The Rosenvalls...

Preschool Christmas Program

2011-12-16T13:32:00.000-08:00

This is Mia's first year of preschool and she is LOVING it. She goes to "Shining Stars Preschool" with Miss Michelle and we were totally lucky to get into this preschool. It's so fun to see all the new things she is learning. With starting preschool, I feel like it's just the start of Mia growing up {sniff, sniff}. She goes 2 days a week for 2 1/2 hours which is just perfect because it gives Merek and I some hangout time.

Mia just had her Christmas program and it was so cute. The program consisted of a few songs {and a little dancing too}, but most importantly a dancing life-size Santa that the kids thought was the coolest thing ever.

{Doing the Elf Train}

{Of course Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer}

{Ian, Bryce, Cade, Bailee, Owen, Mia, Whitney and London}

{Whitney and Mia just HAD to get a picture with the dancing Santa}

Show Biz Kids

2011-12-03T22:10:00.000-08:00

I put Mia in a little singing performance group, Show Biz Kids. She loves it and looks forward to going to class each week. They just had their Christmas performance and it was so cute. I must admit that it was more comical than anything. One of the songs they performed was "C is for the Christ Child." When it got to "M is for the manger where he lay," Mia blurts out "and M is for Mia." So funny. She also had a little speaking part. She had to say, "Even though Christmas has changed a lot over the years, we remember it all started with a little baby." I wasn't quite sure she was going to get up and do it, but sure enough she went right up to the microphone and said it word for word. She is learning some fun songs and it melts my heart to hear her singing these songs throughout the house.

The group also had the chance to ride on a float and perform in the Temecula light parade. I couldn't believe how big the parade was. I thought there would be a handful of floats. Nope. There were over 90 floats in the parade. It was crazy

Here she is with her little friend Rachael at the Christmas performance.

I had some other pictures, but none of them turned out because we couldn't get the flash to work right :(

A Utah Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T21:14:00.000-08:00

I love the holidays. If I had to pick one holiday as my very favorite, I would have to say that it's Thanksgiving. Last year, we decided to stay in California and I cooked my very first Thanksgiving. It was different and it was fun, but I missed our family's traditions and swore I would never miss another Utah Thanksgiving again. It's always fun to be in Fillmore for Thanksgiving. My mom makes the BEST Thanksgiving dinner. I hope one day I can measure up to her mad cooking skills.

Mia and her cousins Gavin and Devin.

The WHOLE Roper family was there this year!

The Elite table: Buck & Kirstin, Hailey & Jordan

First Turkey Day!

Merek and Gram. They're just about 7 weeks apart.

Christmas tree hunting!

Mia couldn't ingest enough snow!

Quality time with Grandma Great!

Each year the city of Fillmore puts on a light parade. This year my dad hooked the Apple Creek Farm wagon, decorated with lights, to the Percheron horses and we all rode in the wagon. It was so fun, but so cold.

Mia was not in the mood for Santa this year. But she did manage to tell him what she wanted this year. Whew! And Merek? Well he was home in bed while visions of Sugar Plums danced in his head!!

I'm 4-Months-Old Yo!

2011-11-25T22:08:00.000-08:00

This is How He Rolls....

2011-11-03T21:00:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that Merek started rolling today *sigh*! Thank goodness it's just tummy to back for now. I can't stand how fast he's growing up,

Skool is Kool!!

2011-11-01T21:04:00.000-07:00

Mia started preschool this week. Can you tell that she's so excited? Before we moved, I had her enrolled in a preschool in Oceanside and she was super excited to go to school. I debated whether or not to put her in school considering most schools were already 3 months in and the ones I looked into were already full. But it just so happened that the one school I wanted her in had an opening the first of November so it worked out perfect. She goes on Tuesday and Thursday for 2 1/2 hours. Mia's happy. I'm happy. Enough said!

HALLOWEEN

2011-10-31T20:43:00.000-07:00

Having a 3-year-old little girl is a dream (minus all the drama :) Everything is so magical to her. It took Mia a while to get into the whole princess craze, but she caught on and now she all princess. So of course she wanted to be, but who else for Halloween??.....Cinderella! And what a cute little Cinderella she is.

Our Halloween consisted of going to the ward Halloween party....

.....trick-or-treating....

......and a whole lotta candy!!!

Merek....a.k.a. "skunk" was just happy to go along for the ride!

Cutest little skunk I've seen.

PuMpKiNs!!

2011-10-28T23:23:00.000-07:00

Breaking News

2011-10-25T15:16:00.000-07:00

Merek is 3-months-old!!!

Merek's Blessing

2011-10-23T22:53:00.000-07:00

Bryan had to work in Utah for the week and so we all tagged along. I always love coming home and seeing our family and friends. We blessed Merek today in my parent's home. It was such a special day having both of our families and friends gathered together and Bryan gave the most beautiful blessing.

Grandma Rosenvall

Hailey, Jordan and Jeff

Kandice, Aunt Kelli and Grandma Great

Not the best picture, but what a handsome group!!

Like father, like son.

Mia's good friend Maddy!

The Grandmas

Finn & Michael

Mi Hermanos

Mi Familia

Handsome boy.

Sweet Sulivan Turns "1"

2011-10-15T19:49:00.000-07:00

While we were in Utah, we were able to attend Suli's Monster Bash for her 1st birthday. Her mom, Kirstin, is amazing and planned such a creative, fun birthday party. Happy Birthday Suli!

The spread

Pumpkins from Grandpa Roper's pumpkin patch.

These balloons (filled with a surprise) were strung all across the yard. The kids had a blast popping them.

Mia the lamb. She wore this costume for maybe 3 seconds and then ditched it. At least I got one picture of her in it.

Grandma Great and Mr. Man.

Grandma Roper and Mr. Man.

Cutest cupcake EVER!

Devin and Mia decorating pumpkins.

Lynn and Weston going to town on the doughnuts. Would do you think won......??

The ADORABLE birthday cake and the ADORABLE birthday girl.

Happy Birthday Sweet Suli!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.....

2011-10-07T09:56:00.000-07:00

Now most people believe that Christmas is the "most wonderful time of the year." While I do think that the Christmas season is fantastic, I can't even begin to tell you how much I love the fall. I love that the weather starts to cool down, the trees begin to change colors, burning warm scented candles and I all the fun fall festivities......including going to the pumpkin patch. If you couldn't tell by these pictures, Mia had a ball!!!

A Change'll Do You Good

2011-10-03T21:25:00.000-07:00

We have absolutely loved being here in O'Side. We love the weather, the people, the beach, etc. It has been such a great adventure for us. With several changes with Bryan's work, it has brought us to a new location (still in California) just a little more inland. We made the big move this past weekend. I must admit that it was really hard leaving our awesome friends, our ward family and the ocean. Over the last few years, it seems like we have experienced a lot of changes in our lives. I have learned to love change and embrace it in every aspect. So here's to new adventures.

In other news......

Mr. Man turns 2-months-old!!!

Check out this chunky little monkey:

At his 2-month appointment, he weighed in at 12 lbs. (50%) and 24 inches long (90%). With a dad standing at 5'6 and a mom at 5'1, this little man may just break out of the mold. He may get some height after all. He has been such a blessing in our lives and having a little boy in our family has been a dream come true.

I have Pulmomary what......?

2011-09-21T23:53:00.000-07:00

......Pulmonary Embolism. What is Pulmonary Embolism you may ask? Well, I will tell you because I learned more about it than I would ever care to know. A few weeks ago at 6 weeks postpartum, I started feeling well enough to start exercising. It felt so great to get out and start walking. Because I haven't gotten a double jogger yet, I put Mia in the stroller and strapped Merek into the Baby Bjourn. We headed to the boardwalk where we do our normal route and away we went. I clocked that we walked about 2 1/2 miles and it felt like a perfect amount of mileage to start out. The next day, I wasn't too sore and so I felt like hitting the pavement again. As I was finishing up my walk, I started to have a little pain in my shoulders but figured it was just a strain from carrying Merek (and the fact that I am so out of shape). The next morning, I started to feel it more in my chest and decided that it would be best to hold off on walking and so I took a couple days off. Over the next few days the pain became more intense instead of getting better. A friend of mine mentioned how she had dislocated a rib once and the symptoms sounded the same. Because it was the weekend, I decided to wait until Monday and go in and see the chiropractor to see if indeed that is what it was. On Sunday night the pain became so intense that I was having a hard time breathing. I was only able to take shallow breaths without feeling excruciating pain. It was making me really nervous and so I decided to get online and type in the symptoms I was having to see what came up. The one thing that caught my eye was blood clots. Just being a few weeks out from having a c-section, it could've been very possible. So, I waited until 6:00 am and called my mom because I had remembered my grandma had experienced blood clots in her lungs a few years ago and I wanted to see what symptoms she had. After telling my mom my symptoms, she told me to immediately go to the ER. I'm so glad I did because a chest x-ray and a CT scan confirmed that I had 2 clots: 1 in each of my lungs. I was shocked. Blood clots? I am too young to be having blood clots.

After the confirmation, I was admitted to the hospital where I stayed for 4 days. The doctor was unsure of the cause of the clots. Because my grandma has had them, they thought it could be a hereditary. Or, the likelihood of them forming from after having the c-section was very high. A panel of blood work was done to determine the cause. I was immediately put on Heparin injections as well as Coumadin to start thinning my blood. My sweet mom jetted down here from Utah so she could be with Mia and Merek during the day while Bryan was at work.

I was finally released from the hospital last Thursday and am already feeling so much better. Before I was discharged, the doctor had mentioned to me how lucky I was I came in when I did because there was a good chance they could've killed me had they been untreated.

During the time I spent in the hospital, I had a lot of time to think and to reflect on my life. I am so grateful for good health and also for modern medicine.....things I will never take for granted as long as I live.

So for now, I am on daily Coumadin and will most likely be on it for the next year. The majority of results from the blood work came back negative, but I'm still waiting to hear back on 2 more tests (one that will tell if I have Lupus and one that will determine if I have Factor V Leiden).

