Hunting...

Here are 5 things I've learned so far on this job search:

1. Neal was smart to frequently tell us to keep our resume's updated - glad I listened.
2. Employers hiring a developer position often see "tester" as a bad word.
3. I don't like going to outplacement services and talking to people, but I don't think I'll get a job without it.
4. My professional "network" is GREAT up in Utah, but really small here (so far).
5. I know at least one reason for my calling as Elder's Quorum secretary was to get to know the presidency and be near them during this transition period. They are a wealth of knowledge and comfort to me, as well as great network contacts.

I've had a few interviews over the past few weeks. One was with a company Brett worked for part-time/remote for a few months last year before deciding to stay in Utah with Drew Major's company. I'll say it was a good interview in that it gave me some good experience at going through interviews. I haven't had a real job interview since I hired on as an intern, so it's a whole new ballgame for me. I thought it was a tough interview, very academic-focused rather than practical or experience focused. They had a hard time seeing passed the "tester" role on my resume. I had another interview with a CEO of a small company in Phoenix. It was a job right in line with my experience, but they went with someone else. I've worked with a couple recruiters for different companies and pursued leads I got from friends or via LinkedIn connections. All good work, but so far no offers. Although I'm not the "support-group" kind of person, I've actually enjoyed going to the weekly meetings at Lee Hecht Harrison (outplacement service, part of my severance). It's uplifting and depressing at the same time, since some people have been on the hunt for 7-8 months. The techniques and tips I've learned through them have been great though, and I know it's made me a better job seeker.

Christmas time means dancing time

Each year the dance company dances at a neighborhood Christmas party. It was so fun to see the girls do their dances that they have been working on. It was actually a cold night for Arizona, but the girls both did a really good job. Their favorite part is seeing Santa after their show is over. Katelyn informed me this year that, "that is really the real Santa mom." Good to know, Katelyn.

Then later in the month, Jeanne's School of Dance does a Christmas show with all of their studios. I have to say that our Chandler studio by far were the best looking ones up there. And, of course, the girls did a great job again on their dances. The recital show was the best of both, so we'll show the video of that one.

Giving Thanks

We spent Thanksgiving this year in Mesa. It was nice to not have to travel, but I still missed my family. The big dinner was at Chris's grandparents house, and it was of course fabulous. I have to admit I don't feel bad at all that I have only ever cooked my own turkey dinner once. I love being with family at Thanksgiving time. It kicks off the holiday season for me to be around those I love. To start off the event, the kids read a couple stories before we sat down. Then Katelyn shared some of her school work that taught all of us about the first Thanksgiving. It was a great way to start off the meal. I'm not sure how much Chris enjoyed Thanksgiving this year. He had been complaining that his throat was hurting, so finally Thanksgiving morning I take a look at it and his tonsils were just huge with spots all over them. So Chris spent the first half of dinner at the Wal-greens filling an antibiotic so he could swallow again. I think he enjoyed the leftovers more once those antibiotics started working. After a wonderful meal, the kids went outside to play for a little bit (gotta love AZ weather!) while we cleaned up and started getting Christmas decorations out. Then it was time for the pie. The Partridge's kindly placed a candle and sang happy birthday to me (my birthday was on Friday this year). Mmmmm. Pecan pie for my birthday. Much better than my pregnant-diabetic-sugarfree birthday from last year. It ended up being a great day, even though the camera stayed safely in the diaper bag the entire time so there are no pictures to prove it.

Please pardon the dust

I'm starting to post some of the catch-up stuff. Except I'm going to put it chronologically as it really happened, so you'll want to scroll down or look at the archive to make sure you've seen everything since September.

The Dark Side

You should only be reading this post if you've accepted an invitation to our (now) closed blog.  Now that it's done, I'll go back and do a few catch-up posts for what's happened since the school year started.

Adam is 9 months

I can't believe we are already at 9 months. It's always a little bit of a milestone for me when my babies reach the point when they have been "outside" longer than "inside cooking." When I am pregnant it feels like the longest 9 months of my life. Then some how the next 9 fly by. Adam is doing really well. He is showing more of his personality. He is active but also sweet and cuddly. Here's his list accomplishments now:
-20 lbs! (it took my girls 15 months to get to 20 lbs)
-getting first teeth - 2 on the bottom - not such a happy teether...we can't be good at everything
-climbs up stairs like a champ, still learning how to get back down
-big belly laughs, high pitched screams (happy and sad)
-loves to cuddle
-babble talking and almost constant motor boat sounds
-light blond hair is getting longer and still sticks straight up!

