The day has finally come, and the first book has been released. After waiting so long for the book to be illustrated and produced, my sister Kristyn finally has a book out there on the shelves. We are so proud! We hope that those of you looking for a new book for your kids will consider Cool Daddy Rat! And, if you like Cool Daddy Rat, don't worry, she has at least two more books being published!

Just to show why he's my favorite....

Earlier, I posted that my favorite American Idol contestant was David Cook. After last night, I decided to just do one more post about this guy and just show his awesome performances. So enjoy! Oh, and I apologize for all the nonsense before and after the singing and I apologize for Randy and Paula's lame comments. I'm not a big fan of all the fluff surrounding the actual performances, but its a sacrifice I make in order to watch great singers like this guy. (And please, for those who can't stand this show and think I'm lame for even posting this...be gentle. I don't want to have to get ugly with you). :-)

Last nights performance of "Billy Jean:"
http://www.givememyremote.com/remote/david-cook-singing-billie-jean-watch/

Performance of "Hello:"
http://www.givememyremote.com/remote/david-cook-singing-hello-watch-video/

Performance of "Eleanor Rigby:"
http://www.givememyremote.com/remote/david-cook-eleanor-rigby-watch/

A few Easter pictures!

Thanks Suzanne for letting us come down for dinner. We had a great time and the dinner was delicious. Kamryn loved seeing Grandma again too. We miss you!

Hope everyone had a great Easter!

A Wedding and a Reunion

So Saturday was quite a busy day. My cousin, Nic Hess (on my Dad's side) got married at 1pm in Escondido, CA which made for a nice little drive. Luckily, we had someone watching Kamryn so we didn't have to worry about her while we were at this lovely, but very hot and long wedding. The wedding and reception were outside and it happened to be a hot day in So Cal. It didn't help that I wasn't feeling well already so I think I had a fever adding to the heat. But it was worth it to witness my cousin, Nic and Cheyenne getting married. Check out the happy couple!














Well, we weren't able to stay for the whole reception because some friends from my old stake had planned a reunion for those from the "Love Fest" generation...which was quite a span of years. "Love Fest" was a party the kids from our stake would put on and we would invite members and non-members alike to join in some fun festivities and we made it a point that no alcohol or smoking would be allowed. Any kids who tried to sneak that crap in was immediately escorted out, but usually there was no problem since most kids enjoyed our sober parties.

Anyhow, this reunion was at the Holiday Skate Rink in Orange. This is a classic location since we all grew up having school parties and such there. I was quite impressed with the turn out and I was able to see many old friends. Jason even saw a lot of his cousins there since I grew up with them in the same stake. So we enjoyed ourselves immensely and I want to thank Heather and Megan for planning such a great event! I hope we keep this tradition going. And I'm pretty annoyed that I didn't bring my camera out and snap some shots.

As I finish writing this, I realize that especially without pictures, most of you aren't really going to care about this lengthy, journal type entry. So I apologize. More interesting blogs are on their way.

She may look sweet and innocent now.....

Try taking these balloons away from her at bedtime....not so cute anymore. I thought it was a good idea to bring home balloons for her from the Relief Society birthday event...and at first, I enjoyed watching her walking around holding the balloons, so I snapped a few pictures. I was unable to get pictures of her extremely unhappy face and besides, that wouldn't have done justice to the screams she let out. That red hair...blessing or curse?

Disneyland!!!!

Last Wednesday we went to Disneyland with my brother John and his wife Jodi and their kids. Unbeknownst to us, Amy's sister Suzanne and her husband Dave were there on the same day with their kids. Unfortunately, we did not run into each other. Anyway it was a really nice day and we had tons of fun watching Kamryn who was completely enthralled with Mickey and all the other characters she has seen so many times on TV. So I have posted a few short videos and some photos for all to check out.

In Memory of...

When Jason and I first met, we quickly discovered a couple things we had in common. We both lost a parent to cancer and they were both put to rest in the same cemetery in Claremont. So last Sunday when Jason's brother John and his family came over to visit, they decided they wanted to visit their mothers gravesite. The nice thing for me is, I am able to go visit my Dad's site as well. It was a special day for both Jason and I and a day where Kamryn was able to learn more about her Grandma and Grandpa.

Grandma Riley is looking down and smiling at her beautiful grandchildren.














Jason with his older brother, John. How cute...they even posed the same.










































Kamryn loves her cousin Bryson. Just another picture perfect moment.

Happy Birthday Janelle!

So today is my sister Janelle's birthday, and it is now our tradition to post a tribute to our siblings on their birthday. So, I have posted a few pictures below of my wonderful sister Janelly. What should you know about Janelle? Many things, but for the sake of brevity, I will name just a few things that stand out in my mind. Janelle loves movies, and this love has resulted in a vast collection of dvds, which I certainly covet, and an ability to skunk others in movie trivia games. I also remember when she interned at NBC, and would talk about all the fancy cars Jay Leno would arrive in, and the other stars that she would see. She is now a full time mom living in Texas with her husband Court and daughter Meredith. Janelle is the type that would give you the shirt off her back without a second thought and has always been very compassionate. So heres to you Janelle, we love you and hope you had a wonderful birthday!

I told myself I wouldn't do it., but...just...can't...help it.!

I just can't help myself, but I have to put it out there and get it off my chest. I watch American Idol and this guy, David Cook, rocks. Okay, feel better.

The LA Zoo

On Monday, Kamryn and I were lucky to have the chance to go to the LA Zoo with our friends, Karissa Silagyi and Jennifer Kaan. Jennifer has passes and was able to get us and all the kids in for free, so it was a special treat. Jason and I have recently taken Kamryn to the Santa Ana Zoo, but this zoo had many more animals and Kamryn loved it. The weather was perfect and most of the animals cooperated and let us have a good look at them. I especially liked the bear and the giraffe. The bear is kind of hard to see...sorry about that. Thanks for driving Karissa and thanks for the free entrance Jen! We had a great time!