Because of this little incident, we were unable to make it to Utah for Apple Fest. I was so disappointed to not be able to be there for it this year. But, it ended up being a big success and from what I heard, it was a lot of fun too. I'm hoping to get some pictures and post them soon.

2011-09-10T17:21:00.000-07:00

***4th Annual Apple Fest***
In Memory of Kate Rosenvall

September 16th & 17th
Fillmore, UT

www.applefest.us

First Family Picture

2011-08-28T22:32:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we were able to get a family photo of the four of us. Since we have 9:00 church, I thought it would be a good idea to put some sponge curlers in Mia's hair the night before so it would be quick and easy getting her ready for church the next day. I knew her hair would be curly, but I had no idea it would turn out like this. Let me just say that this picture was taken after we got home from church and her hair had some time to relax. I asked her the other day if she wanted me to cut her hair and she said to me, "No mom! I like it wild."

I wanted to get a few pictures of Mia, but knew it would be a challenge as she does not like her picture taken. I sat her on the chair and told her to act like a lady and these were the results....

She totally crossed her legs on her own.

I love this little diva!

Random

2011-08-22T22:01:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few random pictures from the last few weeks.

Mustache Mayhem
This is perhaps the best $0.50 I've spent. Who knew a vending machine mustache could be so entertaining!

I call this look the "Blue Steel"

Check out those chubby cheeks!

Merek's first beach trip.

Mia in her element.

I captured this picture of Mia sporting Merek's cap and changing her baby's diaper.

I have to say that I was a little worried about how Mia was going to react to having to share the attention at home. It definitely has been an adjustment, but it has been so nice having an extra set of hands.

Happy Boy

2011-08-18T17:58:00.000-07:00

Rock A Bye Baby

2011-08-13T09:41:00.000-07:00

My incredibly talented dad handcrafted this beautiful cradle. This is such a special piece of furniture and Merek sure loves spending time in it.

He's such a happy content baby!

We're Home

2011-08-07T20:53:00.000-07:00

After 4 days of being in the hospital, we were definitely ready to get home and into a routine. Merek is such a sweet boy. We are loving every minute with him. When we left the hospital, he weighed 7 lbs. 4 oz. Dr. Warner wanted to see him in 2 days to make sure he was gaining weight. So, we took him into the office on Saturday to have him weighed. He had lost another 3 oz and was down to 7 lbs. 1 oz. He was showing a few signs of jaundice and so they wanted to keep tabs on him. Later in the week we took him back to have his weight checked again and he had gained 4 oz. and the signs of jaundice have diminished.

On Sunday, Bryan flew to Utah for a week for some work training. Thank goodness for moms!!! My mom, grandma and niece, Drew, came and stayed with us for the week. It was so wonderful having them here and they were such a big help with Mia, Merek and myself. The recovery this time around has been a lot slower than my last two c-sections and so it was nice to have the extra help and Mia loved all of the attention. Here are just a few pictures of our first week at home!

Grandma Great, Mia and Drew

Grandma Roper

The Grandmas

Such a proud big sissy

Merek's first bath. He loves his bath time. Having a boy is so much fun, but all I can say is thank goodness for the PeePee TeePee!

My good friend, Carolyn, meeting Merek for the first time.

Merek seems to be a professional sleeper (during the day....that is).

After not seeing the little man for almost a week, Bryan was so excited to see him. Mom, Grandma and Drew left on yesterday morning. It was so sad to see them go, but we're looking forward to seeing them when we visit Utah in September.

Mia loves holding Merek every chance she gets.....not sure if Merek is that big of a fan of it :)

The Newest Rosenvall

2011-07-25T16:12:00.000-07:00

The day we've been anxiously waiting for has finally arrived. Having had 2 previous c-sections, I have no other choice than to have c-sections from here on out. I have to say that there's something nice about knowing and planning when I'm going to go in and have my babies. I knew about 2 months prior that this little boy would make his grand debut on July 25th (my original due date was July 31st) and so the preparing and nesting began.

My surgery was originally scheduled for 7:30 am, but was later pushed back to 9:30 am. This made it nice because I was able to check-in at 7:30 instead of 5:30. The night before was like Christmas Eve as a child. I could barely sleep as I was so excited for what was to come the next morning (and maybe the fact that I was so uncomfortable it made it hard to sleep). That morning we dropped Mia off at the Brinton's and made our way down to Encinitas and arrived at Labor & Delivery a little before 7:30.

I got checked in and they got me settled into my room, administered an IV and started me on fluids. Dr. Langley came in and visited with us as well as the anesthesiologist. I was all set to go. Shortly before 9:30 Dr. Langley came in and said that the surgical assistant didn't show up and so they were trying to get a hold of him to figure out what the deal was. I guess there was a miscommunication with his schedule and so they had to find someone else who could come and assist. An hour later, we were all set to go. The one thing that I really don't look forward to is the spinal block. I really don't like the idea of a big needle being stuck into my spine and then slowly losing feeling from the chest down. The anesthesiologist was amazing and I can honestly say that the whole process was virtuously painless.

At approximately 11:03 am we welcomed our sweet baby boy weighing in at 7 lbs. 9 oz and 20 inches long. It took us until the 2nd day to name him. We thought we were set on the name Kaehl, but after seeing him, Kaehl just didn't seem to fit him and so we went with Merek James Rosenvall. He is absolutely perfect and it was love at first sight. I have to say that we were a little surprised at his size. I thought for sure I was carrying at least an 8 + lb. baby.

Because there was a sheet up, I couldn't see anything that was going on and so Bryan was there giving me a play-by-play report.

Once he arrived, the nurses took him for his assessment. I have to say that is the hardest part of having a c-section - not being able to hold my baby immediately. Once they finished getting him wrapped up, Bryan brought him over to me. This was the first time I laid my eyes on this sweet bundle of joy.

The next 4 days I spent in the hospital recovering. I'm not going to lie, I was ready to go home by the 2nd day, but am glad I took advantage of the time to relax and recover.

Mia couldn't wait to meet her little brother. She is constantly giving him kisses and wanting to hold him.

She's such a proud big sissy.

We loved having visitors from the Moffats....

......and Celine.

Finally on our way home!!

Sweet baby Merek.

Happy Birthday Sweet Kate

2011-07-15T20:45:00.000-07:00

It's hard for me to believe that we have celebrated 4 of Kate's birthdays without her. Over the past 4 years we have celebrated her birthday in various ways. One thing that I love to do is make a birthday cake. There's something therapeutic about focusing on something specific that day. Last year was a polka dot cake, the year before I did a butterfly cake and the year before that I did a ladybug cake. This year I let Mia choose what kind of cake she would want for her big sister and she told me "a Hello Kitty cake." So, Hello Kitty it was.

Last year we let off balloons at the beach; one balloon representing each year. It's hard for me to believe that she would've turned 5-years-old this year. We will be making this an annual tradition as it is something very sweet and special to us.

Happy Birthday sweet Kater Bugs. You are missed each and every day!

We love you!!!

~Your Loving Family

Fourth of July, Friends and a False Alarm

2011-07-05T20:04:00.000-07:00

I think I can count on one hand how many times I have not been in Fillmore for the 4th of July and this year is one of those times. With me being 3 weeks away from having this baby, we figured it was probably a good idea to stick around here. We love having visitors and were so glad to have the Lairds stay with us for a couple of days. Our weekend consisted of parades, beach, eating, beach, fireworks, beach and a trip to labor and delivery (thank goodness it was just a false alarm).

Oceanside had their annual parade on Saturday this year and so we headed to the PCH to check it out. It was a decent parade considering there was no candy throwing. It definitely didn't compare to a good old fashion Fillmore parade. Here's Mia being patriotic.

The Lairds arrived on Saturday night and on Sunday we drove to Coronado and spent the evening at the beach.

Crazy Girls

Cute little Delaney

As I mentioned above, I spent a couple hours in Labor & Delivery on July 4th. I don't know what it is about me being in the hospital the last 2 holidays, but thank goodness it was a false alarm. Lacey and Nate were good sports taking the girls to the CRAZY packed beach while Bryan and I were in the hospital. I was released in the early afternoon and we were able to get in some quality beach time.

Mia and Maddy in their matchy, matchy bathing suits.

Sand castle fun

Later that night we hit the firework show in San Marcos.

Three cheers for the Red, White & Blue!!!

Baby "Gary's" Sprinkle

2011-06-30T13:26:00.000-07:00

I am down to the very last month and am so ready to meet our little man. This pregnancy has definitely been a different one....not bad, not great.....just different. I don't know if it's because {a} it's a boy {b} It's my 3rd baby or {c} I'm just getting older. I'm sure it's a combination of all 3, but it's all been worth it. I have my c-section scheduled for Monday, July 25th and so I can finally see an end in sight.

When I first found out we were having a boy, Mia's cute little friend, McCall, said, "when my mommy has a baby boy his name is going to be Gary, but your baby can be named baby Gary #2." So, for all of this time we have been referring to him as Baby Gary. I think Mia is going to be a little disappointed when he gets here and his name isn't actually "Baby Gary." I just hope that we have another name picked out by then.

Last weekend my cute friends threw me a little "Sprinkle." It was anything but a sprinkle as I was showered with a lot of great baby boy gear. I have to say that it has been so much fun preparing for a little boy. We have been so used to pink, pink and more pink around here and so it's been a fun change.

Here are a few pictures from the Sprinkle Shindig:

Check out that cute banner.

The Spread

The Candy Bar

The Hostesses with the Mostestess:

Everything was amazing. They definitely need to go into party planning!
{Dana, Debbie Deb & Celine}

Having way too much fun at the Candy Bar
{Heidi, Amber, Kristin}

Cute Juanita and Grace

The Goods. Everyone was so overly generous!

I must say that these are going to come in very handy!

Baby Gary

Baby Sculpting
Mariah came up with the funnest game. We were given 1 piece of gum and had to sculpt a baby out of it. I must say that there were some pretty artistic ladies {myself not being one of them}.