What to blog....hmmm

There have been so many things happen in our household since I blogged last. We had Labor Day, birthdays, parties, and some not so fun times mixed in with the good. I have been debating for a while whether or not to go private. I'd like to give the excuse that that is why I have not blogged in so long. (It could be part of it.) I have been worried about the amount of information we give and that this world is a crazy place. So, I have 2 options. I can avoid all specifics or I can go private. Since Chris and I like to use the blog right now as a kind of journal, we have decided to go private. I will change over in one week. If you would like to still read about our crazy life and see pictures of our cute kids, please send an email or post a comment that we can take offline and we will add you to the list. Then I will have no excuse to catch up once again!

Halloween

We had a great Halloween this year. Katelyn decided to be Ariel. Megan was Minnie Mouse. Adam had a cute Halloween shirt and a monster hat and monster slippers (thanks to Amy for letting us borrow).

Katelyn's school did a costume parade on Friday before Halloween. The Kindergarten through 3rd graders get to be in the parade and the rest of the school gets to watch the parade. Parents and kids get to come and watch the parade too. I was wisely informed by a friend that the younger siblings often dress up for the parade too (to watch, not participate). That made it a lot easier to get ready for school that morning because when Megan knew Katelyn was putting her costume on, Megan did not want to be left out!

Then on Halloween evening, we went again with the Partridge's to their neighborhood party. We enjoyed hot dogs and chili for dinner, games, and of course candy. We then went home to do a little trick-or-treating in our own neighborhood. Chris chose to stay home with Adam and answer our door, while I went with the girls around the neighborhood. We had so much fun seeing friends and the girls had fun getting candy! We then topped our evening off with one final trick-or-treat to Grandma-ma and Grandpa Ed's. The kids were thoroughly spoiled and enjoyed every minute of it. Now if only we could get rid of all the candy without eating all of it....

We've taken a hit, but we keep on going

Chris has survived many (and I mean many) layoffs at Novell. It seems that our time is up and it is now our turn to join the large crowd of those who formerly have worked for Novell. It was hard news to swallow at first. So many unknowns, but we know we will be OK. We have amazing family to support us, a great severance package from the company to keep us afloat, and we will find something bigger and better. We'll keep you posted on the job hunt and please keep us in your prayers!

6 years, 9 months, and 24 days later...

(Cassi and I were going to just put up one post on this, but I read hers and didn't want to change anything, but still add my account.)

On January 6, 2003, I started my internship with Novell, under Neal Beckstrand (who Ryan also worked for during some of his intern days).  After almost a year, he offered me to transition to a full-time employee, and I've been there ever since...until today.

Tuesday morning I got a call from Neal, who emotionally told me that there was a layoff happening today and my last day would be October 30.  Neal has been an amazing manager to work for, and also a good friend, who always looked out for his employees.  During my almost-7 years, I've survived way too many layoffs, and I can't help but wonder if I'd still have a job if we were still up in Utah.  However, I know that we're where we are supposed to be.  I've felt good about every part of moving to/living in Mesa, for me and especially for my kids.  Now we just have to figure out the next step.

At first I was just in shock and didn't really have anything to respond with.  I took a couple minutes to ponder it in my office alone and start a job search before heading downstairs to break the news to Cassi.  That was one of the hardest things to do...not that I could hide it, but when the provider isn't going to be providing anymore, it's very depressing.  Not to mention that timing was possibly as bad as it could be, with things already tight, the job market pretty saggy and Cassi's birthday and Christmas coming up...the last thing I wanted to do was disappoint her or add any stress to our lives.

So, I took a deep breath and told her the news, then started calling my family to let them know, and then went back to work, since I still had about 4 more days.  I spent that time tying up loose ends and transferring stuff to the "lucky" survivors.  Luck is certainly a double-edged sword in that respect.  Thankfully, we have so much family so close and a great severance package that will keep us alive for as short a job search as we can possibly arrange.

Anyway, after the best first job out of college I could have hoped for, I have officially joined the Novell Alumni Group in LinkedIn, and am on to the Great Big Job Hunt of 2009.  Wish me luck (a prayer wouldn't hurt either)!

Two times the fun!

