Books

I need some good book suggestions.

Ps: just finished reading Dear John by Nicholas Sparks and i really liked it. I'm excited for the movie next month!

My grandpa Ford passed away on December 30, 2009.

Grandpa was 88 years old and had been married to my Grandma for 64 wonderful years.

The last year of Grandpa's life was hard for him and hard for me to watch, but some of my favorite memories of Grandpa came during this year, mostly because Kiley was able to really get to know Grandpa. Kiley loved Grandpa so much. She really loved going to visit him at his home. I never even had to ask her to give Grandpa a kiss and hug, she did that on her own.

I feel so fortunate to have had 25 years with Grandpa Ford. He is the kind of person I could only hope to become.

The memorial service was held on Saturday, January 9, 2010 at the Hope Lutheran Church in Temecula, CA. I could not believe how many people came to pay their respects to Grandpa. The church was packed and rows and rows of people stood up in the back as well.

Grandpa has been such an amazing example in my life. My family has been so blessed because of Grandpa. He will forever be in our hearts and in our memories.

Merry Christmas

This year we went up to Utah for Christmas. I've never been much of a fan of the snow, but Shawn and Kiley are. Kiley loved going outside and thanks to mom and dad, she had appropriate clothes to wear out in the snow.



- After Christmas morning, Shawn and Kiley were pretty exhausted so they took a little nap on the couch together.
- Gus and Shawn have gotten a lot closer over the years. Close enough to share a snuggie and hot chocolate.


- Kiley got a lot of Elmo things for Christmas this year. Her favorite Elmo is probably "Baby Elmo" from Auntie Lisa and Uncle Gus.
- The dogs enjoyed Christmas this year also, they got a couple bones in their stockings. I think Darla liked the snow more then Hank.



- We went up to the Ford cabin in Heber for a quick visit on Thursday (Christmas Eve). Kiley and Ashton played so well together. And mom read them a book, notice Kiley's face! We started watching The Little Mermaid while the boys were off on the snowmobiles.
- Both Kiley and Ashton wanted to sit with Auntie Melissa during the movie.



- We were fortunate to get to see "Touchdown" in action this year.
- Kiley was not too fond of Leila at first, but as the days progressed, she was more friendly with her.

White Stars in Murrieta

So, we've lived in Murrieta for about 4 years now and I have always noticed these white stars painted on the residential streets. They are about 3 feet by 3 feet solid white stars painted on different streets around our neighborhood and other residential neighborhoods in Murrieta. I've asked people about the stars, but no one seems to know what they're for and no one even realized there were painted stars on the ground. It's just been a big mystery for the last few years for me.

THEN, last night, I thought the cops were outside the house because I heard sirens and someone talking on a loud speaker. It turns out it wasnt the cops, but a city organization that brings Santa and his sleigh out to the neighborhoods all around Murrieta. They announced on the loud speaker to "GO TO THE STAR" and meet up with Santa, his reindeer and Frosty the Snowman.

The organization trys to collect canned goods while they have Santa go around the town. It's a pretty cool thing that the city does every year.

So, when I heard the announcement to "Go to the Star," I threw on some shoes and put a jacket on Kiley and we walked down our street to the white star painted on the road. And sure enough, Santa was there!

Kiley was so scared of him so I sat with her and took a picture with Santa. She was still nervous and crying, but she did OK. My neighbor, the dirt head (self titled) took our picture...he reeked of beer, but he's a nice guy. Kiley was really interested in Santa, his reindeer and Frosty the Snowman, but only wanted to see them from a distance. She keep saying "looka mama" and pointing to the snowman.

Just to let you know, I asked one of Santa's helpers about the white stars on the ground. The white stars were painted for this event and nothing more. There is NO other reason for the white stars all around Murrieta.

Kiley Pictures

Kiley just had her pictures taken, so I thought I would post a couple. Sorry about the quality...I scanned a copy of the picture into the computer and it didnt work so well.

Ducks Game

Me, Ryan, Joe and Dad went to the Ducks vs Flames game last night. Ducks won in a shoot out.

This was my first invite to a Ducks game in a long time, but Dad said if I wanted, we could make this a tradition, every 5 years, they invite me to a game! Sad. But I had fun. Thanks for inviting me.

Happy Birthday Troy

Since it's Troy's birthday, we went to dinner at the Spaghetti Factory in San Marcos on Saturday night. We're so glad we live so close to each other so that we could celebrate his 33rd Birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TROY!


Here's Kiley eating her ice cream.