Sweet Caroline

I'm finally paying tribute to my darling Caroline. Her birthday is July 1st and I'm sticking to my list of important things to blog from 2009. I WILL conquer!

It has taken me so long to get through my blog list because we just moved into our new home. This event will have it's own post as well as pics...someday. :) We are so happy to be in our own home and in our wonderful new neighborhood. It's near where we lived before and thankfully we're still in the same ward and schools.

PLEASE NOTE. The reason I decided to blog is for my kids. I hope one day they can read what their mom (me) considered important enough to blog. Believe me, I must feel it's important because I DON'T ENJOY BLOGGING...hey, at least I'm trying. So, just to warn you this is a mushy recollection of my daughter's first few years. Just thought I'd warn you so you have a chance to opt out now.

My Sweet Caroline! She is such a sweet, feisty, smart, friendly, fearless and some would call her a completely crazy two year old. Our nicknames for her are many...Gorgeous (because Scotty used to say HELLOOOO GORGEOUS to her when she was born), Peanut, Sweat Pea and of course Sweet Caroline. There are so many fun stories about her and I thought I'd share a few (remember, this is for my posterity's purpose!):

The other day we were in the grocery store and there was a man behind us in line who was having a conversation with Caroline as we were waiting to check out. She introduced herself and told him that she's two years old and the guys (that's what she calls her brothers) were at school. When it was time to leave she held out her hand and said, "Nice to meet you."

Another story. Last Sunday, Chris sang with the ward choir. The primary had been invited to go up on the stand and sing a song with the choir and Caroline wanted to go up with the guys (her brothers)and she had a little meltdown as they left. I took her to the back of the chapel so I could still see all of my guys singing. I was holding Caroline in my arms and we were standing directly in front of the light switches and in retaliation, Caroline decided to turn off the lights leaving the lights above the choir and primary on, and the lights over the congregation off. I created quite the light show as I frantically tried to find which switches turned the lights back on. Thankfully, we have a very forgiving ward and most people are used to Caroline's antics. Whew!

I was pregnant with Caroline during the final months of my dad's life. It was a hard time for me because I was helping take care of him and I was fighting morning sickness. I was completely humbled by the events of the previous months...my mom's battle with leukemia (she's in remission), my brother-in-law passed away from lung cancer, losing my beloved aunt to cancer and my grandma passed away because of complications from a stroke--she was 102 (coincidentally my and aunt and grandma died on the same day). I felt like the Lord carried me through this time and that he blessed my family in so many ways I can't even express or talk about...it was all so humbling and I don't know if I've ever felt closer to my Savior.

During this time I really longed for a little girl. I really wanted to name her after my aunt and grandma in honor of all that they had done for me. I had lived with both of them periodically throughout my life. My grandma loved me unconditionally and my aunt was so patient, loving and kind to me. She reintroduced me to the gospel and she helped me change my life.

You can imagine my joy when the ultrasound said it was a little girl. I didn't dare believe it, but I knew in my heart that it was true and I knew exactly what we'd name her...Caroline Fern.

Caroline was such a peaceful, loving baby. I swear she had a gift of making me feel calm. I loved to hold her and absorb her sweet, peaceful spirit that had such a calming affect on me. She was sent to me exactly when she was supposed to and she has been such a blessing in my life.

Caroline, I'm so grateful for you and the happiness you've brought to our family. At the end of the day, you cannot rest until you've kissed and hugged each member of our family good-night. You're are an angel and I thank Heavenly Father everyday for the gift He gave us...our Sweet Caroline.


 

David and Rebecca's Wedding

 

This really was an amazing day. We felt so blessed that we were able to go to the sealing in Manti and the reception in Midway.

The day of the wedding was perfect. Becca and David looked so happy and deliriously in love...exactly how it should be. It was really special for me because I love the Manti Temple. I have so many fond memories of growing up in the beautiful Sanpete Valley. It's a sacred, special place and I can't think of a better temple to get married in...except for Bountiful (where Chris and I got married:).

Also, something else that was very special was that one of my favorite seminary teachers, Brother Dennis Slack sealed them. The sealing was funny, spiritual and incredible in every way. Definitely one of the most spiritual sealings I've ever been to.

