Sunny Days ahead

Here is a hint of where an airplane took us last week.




We visited San Diego again. This time we did not get the
Swine Flu ;)

Ya! It's easier to enjoy Legoland when your son

is not throwing up.

above were some cool sand sculptures of lego dudes.

i must admit one of my favorite star wars
characters is chubakka. my mom
can do an awesome impression. love ya mom!


i saw this bathroom sign and had to do a duplicate
photo with my kids. jacob does this pose often!


The heart of legoland is miniland. There are hundreds of
amazing scenes made from legos.

star wars land was just added last
month and it was our fav!

there are legos of washington d.c., las vegas,
new york city all out of legos. pretty amazing

jacob keeps telling me this is his dream job... to be
a lego master builder.
the volcano behind us was made from legos as well. it was 70 degrees
and a great day.

more photos to come. by the way... wicked was fabulous.
i called it perfection! the actors were amazing, amazing! the singers
were suburb! i would see it again!

I feel WICKED!

In November, my neighbor told me that the play "wicked"

was coming to town. (Insert squeal!!!!)

I love Wicked!

Stephen and I saw it in Denver, CO a couple years ago

and have been waiting to see it again and let the kids come.

We bought tickets for the whole family and gave them

to the kids for Christmas.

They were excited and jumping up and down as well.

Well, the month of May always

seemed so far away and suddenly here it is

and we are going to Wicked tomorrow.

We've been listening to the music, a lot.

My kids practically have it memorized ;)

We are watching the Wizard of OZ tonight.

I love the music, love the actors, costumes, the anticipation.

Love it all ;)

Sugar

here is hedgie. he would love to have a friend

to play with.... um maybe i can find one.

here is a cute little dog that was abandoned at

my parent's rental home. she was

hiding under the bed when they found her.

i said

"dad, we need a dog! let me

chat with my hubby and see if i can

convince him. yes, i'll be

out to get her today!"

so we did. she fills a hole in my heart!

introducing....sugar

she has found many friends in the

neighborhood and we go on

walks everyday.

our kids LOOOOVE her to pieces

and she loves us ;)

happiness is....

Birthday and Dog

I'm not quite sure where January went... but it was filled with birthdays and a dog.

Jacob's cousin, Grant, was visiting us and happily

joined in on the food and friends.

Jacob enjoyed his breakfast in bed of eggs, oj, and bacon.

Speaking of bacon, isn't that one of the most

tasty treats ever. I loooooove bacon!!!

Jacob had a Qualewiioodle Buster

party. You've never heard of it???

Probably, because Jacob combined all his

favorite things together into on busy party

He invented a game named Quata that he and his friends and 1/2 of the 3rd graders at school play . I still don't fully understand everything they do but it

involves squatting on the ground and repeating "Quata" often.

He loves the Wii so he had to throw that one in so he could play Wii during the party.

Doodles because when his friends aren't

playing Quata they are doodling comic books and

Peddling them on the school ground.

I haven't received a phone call from the

principal saying that this is against the rules... um we will see.

Usually the comics involve blood, bombs, and farting.

Doesn't that sound like a typical 9 year old boy?

Lastly is Crime Busters which Jacob also started with

some friends and

they now have a hierachy of leadership of which

he is the president

and consists of Bryon and Abbi being so -captains,

and then

Caleb is a scout and Jared is a

co something or another.

But they have currently training 23 happy friends.

If you are hoping to join in you are in luck,

the training sessions are only on Friday.

Oh, and the dog part. I will post another blog

about that dog adoption adventure.

Birthday and Dog

Happy Birthday Madeline

Today at 12:33 pm my sweet Madeline turned 12 years old!!!

How did 12 years zoom by so quickly? I'm scared to think of how much quicker the next 12 will go by.

One of Madeline's many talents is designing amazing birthday parties, with a fun theme and a mystery. Usually there is something "missing" and her friends get to help solve the crime.

This year's birthday party was called Oodles of Doodles which was a creative art theme.

A black ninja stole the art supplies (he is in costume below)

and the girls went back in time to visit artist and get some art tips and learn about the artist Beatrix Potter (one of my favorites) and Vincent Van Gogh and Jacob was a peace dude 70's artist. Very fun!

You always need some creative juices with food!

The party began with a "dot" game and if you say "I" then you

get a decoration on your face.

Each of the girls must have said "I" a few times.

My Family and Christmas

Merry Christmas from the Stoddard's!!

What an amazing year. Madeline started middle school and
is learning to play the violin. Both kids participated in
swim team and excelled.

Jacob is loving cub scouts and just earned his Wolf Award.
Stephen is busy and grateful for a wonderful job
and church service.

I am grateful for healthy family, a warm home,
kind friends, an amazing business, and
chances to serve others.

I am most of all thankful and humbled by
a baby who was born in a stable. Served others through
out His life and taught us how to truly love all mankind.

I am in awe of His Atonement which He gave to me so
that I can be forgiven and strive to live as He did.
May we always have our Savior, Jesus Christ in our
hearts and love as He does.

crazy Christmas photos!!! Which one is your favorite?

n

Is it this one?

this one?

Are we a "normal" family? I hope not ;)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!