Hanging with the Hartungs

We (minus the working Har) met Amy, Al and the kids at Downtown Disney last Wednesday. We hadn't seen them since last Christmas '07 and they won't be back out for a while :-( Highlights from our day...

• Surprising Caitlyn while she was innocently doing some Christmas shopping ("Excuse me. Do you know where the bathroom is?")
• Emma enjoyed helping Caitlyn (her BFF) spend her savings at Build-a-Bear making a penguin which they named Cemmalyn (a combo of both their names).
• Amy and I fell victim to the cuteness of Calleya & her affection for elephants, and spent $10 each to buy her happiness.
• Allan pouted when he had to settle for chili in a bread bowl because they were out of clam chowder.
• The boys had a blast riding the tram to the parking lot and back with Uncle Allan
• Sweet Colby was just happy to be hanging out with Dedan.
• Taking fun pictures in front of the gigantic Christmas tree...Amy has all the good pix cuz my camera battery died.
• Finding out Amy is pregnant with Hartung #4, due next summer! Woohoo!

Seriously.

I have some fun pictures from a day with the Arizona Hartungs and from Thanksgiving, but when my mom came downstairs this morning dressed like this...

I was too distracted to post anything else.

She said she was just dressing up for decorating the tree and to annoy me. I think she would dress like this more often if I didn't live here. She was more concerned about having her picture taken with the curlers in her hair than this crazy outfit.

Disneyland Ditch Day

Our lovely Emma turned ELEVEN on Wednesday. We surprised the kids, pulled them out of school, and went to Disneyland for the first time in more than 4 years. Happy Birthday, Ems!

This was the first trip to Disneyland for Nash. We'd been talking up Mickey Mouse so much that we totally forgot about Nash's obsession with Toy Story. We'd been there for less than 10 minutes when Buzz Lightyear walked across our path. Nash froze and his mouth dropped open. If you know Nash then you know holding still is very unusual for him. Even after Nash composed himself enough to walk over to Buzz for a picture he couldn't stop staring (center below). It was a great start to an amazing day: perfect weather, no real lines to wait in, and we continued my favorite family tradition of having the kids silhouettes done (I think the one below is beautiful). I like this picture (Har & I don't often get our picture together), but Har thinks there's too much orange hat. That orange hat made it real easy to find him all day though!

Less than 2 minutes after we hooked Nash in his car seat....

Playing Catch Up!

We've been so busy - good busy - the last few weeks that I haven't had more than a few minutes to sit down in front of the computer let alone accomplish any blogging. Here's a quick peek at our afternoon with my bro, James, his wife, Jess, and baby Riley. The boys got Uncle James to watch Journey To The Center Of The Earth in 3-D...for about 5 minutes. Grandpa was a huge hit with Riley. Gotta love anyone who looks like Santa, right?

I've got lots more blogging to catch up on...stay tuned!

SHUT! UP!

I had my week 2 weigh in this morning. I was not very hopeful, because I worked out less this week and wasn't as good at counting my calories. And yet...I lost four more pounds! I wonder what would've happened if I'd been better! So this week (being the week before Thanksgiving with all the yummy food) I am on my best behavior. Maybe I won't dread getting on the scale next Monday morning. In the words of London Tipton, "Yay, me!"

3 lbs = iPod shuffle

Week one of my training with Melissa and Mandy's Boot Camp Challenge is over. I worked out 6 days, averaged eating about 1400 calories daily, and I lost THREE POUNDS! I'm so excited!!!!!!!!!!! They had a prize for the person who lost the most weight. Three of us tied at 3 lbs, so they did a drawing and I won the prize this week - this brand new iPod Shuffle! Sweet! Stay tuned for more progress reports.

Halloween Highlights

First, thank you to everyone who voted for Emma's costume. Wednesday Addams won by a bigger margin than Obama vs. McCain. But the combination of not being able to find the right outfit and the will of a 10 year old resulted in the punker outift. She never listens to me either when she asks for my help picking out clothes.