There is a picture of Becca sitting in the car waiting for Dave. We laughed hysterically at this...she was quite anxious to get the honeymoon started. :)

The reception was amazing, of course. Carl and Mary Ann's yard looked gorgeous and it was the perfect place for a beautiful garden reception.

I'm so happy for Dave and Becca...we love each one of them dearly. They are wonderful, amazing people and one day (hopefully soon:) they will have many beautiful little Shiddles (Shoff-Criddles). :)

Please Don't Die!

Dear Blog,

I was a little nervous about logging on...I didn't want to shock you into sudden death by causing a heart attack, stroke or other life threatening, death causing, phenomenon. Can you imagine if that happened??? I probably wouldn't even give you the time of day to write your obituary and then...well, I would feel completely terrible about the pain and suffering I caused you in mortal life AND in the hereafter.

All I can say is....I'm sorry and I regret not being better about blogging. I know you have serious issues with Facebook. Please do not be jealous of FB anymore. I have found that FB gives me instant gratification and you, well....you are kind of high maintenance and I don't always have the time or energy to give you the attention you need or deserve!

I have made some new goals and I will take it one blog post at a time. To show my commitment to you, I'm going to create a list of events that have happened since my last post in May of 2009.

NOTE: My plan is to make each item on the list into their own post. Some of the items don't require pictures, a long explanation or more details. Thanks for understanding...too much blogging too fast may push me over the edge.

1. May: Chris thankfully was admitted into the California Bar Association. Thanks honey for your brilliance and all of the hard work that went into your preparation and study for the bar exam. I knew that you would pass--didn't even doubt it once!


2. June: Rebecca Shoff and David Criddle were married for all time and eternity in the Manti Temple. This was such an amazing experience and I'm so grateful we were able to attend. We're so happy for both of you and I'm especially happy I get to have another Criddle-in-law!!!

3. July: My sweet little Caroline Fern turned two years old on July 1st. This for sure will have it's own post with details and pictures included!

4. July: The kids and I drove to Utah to celebrate the 24th of July in Fairview and spend time with our family there four-wheeling, rodeoing and we attended the Cook Family Reunion in Fountain Green. Chris later flew out and joined us for the Shoff Reunion. All my boys and I flew to Hawaii and stayed with Uncle Mark and Aunt Debbie. It was our first official family vacation--except for Caroline who had a vacation of her own getting to stay with Grandmas, cousins, and aunts and uncles. Believe me, she had the time of her life and so did we. Pictures soon to come!

5. August: Scotty-Wotty-Scooter-Tucker-Shoff turned four years old on August 25th. We had an amazing time celebrating at Disneyland...a birthday he'll never forget! Pictures soon to come!

6. September: School started. Hayes is in 3rd grade, Ty in 1st grade, Scott in preschool and Caroline started preschool. Pictures soon to come!

7. October: I had an amazing birthday that we spent at Disneyland with our good friends Damon and Rachel Afualo and we met up later with Heather and Bart Sadleir. NO KIDS! Words cannot express how much fun I had. I felt like a little kid. Don't get me wrong I love seeing Disneyland through my children's eyes, but I didn't get to go as a kid so I really enjoyed doing the things I wanted to do! Pictures soon to come!

8. October: Halloween was so much fun! All four of my little ghouls were all about trick-or-treating this year. Caroline was a trick-or-treating fiend! She loved it!!! Video footage and pictures soon to come!!!

The last six months have been amazing! I'm excited to finally be able to share it with you, my dear blog. Now that I've taken the first step...maybe it won't be as hard to do a better job at keeping you updated.

Love always (even though I may disappear for months at a time),

Dianne

I'm on TV Again

My adorable, sweet, funny husband sent this to me today. I laughed so hard Scotty became concerned and I caught him looking at me out of the corner of his eye with his "MY MOM HAS FINALLY LOST IT" look. I tried to show him what I was laughing at and his three and a half year old mind just couldn't wrap around what kind of comedy could be found in a news briefing....even when I would break into hysterics every time they mentioned my name!

THANK YOU my hot hubby and HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to everyone!!!

http://news.cnnbcvideo.com/?nid=aXXEzF2Gwy8ca05Qyg74WTExODYyNzc4&referred_by=15843300-paibH8x&p=moveon

We Were on Channel 8 News!