We now have 2 little dancers in our home. Katelyn and Megan love it, they are having so much fun. This weekend, they had their first performances. Our morning started at the Phoenix Zoo where they danced for the Zoowalk for autism. The girls did a good job. It was an early morning for them to get ready and at the zoo. Then we rushed to the Arizona State Fair where they had their next performance. Both girls did better at the fair, so we'll post that performance. It was a whirlwind of a morning (both shows were done by noon), but they survived! On to the next show!

Katelyn's 6th Birthday Weekend Bash

Katelyn is officially 6! She is such a sweet girl. We love having her in our home. She is growing into such a beautiful person inside and out! I can't believe she is already that old. I know you hear this all the time, but really, it just seems like yesterday we brought her home from the hospital.

Katelyn started her day out with breakfast in bed, which Katelyn has now decided everyone in the family should get on their birthday. Katelyn's birthday this year fell on a Thursday, which made things a little busy for us. Megan has dancing on Thursdays, so Megan and I are usually gone all evening. Looking at everyone's schedules we realized we wouldn't be able to have a family birthday party on Thursday. So, we partied all weekend! On her actual birthday, Chris, Megan, and I took her to Red Robin for dinner (Adam was playing with Grandma). She loved getting sung to by the waiters and was excited to get her birthday ice cream.

Friday, Katelyn got her first friend birthday party. She chose a princess theme, so everyone was dressed up as their favorite princess. When each princess arrived, we took their picture in front of our castle then the first activity was to decorate foam picture frames (which they took home with their picture in it). Then we played Cinderella's missing shoe. I had one pair inside and one pair outside hiding. They had to go outside and find the missing pair to receive their prize. Then we played one more game where we tried to figure out which princess item was missing. Then the hit of the party was a freeze dance game. They all had a blast dancing, then they had to freeze when the music stopped. Finally the party ended with presents and cupcakes and ice cream. I think everyone had a good time.

Sunday, we finally got to have Katelyn's family birthday party, which she wanted to be themed Harry Potter. I didn't go all out, but I made it feel a little bit like Harry Potter. We had licorice wands in a cauldron and Bertie Bots every flavor beans. Katelyn chose the family favorite Texas Sheet Cake for her birthday cake and then we opened presents. I think Katelyn thoroughly enjoyed her weekend bash. Here's my video montage of the events.

Mayhem mixed in with a little bowling

Chris and I had a coupon for free bowling that we wanted to use. We thought it would be fun to share with our cousins, so we invited them to come. Bradley was sick, so we decided to go ahead and take Bryson and Blake even though neither Amy nor Scott could come with us. Looking back, this was a little bit of craziness, but the kids all had fun and no one was hurt. That's about all we could ask for. We even ended the night taking them all the McDonald's for dinner. Here are some fun pics of the evening.

Blake and Megan were constantly at the "controls."  Ahh, the excitement of many buttons.

Megan up to bat with Blake standing by.

Katelyn fancying the granny style throw.

Bryson getting the hang of it.

Adam, who was sadly stuck in the stroller the whole time, looking cute as always.

Go Devils!

Ok, so I'm BYU Cougar blue and white through and through, but I've got ASU Sun Devil maroon and gold in my blood. And thanks to Grandpa Ed, I got to go to the ASU vs. University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM). Grandpa usually offers my Dad and I to pick a couple games to go to and use his season tickets. This year, he went even another step further - my schedule looked good for this game, so my name got put on a list sent to ASU by Frank Kush (former ASU coach - the field is named after him) for a pair of tickets. Dad was going to go with me, but his call schedule got scrambled at the last minute and he couldn't come with.

Going to the game with Grandpa is always fun, but definitely has some perks too. First you usually meet one of Grandpa's friends (today was Tom, who played with Grandpa at ASU back when they were the Cougars). Since Dad wasn't there, I volunteered to drive. Here is the second perk. It's been a while since the Devils became the Devils, so Grandpa has a parking pass for the structure adjacent to the stadium, so that was a piece of cake.

ASU vs. ULM wasn't a wildly popular game, but that wasn't why I went. I had great tickets - 26th row at about the 20 yard line. The weather was perfect, it was all awesome. Next perk, for about the first half, I had almost the whole 26th (and some of the 25th and 27th) rows to myself. I was showered and clean so I don't think that was the reason. :) My seat was particularly good for the kickoff touchdown return by ASU! Kaley and Chase had some magic tickets too and made it there after the game was underway. They found me, and then at halftime we found Grandpa and Tom and sat with them for the rest of the game, which ASU won 38-14. One kinda interesting thing that happened during the game was that from one of the eaves around the stadium, a few hundred bats flew out and around for a while. I didn't hear that they caused any problems, but it was kinda cool to see them flying around, and so many of them.

