noah, Jenna, and Cameron. He is a little sad that Jessie isn't going to Sierra Vista this year and that Anna is not in his same class. He is really excited about having Mrs. Coyle for his teacher. I am too!

Chloe is in 2nd grade this year and is in Ms. Potter's class. Wahoo! I was hoping Chloe would get Ms. Potter. Chloe could learn a lot from her classroom management plan. Ms. Potter uses money. They get 2 cents for showing up to school and pay fines when they are bad. They can earn money by doing all sorts of things as well. Then they get to go shopping with their money a couple times a month. I love it! And Chloe does like to shop. This will help her with her math and her money skills. I am looking forward to it. The best part according to Chloe is being allowed to sit next to Alyssa! They got to pick their own seats!

Preston is in 4th grade and is in Mr. Corbett's class. Preston could never make up his mind who he wanted for a teacher since both Mrs. Reust and Mr. Corbett are equally awesome. He is so excited about all the historical items in his classroom. He loves the taxidermy animals and artifacts all over the place. Bored is something Preston will never be in this class. Preston is already looking forward to Gold Rush Day!

Despite being a little nervous about starting school without their glasses (all of theirs were broken and new ones were on their way) they all did amazing. They all three still love school, have lots of friends, and cannot seem to stop talking about it all. We couldn't be more grateful and happy!

A 6 year old in the house!

2010-08-19T15:45:00.000-07:00

Ahh! Derek is 6 years old! Holy SMOKES!!! We've been busy getting ready for school and such that it was nice to have a kick back birthday for Derek. He was able to get exactly what he wanted for his birthday. He wanted his skateboard to work. We got him some new heavy duty trucks for his board and a cool new Paper Jams guitar. Derek can totally rock out for hours now!! Happy Birthday Derek!!

Boursin

2010-08-12T15:44:00.000-07:00

These two are inseparable.

Preston's Night Ride

2010-08-11T15:38:00.000-07:00

Doug took Preston on his Wednesday Night Bike Ride. Doug goes with a group of about 15-20 people. They break off into two groups usually- the "born to be mild" group and the FAST group. Preston and Doug went with the mild group. Doug couldn't believe it (and I still can't) that Preston not only kept up with the group he was beating most of them on the crazy downhill stuff. Way to go Preston! Now Preston wants to go every Wednesday night. Too bad school starts soon. We'll see how many more of these cool night rides he'll get to go on.

Cousins

2010-08-07T15:29:00.000-07:00

Our Fisher Family Reunion is so fun because us 6 Fisher girls get to visit and play with all our Fisher cousins. And boy do we have cousins. Here are the ones that came (with their own children too): Now doesn't that look like fun? We love it! Yay for the Fisher Family! **Side note: I was not pictured here because I had broken my tooth and was asleep with a toothache. Yikes!

Zions National Park

2010-08-06T14:59:00.000-07:00

The family decided to all go to Zions National Park and hike some of the trails. This turned out to be a STRESSFUL day to me. We got into the park and were waiting for the bus to come and take us to the trail we were going to hike. Which trail you ask? I had no idea. All I know is the bus came, people loaded, I couldn't find Doug and Derek but Preston and Chloe and gotten on the bus. The bus started leaving, I panicked and hopped on. When we got to the right stop we decided to wait for Doug, Derek, and Uncle Jeff. Doug and Derek had gone to the bathroom and Jeff had run to the car. After 20 minutes of waiting Jeff came but still no Doug and Derek. Tired of waiting, everyone wanted to move on and Jeff convinced me that Doug would probably be at the trail. So off we went. We ended up having a FUN time hiking. Zions is beautiful!! The squirrels were so friendly. And so plentiful. We found a place to cool down and play. We stayed here for awhile enjoying the cool pools. Preston, Johnny, and Lincoln really enjoyed sliding along the rapids. After playing for awhile we went back to the Emerald Pools and found Max and Lynne (my Aunt and Uncle). They let us know that Doug and Derek had found them and left with some of my cousins about 10 minutes earlier to go do the same hike we just came back from. Aunt Stephie, Aunt Kirstin, Uncle Jeff and I took all the kids to the Emerald pools. I snapped a couple group shots near a super cool waterfall. Check out all our kids! So cool! I love that my kids have so many FUN cousins! I want to know what Preston was looking at in that last shot. Crazy kid! Douglas and Derek had a good time as well. My cousin jessica snapped a few pictures of the two of them at Zions. I love this one: Derek was lucky and got a "ride" for part of the hike. Nice! Such service. I think Doug and Derek's favorite part was hiking through the water too. We all ended up having a great time despite being separated.

The Hendershots'

2010-08-05T14:31:00.000-07:00

Elder Hendershot (who is serving in our ward) is awesome! We love him. He has been teaching our friends, The Jones' (Kathy, Anthony, JohnPaul, Brandy, and Andrew). He helped baptize JohnPaul, Brandy, and Andrew. Yay! While we were in Utah we promised Elder Hendershot that we would meet his family and bring him back some goodies (his Dad sells Little Debbie snacks). Yum. Well, the Hendershots are about the cutest most fun family ever! We met up with them at their hotel in Smithfield (yeah, I'd never heard of it either). They took us over to Wingers for dinner and treated our whole family to some delicious dinner! Wingers is Elder Hendershot's favorite place ever. While at dinner Douglas and I let Brother and Sister Hendershot know that even though they cannot call Elder Hendershot, we had 3 phones with local numbers (909 numbers) and we could call him. See, when Jared was in Italy serving on his mission we had the opportunity to meet an Italian who came to Orange County for Thanksgiving. Since he had a cell phone with an Italian number he was able to call Jared and let us talk to him for some time. We were happy to be able to do the same for the Hendershots. They were so excited to be able to talk to their son and give him words of encouragement. Elder Hendershot had been having a hard time with his new companion. After dinner, Brother Hendershot surprised the kids by spoiling them rotten. Literally. He hooked them up with BOXES of Litttle Debbie snacks. Preston, Chloe, and Derek got to climb in his truck, open boxes and take packages after packages of treats. No kidding. It was a DREAM come TRUE for them. So FUN. The cutest thing in his truck though was not the snacks. Or the kids. It was this: How sweet is that? And this: Elder Hendershot and his Dad are best friends. Elder hendershot is a total mini me of his father and so this two year separation has been hard for the both of them. I think Doug will be the same way with Derek since Derek is his mini me. So sweet though. After the truck raid we went to their hotel suite to chat. We talked for so long and could have stayed a lot longer even. We just love this family! But after snapping some pictures and promising to keep in touch we had to get going to be at our Fisher Family reunion in Cedar City. Thank you Hendershot Family!! We look forward to seeing you again! your son is great!!

Park City

2010-08-04T13:37:00.000-07:00

Doug and I both adore Park City! Doug worked at both Deer Valley and Park City Mountain Resort. I even worked as a cashier at Park City Mountain resort for a summer. LOL. Anyway, Park City is beautiful and we would LIVE there if we could. Douglas and I have been wanting to take our kids there for quite some time. Doug cannot wait until they can ski well enough to ski in Park City. That'll be soon I think. So, we took a day to go up to Park City and show the kids why we love it even in the summer months. First up was visiting our long time friend Joe Saladaga. It's been way too long since we've seen him. He had a booth set up advertising his mad catering skills at the Park City Farmer's Market. The kids liked tasting Joe's scrumptious appetizers and kept Joe talking by asking two million questions. Despite it raining off and on we still chatted for quite awhile. Next we headed over to Joe's kitchen., Here the kids were spoiled with Sweet Potato Fries and some fresh bread. Yum! Again, we were so busy trying to catch up with Joe that I neglected to get any pictures. I should be so fired I know.

After visiting with Joe we headed over to Park City Mountain resort to SKI---nah, we went for the BEST SUMMER ACTIVITY EVER-----the ALPINE SLIDE!!! So. Much. Fun. The kids were excited when we told them that to get to the top of the slide we had to go on the chair lift. Yay! The funniest though was that on the chair lift they started to get nervous. Finally Preston asked "But Mom, how are we supposed to get off this thing? We don't even have skiis on!" Ha ha. I let him know that we just walk off and that he'd be fine. It's much easier than skiing off. Chloe and Derek were not tall enough to ride alone so Chloe opted to go with me (thinking I'd be slower and less scary than Daddy) and Derek went with Doug. In line we got more rain and had to wait for it to clear so we could ride the slide. They do not let you ride in the rain because then the brakes won't work and you will probably die. I remember racing on the Alpine Slide after work with Doug and Aaron Waldrip everyday and those boys came close to dying more than once. They had to "gear up" for their rides. They put on long sleeves and long pants so they wouldn't get burns form the fiberglass. Well, we did not go that crazy I'll tell you that. Chloe was getting nervous though since the guy kept making a big deal about the rain. He made us promise that if it started to rain we would stop and get off immediately and proceed to walk down the mountain. We promised and were granted a ride! Preston wasn't quite big enough to push his lever all the way down so he could go super fast so he went a lil slower than others. At the end of the slide a few people had caught up to him. Oops. Preston had a blast though! Doug took a video of his and Derek's ride. My favorite part of the video? Derek shouting "Don't stop believing" all the way down the mountain.

Before we headed back to Aunt Kimmy's house we decided to meet Joe and his kids at an outdoor concert at Deer Valley. We walked around Park City Mountain resort though first and Preston just HAD to take a picture next to some miners. Can you tell he is looking forward to 4th grade history? Gold Rush anyone? We also took a picture of our kids being goofy. When we got to Deer Valley it started to thunder. "No problem", said Doug. Well, the rain down poured and the band had to stop playing. Joe and his kids didn't make it to the concert so we left after just a little while. Our kids were soaked and freezing.

Doug's favorite Hobby

2010-08-03T08:54:00.000-07:00

It was important to us that Doug would have time to go Mountain biking in Utah. The amount of trails and level of difficulty are much higher in Utah than in California. Uncle Ben Humpherys told Doug about a sweet riding spot in the mountains by Bountiful!Look how amazingly green and beautiful it is! While Doug biked the rest of us had no problem hanging out with Aunt Kimmy and our cute cousins! Douglas came back from biking letting me know that he got two pictures of by FAR the coolest place his mountain bike has ever been. Here they are: Insane right? Well this one is even crazier!! Doug had a blast and I am glad I was not there with him (I would've had a heart attack I believe)!

Utah

2010-08-02T08:12:00.000-07:00

For our Utah trip this summer we wanted to spend some time with Doug's grandparents and some friends that we haven't seen in years. So we drove straight to Pleasant Grove without stopping in Vegas. Long drive with 3 kids doesn't sound like much to you? To us, it's like a date because this is our kids in the car: Ha ha! The car always magically does that to them!

As soon as we got into town we headed over to a nice park and had a Family Picnic with Doug's cousins, Aunts, Uncles, and grandparents. This was such a treat for us. We were able to visit and really get to know Doug's extended family. I was so excited. What neat people the Farnsworths are. I was so busy visiting and getting to know people thought that I didn't remember to take pictures! What a nut case!

