The Happiest People on Earth

Disneyland!!! Such a place deserves three exclamation points, agreed? We were jumping up and down with excitement as we entered the gates! Well, actually, we had been doing thus for many weeks prior, as we awaited the special day! Disneyland is such a joyful, magical, musical, beauteous, sparkly, happy place. Everywhere you look, there is music, dancing, flowers, love, and...churros! Mmmm...We took full advantage of those warm, sweet, cinnamon-y, crunchy delights. Anyway, we took oodles of pictures, and here are a few:

Summer is wearing a Minnie Mouse shirt and skirt, which we purchased just for the occasion!

Oh! You've just never seen so many blooming blossoms! Everywhere you look in the park are seas of assorted flowers and beauty...


...and I felt strongly, in my heart, that Jerald's own beauty and hotness further adorned the park itself, whilst effectively adding to the ambiance, scenery, and decor. The truthfulness of my words is made manifest by the picture below, which highlights his casual, yet suave pose. :)

Now, this may look like the view of a quaint European village, but no. It's a miniature! We snapped this shot while on the little train ride.

The rooftops of London! We shot this while on the fabulous Peter Pan ride!

Take me to the Haunted Mansion, please, Driver!

"It's a Small World" was Summer's favorite ride of all! It's such a relaxing boat ride, while passing by the singing and dancing dolls representing every country. We went on it twice!

...and here, Jerald, being a professional musician, thought he had played every kind of piano imaginable! Well, he hadn't played Mickey Mouse's wacky turquoise and lime-green extravaganza!

Summer and I enjoyed a prim and proper tea party at Minnie's house!

We took a break to enjoy our favorite four-cheese pepperoni pizza at the Rain Forest Cafe'!

We watched in amazement as singers, dancers, and all the characters performed at the Disneyland Parade and Street Party. Summer was even lucky enough to dance "on stage" with the performers. Like a true Simon, she loved the applause!

Summer met Mary Poppins and Burt, who were so darling and sweet to her! She was thrilled, since it is one of her very favorite movies, and happily informed them that she had their movie at home.

Summer was lucky enough to be chosen to take a princess stroll with Alice in Wonderland!

Well, "Gawrsh"! It was Goofy himself!

...But the crowning moment of the day came when Summer got to meet her beloved Mickey! She patiently waited in line to see him, but when he came into view, she left the line twice, approaching him, eagerly, saying, "Hi, Mickey!" We had to pull her back in line to wait for her turn. When her time came, Mickey was adorable and so kind to her!

Through all of the festivities, performances, rides, and such, Jerald's and my favorite part of all was seeing Summer's eyes light up and her little voice exclaiming how happy she was to be at Disneyland. We were definitely the happiest people on earth in the happiest place on earth!

A Peach of a Beach!

Hundreds of pictures! We traveled to Southern California, where we experienced a blissful vacation, and proceeded to take a photo of every single fun thing we did...and we did LOTS! It will take several blog posts to describe it all. The Santa Monica beach was just a few minutes away from where we were staying, so here is a photo collage of our sea adventures. With the whipping wind, the rolling waves, and the crying seagulls, we exhilarated in the vastness of the sand and the ocean. There's nothing like seeing your child experience the surf and sand on her toes for the very first time. Summer enjoyed building sand castles the most, while Jerald and I leaped, spun, ran, jumped, frolicked, and kissed in the waves. I'll always remember that day...

Chocolate Bunnies

We are never content, at our house, to celebrate any single holiday for a mere twenty-four hours. A full week is more like it! A week before Easter, our neighborhood held their annual Easter egg hunt and Summer scored loads of loot, like these snazzy purple shades she's proudly displaying below.

Later that afternoon, we went to "This is the Place Heritage Park" in Salt Lake for their massive Easter Egg hunt. You've never seen such crowds! We loved it! Summer was lucky enough to find twenty or so eggs right off the bat, but then we looked around and saw all of the sad-faced children who had not found any eggs at all. Sooooo...we gave all of ours away! It was so much more fun that way, and it taught Summer the lesson of sharing and charity. She already had dozens of candy-filled eggs at home from that morning's hunt, so she was happy to share.