Here are the results

Dana and cute little Brooklyn {Celine's baby}

All the lovely ladies

{Heidi, Mariah, Celine, Amber, Kelli, Holly, Kristin, Deb, Grace, Dana, Carolyn, Me, Juanita}

The fabulous, talented Grace whipped up this darling cake. As you can see not only does it look amazing, but tasted just as amazing as it looked.

I am looking {and feeling} well done. Let the countdown begin!!!

One Rad Dad

2011-06-19T21:52:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day to a man who loves his 2 little girls more than anything else!!

And....Happy Father's Day to the best Dad a girl could ask for!!!

Let The Summer Begin

2011-06-06T18:47:00.000-07:00

This week Mia started her swimming lessons and gymnastics. I signed her up 2 weeks ago and every morning when she would get up she would ask, "Is it time to go to my lessons?" This morning I was finally able to tell her "Yes! it's time for lessons." She loves being in the water, but has been relying on her floaties whenever she's in the pool and so I want her to learn some good swimming skills. So far so good!

I've been thinking about what activities to sign Mia up for the summer. She has so much energy and is always jumping around and doing little flips. I looked into dance and gymnastics and after doing a trial run of gymnastics, I knew this was something she would really love. The first time she went to class, however, she was so shy and didn't want to do any of the stretching exercises with the other kids. I thought, "oh no.....maybe this was not the best choice." But, as soon as it was time to go to the balance beam she was the first one in line.

Memorial Day and Kidney Stones

2011-06-05T22:34:00.000-07:00

We decided to make a last minute trip to Utah for the Memorial Day weekend. Being 31 weeks pregnant, I debated whether or not it was worth driving the 9 long hours but felt like it would be a while before would get back once our little man gets here. I'm so glad we were able to be there to decorate Kate's grave site. It was also so nice to see our families. Those were some of the highlights of our trip. Now here's the low light:

On Saturday night I started having some low back pain. No big deal, right? I decided to take it easy the rest of the night and see if the pain would subside. Well, it didn't. In fact, it got progressively worse. My first thought was that I was going into labor. The only thing was that the pain was constant and not like contractions.. The pain became so intense that I started vomiting. At this point my mom was on the phone with the ER while Bryan was trying to do what he could to console me. I've had kidney stones in the past, but never during pregnancy so the thought never crossed my mind that it could possibly be that. I was in so much pain that we rushed to the ER. When I got there we had to wait for the on-call doctor to get there before they could give me any pain medication and let me just say that it seemed like FOREVER before he got there. All symptoms pointed to kidney stones and a urinalysis confirmed that there was a high probability I could have them. So, they pumped me full of fluids and some Morphine to knock out the pain (which I was so grateful for). After being in the ER for about 4 hours, the pain was under control so they sent me home with some Percocet and wished me good luck as I would have to pass them on my own.

Sunday I felt much better and thought that the stones were gone. Only in my dreams. About 2:00 am I woke up in excruciating pain and the Percocet wasn't helping at all. Same scenario as the night before, but much more intense. Now, I have a high tolerance for pain, but this was like nothing I have ever experienced before in my whole life. So back to the ER I go. It was like deja vu. Luckily since I had been admitted the night before they were able to treat me as "out patient" and were able to immediately start me on the Morphine again. The only problem was that the pain was so bad that the Morphine wasn't even touching it. They were worried that the stone was too big to pass on my own, but the Fillmore Hospital didn't have an ultrasound to find out how big it was. They were worried that the pain was going to cause me to go into premature labor and felt like I needed to get up to Utah Valley. And to top it off, I had to be transported by ambulance because of the risk of respiratory distress. So, on Monday morning (Memorial Day) I took the very long, very expensive ride to Provo. I felt so ridiculous, but at that point I didn't care.....I just wanted to be put out of my misery. So to make a long story short, after x-rays, ultrasounds and an overnight hospital stay they couldn't see a stone large enough to have to be surgically removed (thank goodness). So, I was sent home knowing that I had no other choice than to just pass them on my own. The Percocet was helping to dull the pain and we made it back to Fillmore at about 2:00 pm. The worst part was knowing that we had that long 9 hour drive ahead of us. I debated whether or not Mia and I should stay for a couple of days until I knew I was out of the woods, but with the high risk of me going into labor I wanted to be close to my doctor in California. So we hit the road and happy to say I survived. Over the next week I passed at least 3 stones and hope that is the last of them!!! All I can say is that I would never wish kidney stones upon my worst enemy!!!

A Day In The Life Of Mia

2011-05-10T21:46:00.000-07:00

My most favorite photographer, {who also happens to be my sister-in-law}Kirstin Roper, came to visit with my brother, Weston and darling baby girl Sulivan. We absolutely love having visitors and had so much fun while they were here. Kirstin is so incredibly talented and has such an artistic eye when it comes to her photography. She had the idea to shoot a "Day in the Life of Mia" while they were here. Let me just say that she captured every little bit of Mia's personality. What I love is that Kirstin is so great at what she does that there is no photo editing.....what you see is what you get!! So, here's a peek into a day in the life of Mia.

To see the rest of the entire shoot, check out Kirstin's website:

http://kirstinroper.com/portraits/a-day-in-the-life-mia

One Lucky Mama!

2011-05-08T22:49:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to Me!!!

Easter 2011

2011-05-02T22:07:00.000-07:00

Easter was so much fun this year, despite the fact that we were away from our families. But, we made the best of it. We decided to hit the annual Carlsbad Eggstravaganza and Mia had a blast (well...we all did).

Mia spotted the Easter princess and was so excited. She just HAD to get a picture with her.

Scoping out the egg hunt and figuring out her strategy.

Get on your mark, get set.....

......and she's off!

Now that's one happy girl.

It was a LONG wait to see the bunny, but was all worth it.

Getting the royal treatment.....tiara and all.

Easter morning!

Don't ask me what she's trying to do here!

The MANY faces of Mia!

She's 3!!!

2011-04-21T21:03:00.000-07:00

Our baby is no longer a baby. How did this happen? It just seems like yesterday that this sweet baby girl came into this world and changed our lives. Every day is always an adventure with Mia. She keeps us hopping and her vivacious personality is constantly keeping us in stitches. Here are a few things I love about this 3-year-old:

1. I love that we can't be in the car without listening to "her song" and has to drive around with the windows down.

2. I love that every morning she comes into my room and says, "good morning sweetheart" and gives me a kiss and says, "The sun is awake. It's time to get up."

3. I love that she can go, go go all day long, but when it's time for bed she will cuddle up in my arms and let me sing songs to her.

4. I love when we are on our walks on the PCH she's selective about who she waves to passing by.....the motorcyclists.

5. I love that her favorite place to go is the bank so that she can get a sucker and a purple smiley face stamp on her hand.

We are truly blessed to have her in our lives.

1st Birthday

2nd Birthday

3rd Birthday

Party Like A 3-Year-Old

{Finn, Auden, Kara, Merek (hiding in the back), Julia, Beatrix and the birthday girl}

Pinwheels and Cuppie Cakes

Playdough Fun

Easter Egg Hunt Loot

Birthday Cake Goodness

Happy Birthday Miss Mia!!! You are so loved.

3 Years.....

2011-03-25T22:57:00.000-07:00

.....Has it really been that long? Three years since I held Kate for the last time, kissed those chubby little cheeks and said our goodbyes. It's been 3 years too long. I've replayed, in my mind, that day over and over again.....all those emotions I felt: sadness, anger, hopelessness, fear, comfort, gratitude, hope and ultimately LOVE.....a love that makes your heart ache. I thought I experienced the greatest love when I brought Kate into this world and couldn't imagine feeling any greater love until we had to let her go.....unconditional love beyond belief.

Kate was so sick. She struggled. She hurt. She endured many physical challenges in her short little life. But she was perfect to me. I wanted her here even with all of these challenges. I wanted to raise her. I wanted to spend hour after hour doing nothing but holding and cuddling her, singing and reading and soaking up all the love she filled my life with. I loved my life even with all the stresses of caring for a very sick child. All I wanted was for her to be here and life was good......very hard....but good. Was that selfish of me to want that? Probably, but I didn't care. The grieving process is an interesting journey. It's a day-by-day, minute-by-minute thing. I have learned so much over the last almost 5 years. My perspective has changed immensely. I think about the worries and cares I had before having Kate and it actually makes me giggle a little bit. Oh how it would be to only have those worries again.

I have realized on a whole different level the love that I have for my family. They are what matter most to me. I want to be with them forever. This whole experience of losing a child has changed my initial perspective of what life is all about. I want to be a better person. I think back on this day the past 2 years and I didn't know what to expect, how I would feel or how I would spend the day. It made me so anxious just to think about it. I wanted to just bypass this day and not have to face those unknown emotions. Looking back, those anniversary dates were hard. I cried. I felt sad. I wanted to stay in bed all day long and not have to face the day. The bottom line is I just plain felt sorry for myself. But I missed Kate. I didn't know how to turn that sadness into something good and positive. So this year, on this day, I wanted it to be different. I wanted to reflect on Kate's life and have this day be about her and not about poor me. I didn't want to spend the day crying and throwing myself a pity party. I've always felt good when I've involved myself in serving others and so I decided that I wanted to focus on someone else and do something of worth for them.

Today I had the opportunity to meet a medically challenged lady who needed assistance in going to a doctor appointment. Because of a previous brain injury, she has been unable to drive. The clinic is about 45 minutes from where she lives and so I had some time to visit with her and get to know her a little bit. She has not had the easiest life and has been faced with many different challenges. I listened as she expressed her anguish over an experience she had with her daughter that ultimately estranged them. Although our situations are completely different, we both share the heartache of losing a child.

Today was a happy day filled with many wonderful memories of our precious Angel Kate. I'm grateful for the experience and the opportunity I had to meet this sweet woman. So, the lesson I learned today is.....when you're feeling sorry for yourself, do something good for somebody else. It can greatly enrich your life.

OH BABY!

2011-03-21T22:24:00.000-07:00

Yes......we are so excited that we are adding baby #3 to the mix. And just when I feel like I've got this girl thing down, we get a BOY to shake things up a bit. I can't tell you how ecstatic we are to have a little boy! Mia is also so excited to have a baby brother, although she still refers to "him" as "her." I don't think she realizes that in just a few short months, she is going to be dethroned!!! Baby Rosenvall will make his debut in July and we can't wait!!!