The only complaint I could make of the night was that the AT&T 3G coverage inside the stadium (which the inside cover of the game program was a full-page, full color add of AT&T 3G and ASU Stadium) was horrible. That minor inconvenience aside, I'm grateful to Grandpa Ed for always thinking of me when there's and ASU game going on.

My view from the field:

C'mon...Get Happy!

When I was growing up, I don't remember watching "The Partridge Family" on TV, but that doesn't mean I wasn't aware of it or the pop-culture impact it made.  And despite the negative or unsavory connotations of the phrase, there's a certain truth to it - we should all find how to truly "get happy."

I hope (if you've followed this blog for any significant length of time) you know that one of my favorite ways to get happy is to hang with my family, both the 5 of us living in my house, as well as the many extended family all over the place.

So, 20 years ago we had a Partridge Family Reunion, with all (or at least most) of the descendants of my Grandpa Neil and Grandma Elsie Partridge.  It rocked as only it could in 1989.  We had t-shirts made that were very en vogue sporting a "customized" Guess logo, and in the car on the drive up to St. George my crazy family re-authored the Bobby Brown rap song "On Our Own" from Ghostbusters II.  I still think it was one of the coolest collaborations we've done.  All of the grandkids performed it for my grandparents, complete with ad lib dance moves and beat-boxing.  It was hilarious!  Another highlight of the reunion was the famous family softball game, where Grandma hit a home run.

How could we possibly top that, you ask?  Honestly, we probably can't, but after 20 years it was obvious we should do something.  Fortunately the thought occurred to some of my cousins, so during late spring, planning went into overdrive to put this on over Labor Day weekend.  This time, our numbers had exploded, despite obvious absences of Grandpa Neil and Uncle Don, who both passed away the last few years.  Many of the grandkids are married with kids, so we kept it to one main event day.  Due to work and travel plans, we missed a gathering at Aunt Ann's house the night before, but met up early in the morning on Sept. 5 (also Brett's b-day, btw) to start the festivities.

Oh, before I get to the actual reunion, I have to say one more little bit about the prep work this time.  Each branch of Grandma's tree was required to come up with a t-shirt design, so it was a little easier to tell generally which cousins came from which sister of Dad's.  I was tapped to help out in the design, and here's where the title for this post comes in.  After going through a handful of OK ideas, or good ideas but hard to implement, Cassi suggested using the TV show as a theme.  Here's what we came up with:

They turned out great.  Most important for me was that my mom and dad were happy with them, and I think they were.  I didn't have the though soon enough, but I think we should take one of the t-shirts from each family and make a collage-shirt for my Grandma, since she couldn't come from the assisted living center for the festivities.

From here, I'll let the pictures take over telling the reunion story, with only minor commentary.

Aunt Maureen's crew had the green shirts.  She's the one facing the camera.

Aunt Ann's crew re-made the 1989 series, with a twist; she's on the far left.

The pavilion we met at in Layton, Utah was part of a very large park.  The kids had fun on that huge playground for a little while, until it was time for softball!  For some AZ imports, it was a little chilly. ;)

The playground was pretty cool - here's a mash-up of the group.

The babies got white onesies with blue writing.  Adam loves everyone, but always has smiles for Grandma.

Yep, I was really there.  There's not a lot of photographic evidence of my life the past few years, because I like to be behind the camera.

I even got a couple decent hits.

What can I say...cute kids!

One game had everyone split into mixed teams.  Then we ran across this field, stomped on a balloon until it broke, and then found the little toy animal inside and had to come back to our group as that animal.  Many successful blackmail shots were taken, I do believe. :)

Alligator? Not quite sure.

Some took the animal impersonation literally. Check out Nathan way at the top!

Everyone had a great time at the park.  Afterwards we went to Aunt Ann's house for a BBQ with ALL the trimmings, more games, and even Partridge Bucks and a store for the kids to buy fun little toys to take home. Some cousins put together a family trivia DVD that was pretty fun to reminisce to.

After the reunion, we spent time at Brett and Stephanie's for a combo b-day party for Brett/BYU vs. OU game, where BYU pulled out a few miracles and won in the last few seconds.  We also celebrated Stephanie's birthday at the end of the trip with a yummy lunch at one of Stephanie's new favorite Cedar Hills eats.