Emma as a punker (plays her part), Dedan as Luke Skywalker, and Nash as Mater (from the movie CARS for anyone without small kids) just before we went Trick-or-treating in Vista/O'side.
Rachel went Trick-or-treating with us while Har worked at the mostly annual Hartung Spook Alley. The ever bossy Nash quickly had her working for him. As he'd walk away from the door he would hand one of us his pumpkin then put his hands up and look at Rachel. Her job was to put him back in his stroller - walking is a lot of work - for the stroll to the next house...and more candy. Good thing she thinks you're cute, kid. This is my favorite picture from the night. Emma took it when Dedan fell asleep in the back of the van at the drive thru for some yummy rolled tacos...and this was before the time changed. Cutest Luke Skywalker ever.
The crazy Hartung boys decided to do the Spook Alley on Saturday also, but they lost some of their workers. Emma, who would NOT go through it the night before, volunteered to be a zombie in a grave. Creepy, huh? If you live nearby and missed the spookiness, I would highly recommend making it part of your Halloween next year.

not even teens yet....

Kaylie, Amber, Emma, Chloe, and Mackenna after they screamed - literally - for Troy Bolton (aka Zac Efron) during High School Musical 3. I figured Emma would have more fun seeing the movie with friends instead of only us. I was right. The girls had a great time, and I was glad to take them. Afterwards, we came back to our house for post movie fun....I'm wondering if the "fun" gets louder and more silly when they enter the teen years. They couldn't possibly eat more...could they?

A Day of Pumpkins

My dad came up today and we took the kiddos to the pumpkin patch. The kids rode ponies and the "train". We went through an honest to goodness corn maze that left Grandpa looking for a good shady spot to sit and a drink of water. Of course, we picked up some pumpkins for carving. This is my favorite picture from today, especially since Nash is coming out of the nose like the little booger that he is.

With Halloween coming we've been talking costumes. Nash and Dedan have costumes ready to go, but Emma keeps changing her mind. Answer our survey in the right column to help her decide!

Weirdos

Today I was leaving the grocery store and realized my kids would be getting home from school at the same moment - and I wasn't home. I called the house to find that Emma & Dedan had just walked in the door. They didn't care that I wasn't there...of course. I told them I'd be home in a few minutes. As I walked in the back door with a sleeping Nash on my shoulder I could hear muffled grunting. This is what I found in the living room...

My poor kids have inherited my warped sense of humor. At least they make me laugh!

Staring Contest

I just uploaded photos from my camera and found this one I had to share of Nash and the donkey at the pumpkin patch. This kind of cute is why I keep him.

My day...

Two posts in two days...can you tell my love is out of town?

Today was just as busy as the rest of my week. We had to meet a neighbor - ok, daughter of our neighbor - at 8 bleeping a.m. to pick up, transport and then set up tables and chairs. Rushed home, showered and went to the funeral of our sweet neighbor, Maggie George, at the Catholic church (her daughters babysat me as a kid). Left the funeral at light speed to beat everyone to the family luncheon at a cousins in order to set up food and help in any other way our hostess needed. Enlisted the help of many people to tell my mom to stay off her feet since she's supposed to not stand for more than 5 minutes during her recovery from surgery. She was fairly annoyed with me by the end of the lunch...which means I was effectively following the doctor's orders. We helped force extra food on people as they left, took the tables and chairs back to our church, and got home with exactly one hour until I had to take the kids to the stake center to practice for that night's program at the adult session of our Stake Conference.

Nash was at home with Papa for most of the day, and that says a lot about Papa because Nash is going through his child from hell stage. Good thing he's cute and has moments of brilliance that amaze me or make me laugh. Off topic! Kids made it to the church for rehersal just as they were starting. Then the program started. Afterward, my kids wanted to go home, but I wanted to stay and listen to the speakers. SO GLAD I DID.

Being at this session of Stake Conference was the lift I needed from this insane week. It is so peaceful just being in the room where so many people who are close to the Lord sit. Then hearing the speakers remind me of some gospel principles I needed to be reminded of! Filled my cup. What did I re-learn?
~The family is ordained of God.
~Read scriptures together and your family will be stronger and more peaceful (I could use some peace!)
~The covenant of marriage is a gift that we need to remember, cherish, and celebrate.
~Don't run away from the hard stuff (places, people, etc.) like Jonah did. The Lord will find a way to put you where He wants you to be. Do you really want to be in the belly of a whale for a couple of days?
~Discipline your children while they are young and the teenage years will be easier (I am a HUGE believer in this prinicple).
~When Dedan is tired he will sleep anywhere. Ok, so no one spoke on this, but he was snoring on my lap, and getting him to the car was like leading a zombie.

Busy day. Great day!