{P.S.....isn't he handsome?}

L * U * C * K * Y

2011-03-17T22:29:00.000-07:00

What better way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day than with a "Green" Cuisine!

Green eggs, green pancakes....

...and green milk!

Bon Appetit!!!!

Mia-isms Part Deux...

2011-03-16T23:21:00.000-07:00

Mia and I were reading books before bed one night and I asked her "what color are the grapes?'" She said, "Orange! No, actually they're purple."

One Saturday we were out running errands. Bryan and I were discussing the places we needed to go when Mia interrupts and says, "Babe, can we go to Wally-Mart?"

We were out on a Sunday drive and Mia was throwing a little tantrum. Bryan gave her fair warning and told her if she didn't straighten up that he was going to pull the car over and give her a spanking. She kept at it and so Bryan abruptly pulled off to the side of the road and Mia bellows out, "OH GRACIOUS!"

Happy "100th" Birthday Grandma Roper

2011-03-08T21:24:00.000-08:00

Today my Grandma Roper would've turned 100 years old. She passed away 18 years ago and it's so hard for me to believe that she has been gone that long. My grandpa and her left quite a legacy. I have to admit that I have the coolest family and it's always a PARTY when we all get together. Last May Grandpa Roper would've turned 100 years old and our family threw a big SHEBANG to celebrate. One of that hardest things about living away from family is missing out on all of the fun get togethers. I was bummed that we weren't able to make it to Grandpa's celebration and I told myself that I won't miss another big party. So, Mia and I made a last minute trip to Utah and it was totally worth it.

A party isn't a party with the cake. As you can see here, this was one BIG cake. It was made with 8 half sheet cakes.

A masterpiece in the works. Grandma's favorite color was peach.

The die-cuts on here represent the many things that remind us of Grandma.....her love for her children and grandchildren, Rook (she loved playing cards with her grandchildren), candy making (specifically honey candy), diligent in writing in her journal, quilting, cooking/baking, their mission in Samoa, her love for music and of course she always wore sneakers. Grandma and Grandpa didn't have a clothes dryer and I have many memories of going to their house and there always being clean clothes out on the clothes line.

Yes, there were 100 candles to be exact!

Dad and his siblings

{L to R...Gary, Afton, Dot, Suzanne, Marj, Alan}

Mia is totally in her element on Grandpa's farm. She was found numerous times soliciting people to take her for rides on the wagon.

Buck serving up some king crab legs.

Mia and her cousin Matti were inseparable and had a ball dancing together.

Doing the Bunny Hop {a Roper tradition}

The wallflowers

Sea World

2011-02-24T22:44:00.000-08:00

We've lived in San Diego for over a year now and have yet to visit Sea World. Weston, Kirstin and Suli came to visit and so we spent the day at the park. Mia loved the dolphin show and her face says it all.....

Weston and sweet Sulivan

Happy "36th" Birthday!!!

2011-02-23T23:22:00.000-08:00

He just keeps getting better and better with age!!!

Hangin' With The Boys

2011-02-15T21:55:00.000-08:00

.......At the Science Museum at Balboa Park.

{Aiden, Gabriel, Mia & Hyrum}

Mormon Battalion Commemoration

2011-02-05T20:59:00.000-08:00

Last week we went down to Old Town for the commemoration of the Mormon Battalion's 146th anniversary. We've never been to visit the site, but heard it was a must-see. There were booths, marches, cooking demos and many other fun activities:

....Potato Sack Race

.......Jump Rope

.....Hansen's in full Battalion attire

.......Biscuit roasting

.....Biscuit eating

......And some R & R

What Makes Me Happy.......

2011-02-01T21:49:00.000-08:00

........THIS!!

There's nothing I love more than tucking this sweet girl into bed. I love that she has to make sure Bun Bun {bunny} has a new diaper and jammies on every night. I love that she insists on having "fresh water with ice!" I love being a mom!!!

Mia-isms

2011-01-11T21:15:00.000-08:00

* The other morning as I was putting on my make-up Mia says, "Cute make-up......good job Mom!!!"

* Since Santa took Mia's Binky on Christmas Eve, we thought we have seen the last of the Binky. Well, yesterday she was up playing in her room and came to me waving a Binky {Oh no! Where in the world did that come from} in her hand saying, "MOM.....look what Santa left for me."

* Mia was acting up and so I gave her a little spank and she said to me, "Hey! That was SO not nice, Mom."

Feliz Navidad

2010-12-29T22:21:00.000-08:00

Christmas has come and gone and I can hardly believe that we are almost into a new year. I am amazed how quickly time goes. They say "time flies when you're having fun," so I guess we're having too much fun!!! We had a great Christmas, other than the fact that we were away from our families. I have to say that having a 2 1/2 year old just adds to the magic of Christmas. Mia soaked up every aspect of the holiday. She made sure to add "Santi Claus" in all of her prayers. She was so excited to leave cookies for him and was feeling extra generous that she graciously left her Binky for him to take in exchange for gifts. So, yes, we are officially Binky-less (hooray!). Thank you jolly ol' fella! So, here's how we spent our holidays.

We spent our holiday in Brutal......

....BRUTAL

.....BRUTAL weather!!!

I didn't get around to sending out a Christmas card this year, but I sure did enjoy receiving them. There will always be next year, right? So, here is an attempt for a {sort of} holiday family photo.

CHRISTMAS EVE

We spent Christmas Eve with the Moffat fam in Fallbrook. Johnathan's family was so gracious to host 3 extras this year and we are so grateful for their hospitality. After a delicious dinner we read from Luke 2 and then the Moffat's continued their holiday tradition of opening Christmas PJ's. Beth (Johnathan's mom) didn't want Mia to feel left out in the gift opening and so she got to open up a gift containing this darling princess veil. As you can tell, Mia LOVES it!!!

Poor Johnathan taking a beating from the kiddos. He's such a good sport.

When we got home, Mia opened her pre-Christmas gift.....jammies!

On our last trip to Utah, Mia got an early Christmas gift from her Grandma Roper......a ladybug Pillow Pet. She LOVES her Pillow Pet and was so excited that her PJ's matched.

Leaving cookies for Santi Claus. Mia had to test them to make sure Santi was going to like them.

As you can see, Mia was feeling generous by leaving her Binky for Santa (yes, at 2 1/2, she still thinks she needs one much to my dismay). Well, the Binky is officially gone and we (Bryan and I) are thrilled. However, the other day Mia was up playing in her room and came to me with a Binky in hand saying, "Mom.....look what Santi Claus left for me." Oh no!! Luckily, she's over it and we were able to throw it away with no tears. Whew!!!

CHRISTMAS MORNING

Santa Delivers!! Woot Woot!

She was so excited when she saw her new drawing board that she had no interest in opening any of her other gifts....go figure. So, the gift opening ended up being an all-day ordeal. Luckily, she only had a few to open.

After the Christmas morning festivities, we spent the afternoon at the beach. It was such a beautiful, warm day.

Mia testing out her new bubbles!

Oh how I love this sweet face!

We hope that you all enjoyed your holiday season and wish you a Happy New Year!!!

Ahhhh.....December! Where are you going?

2010-12-20T23:20:00.000-08:00

Here it is the 20th of December and I'm sitting here thinking, "where did this month go?" I love the holiday season. This year has been full of fun new traditions and adventures for our family and we are so grateful for both. We decided to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas here in California as we had a wedding in Utah the second weekend in December. So instead of making 2 back-to-back trips, we decided to go to Utah for the wedding and celebrate Christmas a little early with our families while there. I forget how much I miss the snow during the holidays. Don't get me wrong, I have really loved being able to wear flip-flops and shorts year-round, but there's just something about having snow during Christmas time that really gets me in the Christmas spirit (although, there wasn't much snow while we were there)!
So here's a little peek of our December! We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a bright Happy New Year!!!

Instead of trekking up a mountain in the snow, our Christmas tree hunting experience was a little different this year and quite easy, actually. We headed to a tree lot and picked out the most beautiful, fragrant Noble Fir. Here Mia and Bryan are testing it to make sure it produces enough sap. I think we have a winner!

Forget the trees, Mia was enamored by the dancing Santa and Mrs. Claus.

This has been such a fun year as Mia is loving the "magic" of Christmas. She was so helpful putting the lights on and had to make sure that every branch was covered.

We've loved having lots of play dates with miss Julia!

And of course......Santa, Santa, SANTA!!!

Little Santa....

Scary Santa....

.....and Yummy Santa!!!

We have been waiting a LONG time for this day to come. Stan FINALLY got hitched!!! Let me tell you a little bit about our good friend Stan. Let's just say we are forever indebted to this man.....or at least that's what he likes to say. You see, he is the cupid that set Bryan and I up 7 years ago. So yes, Stan, we are forever indebted to you!!! Congrats to you and Melinda!!

It has been many, many years since these guys were all together. It was a fun reunion!

While in Utah we got to meet sweet Sulivan for the first time. Isn't she a doll? We were also able to be there for her blessing! It was such a special day

Mia couldn't get enough of little Suli. She reminds me often how much she wants a baby sister!!!

All the Roper cousins

Oh and last but not least......White Elephant Extravaganza!!!

We hosted a holiday party this year along with the Moffats and had a ball. Nothing says "Happy Holidays" like a Christmas spread and white elephant gift exchange. I must say that the term "white elephant" has evolved over the years. There were some pretty legit gifts given (i.e. a working scanner, the Harry Potter book series, a duct tape wallet (hand-made), and a Shake Weight (see picture below)!

These adult "cross bone and skull footsies" were sure a big hit!

Bryan secretly was hoping he'd get the Shake Weight.....and his wish came true. I {obviously} thought it was pretty funny.....can't you tell?

Stay tuned for more Holiday FUN!!!

Girls Will Be Girls....

