Bob- the Tamale

Monday started as a great day.  I got things cleaned up in the house, fed the kids, cleaned up some more, and fed the kids again.  Then it was time to take Hannah to camp in Salt Lake.  We got in the car (Eliza, Hannah, and I) and headed out.  About 10 minutes from our destination, my car kicked into a lower gear (it's an automatic) and a whole bunch of errors started lighting up.  I pressed my ever-so-handy OnStar button and the magic person came on asking how he could assist me.  I told him my car had freaked out and to HELP!  He did his nifty diagnostic thing and after telling me that there were three errors with the car, he said he'd start with the least serious.  Are you crazy?  Give me the worst news first, since I'm going full-speed (plus 10) on the freeway!  My worst error was that my transmission could be failing and he suggested that I get off the freeway immediately and that he would call for a tow- That's my trusty OnStar guy!  I made it to the off ramp, which happened to be where we were headed in the first place, and I came to a stop at a left-hand turn lane.  Once I tried to accelerate again, my car was acting like it was a manual and wasn't sure which gear it was in.  Oh boy- on go the hazards.  I gingerly accelerated until I moved forward and made it into the parking lot (which thankfully had a bookstore, clothes shopping, AND a frozen yogurt shop)-I turned my car off.  After the tow truck came and we made it to the dealer, we were given a rental and sent on our way (btw- Cord appeared within 20 minutes- my knight in silver armor).  

Yesterday my car was ready and as I went to pick it up, Eliza Jane asked, "mom, are we going to get the tamale?"  I don't think I could ever correct her- of course Hannah promptly piped up and said, "it's a DENALI"- Thanks Hannah!  I think that was her last baby word, and she stole it.  

Since picking up our car, we have decided to affectionately name it "Bob", first because it's shorter than saying "the black car" and second because after what it went through and the fact that it made it to a safe place for our family, it deserves a name.  I dub thee "Bob, the tamale"- hopefully minus the transmission problems!

if it weren't for iphoto!

Thank goodness iphoto keeps track of the dates my photos were taken or I'd have no chance of keeping up on dates of events. Yes, I have slacked big time on my blogs, but it's been a crazy fall/winter. We've had five birthdays (out of six), one baptism, three major holidays, several vacations, and a partridge in a pear tree! I will briefly summarize the last three months with photos and then try to do better at not using Facebook to micro-blog (even though that's really what I've been doing) in the future.

We picked Nellie up from the airport and were so excited to bring her home- she is a lovely furry addition to our family.

Cayden turned 12 along with three other boys in our neighborhood. We threw them a birthday bash they will never forget. We rented out the BYU practice facility and sixty of the boys friends came and had a blast!
My baby brother got married in Virginia at a beautiful vineyard, the only bummer is that it was Freeeezing that day and so the wedding was moved inside, but it was gorgeous nonetheless, and that was a momentous occasion.

Halloween was fun this year, It was a little crazy since Cayden's party was on the same day, but what would life be if not busy. The little girls were so cute in their hot pink leotards.
Maddy turned eight and was baptized by her daddy. We are so proud of her for making that special choice. I know every baptism is special but that day was so tender.
We did the annual Ottley family Christmas party and everyone participated. I feel that I now have blackmail material on Cayden when he gets older.
We spent Christmas in LA with my family and enjoyed the warmer weather. We saw Mary Poppins the musical at the Ahmanson and had a fantastic dinner at the Biltmore hotel after. It was lovely not having to make dinner, a welcomed reprieve.
The line up Christmas morning...even Nellie got a stocking, which she proceeded to attack- it was a singing moose.
My mom and I cooked side by side Christmas day and had so much fun. I feel like a little kid in a candy store at her house with all her china and crystal. She has enough place settings and variety to seat 80 for Christmas alone and it's always so fun to come home and see all the new and fun things she has purchased for the season.

Whew! Now I'm caught up until our next event. That's a glimpse into our life for the last three months- just the facts. It's been three months filled with fun and craziness...but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I hope that everyone has had a fantastic holiday season so far!

Girls Weekend!