Doug's Uncle invited us to spend the night at his house. As soon as my kiddos heard he had bulldogs, it was on like Donkey Kong. Our kids were in heaven!! Preston found bookshelves full of books to read (Uncle is a teacher) and Chloe and Derek found mounds of toys (they are grandparents too). Lol. Thank you so much for letting us invade our home!!

Gymnastics Performance

2010-07-31T08:08:00.000-07:00

Chloe was able to take a gymnastics class this summer. She LOVED it! Chloe learned how to perfect her cartwheels, do backward rolls, forward rolls, and a standing back bend! Yay! She is now trying to learn a back walkover. Her session ended with a performance at Redhill Park.

Drive In

2010-07-25T08:01:00.000-07:00

I love going to the Drive In during the summer time. In the past we've gone a lot. This summer was so busy and such strange weather that we only made it once. Bummer. But we had such a great time at the movies! Chloe brought her friend Kaleb and Preston brought Ryan. The car needed to be completely detailed when we got home though. Oops.

No sisters? No problem. . .

2010-07-22T07:57:00.000-07:00

Do you find yourself wanting to play nail salon but don't have a sister to play with? No problem. Just grab the nearest person, a brother will do, and BRIBE the heck out of 'em! They will give in and then it's just like having a sister. After all, all brothers will do ANYTHING for a quarter right? Chloe's brother will . . .

Upland's Pig

2010-07-19T07:48:00.000-07:00

Did you know Upland has a resident pig? I didn't either until I met Sylvia! She invited us over to hang out with her full grown pig. The kids were super duper excited!!! Sylvia let the kids feed her pig some fruit. he gobbled up a whole apple in about two chews! She also let them hold her little pig. . . She has a guinea pig! The kids loved that the pig sleeps in a dog house! Thank you Sylvia for the fun visit, the cookies, and the pigs!

Rock Stars!

2010-07-08T07:37:00.000-07:00

There is never a dull moment at the Farnsworth House. The other day the kids were bored and decided to "rock out". The boys put on a full on concert in the backyard. Derek had some head bangin' solos. Preston and Derek felt like real rock stars up there on the dog house. Preston ripped up some sweet tunes too. The audience was very entertained and cheered wildly! And a special thanks to the event photographer who was able to catch all these great shots and get some great press for the boys! Aren't you sad you missed the show? Maybe they'll go on tour someday!

Beach Time!

2010-07-06T09:56:00.000-07:00

Our family (Doug's brother and his family) from Chicago came out to see us! We were so excited! Our favorite thing was going to the beach with them. Their 3 little girls have never been to the beach before so it was so fun! Derek was freezing ofcourse! All of my kids were. There cousins were not though. Go figure! That's the difference between Cali born and not. Lol. We buried Brynne and Chloe to make them look like sand mermaids! This was so fun and Uncle Joseph's idea. Chloe said she wanted to stay in the sand because it was like a blanket. Our kids loved being at the beach with Uncle Joseph and Aunt Sasha. Cori was not feeling the picture session and it was hard to get her to smile and look at the camera. She had a super good time though and we were able to finally get a decent shot of her! Preston on the other hand is all cheese and poser-ish! Ha ha! After the beach we headed over to a super cool park. The park had an airplane theme and was so fun. We played for awhile waiting for Douglas to join us. They all had fun climbing the airplane and pretending to fly it. Derek was nervous about climbing up the "rocket" at first because it was so high but he did it soon enough! Once Douglas got to the park and taught Derek how to flip out of a swing (oh, Chloe learned too) then we headed to the Kings in Orange to eat. Preston got into a bit of a fight with the ketchup but we all had a great time. Uncle Joseph was so excited to finally eat at Kings Fish House!

4th of July Parade!

2010-07-03T10:37:00.000-07:00

Chloe's term as Miss upland was extended this year until October. So once again Chloe was in the 4th of July parade! She was excited to ride in the car and wave to all the people. Can you tell it was freezing? Still in July it was cold! We can't believe this crazy weather!The fun friends: All the Upland girls: Chloe in the car:

Over the Hump Series

2010-06-29T10:21:00.000-07:00

Doug started Mountain Bike Racing this year and has done well. He heard about a series that races on Tuesday nights and decided to give it a try. The kids were excited that there was a kid race too. The kid race is NOT like the one in Fontana though. Oh, no. In Irvine they have the kids race on the actual race course. So Preston and Chloe rode the same course Doug did. Complete with switchbacks, steep downhill, and lots of single track. Crazy huh? They rode 1/4 of the race that Doug did. The kid portion was about 2 miles. Preston finished in 8th place overall and Chloe finished first in the girls! They BOTH did so well it was crazy! We were so proud!

Doug started out so great in the race. He came around the track the first time and was in 4th place. I was excited! Then I got a call from Doug and he had to do this: His chain broke! I was so sad. He still finished the race though! And he didn't even come in last! LOL!

Quakes Game

2010-06-18T09:31:00.000-07:00

Chloe's cheer leading group got to cheer at the Quakes game. Chloe was beyond excited for this! Preston and Derek were just happy that they were going to be able to see a Quakes game. The game got pretty intense at the end which made watching the game so incredible! The Quakes won too! Yay! When we first go to the game, Preston spotted his little crush, Julianna (she is the one in white in the back row on the left). She is in the dance group from the same studio so she was performing too. This made Preston super excited! Preston's friend Ryan went too so Preston bounced back and forth between our seats and Ryan's seats all night. Derek was so excited that we were their on Family Night and all the goodies were only a dollar. He ate 3 ice cream sandwiches I believe and even bought his own cotton candy. He was very proud to buy it himself! Ha ha.

Chill Day

2010-06-17T09:55:00.000-07:00

Today we went to my Aunt Carin's house and kicked it at her house for awhile. Chloe, Carin, Stephie and I headed to the beach for a little bit. I couldn't believe the boys didn't want to go. They wanted to stay and hang out with the dogs. Afterward Carin took us to a cool Mexican Restaurant and treated us to lunch. This was a great chill day for us!

Adventures with Daddy

2010-05-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

Doug took the kids Mountain Biking with him. I was excited to have time to myself. However, the trip did not end well for Douglas. He came home very upset for a few reasons. Reason One: Too many kids for him to help out of difficult riding spots. From now one I think he will be taking them one at a time. Reason Two: Different riding abilities means different speeds and harder to hear Dad. Preston rides so much better than Chloe and Derek that he would get way ahead and then not hear Doug telling him to stop and wait. Oops. Seriously, now he will only take them one at a time. Reason Three: Doug lost his phone on this ride. :( Very sad.

The kids managed to still have fun though and Doug did bring home some cute pics of Chloe and Derk playing on the rope swing.

Chloe's Roundup!

2010-05-17T07:40:00.000-07:00

Chloe turned 7 years old! Can you believe it? Big girl huh? She was so excited to have a Cowgirl birthday! This birthday was much easier to plan than the Diary one. Anyway, Doug and I once again made our own invites. Chloe LOVED passing out the invitations. She LOVED that they had her picture on them (Preston liked that about his too). The part Chloe loved the most was when she would hand someone an invitation and they'd say, "Oh, how cute you are Chloe." That's really what she liked. Ha ha. She was also a lucky girl because her party was on her real birthday! Yay! On her birthday morning, we had a family birthday and let her open her presents.
Grandma Fisher bought her these beuties: Curlformers! Chloe was ecstatic! She couldn't wait to try them out!
The Family!
The invites told everyone to dress up! This was so fun! It was a hoot seeing the kids all dressed up. For her party we had some lil games. For each game that they'd complete they would come and get a piece of candy. We let them do this until the candy was gone. The could paly whatever game they wanted whenever they wanted. The only game that had a special candy was the Digging game.
The first activity was to decorate their bags. The had to have a place to carry their loot! Right next to the bag decorating was the cowboy boot cookie decorating. Everyone's favorite game was the Digging for Diamonds! The liked it because the girls liked the little "diamond" jewels and because the treat they got for playing this one was a ring pop! This was the only game that they could only play once. Unfortunately our talented photographer didn't get any pictures of the "Wagon Rides". This was also a favorite. We had our wagon and the kids gave each other rides. Too funny! We also had horseshoes set up for the kids.

The food was so yummy I am sad that this is our only picture:

Chloe LOVED her cake as well. It had to be cowgirl themed right?

And finally here are some of my favorite shots of the cute kids at the party! Thanks Preston for being a great photographer! The kids were troopers for staying and watching Chloe open her presents in the rain!

Appreciation

2010-05-13T08:31:00.000-07:00

I love Teacher Appreciation Week! Even though it turns out to be the busiest week of the year for me. I make some kind of treat for the Staff each day. This year I wanted to try different things. I made Pocket Apple Pies (in the shape of an apple), Carmel Chocolate Apples, Chocolate and Candy Bark, Cupcake shaped Cookies, and homemade gourmet smores. I even made homemade marshmallows and graham crackers. The marshmallows were DELICIOUS! Yum!

Doug always does amazing food for the Teacher Appreciation Luncheon. Doug did the food a Luau theme. So yummy! This year he decided he was going to take pictures. The teachers and staff were so excited and grateful! We love them and truly appreciate their hard work! Thanks for taking care of Preston, Chloe, and Derek! We couldn't ask for a better staff!! We love Sierra Vista!

Enjoy Doug's mouthwatering photos.

My birthday!

2010-05-03T08:26:00.000-07:00

This year I decided I wanted a party. I had been wanting to have a "girls night out" party for a llloooonnngg time and hadn't had the time for it. My birthday was a perfect excuse I thought. I had a "Favorite Things" party. Everyone brought two products that they LOVE ($10 or under). They told about each product then chose a random name from the hat and gave one product to them to keep. The other product became my birthday present. Sweet huh? It was so fun. The hubbies came and hung out. Melanie decorated the house for me and Doug made awesome food! I love my husband! He even got me a Banana Cream Pie! I made "Killer Cake" for everyone else. Lol. Thanks for a fun party!

P.S. I am super sad we didn't take any pictures!!

A Bear NOW

2010-04-27T08:21:00.000-07:00

Preston was most excited to graduate from Wolves to Bears in cub scouts. He really wanted Jenny Majestic to be his den leader because they always do such cool things. She has a system for cub scouts I tell ya. The first week of the month they earn a requirement from the book. The 2nd week they go on a hike or adventure of some sort (a field trip). The 3rd week they earn a belt loop. The 4th week is Pack night. Sweet huh? I want to be a Bear too!

It's not a diary. . .it's a PARTY!

