Pocahontas and Captain Hook

A while ago I was up in Idaho visiting my sister Brittany and my Mom. Ella has totally gotten into this Native American Princess thing. She loves to watch Peter Pan, and out of all the characters her favorite is Tiger Lily. She would have Koko (my mom) and her play Tiger Lily all day long by dressing up just like the movie. She had a dress and purse/pouch, and she would put her hair in fish tail braids, necklace, and even a headpiece with feathers. The best part is she said to Koko, "Will you paint my skin to red?" I died laughing, and my mom said sure, she whipped out her bronzer and with just a few strokes gave Ella a deep dark tan.

My mom and I left Idaho, and when we came back we both had new ideas of how we were going to play with Ella. I brought my Disney's Pocahontas DVD for her to watch... which she did 4 times, and Koko brought a billion more things. She found fabric to make a Teepee and dress for Ella. With puffy paint, Ella, Koko, and I got to decorate symbols and signs inspired by a Native American history book that Koko brought. Koko was even talented enough to make a dress that looked just like Pocahontas. She just cut a panel and with some yarn, Koko and Brittany added fringe that really made the dress special. They then wrapped Ella so the fabric would drape just right, and pinned it with a safety pin to hold it in place. Koko also brought face paint. I asked Ella if she wanted an arm band like Pocahontas and she was so excited she said, "YEEEEEEEES, and a necklace toooooooo?" So that is just what she got!

We couldn't leave cute Hunty out of all this fun, so I painted his face to look just like a pirate. He wasn't into all the artsy, fun imagination things that Ella and Koko were doing. But he did like having his face painted! Aren't they just such cute kids? Hunter was hilarious to paint his face. You could tell the brush tickled his face and he kept moving... hints why there are random stroked all over his face. Hunter also got to go with his dad to the grocery store where he could show off his fierce face! And from what I heard, the cash register lady was really frightened!

What do you guys think? Don't they make great characters?

Why I Married Gian

When Gian and I were still dating we were just hanging out talking when Fergie's song "Glamorous" came on. Time went by and we were both still singing the song because it was stuck in our heads. Gian decided to show off his vocal cords trying to impress me. This is how the song came out of his mouth:

"G-D-R-O-N-T-I-U-S yeah glamorous."

I instantly looked at Gian and with a huge stink eye said, "WHAT!!!!!!!" It wasn't even a question at that point.... it was a statement, like who in the world are you and where did you come from. He had no idea that Fergie was spelling out the name of her song. I literally was on the ground laughing with tears!

This is one of my favorite memories I have of Gian!

Viva Las Vegas

The first weekend of August we decided to go Vegas for several reasons:

1.) Gian hasn't been home since August of '09

2.) David Royal came home from his mission in Peru and this was the Sunday he was talking in his home ward.

3.) Mike Royal had a surprise birthday party on Saturday.

4.) We really wanted to eat at Hash House A-Go-Go (not really the thing that made us go... but it was on our to-do list).

5.) Feed our addiction of gambling hahahahahha just kidding! However I still feel tempted to put a nickel in the slot machine... YES I WILL SAY IT!!! It is tempting with all those bright lights and sounds! How could you not want to pull that lever in chance of winning money back? It is quiet inviting huh? I think so!

It was a very short trip we got in late Friday night and left Sunday afternoon. Saturday we woke up, ate breakfast with Gian's parents, then went to Gian's Lola's (that is Grandma in Tagalog... and what he and his family call her) house. She is soooooooo sweet I love her! She really has this sweet countenance about her. Gian's sisters Michelle and Natalie were there too. It was nice to see them and be able to catch up.

After that we went to eat at Hash House A-Go-Go for lunch with Brad and Whitney ... you may have heard of it because it has been on The Food Network twice and The Travel Channel once. It was amazing! Their pancakes are 12" in diameter... HUGE. Some pizzas are that size. Everything they make is fabulous. Gian got this thing with chorizo, cheese, potato wedges, and fresh jalepinos, it was amazing. It was exactly what I have been craving this whole pregnancy. I got brown sugar banana pancakes...... ohhhhh it was magic in my mouth. It was like having divine pieces of heaven on my fork! I can't remember what Brad and Whitney got... but I know they loved it.

This is Whitney's... They gave her a giant biscuit with a rosemary branch stuck in it.

This was Gian's... I really want it every single day!

My delicious caramelized brown sugar banana pancake! Words cannot do it justice!

Brad got a pancake too. Not even Brad could pack that thing away.

Later that night we went to Mike Royals surprise party... where he actually surprised us. We were all on one side of the yard waiting for him to make his grand entrance and we would all yell, "SUUUUUUUUUUUURPRIZZZZZZZZZZZE!!" Instead, he came on the other side of the yard where all our backs were turned to him. We were all caught off guard when Jeff Flagg shouted out, "Ohh, HEY OVER HERE... SURPRISE!!!" It was amazing! The party was a Beatles theme, and there was a band, BBQ, pool, and volleyball. Lindsay Miranda made the cake... isn't she amazing? Seriously she has never even taken a class. Some people just make me sick with their amazing talents! Her fondant is to die for by the way! I wont tell you her secret... you will have to ask her! See the photos below to try and relive our fun!

Whitney, me, Lindsay, and her boy Hurley.

Looooook... Lindsay even made the faces of the Beatles! And there were bubbles!

Just for your liking... Gian's traditional funny face. I guess I have caught on. Please don't enlarge this image. Just enjoy if from afar!