We made the wise purchase of fluffy, puffy, wispy, sweet, pink cotton candy!

On Easter Sunday, we had a bunch of family over to dinner and had yet another Easter egg hunt! Jerald and I headed up the egg-hiding corporation. Jerald even hid some high in this tree!




A few days later, we met up with Jerald's family at a park for lunch and, of course, the annual Easter egg throw. Here's a shot of Muscle Man Jerald propelling his egg into outer space.

The Fantastic Four - Summer with her Simon cousins!

Saving the best for last...here is charming Summer, looking splendidly sublime in her Easter dress!

First Quarter Analysis

January, February, and March were all big months! In January, I turned 30. Such an event could easily be misconstrued as a minor cataclysm and very nearly requires a moment of silence to ponder, but I'm convinced age is merely a number. A unit of the mathematical system! I loved my twenties very much and now I'm excited to see what the next decade will bring!
The weekend of my birthday, my parents and Jerald and I dined at Maddox restaurant! I had eaten there a few times over the last few years and always considered the food to be quite bleak. Through further analysis, however, I have now realized that it was just because I detest chicken fried steak, which is what I always ordered. This time I ordered some lovely chicken, mashed potatoes, and vegetables that filled me with bliss and good humor. I can now join the ranks of all of the others in mortality who have abiding testimonies of Maddox Restaurant.

On my birthday, Jerald and Summer and I went ice skating! None of us fell once, which gave us a sure feeling of pride. Have you ever noticed, though, that every time you go to a skating rink there is always a skilled skater who thinks he/she owns the rink, performing tricks, spins, and quadruple axles just to show off? Yeah, we had one of those. I purposely AVOIDED watching him leap with his long hair flying behind him, simply because I knew he wanted us to watch. So there!



Summer was thrilled to put on her first pair of skates. She was so adorable on the ice! She couldn't skate on her own, so we pulled her along. Cute little girl!



Summer also went sledding for the first time this winter! Oh, we had such fun and she wasn't a bit scared to fly down the hill. Sledding sure is one of winter's main perks, isn't it?!

Enchanting Enchantress!

On March 13, Jerald and I celebrated our seven year anniversary. Seven of Heaven! Truly. It feels so nice to love Jerald the way I do. Happiness reigns supreme when we're together and I feel so blessed by the Lord to have him forever. To observe our own holiday, we went on a fabulous over-night date! We started by attending the Bountiful Temple (where we were married), and then checked into the Marriot Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City. Wow! That was about the fanciest hotel in which we've ever stayed because of Jerald's friend who works for the hotel and got us a discount. We dined at the Olive Garden before heading back to swim in the hotel pool. The next morning, we ate a monstrous breakfast at Village Inn before driving up to Park City, where we spent the day strolling Historic Main Street and visiting the Olympic Park.

Below are two shots of Jerald and me, respectively, flying down the mountains of Park City in our downhill Alpine ski race at 84 miles per hour! Admire our fine form, won't you? Haha! Actually, this is one of those cardboard cutouts at the Olympic Park Museum. I've actually never been skiing before, but that will change, mind you.

Jerald and I always have so much fun together and never run out of things to talk about. Flirting is always involved. Happy seven years, Jerald!

So that's a summary of the first quarter of our year, and a good quarter at that!

Beauty Tips - Fantastic Four

1.) Keep a clean dry mascara wand in your make-up bag and use it to comb though and separate stuck-together eyelashes after applying mascara. It also makes an effective eyebrow comb. And while we're happily on the subject of eyelashes, feel free and easy to use the following tip, courtesy of my mother, who swears this nightly ritual restored her weak and broken lashes to their original long and lush glory: Lightly coat your lashes with a dab of Vaseline every night before bed. It nourishes and conditions them overnight, providing endless amounts of rapture.