2010-04-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

Every year we let the kids pick a theme for their birthday party. This is something they help plan and LOVE to do. They usually start planning their party for the next year a month after their birthday! Too funny. Well this year Preston was NO different. He wanted a Wimpy Kid party. I figured by the time his birthday came around he'd change his mind. Nope. Not.A.Chance. I was beginning to fret about how in the world I would pull off a Diary of a Wimpy kid party. Doug and I made the invites:
Front

Back

We ended up setting up an outdoor movie theater in the backyard. Yes I said, backyard. Usually we have the kids' parties at the park because so many kids want to come and DO end up coming. Doug reassured me that the party would be easier if we just did it at our house. So I eventually gave in and said yes to the ordeal. Let me tell you, we had over 70 kids show up (yes that is more than he had invites for but his always happens). That many kids is a LOT in our backyard. Oh it was crazy! It was hard to get them all in the backyard to because we had the trampoline set up in the front. Lol.
I only had one game to play. I made 60 shrinky dink bracelets. Some kids didn't get to play (the younger ones and a couple older ones too). I bought really cheap plastic containers and traced (with a Shrapie) the stinky cheese from the book. Then I cut them out and baked them. Instant charms. Added a few beads and that was it. I had 2 special bracelets that had different beads on them. The kids that ended up with those bracelets got a Diary of a Wimpy Kid poster. The kids went NUTS when they found out this was the prize. Too funny. You wore your bracelet and if someone caught you saying cheese you had to give them your bracelets. The person with the most bracelets won a Diary of a Wimpy Kid Movie book, bookmark, and stickers. Again, the kids went crazy!
We served cheese, Nachos, licorice, sodas (an entire Aquafina fridge full), cake, hot chocolate, smores (gotta have the hobo fire right?) and popcorn. Melanie let us use her popcorn machine again (Yay!). The party was a hit! Preston is a great kid with lots of fun friends. Thank you all for coming!

The Great Ladybug Hunt

2010-04-19T10:21:00.000-07:00

Chloe has gotten all of my kids obsessed with lady bugs. She spends her entire recess time at school hunting and collecting them. Which also means she comes home with dirt in all her crevices and a lunch pail full of ziploc bag lady bug houses. Throwing away sandwich baggies full of dirt, grass, pebbles, and dead lady bugs has become part of my daily routine. When Chloe got in trouble at school for collecting the insects we figured we needed to do something about it. She got into trouble because there came a day when her mom didn't give her any ziploc bags in her lunch. Ha ha. Outsmarted her I thought. Nope, Chloe still collected the bugs. She stuffed them up her jacket arms to keep them safe. Too bad it was a hot day and when she walked into class she just had to take off her jacket. Out flew about 20 lady bugs. This made the kids go wild I bet. Oops.

Doug and I both remembered a couple years ago while hiking up Ice House Canyon we saw literally thousands of lady bugs. We thought it must have been this time of year. So we planned a family trip. One day after school we went to Ice House Canyon to hunt lady bugs that we could keep alive. We persuaded Chloe top quit collecting them at school since they were dead by the time she got home anyway. We let her know we'd get her ones that would stay alive in her room (for a few days--oh, we may have forgotten to tell her the "few days" part). Doug made a nice lady bug home in a water bottle. It had air holes, dirt, grass, and a few pebbles. Chloe was happy with it.

Hiking up Ice House Canyon was super fun. The kids felt so adventurous and free. We ended up not seeing thousands of lady bugs but we did find about 20 to keep. Preston had his Davey Crockett hat on and he and Derek took turns wearing it. Two boys with a coon hat equals one big imaginative play period. I loved seeing their little imaginations go wild. Running and jumping around in the woods is the best for little boys.

Easter Time

2010-04-04T10:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter! Before the kids went to bed they started a bragging war. Yes, that's right an all out WAR. They were discussing, um, arguing, about who was going to be able to find the most eggs in the morning. I thought great, our kids are going to be so busy arguing over eggs in the morning that they won't get to later enjoy the true meaning of Easter at church. I should not have worried. The Easter Bunny is so incredibly smart. Super. Duper. Smart. We woke up to find this on our table. Easter baskets full of goodies. Bags with our names on them for egg hunting. A personal letter from the bunny. Feast your eyes on this beauty from the bunny. Oh yeah, fighting avoided. Thanks bunny! Everyone had their own color of eggs to find. Brilliant idea. The boys were so happy about receiving Club Penguin stuffed animals. All 3 were excited about the chocolate bunnies!

We are truly blessed to have the atonement in our lives.

We're not CHICKEN

2010-04-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

Chick-Fil-A has the BEST family events! We did not want to miss their Easter Egg hunt. How many kids can say they hunted for eggs with a cow? Mine can!

Chick-Fil-A gave them bags to hold their goodies and even offered a prize to whoever found the special Golden egg. This picture makes me cringe because the egg hunt was so early in the morning and the kids had overslept a little. Chloe had convinced me (in the manner of saving time) that she could do her own hair. She brushed it and put it in a nice headband. It looked great for about 20 seconds. I hope she still lets me do her hair until she's 18! Haha! The cow came in his pajamas! Derek did not want to get too close to the cow. Preston and Chloe didn't mind. If you've been to Chick-Fil-A lately you may have seen this picture---they have it on their fan wall! We ended this perfect day by inviting our friends over and dying eggs. Thanks for coming Taylor and Clover.

"Camping"

2010-03-31T09:32:00.000-07:00

Awhile ago Joe told us about this cool place to camp by where he lives. He talked it up pretty HUGE and let us then know that it's FREE to camp there! We were so excited about a free place to camp with the kids! We couldn't wait to try to find a date that we could all go. We decided to go during Spring Break. We set a date 3/31 to 4/01. Joe and his family were going to go too. The plan was we'd meet at Joe's house and then head out to the campground. Well, the day of came and the weather decided to be yucky! It looked miserable all day. The news fore casted a BIG storm for the evening. We were scared but determined. Joe kept calling us and asking if we were still on. We were game. Right before we were going to drive out there Joe called again. He and his wife thought a better plan might be camping in their backyard. This way (to the kids) they were still camping and if it started down pouring, we could all run inside. Sounded reasonable to Doug and I. We left for their house. Joe set up a tent in his backyard. By the time we made it to the Knapp's house, it was raining. We ended up camping inside the Knapp's house. We had a great big slumber party! The kids loved it! We roasted marshmallows in their fireplace. The Knapp's have enough toys to entertain a rather large army of children so the kids were constantly occupied. Preston and Braden played the Wii non-stop. The adults even got to play card games. The next morning Joe and Chloe cooked us a wonderful breakfast and we hung out for awhile. Doug had to go to work so we had to leave (much to all the kids' dismay) at 1pm. Thanks Knapp family! We are still looking forward to going to the FREE campground sometime soon though!!
The Super Heroes ( I was surprised Chloe wanted to dress up in BOY dress up clothes): This is more like our Chloe. She convinced all the younger boys to play house with her! Chloe and Joe cooking breakfast: Around the table: Derek's turn FINALLY on the Wii:

Beach Day!

2010-03-30T09:17:00.000-07:00

Doug and I took the kids to visit my Aunt Carin at the beach. It was a beautiful day but pretty cold. We hung out near the Ocean Institute in Dana Point. Carin and I hung out on the sand chatting, catching up. Chloe played in the water (a tiny bit). Doug took the boys on a walk. He had the camera and took some cute shots of the boys. After the beach we ate at Carin's house. This was such a fun day. We really need to get out there more often!

Down Time

2010-03-27T09:01:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, okay LOTS of times, it's fun to just hang out at the house! After the race that's exactly what we did! Douglas took home third place again and we were happy! Derek and Chloe didn't race since they pushed back the kids race and Doug had to get to work. But Chloe and Derek had fun riding around hanging out!

The best ever is watching people's reaction to Derek. Derek is an awesome biker! He can jump the curbs and the speed bumps (his favorite). The thing that is funny is he is so small, his bike is so tiny, and he still gets mad AIR!!! All the riders just stare and then clap and cheer him on. So many pro's now have pictures of Derek getting air! One guy even made Derek jump the speed bump like 5 times in a row while he made a video of Derek! SO funny! This is what a 5 year old getting air looks like: And this is what a typical day at the Farnsworth's house looks like:

I love that Preston and Taylor are still friends!

Mother Daughter Date at Sierra Vista

2010-03-26T08:45:00.000-07:00

Sierra Vista Elementary School had a fabulous Mother Daughter Date. We had a dinner, a fashion show and a dance party. Everyone could dress up as either an Island Princess, Fairytale Princess, Rock Star, or Hollywood Starlet. Chloe chose to dress up as a Hollywood Starlet. We invited Kailyn and Mary to come along. Kailyn was dressed as a Princess. (I'm not so sure about what's going on with Chloe's face here) The girls were so excited to be in the fashion show. Super cute. I had to take a picture of Derek's little friend, Samantha. The girls were so cute while watching each other. Everyone was clapping and cheering for everyone else. I LOVED it! Chloe was a little diva-ish on stage. She worked that catwalk like a pro. She even ended up winning for her category! Yay for Chloe! Chloe's good friend Alyssa won for Rock Star too! She is such a cutie!! This event was such a hit! I hope they repeat it next year!

The Getty

2010-03-16T08:25:00.000-07:00

Douglas and I didn't want our Anniversary celebration to end. We just can't get enough of each other. So while the kids were at school, we headed to the Getty Museum. Aw, it's so nice to see fine art with a fine lookin' boy.

I got into a bit of trouble taking this picture. I was too close to the picture. Oops, I didn't even notice the "do not cross" marks on the floor. This is one of my favorite paintings of all time. Do you know it? And here is one of Doug's favorites: This painting has special meaning to me. In college, in my hardest class ever, my Art History class, I was assigned this painting. I had to write the most treacherous paper I have ever written on it. Ugh. I still can appreciate the beauty of the painting though. Maybe even more so now. Doug thought this guy was special too. I'm not sure why. you will have to ask him. This picture I took to remind Doug of what a true princess bed is. You see, when we no longer have children living with us and are old enough to be cranky enough not to allow grandchildren or great grandchildren into our bedroom, I would like to have a princess bed. I am willing to wait. Here is what it will look like: The views from the balconies were amazing. Regardless of what some people may say, I think California is beautiful. This is my proof: Doug and I were both so excited when we found this treasure there. I didn't remember that this picture was at the Getty. So it was a surprise. After looking at this picture in history books, coffee table books, on TV, etc--it was nice to see the original print. We both just stood there for a couple of minutes to take in all the awesomeness of this photo: Our Getty trip was so fun. We were relaxed and felt refreshed afterward. I love spontaneous dates with my husband.

A Medieval Anniversary

2010-03-15T07:38:00.000-07:00

Douglas and I have been married now for a "long long long long time". That is what our children say! We just celebrated out 10 year wedding anniversary. Time sure does fly sometimes! I can't believe I have been married for that long. It really doesn't seem like 10 years. I love that Doug and I were friends before we started dating. My roommate and I were always amazed at how talented Doug was. He could fix cars, paint nails (ha ha), and was an awesome drummer in a punk band. I loved going to his shows. I love that the first time anyone from my family met him Doug had blue hair (he had just played a show) and green painted toenails. That freaked my sister out! LOL. We dated for awhile before we were married on March 18, 2000 in San Diego. We were both so lucky to have found each other. Doug is a great husband, friend, father, and lover. I love that he still makes me laugh so hard. And I love that we still don't look old enough to be married (according to strangers). I also LOVE that Douglas designed my wedding rings himself.They are gorgeous and I wear them proudly! We both have great families who still love and support us! The Fisher Family Clan: The Farnsworth Family Clan:
Alright, enough blast from the past. . .on to present day. Doug and I wanted to do something that we've never done before for our anniversary. We are still very much fun loving, thrill seekers. Last year we went to Knotts. This year we went to Medieval Times! Hurray! Joseph Knapp and his lovely wife Tiffany were able to come with us! We had soooo much fun! OMGoodness, our Knight was HILARIOUS! He thought he was such the "it" thing! I have never laughed and someone so vain in all my life! Here is the crew: And the happy couple: The Knapps: My favorite horse: Random pictures from the evening:

Yay! It's been a great 10 years!! I love you Douglas!