2010-11-19T23:49:00.000-08:00

Today Mia told me that she wanted to dress up as a princess. She's so funny because she really hasn't shown much interest in princesses......until now. Last Christmas her cousins gave her some princess shoes and a crown and the only time she really shows any desire to wear them is when her little friends come over and want to play dress-up.

So dressing up like a princess requires a princess dress. And without a princess dress, we improvised....

HaPpY hAlLoWeEn

2010-11-03T22:20:00.000-07:00

I honestly can't look at these pictures without absolutely cracking up. Mia loved dressing up. She thought it was the greatest thing to be able to color her hair black. I, on the other hand, didn't think it was the greatest idea. That stuff is MESSY. However, it was totally worth it in the end {just in laughs}.

Our ward combined with the Oceanside 1st ward for the annual Halloween party and trunk-or-treating. What could be better than a chili cook-off, cupcake contest, costume parade and trunk-or-treating. Mia was apparently unrecognizable. Her little friend, Kara, was a little confused {see picture below}.

Mia had a ball at the trunk-or-treat. As did we. After 5 years, we brought the Sugar Daddy and Sugar Babies' costumes out of retirement.

PuMpKiNs

2010-11-03T22:00:00.000-07:00

This year was so much fun carving pumpkins with Mia. Unlike last year, she understood what it was all about and thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Julian For A Day

2010-11-03T21:45:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago we headed for the hills to spend the day in Julian. It's this charming little mining town nestled in the Cuyamaca Mountains. It was such a beautiful fall day and was nice getting out of the city for a day.

The town is all about aPpLeS!!!

{The apple dumplings tasted even better than they looked}

{Deb & Little waiting for lunch}

{Mia performing her dancing skillz. She had quite an audience!}

{.....and more dancing}

Shower the People You Love....

2010-11-03T21:11:00.000-07:00

I love baby showers. I love the food, hanging out with girl friends and seeing all the cute baby paraphernalia. My sweet friend, Celine, is expecting her first baby girl the middle of November. A few weeks ago she had her shower and I must admit that I left a little bit baby hungry {just a bit} :)

{The guest of honor}

BABY UPDATE....

Brooklyn Elise was born 3 weeks early....just a few days after the baby shower and is cute as can be. Congrats Celine & Cameron!!!

Listos: Mommy & Me Pre-School

2010-11-03T20:36:00.000-07:00

Mia and I attended our first "Mommy & Me" preschool. We did everything from finger painting to "pretend" shopping for vegetables and gourds to making crafts to music time to face-painting. It was a ball and we met some fun friends.

{She looks so grown up in this picture}

{Getting her "Gourd" on}

{Face Painting Fun}

{Jacob and Mia making music}

{My budding little artist}

{Mia and Jack checking out the bugs}

Playing Catch-Up

2010-10-17T23:28:00.000-07:00

There are times when there's a lull in life and things are pretty chill and then there are times when it seems that you don't have one free second. Well, my life the last couple of months has been just that. At the moment I'm going to say that there is a lull {knock on wood} and so I'm getting caught up on those things that have been put on the back-burner. Catching up on my blog is definitely at the top of my list of things to do. So, here's what we've been up to the last few months. {CAUTION.....many posts to follow}. Stay tuned for even more happenings.

Beach Corn Boil

A few weeks ago we got together with some friends for a corn boil at the beach. I must admit that I had never heard of a corn boil. Basically you fill a tin garbage can full of sea water, prop it over a fire pit and let the corn boil. It is so delicious. We also cooked tin-foil dinners and S'mores. Good times!

Fun at the beach!

Little and Mia waiting patiently for dinner!

Jonathan and Dan gearing up for the boil.

Corn boil in action!

......and the finished product. Delicious!

Bryan was totally bummed he missed out on the first corn boil. He had a camp out with the YM that weekend. Looks like we will be doing it again SOON!!!

Date Night With The Angels and The Robertson's

2010-10-17T23:16:00.000-07:00

I'm not a huge baseball fan, but I love going to the games. We met Steve and Lynnley there and spent more time chit-chatting than actually watching the game {well at least Lynnley and I did}.

Let 'Em Eat Cake!

2010-10-17T23:01:00.000-07:00

On August 23rd, my good friend Deb {a.k.a. Debbie Deb....as Mia calls her} celebrated birthday #31. Her sweet hubby got her the Cricut cake cutter and so she hosted a cake decorating party to try out her new toy. There's one thing about Deb......she sure knows how to throw a party.

This thing is complicated. It looks much more user-friendly than it actually is. If you've ever tried it, you know what I mean!!!!

All the fun toys!

Debbie Deb working her gum paste magic!

All the lovely ladies!

Here are just a few end results.

Daddy Daughter Date

2010-10-17T22:40:00.000-07:00

Our friends, the Leishmans, were here in August visiting for the weekend and it was been so much fun spending some time with them and catching up. Bryan took a {much needed} day off of work and spent the day at Legoland with Mia, Mike and his 2 boys. Shortly after they left I get a text from Bryan informing me that between 2 adults and 3 kids they spent a total of $58 on admission. I thought to myself, "hmmm.....that doesn't add up." With the discount passes, we figured it would cost around $150. Well for those of you who know Bryan, you know he is a wheeling-dealing kindda guy. So to make a long story short, we ended up having to attend a Hilton timeshare presentation in exchange for $100 gift certificate to Legoland. I've been to a few timeshare presentations and it's probably on my list of least favorite things to do. However, when it comes to saving a buck.....I'm all over it.

Mike, McKay & Talmage

Miss Mia teaching Talmage a thing or two about driving.

Bryan's such a good daddy. They had a ball and it was a {much needed} break for me :) Total win-win situation.

A Visit From The Ropers

2010-10-17T22:14:00.001-07:00

Back in August Greg, SuSan and the kids came down for a mini vacation. We had so much fun and Mia was in HEAVEN with her cousins here. Much of the time spent was at the beach. The kids had a ball playing in the water and building sand castles.

We took the ferry and spent the day on Coronado. I love Coronado. It's such a fun, quaint little island.

I love these pictures of the kids.

Mia and Gavin are such good little friends.

This is a true sign that we had way too much fun :)

Pool Dayz

2010-10-17T21:36:00.000-07:00

Any excuse to hang out at the pool....we'll take it. We had quite a few pool dates during the summer, which Mia loved.

Mia has turned into a little swim fish over the summer. Just put some floaties on her and she could swim for hours.

The highlight after a day of being at the pool......the showers. Don't ask me why this is so intriguing, but they love it almost as much as the pool!

Apple Fest 2010

2010-10-10T21:09:00.000-07:00

Apple Fest was so much fun this year and we just want to thank everyone who came out to have a fun time and support this great cause. This year half the proceeds from Apple Fest were donated to Primary Children's Medical Center and half donated to South Davis Hospital. This has been such a fun tradition to honor sweet Kate. We are already looking forward to Apple Fest 2011!!!

After spending 3 weeks in Utah, it's taken me some to get back into the swing of things since I've been back in California....and that includes updating my blog. Stay tuned for pictures from Apple Fest and other happenings.

Announcing the 3rd Annual Apple Fest and 5k/10k Run in Memory of Kate

2010-08-21T23:51:00.000-07:00

September 17th & 18th, 2010
Fillmore, UT

We have had so much fun doing Apple Fest the past 2 years that we're bringing it back. This has been such a fun tradition for us to honor Kate's life. This is an event for all and consider this is your personal invitation to come join the fun.

For information and a schedule of events for Apple Fest and to register for the 5k/10k run, go to: www.applefest.us.

We look forward to seeing you there!!!!

2010-08-04T13:05:00.000-07:00

The Beach + Marshmallow Roasting + S'mores=

One Happy Little Girl!!

Goodbye Elder Jenkins

2010-08-01T23:24:00.000-07:00

We love having the missionaries over. We have the opportunity to have them over for dinner a couple of times a month. Both Elder Jenkins and Elder Cramer are from Utah and Elder Jenkins has been serving in O'Side since we moved here. Unfortunately {for us} he got transferred. We sure are going to miss him!!!

The Mia Show

2010-07-26T20:09:00.000-07:00

While we were in Utah my talented, creative, artistic, talented {did I mention talented?} sister-in-law, Kirstin, {http://kirstinroper.com/} snapped a few pictures of Mia. She has such a talent for capturing personality. So, without further adieu.....here are just a few of my favorites:

Happy Birthday Kate!!

2010-07-15T22:37:00.001-07:00

In a perfect world, I should be planning a party......maybe a princess party, or a tea party or maybe even a polka dot party {wouldn't that be fun?} In a perfect world I would have spent time shopping for the perfect little party dress and the perfect birthday present for the perfect little birthday girl. In a perfect world, our sweet baby Kate would still be here with us to celebrate her 4th birthday. The harsh reality is that life is not perfect and there are many situations in life that we cannot control. However, there are many situations that we CAN control. We can take the challenges that life gives us and let them define who we are or we can take what we're given, learn from it and try to better ourselves. In a perfect world, it should be easy as that. But it's not always that simple! Bryan found this quote that I often refer to:

"Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections. Master this and you've mastered you. Life is a constant adjustment of your mental and emotional sails. Life, like the wind, is always changing - that's a given. How you adjust the sails is your choice, though challenging at times, keep adjusting." ~ Unknown

So with that being said......when life hands you salt, make a yummy birthday cake!!!!

When it comes to Kate's "angel day," her birthday, Memorial Day, etc. I never know how I'm going to feel. So, I approach these days with no expectations, no set plans and just allow myself to feel whatever emotion I am feeling. Every year for her birthday I make a cake {that's a given} and I challenge myself to try something new. So this year, I attempted fondant. I have to say fondant has always intimidated me, but surprisingly it wasn't as difficult as I had anticipated and it was so much fun to work with. I honestly had no idea what fondant was even made of.......two ingredients is all. Yup, just marshmallow and confectioner's sugar. Can you believe it? I will admit that it was time consuming, but very therapeutic.

Later that evening we spent some time at the beach. We got 4 pink balloons representing the 4 sweet years Kate has been in our lives and one-by-one Mia let them go. It was such a sweet moment.

