DisneyLand Vacation

Even though I am now 31 years old I still cannot contain my excitement as I walk through the gates and round the corner to step onto Main Street in DisneyLand. I love it! Especially when we take our kids there.

We spent the last week in March enjoying the California sunshine at DisneyLand with our family. We had a great time! We visited DisneyLand and California Adventure for 4 days, one day at Universal Studios (Abbi hated every minute of this park), and even found time to go to the beach. Alex loved the Madderhorn (the only roller coaster he could ride) and especially loved Playhouse Disney. Aaron and I enjoyed watching him get all excited when Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, the Little Einstiens, and Winnie the Pooh came on stage. He sang and danced with them and had a great time. As for Adam and Abbi, they unanimously agreed that California Screamin was their all-time favorite ride. I liked that one too plus the Midway Mania (a new Toy Story ride in California Adventure.)

Aaron and I loved spending time with the kids at DisneyLand. It was a fantastic vacation and like always came to an end too soon. Here's to looking forward to the next family vacation where ever that might be.

My Birthday celebrations

Last year for my 30th birthday Aaron took me on a trip to San Diego with a side detour to Vegas to see Phantom of the Opera. It was an amazing birthday and I told him he would have a hard time topping last years but, he did it! Birthday's in our house always go on for about a week and mine was no different. It started last Friday when some great friends and I took off to spend a weekend relaxing, eating, shopping, watching movies, staying up late, talking and giggling at a condo in Midway. We all had a great time and have decided to do it annually and call it a "mom's retreat." When I returned home on Sunday, Aaron had cleaned the house, made the kids clean their disastrous bedrooms, and even did several loads of laundry. What a guy! Then on Monday, the night before my birthday, Aaron handed me my present (neatly wrapped in a piece of scrap paper that he found on the desk in the office.) Inside were 2 tickets to "Wicked" for Wednesday night. He completely surprised me. I had mentioned in passing that I wanted to go and he picked up on it. He found us 2 tickets and drove clear to Syracuse to pick them up. So, now I had that to look forward to. My actual birthday was spent shopping in the glorious sunshine and eating lunch with Aaron at Goodwood. We had never been there before but it was delicious!

Now on to "Wicked." This play is absolutely amazing! If you ever have the chance to go - take it! I sat in awe the entire time with the fabulous music, the costumes, the scenery, and the actors. Can I go again? Truly one of the best.

So my birthday week is coming to a close but not before the family party on Sunday where we will hopefully be celebrating in my newly remodeled kitchen. The granite is supposed to come in on Saturday and that will be the final piece in putting my kitchen back together. I will post pics as soon as it is done. It should turn out great!

Okay Aaron, so you out did yourself again. Thanks for an amazing birthday!

While I'm blogging

As I sat here updating my blog, I hear "mama" and turn around to find this:

After I finished laughing I realized I needed to share the laugh with all of you. Can we call this a "blackmail" picture for when he is a teenager? I think so!

And the Award Goes To.....

Aaron Marshall and the Marshall Group for the Large Sales Team of 2008.

On Friday, Aaron and I attended the Salt Lake Board of Realtors "The Stars are out Tonight" awards gala. Aaron was up for the "Large Sales Team" award and they won! We were so excited! Aaron and his team worked very hard last year and it paid off. They closed over 170 transactions with Aaron completing over 140 of those. I am so proud of him. He works extremely hard and has been very successful in his career. Thanks to his team: Christy, Cori, Robyn, Jessica, James, and Jeannette for their hard work and dedication as well. We couldn't do it without you. It was a great night being able to celebrate with the team. Way to go!

Aaron and his awesome team

Aaron accepting his award

Alex Turned 3!

Alex, now that you are three years old you think you are so big. You love to follow Daddy and "help" fix things using your home depot tool box that is as big as you are. You are so in love with keys and must have your keyring hooked to your pants at all times. It must have at least 15 keys and practically pulls your pants down with the weight of them. You have finally started talking which is so fun to hear what you say. You love playing with your friends and have many times left the house to go find them without me knowing. You are such a sweet boy and I have enjoyed being able to be with you all day while Adam and Abbi are in school. You are my little buddy. You have such a sweet personality and an infectious laugh. We love having you in our family. Happy Birthday Bugs!

Family Blocks

I finally was able to get by Family Blocks all done and I think they turned out pretty cute. My sister, Melanie, actually found the idea in a magazine and then I tweaked it a little to fit my needs. These were very easy to do.

Happy Birthday Adam!

Adam, I can't believe you are already 9 years old. Time has gone by so fast! I still remember being in the hospital and smelling your head. It smelled like Jergens baby lotion- the one in the pink bottle- and I couldn't get enough of it.

Through the years you have taught me so much and I am so proud of your tenacity and your gentle spirit. Your smile and laugh can still light up a room and you can take any situation and make it a good one. You have such an imaginative mind that will take you far in life whether you choose to be an architect, an archaeologist, a lawyer, or a basketball star.

Thanks for being spiritual and staying close to the Lord. He will guide you in all that you do- just ask!

We love you Adam. Happy Birthday Buddy!

Andrea Marshall - ASP Stager

Oh my goodness! I had such a great time in Denver attending the Accredited Staging Professional Home Staging Conference - say that fast 3 times! I learned so much and am so excited to begin putting my skills to work.

Early Wednesday morning I left my entire family and headed to the airport scared to death. This was the first time I had ever been ANYWHERE by myself and I was so excited and scared at the same time. So, in my mind I took baby steps... just get to the airport on time... find a seat and a place for your bag on the plane... get off the plane and follow the throng of people to the underground train system in the Denver airport... Find Enterprise rent-a-car to get your rental car.... turn on GPS to direct you to the location of the conference. After making a few U-turns I made it to the conference!! I think that deserves a gold star! ***

Anyway, after three days of classroom instruction and an actual hands on staging project I was graduated and became an actual ASP stager. How fun is that? I am excited to put my training to good use- starting on my own home. (Aaron is nervous... he just left for Orlando so I have full range of the house for a few days. He's not sure what he will be coming home to.)

Here are some before and after pictures of the house we did. My group was in charge of making over the kitchen/dining area and family room. I am so proud of what we were able to accomplish with the resources we had.

Family Room Before

Family Room After

Kitchen Before

Kitchen After

"Amer"

As we all know, Alex has been a very slow talker. Just in the last couple of months has he really started to say words and sentences. It's been funny and frustrating at times to hear what he says and several times I have had to say "show me" because I just couldn't understand. It took me a long time to figure out that "bum" meant bum and gum- depending on the circumstance.

So, last night at dinner, we were all sitting around the table asking Alex to say different words. He is really good at mommy, daddy, and Abbi but he calls Adam - Amer (A- mur). Adam was trying to get Alex to say his name right so he had Alex pronounce each sound of his name. Here is how that went:

Adam: "Alex say A"
Alex: "A"
Adam: "duh"
Alex: "duh"
Adam: "a"
Alex: "a"
Adam: "mmm"
Alex: "mmm"
Adam in a drawn out tone: "Adam"
Alex in a drawn out tone: "Amer"

We all started laughing so hard.

GNO with Abbi at the Utes gymnastics meet

Abbi and I along with several other moms and their daughters from our neighborhood spent last Friday attending the Utes Gymanstics meet against Washington. What a fun outing! We first got dinner at the Training Table and then it was off to the meet. It was fun watching the girls scream, yell, dance, and get excited! The Utes even won which made it so much better. To top off the night, we stopped for ice cream on the way home.

Although Abbi claims to be BYU blue... she is now a big fan of Utes Red (but only for gymnastics)