Showering our teacher!

2010-03-12T07:30:00.000-08:00

Preston's third grade teacher is preggo. All the kids were so excited when they found out. As room mom my brain starting ticking. We just HAD to throw her a surprise shower for her class to enjoy. Well, you know third graders. . .they LOVE surprises but can't always keep them so secret. They were sure she didn't know (but of course she did). Still we did SHOCK her with how many presents and cards the kids sent in! Mrs. Catalano LOVED her PINK shower. The whole class wore PINK (even the boys)! It was awesome! She is having a girl and isn't due until the summertime! We are excited!! **It was hard to get pics cause she was surrounded by kids the whole time! So funny! The girls in the class were HILARIOUS while Mrs. Catalano was opening presents too. They were ooohhing and ahhhing and more excited about the gifts than she was!

Fon-tucky

2010-03-06T07:12:00.000-08:00

Early Saturday morning we headed to FON-TUCKY again to RACE!!! Yay!
Derek had always been nervous about trying the kid race before but was determined to do it this time. He really wanted a cool t-shirt and medal. So with the bikes packed we were off. Preston missed out since he spent the night with his buddy. Too bad.

There are always a bunch of vendors at the races. Some sell items, some offer free repairs, most give out free stickers. It is NOT unusual for the Farnsworth Kids to walk around taking a collection of stickers to slather all over their bikes. However, when I turned around and saw this, I was shocked: Yep, that's Chloe with the repair guy. What in the world? I guess her chain got stuck and so she waited in line for the repairs. I'm pretty sure she knows that her Daddy could've fixed that right up in a jiffy. Apparently having him fix it is just not as COOL as having a bike PRO do it! Ha ha!I'm glad he was nice and did it. He was actually stoked! On another note, Doug did great again. He did us proud and placed third! Yay Douglas! Doug's friend did super awesome as well. The kids say he did good because we cheered for him. Yep, ringing the cow bells and screaming like lunatics does help I believe. We are GREAT at BOTH! See first place for Ron baby! Derek did awesome and LOVED his shirt and medal! He had to put on the super-uber giant t-shirt on right away! Chloe did great coming in first for the girls! Good job sweetie!

School Assembly

2010-03-05T06:58:00.000-08:00

Chloe's grade, the mighty FIRST graders, were in charge of the Assembly Entertainment for March. Chloe had been talking about it at home for what felt like FOREVER! She really, really, REALLY wanted to have a speaking part in the performance. Chloe knew all the patriotic songs by heart and could belt them, without command, at all times. Especially while someone is on an important phone call or your trying to order fast food, etc. It was wonderful. A few days before the big day Chloe found out she would have a speaking part. Oh was she excited!!! For the next few days we heard her one line over and over in a variety of voices. This was a step up from the songs all the time I do believe.

On the day of the Assembly Chloe was worried about her hair. "It has to be patriotic Mommy." "Okay, well what do you want me to do to your hair?" "Two braid buns with my USA ribbons." So that's what I did. She failed to mention she would be wearing a HAT that she made during the performance. Ha! Oh well, they managed to get her hat to fit by taking out her two buns and letting her have braids!

Derek, our little KINDER was excited as well. Not really because his sister was performing but because he was going to be awarded with a much deserved award! Yay! His fabulous teacher Mrs. Brown chose him to win this month's character award! Derek was VERY proud!

Mardi Gras Dinner

2010-02-23T06:57:00.000-08:00

Every year Doug's work holds a sales contest for all the servers. They try to sell the most gift cards during the crazy holiday season. The servers who sell the most get rewarded with a sweet meal prepared by Douglas Farnsworth. Now that is a prize. This year's theme was Mardi Gras. Doug grew up in the South and loves his southern roots. This was a fun dinner to put on. I know he liked planning the menu and dishes for this one.

Derek turned 5 1/2!

2010-02-16T12:42:00.000-08:00

Derek's birthday is in the summer. This makes it sort of a bummer. This year anyway. See, he didn't have a party cause his birthday was right before school started. Don't be sad, we went to Disneyland for his birthday remember? But, we always throw our kids a bash so we thought Derek needed one too. So we threw a 51/2 party! Derek picked the theme of Club Penguin. I made a cake and made up some funny penguin type games. The kids had a snowball fight (with paper snowballs on the trampoline), played in the snow (shaving cream on cookie sheets with little toys), ate snow cones (yes it was hot enough), and built there own igloo (with sugar cubes and frosting). The kids had a lot of fun and Derek was so excited to have a party! Next year I hope we can just do it a week late (which would be the first week of school). I figure people would know us well enough then that they'd let their kids come over for a party.

Rainy SRC Race

2010-02-06T12:37:00.000-08:00

Check that out! It was pouring!! There were some parts that the water was up to Doug's waist (on his bike) and he is not a shorty! Crazy huh? Chloe and Derek came with me to support him and were total troopers. They loved that the water was up to their knees. They wore their ski pants and boots. Thank goodness. They played hard core in the rain the whole time. Preston was at a friend's house. Chloe was mad that the kid's race was canceled though. She wanted to race in this just like daddy. Nuts! Doug placed 3rd again! Wahoo!

Best Buddy Program

2010-01-29T12:28:00.000-08:00

I love the Best Buddy Program that Chaffey high School has. Queens Quest, the Miss Community of Upland Pageant founders, support the Best Buddy Program at Chaffey. The money they collect from pageant entries goes to funding the Best Buddies. Not all of the Queens were invited to go present the check to the buddies but Chloe was. I was excited for her to go even though I had to pull her out of school for it. I wanted her to see the other kids, most of which have Down's Syndrome, and learn more about being friends to everyone. This ended up being a really good experience for her. She got to walk around Chaffey High School during school hours and see all types of kids. Chloe says now she knows what High School is and can't wait to go. "It's like a big party," she told Preston. While we were there they had a radio station blasting music promoting a dance at Chaffey during their lunchtime. There was quite a gathering of people getting down that Chloe got to watch for a little while. While in the Best Buddy classroom Chloe was able to talk to lots of buddies. All of which told her she was a real princess and couldn't stop touching and admiring her crown. So cute! Chloe LOVED it! Here is a picture of the girls with their favorite Best Buddy, Carol!

Down and Derby

2010-01-26T12:14:00.000-08:00

This was Preston's first Pinewood Derby ever! Boy was he excited. And in LOVE with his car! He had so much fun making it and spending time with Daddy and Grandpa. The car turned out amazing! I hope he keeps it forever. Such a cute keepsake. Are you ready for it? I got to help too. I modge podged the logos on the car. Here it is folks, Preston's Pinewood Derby Car: Yes, that is a bobsled! Yes, that is a club penguin guy driving it! Yep, that is the Club Penguin logo on the car. Yes, he included Nascar logos as well. Yes, he had to give a shout out to the upcoming winter Olympics! Yup, he sure did put his Club Penguin log on name on the sides of his car too! Yes, it IS the coolest Pinewood Derby car ever! But how were the other cars? How dare you even ask. . .just kidding. Some were pretty cool as well. Here were our favorites:
Oh, and how did Preston's car do in the races? He won 2nd place overall! Yay! Congrats!!

Derek and Chloe enjoyed watching the races! Good job Preston! We love you!

SRC Race

2010-01-23T10:44:00.000-08:00

Doug entered the Mountain Bike racing world! He has been wanting to try it for awhile now and finally took the challenge. He entered the Southridge Race Series in Fontana. His first race was on January 9th. His bike was ready . Doug was pumped up and excited. After the initial start off Doug was in the lead. I was so excited. After the first loop though, he was taking longer than I thought he should be. Hmm. Then Darold called me and let me know that he'd just talked to Doug on the phone and Doug had a flat. I needed to go back to the car (about a mile away) and get his bike gear and met him at the watering station. Ahh! I ran so fast and made it to Doug in time. Doug changed his tire and went off. At this point he was still in second place. I was still excited. Then a little while later he called to let me know he'd quit the race. He gotten another flat tire and didn't have any more tubes. So his first race was a bust. Bummer. The kids still had fun! They got to race in the kids race!

Doug was looking forward to his second race! He had two goals--finish the race and get a podium finish (place in the top 5). Well, his race was early in the morning on the day after we got home from Brian Head. Not exactly the best of timing. We barely made it there in time. We were tired from skiing! Doug gave it his all and pulled off this:
Third place baby! Yay Douglas!! We are so proud of you!!

Grandpa's appetite

2010-01-22T10:35:00.000-08:00

Grandpa was hungry so he treated us to Taco Bell. Yummy! Look how Grandpa chows down. He was really hungry. He sure is planning on eating a lot. Jeepers Grandpa, slow down. . .jk. The kids were hungry too. Grandma was happy even though I think Grandpa must've eaten her food. I'm serious! Look how much food that is! That's enough trash to fill a landfill. JK. Alright, Grandpa didn't really eat all that food. Doug was just being funny with the camera. Grandpa is a good sport though, see? Grandma was pretending to be appalled at how much Grandpa was eating. LOL! I love it!

Las Vegas Museum

2010-01-22T10:16:00.000-08:00

Ah, we stopped in Las Vegas again to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa Farnsworth. They took us to the Natural Museum for kids. We loved it of course. Hey, we are museum type people. The sibling bears were brawling just like these siblings do from time to time too. The dinosaurs were everyone's favorites. And no, Grandpa isn't old enough to have seen real live dinos kids. Sweet little Indian home. Preston isn't in these pictures. Maybe he was too tall. Or too cool. But Kent is there!
I love monkeys. I really do. I used to want one for a pet. These guys were all over the place. But something about them bothered me. Can you figure it out? Uh, I don't mean to be gross but what's up with the "blue balls"? Are they really like that? It looks like the museum people painted them that way. For real? Crazy museum people or like that in real life? Let this next picture help you decide. I think it shows what type of people the Museum folks are. Here is their character for you to judge: See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil, and "do" no evil? People, this is a children's museum. Sheesh!

We decided to get a group shot before we left the museum. There was this cool log out in front that we thought would make the ideal picture. We all huddled together, closer and closer and then Doug's mom (Grandma) fell right off that log. I can laugh about it because she was okay. Thank goodness. She fell hard and bumped her head on the wall. Poor Grandma. At least we got a group shot right?

Skiing Bliss (a pictorial)

2010-01-20T09:57:00.000-08:00

Our second day of skiing was so fun! Preston and Tyler skiied together. Doug and Ben skiied together. Kimmy and I got to ski together. Chloe and Brookie skiied together almost the entire day. Chloe was cry-free and all smiles! Derek learned how to ski and spin while going down the slope! So tricky! Preston was able to land one jump! Awesome! Our time in Brian Head is always treasured. We love it! Thanks for coming Humpherys Family!