{Insert beach pictures here}

In a perfect world, computers would always function properly and not delete precious pictures. Unfortunately, we lost all the pictures we took at the beach. But all-in-all, it was a very special day.

Happy Birthday to our Sweet Angel Kate!!Kate's 1st birthday
July 15, 2007

Ohh La La

2010-07-10T23:51:00.001-07:00

6 Years ago {Yesterday} I married this handsome hunk:

U * T * A * H

2010-07-08T21:41:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh........Home-Sweet-Home

We had such a fantastic time in Utah visiting with family and friends. There were many, many, many highlights to our trip and only 1 lowlight......the time went by way too fast. Here are just a few of the highlights {okay, A LOT of highlights} in no particular order:

#1. Fountains at the Gateway

#2. Boating at Yuba Lake

#3.Decorating bikes.......

......And riding them in the Children's Parade

#4. Kicking it with the kids

#5. Celebrating Independence Day, Filly Style

#6. Mia seeing her BFF, Jaylee
#7. FIREWORKS

#8. Playing with {Pestering} Wanda

#9. Spending time at the cemetery

#10. Water, Water, Water......

........and More Water #11. Flirting with Frogs

#12. Spending time on Grandpa Roper's Farm

#13. Celebrating Grandma & Grandpa Rich's 73rd Wedding anniversary
{Yes, I said 73rd}

#14. And last but not least......Welcoming Home Elder Roper!!!

One Binky, Two Binky, Three Binky, Four.......

2010-06-09T23:57:00.000-07:00

........Five Binky, Six Binky, Seven Binky......

......Oh no, we've got a BIG problem!!!!

Disclaimer.....the binkies in the potty are now in the possession of the "Binky Fairy."

Remembering Our Katerbug

2010-05-31T23:03:00.001-07:00

I think the hardest part about living in California is being so far away from Kate's grave site. Although I've never really felt the need to spend time there to feel comfort, I do love visiting the beautiful cemetery and decorating her grave site. {I must say the Fillmore Cemetery is one of the most beautiful, peaceful cemeteries I've been to}. I miss being able to jump in the car and drive the 1 1/2 hours, especially on special occasions as her "angel" day, Memorial Day and her birthday. But, it's so great to have such a wonderful family who visits often and makes sures Kate's grave site is well kept and decorated ohhh so cute.

Greg & SuSan's kids {Will, Drew, Gavin & Devin}

The Rosenvall motto for 2010 is: New adventures, new traditions. For as long as I can remember, we have always spent Memorial Day weekend in Fillmore. Since we were not able to be there this year, we decided that we needed to start some new traditions. So, we spent the morning at the Oceanside tri-ward annual military tribute and breakfast. As part of our ward boundaries cover Camp Pendleton, we have quite a few military families in our ward. I feel so grateful for those who put their lives on the line to fight for the freedom of our country.

The rest of the day was spent at the beach, talking about Kate and shopping for a new camera. Apparently sand and cameras don't mix. So, the camera has been out of commission the past couple of weeks, hence the lack of pictures. However, I did manage to snap a shot with my phone of this sassy little thing........

Girl's Weekend

2010-05-17T23:23:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, six of my best girlfriends came to Cali for a girl's weekend. It's been over a year and a half since we were all together. We spent the weekend lounging at the beach, shopping and eating, eating and eating some more. I feel so lucky to have such incredible influences in my life.
Bryan and Mia had a daddy/daughter weekend, so this was a win-win deal! He's such a great sport!

A Special Day For Moms

2010-05-17T23:18:00.000-07:00

I have to say that I am the luckiest mom around. I have been blessed with 2 beautiful daughters, who I absolutely love and adore. There is no better career for me than being a mommy.
I'm also the luckiest daughter to have such a beautiful, charitable, selfless mother. I can only hope to be half the mother to my children that she is to me.
It was such a great weekend. I heard a rumor that there was a new Cafe Rio in Lake Forest {about 30 miles away}. It's been 4 1/2 months since I have devoured a grilled chicken salad and have been craving one ever since we moved. So to celebrate being a mommy I chose to dine at Cafe Rio and it was worth every bite {and every mile driven}. Afterward, we drove to Newport Beach to get a cupcake from Sprinkles. Much to my dismay, the line was a bazillion miles long. Now, I love me a good Sprinkles cupcake, but I'm not crazy enough to wait in line for 10 hours to get one. So, we settled for a Susie's Cakes cupcake and it was oh so good!Mother's Day itself was awesome. The bishopric of our ward {with the help of the wives} put together a special luncheon for all the relief society sisters. During the 3rd block we enjoyed some yummy food and listened to stories of mother's of the prophets. I've never heard of other wards doing this, so it was a real treat......Only in California.

Later that evening, my good friend Michelle and her sweet baby Elizabeth came over for dinner. Michelle's husband was just deployed and I was so happy to spend Mother's Day with this amazing mother.

Miss Elizabeth and Mia. Silly girls.

Happy Mother's Day to all you amazing, hard-working mothers out there. You are so loved and appreciated!

San Diego Wild Animal Park

2010-05-17T23:01:00.000-07:00

Elephants, Giraffes, Lions, Tigers and Bears are for the birds.......or so Mia thinks. She prefers just hanging out with these feathery friends.

We found this darling little ladybug and thought it would fit in perfectly at Kate's grave site.

U * T * A * H

2010-05-17T22:40:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Mia and I had the chance to go to Utah and visit my family. Since Bryan was out of town for the week, I decided that I had better get one more flight in before we have to start paying for a plane ticket for Mia. It was so great seeing my family and Mia had a ball with all of her cousins.Drew, Devin, Mia and Gavin doing what kids to best!

Four Generations

My mom, Grandma Christensen {Great}, Mia and I

Grandpa Great

Grandma Great

Uncle Buck {Weston}, Kirstin, Motley & Cash came and met us before we flew home.

Kisses from Cash

LA Ragnar

2010-05-17T21:56:00.000-07:00

Team Jaydie
April 23-24, 2010

A few weekds ago I get a phone call from my cousin's wife, Jen, who lives in Arizona and they had 2 teams put together for the LA Ragnar. One of the members of their team had gotten an injury and therefore had to drop out of the race. Jen thought of me, bless her heart, and since I hadn't done a single race since November I said "sign me up." So, a week and a half later we met for a weekend full of aches and pains, very little sleep and over 200 miles of crazy running fanatics! The LA Ragnar is actually quite new to the series. In fact, this was only the second year. We started the race in Ventura, CA and ended in Dana Point,CA. It was so much fun and I met some pretty cool people, not to mention got to spend some time with Matt and Jen.

Vans 1 and 2 at the starting line

Jen and I 5 miles into our 10 mile leg! 10 miles down....12 miles left to go!
Team Jaydie 1 and Team Jaydie 2 at the finish line.

We're Bringing Curly Back.....Yeah!

2010-04-25T22:03:00.000-07:00

I have forgotten how much I miss Mia's curly hair. I knew I was going to have a busy Sunday, so I figured I would put curlers in the night before to make for a quick "do" for church this morning. Note to self....the longer the curlers are in the tighter the curls:)

BEFORE.....

.......And Wallah!!!

Happy Birthday Miss Mia

2010-04-21T23:27:00.001-07:00

I hate to even think about Mia turning 2-years-old already. I just want time to stand still and have her stay this age forever. It seems like I say this at every stage she goes through, but I have to say that this stage is, by far, my favorite. I love watching Mia's personality evolve. She is spunky, vivacious and is constantly making us laugh. I love that she is starting to talk in sentences. Her most current words are, "I wuv you" and "I'm two." She loves lip gloss, which she calls "lipee", gum which she calls "gummy" and long walks on the beach. I sure do love this girl.

We had plans to spend the day at Disney, but we've been getting so much rain the last few days that we decided to postpone it until next week. So we celebrated at home with gifts and birthday cake. What a perfect day. Happy Birthday Miss Mia!!!

Little was so excited for the gift she got Mia that she wasted no time helping her unwrap it.

Easter Lovely Easter

2010-04-06T15:37:00.001-07:00

Easter Deliciousness

Easter Greatfulness

Easter Blissfullness

Easter Loot Goodness

Easter Egg Hunt Successfullness

......oh and I'll add in a little Easter Earthquake Scariness!!!!

Kites and KupKakes for Kate

2010-03-25T21:35:00.000-07:00

2 years!!! Gosh, is it possible that it has been 2 years since we said goodbye to our sweet baby girl? The grieving process is an every day occurrence. There is not one day that goes by that I don't think about Kate. I miss her little button nose, her beautiful brown head of hair. I miss the oxygen cannula that became her signature. I miss sitting on the couch for hours holding and loving on her. Most of all......I just plain miss her. Life can be hard and unfair. But, one thing I have learned these past two years is that happiness is a choice. Everyone has hard challenges and trials in their lives and the true test is learning how to embrace what you have been given, learn from it and hopefully come out a better person. I feel like life is my teacher and I am the student. Since we were not able to go and visit Kate's grave site on her anniversary this year, some people have asked if it has been difficult. For some reason I've never felt comfort visiting her grave site. But, I do love going and decorating and making sure it is well kept, so that was hard not being able to do. What I have found that makes these special days memorable is doing something fun......celebrating Kate's life. As Mia gets older, I want these days to be something exciting and something to look forward to, kind of like a holiday. I don't want her growing up thinking that it is a sad day. So this year we spent the day at the beach flying kites, talking about Kate and then indulging in pretty pink cupcakes. Even better......my best friendTreo and her family were here staying with us for a few days. I would be lying if I said that there weren't breakdowns leading up to this day and the days following, but all-in-all it was a beautiful day. I'm so grateful for the calls, texts, messages, cards, flowers and many thoughts from our friends and family. Thank you!

We had so much fun writing and playing in the sand.

Treo, Miss Jaylee Joy and Nolan

Nolan is such a pro kite flyer. He especially specializes in pretty pink Barbie kites.

Treo's not too shabby herself!

Family Sanders

Family Rosenvall

Mini Kite Flyer Mia

My BFF Treo. Twenty {20} years and counting!