2.) A truly "grape" facial! One might think you should be dropped off at the corner of Weird Avenue and Strange Street using this beauty tip, but grapes contain natural fruit acids that tone, silken, and brighten your skin until it achieves a glowing, gleaming, illuminated "light bulb" status. Cut a single grape in half and rub the cut sides over your cleansed face in circular motions for one minute, squeezing them gently to release all of that grape-y goodness to your skin, and then leave the mixture on for ten minutes or until it's completely dry. Then take a wet washcloth and gently massage it in circular motions over your face for thirty seconds. Splash with cool water, apply a moisturizer, and admire the glistening incandescence that is your complexion!


3.) For people with normal to oily skin, Milk of Magnesia, which you find at the drug store for upset stomachs, makes a wondrous facial mask. Milk of Magnesia is just liquid magnesium, which is an earth mineral, and has disinfecting and anti-inflammatory properties. It helps absorb excess oil, yet it's gentle, calming and brightening. After cleansing, smooth the liquid on your face with a cotton ball. Leave the mixture on for ten minutes, and then rinse off with a wash cloth and cool water.


4.) Dash to your local drug store and buy one of those wooden long-handled bristled body brushes and do the following several times a week: When your skin is still dry, just before bathing, briskly and deeply brush your whole body, starting with your feet all the way up to your neck in circular motions for a good five minutes. Finish by brushing up toward your heart. Dry brushing kind of tickles at first, but it's rejuvenating and energizing! This not only improves blood circulation, but it exfoliates and sloughs off chunks of visible and invisible dead and ashy skin flakes better than any body scrub, making it so your body achieves a bright rosy glow that actually reflects light! Afterward, jump in the shower to rinse off. You'll notice, too, that you achieve a much closer shave! Towel off, apply a rich body cream, and relish the buffed-up, satiny softness and visible flush and flair!

Yesterday

Yesterday was one of those days. A really candied and sugary day, which prompted me to write another Happy Six List. So here were just a few of the nougat-filled, chocolate coated moments to remember.

1.) I woke up feeling icky and sicky. Now, one may wonder why that would make my Happy Six List, and the reason is I could take fifteen minutes, while Summer watched Playhouse Disney, and recline on my green velvet chaise lounge in my boudoir and read and rest until revived and repaired.

2.) Mother Nature could have taken home a cinematography award for producing such a day of warmth and sparkling sunshine. Summer and I walked hand in hand to the little park by our house, whilst lifting our faces to the sky. I watched her course down the slide with the supreme knowledge that there is no sound in the world as lovely and as beauteous as Summer's musical laugh.

3.) Jerald finished and released his ninth book, "Cool Songs for Cool Kids" and I'll never forget the look of excitement on his face as he ran in and showed me the awesome book covers. How happy I am that my husband is doing what he loves to do. And that others love it too.

4.) I opened the cupboard and what did I find, but a box of yellow cake mix! So unexpected! And its very sight provided warmth to our hearts because that meant we could bake cupcakes for Saint Patrick's Day! Therefore, Summer and I spent the afternoon baking not only our weekly bread, but some very creatively frosted and sprinkled holiday cupcakes for the enjoyment of all. As a sidenote, if you substitute milk for the water called for in cake mixes, the end result will be richer and fluffier!

5.) Dinner was prepared in just thirty minutes with one of our favorite baked chicken recipes. Combine 1/2 cup of hickory barbeque sauce (trust me, hickory style is best for this), 1/2 cup Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing, and 1 tablespoon of honey mustard. Pour the mixture over chicken tenderloins, and bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Tangy and delicious!

6.) While we did the dishes after dinner, Jerald, with a grin on his face, watched in delight as Summer and I performed disco moves to the masterful works of Bach playing on the CD player. Rock with Bach! We made it work.

~ Hey, every day of all of our lives contain moments like this! Let's take the time to see and notice them, make more happen, remember them, and plan for more.

Dancing Queen

The living room is her nightclub...the kitchen is her amphitheater...the ceiling light is her disco ball. Her costume transforms from an every day blue and black ensemble to dynamic bright pink jammies with a wicked flower in her hair for dramatic effect! She can get down and boogie down, jig and jive, swing and sway, waltz and whirl, rock and rumba, step and strut, and careen and cavort with the best of them!

"See that girl! Watch that scene! Diggin' the Dancing Queen!

(Don't forget to turn your computer's sound on!)