I think I'm a little mixed up on posting about trips, so before I post about Vegas (I only have three pictures anyway) I thought I'd show you some pictures of my trip to LA with Rachel, my sister (...in law technically)...I LOVER HER! I adore all of Cord's sisters, they're fantastic and I'm so blessed to have them in my life! Above are my parents so excited to eat a bowl of Matzo Ball Soup from Juniors (an LA institution)!

And here Rachel and I are eating ours...Rachel had a lot of "firsts" on this trip...including Matzo Ball Soup...which she loved and has since craved!


That night we went to dinner with my parent's friends and it was crystal clear over the San Fernando Valley (I know, right?) so we decided to document this rarity with a photo!


We had fun, this is a favorite group of mine!


Had to take Rach for a ride in the 'stang...I think she was a little afraid...I think we went from zero to ninety in like 5 seconds...giddy up!


We were running some errands for my parents and got silly with the RX glasses...

way too silly...


Brunch at the Vines...yummy...and it couldn't have been a more perfect weekend! It was like 76˚ and then we left and my mom said we took the warm weather with us!


Me and my dad


We took a long walk that afternoon, in my parent's development they have "paseos" which are naturally preserved walkways that are amazing, this picture was in front of a heritage oak...probably 150 years old...and the picture below is not photoshoped, the sky was that blue.



The "scary" tunnel as I call it. Every time I check in by myself it seems, I'm in the wrong place and have to walk down this creepy tunnel and I'm always alone! This time there was a lady with us and she said she'd take our picture to document the "scary tunnel"...it seriously goes on forever under the airport.

We were sad to go home, but these were the happy faces we mustered up. Thanks Rach for indulging me and playing with me for the weekend. My favorite was shopping on Rodeo drive and having you take pictures out the car window! I also loved driving with the top down with the sun on our faces...but mostly loved hanging out with my sister.

Exhausted...but happy!

We got to the park early Thursday morning and actually had my dad there for a few hours...so we got a picture of our entire family at Disneyland (that made two total I think!). Cord refused to let the employees take a picture of us because he insisted that their wireless method of transporting the files was so quick that their resolution must be very low, like 2 megapixels...photographic elitist! "The Wharf" made me feel like I was in Carmel or on the bay in Monterey...I have been telling Cord we're going to Carmel in April...I'm making plans this week...we enjoyed a little time here for lunch two days in a row! That's my dad on the right for those of you who haven't had the privelage of meeting him...love him to death!


Love you all! Cordy kept taking pictures of me, so I decided to shock him a bit and pay attention and blow him a kiss...it got a smile.

She sure knows how to have fun!
You could tell that we were at the end of a long trip and a long day...everyone was trying to be excited about the teacups, but we were so tired! Goodbye Disneyland...until next time...give me at least six months to recover!

Day two-ramping up, ramping down

Grizzly River Rapids is (was) Cayden's favorite ride until we went on California Screamin' (he went at least five times-pictures to come...or video I think). We used the child switch pass since Eliza missed the height requirement by two inches...so our family went in two groups.


Hannah and I didn't get too wet!


While Cayden, Hannah, and I waited in line for California Screamin', Cord took this adorable picture of our future hero!



Here we are at the highlight of our day...bugs life experience! My glasses were the best part...Cord looks pretty adorable in them, don'tcha think?
We had our ups and downs on day two-filming in the middle of main street, Eliza being harrassed by the ride attendants about her height, and short lines with fun rides and my adorable family...I had a love/hate relationship with Dland by the end of that day!

Weird Science

Cayden entered the Science fair this year with a project that was way beyond my comprehension, in fact, when he told me about it a year ago, I told him, "magnets can't float Cayden, we're not doing that". He is so smart! He ended up winning the award for the most advanced science project in the school, that was pretty cool! Superconductors are technology of the future...google them, it's pretty cool stuff. His cousin Zander was very proud of him too! I am also very pleased that Cayden did the entire project with his partner Brittain and we didn't help him with anything but the video burning...he did absolutely everything by himself...you can tell by the sign!!! Yay Cayden!