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!