My good friend Rachel Afualo invited us to go to the beach today and who would've thought it would be our T.V. debut??? I have to say Rachel, you have an incredible T.V. presence....you were amazing! I think if you're that comfortable on camera...you could have a future in broadcasting! :) Our fame was SHORT, but they got some cute shots of the kids.....I'm just sooooo grateful I was in the background the whole time!!!! Being on the top story of the evening news in my bathing suit...is not my idea of a fun day at the beach!!! :)

One more thing....the reporter, Shawn Styles, was very friendly and even helped me carry some of my gear out to the beach. Also, he mentioned he use to live in Park City, UT.

We are on after the weather forecast, and directly after the lifeguard--if you listen closely you can hear the reporter say something about the Afualo and Shoff tribe.



http://www.cbs8.com/Global/story.asp?S=10215273#

Catching Up on 2009

We had a fun couple of days at Disneyland in January! The best part was there were NO LINES! We left Caroline home with my mom...she isn't old enough to appreciate the magic yet and she HATES her stroller!

Grandma Duck came to visit and we had a chilly, but fun day at the beach. Scotty is mad because I wouldn't let him go swimming in the freezing cold ocean so he would NOT cooperate with the photographer (me) in this photo.

Tyler turned six years old in February and we went to Lego Land to celebrate. The boys especially loved getting their driver's licenses. Every time they drive the little cars they get a license.

Caroline handed me the camera and said "CHEESE". Apparently, she wanted me to take a picture of us together because she climbed up on my lap and pointed to the camera and said "CHEESE" again. It was so funny!

Another funny thing...one afternoon, she grabbed her doll and went outside and hopped in her car like she had somewhere really important to go!











March 2nd is Dr. Seuss' birthday and he lived in San Diego so it is a BIG deal here. It was especially fun for us because we are HUGE Dr. Seuss fans at our house. We partied hard and we even made green eggs and ham for dinner. It was quite the party and the kids LOVED IT!

********BIG MOMENT********

Caroline discovered her belly button or BEBO as she calls it. She'd push it and say "BEEP BEEP" and giggle like crazy! SO FUNNY!

















A huge highlight for us was when Aunt Emily and Uncle Jake came and stayed with us the last week in March. We went to Lego Land, played at the beach and had a whole lot of fun! Tyler just happened to be studying the letter "Z" that week in school and desperately wanted to take Zachary to school for sharing (show-n-tell). We couldn't figure out a way to do that so we took a picture and he took that instead. He was so excited to tell his class all about his buddy/cousin Zachary Jacob Shoff. He keeps this picture on his dresser and always asks when Zach is coming back to visit!





In April we went to the Carlsbad flower gardens with our friends Rachel, Noah, Adam and Lilly. We had SO MUCH FUN! It was beautiful, fun and kind of windy, but thank goodness this is Southern California and plenty warm! :)






BEAUTIFUL!

Unfortunately, Scotty had preschool and missed out on this trip. We missed you little buddy!

A highlight for the kids was mining for crystals. They got some really cool ones too!

We had fun coloring and decorating Easter eggs. The Easter Bunny brought the kids boogie boards. We can't wait to go to the beach and try them out!

Tyler is Star Student!

Tyler got to be star student in his kindergarten class last week. Ms. Cannon (his teacher) said that she's never seen a little boy so excited to be her helper for the week. Hayes got to be the first star student in his class last September...so Ty has been waiting a really long time for his big week!

FYI, all of the answers on his questionnaire are totally his! I didn't write anything that he didn't tell me to write! He's very thoughtful about these kinds of things and it took us forever to fill this out because he had to ponder what each answer would be. Also, everything on his poster was specifically requested by him as well. He's a kid that knows what he wants!

We love you and we're so proud of all of the hard work you're doing as school!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYLER!

Today is Tyler's birthday. He's has been so excited about turning six and that's all he's talked about for months!

I have to do the mushy, proud, mommy thing for a minute! I can't pass up the chance, on this special day to say a thing or two about my darling, sweet little boy! He is adorable, snuggly, funny, sweet, smart, fiesty, serious, and he's very passionate about what he likes and dislikes! He LOVES sharks! He LOVES the solar system! He LOVES legos! He LOVES his brothers and sister! He doesn't like meat! He doesn't like veggies (except raw carrots)! He doesn't like collared shirts!