Ski Vacation

2010-01-19T09:34:00.000-08:00

Who likes to ski? We do!! I was excited to go this year. I was hoping that Chloe would like skiing better this year. But if not, we came prepared. REI had some kid snow shoes on clearance. They came with poles and everything. We scored two pairs. We figured if Derek and Chloe didn't want to ski they could walk around on snow shoes- - -and we could still ski! Ha ha. Good plan.

I am pleased to report that Derek liked skiing! He went with Doug right away and really liked going fast! Chloe was, in my opinion, not even trying. But she was crying. A lot. And refused to go anymore when she was halfway down the run. I was beginning to freeze to death. This was not the way I had planned to go. Getting more and more frustrated with her by the second I realized that I was NOT having fun. I vowed that I would never take her up the lift again if we ever made it down. It took about 30 minutes but we did eventually make it to the bottom. I looked around and noticed Kim and her fam bam were having fun. Preston was having the time of his life. Even though Doug was skiing on beginner runs with Derek, he was having a grand time too. Chloe and I were miserable. That's when I decided I would giver her one more chance. Not with me though. Not with Doug. She was going to ski school. That was it. She cried and cried all the way to ski school. She bawled while I signed her up. The gal asked if I was sure Chloe wanted to ski. I assured her she DID! She was hysterically crying while they measured her for ski school skiis. Then in walked her ski instructor. Chloe looked. . .then stopped crying, then flipped her hair, put on chapstick and walked right over to that handsome 19 year old and said, "Hi, I'm Chloe. I LOVE to ski. Bye Mom!" At this moment I was glad she likes older guys. yes, she has a crush on her teacher! She was the only kid on ski school so she got private lessons.

Chloe learned how to ski since she had to impress her teacher. I got to ski and enjoy my time. Ski school was priceless!

Grandpa Farnsworth's Woodworking Class

2010-01-18T09:17:00.000-08:00

On our way up to Brian Head we enrolled Preston in Grandpa Farnsworth's Woodworking 101. Haha. No, we didn't but we did somehow convince him to help Preston make his Pinewood Derby car. The race is right when we get back from our vacation. I am so glad Grandpa helped. He made sure Preston was hands on and really doing the work himself. Preston had the idea for the car, and drew the plans too. You will have to stay tuned to see the finished car.

My favorite is that Grandpa even had safety goggles for Preston! So funny! I love it. Seriuosly though, how cute is he with those glasses on huh? I think he should rock them skiing. JK. This is my favorite machine ever! The drill press! I know how to use it! I really do. When I was at school at BYU I had to make a display case for shells. I had to go to the lab and make it using a drill press! So fun! I was so happy. I think Preston liked using it too. While the boys were with Grandpa in Wood Shop, Chloe was super busy. . . After a full morning at Grandpa's school 'o wood, we had to hit the road. This little Vegas gem was too funny not to post. We spotted this guy right before hopping onto the freeway in Vegas. Chloe was a little unsure of Grandpa's truck. We borrowed it to take to Brian Head. No problem, she just stuck on her safety gear and soon felt "special." The good news is we made it to Brian Head without any problems!! Yay! The Humpherys too!

Penguins

2010-01-14T09:10:00.000-08:00

Derek is OBSESSED with Penguins! He LOVES Club Penguin and cannot seem to get enough of anything even remotely penguin-related. It has been Penguin mania at our house! That is NOT an understatement. Anyway, guess what Derek found out today at school? They are going to start a new science unit. . .all about PENGUINS! Derek is so excited! He is so happy that he coaxed me into baking these guys for his class at school. . .

Oh, and here is something funny. Uncle Alex LOVES penguins too. We all know this. He also likes video games. We all know this too. So every single day when my kids log on to Club Penguin they search for Uncle Alex. I have told them hundreds of times that Uncle Alex doesn't play Club Penguin but they search anyway. So much for trusting their mom!

Ontario Reign

2010-01-13T09:02:00.000-08:00

I got a call from Douglas, while he was working, stating that he had tickets for me to go the Reign game tonight! Wahoo! I love free tickets! And, I have been wanting to go see the new Citizens Bank Arena for awhile now. I found out about an hour and a half before I had to be there though. So instead of going for a girls' night out I took the kiddos. It had been awhile since I had gone to a hockey game. Preston and Chloe had NEVER gone either so it was totally fun. Derek didn't want to go so I took our neighbor Marissa instead! Chloe was surprisingly trying to understand hockey. Preston was stoked that a HUGE fight erupted! He was cheering the loudest during the fight I think!! I was happy to be out of the house enjoying the company of some of my favorite little people! The game was so much fun. Ontario won too! Haha Bakersfield! Thanks honey for the tickets!! When can we go again?

Wedding Bells

2010-01-03T08:35:00.000-08:00

Wedding have been ringing at our house! Jared married Brittany on January 2nd, 2010 in the San Diego temple. Jennilyn and her family were able to come as well as Doug's parents. We were excited to have some family there. This is Doug and I's first wedding hosting. The planning was stressful but the big day was gorgeous. We couldn't have been happier.

We had some drama at the reception though. Here is my account of what happened. The luncheon was held in San Diego at my friend April's house. April did a FABULOUS job of making it super nice and welcoming. Doug left the luncheon before the rest of us so he could go to the church (in Upland) and begin the preparations for the reception. I was the last to leave the luncheon.

Ben and Jennilyn drove the kids and I back to Upland. We decided that Jennilyn would drop me off at the church, so I could offer some assistance, and she would take the kiddos back to my house to rest. Sounded great! As soon as Ben pulled into the parking lot of the church though we saw a fire truck. We began joking that Doug and the Ingrams set off the smoke alarm and how embarrassing that would be. See, before the reception there was a Stake Baptism there. Right when they were cooking and staging the reception. So, when we got there the baptism had maybe just ended. That's why we were thinking it was funny. It wasn't until we rounded the corner that we saw the ambulance. "Oh, no! Some one got hurt at the baptism?," was my immediate thought. I ran out of the car and up to the church. Before I reached the doors, Joseph Knapp asked me if I saw Doug. "No, what happened?" At this point I was still thinking Doug was inside the church. "He's in the ambulance. He just collapsed. We had to call 911," said Joe. WHAT?

Then I ran to the ambulance and sure enough Doug was inside. I couldn't believe it. He was lying on the bed whining and all hunched up. I tried talking to him but he couldn't really talk. Yikes. So off I went to the ER with Doug's parents. They ran some tests and found that Doug had kidney stones. Perfect timing, huh? I stayed with Douglas in the hospital until the reception was starting.

I got to the reception and let Jared and Brittany know what happened. I stood in the line to represent Jared's family for the first 40 minutes of the reception. Then Jared's sisters took over for me and I went back to the hospital. Jennilyn was in charge of my kids and they stayed at the reception the whole time. Doug's mom was back and forth from the church and ER too. Good thing I had family to help! Doug begged to be released so he could go to the reception. he doctor gave him super strong medicine and sent him on his way. Doug and I made it to the reception in time to say goodbye to Jared and Brittany and some of our extended family that went to the reception. Doug was happy he made it there! He was a little medicinally intoxicated though.

All in all, a beautiful wedding that we will never forget! We are so proud of Jared and the choices he has made! We are thrilled to be able to see what he rest of his life will bring! Congratulations Jared and Brittany Cass!

Our new family:
Extended Family at the Temple:

2010

2010-01-01T10:01:00.000-08:00

Our year started with a bang! Jennilyn and her fam bam were staying at our house. They came down for Jared's wedding. Jennilyn and I had seriously the funniest experience! SO this is what happened. . .

Brittany's mom decided to make all the "moms" similar dresses for the wedding. She bought the fabric and a dress pattern then had each of us choose a dress from the pattern. She also made all the bridesmaids dresses too. SO she had her hands full and not so much time. Carla had me try on the dress right before Christmas---it was really big. She wasn't sure how much she'd be able to alter it but said she'd try. I got the dress back from her 3 days before the wedding. I tried the dress on and it didn't fit. At all. It looked "silly". Knowing that she didn't have any time to fix it I wondered what I was going to do. Ahh. My friend Dottie came over and I had her look at it (she sews). She LAUGHED when I put it on. It was that bad. It just looked funny. Dottie said she couldn't fix it but she knew who could. She took me over to a Tailor Shop in Rancho. The gal was super nice. I told her I needed the dress on Friday night (New year's Day) because we had to leave so early in the morning on Saturday. Now remember folks, this is New Year's EVE that I'm talking to her and dropping off the dress. And I want it back the next DAY (which is a holiday). She said it wasn't a problem. The dress would be ready at 7pm for me to pick up.

Fast forward to Friday night. Jennilyn and I had gone out to rent a movie and buy some sparkling cider. At about 6pm we were cruising around and near the dress shop. I mentioned we were close to the Tailors so we decided to check the shop and see if the dress was already done. We pull into the Tailor shop parking lot and it is pitch black. Dark. No light on. I start freaking out! There is a notice on the door that reads " Sorry for any inconvenience but our shop is closed today for the holiday!" WHAT?!? They are CLOSED today?? The WHOLE day? The lady just told me YESTERDAY that I could pick up the dress today! I told her it was a holiday and she didn't seem to care. She said her assistant would be there. Looks like the assistant decided to close the shop instead. Now I am SUPER concerned. I don't know her name or have her phone number. I panic and call Dottie like 5 times before she answers. Dottie is down at the beach and doesn't have the Tailor Shop's phone number or the lady's name either. I did NOT have the shop phone number or anything. Jennilyn tries to calm me down and reassure me that the assistnat will probably come back just to give me my dress at 7pm. Fine.

We went home and start googling! Major googling going on. Me at my computer and Jennilyn on her laptop. We get the phone number for the Tailor Shop and leave a message on the machine. Google some more. Got the Tilor Shop's email address. We email the Tailor Shop. Google more. We get the owner's name! Hurray! Goole LOTS more. . .we get the owner's home address---POSSIBLY. It's an address in Rancho anyway. And the owner's name is VERY unusual. No phone number though. Ugh. By this point is it almost 7pm. We head to the shop.

Darkness. But, Jennilyn reminds me we are 8 minutes early. Okay fine. We wait 8 minutes. Longest 8 minutes of my life. We start talking about what I'd say in the morning at the wedding. Everything sounds bad. "Oh, the dress? What dress?" "Oh, I'm sorry. It looked ugly on me so I took it to get altered and never got it back." Yah, can't really explain that one real well. And what would I wear? I didn't have anything turquoise. 7pm on the dot, still no sign of life. Jennilyn says, "Okay let's wait 5 more minutes and then we'll go to her house." Perfect. After about 2 minutes however we get sick of waiting. We head to the house. Now, this is a townhouse. Not a house house. It matters because immediately I start thinking, no guarantee that this is her house. She could have moved. Oh, and it was like 2 blocks away from the shop. Too close, I thought.

