Daddy's Little Princess Ball

Oh, Tiara's dream came true. Her prince arrived and took her to the Ball. Last Friday night was the Daddy's Little Princess Ball at school. The drama started three weeks ago when she came home with an official invitation to the Ball and a request for her reply be taken back to the castle (school). She has talked of nothing else ever since. Where we are going to go shopping for a dress, how we will do her hair and her coercing Dave into practicing dancing with her every night. It's so darn hilarious and cute at the same time.

I'm told she had the time of her life dancing with Daddy and playing with her friends. I wish I had been there to watch. There were 800+ princesses and their dates making for a crowded castle. I drove them down and dropped them off so they wouldn't have to deal with parking. I sat there for a minute watching all of the girls and their Dads going into the school. They all looked beautiful and so excited for this night of royalty. I even think Dave had a good time. Luckily for him, he had some dad-friends to hang out with and eat cookies with while the girls danced and giggled together. What a fun night!

Happy 90th!!!

My grandpa turned 90 this weekend. He is the only grandparent I have left. I've been so lucky to have him around for so long and to get to spend so much time with him. For the past 3 1/2 years I've been working on a life history for him. It started out as just listening to some stories and turned into an entire book being published. Last summer, I had the idea to have a big party for him on his birthday. This seems like an easy thing, but my family is so spread out that it makes it a little harder. To top it off, nobody really talks to anyone else. You'd never know that we are all family because we don't ever see each other or do anything together. For some, it's been over a decade.

With the help of an aunt and uncle, we pulled off the party. Everyone gathered to Henderson, Nevada for the weekend. Most of us stayed in the same hotel which made it easy to get together. There were 43 of us there, only one grandchild and his family were missing. It totally wore out my grandpa, but he enjoyed seeing everyone again and getting the chance to talk with some that he hadn't seen in years.

We enjoyed a warm break from the yucky winter inversions that come every January. We always love to get away. The kids get so excited when we tell them we're going to a hotel. It's really cute.

I wish we lived closer to my Grandpa. I love visiting with him and I wish I could help him more. If we could afford it, I'd fly down every month and spend the weekend helping around the house and keeping him company. But, I'll have to settle for the road trips whenever we can get away and trying to get there as much as I can.

Another New Year

It's hard to believe another year has passed. They seem to be flying by now faster than ever which leaves me wondering if its just because I'm getting older or if time really is speeding up. 2010 was a good year. Seth was baptized, Tiara started Kindergarten, Dave and I were able to take another cruise together. Life has been pretty good. Which leaves me a little nervous for what 2011 has in store for us. Do you ever feel like things are going just a little too smooth and there must be something big lurking in the waters ahead? That's how I feel. I get scared when we're on auto-pilot. So instead of waiting for Heavenly Father to throw me a curve ball, just to see if I'm paying attention, I try to stay anxiously engaged in a good cause. Maybe that way I keep myself on the straight and narrow instead of needing to be reminded. Sounds reasonable, right? Let's hope so.



Looking ahead this year, Spencer will start 6th grade and Tiara will go to school all day. For the first time in 11 years, I will only have one child at home with me during the day. I'm looking forward to catching up on a lot of the things that have taken a back-burner. I just hope McCall isn't bored being the only one home. Other than that, I don't foresee anything big happening. Now if it will only stay like that...