15 Year Reunion

Lovely ladies from the Oly Class of '94.

There's actually a pretty good story that goes along with this picture. Wanna hear it? Well alright. Here's to hoping that no men read my blog...and I'm pretty sure they don't...except for Nate (but he's already heard this story...and rolled his eyes at all the appropriate moments).

So just before this reunion I was at youth conference with our ward. While there, one of my gals got a horrendous picture of my backside in a swimsuit. People- it was awful. I truly looked to be about 500 pounds. She showed me the photo and in my best no-nonsense voice (with some threatening undertones) I told her to "DELETE IT. Immediately."

(Good golly- I hope she really did. What if it's still out there??)

Anywho, when I got home I was still a little annoyed about this picture and decided that surely, surely the reality could not be as bad as the picture made it appear. So I again donned my swimsuit and asked Tess to snap a few pictures of my backside from several different angles. "Mom, why am I taking pictures of your butt?" (Cringe. "Tess- it's 'bum' not 'butt' and I need these photos for research purposes. And Tess, always remember, it is much more important to be beautiful on the inside than the outside.") Super pep talk, right?

Well, I'm happy to report that while Tess' photos were by no means pretty, they weren't nearly as bad as Erica's shot from youth conference. Erica must have searched out the worst possible angle. Sneaky gal.

Fast forward to that evening at my 15 year reunion. Time for the girls shot. We hand our cameras off to our old friend Jared. Luckily, luckily I decide last minute that I want to change one of the settings on my camera...because when I took it back from him, low and behold, there is a giant (yes, closeup) shot of my rear end on the screen. Awesome. "Hi Jared, I haven't seen you in years, but here's a nice juicy picture of my tooshie for your viewing pleasure."

I'm so smart sometimes.

(And no, I don't think he saw the picture. At least he didn't act like he did. And if indeed he did- I hope to never find out.)

Viva Italia!

In July, Nate and I went to Italy. Nate had a conference in Rome at which he gave a presentation about his research in "cancer genes in zebra fish." Sounds fascinating, eh? Well, I can't tell you a thing about it because I wasn't there for it (wasn't invited), but we were able to go out a week early and spend some time with just the 2 of us touring the beautiful countryside. It was molto romantic and relaxing. Then I hopped on a plane home to be with the kiddles and Nate stayed on for another 10 days. Seriously, sometimes his job is so rough.

FLORENCE

Duomo

Atop the duomo

(This is my supermodel, wind-in-my-hair look.)

Eating in the Piazza del Grano after visiting the Uffizi Gallery.

• PISA
  

• CINQUE TERRE
  Five villages along the rugged portion of coast on the Mediterranean Sea.
  

The trail that winds from town to town. In all, a 5 hour walk.
Completely breathtaking.
Our absolute favorite part of the trip.

Spectacular views along the way.

This is the B & B where we stayed in Monterrosso al Mare. Really, it wasn't that nice. But this wall sure was pretty.

Scuba diving in Riomaggiore.

Also known as the day Erin almost drowned.

(Folks, it's imperative that you fully inflate your BCD when on the surface.)

Also ALSO, my 33rd birthday.

• LAKE COMO

(No we did not see George Clooney.)

Residence La Limonera where we stayed in Bellagio.

Castle of Vezio

• DANG (dang!) GOOD EATS
  

Nate's fave- a seaside restaurant in Vernazza, Cinque Terre.

My fave in Varenna on Lake Como

Doesn't that look yummy? (It was.)

And no trip to Italy is complete without a daily dose of gelato.

The pistacchio/ hazelnut/ chocolate combo is beyond delectable.

(How is gelato sooooooo much better than American ice cream??)

Nate waiting for a train. Apparently, if you stand at the edge and look down the tracks, it comes much faster.

• NATE'S ADVENTURE SANS ERIN
  

Pompeii. Just so we're clear...I think death by volcano sounds horrific.

Can't wait to do it all again someday.