From the look on Jaylee's face......you know exactly what she's thinking. "Mmmmmm!"

Mia wasted no time at all!

We're so glad we had someone to spend this special day with. Thanks Sander's. We can't wait for you to come back!

R a N d O m N e S s

2010-03-23T20:48:00.000-07:00

There are 2 things that are just plain UN ENJOYABLE with a 2-year-old: 1) Eating out and 2) shopping. I was out and about and decided to stop and browse TJ Maxx {I love, love the Maxx}. There were a few things that I thought were "try on worthy" and so off to the dressing room we go. I was greeted by a cute little Asian lady {who spoke little English}. Seeing Mia in the cart, she led us into a "bigger" room with a curtain door. I proceeded to try on a shirt when Mia started exercising her lungs. Next thing I know, cute little Asian lady draws the curtain door open and says...."shhhhh." Uhhh.....are you kidding me? Good thing I was fully dressed. Okay, no big deal, right? Wrong! A few minutes passed and I was changing back into my own clothes when helpful dressing room attendant barges in, YET AGAIN, with a stuffed animal shaking it at Mia {Bless her heart.....she was trying to be so helpful...hee hee}. Here I am in all my glory having NO idea what to say or what to do, but I'm pretty sure that this is not appropriate "dressing room attendant etiquette." Lucky for cute little dressing room attendant, I have a pretty good sense of humor and this was just a highlight of my day!!!

In other Rosenvall news.....here's what we've been up to:

Viva Las Vegas

We met my family in Vegas for the Mountain West Conference Championship a few weeks ago. Vegas is a PERFECT meeting point as it is a half-way point. It was so great seeing them and made me a little homesick. Even though the Cougs choked.....we had a great time cheering on San Diego in the end. Mia especially had fun with her cousins.

For some reason, my camera was totally bias to these two.....

Isn't Will a handsome little devil??

Totally caught red-handed!! Watch out slot machines, I think we've got a potential gambler on our hands. Too bad there was no loot to be found!

Oceanside Farmer's Market

Oceanside has the BEST Farmer's Market every Thursday. They have everything from baked goods to flowers to heavenly homemade hummus (my personal favorite) to this balloon man....

Deb modeling this lovely ladybug balloon bracelet!

Oceanside to San Diego.....Coaster style

Saturday we thought it would be a fun adventure to take the Coaster train to downtown San Diego. The coaster runs parallel to the 101, so if you sit on the upper deck of the train you get an amazing view.

While in San D we had to go to Seaport Village to see the birds.

Mia was much more receptive to the birds this time around than the last time we were here.

Disney for a Day

We decided to get annual passes to Disneyland. We're about an hour from Anaheim, so we figured it would be worth getting passes, especially when it only cost me $116. If you've been to D-land before, you know how expensive day passes are so using the pass twice basically pays for itself. Yay! Deb and Little {McCall} spent the day with us at the "Happiest Place on Earth."
Treo {my bestest friend growing up} was there with her family, so she spent the day with us while her hubby, Nolan, went back to the hotel with Miss Jaylee for nap time. What a good hubby!

And of course.......

Beach Time!!!

.....with my 2 favorite peeps!

Beach Babes

2010-03-08T21:50:00.001-08:00

Our buddies {Brandi & Tess} came for a visit this past weekend....and a BEAUTIFUL weekend for them to come! The weather was awesome and so we took advantage by spending a day at the beach. The water was still a bit chilly to swim, but we had fun finding seashells and playing in the sand. I must admit I love the beach minus the sand.....I'm still washing it out of Mia's hair.

Mustache Mayhem

2010-03-03T22:37:00.000-08:00

What's better than a night out with good friends and great food?........

........A night out with good friends, great food AND vending machine mustaches.

They Say It's Your Birthday....

2010-02-23T23:27:00.001-08:00

Big B turned the big 3 - 5 today. Yes, people he is one year closer to 40. Despite being 1 year older, he didn't seem to complain and we had a fabulous celebration.

I took Bryan to The Beach House in Cardiff By The Sea. This restaurant sits right on the beach and we dined to the sound of waves crashing {I know.....totally romantic}. It was bliss! I was disappointed the photo didn't capture the background because it was totally the best part!

Let me just preface.....I don't do seafood. I don't like the smell, the texture, etc. However, this was a monumental moment as I tried eating not cooked Ahi, but RAW Ahi! Yup....I did it and I kindda liked it!

To end the night, we had the Moffats over for some cake and ice cream. Once again......the cake was a total FLOP. This is one day a year that I try to go above and beyond with the cake and every year I just can't get it right. It may look {somewhat} of a success, but pictures can be deceiving. It was totally dry and I let it sit in the fridge and the icing was too firm when it should have been light and fluffy. Oh well, I guess there is always next year.
The best gift of the day came from Deb, Jonathan & McCall. If you look close enough.....you can see this lovely candy dish is engraved "Congratulations to the Moffats 2010." Mmm.....wonder where that came from. Thanks guys! We totally LOVE it!
Happy Birthday Bryan......Turning 35 wasn't that bad, right!!!

You May Be Thinking.....

2010-02-21T21:14:00.000-08:00

......Is this ALL you ever feed your daughter?? Contrary to what you see here, Mia DOES eat more than just cupcakes {just for the record}.

Our neighbors {and good friends}, Deb & Jonathan, got married the first of January and they celebrated their marriage this weekend at a reception in Temecula. Deb had asked me if I would help by making some cookies........and you know how much I love to bake {especially cookies}, so I whipped up these little guys.

Here's a picture of the cookies in action. The best part of the refreshments was definitely the candy bar. They had a bar with jars and jars of different kinds of candy. I'm bummed I didn't get a picture of it because it was AMAZING! Can you tell that I don't like sugar?? {I wish}

And here's the lady of the night......the beautiful, blushing bride!

Private......Just Kidding!

2010-02-14T22:16:00.000-08:00

So, I finally had some time tonight to sit down and {attempt}to make my blog private. I got all the contacts input just to find out that blogger only allows 100 readers.....really? I was so overwhelmed with the response of those requesting to be added to my blog list. There's no way I was going to go through and pick and choose who those 100 readers would be. So.....I guess I'm not going to go private. That's all!

2010-02-14T20:20:00.000-08:00

. o O O O

Last week Bryan had meetings in Utah so Mia and I decided to tag along. We were able to spend a few days with our families, which was so great. I was so nervous about Mia flying. You just never know how she's going to react. Having a layover in Vegas, we hoped that would help break things up. Thank goodness for a non-full flight and A LOT of candy......she did well.
We were excited to stay with Weston & Kirstin for a night before going to Fillmore. Mia is so in love with these two {Motley & Cash}. Her new favorite word is "puppy." I love animals, but I've never been much of a "pet" person. I think that might have change....we'll see!

We spent 4 days in Fillmore and the highlight of our trip was spending some time at the cemetery and decorating for Valentine's Day.

While in Utah, we bought a car and drove it back to California. We have been a 1-car-family for the past 5 months and realized this situation just won't work anymore. Since January, we have done the 600 mile drive 3 times. Expecting {an almost} 2-year-old to behave in a car for 9 hours is far too much to expect. But after lots of stops and many episodes of "Baby Can Read" we made it.

When we got home, Mia had a valentine from Grandma & Grandpa Roper waiting for her. She was in heaven.

I'm Totally SMITTEN with.....

2010-02-14T19:21:00.000-08:00

YoU.....

.....AnD yOu......

.......AnD yOu!!!!
{Just Sayin....}

Happiness is THIS......

2010-02-11T22:48:00.001-08:00

Lovely LuLu

2010-02-08T19:52:00.000-08:00

Shortly after Kate passed away my dear friend, Lizzie, came for a visit. Lizzie {early in her second pregnancy} expressed that if she were to have a little girl, she wanted to name her after Kate. I can't even describe how touched and honored I was {I am} by this. Eight months later Miss London Kate was born. Little did we know that she would have her own set of health issues.

Just shortly after London's 1st birthday, she was given the gift of life. LuLu received her liver transplant and just recently headed home {sweet home}. She is doing so well and we are so thankful. What a miracle!!! The last couple of days I have just been thinking about how precious life is and how important being a donor is; how it can saves lives. When Kate was still with us, we spent months in and out of the hospital. We made some dear friends while we were there. We saw children waiting on donor lists for heart transplants; some who received them and some that never made it. When I turned 16 and got my driver's license for the first time, I made the decision to be a donor {not really putting much thought into it}. Through the experiences I have had over the past couple of years seeing many lives changed {for the good}, I am proud to say that I am a DONOR!!! Are you??

To Miss London Kate and your family......We love you and are so happy that you got your new liver!!! Keep fighting girl!

This is Mia, Tytan and Miss LuLu back in August......

....and this is Miss LuLu now {post transplant}! Isn't she lovely??

Meet Miss LuLu and read her sweet story at: http://www.liverforlulu.blogspot.com/.

Home Sweet Home {Almost}

2010-01-31T20:09:00.014-08:00

I can say FINALLY say that we are unpacked, organized {somewhat} and things are starting to feel like home {away from home}. I can't believe that we have been here for 2 weeks already. It's definitely taken some time to familiarize myself with a new place. I have relied 110% on my GPS to get me EVERY where and I am starting to get my bearings straight {I think}. I can already tell we are really going to like it here and not to mention, we are totally LOVING the weather!!! However, the entire first week we were here it rained CATS and DOGS!!! I don't mind the rain, though, especially when it's still 60 degrees. I won't lie, I really don't miss the cold weather!!!

Bryan has really been working hard and spent most of the weekend helping get the office put together and ready to move in to. The office is in Carlsbad {about 15 miles away} and he will start working from there tomorrow :( It's definitely going to be a change of pace {for the both of us}. For the past 8 months he has been working from home. I have loved it, but I know it'll be nice for him to not have all the distractions :)

Here are just a few things that we have been up to:

We heard there was a fabulous children's museum in Temecula {Pennypickles}, so we drove up there last weekend and spent the day there. Temecula is such a darling little town with fun restaurants and darling little shops and boutiques. The museum was so much fun. It was geared mainly for older kids, but Mia had a ball.