Tyler has an incredible memory. He knew and read the alphabet before age two. He memorized the solar system at age three. He's continued to amaze us with the things he can memorize! He loves soccer and he just started taking piano and he claims he can do the fastest finger drills, EVER!

His current obession is sharks....and yes, he's memorized every kind of shark you can imagine....even creatures that I didn't know were in the shark family.
I love you Ty and you're such a special little boy and a blessing to our family! I've haven't met a person yet that doesn't melt when you look at them with those big, greenish-blue eyes. I'm so happy I get to be your mommy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYLER!

William Hayes Shoff's Baptism

This was one of the most memorable events of my life. Out of all the people I taught and saw baptized on my mission...I don't think that there were any as prepared as Hayes. Chris and I prepared our FHE lessons specifically to help Hayes prepare for his baptism and to make sure he knew and understood the commitment he was making by becoming a member of The Church of Jesus Christ. It was almost too easy! He has had such devoted Primary teachers, friends, family and other amazing examples that have influenced and taught him so well, that it made our job easy.

We read from the Book Of Mormon every night as a family and we accomplished our goal to read the entire book together. Hayes, also read many nights on his own and memorized scriptures, which amazes me, not simply because he's memorized verses, but because how accurately he did it. His favorite scripture that he has memorized is 1 Nephi 3:7.

Chris and I couldn't be more proud of our son and his decision to be baptized. Hayes, we love you and we're so grateful for the example you are to us, your siblings, your cousins, teachers and friends. You are the best Christmas present we could ever receive. Your dad and I planned to get married in June, but after much thought and prayer, WE KNEW we needed to get married in January....you were born the following December. I believe with all of my heart that we felt the urgency to move our wedding date up so you could join our little family precisely when you did.

We asked Hayes where he wanted to be baptized and he adamantly replied, "in Utah". Thanks Mama and Papa Shoff for all of your preparation and help! Thanks everyone who participated in the program and drove through snow and canyons to attend. We love you!

Midway 5th Ward Baptismal Service

January 3, 2009

Presiding and Conduction: Chuck Wolf

Opening Song: Families Can Be Together Forever

Chorister: Sonia Robertson

Pianists: Rebecca Shoff and David Criddle

Invocation: Roger Bailey

Introduction of Baptismal Candidate: Mary Ann Shoff

Talk on Baptism: James Shoff

Baptism of Hayes Shoff: Christopher Shoff

Musical Number: Rachel and Katelyn Schmuhl

Talk on Holy Ghost: Rick Shoff

Confirmation: Christopher Shoff

Closing Song: I Love to See the Temple

Benediction: Dianne Shoff

Holidays in Utah

Driving out to Utah by myself, for the second time in six months...with four kids was an adventure, to say the least. I felt so empowered and such a sense of accomplishment after I arrived, but NOT during the drive itself. As I'm in the moment, all I can do for ten hours is think "WHAT WAS I THINKING"! When I have finally arrived at our destination with all five of us still breathing (driving isn't the only risk when travelling with four small children...more like mommy on the brink of insanity is the much bigger risk!) I think wow...we did it! I felt like I had just conquered the world. I really hope to never do it again, though!

We had such a great time seeing friends and family! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

Ben, Emily and I spent part of our New Years Eve in the kitchen creating our own, customized to our liking, hor'dourves. It turned out delicious and the best part was...WE DIDN'T SHARE! hehehehe :)

Rick had a little too much to drink....Red Bull!

RED BULL! RED BULL! RED BULL! RED BULL! RED BULL! RED BULL! RED BULL!

We celebrated Christmas and birthdays with the Shoffs in Midway.

Hayes is so lucky he was born right on Christmas day (we keep reminding him of that!).

I had so much fun going to lunch with my girlfriends! We missed Trista...she had a miscarriage that day, but our thoughts and prayers have been with her.

We celebrated my mom and my sister's birthdays. Best bread sticks ever! GOOD TIMES!
Last but not least, my brother Brent (coolest brother and uncle EVER) helped us get our snowmobile started and we tore it up! So much fun!!!! Shawn and Scott are on the sled, Hayes, Brent, Ty are on the snowmobile.
Shawn and Scott

Ty

We had such a great time seeing everyone and playing in the snow!