My babies are 4

Time is marching by. I can hardly believe it's been four years. But I must admit- having 3 four-year olds and an 8 year old is pretty dang fun. I think if I could freeze-frame time, this would be the moment in my life that I would like to enjoy forever. I have such sweet kiddos. How lucky am I? I'm trying to enjoy every little bit of life right now knowing that those dreaded teenage years are a mere blink away.

Here are Will and Nora on their birthday (back on June 24th):

Strong and Sassy

Enjoying the day at Liberty Park:

The birthday parties:

Will had a Diego Rescue Adventure party with outdoor fun...

...and Nora had an "All Girls, No Boys (or brothers!) Allowed Pink Princess Party"

Things I never want to forget about 4 year old WILL:

• Loves anything to do with a ball. Can play sports for hours.
• Has an insanely inquisitive mind. The questions never end.
  Definitely Nate's mini-me. He's like his dad in every way. Except for his cautiousness. (Not sure that's a word.) He got that from me. Sorry bud.
• Can beat any adult on Wii bowling. Trust me, his uncles have all challenged him and lived to rue the day.
• World's best (or maybe worst) back-seat driver. "Mom, gooooo!" (I can't bud. The light is red.) "Mom, go FASTER!" (I can't bud. This is a residential area.) And echoing the Garmin, "Mom, turn left. You're supposed to turn LEFT!" (In 0.3 miles bud.) On and on and on.
• Can out-whine anyone. Hands down.
• Insists on being carried in from the car. Which I should probably discourage but secretly adore. He buries his head in my neck and squeezes me tight. Oh that it may never end...
  
  

Things I never want to forget about 4 year old NORA:

• Nora is a perfect angel.
• No really, she is.
• "Mommy, I love you soooo much." I get to hear this about 20 times a day. Normally when she randomly comes to me for hugs and kisses. (See...perfect.)
• She laughs at anything and everything.
• She keeps up with her brothers just fine. Perfect blend of sensitive and tough. (See...perfect.)
• Much prefers her "pretty" toys to the dumb boy ones.
• "This is William. Me and him are twins." She loves telling anyone this little fact. And she insists on calling her brother by his full name.
• Regularly gives public singing performances. With full belt-style vibrato. In the grocery store. Driving down the rode. (She rolls down her window and serenades the world.) To the birds in the backyard. The neighbors love it, or at least they claim they do, but the have reported the need to close their windows when they are on the phone and Nora is in the middle of one of her concerts.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOODLES!

Now quit growing up so fast, okay?

Newport Beach

Holy smokes folks. I'm not sure I even remember how to post. Summer just flew by. (Right?) So I have a wee bit of catching up to do. Let's take it back to June, shall we...

The Horsley family headed to Newport Beach, CA for our annual family vacay. It was super fun (from what I remember). And being the awesome mom that I am I took tons of adorable pictures of my adorable kiddos and then promptly left/lost my camera in the bathroom at Legoland.

But here are the pictures I was able to gather from sibs and Nate's iphone. And you will just have to imagine in your mind's eye all the other shots of the kids...playing in the tide pools....discovering hermit crabs, lobsters, anemones, etc...the look of wonder on their beautifully sun-tanned faces. Yes, they were stinkin cute. I certainly hope whoever 5-finger discounted the camera from the bathroom stall is enjoying those pictures.

Tess on beach clean-up duty.

Picking strawberries

Oh and guys...Will got one too.

Baby Harrison (Dori's), 1 month

The infamous Legoland

Sea Life Aquarium

Dinner at The Ivy in L.A.

Tommy's Burgers was Nate's favorite place to eat on his mission when he served in Los Angeles a mere 22 years ago. And you betcha it's still there. (And still good!)

Nate and I were able to escape for a morning to Catalina Island for some scuba diving. Prettiest dive we've done to date (although not nearly as warm as Thailand unfortunately).

Yes, this may have been a full body shot, but I have made it a policy to never post pictures of myself in full-body spandex.