Jennilyn looks at me. "You going to go in?" No way! Jennilyn decides to go. What is she going to say? She grabs my pick up ticket, knocks on the door, and marches up to the door. I duck down. i am TERRIFIED. This lady is going to think we are NUTS. And what if it's the wrong house? Door opens, I see the owner (in a bathrobe)! Now I really duck! I am embarrassed. Jennilyn come backs to the car. What happened? What did you say? She tells me she said "Hi. Do you own a Tailor Shop?" --"Yes."---"Oh, good. i have this (hands her the ticket.) My sister is in a wedding and needs that dress. You told her she could pick it up today at 7pm and it's now (checks her watch) 7:04pm. We need that dress."-----"How did you find me?"-----"I googled."-----"(confused)"Uh, meet me at the shop in 5 minutes."------

We are cracking up! What crazy stalkers we are. 4 min late and we are at your door! Watch out! We went back to the dress shop and the dress fit wonderfully. Super cute. A dress that I could wear over and over again! Yay! The owner kept asking us over and over again how we found her. At least she didn't call the cops on us lunatics! Ha ha. We had to explain in detail how we stalked her using google. Jennilyn just kept saying, "Sorry we stalked you. We just had to. I am really good at Google." I think she said that like 4 times. I was laughing so hard!! She asked me if I wanted the extra fabric. It was a whole grocery bag of fabric. No thanks! She ended up cutting it up the middle and remaking the whole dress.

I will post a picture of the dress once I get the wedding pics back from the photographer.

Christmas!

2009-12-26T16:31:00.000-08:00

Santa came! He really did! This is Doug's stocking, Shauna's stocking, and Preston's stocking. Doug got a new outfit from Santa and Clif Bars, ZipFizzes, SuDoku, and fun stuff. I got a purse (with bath stuff in it), new boots (furry ones), and SuDoKu! Preston got a skateboard and fun stocking stuffers and a Red Ryder BB gun. This is Derek's stocking. He got a skateboard and a mgic set along with his stocking stuffers! So cool: Here is Chloe's stocking. She got a new Mountain bike with her stocking stuffers: And here is Jared's stocking. He got mugs, hot chocolate, and a cocoamotion with his stocking stuff: Our tree was so pretty and so full of presents! lucky us! Preston's favorite gift was his BB gun for sure. Derek's fav was his skateboard that has wheels! Chloe's favorite gift was her mountain bike and Doug's was his clothes. My fav came from my mom and dad. They got our family a VitaMix blender! Can you say heaven? What a fun mess to clean up! We are so blessed! Merry Christmas!

Creating day!

2009-12-23T16:21:00.000-08:00

One of Douglas' coworkers is a single mom. She doesn't have tons of money but still wanted to get her 3 year old son something nice for Christmas. Her father found an old beat up rusty sort of schwinn trike in the trash and pulled it out to keep it. Doug's friend brought it to Doug to see if Doug would be able to restore the bike so she could give it as a present for Christmas. She gave him $20 for paint. Doug went to town on the bike. He stripped it, buffed it out, sanded it down, painted it and then customized it a little. Super cute. The trike turned out awesome! I snapped a couple pictures so we could remember the true meaning of gifts. Giving from the heart. Doug white walled the tires, put pin stripes on and even wrote the child's name on the back of the seat. I love it!

I wish the kids were sitting here with me right now cause then I could type the entire info-mercial for all of you. . .BENDAROOS arrived at our house. Our neighbor Marissa came over and brought the kids a set of BENDAROOS to play with and keep. My kids have begged for these for months! Douglas and I never gave in, we stood our ground. Even when we were told they are "no mess, no glue, just bend and stick anywhere." "They don't break, no stains, no mess to clean up. use them over and over again. The magical wax doesn't wear down." LOL!! The kids had a ball creating with these all day!

Tutu Cute!

2009-12-21T16:09:00.000-08:00

I made something! Amazing I know! Seriously though I really did make an article of clothing. And I STILL don't know how to sew! This is truly one to document. Chloe has a black tutu skirt that she LOVES. She wears it any chance she gets and would hate to have to part with it. Chloe is going to have to part with it soon. I'll tell you why. . .she has LOVED it to its almost DEATH. It is hanging on by strings in one part. Time to retire the tutu. The screaming and over dramatic reactions that I can conjure up in my head of what Chloe what do once I tell her this are far from pretty. To avoid a 9-1-1 moment in my house I began searching for a way to make her a new one. My friend Shelley had gotten one for her daughter's birthday (for her daughter) that was made by her Aunt (Shelley's sister-in-law---Ricky Ingram's wife, Melissa). Anyway, it was beyond darling and I wanted it for Chloe. LOL. So I searched and googled and FOUND a website (that my sister happens to know the girl) who makes NO SEW tutu skirts. She sent me a tutorial, I read it and decided that I would be able to make one! Woot Woot! We made tamales at Max and Lynne's house the other day and while we were there us girls (it still feels weird to talk about girls at the Fisher BOY house) broke away for a few minutes and went to JoAnns. I was able to buy Tulle and Elastic for the tutu. When I got home I spent a good 30 minutes making the tutu. I told Chloe it was for Christmas but she couldn't resist. She HAD to wear it! Too too cute for words. I love it and couldn't be prouder!

New Sights

2009-12-18T15:46:00.000-08:00

Yay! Our tree is up! We are so happy! Alright so Doug would be happier if the top of the tree lit up (the lights at the top don't work and it's a prelit tree). Doug worked on it for awhile and couldn't fix it. He called the company and they said they'd send him a new top for $15. he was excited. Turns out they mailed us a new set of lights for the top of the tree. Ha Ha. We could've just gone to Lowe's and bought much cheaper lights! Oh well, you live and you learn. In other new sights, Derek got his new glasses. Yes, you read that right. Derek's glasses were lost at school. They were never found and so we ordered him some new ones at Zennioptical.com. They are a lifesaver I tell you! His new glasses are so cute I think. Hopefully these ones will last longer than the last pair!

Gingerbread Houses

2009-12-15T15:36:00.000-08:00

I found the cutest gingerbread making set at Target this year. Usually I buy a kit from Sams Club to make as a family. I saw this one at Target and couldn't resist because it had 5 mini buildings in it to make a little town. How perfect is that? We each got to make our own! So fun! The frosting was a little too thick for the ziplock bags I stuck it in but it was still fun. We just had to be extra careful and patient. Now we know for next year.
This is the house that Momma built:

Build-A-Bear

2009-12-12T15:31:00.000-08:00

Kailyn had her super fun 9th Birthday Party at Build-A-Bear. It was a little crazy busy since this was the last day for parties before the bears hibernate! Funny huh? Preston, Chloe, and Derek were all so excited to go and make a bear. Preston and Derek chose the same colored Chocolate Bear. Chloe chose a lighter colored dog. Each party guest got matching shirts for their stuffed animals. The shirts are so cute. They are santa bear shirts. Very festive and adorable! Kailyn was excited to get the Kaya books and mini doll from us. Thanks for inviting us Kailyn! I thought we were going to be late since it was pouring rain and finding a parking spot at Ontario Mills took us 35 minutes!! Talk about crazy.

Bass Pro Shops

2009-12-11T15:20:00.000-08:00

So we have taken the boys twice now to the Pro Bass Shops. Both times Chloe wasn't with us. She has been dying for a turn. We couldn't believe it is already December and we still hadn't taken her. We thought we'd better get on that before it got too crazy around there. Douglas told the boys he was taking his girls out on a date. Chloe felt so important and was beyond thrilled! When we got there, it was pretty crowded. Santa was taking a break so Chloe saw Mrs. Claus instead. She still wanted to see Santa really bad though. So we got a reservation (yep, now you had to have a reservation to even stand in the line) and played some games while we waited. Then Brittany's mom called and needed me to go try on my dress for the wedding (she is making all of the mom's dresses). We had time so we ran up there, tried on the dress and headed back to the Pro Bass Shop. We got there just in time. After Chloe saw Santa Douglas treated us girls to a Moon Pie. Yum!

Chloe starts out the season!

2009-12-06T14:21:00.000-08:00

On the 4th I was assigned to work at the Annual Creche Festival at the stake center. Since I am Primary President I get to do fun things like this throughout the year. I enjoy working at the creche every year. The kids really like singing in it and playing in the children's room while I "work". This year was no different. Chloe loves dressing up and had to dress up as Mary. I think every time I turned around Chloe had baby Jesus. I kept having to tell her to put him down so others could get pictures too. She wanted me to take a picture of her but I didn't bring my camera. No worries, she reminded me that my phone has a camera on it. The very next day Chloe was in the City of Upland Annual Children's Christmas Parade. Preston had spent the night at Ryan's house so Derek and I were able to watch her. . .actually we thought we were going to watch her but we ended up riding in the car with the girls! Derek was EXCITED!! The car:Chloe trying no to freeze before the parade started: Chloe and Larissa (Martinez from her class at school): Waiting for the parade to start: The Upland 2009 Queens!

Thanksgiving Feast

2009-11-27T12:59:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving was pretty low key. In the morning Douglas and I went on the traditional Thanksgiving Day mountain bike ride with Lloyd and the gang. Christine and I joined them this year. It was pretty fun. We rode up Marshall Canyon and took it pretty easy. I was just glad to go.

After we got home Doug started on the feast. Melanie and her friend came over for Thanksgiving along with Melanie's kids: Cole, Taylor, and Clover. The meal was so delicious and we were grateful for all our bounty this year. Here is our meal:
The veggies (Melanie said she HAD to have the just outta the can sliced cranberry sauce. Doug got is for her but still made his version of cranberry chutney. Melanie tasted the chutney and never even ended up touching the canned stuff. Haha): The yummy turkey and cornbread stuffing (Doug puts sausage in the cornbread stuffing---so good): The salad: The menu: The wonderful turkey and potatoes: The spread: The yummy dessert (We had Carmel Chocolate Apple Pie and Spicy Pumpkin Cake. I think Melanie and I could've eaten the Pumpkin Cake ourselves. It was that good.) It truly never ceases to amaze me what Douglas can do in the kitchen in just 2 simple hours. Most people slave all day and still eat as well as we do. We love you Douglas!
We hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving!