We have spent A LOT of time at the park........

......and of course THE BEACH!!!

We live about 10 minutes from the beach and enjoy going down there when the sun sets. It's so beautiful. Mia loves looking for seashells and throwing rocks into the ocean. If only it were warm enough to swim......soon, very soon!!!

Goodbye Beehive State....Hello Golden State!

2010-01-20T14:28:00.008-08:00

Since last July we have sold our home in Lehi, moved to our townhome in Provo, rented out the townhome, moved our stuff to Oceanside, drove to Fillmore, stayed in Fillmore for 2 weeks and drove back to California. Whew.....it makes me tired just thinking about it.

Well, we are FINALLY here. Not quite settled in yet, but here. It's crazy to think how life can change in just a matter of months. It's hard not to feel like this is where we need to be, especially because things have just fallen into place......and we are so grateful. We are excited to be here in California, especially when we left Utah at 10 degrees and arrived in California at 70 degrees. It's hard to complain about that!!! We had originally planned on being here the first week of the year, but with Bryan's post-surgery appointments {in Utah} we needed to be there for those. So, we spent 2 weeks in Fillmore with my parents. And for the past 2 weeks I have felt like I have been on vacation. It was so nice being able to spend that time with our friends and family before we left.

Lizzie {LuLu's mommy}, Ally {creator of"Tea for Two"} and little Paige

My dear friend The Lacer {Lacie}

Lacie's handsome hunk {Tytan}

Paige & Miss Mia

LEHI PEEPS

Rollins {Colby & Cydney}, Haehl's {Greg & Mindi}, Christensen's {Kellen & Charlynn}

My good friends Lindsey and Mia's favorite friends {Laney & Grayden}

We sure are going to miss you guys :(

SUU Sistas'

Lacey, Terri, Me, Kelly, Summer

One last sleepover with the girls {In Fillmore}
Kenz, Jalene, Me, Treo & Gina

We are really excited to be here, but are going to miss our friends so much :( We just hope we get LOTS of visitors!!!

"A Tea For Two"

2010-01-10T19:41:00.007-08:00

In my last post, I mentioned how I love to imagine the time that Mia and Kate must have had together after Kate passed away and Mia was born. My sweet, TALENTED friend, Ally, created this priceless masterpiece for me {as a gift}. It's showing Angel Kate and Mia doing what sisters do best......enjoying one another at a tea party.

This picture I took does not do it justice. It is completely hand-made with so much intricate detail. Check out

Ally Brynn Designs to see other darling creations!

allybrynndesigns.blogspot.com

20 Months & 10 days

2009-12-31T15:52:00.004-08:00

As I have been trying to pack and get ready to move, I've been going through some of Kate's clothes and picking out the ones that Mia can fit in to, setting them aside and boxing up those that she has outgrown. Each little outfit of Kate's has so much meaning and it's so great {for me} to see Mia wearing her little skirts and jammies and bows and shoes. After Kate passed away, I didn't think I could bear to have anyone else wear them, even her little sister. It was a debate I had with myself the three weeks before Mia was born. I finally made the decision that I wanted to have sweet memories of Kate every day. Having these small little reminders of her each day sure puts a smile on my face.

Kate was 20 months and 10 days when she passed away. As I was organizing her clothes and thinking back to the time that Kate wore each little outfit, I started thinking that Mia would be close to the same age now that Kate was when she died. I did the math and realized that Mia is exactly 20 months and 10 days today. These are small tender mercies, but I am so grateful that I have them every now and then.

My brother, Greg, gave the most beautiful talk at Kate's funeral. He gave an analogy of Kate and Mia at the airport; Kate returning from a wonderful trip and Mia getting ready for a new adventure. They see each other; Kate going one way and Mia going the other. When they meet, they embrace each other and Mia asks Kate to tell her all about this wonderful trip and the people she met. Kate tells her:

1) Get used to having dumb curlers in your hair because Mom is obsessed with curlers.

2) Don't get attached to ANYTHING because dad loves selling things

3) Oh, and you will probably have a sweet tooth because mom LOVES treats, and dad does too!

I love to imagine the reunion they must have had. I miss Kate EVERY day, but am so very grateful for Mia and the sweet reminder of Kate she is. They are two very different, but special, angels to me and I feel so very lucky that I am their mama!

The Naughty and the Nice

2009-12-30T21:32:00.006-08:00

The Jolly Ol' Fella sure was good to some of this year and not so good to others. Let's start off with Miss Mia:

She must have been on Santa's "good girl list" even with her love/hate relationship with Santa (see previous post). Her eyes lit up immediately when she saw this gem that was left under the Christmas tree. She couldn't wait to take "Kitty" for a spin (after spin after spin). Poor Kitty!

An aspiring princess, Santa brought the most important accessories, but forgot the most vital.....the gown!

Santa must have known that Mia would be spending A LOT of time at the beach this upcoming year and left her this shabby little number. What a bathing beauty!!!

As for me, Santa brought a new, sophisticated (as Bryan describes it) look this year.....not sure if that puts me on his good girl list or not???

Last but not least.....Bryan must have been on Santa's naughty list this year as he brought him a torn Achilles tendon with surgery 2 days before Christmas. He also brought him a nice slip on the ice (on Christmas Eve) and an almost trip to the ER. Thank goodness Santa is a good man and ended up just giving him a nice bruised hand.

As the new year approaches, the Rosenvall's all aspire to be on Santa's "Nice" list this coming year. We hope you all had a Merry Christmas and wish you an even happier New Year!!!

No Need for Explanation......

2009-12-14T22:31:00.002-08:00

....Her Face Says It All!!!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Birthdays, Trees, Lights And A Time To Be Thankful.....

2009-12-02T15:34:00.008-08:00

I can't believe how fast Thanksgiving has come and gone. It is definitely my very favorite holiday....for many reasons:

1. Spending time with family

2. Eating....eating.....and more eating!

3. A certain someone was born on Thanksgiving Day!!!

4. A time to reflect on the MANY things to be grateful for.

The week before Thanksgiving we drove to California to look for a place to live. On the way down we stayed in Mesquite and I ran my 11th half marathon. I'm hoping to run one more before the end of the year, but I don't think it's going to happen people. Someone, please remind me that when making this coming year's new year's resolutions to not commit to something physical. I think this year I'm just going to stick with the old "I'm going to stop drinking Diet Coke this year" resolution and then fail miserably before New Year's Day is over :) Mia is also making a New Year's Resolution to lay off the DC.....Such great parenting.

We had a great time in San Diego. Bryan worked most the time we were down there and so it was up to me to go to the housing appointments. Let me just say that I am THANKFUL for GPS or I would've been a lost mess. We found a place in Oceanside and we'll be moving the middle to end of January. This is so bitter-sweet as we are really looking forward to the adventure, but I don't know what I'm going to do being so far from our family and dear friends. We just hope we have LOTS of visitors!!!

On our way back from California, we stayed in Fillmore for Thanksgiving. It was so much fun having my whole family there (except for Jeff who will be coming home in June.....YAY). The weather was so nice and so it made it so much easier cutting trees this year (a Thanksgiving tradition). There's nothing I love more than a fresh cut Christmas tree.

On Tuesday we celebrated Finn's 1st birthday at Kangaroo Zoo. This is the first time Mia has been there and couldn't get enough of it. Here's the handsome birthday boy:

The highlight of the party was definitely the cupcakes......and a mighty fine cupcake it was!

And yes.......I celebrated birthday #31. Where did those 31 years go?? There's no better way to celebrate your birthday (belated) than Girl's Night Out. It's been almost 9 years since I graduated from college and I feel so fortunate to keep in contact with some of my old roommates. We spent hours laughing and reminiscing about the good ol' SUU days. Good times. And last but not least.......the lights at Temple Square.

The Rosenvalls...

Preschool Christmas Program

Show Biz Kids

A Utah Thanksgiving

I'm 4-Months-Old Yo!

This is How He Rolls....

Skool is Kool!!

H*A*L*L*O*W*E*E*N

PuMpKiNs!!

***Breaking News***

Merek's Blessing

Sweet Sulivan Turns "1"

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.....

A Change'll Do You Good

I have Pulmomary what......?

First Family Picture

Random

Happy Boy

Rock A Bye Baby

We're Home

The Newest Rosenvall

Happy Birthday Sweet Kate

Fourth of July, Friends and a False Alarm

Baby "Gary's" Sprinkle

One Rad Dad

Let The Summer Begin

Memorial Day and Kidney Stones

A Day In The Life Of Mia

One Lucky Mama!

Easter 2011

She's 3!!!

3 Years.....

OH BABY!

L * U * C * K * Y

Mia-isms Part Deux...

Happy "100th" Birthday Grandma Roper

Sea World

Happy "36th" Birthday!!!

Hangin' With The Boys

Mormon Battalion Commemoration

What Makes Me Happy.......

Mia-isms

Feliz Navidad

Ahhhh.....December! Where are you going?

Girls Will Be Girls....

HaPpY hAlLoWeEn

PuMpKiNs

Julian For A Day

Shower the People You Love....

Listos: Mommy & Me Pre-School

Playing Catch-Up

Date Night With The Angels and The Robertson's

Let 'Em Eat Cake!

Daddy Daughter Date

A Visit From The Ropers

Pool Dayz

Apple Fest 2010

Announcing the 3rd Annual Apple Fest and 5k/10k Run in Memory of Kate

Goodbye Elder Jenkins

The Mia Show

Happy Birthday Kate!!

Ohh La La

U * T * A * H

One Binky, Two Binky, Three Binky, Four.......

Remembering Our Katerbug

Girl's Weekend

A Special Day For Moms

San Diego Wild Animal Park

U * T * A * H

LA Ragnar

We're Bringing Curly Back.....Yeah!

Happy Birthday Miss Mia

Easter Lovely Easter

Kites and KupKakes for Kate

R a N d O m N e S s

Beach Babes

Mustache Mayhem

They Say It's Your Birthday....

You May Be Thinking.....

Private......Just Kidding!

HALLOWEEN

Breaking News