Rounding off the weekend, on Sunday we celebrated with Ryan and Jennifer as Elizabeth was blessed and got a gift or two.  She certainly is a cutie.

P.S.  Happy 09/09/09!

A Fresh Look

When we bought this house, one of the things that was really nice is that all the rooms were already painted.  And they weren't just painted, they were painted well, in most cases.  The Chapman's (previous owners) had 4 sons, so not all the color choices jived with the girls.  So before we even moved in, we painted the girls' bedroom pink.  The playroom next to their room had this green color on it, with one of the walls done in a faux finish (or whatever it's called that makes it look like linen paper).

Now that we've officially been here a year, we decided it was finally time to paint the playroom.  When we lived in Springville, we painted the Nursery a buttery-yellow color that I really liked.  The choice had come down between a couple, and Cassi liked the other one.  She says she likes me to give my opinion, and I did then, but when we moved I learned that she really never liked that color.  Anyways, so this time I tried to leave the final color choice to her.  I still gave my opinion, and fortunately, we BOTH picked the same color.

Before

After

The lighting isn't great, but we LOVE the new color.  It reminds me of a cloud-less sky.  Some day, I may get brave enough to add a 360-degree sandy beach-scape to it.

7 months and still rockin'

Adam just turned 7 months old, and my how the time has flown.  Working in my office next door to Adam's room, I'm usually the first one to know when he wakes up.  Sometimes he wakes up happy.  Lately, it usually also means that he's standing up in his crib and trying to rock the side of it back and forth.  He's pretty happy with himself and being able to stand himself up.  He's growing so quickly it often amazes me.  We love Adam!

Katelyn the Kindergartner

Well, this day is finally here. As of August 12th, Katelyn officially became a Kindergartner! The first day of school was exciting and a little overwhelming for all of us. Here in AZ, we have all day Kindergarten. Katelyn was so excited that she got to have lunch at school. She absolutely loves her teacher, she loves the kids in her class, and she loves school! She has even asked with eagerness when she gets to start doing homework. Megan didn't quite know what to do with herself without a playmate for a few days, but she has completely recovered. (In fact, she might even enjoy pretending she is an only child while Katelyn is a school and Adam is napping!) Katelyn has been ready for this day for a while and we look forward to her learning and growing this year.

6 months ago....

Wow, Adam is now 6 months old. Time sure does go quickly. Here's the new list of things going on in Adam's world:

• 16 pounds 9 ounces - by far the biggest of my babies
• 28 inches - tall, tall, tall!
• hair is coming in - almost white it's so blond and so wispy it just sticks straight up
  
• crawls...although he really prefers to get somewhere where he can pull himself up to stand
• goes from crawling to a sitting position like a pro
  
• babbles/"talks" a lot - possibly channeling Katelyn
• totally dislikes vegetables - really, he gags if I do not mix it with rice cereal to mask the flavor - I'm going to blame Grandpa Partridge on that one ;)
• happy and smiley nearly all the time

Vegas Vacation

We spent a week in Nevada with my family for a visit before Katelyn started school. We had a great time. It has been a year since we moved to Arizona, and because of moving, settling, and a new baby, it has also been a year since we have visited Vegas. My Grandma Basta and my sister and her girls were also visiting, so we had so much fun seeing everyone! Time was spent at the pool, visiting, card games (I think I might have won one), back to school shopping, yummy food, and loads of cousins. We had all the good intentions of pulling out the camera, but in the end we did not. The only photo evidence of the trip was on the ride home. Chris (while driving I might add) took a picture of the progress on the sky bridge over Hoover Dam. It is simply amazing.

Happy 30 years Chris!!

On August 3rd, Chris entered a new decade of life. He made it to 30! We started the day at Krispie Kreme (really, where any good day should start...mmm....). Adam was really impressed and attempted to eat some donuts on his own. He saw, he grabbed quickly, and then it was taken away. Even though it was kind of his birthday party too (exactly 6 months old!), no donut for him today but he came away with a beautiful hat!The bulk of the day was spent swimming and lounging in the pool at his parent's house. It was so fun to have everyone there and enjoy everyone's company.
After cleaning up from the pool, we went back to Chris' parents house for a yummy BBQ, thanks to the grilling talents of Chris' dad and wonderful hosting skills of Chris' mom. There's never any doubt what cake he wants on his birthday; it's always a Texas Sheet Cake - the family recipe. I've had both good and bad experiences trying to make it just right over the years but today, by some birthday miracle I got it just perfect. Happy Birthday Chris! We love you!