My brother's very fitting summary of our trip:

NEWPORT BY NUMBERS

4.5 - number of consecutive hours spent playing tennis by the Matts and Nate on Wednesday night (I have since confirmed that this is a new Newport Coast Villas record)

28 - Number of shirts packed by Chelsea for the trip, no I'm not joking. Apparently she never knows how she is going to feel and likes to "have options"

5,278 - number of times Tate has recounted the story of the "big downhill" at Disneyland (aka the Pirates of the Caribbean ride)

23 - number of times we listened to the "me song" from Tate's sing-along CD on the 10 hour drive home

16 - number of times I shanked my drive off the tee while golfing (mind you this is out of 18 holes)

70 - sun block grade handed out by Dad. I decided it would be easier and just as effective to wear a turtleneck down to the pool.

15 - number of minutes spent by Tyler enthusiastically describing his experience on the X2 ride at six flags. The description came complete with a reenactment and drawing session in which he diagrammed the coaster track with each twist and turn.

40 - number of minutes Crane spent playing the copycat game with Tate at Pomodoro in Laguna

4 - number of sushi restaurants Chelsea and I drove by before settling on Maki Maki sushi in the Irvine Spectrum. Never go there.

12 - number of movies that Eve brought on the trip. Apparently she was planning on being
really really really bored.

38 - number of ounces in the steak that Crane purchased at the Pavillions on girls night. Yes, he ate the whole thing.

**I am backdating this post to June so that it falls in the right place in the archives.

Tess' Baptism...Pioneer Style

We are so proud of our Tess. She was baptized June 6, 2009. In ice water.

The gas line to the font was broken. Which means that the water couldn't be warmed. Which means it felt like hose water. 'Cold' doesn't adequately describe it. Tess came out of the water gasping and immediately burst into tears, clinging to Nate in a sheer death grip. I started crying as well, not so much because I was feeling the spirit, but more because I was thinking, "Oh my word, what have we done to our baby?!?"

And then we went into the bathroom and all Tess could say between sobs was, "That was awful. That was the most horrible thing ever." And just as I had calmed her down, the next little 8 year-old girl walked into the bathroom after her plunge into the icy waters, crying her own little river. Folks, it was a dramatic day at the font.

But, after we had rubbed Tess' chilled skin warm and the color had returned to her cheeks, we talked to her about the pioneers who used to break the ice in a stream and get baptized right there because they didn't want to wait. And I think she felt better, more noble, like she was someone who'd had to sacrifice a little to prove her commitment to the Lord. Like a true martyr for the gospel.

We hope that in the end, it was a positive experience for her. I guess if nothing else, it was a memorable one.

Slippers & Cleats

Dance Recital 2009

Nora with a nervous stomach...

...but trying to make the best of it.

Will feeling left out of the action.

Switch gears and run over to the soccer game (notice that she's still wearing stage make-up)

Grandma Conna's wedding

Welcome to the family Grandpa Jerry!

Conna and Jerry with all the grandkids


Kristy and Kelly's fam

Scott & Lori's fam

After the wedding we took a moment to visit loved ones lost.

It was, after all, Memorial Day weekend.

Trip to 'Rado (as Will calls it)

We recently took a weekend trip to Grand Junction, CO to visit our fabulous friends. Oh how we love the Vances and Jolleys! Good times.

me, Nate, Angie, Kennan, Tyler, Jeena

Tanner, Kaden, David, Tess, Nora, Will, Carson, Lauren, Carter, Preston

As part of the trip Jeena, Angie and I did a 12-mile muddy buddy run. (The people of Grand Junction as a whole are annoyingly in shape.) We all split up into teams of 2. One partner ran for a mile while the other biked and then we switched at each mile mark. (Or at least that's the idea. Some of the miles weren't very well marked.) Well guess what- I did it. (Yes, me!) And it was even uphill for the first 6 miles. I'm sure no one will ever believe me because I don't have any physical proof of this experience. But I was even smiling at the finish line. I drew a picture of it here:

Nate also got some great mountain biking in and he has the scars to prove it.

Thanks Vances and Jolleys for another FUN weekend!