Christmas

Christmas was fun. Can't believe how fast it came and went. Chase came in at 3am that morning and asked if it was time to open presents. We told him he had to wait until 6. So he went down and woke Taylor up and 20 minutes later the two of them were on the floor in our room whispering to each other. So it was pretty pointless of me to think I was going to get anymore sleep but I tried. And I laid there and listened to them until they counted down the final seconds and at 6 on the button the wrapping paper was a flyin'!!




So, it was another good Christmas. Now onto the New Year's party!!! Not sure what the big plans are yet but karaoke needs to be involved.

Now this picure here is me with two of my most favorite people in the entire world. Just before Christmas my sis, Sonja, and I get together with my BFF Lisa and we go to dinner, exchange presents and chat. It's one of my favorite things ever. I love these two gals. Anytime I'm with either of them I laugh soooo hard that I cry. And I love it.

Sonja dear, thank you for loving space as much as I do and going on and on about it with me. We are two peas in a pod.

And here's Lisa. We've been friends since we were 6. How awesome is that? I'm so lucky. I couldgo on and on about her. She's really more like a sister. My mom did as much of her laundry as mine because she pretty much lived at my house and I lived at hers. We were never bored growing up. We could always think of SOMETHING to do and I'll have to share some of those things sometime. We had vivid imaginations and a lot of guts. That's all I'll say for now.

This next picture is of Lisa and me when we were about 9 or 10. Sonja probably took the picture. These were our nerdy alter-egos. I'm sure we went out and did something really odd around the neighborhood that day.

I'm glad we turned out ok.... or did we?

One More Post before Christmas

Got our Santa picture! So cute. I love this Santa. We've had him lots over the years.

The past week's been busy and fun. We went on our annual carriage ride downtown. I'd never done this until a few years ago when James's aunt & uncle invited us to go up with their family. Now we go with them every year. It's lots of fun and I'm so glad they let us in on their little family tradition. This year was crazy because of the huge storm we had that night. It took me an hour and a half to get down town on the freeway! But it was worth it. The snow made our little
carriage ride even more charming. Oops, that first pic is supposed to be a family photo. Sorry kids. None of my carriage pics turned out because my camera died. But anyway.. our horse's name was Charlie and he was awesome. We missed dinner with Mike & Charla because I was so late. So we didn't get to chat much. But we sure do love those guys.

Taylor had his choir performance. I was impressed. They did a great job. None of these pictures look very good because my camera is old and dying. Luckily, I'm getting a new one for Christmas!! I wanted to video record it as well, but at the last minute realized I didn't have a dvd :(

Chase got head gear. This poor child. I don't know why he just has to go through EVERYTHING. I mean.. spread the love and let Taylor at least have the crooked teeth and huge overbite! But no, it's Chase. He had to get 2 teeth pulled today. He was so good. He took those big old shots in the gums like a man. He gets to wear head gear for a year and then get braces. Fun fun fun.

By the way.. thanks for the comments on my last post. I just love hearing from ya'll. This blogging thing is good for me. It's my kind of scrapbooking. I love seeing what you all are doing in your families. So keep up the good work because I'm totally inspired by you and all the fabulous things you do :)

Enjoying the Moment

I'm trying to enjoy the moment more these days. I have to make a conscious effort to do this most of the time because I'm always thinking about the next thing, the next day, the next week. Time is flying by and it's really starting to hit me. So, I'm really going to make an effort to enjoy and remember the every day occurances. And I need to lighten up for sure. I let really trivial things bug me. Like the cups my kids always pick to drink out of. We have a whole cupboard full but they always pick the same ones and they're the ones I hate to wash because they're big or awkwardly shaped and don't fit in the dishwasher very well. I've even tried packing a couple of them away but the kids will dig them up and low and behold they're back in rotation again! Well I decided that I'm going to enjoy those stupid cups because it's actually hilarious. The day will come when they'll be way too cool to drink out of an elephant so I'm going to treasure it from now on.I got to help Chase make a candy house at school last week. I'm so glad that I have the opportunity to be involved in all the things they do at school. I know this will end one day too. So I'm definatley cherishing it. He did such a good job. Check it out.
Oh look! it's Brad representin' for the male species! What a good dad. He was the only one there.

Chase also got an award last week. I actually missed it!! I can't believe it. I just forgot and I have no excuse!!!! I felt so bad. I went later and took a picture of him. I'm so proud of li'l' Boopers.

Oh yeah... I also had my first recital. I've been taking voice lessons for about 6 months. I had absolutely no intention of being in the recital but after much encouragement from James and a few others, I decided to go for it. I was so nervous. I love to sing but I've never been much for solo work. Plus, I was the the oldest and the chubbiest of all the performers. But I guess that's what I get for waiting so long to start doing something I've always wanted to. Anyway, I did about 1/2 as well as I could have because my heart was pounding so hard that my voice wouldn't come out right. But I have to say... I'm proud of myself for doing it. It was not an easy fear to face. Not only was it hard to perform alone, but I sang a song my vocal coach suggested and it just so happened to be a song that makes me cry. It was Breath of Heaven (on my playlist if you'd care to take a listen). I actually made it through the whole song and didn't cry until the last sentence. But still... I wish I wasn't such a boob. James was so sweet. He had nothing negative to say about it. He just kept telling me how proud he was of me and how well I did. (Love ya, Jimmy :)I think Taylor was probably the only one who was completely honest with me. He said, "you did ok, Mom." Anyway, I'll definately do it again. It was a great experience.