Swim lessons

We spent 6 weeks of our summer (in 3 sessions of 2 weeks each) doing swim lessons for the girls. We coordinated with my sister in law so that they could take lessons the same time as their cousins and so that we could help each other watch the kids in and out of the pool. Adam and I survived the heat of not being able to get in the pool! The girls really loved it, and I loved that it took up their time and we could be busy. (No chance of hearing "mom, I'm bored!")

Katelyn spent the first 2 weeks in one class and did so well and completed all of the requirements that they moved her up for the next sessions. She can now swim 25 yards freestyle and backstroke without having to stop and hold on! She is also starting to work on her breast stoke and butterfly stroke (legs only). We are so proud of her.(Katelyn is making a funny face in this picture, but I realized it was the only swim lesson picture I had! Chris came their second to last day of class and took quite a bit of video.)

Megan also did an amazing job this summer. She enjoys playing in the water, but when asked at the beginning of the summer to "do a bob" and go under the water she wouldn't do it. By the end of the 3 sessions she was a lot more comfortable in the water and would go under when asked to do it. This is a big accomplishment for her. It's still not her favorite thing to do, but she is getting better. She will also do a back float and put her head level with her body instead of trying to keep it up out of the water, which is also another great achievement for her. Yea Megan!

Red, White, and Blue

We started off with the Annual Partridge Family Fourth of July Extravaganza. Chris and the kids and I left a day early so that I could visit my family in SLC and Chris spent the day actually working from the office. The kids and I had a lot of fun. We had breakfast with my Grandma McFarlane and had a really nice visit. Then we went to my Grandma Basta's for lunch with Missy and her kids. It was also a nice surprise to have my cousin Andy and her kids there. My grandma is brave! There were 9 kids in her condo age ranging from 5 months to 13 years old! Everyone had a great time. The rest of the vacation was spent enjoying having all the Partridge's together. Here's a list of some of the favorite memories of the weekend...

• The first annual PGB (Partridge Golfing Boys) Tournament, complete with hats, a "green jacket," and more. Brett and Stephanie's new home is right behind the Cedar Hills Golf Course. The kids' favorite part was going out on the balcony and guessing if we saw the "Big Boys" golfing.
• The block party at Ryan and Jennifer's that included a bounce house for the kids.
• The BBQ at Bicentennial Park. At least our 4th year at this park, it's perfect for the kids to just play and we can all fit in one place. And the best part is that no one has to clean up their house after we are done!
• The kids playing on the playground while the burgers and dogs cooked. There's a picture I love with Brock asleep in the swing!
• The amazing t-shirt quilt that Jennifer made for Scott and Cheryl out of all of our 4th of July t-shirts over the years.
  
• Relay games after eating! We played spoon relay, gunny sack race, egg toss, and a three legged race. Everyone was a winner!
• The kids went a saw the movie UP with the men while the women went little baby girl shopping with Jennifer.
  
• An awards ceremony which involved candy!
• Hyrum's 2nd birthday party - which started off with Stephanie's amazing homemade pizza.
• And of course....fireworks!
  

Here's a little montage of the fun holiday weekend!

All Caught Up

I think I finally did it. I finally caught up the blog. Of course it will be outdated in about a day, but at least I'm good right now! Make sure you scroll down and click on older posts to catch all of the things we have been up to in the Partridge household. WARNING: These posts are a little long!

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the father's out there. We celebrated Father's Day all weekend. Saturday we went and got Chris his new best friend...the iPhone. He has been wanting a new phone for a while and settled on the iPhone. Then he has been waiting for the release of the new version of the iPhone...and finally, the day came. He loves it.

Then later that day, we had a BBQ/swim party at the Partridge house. The pool water is getting warmer, along with the temperatures here in AZ, and it was a perfect day.

Sunday, the girls and I made Chris breakfast in bed, which consisted of a donut, bacon, and a banana. Not so exciting, but with church in the morning, there really wasn't time for anything else. After church we put Adam in his "matching" shirt with Chris. They look so cute together!

That evening we went to Grandma and Grandpa Long's for Sunday dessert night like we do each week. The lucky part was this time we had a fabulous Texas sheet cake to celebrate the day. Mmmmm, is all I have to say.