Holiday Time at the "Happiest Place on Earth"

2009-11-20T12:13:00.000-08:00

Doug and I wanted to take the kids to see Disneyland all decked out for the Christmas season. So on November 16th we headed out there for a few hours. The first thing the kids were excited about was the candy cane CALIFORNIA letters! Chloe and Preston Derek and Preston The three Farnsworth kids: I am pretty sure that every single time we have been to California Adventure the kids have had to play on this fish thing. Then they beg us to take pictures of them. Right at the top of the boardwalk we ran into a certain someone. With no line to see him, we had to pause to say hello. Unfortunately Derek was a little nervous about seeing him and didn't get a picture with him. Our family loves the new Toy Story Mania ride! We love the interactiveness of it and especially love to sport the 3D glasses. Check Derek out: My favorite part of Disneyland at Christmas time is the It's a Small World ride. I wish they kept this all lit up year round. It's so beautiful! A few days later Dottie and I were looking for something to do and decided to take the kids to Disneyland together (November 19th). Preston and Derek thought it was so fun to be at Disneyland with Kai. Chloe was excited to ride the rides with Dottie! What lucky kids to be able to go to Disneyland with their friends at such a young age. I think the first I went to an amusement park with friends I was in 6th or 7th grade. Preston and Ikaika Epperson: The kid crew: Waiting in line for the rocket ride (Derek's pick): The boys on the rocket: We were all surprised at how fast they go! Yipee! We got to say Merry Christmas to Pluto: I'm not sure where this next picture was taken but it sure is cute! It's a Small World again (I told you I love it): This next picture shows what my kids couldn't wait for--it to magically snow at Disneyland after the parade. Disneyland plays "Do you believe in magic?" and then it snows!! Preston was a little sad when he figured out it wasn't real snow but Chloe didn't mind. Derek was too tired and just stayed in my arms the whole time (it was almost midnight):

Picture Days

2009-11-19T12:05:00.000-08:00

Most of you know that Chloe can't really do sports (for her medical reasons). Anyway, we have convinced her that the Miss Upland thing (or maybe she convinced us) is like her sport for the year. So here is Chloe's 2009 "Sport" Picture:
The boys have enjoyed soccer this season as well. Derek really likes being on an actual team! Derek is on the Blue Tigers and has played really well. His soccer games end really soon.

Preston is on the Copperheads. Preston has mostly played Defense this year and is getting better and better at it. He enjoys playing on a team and is a really good sport. His team is going to the playoffs and he is excited. We will see how he does!
We also recently got back their school pictures. I think they turned out okay. Not too good and not too bad. Since we are going to have family pictures taken in December (with individuals too) and more pictures taken at Jared's wedding, we figured we'd not re-take their pictures. Otherwise, I probably would have. Except for Derek's I think. Oh well. Here you go:

Derek Steven Farnsworth--Kindergarten--Age 5

Chloe Nicole Farnsworth--First Grade--Age 6

Preston Ricks Farnsworth--Third Grade--Age 8
There you have it. Pictures of the kids not taken by me! Ha ha.

Annie the Musical

2009-11-13T12:07:00.000-08:00

Chloe had her first 1st grade field trip! Wahoo! I was super excited to go with her because they were going to go see a MUSICAL! I love me a good musical anytime!!! Chloe's teacher was worried about her not being able to eat a snack so I snuck in some goodies to the auditorium in my purse. Shhh! Don't tell. Of course since the actresses and actors were children (mostly) and it was dark, no flash photography was allowed. I did get a couple pics of Chloe before it started though. The first picture is Lauren Jones, Chloe, and Sadie. The musical was pretty good. Ursula Ramos (Manuel's mom) fell asleep during it. The kids for the most part lost interest in the play towards the end. The musical was rather long. The girl who played Annie was probably 19 years old. So that was kind of a bummer. I think the kids would have been more into the play if Annie was a younger actress. All in all the performance was good and I was glad I was included in this trip!

Playing catch up!

2009-11-12T06:41:00.000-08:00

Wow! It has been a LONG time since I have blogged! I will try to catch up this week! I'm sorry. Hopefully you will enjoy the coming posts!

First things first. On November 11th, the kids had a day off of school. Veterans Day. I didn't want to just sit at home with them but I didn't want to spend a lot of money either. So I did some google-ing and found out that the California Science Center is FREE and open on Holidays! YES!
The museum looked pretty cool on the internet and with only parking to pay for I decided that was how we would spend our day. The very first hands on thing we came too the kids LOVED. It was outside! They had a lever with a truck attached to it. Kids could pull on rope at different points on the lever and lift the truck. My 3 little ones could lift the truck all by themselves on the rope listed as "Effort x1". They felt strong like Superman!Once I actually got my kids inside the museum they were excited to find this contraption.This little Whisper Tunnel was so much fun for them they played with it for quite awhile. Just when I thought I had convinced them to go into one of the rooms (we were still just in the hallway) this kind youth came up to us and put on a Science show for the kids. My kids thought she was magical.She was really nice and even did her many "tricks" four of five times for my kids. Once inside the first gallery, Preston, Chloe, and Derek got to do many cool things. They got to rock out:
meet robots:
experience recycling: participate in experiments (isn't Chloe so cute all decked out nerdy-like--hee hee): keep their chemical reaction experiments (Chloe HAD to keep hat she made. It was the hard foam they make boogie boards out of): check out hearts and brains from various animals, (the octopus brain was the most unexpected for me):
play puppets: meet skeletons: pump blood for a giraffe (and other animals, including a human girl): and enjoy the rose gardens. I thought we were done when we discovered that the museum actually has a couple of buildings. We decided since we had some time we'd check out the Space Building too. So glad we did! Preston LOVED it! Preston about peed his pants with excitement when he saw this: "the Great Bird. Mom it's the Great Bird by Leonardo Da Vinci" Preston was in heaven. He even got to fly a Wright brothers plane using a simulator: I will spare you all the pictures I took of the real Apollo that I took. I was fascinated. It was so cool to look at. The kids got to fly a real police helicopter too. Okay, they got to sit in it and push all the buttons and pull all the levers. Derek liked the real astronaut suits they had on display. One of my kids favorite things in this building was the wing room. Each child would put on some airplane wings on their arms (they were foam) then stand on this silver plate on the ground. Wind would push at you and cause your foam arms to fly. So funny! Here is Chloe with her foam airplane arms. The museum was so much fun. I am sure we will make this a yearly visit. We were there for hours and did not see everything. In particular they have a show that I really wanted to see so we will be back for sure. On the way to the car the kids found this bike rack to be loads of fun. Thank you California ScienCenter!

Free FUN!!

2009-11-11T07:31:00.000-08:00

Okay, so everyone KNOWS I am down for FREE fun! Ha ha! The other day we went to Bass Pro Shops with some friends. I admit that when I heard we were going there to see it decorated for Christmas I was LESS than thrilled. I mean, it isn't even Thanksgiving yet so it's a little early for me to do the whole Christmas thing. And then it's Bass Pro Shop. . .that's a BOY store. Actually I like Bass Pro Shop. I like looking at the fish and sampling their roasted almonds. But that doesn't take too long to do and then I'm pretty much done with the place and I overheard a friend say that we were going with that we'd hopefully be done before 6pm. What in the world??--that's what ran through my head.

We head out to Bass Pro Shop at 3pm. When we walked through the door I admit I was all smiles. The entrance is decorated so nicely! Then we walked into their "Winter Wonderland" and I knew we were going to be there for a loooong while.

The first thing that caught my son's eyes (Chloe went to a friends house to play instead of coming with us) was this Car set (pictured above). They had it all set up and were letting the kids play with it. It is a Nascar racing track. It is FAST. They had it at only half speed and it was quicker than anything I have ever seen. I couldn't get Doug to stop staring at it or my boys to quit playing with it!

Next, the archery center caught their eyes. Now you must understand that they have all these fun stations set up in the downstairs of their shop. Hands on toys that kids are encouraged to play with. The workers are all dressed up and passing out tattoos and stickers. The archery center was awesome! They had little taxidermy animals with targets on them. The bows and arrows were nerf type ones. There is a sign posted that says, "Shoot 3 and win a sticker!" Too cute.

Everyone knows that upstairs they have a shooting gallery for kids. You know the type. . .pay two quarters and shoot at targets like a bottle and then the bottle lifts up or whatever. . .well they had a mini set up downstairs that was free! You KNOW my boys were all over that!
Derek was in love with it all. There is a table set up with what I thought were coloring pages. We went to check it out. Yep, it had coloring pages alright but also Letters to Santa pages. An elf came right over and told us that if we filled out the letter (and mommy filled out the back) and if we mailed it at Santa's mailbox (right there) then Santa would email us back! Cool! Derek wrote a letter (I helped him spell some words) and then he wanted to color. He colored an entire picture and then wanted to show Daddy his letter before he mailed it. Doug took him back to the mail box to mail his letter!
Too fun! We also found out while we were there that Santa stops by every day at 5pm! Fun! Derek was soo excited! Since we were there still at 5pm we got to see Santa. Now we went on Monday night and this Winter Wonderland (paradise) only started on Sunday, and it was NOT crowded at all. We didn't have to wait long for Santa (we were third in line)! Oh, and they take pictures of you and Santa (as many different ways as you'd like--families, individuals, etc) and they print you out a copy (and put it in a paper frame) for FREE!!!

Of course we had to get one of the BFFs too!
While we were there we even ended up in their regular shooting arcade gallery to waste a few quarters!
The elves let us know that this goes on daily and on the weekends they do free Hot Chocolate and Smores too. I am so excited! We are for SURE going back and getting a family picture with Santa. We will have to get all fancy! LOL! Chloe is dying that she missed out! We will be back for more fun! If you have a Bass Pro Shop near you GO!! Hurry before it gets out of control busy! And find out all the fun stuff they had there that I didn't take pictures of! Yep, there was more. . .
Thank You Bass Pro Shops!!

The Great Pumpkin Smash of 2009

2009-11-10T08:19:00.001-08:00

So once again we are in that time of year, where Doug lets the kids smash our own pumpkins. Remember last year? I let you in on the why and how this tradition got started. It has to do with our friend Aaron. The kids LOVE this tradition.

BFFs

2009-11-07T12:03:00.000-08:00

Who can say enough about good friends? No one. Taylor has been a great friend to all 3 of our kids since her kindergarten years. I bet she and Preston will always remain friends. Here is a picture of the kids just hanging out--which they LOVE to do!
And here is another one of the two BFFs at Red lobster:

Halloween 2009

2009-10-31T22:34:00.000-07:00

This year my boys came up with a plan for their costumes. They wanted to be Mario and Luigi so badly. They pleaded with Chloe for weeks for her to be Princess Peach. The boys tried everything to get her to want to be Peach. Chloe wanted to be Alice in Wonderland. She fell in love with Alice during the Electrical Parade for some reason. Chloe is POSITIVE that Alice waved to her and is her friend. Anyway, after multiple promises were made Chloe agreed to be Princess Peach. Remember, Shauna doesn't sew. We hunted for costumes. No luck.

Plan B. Quick, find what you can. We did find an Alice in Wonderland costume at the Disney store for Chloe. Chloe was not impressed with the quality. She was disappointed. So she picked cheerleader instead. Oh goodie. Derek picked Lightening McQueen's pit crew guy costume. Cute cute. That left Preston. Hmmm. He didn't want to be anything. He thought everything was "cheesy" and "lame." Finally, he said he would be a pirate. Then he saw the costumes and said no thanks. Preston said he wanted to be a hobo. I thought yes. Easy! So I got some mismatched old clothes and told him I would cut holes in them and paint them (to make them look dirty). Preston said, "No way mom. That is embarrassing. I'm not going to wear dirty holey clothes that don't match." Uh, what did he think a hobo was? Preston then informed me he just wanted to wear hobo gloves (cool, trendy, fingerless gloves) and regular clothes. Uh, no. That is NOT a costume. I then convinced him to be a rocker....AXL ROSE. Oh yeah baby! Next year, he doesn't get to pick anymore. I will just pick for him. This year was a pain with him. Argh. Doug catered a party on Halloween. Here are some pictures:

Our Patriotic Pen Pals

2009-10-29T13:15:00.000-07:00

Uncle Christopher joined the Navy and he and his family moved away from Las Vegas. They are now living in South Carolina. Sara sent us a really cute picture of the two of them after Christopher graduated from Boot Camp. Now we will have to become pen pals with Uncle Christopher, Aunt Sara, Naomi, and Noah. Another pen pal we have had lately is Corey DeMille. Cory is a friend of Doug's from Utah. Doug was his drummer for awhile and they recently "found" each other on facebook. Corey is currently a medic in Afghanistan. Preston, Chloe, and Derek get so excited when Corey posts pictures on facebook. They all gather around the computer while Doug tells them about each picture. They even want to send Corey some of their old clothes for him to give out to the children there.