I wish I'd done something different with my hair....

Nothin' Much

I don't have a whole lot to show for the last couple of weeks in the way of pictures. We've been getting ready for Christmas, of course. I wanted to do something different on the tree this year so I decided to bake gingerbread men and decorate them. Oh, it was going to be such a fun family activity. I would have taken a ton a pictures of all the fun... but I ended up getting really mad because Tay and Chase goofed off the whole time and pretended that their gingerbread men were getting their heads shot off. It just wasn't what I'd planned so I put an end to it and finished the decorating myself. I really should have captured it all on film though. It's one of those things you laugh about later.

We also went to James's company Christmas party. It was the funnest one yet. We sat at the "cool" table for once. Jenny Jordan Frogley performed. I didn't know who she was, but I liked her.

I have a massive decluttering project going right now. So I've been going through a lot of old pictures and stuff. I came across some of James and me when we were little and thought we looked just like our kids do now. So, for entertainment purposes here they are. I don't know.. maybe it's just me but this looks just like Taylor, cowlick and all. Nice wannabe Izod, Jimmy. And then there's this one. Poor Chase. He looks just like his mama. And was I stylin' or what in that 70's mini dress?

Back Too Soon

Disneyland went by way too fast. It's kind of a bummer coming home to the daily grind. But it was fun. Tay & Chase wanted to spend most of the time in California Adventure. I didn't love that. So they did a lot of male bonding with Dad & Uncle Dave. I got to hang out with my mom lots and that was fun. We went on all my favorite rides and shopped. It was great being there for the Christmas kick-off. The decorations were awesome. We had a fabulous time and I'm already thinking about where to go on our next vacation and that it needs to be soon. I think we'll skip Disneyland next year and try something new. Anyhoo... back to reality for now. Thanks Jimmy for working so hard and taking us on fun trips. Thanks Mom for putting up with me when I get cranky on trips. Thanks Dave for being such an awesome uncle. Thanks Pops & Grandma for taking care of Fonzie. Ya'll are great.

Things Change

Tay & Chase are growing up too fast. I've been having a hard time since Chase started 1st grade. I thought it would be great to have all this time to do what I want, but I've found that I really miss having someone to take care of all day. That's what I really have loved doing for the past 9 years. And I'm really thankful for the whole experience. But things change. It's okay. I'll adjust... slowly. I've been teaching Taylor how to cook and he loves it. His specialty is eggs. He also loves baking cookies. It's adorable. Here he is whipping up some Hamburger Helper. Nice!

Chase is so cute. He is a giver. He loves to make presents for anyone and everyone. He wraps up stuff around the house and gives it away. My mom has been the recipient of many "gifts". He got ahold of some Christmas wrap and went nuts. Usually, all the wrapping is homemade. Anyway, he's definately got a generous nature.

Speaking of growing up fast, my adorable niece had her 2nd bday. We had fun at Chuck E. Cheese!

We're getting ready to go on our Disneyland trip. The kids are excited. I can't wait. I love that place. Hopefully Chase isn't too cool to go on The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh with me. Oh... that will be a sad day when it comes.

Winter's Coming

So, it snowed last week. It was my cue to go buy new coats, boots, snow pants, etc. The kids were excited and broke out the sleds straight away. We got quite a bit of snow, but it didn't stick, much to their dismay.

I used to hate winter, but I don't mind it at all anymore, at least not until after Christmas. I'm ready for spring by January. But I love the holidays and don't think they'd be as fun without the snow.

We also scored a snowblower this year! Thanks Grandpa H. James couldn't wait to get that puppy going. He busted it out and cleared the driveway lickety split. We'll see how long the enthusiasm lasts. It will definately make life easier. Hopefully, we'll have plenty of snow to blow this year!

We Bloggin'

Welcome to the Hilton blog. We'll try to be as interesting as possible. I'm Candace. I love: outer-space, books and shows about outer-space, singing, going out to eat, having really, really long conversations with others about outer-space, every kind of music but especially classical.

James loves: his i-phone, golfing, U2, Dave Matthews, The O'Reilly Factor, watching any and all sporting events but especially basketball and football, eating, buying, returning and re-buying electronic equipment.

Taylor loves: making weird voices, repeating himself over and over, scary books and movies, playing basketball and football, making up games to play on the trampoline, making people laugh, teasing his brother.

Chase loves: making weird voices, army stuff, playing Halo, making books out of paper, playing with the dog, things that float, Legos, white boards, sugar, Sponge Bob.