I am so grateful for all the Fathers around me. From my Dad who gave me life and filled it with love, to my Father-in-law who I trust with my life to bring babies into this world, to my wonderful, amazing husband who is my life. He is always helpful, kind, and loving. I love you!

Adam is 4 months old

Adam turned 4 months old while we were in Disneyland. I can't believe he is already 4 months. In one sense, it feels like we just got him here, in the other sense I can't remember what it was like without him. We love our little man! Some of his favorite things at 4 months....

sucking on his big toe
laughing
eating, eating, and more eating
rolling to his tummy
being held
peek-a-boo


He had his doctor's visit once we got home. Here's the latest stats of our tall guy!

Height - 26 1/2 inches (above 90th percentile)
Weight - 13 lbs 14 ounces (about 25th percentile)
result - absolutely adorable

Happiest Vacation on Earth

Through my life, I've been lucky to get to go to Disneyland many times. As a kid, there were the annual November trips for my sisters to dance, plus an occasional summer jaunt. Now even as an adult, my parents have kept inviting us all along for some good times. When you think that we qualify for a group rate just about anywhere we go, you get a better idea of how crazy we are!

Disneyland is called "The Happiest Place on Earth" because it does what few places can. It is so much more than simply roller coasters, rides, and parades. Every time, I am transported to the world of fantasy and imagination, seen through the eyes of an innocent child. All that sprinkled with a little Pixie Dust makes any trip to Disneyland wonderful, and certainly worth the shin-splints and sore feet that are guaranteed when you do Disneyland "Partridge Style."

**Warning: This is a LONG post!**

Day One: Arrive
I remember the old commercials for Disneyland where the kids are too excited to sleep before going to bed, and then it cuts to the parents, who are also too excited to sleep. That's a little how our house was. I was up around 4AM because I had to make sure our "super secret" Hawaii video finished compiling and burning to DVD to take on the trip and give to Mom and Dad once everyone arrived. Then we finished packing, loading, locking, and hit the road.

We caravan-ed with Amy and Scott and made pretty good time, arriving at the hotel around 3:30PM. After we got checked in, a little unpacked, and freshened, Brett and Stephanie had arrived (read Ryan's blog for the story of his journey to Southern California). We gathered together and headed to California Adventure for some fun at A Bug's Land. About the time we were eating dinner, Mom, Dad, Kaley, and Chase made it to the hotel. Kaley and Chase joined us and then we made our plans for ambushing Mom and Dad with our Hawaii video. Fortunately, they called a family meeting.

Even though Ryan and Jennifer wouldn't be there, we decided it was the best opportunity, so after Mom and Dad's "welcome bags" we had them get comfortable and presented the video to them. As a side note, this was of our trip to Maui last year (actually we were there exactly a year ago). I got maybe a little too ambitious on this and it ended up almost 90 minutes long - possibly twice as long a family video as I've ever put together before. It was a lot of fun, and everyone was able to pitch in, but it was a big project.

Then it was getting later, so we got some of the kids settled down and towards bed. I took Katelyn with Scott, Bradley, and Bryson, and we went over to Disneyland to hit some rides in Tomorrowland. Katelyn loved Star Tours, since she's recently been exposed to the world of Star Wars. She also had fun on Astro Blasters and the Autopia. It was fun for me to just go around with her and let her be a big kid for a night, staying out a little later, and going on the rides with her older cousins. She was a trooper, even when her legs were too tired so I had to carry her back on my shoulders. We stayed until the park closed and then went to the hotel and to bed.

Day Two: Run
When you go to Disneyland, you better wear some comfortable shoes. We met downstairs in the lobby early by the fireplace to have a family prayer and then venture over to Disneyland. I don't remember all the rides we went on today, but we made it to a little of everything. I'll just say we didn't stop running for most of the day. Here are some highlights.


Toontown opened early, so we went there first. Megan visited Minnie's house. Both girls really liked Gadget's Go-Coaster, though neither know who Gadget is.

The girls' most anticipated ride was It's a Small World. (They listen to the song almost everynight on a single loop, and Megan sings and dances to it every chance she gets). They've recently updated Small World with characters from a lot of Disney movies, so that was fun for those who've seen it before.


As an end-of-summer treat for the girls, Cassi took them to get their toenails painted special for Disneyland.

Also in Fantasyland, we went on the Teacups. I rode with Katelyn, Megan, and Benjamin. This little video clip speaks volumes of how they felt about it.