Derek's First Field Trip

2009-10-22T22:24:00.000-07:00

Derek got to ride the school bus! Hip hip hooray! No joking, in my household, this is INCREDIBLE my friends. School bus trips are not to be messed with. Derek was sick (shh don't tell) but he was NOT going to miss the chance to ride the bus. No way! Not my little guy. He toughened up so he could go. I don't think it even would matter to my kids where they went on the bus. As long as they got to go on a bus ride they'd be happy. Maybe I should buy a bus and sell rides on it to little kids after school. Oh, I guess that's what public transportation is for, dang it.
Anyway, Derek's class went to the pumpkin patch. Doug packed me a yummy lunch. You are all jealous now huh? Well, you should be. Ha ha. That was the highlight for me. Apart from the bus ride Derek's favorite was holding baby chicks. This is my kid who is normally very afraid to touch animals. He held a chick all by himself. Be proud. I was. He was too. Derek made sure I texted a pic of it to Daddy right away. He would've alerted the press if he could've.

Trick or Treat...I'll take TREAT!!!!

2009-10-06T22:20:00.000-07:00

How do you like dem apples? I want to bite one! Yummy! I love carmel chocolate apples. I love that April taught me to make them. Yay for April!

A Pictorial of our Halloween Visit to Disneyland

2009-10-05T22:07:00.000-07:00

My mom came with us to Disneyland! I even got her to go on the Tower of Terror! Yay! And even better---she LIKED it! I was so proud of my mommy for going! I LOVED it. Also, the Halloween Fireworks show was AMAZING! If you missed it, you should be super duper sad. Seriously. Plan on going next year. If you can. You won't be sorry. And Jack, Derek LOVES your house. He wants you to keep it decked out all year long. Can you do that for him? I wish. . .

Family Time

2009-10-02T21:53:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago my Grandma Fisher passed away. This was hard on us even though it was expected and for the better. Preston, Chloe, and Derek thought this meant that we wouldn't have Thanksgiving and Christmas anymore. We LOVED spending the Holidays with Great Grandma Fisher. I miss her so much. Our family was thankful for all the well wishes that were sent our way. The funeral program:

The beautiful coffin: The flowers: The Fisher boys (Steven Fisher, Lonnie Fisher, Stacy Fisher, William Max Fisher): Doris Fisher's children (Carin Rainwater, Steven Fisher, Lonnie Fisher, Stacy Fisher, Max Fisher, Kathleen Allred): Steven Fisher's girls (Jennilyn Eaton, Shauna Farnsworth, Kirstin West, Julie Glosenger, Kimberly Humpherys, Stephanie Alexander): The Steven Fisher Family (Steven, Jennilyn, Julie, Stephanie, Shauna, Kirstin, Kim, Kathy): Doris Fisher's grandkids (Andrew Fisher, Dallin McKeon, Devin McKeon, Darin McKeon, Julie Glosenger, Kirstin West, Adam Fisher, Justin Fisher, Kim Humpherys, Joshua Fisher, Amy Hays, Candace Rainwater, Matthew Fisher, Christopher Rainwater, Brendan Rainwater, Patrick Rainwater, Jennilyn Eaton, Karlee McKeon, Stephanie Alexander, Shauna Farnsworth, Andrea Fisher, Nicole Fisher, Daniel Fisher, Danielle Fisher, Bree Fisher) Taylor Fisher is not pictured: The Grandkids and Great Grandkids of Doris Fisher:

I was grateful to be able to see my sisters and parents, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. It was a very emotional time but we did manage to squeeze in some fun family time too.Us Fisher girls went to Knotts Berry Farm. I don't know why but I didn't take very many pictures. Bummer. Anyway it was nice to have a family get together after all the emotional stress. Derek, LOVES Space Mountain at Disneyland but CRIED on the above ride. Am I missing something here?

Wizards of Waverly Place

2009-09-30T21:46:00.000-07:00

I was able to take Preston and Chloe to go see a live taping of Wizards of Waverly Place. We took our friends The Palmers too. The kids had a blast. Their favorite was playing on set after the taping was over. So fun! Thank you Tovan for this neat experience!! We LOVED it!!! Here are some fav pics!

Preston's New Girlfriend

2009-09-30T21:26:00.000-07:00

Yeah. Selena Gomez. He hearts her. So much so he had me cut Chloe out of the picture. Haha!

Jared gets older too!

2009-09-24T21:19:00.000-07:00

Evidently everyone has birthdays, even Jared. Go figure. Hmm. Well, we surprised him with some little presents and cupcakes! He was happy. The kids were overjoyed!!! Jared was uber spoiled by his girlfriend. Lucky boy. He is a very LUCKY kid and he knows it. Man, we LOVE that boy!! Happy birthday big brother, fake son, best buddy! We love you!

On a side note: Jared LOVES Dan Brown's books. Not in a crazy way or anything. They just seem to be the only books (besides Harry Potter books) that he reads. So we bought him the new Dan Brown book for his birthday. Jared has still not read it but I did. I know it wasn't my book and yada yada I should have let him read it first and yada yada BUT I LOVED it! Seriously, it's a good read. And I don't think Jared cared that I read the book first either. Maybe a little. But still. I could cause I am the mom and I said so. That line always worked with my mom. Ahh, it's nice to be the mom now.

CRASH!

2009-09-16T21:10:00.000-07:00

Bye bye car. So sad. One day (on September 15th to be exact), I had a PTA meeting after school and Preston had scouts at the same time. I went to the school and was going to have Chloe and Derek come with me to go to the PTA meeting. Doug came to the school to pick up Preston and take him to scouts. What a nice hubby huh? Anyway, Chloe decided as soon as she saw Daddy that she'd much rather go with him to scouts than stay for PTA. Fine, she went too. Well at 3:05pm I got a phone call from Doug saying, "You're not going to believe this but we were just hit coming out of the school parking lot." Then I hear over the loudspeaker (as I am already hurrying down the halls) "Shauna Farnsworth please come to the parking lot." Agh! Preston was sitting up front and he was the one who got hit. The principal was directing traffic (with Stop sign and all) and told Doug to go. Doug waited for the kid who was crossing the street to finish crossing the street and then since the Principal was still frantically waving for him to go (and Stopping all traffic so he could) he went. As soon as he pulled out he was T-Boned. Nice eh? Not so much. Everyone was okay. Bruised and had back problems but okay. Nightmare for us though. . .no fun.

Glasses!

2009-09-15T13:11:00.000-07:00

Derek has glasses now! We are officially a four eyes family!

I want the MONEY

2009-09-01T08:10:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again. I am the 2nd Vice President of the SV PTA. This means I get to be in charge of Fundraising! Oh goodie! We used Signature Fundraising for the first time last year and were super impressed with their customer service and Assembly. They do a full on educational assembly! Last year they did the History of Flight and this year was Lewis and Clark. The kids loved it! I am excited the assemble kick off was a hit and am looking forward to the fundraiser to be over! Whew! It's work I tell ya. . .

Doug's Birthday!

2009-08-29T19:39:00.000-07:00

Doug had to work on his birthday. Bummer huh? So we went to see him and SURPRISE him on his birthday. Kings was really busy. We brought presents for Daddy and ate our little hearts out. Marnie even comped our meals. How nice was that? Doug was totally shocked which made the kids that much happier and prouder to be there! So cute.

We then had a celebration for Doug the next day (since it was his day off).Doug had a nice birthday and we loved being able to spoil him a little. We love Doug very much and are so glad he is ours!! We love you!!

Grandma Fisher

2009-08-28T13:07:00.000-07:00

My grandma Fisher is sick. She has cancer and is not doing well. My dad has been out here a few times now. I went to the hospital to see her and I even got her to smile for a picture for me! I love her and hope she feels better soon! We love you Grandma!

First Day of School

2009-08-26T19:17:00.000-07:00

School started. Did you know that? Yeah, I figured you did. I am just really slow this year. Hey, it's been a heck of a year. No broken skulls or anything. . .just Scarlet Fever and Swine Flu craziness. Anyway, my kids were excited to start school. They LOVE school. I don't even have to secretly brainwash them about it. They truly are a little nerdy and enjoy school. Yay! Okay, so maybe they really really like the socializing aspect of it. Farnsworth children are social butterflies. They like to talk! I have no clue where they get that from. . .Anyway, so here are our children. Preston loves these pants. He was so excited I bought them. He is in third grade now and is lucky enough to have his best friends in his class! The three of them have been in the same class together EVERY year!
Chloe is now in First grade. She was most looking forward to being able to see Preston at recess. Funny huh? And she was excited to eat lunch at school. We were a little nervous about her eating at school (cause of her diabetes) but all has been good. Chloe is still doing really well in school.

Derek started school this year. 3 kids all in school!!! I was jumping for joy! But I haven't even said the best part yet. Derek is in ALL DAY kindergarten. That's right folks. None of this 2 1/2 hour business. JK. Anyway, he gets to eat lunch at school too. He was nervous to start school. He also was sad that he is 5 (he had just turned 5 right before school started) but his clothes said he was 4. Yep. He is wearing a size 4 these days. I had to explain that clothes don't say the age you are.
So Derek was nervous until he saw this little missy there!
Anna is a little girl that I used to babysit! Her mom and I went to Sierra Vista together too! How fun is that? Now Derek and Anna get to! So fun!

Big Bad Wolf

2009-08-25T07:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, so he may not be that big or bad, but Preston did get his Wolf Award in Cub Scouts! Preston was so excited and proud! He LOVES Cub Scouts and is doing great at working on his goals. We are glad that he is excited to learn all he can about the scouting program. We know what a great organization Scouts is and are happy to be a part of it! Congrats Preston!!

Kindergarten Orientation

2009-08-24T08:03:00.000-07:00

This year Sierra Vista had a Kindergarten Orientation. The kids were able to find out who their Teacher is for the year and see their classroom. Derek was excited. He was hoping to have Mrs. Brown since he knows her. Chloe had her last year and I helped in the classroom almost every morning doing home reading. Derek came with me and Mrs. Brown was always so nice to him. Jared helped Derek get ready for the big day by cutting his hair. I was nervous about having Jared cut it but Jared did a great job. He knew he'd be in trouble if Derek came out of that bathroom looking like he was a Marine. Ha ha! At the orientation we found out that Derek has Mrs. Brown! Yay! And Derek was happy he got to find his cubby!