Katelyn and Bryson must have the formula down, because they were both picked this time for Jedi Training. We dubbed Katelyn the "Hollywood Jedi." She kept on her sunglasses with her Jedi Robe for the whole training session.
The Autopia is a favorite of all the kids. I think Bradley probably drove the autopia 20 times during the whole trip. Megan certainly scared me with her driving skills! Her philosophy when you run into the guide? Let go of the wheel and laugh uncontrollably. Hopefully she'll learn a few more things over the next 13 years!
Day Three: Fly
Today was our first "Magic Morning" (early entry) day. We got to go in one hour before the normal park opening time. We made it to Finding Nemo (Ryan's and Brett's families' first time on that one) first and then finished off Fantasyland. Both Katelyn and Megan were tall enough and said they wanted to go on the Matterhorn, so we kindly obliged. I sat with Megan and held on to her tightly. Some of the kids liked it and some really didn't. Megan seemed pretty ok with it, except that she didn't like the "scary eyes." Adam got to see a lot of the Baby Care Center and his carrier in the stroller at Disneyland, but he didn't mind too much - as long as you picked him up every once in a while! I think this is also a good place to send a big thanks to Kaley and Chase for kind of "adopting" Katelyn for a lot of this trip. She and Megan both enjoyed a lot more rides because of their help.

Once California Adventure opened today, we headed that direction and saw a few "celebrities." Katelyn and Megan may have set a record of number of times on the Monster's Inc. ride in 20 minutes. There was no line, so we just kept running back on it. While in the Hollywood area, we saw the Aladdin show. It was really good, and the kids especially seemed to enjoy it - they were very well behaved.

We also ventured to one of the hidden treasures at California Adventure - the biggest treehouse I've ever seen in my life. Katelyn enjoyed the ropeline with Nathan several times. Katelyn and Benjamin also had some fun posing under the Golden Gate Bridge.

Day Four: Build
When Mom first brought up the idea for this trip, she wanted to go to a few parks. Most of us haven't been to Legoland at all or for a long time, so it seemed the perfect place to invade while we were in California. Before we drove out there, Mom and Dad made surprise arrangements for a fun character breakfast. We got to see Lilo, Stitch, Pluto, Minnie, Daisy, and maybe someone else I'm forgetting. Then it was off to Legoland.

Since we're so unfamiliar with this park, we decided to start at one end and work our way around, until it was time to go. In the end, we probably only saw half of the park, but I didn't hear the kids complain about that at all. They all had fun in the sprinkler areas, and in the bigger water play area (complete with pirate ships), not to mention the endless supply of Duplo/Legos to play with! The fire trucks were particularly fun for the big kids to race in - watch out for flying little ones!
After Legoland, we made our way back to Anaheim and got the kids settled for bed. After that, Ryan and Brett and I went back into Disneyland to unlock the secrets of the high scores on Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. During one of our rides, it actually broke down. They had to turn on the lights and walk us all out. It gave us a chance to talk to the Cast Member about the secret spot on Zurg's chest that's worth a lot of points, and techniques for scoring high points. Because it broke down, they gave us a special "readmission" ticket - kinda like a super-fastpass we could use on any ride in the park. We chose Space Mountain, and by the time we finished, the Astro Blasters were back online so we went on it a few last times until the park closed.

Day 5: Celebrate
Today was kind of a free-for-all day. The goal was to get on any ride we hadn't been on yet. Katelyn came with me to ride the Grizzly River Run. She liked it, since she didn't get too wet. We saw the Celebration parade, and Katelyn and Megan got to go out and dance with it.

A trip to Disneyland wouldn't be complete for my girls without doing the Disney Princess Royal Walk. We were lucky to find Jasmine, Ariel, and Belle this time. We should have some pictures to hang on Megan's wall pretty soon. I have to say that that for all we did this week, the longest line we waited in was for the princesses. I suppose it's fitting.


After the Walk, we let the girls pick out a face-painting design. Then we went on Small World again - this time with Adam too - before meeting back up with everyone else for a final Disney dinner.
At the end of a trip like this, I like to look for signs of success or failure in the eyes of the kids. I think this picture of Megan on the Monorail (our last ride) tells the true story.

I'm grateful to my parents for making this crazy trip possible so we could all be together as a big family, and I hope that my kids are starting to learn why Disneyland really lives up to the title "Happiest Place on Earth!"